Surprisingly enough, Hermione was more amused by the awkward appearance of Ron and Claire than anything else. The way they actively avoided even looking in her direction was enough to make her chuckle.
"What's up?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow at her curiously.
"I'm not sure if they're trying to ignore the fact that I'm here or what," Hermione said with a smile, nodding towards the newest arrivals as they chatted with George on the other side of the tent.
"I honestly though that was kind of funny as well," Ginny said from the other couch, grinning at Hermione. "Claire's especially avoiding it."
"When was the last time you saw either of them?" Harry asked as he wrapped an arm around Morgan and brought his leg up to rest his ankle over his other knee. "It's been a while, right?"
"The last time I saw Ron was when you two visited me at St. Mungo's," Hermione said as she thought it over. "And Claire was when she insisted we have lunch and talk; that was back in June when he signed the divorce papers finally."
Draco smiled at this, taking her hand and squeezing it.
"I feel really horrible for asking because I feel like I'm drudging up stuff..." Morgan started with a concerned look. "...but how are you able to be even in the same space as them right now? I would've hexed them both into oblivion by now."
Hermione laughed at this, glancing towards Ron and Claire who were still actively avoiding looking at their group. "Honestly in the beginning I was tempted to do that. But in truth, and I even told Claire this in our little chat; the truth is that I've moved on to a much better relationship with Draco, and I'm so much happier now."
She smiled up at him and he smiled in return, pulling her hand to him to kiss the back of it as she looked back at Morgan. "Ron and I were silently falling apart already by the time he and Claire started their thing, so it was only a matter of time before it happened."
"How could you forgive them that easily though?" Morgan asked.
"Oh, I haven't forgiven them," Hermione said with a small laugh. "I could probably never forgive them. I've just moved on from it though because I don't want to put my energy into actively hating them when I need it for other things such as work and my life with Draco."
Morgan blinked in surprise but smiled at this. "I can understand that. Well, at least good things came from that horrible situation."
She felt Draco squeeze her hand again and she smiled, leaning into him. Not long after, Molly called out that Christmas dinner was ready and after magicking the couches and chairs away, the space was filled with a long table large enough to fit the group of seventeen. Arthur sat at the head of the table while Molly sat to his left; across from her sat Bill and Fleur with Angelina and George next to them. Harry took the spot next to George and Morgan took the chair next to him, which sat her next to Hermione while Draco took the end of the table. Blaise sat across from him and Ginny next to him across from Hermione, and Charlie happily plopped into the chair next to her.
"Looks like I've got the best seat here," He joked, grinning at the group of them.
Ginny laughed, giving her brother a playful nudge before looking across at Hermione. Hermione, however, was watching an interesting scene unfold as Percy and his wife, Audrey, took the seats directly next to Molly, which left the only available seats on the other side of Charlie.
Ron helped Claire sit next to Audrey before taking the chair next to Charlie, sitting directly across from Harry. The two exchanged nods before Ron glanced nervously at Hermione, who ignored him as Charlie began asking her questions about her work.
"You're still working with werewolves, right?" He asked with a smile.
"Yes, I actually became Head of the Beings division earlier this year," Hermione replied happily.
Draco took her hand and proudly said, "She's been making great strides in bridging the gap between wizard and werewolf relations, and making it easier for them to integrate into society."
"That's wonderful!" Charlie said. "I can't imagine that's an easy task given all of the misconceptions regarding those inflicted with lycanthropy."
"No, it's definitely not," Hermione sighed.
"But there's not one else better suited for that task than Hermione," Draco added, giving the back of her hand a kiss.
"She'll get society to change out of sheer force of will and stubbornness," Ginny said, grinning across the table at her friend.
"Again, no one better suited for that task," Harry said, gesturing towards Hermione with a grin. "She's definitely a stubborn person."
"I am not!" Hermione huffed.
Draco patted her hand and smiled. "Yes, dear, but it's a good thing in this case."
She couldn't help but smile in return as Morgan nudged her arm and asked, "So, since you are working on making life better for werewolves, does that mean you are working on a cure for lycanthropy?"
Ginny and Blaise both looked up at this, giving Hermione and Draco nervous looks. Ron's attention was now focused on the conversation, but Hermione ignored him as she looked at Draco, receiving a reassuring nod before she turned back to Morgan.
"Actually...we are working on a potion that has the potential to be the closest thing to a cure," Hermione said slowly.
Morgan's eyes went wide and Harry leaned forward to stare at Hermione, while Charlie gaped at her.
"What?" Harry asked. "Did I hear that right?"
"How close are you to this?" Morgan asked quickly. "That's absolutely revolutionary!"
"It's not necessarily a cure per se," Hermione explained, putting a hand up to try and calm the other three down. "As of right now it only prevents the spread of lycanthropy from bites; it doesn't cure the inflicted person. It's also still very much under wraps so please do not speak about it outside of this table."
"That's still a large achievement!" Morgan said excitedly. "That can essentially eradicate lycanthropy within a generation or two if people take it! It will prevent new werewolves from being created!"
"Yes, but the potion still isn't perfect and it doesn't make the werewolves calm and harmless like the Wolfsbane potion does," Hermione explained.
"Is there a way to combine the two potions?" Charlie asked curiously.
"Not a way that has been found yet," Draco answered instead, sighing unhappily.
"What do you know about this project, Draco?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.
This made Draco grin and he opened his mouth to answer but Hermione beat him to it. "Draco's actually helping fund this side project of mine and is also providing a team of potion brewers and researchers. The Ministry wouldn't have given me the funding for this considering how risky it is. Right now it's a side project that I work on during my own time, and Draco is also helping me with that."
Harry looked between the two of them before his brow furrowed and he glanced down at Hermione's arm for a moment before looking back up at her. Hermione held his gaze and subtly shook her head before he nodded and looked away.
As Charlie and Morgan were both deep in conversation about how revolutionary the potion was, Hermione turned to look back at Ginny and Blaise but something shiny caught her eye. She paused, realizing exactly where the glint of light was coming from.
The ring on Claire's left hand.
She blinked, staring at the smaller ring for a little longer before glancing up, catching Claire's eye. Claire froze, staring at Hermione while using her thumb to turn the ring around so that the small diamond was no longer visible. She then put her hands in her lap, breaking eye contact to look down at her plate.
Ron looked at Claire and said something quietly to her; when she replied without looking at him, he immediately looked at Hermione with wide eyes. She looked at him for a few moments before forcing a smile and looking away, trying to distract herself with her plate of food.
Ginny seemed to notice that something was off with Hermione now, reaching under the table with her foot to nudge her friend's leg.
"What's up, 'Mione?" Ginny asked. "You look like you found a fly in your wine and you're trying to convince yourself the wine's still alright."
Hermione forced a small laugh at this but shook her head. "It's nothing, don't worry about it."
Ginny raised an eyebrow at this but dropped the subject, and as much as Hermione tried not to, she couldn't help but glance back over at Claire and Ron. They seemed to be deep in a quiet discussion about something, almost arguing. After a few moments they seemed to come to a resolution, one that Claire looked rather unhappy about, and Ron was just about to stand up when George cleared his throat.
"So, Angelina and I have an announcement," He started excitedly, standing up and pulling Angelina to him.
Angelina seemed to be buzzing with excitement as she blurted out, "I'm pregnant!"
The entire table burst with happiness as Molly let out a cry of excitement, immediately standing up and rushing around the table to embrace the two of them. Ginny and Charlie jumped up as well, joining the group of Weasleys that had formed around George and Angelina. Hermione laughed at the chaos on her side of the table, waiting for her turn to congratulate the couple as she focused on that and forced the other couple to the back of her mind.
She decided to go into the office that next day for a little bit, mostly to just make sure that nothing major had happened to any of her clients. Christmas was a holiday of mixed emotions for her clients, as some could spend it with families and others were separated from their loved ones, so she made it a personal mission to check in with those who were separated to make sure they were alright.
After only ten minutes of sitting at her desk, a knock on her door made her look up and she blinked. "Harry? What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same question," He laughed, stepping into her office and sitting down in one of the chairs in front of her desk. "Isn't there an all-important gala that you should be preparing for?"
She laughed at this and shook her head. "Narcissa is checking in with the vendors today, she seemed rather happy to do that. I don't think she's used to having help so I was perfectly fine with her doing all of that today."
Harry watched her curiously, noticing that something seemed off. He recognized that look on her face, and it had been a while since he had seen it.
"Hermione, what's bothering you?" He asked quietly.
She paused, staring down at a piece of paper in her hands and debating whether or not to tell him. After a few moments she set the paper down with a sigh and shook her head.
"It's absolutely ridiculous," She started with a small laugh. "I don't even know why it's bothering me."
"It's Ron and Claire, isn't it?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
She nodded and then looked up at him. "They're engaged."
He blinked a few times in surprise. "How do you know that?"
"I saw the ring on her hand yesterday," Hermione sighed, shifting in her chair to lean sideways. "Claire noticed that I saw it and immediately hid it."
"I can't imagine that the reason you're bothered by this is lingering feelings for Ron after what happened," Harry said, tilting his head to the side. "So what about this is bothering you?"
"Merlin, no; there are no lingering feelings for him," She said sternly before faltering, opening and closing her mouth a few times as she tried to find the words. "I can't really describe it. It's not so much jealousy as it is...disappointment? I don't know..."
"I think I understand," Harry nodded. "Were you maybe hoping their relationship would fall apart because of how it started?"
"Not really, but why get engaged that quickly?" She asked.
"Maybe he thinks that getting engaged to her will help him get over you," Harry shrugged.
"What?" Hermione gave him a confused look.
Harry sighed heavily, shifting to lean forward in the chair and looking at her. "The last time I talked to Ron was when you were in the hospital two months ago. He was worried about you, and told me he still loved you."
Hermione frowned, rubbing her temple in frustration. "So you think he's rushing things with Claire in an attempt at forgetting me?"
"Maybe not forget, but to at least get over his feelings for you," Harry said. "And we could be wrong, maybe he does love her and really wants to be with her. Maybe it isn't even an engagement ring."
Hermione sighed then in frustration, shaking her head again as she looked at the wall. "Why is this bothering me, Harry? I have no feelings for him, and I'm happy with Draco. So why is this getting to me?"
"Because at one point you know that was you, happy with him," Harry said quietly. "I understand because that's how I felt when I saw Ginny and Blaise together for the first time. Even though we ended on good terms, there was still that feeling of 'what could have happened'."
She looked back at him and asked, "How did you get past that?"
"Well, I remembered that we were both happier now where we were, and honestly I wouldn't change my past with Ginny for anything," He said with a smile. "But we are both where we need to be now, and that's what matters. Regardless of what happens between Ron and Claire, you are with Draco and that's where you belong. I can see the love between you two, and I know for a fact that you are happier. It may be hard to fight those feelings of 'what if', but they go away, I can assure you of that."
Hermione smiled at this and said, "Thanks, Harry."
"Of course!" He then tilted his head again, giving her a curious look. "Speaking of Draco...where was he when you were in the hospital?"
She froze. It took her a moment to regain her bearings but when she did, she stiffly asked, "What do you mean?"
"The only people in that room when Ron and I came in were Blaise and Ginny," Harry said slowly. "I would think that as someone who loves you as much as he does, he would have been right by your side."
"He was busy," Hermione said quietly, refusing to break eye contact with him.
"Wasn't that also the night of the full moon?" Harry asked.
She didn't answer; she couldn't even think of an answer at that moment. Harry waited patiently but after a few moments of silence he let out a sigh.
"Hermione, what really put you in the hospital that night?" He asked quietly. "You weren't splinched, were you?"
Swallowing the lump in her throat, she shook her head but didn't say anything. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck and looked down. "So I'm guessing the worst happened?"
Instead of answering, she slowly pulled the sleeve of her shirt up to reveal the scars on her forearm. Harry looked at them quietly before looking back at her.
"So that's how you found out the potion prevented the transfer of it," He said.
She nodded, pulling her sleeve back down as she said, "It was originally supposed to be a cure. The person who tested it on themselves didn't take the Wolfsbane potion so as not to tamper with this potion, and so they were not docile as they would have been."
"And that person was...?" Harry asked, though he seemed to already know the answer.
And when Hermione didn't answer, he sighed heavily, leaning back in the chair. "I definitely was not expecting that."
"You and me both," Hermione laughed before giving him a serious look. "You aren't going to tell anyone, right?"
"You really need to ask me that?" He raised an eyebrow but gave her a half-grin. "He and I may have been archenemies in school but I wouldn't do that to him, or to you."
"Better not," She said, returning the grin. "Because guaranteed he would be the least of your worries."
"Which is why I'm not going to say anything," He laughed before standing up, putting his hands in his pockets. "I'm going to get out of your hair now; is there anything you need?"
"I should be alright; I'll be leaving after I send off these letters," Hermione said, holding up the papers in question.
"Alright then, I will see you tomorrow night then!" He turned away for a moment before turning back. "Do me a favor?"
She raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"Next time you try one of those experiments," He started. "Let me know, okay? I can join at a moment's notice if things go wrong."
She smiled then and nodded. "Thank you, Harry."
He returned the smile and turned away again, leaving her to her letters.