Always Here

Hermione's jaw dropped open in shock. Not knowing which to concentrate on, the scream, Snape, or Malfoy, her eyes rested on the nearest.

Malfoy's eyes met hers, and, without even a hint of the malice with which he normally used when addressing her, he opened his mouth and began to speak to her. "Oh, dear - Gin's room is downstairs, isn't it? This is the guest room," he mused. Hermione nodded mutely, for once at a loss for words. "Terribly sorry, Granger. I'll be right off, then," he said to her as politely as he would to Snape, and turned on his heel to leave, coming face to face with the Potions master.

"Er, hello, Professor. Didn't expect to find you here," he muttered, looking quite unhappy that he had found the professor. "I suppose I've got a bit of explaining to do, eh?" He grimaced and followed a frowning Snape into a corner of the room to, as far as Hermione could tell, discuss exactly why he had appeared in the middle of the Weasleys' guest room, while seemingly heading for Ginny's bedroom as well.

Before Harry and Hermione had a chance to react to the latest turn of events, they heard footsteps pounding up the stairs. The footsteps reached the door, which was then flung open, hiding Snape and Malfoy. Ron was now visible, and the color of his face seemed to rival that of his hair. He seemed quite of breath, and both Harry and Hermione guessed (correctly) that he had been the source of the horrified yell that they had heard only moments earlier.

"Ginny - Malfoy - together - what's world coming to? - In love! - Ack - no - bad - HELP!" he choked out, growing louder and louder with each word. Hermione's brow furrowed. Was Ron trying to say that Ginny and Malfoy were together?

He caught his breath, (but not his temper) and started again. "I was downstairs in the kitchen getting my owl from Lavender." At the name, his voice grew soft and dreamy, causing Harry to let out a snicker that was soon stopped short by a death glare from Ron. "Ginny was getting what was obviously a love owl as well. So, in my love-induced stupor, I asked her whom hers was from. And in her own stupor, she told me it was from Draco bloody Malfoy!" His voice now seemed to be shaking the floor.

At the sound of his name, Draco emerged from behind the door, a very tired and impatient-looking Snape following after him. "So. Now you know," he stated quite matter-of-factly, once again showing no sign of the special contempt he usually reserved for the so-called "Weasel." "Gin was afraid you'd react this way," he muttered sorrowfully, shaking his head.

Ron stared at him, jaw flapping, and the bright pink of his ears turning a violent shade of scarlet. "Y-you!" he spluttered. "All right. What spell do you have her under, you little ferret?" he boomed accusingly.

"He doesn't have me under any spells, Ron." They all turned to look behind Ron toward the doorway, where a tearful looking Ginny now stood. "I'm not under any spell," she repeated, "except that of love." She smiled shyly at Draco, who grinned back at her.

Hermione turned to Harry, her eyes wide with shock. "Ginny and Malfoy?!" she mouthed to him, to which he could only shrug and shake his head in shared disbelief.

Ginny now stood between Draco and Ron, looking frantically between them, and occasionally casting confused looks at Snape, who was looking quite befuddled himself. In between looks she was making little whimpers. Finally, she seemed to pull herself together and turned to face her brother.

Placing her hands firmly on her hips, she looked him squarely in the eye. "Ron, I don't care what you think or say. I love Draco. And regardless of whatever he may have said or done to you or Harry or Hermione, he treats me wonderfully. And I doubt he ever meant any of those things he said or did to you three." Ron, along with both of his best friends, raised an eyebrow. "Deep down, he's a good person, really. And I intend to stay with him. When and if our relationship ends, it will be of its own volition, not yours," she huffed. Finished and out of breath, she sat on the foot of the bed and crossed her arms at Ron, as if daring him to argue.

But he didn't. In a resigned manner, he walked over to and leaned up against the wall facing the bed. He shook his head thoughtfully, murmuring to himself. "My baby sister and Malfoy. Who would've thought?" he pondered cynically.

"Well, stranger things have happened, you know," Harry piped up helpfully. "I mean, I don't think anyone ever thought Hermione and I would get together, and -." He stopped, and clamped his hand over his mouth, just realizing what he'd said.

Ginny and Draco seemed mildly startled, and Snape merely raised an eyebrow, but the shade of Ron's skin was rapidly returning to what it had been when he entered the room. Hermione thought she could detect a brief flash of jealousy in his eyes, but he mostly seemed intensely furious, though precisely about what Hermione couldn't tell. She bit her lip in nervousness as the pink of Ron's ears turned to red.

"You told a roomful of people, including Malfoy and bloody Snape before you told me personally?!" he finally shouted. Hermione breathed a not-so-small sigh of relief to learn that his anger was not about the latest development in her relationship with Harry.

"Language, Mr. Weasley," Snape sneered, his first words to the whole room. Hearing his voice prompted Hermione to blurt out something she'd been wondering for quite a while now.

"What is Professor Snape doing here, Harry?"

"Oh, um, that," Harry answered. "Well, I told you what a state you were in, 'Mione, and, well, I was deathly worried about you, and, well, I knew I had to get someone here to take care of you, and the best thing to do seemed to be to get someone who could make some sort of potion for you. And the only real expert on potions that I know is Professor Snape...."

Snape spoke up, "...And when I arrived, I informed Mr. Potter that there was really nothing I could do for a stress-related illness such as yours, unless he wanted me to put the stress off, which seemed to me to be the root cause of this whole debacle."

"And he stayed here until you were conscious," came a familiar voice from outside the door, "because I need to talk to you." Albus Dumbledore stepped into the room. "Well, I'm quite glad to see you're feeling better, Miss Granger. And Mr. Potter - the possibility wasn't that far from my mind, and I'm extremely pleased and happy for you two." Harry blushed as his headmaster winked at him.

"Professor? You said you needed to talk to me?" Hermione asked, always impatient.

"Ah, yes. Well, actually both you and Mr. Potter," he replied. He paused. Everyone in the room looked at him expectantly. "Alone," he added pointedly, and, with a gasp of realization, Professor Snape, Ginny, along with Ron and Malfoy, who carefully avoided contact with each other, (prompting Ginny to sigh and roll her eyes) stood and left the room. As the door clicked shut, Professor Dumbledore turned back to Harry and Hermione.

"Truthfully, I don't have much to say to you here," he admitted. Harry and Hermione looked at each other, puzzled. "First of all, Hermione," he said, stepping forward and placing his hand on hers, "I'd like to offer my deepest condolences for the loss of the Grangers. They were good, honest, caring people. The best kind of Muggles, really. In a way, they have a magic of their own." He paused a moment and made eye contact with Hermione, conveying his empathy.

"Anyway," he said, breaking the eye contact, "that - event - made me aware of the fact that something we've been waiting many years to do needs to be done now." Harry and Hermione looked up at him with questioning glances, waiting for him to elaborate. But he would say no more on that subject.

"So you two are to come to Hogwarts with me," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Right now?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Yes, right now. The eldest Mr. Weasley has gotten your things together, and I've already sent them. That's actually why I asked Professor Snape to stay, because you," he looked at Hermione, "are not yet altogether better. And his knowledge of illnesses and youthful strength (well, youthful relative to mine) will help you get there safely."

'Oh, joy,' thought Hermione. 'Snape's going to carry me.'

"So, if you could step outside with me, Harry, while Hermione dresses, we'll be on our way," Dumbledore said, gesturing to a pile of clothes that had just appeared at the foot of the bed.

"Yes, sir," Harry replied quickly. He leaned forward to kiss Hermione's cheek, causing her to blush, and then stood and followed the professor to the door.

"Watch out, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore laughed. "They're all bound to come flying into the room." Taking a step back, he opened the door. True to his prediction, Ron, Ginny, and Malfoy came flying into the room, with only a very disgusted looking Snape left standing in the hall.

"Eavesdropping, eh?" Professor Dumbledore asked his red-faced students amongst Harry and Hermione's laughs. "I hope you got enough information to quench your thirst. Come along, all of you," he said, motioning for them all to follow him out the door. He paused. "Though I suppose Miss Weasley could stay, if you like." Both Ginny and Hermione nodded. "Very well. Come along, gentlemen." Ron, Harry, and Malfoy followed him out the door, closing it behind them.

"I suppose you're absolutely shocked and scandalized," Ginny sighed, sitting down on the bed. Hermione stood on somewhat shaky legs to dress.

"Not really. A bit startled, yes, but - well, I suppose if he caught your eye and kept your heart, he must have some redeeming qualities that Harry and Ron and I just never saw," she answered, pulling her jeans on. "And I'll do my best to make sure Harry and Ron treat him civilly now," she added with a smirk, "though I can't say it'll work if he doesn't reciprocate. Those two don't exactly take kindly to him calling me a Mudblood."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll be seeing no more of that," the younger girl assured her. "If I'm wrong, well - let's just say Draco'll be looking for a new girlfriend." They laughed.

"Ginny, I'm sure you heard, Harry and I have to go to Hogwarts," Hermione began, fastening her robes, "and I think that, perhaps, this may be a good time for Ron to adjust to the new - er, relationships. I know he'll need to be around Malf-, er, Draco to get used to the idea of you two dating, and I think being separate from me and Harry may make adjusting to that a bit easier for him." Ginny nodded slowly, a smile creeping onto her face.

"Perhaps if Lavender comes to visit, she can help him 'adjust', "she suggested. The two girls burst into gales of laughter.

Outside the door, the males waited. Malfoy looked up from his careful inspection of the floor to find that Harry was staring at him. He raised his eyebrows, silently asking, "What do you want?"

"Could I have a word with you, Malfo-, uh, Draco?" Harry asked. Draco nodded, and the two boys took several steps down the hall.

"Draco, if I'm to believe that you really are...on our side, which I want to believe, for Ginny's sake, you're going to have to explain something to me: your threat on the Hogwarts Express two weeks ago," Harry opened.

"Ah, that," Draco responded, nodding his head thoughtfully. "Let's see if I can put this into words... You've never seen me without Crabbe and Goyle, have you, Potter-" he quickly corrected himself, "Harry?" Harry shook his head. "And how do you think of them? As my bodyguards?" Harry nodded. "Well, not quite. They're there to protect me, all right. But not from anybody else. They're 'protecting' me from me." Harry frowned. "You see, my father's a top Death Eater. And he's known all along that I'm not - well, not exactly crazy about the whole 'Restore the Dark Lord to power' crap. So he planted Crabbe and Goyle with me to make sure I follow through on certain... things I'm supposed to do. They sock me if I don't, Father sees the bruises, and, well, re-enforces them, let's say. The threat I made to you was one of those things I was supposed to do. I didn't want to risk that beating," he finished with a sigh.

Harry's jaw dropped open. How absolutely terrible! He'd known Death Eaters did sick, terrible things, but - to their own children? He shook his head in disgust.

"And in case you're wondering," Draco was saying, "all the taunts to you and Weasley and Grang-, er, Hermione stem from the same source. Believe it or not, I have a quota of terrible things I have to say to you three during the school year. So it's nothing personal. That's not to say you're exactly my favorite people in the world, however," he added, his regular sarcasm and snide tone of voice returning.

"And how do we know you're not bald-faced lying?" Ron asked, suddenly appearing at Harry's shoulder. "Give us some proof that you're on our side."

"You want proof?" Malfoy asked, pale eyebrows raised. "Here's your proof: your sister. As much as you don't want to believe it, I do love Ginny. Madly. And if I was on the Dark Lord's side, then that would mean I supported everything he would do once he gained power. And that would include, regardless of what I said or did, the killing of Ginny. It would have to happen. She's the child of one of the biggest Muggle sympathizers in the wizarding world. I don't support that killing, and I never will. I'd rather die myself than see Ginny hurt. And no, she doesn't know this whole story. All she knows is that Crabbe and Goyle are never around when we're together. And I don't want her to know. It would only upset her." He stopped talking. He was done.

Harry felt convinced. He could tell by looking at Ron, however, that his buddy was still doubtful. Harry looked him in the eye. "He's swearing by Ginny, Ron. If you swore something by Lavender, wouldn't you mean it?" The red head nodded reluctantly.

Up the hall, the door to the guest room opened, and Hermione stepped out, followed by Ginny. "I'm ready to leave, Professors," Hermione said brightly, holding Harry's shirt.

Professor Dumbledore took the shirt and touched his wand to it. He opened his mouth, and then closed it, looking more carefully at the clothing item. "Does this belong in your trunk or in Mr. Potter's?" he asked Hermione, a twinkle in his eye.

She looked down and blushed, then, bringing her eyes back up, glanced down the hall. Harry nodded to her. "Er - mine, I suppose, Professor," she stammered.

"All right, then." Holding his wand to it, he uttered a short spell ("Irio a Miss Granger's trunk") and it was gone. He turned to face the boys. "Mr. Potter. I believe we shall be on our way now," he said. Harry nodded.

He turned to Ron, placing his hand on his friend's arm. "Maybe he'll let you come to Hogwarts in a bit, Ron. Or perhaps he'll send me and 'Mione back in just a while. But for now, I want you and Draco to learn how to address each other by your given names," he said, looking pointedly at the two boys standing near him. They glared at each other, not responding to Harry's request. "Do it for Gin's sake, okay?" he added, persuading them both.

"Good-bye, Draco," Harry managed politely. They both nodded at each other. "'Bye, Ron." Harry threw his arm around his friend's shoulder and squeezed. "Now come say good-bye to 'Mione," he whispered in Ron's ear. "I don't want her walking any more than she has to, and that includes a few steps down the hall."

Ron nodded and followed Harry back up the hall. He put his arms around Hermione. "G'bye, Herm," he said into her hair.

"'Bye, Ron," she replied, pulling herself away so as to breathe. "I'm sure we'll see you before school starts."

"All of you children - and that includes you, Draco Malfoy - get down here right now so they can leave in peace and privacy!" Arthur Weasley boomed from the bottom of the stairs, where he stood with his wife. They both waved good-bye as they ushered Ron, Draco, and Ginny, who squeezed Harry and Hermione's hands in farewell, down the stairs. The whole noisy group then moved into the kitchen, Ron and his father arguing while Ginny was pleading to Molly about something, gesturing to Draco.

"Now this will be easiest if you two are unconscious," Dumbledore said. Harry and Hermione looked at him in horror. "It's quite a painful mode of transportation for those who aren't accustomed," he quickly explained.

"And secret," Snape added menacingly.

"Yes, Severus. Secret," Dumbledore sighed. "So we'll just make you comfortable - cumulus - and, if you don't mind, knock you out - unconsciato."

Harry and Hermione felt themselves sinking into soft clouds, and then dark, peaceful, unconsciousness set in.

Hermione opened her eyes slowly. She knew she should awaken and let Professor Dumbledore do what he needed to do, but she was just so comfortable.

"Ah, Miss Granger. I see you're awake."

Oh, well. So much for sleeping in.

Opening her eyes all the way, she felt the cloud fall away from her back, and realized that she, Harry, and Professor Dumbledore were standing in the Great Hall. Before them, standing nervously in front of the teachers' table, were two teenagers, a girl and a boy.

Upon closer inspection of the newcomers, Hermione's jaw dropped open.

The girl looked remarkably like herself. She was a bit shorter, but had the same frizzy brown hair, though hers appeared to be tamed into a lovely mass of copper-tinged curls. She had a mature air about her but, by Hermione's guess, seemed only about seventeen or so. Her eyes were a different color than Hermione's: a mixture of blue, green, and gray; and they were hidden behind a pair of spectacles. Otherwise, however, her features were nearly exactly like those of Hermione, and as their eyes met, the older girl smiled the same smile that Hermione smiled at herself in the mirror every morning. She shook her head in puzzlement.

And the boy - he looked just like Harry! Again, the only substantial differences between the older boy, who also seemed seventeen, and Harry, were height and eye-color. This boy was at least half a head taller than Harry, and had bright blue eyes, no glasses. In every other aspect, however, from the messy black hair to the rueful grin, he and Harry, though not identical, could easily have been confused.

Hermione turned to look at Harry, who looked just as surprised as she felt. They both turned to look at Professor Dumbledore questioningly. He smiled impishly.

"Mr. Potter, I'd like you to meet your brother. Miss Granger, your sister," he said, smiling.

"I think I need to sit down," Hermione croaked.