It had been a few days since arriving at Hermione's home, and neither of them really liked Mark any more than they did since arriving there; which was to say, not very much. He didn't seem like a bad guy to Jake, but it was the way he presented himself that rubbed Jake the wrong way.
Jake didn't really understand it, but he hoped Mark was the exception for others in the Stock Market business and not the baseline. As Hermione would have probably put it, Mark was a right prat.
Hermione's mother seemed to realize it, but also seemed to be giving him the benefit of the doubt. Hermione was flabbergasted as to why her mother would do such a thing like that, but when she asked her mum, Jane sidestepped the question.
That wasn't like her at all, but Hermione gave up on the Second day.
Christmas was not far off now; he had gotten Hermione the perfect present this year. Or at least, he hoped it was. Jake had constantly forgotten her Birthday, and vice versa, so he felt like he couldn't really say about his gift.
What he'd gotten her was a book she'd talked about last year, but obviously no Author was ever going to actually publish it, so he'd do so himself. He had bought a copy of the book over the summer at Flourish and Blotts, and did some Charm magic at the Tower to create the version of the book Hermione wanted. It talked about every single aspect that the original copies didn't touch upon, and when his Charms had been properly applied, he changed the name to be appropriate for the Updated Edition; Hogwarts: The Complete History . He also Charmed it to update in real-time any detail, big or small, that wasn't something menial like every time someone took a piss.
It did record events like Harry stopping Quirrell from getting the Stone, himself slaying a Basilisk, the Triwizard Tournaments events including Cedric's death at the hands of Pettigrew, just to name a few things. He felt proud and accomplished, and hoped Hermione liked the book as much as he imagined she would. Although, he'd have to give it to her in private as Mark couldn't be allowed to know of Magic of any sort. The same with Hermione's father's new girlfriend, any magical gifts would have to be kept secret.
To cover for the fact he otherwise didn't have a present for Hermione, he got her something else that was much more expensive, but given his vast wealth, it was barely even pocket change. He wasn't sure how much Hermione was for earrings, seeing as he never saw her wearing them, but maybe she'd start if he gave her the ones he'd gotten.
They were Ruby Earrings, and the cost of them ended up being £54,115.66, which in USD was $65,664.36. He was afraid of telling her the price of them, unless he wanted to see her faint, which he didn't really want to. The necklace he got for her in Second Year, he hadn't told her how much it cost, but it also wasn't cheap, costing £48,896.80, or $59,331.76. The earrings were obviously more expensive, but his love for Hermione was limitless, and he'd go to any length to show how much he truly loved her.
It was Christmas Eve, and it had snowed the previous day, about thirty centimeters deep from what Hermione could tell. She and Jake discussed going to see Harry, Ron, and the other Weasley's at St. Mungo's on the Twenty-sixth, as she wanted Christmas spent with Jake to be special. They could've gone earlier in the week, but Hermione's mum needed a lot of help in and around the house, and she recruited the two teens to help her.
They didn't complain, especially Jake with the more physical tasks, but Hermione would have rather been flexing her brain muscles and not her arm and leg muscles. Jake spent all of the Twenty-third shoveling snow out of the driveway and walkway of the home. He might have overdone it as his body hadn't been completely back to one-hundred percent, but he didn't show any signs of discomfort to Hermione or Jane.
On Christmas Eve, however, he offered to Hermione a trip to the park to spend some time with her away from the adults. Mark was becoming more unbearable on the days leading up to Christmas as he went out with his buddies every evening to drink and got home in the middle of the night usually. If it weren't against the Statute of Secrecy, or Merlin's original Order where Muggles were to be protected from malicious Magical use, he'd have put a Silencing Charm on Mark already. On the bright side Mark wasn't a violent drunk, just a cheerful, but obnoxious one.
Hermione had accepted his outing to the park in spite of the cold weather. The nature scenes were still delightful to observe, and beautiful in the soft layers of snow. "I used to come here when I was younger to escape the miserable life I had at school," she said to him in a quiet voice, "particularly over there in the slightly thicker part of the shrubbery," she pointed to a place as they walked, "there was a small opening in the green setting, the canopy of the trees just slightly broken enough to allow sunlight to creep through. It was beautiful to be there, but it's a bit small for two teenagers to be in."
"Well," Jake got her attention, "it's small for two teenagers that don't have devious intentions."
"Jake!" Hermione playfully scolded him, but now her thoughts were filled with lewd desires.
"Tell me I'm wrong," he said to her, but she just let her cheeks burn. They were already red from the cold, but now they were burning from Jake's suggestive speech.
"Prat," she said, but grabbed his hand and led him further into the park.
"At least I'm your prat," he said as he was dragged by his girlfriend in every way but an official sense.
"True," she said and smiled while he couldn't see it. Up ahead she saw a mistletoe tied to a light post and she hoped he hadn't seen it. She stopped underneath it and turned to him, "I'm really glad to have you in my life, Jake."
"I'm glad to have you in mine as well, Hermione..." he trailed off, and spoke after a moment of silence, "without you, I'm not sure I could've survived the past four years. It was always you, and I should've accepted it sooner."
Her heart was going to burst with love for him, "You know... we're standing under a mistletoe..."
"I know," he smiled at her, "I saw it before you did."
She grabbed his jacket, "Then shut up and kiss me," she pulled him down to her and his hands went behind her back. The kiss was deep and passionate, and was broken up by some kids younger than them.
"Eeewwwww!" Both of them heard. They split apart and looked over and down to see what looked like three Eight or Nine Year Olds.
"What happened to your eye?" One of them asked.
"I ran with scissors," he said in response. As he hoped, they all had horrified looks on their faces, "Have you three run with scissors before?" They all hesitated, but nodded, "Then unless you want to be a Pirate reject, I suggest you stop."
Faces stricken with terror, they all ran through the snow away from them, "Was that necessary?" Hermione asked, but her voice was light and playful.
"No," he looked down at her, "but I should have the right to have some fun with people who ask, especially Muggles since I can't tell them exactly why."
"I guess, but you probably gave those kids nightmares," she said with a smirk.
"Probably," he smirked back down at her.
She gave him a light peck on the lips, "Come on, let's go a bit further into the park."
"On your six," Jake said. Hermione looked at him briefly, but then realization hit her and she just shook her head, turning around and walking ahead of him.
They walked for about five more minutes, and Hermione cleared off a bench to sit down. Before she could, Jake sat down and pulled her onto his lap. She let out a yelp and suddenly found her bum sitting on his lap. If her face wasn't red before, it definitely was now after his arms snaked around her midriff, pulled her against him, "Jake, th-that's not f-f-funny!"
"I'm not laughing," he smirked as he held her in place.
"Let me go!" She struggled against his hold on her. He was much stronger than her, so the chances of her getting out of his grasp was nil. That didn't mean she wasn't going to try.
She struggled in his arms for a few minutes, but he wasn't relenting his hold on her. "Gonna have to try harder than that, Hermione."
"I'm trying as hard as I can!" She said loudly.
"Granger? Hermione Granger?" A voice said off to their left.
Hermione stopped struggling, and Jake's hold became non-existent as they looked towards the source of the interruption. Hermione didn't immediately recognize the three girls that appeared before them, "Do I know the three of you?"
"Has it been that long since Little Miss Know-it-All saw us?" The girl in the middle taunted.
"Your memory not as great as you pretended it was?" The girl on their left said.
"And who are you three?" Jake asked. Hermione stood up and Jake stood up with her.
The looks on their faces didn't go unnoticed by either of them, "Who's the fit bloke with the eyepatch, Granger?"
"Her boyfriend," Jake answered.
"Yeah right, Granger couldn't get a boyfriend if she tried. She's too bookish, she's unattractive, she's got massive front teeth, and she couldn't excite a man if she tried. How about you come with me to somewhere quiet, I can show you a real good time," the girl in the middle said.
She might have been physically attractive, but the way she treated Hermione made her ugly in Jake's eye, "I'm sorry, I don't take used goods." All three girls in front of them, and Hermione, gasped, "Hermione loving books is one thing I love about her, she's definitely more beautiful than you three, her teeth are cute, and she excites me every second she and I are next to one another."
Hermione looked up at him and thought she'd heard things. Even with how she and him have been behaving towards one another, she really excited him that much, and that boosted her self-esteem through the proverbial roof. "If you really are Granger's boyfriend, prove it."
Jake turned to Hermione, and he knew what line he wouldn't cross in front of others. He leaned down, captured her lips with his, and slipped his tongue into her mouth. To really prove it, he began unzipping her outerwear. She opened her eyes and gasped into his mouth, but he held her close to him and their lips remained connected.
He stopped when the middle girl started talking again, Hermione zipping back up her outerwear, "I can't believe it... how much did she pay you?"
He turned to her, "What's the matter, can't handle the truth?"
"How much did she pay you to be her boyfriend? There is no way Granger could get a legitimate boyfriend!" The girl said in denial.
"What's your name?" Jake asked her.
"Nadine Summers," she answered.
"Well, Nadine Summers... I hate to break it to you, but I am in love with Hermione Granger. She didn't pay me anything, this isn't for pretending in front of you three, this is real what she and I have, and if you three can't accept that, then this conversation is over," Jake gave the girls an ultimatum.
Instead of waiting for them to respond, he grabbed Hermione by the hand and led her past the three girls, two of which he didn't even know the names of, and away from them. He wasn't going to stand there and let Hermione be talked down to by anyone.
"Hey!" Jake heard from behind. Before he could turn around, he felt Hermione get jerked around. In his peripheral, he saw Hermione's left shoulder get grabbed and she was turned around. He too turned around and saw that Nadine was about to hit Hermione. Before Nadine's fist could connect to Hermione's face, Jake had grabbed Nadine by the throat, and was walking her backwards as she was suspended in the air.
Jake was furious, "You made the wrong choice."
"Y-You wouldn't h-hurt a girl, w-w-would you?" Nadine choked out.
"I'd kill you if you severely harmed Hermione," Jake whispered evilly.
Nadine had a look of fear in her eyes. Jake dropped her, and she scrambled to her feet, "You're fucking insane! You're a psychopath!"
A howling of wind was heard in the silence as strong winds blew through the park, "Attack Hermione again, and you'll see a psychopath."
Nadine and her friends, terrified that they found themselves in a real life slasher film, ran for their lives through the park. Hermione walked up beside Jake, "I think you may have overdone it a bit."
"Who were those girls? From back before you attended Hogwarts?" He asked her.
"Yeah... Nadine was always the worst, though... the worst thing she ever did was when I was five... w-well... s-something I've never told you... at one point I had no hair..." Hermione said bashfully.
"No hair? What did she do?" Jake asked Hermione as they walked some more.
"She caught my hair on fire... it wasn't as long as it is now, but it was still longer than a lot of girls my age... and after that I was completely bald for months... all because I was the smartest in my age group..." Hermione sighed, giving Jake's hand a gentle squeeze, "I didn't let it deter me, though... it reinvigorated my drive to be the best, and until I met you... I was..."
Jake looked down at the snow a bit shamefully, "Sorry about that..."
"Don't be sorry," Hermione stopped and tugged on his hand to get him to look at her, "I knew there was no way I could compete with you after learning of your ancestry. The Ambrosius bloodline, for the most part from what I gathered, were some of the most intelligent Witches and Wizards to ever live. They founded MACUSA and for years were in control of it. You've got an entire bloodline behind you."
"That makes your intelligence all the more special, Hermione," Jake countered, "I have no doubt your parents are intelligent, but you seem to be the most intelligent of your own bloodline. You are the most intelligent Witch of our age, probably the most intelligent I've ever met..." he trailed off and looked into one of her eyes, "never lower your worth for anyone... not even me."
"I've never had to, and I never will have to," she said and brought him in for another kiss. By now they had both gotten pretty good at smashing their lips together, able to work together to make it filled with more love between them then ever before.
They had managed to migrate to an area with people all around them, and despite it being the winter, it suddenly got even colder. Jake's heart rate became elevated, his breathing erratic, 'No...' he looked around frantically, noticing that other people around them were becoming unlike themselves, 'not here... Umbridge... you fucking bitch...'
In the distance, he saw the horrible atrocity that he feared to see in this public area; he saw a Dementor, and it was slowly approaching him and Hermione. Hermione, obviously, felt the effects of the Dementor as well, and she heard screaming. It was familiar, but she couldn't place the origin of the voice. She glanced back to Jake and his face was stone cold. He was the only one around who could handle a Dementor, after all.
She looked back to the Dementor and as it slowly approached, the snow around it melted, the grass that was revealed underneath grayed and died. Dementors sucked out all of the happiness from the air, and everyone around them all went into temporary catatonic states, finding themselves to be void of happiness, but they wouldn't be able to explain why.
She turned back to Jake, and she saw his lips moving, but for some reason she found herself unable to hear his words. He turned to her and spoke again, but again nothing was heard. She was able to read his lips, though, and he asked, 'Can you hear me?'
"No..." Hermione said.
'You can read my lips, though,' she read from his lips, 'Even with these people around, I have to handle that Dementor.'
"Okay," she said, and when Jake stepped in between her and the Dementor, her hearing returned to her, because she heard Jake use the Patronus Charm.
His wand raised, he said, " Expecto! Patronum! " An Alligator flung from his wand and swam through the air towards the Dementor, seriously injuring it and driving it off. He turned to Hermione, "Now I've got to alter the memories of everyone around here-" he stopped speaking when an Owl arrived before him, much faster than it probably should have.
Hermione's heart sank, "No..."
He took the letter from the Owl, which flew away immediately, and he read the letter aloud so Hermione could also know what it said:
Dear Mr. Kidd,
We have received intelligence that you performed the Patronus Charm at Twelve minutes past Eleven this morning in a Muggle-inhabited area and in the presence of several Muggles.
The severity of this breach of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery has resulted in your immediate summons for a disciplinary hearing at the Ministry of Magic. Ministry Representatives are on their way to apprehend you and destroy your wand, please remain where you are.
Hoping you are well,
Yours sincerely,
Mafalda Hopkirk
Improper use of Magic Office
Ministry of Magic