The New Minister

As I walked through the front door of Ron’s house, I found not only my best friend and ex-lover, but also the countenance of my other long-lost best friend. ‘Hey, Harry,’ I said with a smile. ‘We haven’t seen you for ages. How are you? How was America?’

He was sitting at Ron’s table with my three year old godson, Hugo, on his lap. ‘Hey, Hermione, I’ve been good. It was good getting away from everything for a while, you know?’

‘So you’re back for good now?’ I asked, not able to get rid of my smile.

‘Yup,’ he said. ‘Ginny and I are sick of Florida.’

‘Oh, Harry, that’s wonderful!’ I said, hugging him awkwardly while he was still sitting with my godson on his lap.

‘So Ron tells me you’re dating Malfoy,’ Harry said. Not much for beating around the bush, him.

‘Yes,’ I said with a smile. ‘If you had been around for the last five years, you would know that.’

He had the decency to give me a shy smile. ‘I needed the time away from it all.’

‘I know, Harry,’ I smiled. ‘But yes, I am dating Malfoy, and I’m in love with him, and I actually came here to tell Ron something, but I guess I can tell you, too.’ I smiled warmly at them both.

‘What is it, Herms?’ Ron asked. He was smiling at us both in a tired way. He had just gotten off a night-shift at work, and it was rather early in the morning.

‘Well,’ I smiled, and put my hand unconsciously over my stomach, a move which warranted both of their gazes towards said hand and said stomach. ‘I’m pregnant.’

Ron’s grin filled the room. He stood up and hugged me so hard I could barely breathe. ‘That’s great, Hermione!’ he said. ‘I was hoping that Hugo and Garreth would have a cousin soon.’

I smiled. Ron was so easy to please. I loved being around him. He absolutely lit up the room when he was happy. Harry just looked at me with a confused glance. ‘Godric, I missed a lot when I was away. First I had never met this little bundle of joy,’ he said, nodding to the toddler on his lap, ‘And I didn’t even know that you were serious enough with Malfoy to be happy about having his baby.’

‘We’ve been together for over three years, Harry,’ I said. ‘And even though we aren’t married yet, I know it’ll happen at some point.’ However, this was a lie, as I still (even with Malfoy’s constant words of love) had the irrational fear that in six months when he came back into his family wealth and inheritance that he would drop me faster than a twenty-quid slag and take up house with a nice, sensible pureblood girl. I would not mention this fear to anyone, though, as I know that their response would be the same. No, Hermione, he would never do that to you. This didn’t assuage my fears in the slightest.

‘I know,’ Harry smiled. ‘And I’m happy for you, if you’re happy. I just feel like I’ve been away for so long that I’ve missed so much, and it’ll be hard to get back into the world that I’ve been away from for so long.’

‘You’ll do fine, Harry,’ I said. ‘Are you staying here with Ron then?’ I asked. Ron and I both lived in Manchester now; Ron because it was halfway between London and Galloway, and me and Malfoy because it was a good distance away from London, and close to friends.

‘For a bit,’ he said. ‘But I’ll be looking for my own place as soon as possible.’

‘That’s probably a good thing,’ I said with a laugh. In a stage whisper, I said: ‘Ron and Sarah have really, really loud sex.’

Harry and Ron both laughed. Harry’s laugh, however, was in a slightly embarrassed way, whereas Ron’s was in the fashion of his mind recalling a certain memory of the happenstance.

‘Well, I have to get back to work,’ I said. ‘But I’ll see you guys later tonight, if that’s all right. Malfoy’s still in Hong Kong, so I’ll be free tonight if you guys want to hang out.’

‘Sounds great, Herms,’ Ron said. ‘I’m going to crash now, though.’

‘Okay, night Ron. Bye Harry. Bye, Hugo.’

‘Bye, Aunt Meemee!’ Hugo called out from his perch upon Harry’s lap.

With a last smile, I apparated back to my office.

A/N: I know, it's short. I was on holiday for two weeks in Ireland, so I didn't get much time to write. I'm sorry about that, and I will write more soon. I've also been working on an original piece called 'Vladimir,' which is under the 'Original Stories' category on my homepage if anyone wants to take a look (I'm shamelessly promoting it, hoping that I'll get at least one review on it). It's bare bones at the moment, not much description, and I only have one chapter up at the moment, but I would love some constructive criticism. Thanks so much. :D