The Apology

So I only updated the last chapter like a day ago but I thought that I would be nice and give you another one :)

Here is the sixteenth chapter of Secret Malfoy :D

THE APOLOGY

15th JANUARY 2018

Harry Potter sat in his office going over previous Auror missions. It had been exactly three weeks since Christmas day and he hadn't spoken to any of the Weasley's since. Partly because he didn't want to encounter Ron again, but mostly because of the shame he felt for reacting like that in front of his friends and family, especially the children.

The door of his office opened and his head shot up from the case he was looking at that dated back a few years. He smiled when he saw that it was his Deputy Head, Zacharias Smith.

"Good morning Zacharias," he said as the blonde took his seat behind his own desk, directly opposite Harry's. It was identical in shape but the work upon it was not, for example; Zacharias didn't have random post-it notes scattered all over his desk.

"Morning Harry, did you have a good weekend?"

Harry smiled as he remembered his weekend, he, Draco, and Blaise had stayed at Malfoy Manor whilst their spouses had been to every shop that sold baby clothing, trying to find Pansy the perfect clothes, booties, and other random baby things the guys didn't care about. Draco was the most shocked when Hermione returned with a bag just for herself.

"Hermione, we don't even know if it's a boy or a girl yet?"

"I know honey, that's why I bought something that could suit both genders," she fished a red baby grow from her bag and held it in front of Draco, waving it in his face "Isn't it great."

Draco's eyes widened at the colour "Red? What about green?"

"Green! Green is for boys," Hermione chastised, knowing full well that Draco didn't like the colour because it was the main colour for Gryffindor.

"No it's not, Quinn wore green!"

"Because we thought she was a boy," Hermione looked at her husband's sulking face "Don't get pissy Draco, I already bought them so there is nothing you can do about it." Hermione said, smirking slightly as she knew that her husband would let her keep the bright red baby grows.

"Yes I did, you?"

Zacharias' eyes glazed over slightly and Harry raised an eyebrow. His tiny smile made them rise higher.

"You didn't?"

The blonde nodded and a grin stretched onto his face "Uh huh, and she said yes!"

Harry's beamed at his deputy's happiness, for the past two weeks the former Hufflepuff had been plucking up the courage to ask his girlfriend of three years, Mandy Brocklehurst, to marry him. It would be his second marriage after his first, to Tracey Davis of Slytherin, failed due to the fact that she had been seeing Zacharias' ex-best friend, Anthony Goldstein, behind his back. They had separated five years ago, leaving Zacharias to care for their oldest daughter, Tamara, and Tracey with their younger one, Kaitlyn. Tamara was a Hufflepuff the same age as Albus and Kaitlyn was one year younger than Lily, she would be starting school this September.

"Good for you mate, Mandy's great."

"That she is Harry," Zacharias replied before looking down to evaluate the missions he had been assigned to assess.

Harry was just packing up for lunch when a short knock at his door distracted him. Zacharias had left the office just minutes before, taking Mandy out for lunch as she worked in the Office of Magical Law Enforcement, which meant that it wasn't him. Besides, it was his office too, he wouldn't knock.

"Come in?" Harry said suspiciously, raising an eyebrow as the doorknob turned and a figure walked in.

 A figure with bright red hair and freckles.

Harry's eyes narrowed as Ron closed the door behind him.

"Hey Harry,"

Harry didn't reply, instead he returned to packing up his stuff. If he was egged on enough, he was pretty sure that he would not fail to send an unforgivable Ron's way. He didn't want that though, because if caught he was bound to lose his position as Head Auror.

"Come on mate, don't be like..."

"I am not your mate," Harry spat back, his eyes still looking down, his words full of poison. He heard Ron mutter under his breath and looked up to see him shuffling in the same spot.

Harry tilted his head to one side in questioning; wondering why on earth Ron was in his office during his lunch break. The redhead had avoided him and his whole family since the incident at Christmas.

There was a pregnant pause where Harry glared at Ron whilst the latter gazed at the floor. Then the redhead opened his mouth and spoke.

"I'm sorry."

Harry scoffed, smirking slightly as he shook his head in disbelief.

"I don't believe you Weasley, why would you be sorry after all this time?"

"I've been sorry since the reunion, I wanted to say something at Christmas but that comment from Fred sent me over the edge, it just showed me how close you were to Hermione and I was just... I was just..."

"Jealous?" Harry supplied, his voice still containing some of the poison it had used before.

Ron nodded his head in shame "Yes I was jealous, I was jealous of the friendship you and Hermione had, I always have been. Even when we were dating I knew that you and she were still closer. When I hurt her I was jealous because she had gone to you after..."

"To resign," Harry replied bitterly, his voice rising "And it's your fault that she was gone for eighteen years."

Ron bowed his head in guilt before looking back up again with pleading eyes "I know, and it's about time I made that right."

Harry looked Ron up and down; trying to work out what he meant "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying," deep breath "That I want to go and apologise to Hermione, but I don't know where she works so..."

Harry was speechless; there was no way that his former friend was asking him to take him to Hermione so that he could apologise. If Draco knew that Ron was at their work place it wouldn't be pretty. He was pretty sure Hermione would act similarly too.

"No." Harry said bluntly, shaking his head as he pulled on his coat.

"Please Harry; I need to tell her that I'm sorry. What I did was wrong, I know it was; I just want her to know that I am guilty and if she never wants to see me again, well my family will never bother any of yours again."

Harry couldn't believe his ears, had Ron just said that if Hermione didn't forgive him then he would move away?

He lifted his head so he was looking into Ron's eyes; he stared for a moment before sighing and nodding his head curtly "Fine, I will take you to Hermione so you can apologise. But I would recommend that you tell Ginny before..."

"But won't she alert Malfoy?"

Harry glared at Ron "I think he deserves to be alerted, this is his wife and you did sexually assault her."

Ron gulped at the memory before nodding in agreement "Okay, when do we go?"

Harry reluctantly grabbed onto Ron's arm "Right now," then the pair of them flooed away.

Ron gaped in awe at the mighty building that was MalfoyIndustries when they arrived. The freshly landing snow making the glass walls look pure white.

"Hermione owns this place?"

"Yeah, now come on." Harry muttered, pulling the redhead behind him. Ron gulped at the expensive cars scattering the car park, seemingly intimidated.

Stepping into the glass building, Harry wiped his feet on the directed mat, Ron following his lead, before walking through to the main reception.

"Hey Marie," he called cheerfully to the plump secretary manning the desk. She waved back with a grin on her face and Ron was reminded of his own mother. He followed the boy who lived towards the lift and got inside.

A few seconds later, the pair of them stepped out and Harry marched down a fancy corridor, Ron hot on his heels.

"You go in and I'll wait here."

"You want me to go in ALONE?" Ron asked, completely flabbergasted. He shut his mouth at Harry's stern expression before gulping and pushing open the door.

Seeing his sister typing madly at a computer was a funny sight for Ron, considering he didn't even know she knew how to use one. He walked up to her and stood in front of the desk.

"Hello,"

"If you have an appointment then please take a seat," she replied, not looking up from her furiously typing fingers.

"I don't have an appointment, it's me Ginny."

Ginny Potter looked up from her computer screen and her eyes widened at the sight of her older brother.

"You!" she spat, pushing herself chair away as she stood up. In her heels she was nearly the same size as Ron and that factor scared him slightly.

"Yeah, me,"

She slapped him.

Hard across the cheek; her sharp fingernails cutting his cheek.

"What are you doing here?" she shrilled and when Ron looked inside the office that presumably belonged to Malfoy, he was happy to see it was empty.

"I need to say sorry to Hermione, Harry brought me..."

"HARRY WHAT?" she shrieked, marching around her desk so that she as beside him "MY HUSBAND BROUGHT YOU HERE?"

"Well I..."

Another slap.

 "YOU WHAT RONALD?" she countered

"I told him the whole story and he agreed to let me apologise to Hermione, but I have to see you first."

"Damn right you do, I'm calling security right now to get you off these premises," her hand reached for the phone but Ron grabbed her wrist "GET OFF ME!"

"No Ginny, you need to let me do this. I need her to forgive me or I will never forgive myself."

For some reason, the hurt in his eyes made Ginny know that her brother was speaking the truth. And for one small moment, she said small, she felt sorry for him.

She pulled her arm from his grasp before nodding curtly, as Harry had done earlier.

"Very well, I'll take you to Hermione."

Ron followed his sister out of the office and to the elevator he had just ridden in. They got in again and went up another floor. As they stepped out, Ron saw that this floor was a lot brighter than the last. The wood on Malfoy's floor was harsh and dark whereas Hermione's was bright and fresh.

Ron was surprised to see his niece Victoire talking on a phone at an identical desk as Ginny's when he entered the room.

"...my lunch break is soon Teddy now go away before I get caught..."

She said goodbye before putting the phone down and looking up, she smiled when she saw Ginny. Her face fell when she noticed Ron.

"What is he doing here?"

"He wants to apologise to Hermione,"

Victoire raised a perfectly curved eyebrow before picking up the phone again.

"Hello Mrs Malfoy, you have a visitor... no they didn't book an appointment... I think you should see them... okay goodbye," she turned back to Ron "You can go in now."

The minute Ron stepped into Hermione's office his face fell. There, leaning on Hermione's desk and feeding her a sandwich, was Draco Malfoy himself; dressed in an expensive looking grey suit with a green shirt. How very Slytherin.

Ron coughed to show he was there and the couple both looked up. It was like the whole room had been pressed on pause by the way that Hermione and Draco were looking at him. Draco's eyes were wide whilst Hermione's jaw was slackened. Then it erupted.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Draco yelled, storming over to Ron and pushing him forcefully. Ron fell back against the door, his fists clenched.

"I want to apologise," he answered "For everything I've done." He looked over at Hermione and smiled weakly "I'm sorry for hurting you over and over again; it has killed me that I could ever do that to you and our friendship."

Hermione stood up and crossed her arms before walking over to him, her five inch patent heels clacking on the floor.

"I know Ron," she said softly and Ron thought she was going to forgive him, but then he saw her stone cold eyes "But don't think this changes anything, understand?" she spat before holding out the door for him. He gulped and nodded, understanding her completely. He left the room swiftly, feeling quite proud of how smoothly that had gone.

I hope you liked it :)

Check out some of my other stories please xxx

-THGHPforever14