Second Chances

“Hermione?” The voice sounded distant but the most she heard was the pity that laced the uttering of her name, “Hermione, you have to drink this, you’re going to kill yourself if you keep this up.”

She knew the voice belonged to Molly Weasley but she didn’t care. If she opened her eyes she knew she would see the pity and the anger. They thought she had been duped by an evil man not loved him as the fallen angel that he was. She felt arms pulling her up to sit and she pushed against the soft body of Molly.

“Stop this right now young lady.” Molly’s motherly reprimand made her open her eyes and look at her. They were in the Burrow, Ginny’s room by the looks of it. When had she been taken from her home. Her hands automatically searched around her until she felt the familiar fabric of Barty’s jacket. She’d spent hours crying to herself wrapped in it until she lost track of the time and even where she was. “I didn’t let them take that from you.”

Hermione looked back at Molly, she didn’t see pity or anger, only compassion, “Thank you,” her voice was a hoarse whisper that sounded nothing like her.

“Drink this.” Molly said, forcing a goblet into Hermione’s hand. “Ginny brewed it for you, it’ll bring you back to health. You nearly killed yourself doing what you did Hermione and what good would that have done Barty? With you dead they’d have all assumed he placed you under a love spell, one so powerful you died when he was taken.”

“What?” Hermione looked at Molly, taken by surprise at her words. She believed that he was good? That he wasn’t the same man he had been?

“Drink, I’ll talk.” Molly said, sitting back in her chair and picking up her knitting that had been working away beside her as usual. “Barty is not the lad he once was Hermione. I know it from seeing him for myself.”

“You’ve seen him?” Hermione nearly choked on a sip of the sweetened potion, “How is he? What’ve they done to him?”

“He’s alive.” Molly replied, gravely, “A little worse for wear but judging by how you look physically you’ll understand why. Auror’s aren’t very merciful when they find what they see as a bad apple. They’re a little disillusioned, they thought when the war was one they’d get to live the quiet life. Not true. People forget that even before Voldemort there was evil in the world.”

“No,” She sighed and paused her knitting before she continued, “I saw him where they’re holding him. I knew Barty when he was a boy or rather a teenager. He was a bad apple then, rude. Think of him like Malfoy, that's pretty much how he was. The man I saw though, that was not the Barty I know him to be. I know that if you can love him then it's more than just an act. You'll have made him prove himself, more than even an Auror would. You, my dear, are the ultimate test of a man.”

“They didn’t believe me,” Hermione whispered, putting down the empty goblet and pulling the jacket up to her face.

“They wouldn’t have,” Molly said, smiling, “To them you acted like a woman besotted by magic. I know you’re not. No, there’s not a man who would dare do such a thing to you. You’re passion itself Hermione. Have always been. To magically harness such passion would undoubtedly kill you and him. What you feel is genuine, powerful love for him and I trust that. I’ve spoken with Harry-”

“Harry…” Hermione voice broke at the name, this was all his doing.

“Do not judge him too harshly, he did what he thought best.”

“You don’t understand,” Hermione said, looking up at the ceiling and gripping the jacket harder, “Harry, he’s…”

“He’s having an affair,” Molly said quietly, Hermione’s eyes flashed to hers, “I know he’s been sleeping with someone else Hermione and the events of the last few days point straight to you.”

“How did you…?”

“It’s amazing how people underestimate me.” Molly sighed, “I can see what’s right in front of me you know. I thought at first that Harry was just playing the field through fear of letting himself love Ginny with all his heart. Afraid that if he loved her too much he’d loose her, so I let it slide. Now I know different.”

She put down her knitting and linked her hands in her lap looking at Hermione, “Harry’s besotted with you Hermione. I believe he’s felt some kind of ownership of you since back at Hogwarts and when he consummated it physically he felt he sealed the deal that you were his, if not consciously then at least subconsciously. The fact you proved you loved another more than him made him act as he would never have normally acted.”

“But you didn’t see what he did.” Hermione pleaded, needing someone to feel anger at Harry with her.

“None of those marks were Barty’s doing, including the bite mark. Believe me Hermione I don’t have to have an imagination to work out what he did or least tried to do.” Molly’s expression softened and she leant forward, stroking Hermione’s tear stained face, “You’re a better woman than this Hermione. You’re above this, take the higher ground. I want you to get cleaned up, get dressed and come down stairs. There’s no one in the house aside from Ginny and me, Aurthur's on guard duty. Once your downstairs we’ll talk; seriously talk about what you want.”

Molly climbed to her feet and went to the door, she was about to leave when Hermione’s voice stopped her, “Thank you, for what you’ve done for me.”

Molly turned and smiled at her saying, “You deserve nothing less,” before she disappeared out the door and down the stairs.