Rose Among the Thorns

Chapter 7 ...And Petitions

Harry and Hermione Apparated into the Burrow's front garden, the delicious smell of roast, potatoes, and carrots floating out to their noses from the house's open windows, making their stomachs grumble.

Squeezed together at the table inside were Mr. Weasley, the twins, Ginny, Remus, and Percy. Mrs. Weasley was bustling about the stove pulling two loaves of freshly baked bread out of the oven. They floated over to the table, where two knives began cutting them up. She brought a steaming pot of roast to the table as Harry and Hermione took their seats.

"Thanks for inviting me," Hermione told Mrs. Weasley.

"Of course, dear," Mrs. Weasley returned with a smile, sitting next to her husband.

The family tucked into the pot roast heartily.

After the meal passed in lively discussion of the day's events and the group moved into the sitting room to listen to the wireless, Percy cleared his throat.

"So how was your day, Hermione?" he queried pleasantly.

Hermione nodded. "Not bad. I finished my fourth draft of the Werewolf Rights Act. I'll probably send it up tomorrow."

"I..." he paused. "I was returning from lunch when I thought I saw you speaking to Draco Malfoy."

Hermione nearly choked on her tea. "I...well..."

Percy continued uneasily. "You looked rather upset."

"What did Malfoy say?" Harry demanded, looking alarmingly like Ron.

"It's nothing. He was just being himself." She looked around the room, into the sea of concerned faces. "Really, it's fine," she assured them.

"Hermione, did he proposition you?" Mrs. Weasley asked kindly.

She sputtered. "No, of course not!" She looked down into her teacup, pretending to be interested in the tiny fragments of leaves swirling around.

Remus put a comforting hand on her arm. "What did he say to you, Hermione?"

Hermione sighed. "All right. He wasn't propositioning for himself," she told them, looking up into their confused faces. "He was propositioning for Goyle."

Ginny's teacup fell to the floor with a crash. Everyone goggled at her in disbelief.

"That bastard!" Harry shouted, leaping to his feet and drawing his wand. "I'll hex his balls off!"

"Harry James Potter!" Hermione cried, standing to face him. "You'll do no such thing! It was an empty threat, that's all. He just wants to frighten me."

"Hermione, Malfoys don't make empty threats," Mr. Weasley said.

"Arthur's right, Hermione. You mustn't brush this off." Remus agreed.

"Well then, what do I do?" Hermione asked. "I'll not cave in to that git for all the gold in Gringotts."

"As well you shouldn't," Mr. Weasley agreed. "According to the Law, the only way for Goyle to marry you is to be the only pureblood to petition the Ministry for you."

"And you can bet he'll get Malfoy to blackmail and bully everyone else into leaving Hermione alone," Fred said darkly.

Hermione had not thought of that. She sat back down, wringing her hands. What if no one but Goyle petitioned for her? She closed her eyes. I'll not think of that. Surely someone is brave enough not to quail against Malfoy?

"Don't worry, Hermione," Ginny said assuringly. "Someone else will petition for you."

"But what if they don't?" Harry said sharply. "I'd rather throw myself in front of the Knight Bus than to see her marry that filthy bastard."

"I'll do it," George said suddenly. "I'll petition for you."

Hermione smiled at him. "But what about Verity?" She'd been to the shop enough to seen them secretly making eyes at each other. "I won't take away your chance at happiness just because mine is threatened."

The group fell into silence.

Mrs. Weasley stood. "Well, It's getting rather late. Why don't we discuss this later? If no one else proposes, I'll have everyone over for supper and we can determine the best course of action."

Everyone agreed. Harry, Remus, Fred, George, and Percy all volunteered to see Hermione back to her flat, but she declined.

"I'm not in any immediate danger yet," she told them. "I'll be fine." She Apparated back to London and entered her flat. "I honestly doubt this could get any worse," she whispered to herself. But, knowing Draco Malfoy, she couldn't be sure.

*******

notes: This story is turning out to be a bit longer than I expected. Not a bad thing, of course. And now that summer's approaching I *might* have more time to write and update.