At First Glance

I thought I'd put up this chapter today because it's quite short.

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​Thanks! =)

Harry leapt out of his chair in front of the fireplace, where he had been digging through the giant tomes him, Ginny and Ron had picked out, as the floo crackled and came to life. "Harry?" Hermione's familiar voice, filled with worry, called through and he knelt down to see her face. 

"Hermione! I…it's…great to hear from you", he gave a wide smile and saw her smile back. 

"Yeah", she hesitated, trying to find a way to put her thoughts into words.

Harry took this time to study her. She looked radiant and he felt a lurch in his heart as he realised she looked happier than he had ever seen her with Ron. 

"How's Malfoy Senior treating you?" he asked, saving her from having to bring up the topic.

He saw the corners of her mouth curve into a small smile before she managed to put on a look of indifference, "Oh, he's been nice. I…" she looked at him. Even when she tried to carefully screen her expressions, her eyes always gave away her thoughts. Harry could now see her inner turmoil. 

"Are you happy Hermione?" he asked her. 

She nodded and whispered back, "Yes I'm…I'm happier than I've ever been Harry. And I know that's horrible after the way I treated Ron. I shouldn't feel so…" she trailed off and he saw tears begin to form in her eyes. 

"You're one of my best friends Hermione", Harry replied, drawing her attention back to him, "Don't ask me to choose between you and Ron because I can't".

"Of course not Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, "I would never ask you to do something like that!" 

"I know", Harry gave her a small but genuine smile in return. "I want you to be happy Hermione and I don't want to lose our friendship. If he makes you happy then…well…I can learn to live with it. And so can Ginny".

Hermione smiled with relief.

She didn't know how she would have felt if he had refused to be her friend. "Thank you Harry. This…means a lot to me. I love Lucius. I really do".

Harry felt like a light bulb had gone off in his head as she said these words. "A love bond?" he questioned her, having gone through a small passage on it in one of the books he had perused. 

Hermione nodded, her face lighting up with excitement, "How did you know? Have you been doing research?" 

Harry shrugged and mumbled "Maybe", another smile gracing his face as he heard her peals of laughter.

"We should meet up sometime soon. Me, Ginny, you and…Lucius", he couldn't repress the slight shudder that raced through him at the use of his name. Harry had faced Lucius' wrath many times. He was sure the man hated him as much as Voldemort had! 

"That sounds great Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, almost brimming over with happiness, "We'll make plans later. I need to go now. Still some loose ends to tie up", she gave him a small wave, which he just managed to return before she closed the floo connection.

He sat there for a moment, staring at the, now orange flames of the fire. A soft hand came to rest on his shoulder and he smiled as he got up, turning around to pull Ginny into his arms. "Hermione?" she asked, already knowing the answer. 

Harry nodded and gave her a quick kiss. "She's happy", he said as they began to walk out of the room. 

"That's all that matters in the end", Ginny reminded him gently, clasping his hand in hers as they headed for the garden, to check on the wreck that was Ronald Weasley.