In-Laws

Chapter Seven



As Hermione sat at the table in the kitchen, she reflected over the Christmas Eve she had with Draco. It had been a heart-felt and incredible time for the both of them.



For someone who was "smart and witty" and "Athena reborn," she never would have guessed that by fourth year at Hogwarts Draco Malfoy had fallen in love with her. The news had surprised her. All that time...



She smiled softly as she thought over what happened after. They made love again, twice. Then, they cuddled in each other\'s arms until the warden knocked on the door with a thirty minute warning. They dressed and went through the gifts Draco had received.



"I wish I could have gotten you something," he had told her remorsefully.



She just smiled sweetly "I already have my gift. I have you," she had assured him.



His smiled was more bitter than he had meant for it to be. "Yes, you have a husband who wears stripes and sleeps in a dingy box. Perfect gift! Why hadn\'t I thought of it before?" he had quipped sarcastically.



She frowned. She hadn\'t meant to hurt him. "I didn\'t mean..."



"I know what you meant," he cut her off. He sighed, losing steam. "I\'m sorry, darling. I never meant to snap at you. It\'s just... I should be the one showering you with gifts at Christmas. Not the other way around."



Remembering his comment from earlier, she gave him a coy smile. "Yes, well, goddesses tend to give gifts. It\'s our way of ensuring we\'ll be worshiped endlessly," she teased.



"Oh, I intend to," he informed her. "Once you\'ve tasted ambrosia, nothing else can satisfy your thirst. And I\'ve had more than one taste."



Hermione giggled at the memory. She never knew a person could make someone feel so special. She glanced down at the piece of parchment and smiled. She couldn\'t wait to bring Draco home.





Two Months Later...





Hermione glared at the red-haired man across the table. Never had she expected it to come down to this. "I thought we were friends," she growled.



"We are friends, Hermione," he told her, looking from her to Harry.



Harry sat to her right while Blaise lounged on her left. It was the Slytherin who gave the scathing remark, "Could\'ve fooled me. Last I checked, friends didn\'t pit themselves against one another."



"What would a Slytherin slimeball know about friends?" Ron retorted.



Blaise\'s calm, haughty demeanor did not waver. "Apparently more than the Gryffindor grime sitting across from me," he replied.



"That\'s enough, Blaise," Hermione reprimanded. "We didn\'t come here to throw insults at one another."



"Hermione is right," Harry agreed as he extracted a thick folder from his briefcase and placed them in front of Ron. "Are you sure you wish to pursue this case, Ron? We have more evidence in this folder alone to have both cases thrown out the window. We have more than three witnesses willing to testify for the Malfoys, including myself."



"The point is," Hermione interrupted, "this is a waste of time. You knew from the beginning it was a waste of time, Ronald. Furthermore, you know this is wrong. Regardless of how Draco was in school, he\'s innocent. You know he\'s innocent. And so is Lucius."



Ron\'s ears turned red. "Oh, Daddy Malfoy\'s letting you call him by his first name now, is he?" he growled, his voice dripping with venom. "I don\'t care what you say, Hermione. Those two deserve to rot in Azkaban."



She sat up straight and narrowed her eyes at him. "What proof do you have that they are guilty of the crimes you say they committed? Draco was a boy and at school when he supposedly attempted to murder you and Katie. His punishment rested in the hands of Dumbledore, who did nothing to him. Therefore, those two charges will be dismissed before they are even mentioned in court."



"Let me ask you something, Weasley," Blaise said, suddenly. He did not look up, but rather studied his perfectly manicured fingers in a bored fashion. "Let\'s pretend for a moment, shall we? Let\'s say you had been in either Lucius\' or Draco\'s shoes. The Dark Lord was threatening your family\'s lives unless you did exactly as he asked. Would you have stood idly by and let him kill them all and then kill you?"



"I would\'ve went to Dumbledore," came Ron\'s immediate reply.



"Ah, but going to Dumbledore isn\'t an option. Pay attention, Weasley," Blaise sneered. "You get two choices: either you do as you are told or watch as each member of your family is tortured and murdered."



Ron stood up and slapped his palms on the table. "Are you threatening my family?" he demanded.



For the first time, Blaise looked up. He gave the man a cold, hard stare. "No," he replied, calmly. "I am asking a question. Before you judge others and what they do, put yourself in their shoes. Or are you even capable of compassion? The only reason you are pursuing this is because you are pissed off that Hermione chose Draco over you. Love happens. It\'s not something that can be controlled. Stop putting these people through Hell. You don\'t love her."



The room fell into an uncomfortable silence. Ron just stared at Blaise in blunt shock. Finally, he managed to squeak in a very boyish way, "I do, too, love her..."



Blaise just raised an eyebrow. "Really? Then how come you can\'t let her go?" he asked. "Why are you determined to make her so miserable? Can\'t you see how much she is suffering? Are you so selfish in your \'love\' that you have to hurt her?"



Ron and Hermione stared at one another. For the first time, probably in his entire life, Ron really looked at her and saw her. He saw the bags under her eyes where she wasn\'t getting enough sleep. Her hair was in an even worse state than he last remembered. Her face was worn and pale from lack of sunlight. She was tired and stressed. Her clothes were wrinkled and tattered from misuse. Finally, he looked back into her eyes. Gone was the laughter and happiness. Her once honey eyes had turned a dull brown and looked sad.



Without a word, Ron turned on his heel and walked out of the room.

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Author\'s Note: Oh, my gods! It\'s an update! Tassana actually updated! So, what did you think?