A.N. Hello there you! After writing WWW (pls read that if you havn't already, I'll love you forever) I wanted to give you guys something a little less...angsty...and I couldn't stop thinking about this plot line. I have about 300 more fics already in my head that but I'm hoping to make this a long one. The first chapter is already the longest one I have ever written so it looks like i might achieve that! As always, please leave me reviews! Love. Mori x
[Disclaimer, I do not own anything, it all belongs to J.K Rowling]
It was a strange feeling, the lack of immediate threat, but it was one that Hermione could get used to. It had only been a week since the battle of Hogwarts but things seemed to already be reaching some level of normality. Of course, the ministry was still is a state of disrepair, a number of its more recent staff having been Death-Eaters and others lost to the war. Kingsley Shacklebolt was commanding a steady recovery, however, and there was a tangible feeling of relief spreading throughout the wizarding community.
Hermione, on the other hand, couldn't help but feel lost. She had spent the past year thinking of little else than You-Know-Who and with little company other than Harry and Ron. Now that the war was over and he was no longer a threat, she found herself unsure of what she should do.
She had spent the past few days on a kind of autopilot. Having returned with Ron and Harry to the Burrow after the battle, she had tried to keep herself busy, helping where she could around the house. In all her time of knowing Ron, she had never seen the Burrow so full. It seemed that, driven by the risk of losing each other and their time spent apart, the whole family wanted to remain close by. The house was full to the brim and yet no-one seemed confident in what they should be doing to fill the empty space left behind by the war.
There had been a large funeral in the days following the victory to honour those allies lost and a large, stone memorial had been erected within the grounds of Hogwarts, raised into place by the wands of all remaining order members. The silver-white stone shone ethereally when the light struck it and served as a reminder for how good and light can shine through against all odds.
Hermione couldn't yet bring herself to look at it.
Other than the funeral, there hadn't been much for people to distract themselves with and so meal times had been a strangely quiet affair as far as a Weasley dinner was concerned. The scraping of cutlery was only occasionally interrupted by remarks on the weather or the rising number of gnomes in the garden.
Bedroom space had also presented an issue. As the elder Weasley boys had returned home along with their respective wives or partners and Mrs Weasley had offered a room to Andromeda Tonks and her recently orphaned grandson, Teddy, which she had quickly accepted. As a result of this overcrowding, Hermione had spent the past six nights attempting to sleep on a makeshift bed in Charlie's old room, a box room that had been converted into a storage room many years previous. She didn't mind sharing the room with the old chicken coop and the Weasley's forgotten book collection, however, as they helped to distract her from the nightly struggle of ignoring the thoughts that plagued her mind.
Tonight, however, she found to her dismay that she had managed to work her way through all the books crammed into the little room and she fell back onto the bed which creaked alarmingly under her weight. She couldn't remember the last time she had slept properly, only managing around two or three hours of intermittent rest before the nightmares woke her or a small sound caused her to snap awake. She lay in the quiet and listened to the creaks of the house as it swayed slightly in the wind and the occasional clank from the ghoul in the attic. She could hear no noise from any of the other rooms which was not unusual as she guessed it must have been about four in the morning.
Her mind was buzzing over what she had found that day when visiting the ministry and she could almost hear the strip of paper whispering to her from where she had placed it on the shelf. With a groan, she pushed herself off the bed and into a standing position before shrugging into her dressing gown and shoving both her wand and the folded-up paper into her pocket.
If sleep was to evade her, she might as well await the dawn chorus. She moved quietly out into the hall and crept down the stairs, narrowly avoiding the third step from the bottom which had a habit of quacking like a duck when stepped on. She reached the kitchen and pulled the curtains open, staring out into the blueish darkness of the morning as the balance of light began to tip into daytime's favour. She set about making herself a drink and settled into a seat by the table, quickly becoming lost in her thoughts as she stared into her cup.
A sudden bird cry pulled Hermione back to the present with a start and she looked up to find that it had grown light outside. Crookshanks had crept in at some point to join her and she stroked between his ears and down his back slowly. She stared down into the mug in her other hand and went to take a sip, grimacing when she realised it had grown cold. For a moment, she considered reheating it but shook her head and instead tipped its contents down the sink. A noise behind her made her jump and she swivelled towards it, wand half drawn.
"Can't a man get a snack in peace?" One of the twins teased her.
Her eyes flitted to the sides of his head. Right…Left.
"Fred, you can't just sneak up like that!"
The boy just laughed at her and leant against the door frame, "Sorry, Granger, next time I'll wear a bell."
The two stood in silence for a moment before Fred raised both his hands in surrender, "Are you going to continue pointing that thing at me or can I come in?"
She frowned at him and he nodded towards her outstretched arm. With sudden realisation, she lowered her wand and mumbled an apology, slipping it back into her dressing gown pocket.
"No harm done, Hermione Love. Its just that the threat of a hex tends to give a man indigestion." He grinned and he reached into the cupboard behind her, producing a half-eaten packet of what looked like chocolate digestives. He offered her one but she refused tentatively, she knew much better than to accept food from a Weasley twin.
"Suit yourself." He shrugged as he put a whole one into his own mouth. "So, what brings you to mope down here on your own then?"
"I'm not on my own, Weasley." She snapped, impatient and tired. "Crookshanks is here somewh-"
She cut short when she caught sight the orange creature's bushy end disappearing around the door and out of sight. She sighed and leant back into the counter, empty cup still clutched in her hands.
"What you see in that cat, I will never know." Fred mumbled through a mouthful of biscuit crumbs. "Do you know he bit me twice whilst you three were of on your little trips? Twice Hermione, he could have caused lasting damage!"
He waved his hand dramatically in her direction, wiggling his fingers so that she could see his non-existent wound.
Despite herself Hermione laughed and caught his wavering hand, pulling it up to her face with mock seriousness.
"Oh dear, Fred, this looks serious. You're definitely going to become a kneazle now. We should amputate this before it spreads."
He pulled his hand from hers and ruffled the top of her hair in a brotherly way before moving over to the sink to fill the kettle. Hermione felt a tug in her hand and she let go of the cup as she watched it bob through the air to settle next to Fred's on the counter. He dropped a teabag into each and turned back to her as the kettle busied itself pouring water into the cups.
"Seriously though, Granger, something's bothering you, isn't it? More than the usual 'just been in a war' thing."
Hermione frowned at him a little. It was strange, standing here with only Fred for company, seeing him without his brother for what she realised was the first time since the battle.
Come to think of it, she had never really spoken to him alone before at all.
She tilted her head to the side and sighed before moving around Fred to remove the teabags from their cups before the tea brewed too long.
"I visited the ministry today."
Fred took a glass bottle of milk from the fridge and handed it to Hermione.
"You did?" he questioned, "How are things there? Did you see Kingsley?"
She nodded as she stirred milk into the cups, turning their liquid to a pale beige before handing one to Fred who began to scoop what looked like six spoonfuls of sugar into the tiny cup.
"It's getting there, they're still on skeleton staff and the place is a mess but they should be okay. I saw him briefly but he couldn't stay for long, I really don't know how he is managing in this chaos. I think he might be over soon though, he said he would pop over when he got a chance."
Fred sipped his drink, grimaced and spooned two more scoops of sugar into his drink.
"Why were you at the ministry then, if not to see Kingsley?"
She thought for a moment, silently sipping her tea, before reaching into her dressing gown pocket to pull out the slip of paper which she handed to him.
He unfolded the strip of paper and she watched his eyes skim the writing three times as his brow furrowed.
"What is this? Where is this?"
She took the address back and shoved it quickly into her pocket, turning her back on him to hide the water that was clouding her vision.
"Hermione…Is that where your parents are?"
She swallowed and busied herself in the cupboard, acting as if she was looking for food but without any real purpose other than to distract herself.
"Is that why you went to the ministry today, to find that?"
Hermione took a deep breath in and nodded, unsure if her voice would hold out. As she turned back to him she could see Fred looking at her helplessly, unsure of what to say.
She swallowed and spoke, "Wendell and Monica Wilkins. They seem happy."
"Are you going then, to Australia? It would take that long, surely, I'm sure Kingsley would authorise a portkey for you."
"Oh… Well that's the thing," She took a quick sip of her tea before continuing, "he sort of already has."
Fred frowned at her, "What's the matter then, Granger, I would've thought you would be excited to see them again."
She paced over to Mrs Weasley's rocking chair and sat down heavily, exasperated.
"Of course I want to see them, Fred. I miss them so much. Plus, Kingsley has spoken to the muggle prime minister and all the transport and passports for flights home have been sorted, it's just up to me to go and get them."
Fred pulled out the chair nearest to her and sat down slowly, reclining into the chair with the confident laziness that both twins seemed to exude.
"Well then what's stopping you?
Hermione looked up into his eyes, ready to reply with a dismissive remark but found that something in those eyes prompted the true reason to come tumbling from her before she could stop it.
"What if they don't want me anymore, Fred? They have a life there, they are happy, who am I to take that life away from them?" She looked down to her lap guiltily, "I already took it from them once."
The feeling began to creep over her again, uneasy and familiar. A deep-rooted feeling of guilt towards how she had enchanted her parents. They had no idea, of course, but she couldn't help but believe she had done something wrong, unnaturally bending their wills and removing all traces of their only daughter.
She felt Fred's gaze and glanced up to meet his eyes. His expression was unreadable and his mouth was set into a straight line.
"Hermione…" He began.
It was strange, she realised, to hear him use her first name with such tenderness. He usually only used it when teasing her.
"You know that's not right, don't you? You were just protecting them. Merlin's sake, if it wasn't for what you did they would probably be dead!"
He was close to her now. Without realising, he had gripped her leg as he leant in to emphasis his last point. Quickly, he glanced down, realised he was touching her and shot back.
"Um..ahem… well you understand right?" She gave the smallest nod. "Righto. Brilliant."
His face had begun to flush with a pinkish tone and he drained the last of his cup.
"Seriously though, Granger, don't be afraid to get them."
He stood up and dropped his cup into the sink, "I'm going to beat the rush and get a shower in before Ron decides to wash his hair or something. I'll probably see you later?"
Hermione smiled at him and nodded. As he turned to leave, she spoke.
"Thank you, Fred."
"No worries, Love" He grinned at her and sauntered to the door where he nearly crashed into a very weary looking Harry who was on his way into the kitchen.
"Did you battle a hippogriff or something, mate, you look bloody awful" Fred chuckled.
"You Weasleys…all…snore." Harry grunted painfully, glaring at Fred who only laughed.
Whilst Hermione had managed to squeeze into the store cupboard of a bedroom alone since Ginny was sharing with Andromeda and Teddy, Harry hadn't been quite so fortunate. He was instead resigned to share with not only Ron but also Percy and Charlie and he seemed to have been treated to a chorus of snoring throughout the night.
Fred, still laughing, patted Harry hard on the back and moved out past him and Harry stumbled into a chair. His head lolled forwards and he groaned as it hit the table.
"Good morning to you too."
In reply, he held up five fingers and Hermione sipped her tea as he counted down on these fingers. When he reached zero, he turned to face her and attempted a smile.
Hermione thought to herself, not for the first time, how he looked so much happier now. A sparkle had appeared in his eyes and his scar was much more faded. A small bubble of happiness grew inside her whenever she noticed this.
A.N. I am very excited to be beginning this book! It's been in my head for a while but I finally managed to get the first bit written and I hope you enjoyed it. If you have any questions please message me on tumblr (I'm magic-in-the-average on there) or drop me a review! I love reviews, please review, review, review!