Disclaimer: i do not own the Harry Potter Character. they belong to the genius J.K Rowling. some of the quotes are hers. this is supposed to be Hermione's view of the 6th year and therefore whenever Harry is around, i use some of the quotes. enjoy!
Chapter 1: Summer at the Burrow
Hermione had gone to the Burrow after only three weeks at home. As much as she loved the Burrow and as much as she loved the Weasleys like family, she felt guilty about never spending time with her mom and dad. She did miss them; it was just that the wizarding world was in a war! How could she live in the muggle world, pretending nothing was wrong when Voldemort was on the loose? She couldn't, that was the answer to that. So as guilty as she felt, she put that aside to worry about the war and about Harry. How she missed him. It was awful that after the last of his family was killed, he was sent to live with those dreadful muggles. Being a muggle-born Hermione had no hatred for muggles, with the exception of Harry's aunt, uncle, and cousin.
Hermione was glad she had such good friends. Her friendship with Harry was that of a brother and being an only child she loved having that relationship with him. Her friendship with Ron was a bit unorthodox but she was so happy to have him in her life. Then there was Ginny. She was so happy that after years at the Burrow, Hermione finally became close with the witch. Ginny was so funny and nice. She had six older brothers so she was also able to stand up for herself. She was also very down to earth, which is the one characteristic Hermione seemed to never be able to find in girls. Yes, Hermione was in a good place friend-wise.
"Hermione! Hurry UP!" Ginny screamed at her.
"I'll be there in a second!"
Hermione had taken a very long, relaxing, hot, very much needed shower and Ginny was growing impatient. Hermione threw a towel over herself and walked into the hallway. As much as she loved the Burrow, she did miss having a bathroom attached to her room.
"Oh, sorry Hermione."
Hermione looked up only to find Ron practically running into her. She felt her face grow hot and noticed his ears turning red and quickly said:
"Oh! Not to worry Ron, I was just on my way to Ginny's room. Do you need the lavatory? Because I think you'll have to fight Ginny for it. She's been screaming at me for some time now."
"Oh, no I don't need the toilet. I was just heading up to my room from the kitchen…the bathroom's on the way…"
Hermione blushed as she realized she was in a towel staring at Ron Weasley. Her stomach did a somersault. She said goodbye to Ron and began to ponder what the butterflies in her stomach meant.
"FINALLY!" Ginny yelled.
"Jeez," Hermione started, "I'm sorry that I needed to shower. Next time I'll be sure to just stink up your room!"
"Oh keep your robes on. I'd rather you take showers than stink up my room. I just need to shower too and as I'm exhausted from Quidditch today, and smell, I'm just a little testy."
Ginny left for her shower and Hermione locked the door behind her. She closed the blinds and began her after-shower ritual. After she had her pajamas on and her hair brushed and in a messy bun she headed down to the kitchen for a snack before bed. She got to the kitchen and saw Ron there.
"I thought you just ate."
"Yeah, so?"
"Oh Ron. I'll never get used to how much you eat."
"I'm a growing man. I need my food!" Ron started laughing
Hermione looked at Ron and laughed too. He was indeed a growing man. Although she didn't feel the word man was right…not yet anyway. Although Ron could be an annoying, blind git, he kept proving himself to the world and to Hermione every year. First when he saved her from that troll in their first year all the way to last year fighting death eaters in the department of mysteries. He was definitely growing up. How much, however, she didn't know.
"I like your hair like that." Ron said while looking down at his plate. Hermione noticed his ears growing a familiar shade of red then felt her face growing warmer and knew she was turning red as well.
"Thanks." She said quietly. Here come those butterflies again! Hermione thought to herself. She still didn't understand why Ron was giving her butterflies. He'd given her compliments before and they'd been friends since they were eleven. What was going on?
Hermione quickly finished her snack and ran up to Ginny's room. She got in bed and quickly fell asleep.
The next day Hermione woke up to an empty room. She got dressed, took her hair out of the bun, brushed it, realized it was bushier than usual and put it in a ponytail. She grabbed Famous Witches and Wizards Through the Ages and walked downstairs. Ron and Ginny were eating breakfast so she joined them.
"Mornin' sleepy head," Ginny said while smiling.
"I did sleep late didn't I," Hermione realized it was almost eleven thirty.
"I'd say so. If I slept that late, Mum would have my head! It must be because you arrived yesterday looking so tired." Ron said casually.
Hermione pursed her lips. So she looked tired when she had arrived had she. Well he was a big gangly git!
Ron must have realized his mistake as his ears turned red and he said, "I mean…you know…like…you weren't as upbeat as usual and…and…"
"Yeah yeah, I know what you meant," Hermione said slightly more angry than she had hoped for. Ron sighed in relief. Hermione didn't want to fight with him on the second day she was there. It was a beautiful day and Hermione was determined to enjoy it.
After breakfast the two youngest Weasleys and Hermione went outside. Hermione curled up next to the big Oak tree and began reading Famous Witches and Wizards Through the Ages. Ron and Ginny got their brooms and Ginny shot at Ron who was doing pretty well at blocking Ginny's shots. It was a very relaxing afternoon and the three didn't go inside until Mrs. Weasley called them in for dinner.
"Come in children! It's time for dinner!" Mrs. Weasley sounds angry, never a good sign.
The three carefully walked into the house and there, sitting at the Weasley's kitchen table, was Fleur Delacour. Hermione felt her face flush with anger as she saw Ron's face. He looked dumbstruck. This half-veela caused Ron to smile like an idiot and practically drool.
"'Ello," Fleur said smiling, "Bill 'as sent me to get to know 'is family better."
Hermione and Ginny looked at each other, gave a grimace and then looked at Mrs. Weasley, saw she was grimacing as well and then looked at Ron…
"How wonderful!" Ron exclaimed, "It will be so nice getting to know my future sister-in-law! How is Gabrielle? Remember when I helped Harry save her that year?"
Fleur smiled, "of course, 'ow could I forget? Eet was most wonderful of you."
Ron beamed while Hermione's anger grew. He didn't do anything! He was asleep the whole time! She thought bitterly to herself.
Dinner consisted of Fleur and Ron talking while the girls of the house sat in silence with the occasional response to a question Fleur asked one of them. After dinner was over Hermione and Ginny quickly made excuses to leave the table and practically sprinted to Ginny's room.
"She's awful!" Ginny spat, "do you hear the way she talks to me?! 'aw wittle Ginny ees getting so big!' it makes me SICK!"
"Shh. Ginny, I know she's awful but you really should keep your voice down. She is going to be you sister-in-law next year."
"Ugh. She'll be the worst sister-in-law EVER! To think I'll finally have a sister and she'll be the most annoying person on the planet! I wish you were going to be my sister…"
"What?" Hermione was confused. What did that mean? Did she mean that Ginny wanted Hermione and Ron to get married?!
"I just mean, you already practically are my sister. I tell you everything and I've known you since I was eleven. That's all I was saying."
"Oh. Yeah." Hermione reprimanded herself for jumping to conclusions. Of course that's what she meant! Why did I jump to marriage? And to Ron? Well…Hermione was lost in thought and Ginny still wanted to vent.
"Hermione help! What am I going to do? I can't have the half-veela as my sister! She talks to me like I'm three years old!"
"I know Ginny. But think of Bill. He really does love her and you want him to be happy right?"
"Yeah, yeah. I love Bill and I want him to be happy. I just can't believe he loves her."
Right then Mrs. Weasley walked through the door, flushed with the famous Weasley flush.
"Can you believe her?! She floos in here telling me that Bill and her are now engaged and that he's sent her over here to get to know us! The nerve. They've only been dating for a year! That's way to short of a time to already be engaged! What is he thinking? He's not thinking. That's what it is. He's scared that he'll die in this war and wants to rush into marriage. That is no reason for getting married!"
"Mum, calm down. I don't like her any more than you do – "
"It's not that I don't like her, they just really rushed their relationship and I hate that!"
"Mhm…ok mum…"
"I need to go wash the dishes, I just needed to get that out. See you girls later."
Mrs. Weasley went down stairs while Hermione and Ginny stayed upstairs and talked about Fleur.
"Lets call her Phlegm. That's what she really is. She's phlegm. Gross and annoying and a mess."
Hermione laughed, "Okay Ginny. Just make sure you only call her that with certain people. Not in front of Fleur or Bill."
"Well DUH!"
Just then Hermione and Ginny heard someone talking with Mrs. Weasley downstairs.
"Who could be here? It's not Dad; it's a girl. But she sounds sad, not happy like Phlegm would."
"Lets go see."
Hermione and Ginny crept out of Ginny's room and walked as quietly as they could down the stairs.
"Can you see anything?" Ginny whispered to Hermione.
"Yeah…I think it's Tonks again. I can't tell because she looks normal. It's so weird. Why is Tonks so depressed every time we see her now?" Hermione was really confused. It was almost ten o'clock. Why was Tonks there? And why did she look normal? Hermione tried to listen to what they were talking about.
"…I just don't understand why." Tonks was telling Mrs. Weasley.
"I know dear. It'll get better with time."
It sounded like Mrs. Weasley was consoling Tonks. What could Tonks be so depressed about?
"Of course!" Hermione said a little louder than she anticipated. She turned around and pushed Ginny to walk up the stairs back into Ginny's room.
Once there, Hermione told Ginny what her realization was.
"Ginny, Sirius was Tonks' cousin. She lost twelve years with him because he was in Azkaban. She finally got him back and he dies. No wonder she's so upset!"
"Really? You think that's why? I didn't think they were that close. So close that she would sound, look, and be depressed."
"Well what else could it be?" Hermione practically snapped. She usually got things like this right. Why would she be wrong this time?
"I don't know. We'll probably find out sooner or later. Whatever it is, I hope Mum is bringing her around to get Bill to fall in love with her instead of Phlegm."
Just then Mrs. Weasley walked into Ginny's room.
"Just came to say goodnight girls. Harry will be arriving in the morning so make sure to get a good nights sleep so you can spend time with him tomorrow."
"Goodnight Mrs. Weasley,"
"Goodnight Mum."
The girls went and brushed their teeth and washed their faces and went back into Ginny's room to go to sleep. Hermione was so excited about seeing Harry tomorrow she couldn't sleep. Then she realized she hadn't seen Ron since dinner with Phlegm.
"Where was Ron all night?" Hermione asked.
"I don't know where the git was. Probably in his room daydreaming that he was the one marrying Phlegm instead of Bill."
Hermione didn't know why but this made her really upset. The thought of Ron with that Phlegm was very unsettling for her.
"Yeah. Probably. Goodnight Ginny."
"Goodnight Hermione."
A few minutes later Hermione was asleep.
Then next morning Hermione woke up feeling very anxious and excited about seeing Harry. She walked down to breakfast and met Ron, Mrs. Weasley, and Fleur. Hermione figured Ginny grabbed her breakfast and left at the sight of Phlegm. She sat down next to Ron and began eating some toast.
"Good morning Ron." Hermione said cheerily.
"Wow. Good morning Hermione. You're in a good mood."
"Well I'm excited to see Harry. I miss him." Hermione noticed Ron looked upset at that. She didn't really understand why. Harry was one of her best friends. Obviously she missed him.
"Good morning, dear," Mrs. Weasley said to Hermione.
"Good morning, Mrs. Weasley."
"Now you two. Harry had a busy night last night with Dumbledore and all…"
Hermione and Ron shot each other a glance with smiles across they're faces. Harry was already here! And he was with Dumbledore the night before! Hermione thought to herself, knowing Ron was thinking the same thing.
"…so I don't want you guys waking him up. He'll come down when he wakes up himself."
"Okay," they replied in unison even though they both knew that wasn't going to happen.
They quickly finished their breakfasts and headed up stairs. As they were walking up they started discussing what Harry could have been doing with Dumbledore.
"It must be something about You-Know-Who and the prophecy," Ron said.
"Yeah. I mean you heard what Lucius Malfoy said…"
"I bet Dumbledore was telling Harry about the prophecy. Like what it was. Or going to give him private Occlumency lessons or something."
"Ron that's probably right! Occlumency that must be it!" Hermione was always surprised when Ron made sense. Especially when it involved Harry. "But how would Dumbledore know what the prophecy said…?"
They got to the twins old door where they knew Harry was sleeping and crept in. Hermione didn't want to wake him up but she wanted to have a private conversation with Harry and Ron about Dumbledore and therefore needed to be there when Harry woke up. However, Ron had another idea. Before Hermione could stop him, Ron busted open the door and ran to open the blinds.
Then Ron practically screamed, "We didn't know you were here already!" then Ron hit Harry across the head.
"Ron, don't hit him!" she screamed at him. Harry had had a busy night and was just waking up. What was Ron thinking?
As Harry put his glasses on, Hermione and Ron were just smiling broadly at him.
Harry looked up at Ron and Ron asked, "All right?"
"Never been better," Harry replied, "You?"
"Not bad," Ron said as he sat down on a box. Hermione was jealous. She wished she could be sitting. She eyed Harry's bed.
"When did you get here? Mum's only just told us!" Ron was clearly just as excited to see Harry as Hermione was. She wondered why it was okay for him to be excited but not for her.
"About one o'clock this morning"
"Were the Muggles all right? Did they treat you okay?" Ron had asked the very questions Hermione was dying to know. She decided to sit down on Harry's bed in case he needed a hug.
"Same as usual," was all Harry said. Same as usual meant awful. "They didn't talk to me much, but I like it better that way. How're you Hermione?"
Those disgusting muggles! Harry had just lost the closest thing he had to a father and those Muggles didn't even care.
"Oh, I'm fine," she didn't want to talk about her. She wanted to talk about Sirius. But as she knew Harry too well, she knew he wouldn't talk about it even though he needed to. Like she had been reading his mind Harry changed the subject.
"What's the time? Have I missed breakfast?"
"Don't worry about that, Mum's bringing you up a tray; she reckons you look underfed," as Ron said this he rolled his eyes. "So, what's been going on?"
Hermione knew he meant the fact that Harry had been with Dumbledore last night but Harry didn't understand.
"Nothing much, I've just been stuck at my aunt and uncle's, haven't I?"
Just as Hermione predicted Ron told Harry what he meant.
"Come off it! You've been off with Dumbledore!"
Hermione leaned in closer to hear what Harry had to say. She was very interested in Harry's being able to fight Voldemort.
"It wasn't that exciting. He just wanted me to help him persuade this old teacher to come out of retirement. His name's Horace Slughorn."
"Oh. We thought…"
Hermione shot a warning look at Ron. She didn't want Harry to know that they talked about him behind his back.
Ron finished his sentence with, "…we thought it'd be something like that."
Harry looked confused but clearly enjoying Ron's being uncomfortable.
"You did?"
"Yeah…yeah, now Umbridge has left, obviously we need a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, don't we? So, er, what's he like?"
"He looks a bit like a walrus, and he used to be Head of Slytherin. Something wrong, Hermione?"
As Hermione realized he was talking to her and that she had been staring at Harry waiting for a break down she knew would never happen, she recomposed her face and replied, "No, of course not! So, um, did Slughorn seem like he'll be a good teacher?" she hadn't really been paying attention but she didn't want Harry to think that.
"Dunno. He can't be worse than Umbridge, can he?"
When Hermione was nodding her head she heard someone behind her say, "I know someone who's worse than Umbridge. Hi, Harry." It was Ginny.
"What's up with you?" Ron asked. Clearly he didn't know how the women of the house felt about Fleur. He had heard them call her Phlegm but he must not have known the extent of the hatred.
"It's her," Ginny said as she sat next to Hermione on Harry's bed. "She's driving me mad."
Hermione, knowing whom Ginny was talking about asked, "What's she done now?"
"It's the way she talks to me…you'd think I was about three!"
Hermione already knew this bothered Ginny but wanted to add how she felt about Phlegm.
"I know. She's so full of herself."
Now Ron looked angry.
"Can't you two lay off her for five seconds?"
"Oh, that's right, defend her. We all know you can't get enough of her." Ginny spat at Ron.
Hermione hadn't even thought of clueing Harry in on what they were talking about and just as she was about to tell him he asked.
"Who are you…?"
But Harry wasn't able to finish his question because right then Fleur threw open the door to Harry's room carrying a tray of food.
Then, with that annoying French accent she said "Arry! Eet 'as been too long!"
Hermione saw Mrs. Weasley behind her and noticed how angry she was at the girl.
"There was no need to bring up the tray, I was just about to do it myself!"
"Eet was no trouble." As she said this she kissed Harry on cheek and Hermione noticed Ginny looking even more upset if that was possible. Did Ginny still like Harry? Hermione thought she was over that.
"I 'ave been longing to see 'im. You remember my seester, Gabrielle? She never stops talking about 'Arry Potter. She will be delighted to see you again." Fleur continued.
"Oh…is she here too?" Hermione had almost forgotten that Harry didn't know about Fleur and Bill's engagement.
"No, no, silly boy. I mean next summer, when we…but do you not know?"
Mrs. Weasley regretfully looked up at Fleur replying, "We hadn't got around to telling him yet."
When Fleur turned back to Harry, Hermione noticed that her hair had whipped Mrs. Weasley in the face. Needless to say, Mrs. Weasley was NOT pleased about that.
"Bill and I are going to be married!" Hermione's stomach knotted. It was so bizarre that Bill would want such a selfish person. He was a Weasley after all.
"Oh. Wow. Er…congratulations!" Harry replied.
And Fleur continued talking. "Bill eez very busy at ze moment, working very 'ard, and I only work part-time at Gringotts for my Eenglish, so he brought me 'ere for a few days to get to know 'is family properly. I was so pleased to 'ear you would be coming…zere isn't much to do 'ere unless you like cooking and chickens! Well…enjoy your breakfast, 'Arry!" And finally Phlegm left.
"Tchah!" Mrs. Weasley screamed.
"Mum hates her," Ginny whispered loudly to Harry.
"I do not hate her!" Mrs. Weasley loud-whispered back. "I just think they've hurried into this engagement, that's all!"
"They've known each other a year," Ron's naivety always got him in trouble. He should have known better than to argue this with his mom. And the look he was giving the door that Phlegm had just left made Hermione feel sick to her stomach and she could feel her face growing warm and red with anger.
"Well, that's not very long! I know why it's happened, of course. It's all this uncertainty with You-Know-Who coming back; people think they might be dead tomorrow, so they're rushing all sorts of decisions they'd normally take time over. It was the same last time he was powerful, people eloping left, right, and center…"
Hermione saw Ginny smile and say, "Including you and Dad."
Why couldn't the Weasley children just accept their mother's anger and not argue with her?
"Yes, well, your father and I were made for each other, what was the point in waiting? Whereas Bill and Fleur… well… what have they really got in common? He's a hardworking, down-to-earth sort of person, whereas she's…"
"A cow," Ginny said, completely serious. "But Bill's not that down-to-earth. He's a Curse-Breaker, isn't he, he likes a bit of adventure, a bit of glamour… I expect that's why he's gone for Phlegm."
"Stop calling her that, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley reprimanded. But Hermione couldn't help but laugh and she noticed Harry laughing as well. "Well, I'd better get on… Eat your eggs while they're still warm, Harry."
Mrs. Weasley left the room leaving Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Ginny. Hermione noticed that Ron was still ogling over Phlegm and felt her stomach cringe again.
"Don't you get used to her if she's staying in the same house?" Harry asked Ron. Apparently Hermione wasn't the only one who had noticed Ron's reaction.
"Well, you do, but if she jumps out at you unexpectedly, like then…"
"It's pathetic," Hermione spat. She was so angry with him she got off the bed and turned away from Ron and the others so they couldn't see her holding back tears. Once she composed herself, she was at the wall so she turned around and folded her arms in front of her.
Ginny saved her by saying; "You don't really want her around forever?" Ron shrugged and Ginny continued. "Well, Mum's going to put a stop to it if she can, I bet you anything."
"How's she going to manage that?" Harry asked, clearly unaware of the how amazing Mrs. Weasley was.
"She keeps trying to get Tonks round for dinner. I think she's hoping Bill will fall for Tonks instead. I hope he does, I'd much rather have her in the family."
Of course Ron disagreed. "Yeah, that'll work. Listen, no bloke in his right mind's going to fancy Tonks when Fleur's around. I mean, Tonks is okay-looking when she isn't doing stupid things to her hair and her nose, but…"
"She's a damn sight nicer than Phlegm!" Ginny said in Tonks' defense.
Hermione decided to put her two-cents in and said, "And she's more intelligent, she's an Auror!"
Hermione didn't think Harry would fall to Ron's level but he responded, "Fleur's not stupid, she was good enough to enter the Triwizard Tournament."
"Not you as well!" Hermione was more than a little bitter.
"I suppose you like the way Phlegm says 'Arry don't you?" Ginny was mad too.
"No," Harry sounded nervous now. "I was just saying, Phlegm… I mean, Fleur…"
Ginny saved him from himself when she interrupted. "I'd much rather have Tonks in the family. At least she's a laugh."
"She hasn't been much of a laugh lately," Ron pointed out. "Every time I've seen her she's looked more like Moaning Myrtle."
This made Hermione angry. "That's not fair. She still hasn't got over what happened…you know…I mean, he was her cousin!" Hermione hoped Harry would jump at the opportunity to talk about Sirius but instead she saw him start shoveling his scrambled eggs.
"Tonks and Sirius barely knew each other! Sirius was in Azkaban half her life and before that their families never met…"
So Ron agreed with Ginny. Well Hermione was smart and she knew how to make them see it how she saw it. She hadn't actually talked with Tonks about what happened but she could figure how Tonks was feeling.
"That's not the point! She thinks it was her fault he died!"
Hermione's heart leapt for joy when Harry entered the conversation.
"How does she work that one out?"
Hermione was almost smiling when she answered, almost.
"Well, she was fighting Bellatrix Lestrange, wasn't she? I think she feels that if only she had finished her off, Bellatrix couldn't have killed Sirius."
Ron, being the insensitive, git he was said, "That's stupid."
"It's survivor's guilt. I know Lupin's tried to talk her round, but she's still really down. She's actually having trouble with her metamorphosing!"
"With her…?" Hermione should have known that Ron wouldn't know what that was.
"She can't change her appearance like she used to. I think her powers must have been affected by shock, or something."
Harry looked shocked. "I didn't know that could happen."
"Nor did I. but I suppose if you're really depressed…" just as Hermione was finishing, Mrs. Weasley walked through the door.
"Ginny, come downstairs and help me with the lunch." Mrs. Weasley whispered.
"I'm talking to this lot!" Ginny was clearly angry.
"Now!" Mrs. Weasley said. Then she left.
"She only wants me there so she doesn't have to be alone with Phlegm!" Ginny imitated Fleur as she pranced toward the door even though she was clearly angry.
Before she left she turned and said, "You lot had better come down quickly too."
Hermione, Ron, and Harry sat in silence for a while. Harry and Ron ate Harry's breakfast while Hermione looked through some boxes. She needed something to do while waiting for Harry to say something about Sirius and to make it seem like she was too busy to go downstairs.
There were a lot of weird things in the box she was looking through but she came across something that looked like a small telescope. She held it up for Ron and Harry to see and asked, "What's this?"
"Dunno," answered Ron, "but if Fred and George left it here, it's probably not ready for the joke shop yet, so be careful."
Hermione carefully put the telescope down, taking Ron's advice and continued looking through the boxes while listening to Ron and Harry's conversation.
"Your mum said the shop's going well. Said Fred and George have got a real flair for business." Harry said casually.
"That's an understatement!" Ron said excitedly. "They're raking in the Galleons! I can't wait to see the place, we haven't been to Diagon Alley yet, because Mum says Dad's got to be there for extra security and he's been really busy at work, but it sounds excellent."
"And what about Percy? Is he talking to your mum and dad again?"
"Nope," Ron said.
"But he knows your dad was right all along now about Voldemort being back…"
"Dumbledore says people find it far easier to forgive others for being wrong than being right," Hermione decided to throw in. She had picked up the mysterious telescope again. "I heard him telling your mum, Ron."
"Sounds like the sort of mental thing Dumbledore would say." Leave it to Ron think a wise man mental.
"He's going to be giving me private lessons this year," Harry said casually.
Hermione gasped as Ron choked on some toast he was eating. Ron had been right. Dumbledore would teach Harry how to keep Voldemort out of his mind.
"You kept that quiet!" Ron said after he had swallowed the toast he had choked on.
"I only just remembered. He told me last night in your broom shed."
Hermione thought that was an odd place to be talking but decided not to think anything of it.
"Blimey… private lessons with Dumbledore! I wonder why he's…"
Hermione exchanged a look with Ron. Hermione had read the Prophet to Ron so they both knew what the world was saying about Harry. That he was "The Chosen One." That he, and he alone, would have to defeat Voldemort. But surely that wasn't the truth.
"I don't know exactly why he's going to be giving me lessons, but I think it must be because of the prophecy." Harry started. Hermione and Ron said nothing. "You know, the one they were trying to steal at the Ministry?"
Hermione had the feeling that Harry wanted one of them to acknowledge that they knew what he was talking about. "Nobody knows what it said, though. It got smashed."
Ron added, "Although the Prophet says…"
But Hermione cut him off with, "Shhh!" Harry shouldn't have been reminded of the lies the Prophet told about him.
To Hermione's surprise Harry said, "The Prophet's got it right," Now Hermione was scared. "That glass ball that smashed wasn't the only record of the prophecy. I heard the whole thing in Dumbledore's office; he was the one the prophecy was made to, so he could tell me. From what it said, it looks like I'm the one who's got to finish off Voldemort… At least, it said neither of us could live while the other survives."
Hermione stared at Ron and Harry in shock. It couldn't be Harry. He was her best friend, practically her brother. It had to be someone else. It seemed silly that a mere half hour ago she was talking about something so trivial as calling Fleur, Phlegm. Then, in her anger, Hermione squeezed the telescope and it punched her and gave off a huge puff of black smoke.
"Hermione!" both boys shouted.
She came out of the black smoke coughing, still holding the telescope, with a throbbing eye. "I squeezed it and it… it punched me!" she was in shock.
"Don't worry," Ron said, trying, poorly, to hide a laugh, "Mum'll fix that, she's good at healing minor injuries…"
Hermione cut him off. "Oh well, never mind that now! Harry, oh, Harry…" she was at a loss of words. Something she never had. She sat down on his bed again, feeling light-headed with the fact that her best friend would have to kill Voldemort or die trying. "We wondered, after we got back from the Ministry… Obviously, we didn't want to say anything to you, but from what Lucius Malfoy said about the prophecy, how it was about you and Voldemort, well, we thought it might be something like this… Oh, Harry…Are you scared?" it was all she could think of.
"Not as much as I was," replied Harry. "When I first heard it, I was… but now, it seems as though I always knew I'd have to face him in the end…"
"When we heard Dumbledore was collecting you in person, we thought he might be telling you something or showing you something to do with the prophecy," Ron was proving that he was right. "And we were kind of right, weren't we? He wouldn't be giving you lessons if he thought you were a goner, wouldn't waste his time… he must think you've got a chance!"
Hermione thought this was pretty optimistic but it made her feel a little better nonetheless. "That's true. I wonder what he'll teach you, Harry? Really advanced defensive magic, probably… powerful countercurses… anti-jinxes…advanced jinxes, curses, and evasive enchantments generally. Well, at least you know one lesson you'll be having this year, that's one more than Ron and me. I wonder when our OWL results will come?" Hermione really wanted to know what she got on her exams. She knew she messed up big time on a couple of her tests and she was really worried to find out the truth of how badly she had done.
"Can't be long now, it's been a month, " Ron said.
"Hang on. I think Dumbledore said our OWL results would be arriving today!"
This surprised Hermione as her heartbeat sped up. "Today? Today? But why didn't you… oh my God… you should've said…"
She jumped of his bed and proclaimed, "I'm going to see whether any owls have come…"
She practically sprinted down the stairs and ran into the kitchen. There were no papers on the table, which meant the owls hadn't come yet.
She looked up at Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Weasley gasped. "Hermione, dear, what happened to your eye?"
Hermione had completely forgotten about her swollen eye and only when Mrs. Weasley said something did she start to feel the pain again. Hermione explained to Mrs. Weasley what happened.
"Sit down dear and I'll fix you right up."
Hermione sat on a chair and Mrs. Weasley began her attempt to get rid of the black eye. However, ten minutes later the eye was still bruised and Hermione was even more agitated. Her eye wouldn't heal and she was anxiously awaiting her OWL results.
Harry walked downstairs and a very puzzled Mrs. Weasley said, "It just won't budge. This has always worked before, I just can't understand it."
"It'll be Fred and George's idea of a funny joke, making sure it can't come off," Ginny said and Hermione knew she was right.
"But it's got to come off! I can't go around looking like this forever!"
In an attempt to calm Hermione down, "You won't, dear, we'll find an antidote, don't worry," Mrs. Weasley reassured.
Just when Hermione didn't think anything could get worse, Fleur walked through the door. She took one look at Hermione and said, "Bill told me Fred and George are very amusing!"
"Yes, I can hardly breathe for laughing." Hermione spat.
She jumped out of her seat and started pacing.
"Mrs. Weasley," she said, "you're quite, quite sure no owls have arrived this morning?"
Mrs. Weasley smiled and patiently said, "Yes, dear, I'd have noticed. But it's barely nine, there's still plenty of time…"
Wow. It was only nine in the morning. So much had happened already. It was so hard to believe that everything that had happened had all happened before nine in the morning.
Hermione started whispering to herself. "I know I messed up Ancient Runes. I definitely made at least one serious mistranslation. And the Defense Against the Dark Arts practical was no good at all. I thought Transfiguration went all right at the time, but looking back…"
Ron practically yelled at her. "Hermione, will you shut up, you're not the only one who's nervous! And when you've got your eleven Outstanding OWLs…"
"Don't, don't, don't!" She knew she didn't do well. "I know I've failed everything!"
"What happens if we fail?" Harry asked.
Hermione quickly answered, "We discuss our options with our Head of House, I asked Professor McGonagall at the end of last term." Hermione continued pacing as her heart continued to beat faster than it should have.
"At Beauxbatons…" Fleur started, but Hermione wasn't paying attention to her. She thought she saw an owl in the distance and then once she realized it actually was an owl, three owls, headed for the Burrow, she screamed.
"They're definitely owls," Ron said as he got closer to Hermione at the Window. Hermione didn't know why, but her heart sped up even more, and her hands got even clammier. It's just nerves about the results she reassured herself.
"And there are three of them," Harry said as he stood next to Hermione on her other side.
"One for each of us," Hermione realized as her terror grew more than she ever could have imagined. "Oh no… oh no… oh no…" she grabbed onto both of her friends elbows tightly.
The owls got closer and closer until she saw that each of them carried a large envelope, clearly containing their results. "Oh no!" she squealed again.
The owls landed on the table and Hermione slowly walked over to her owl. She grabbed the envelope and ripped it open. She looked down and was very pleased. She had gotten Outstandings and one Exceeds Expectations in Defense Against the Dark Arts. She was a little disappointed in that grade but she knew it was still really good. Hermione wasn't paying attention to anything the others were saying. She was rereading her results over and over again to make sure she had read them correctly.
Suddenly someone called her name. "Hermione?" Ginny asked, "How did you do?"
Hermione didn't want to brag so she just said, "I – not bad."
She should have known that wouldn't suffice. "Oh, come off it," Ron said as he ripped her results out of her hands. "Yep… ten 'Outstandings' and one 'Exceeds Expectations' at Defense Against the Dark Arts." He looked at her with amusement clearly in his eyes and said, "You're actually disappointed, aren't you?"
Hermione didn't want to be knit-picky about grades in front of everyone, especially Ron so she just shook her head. At that, Harry laughed.
"Well, we're N.E.W.T. students now!" Ron said while smiling from ear to ear. "Mum, are there any more sausages?"
Hermione smiled at the redheaded boy. They were indeed N.E.W.T. students now. They had known each other going on six years and had been best friends for all of those years. Why, then, was Hermione getting goose bumps when Ron touched her or her heartbeat quicken when he got close to her or her face flush when he gave her a compliment? Was she actually falling for Ron Weasley?
The rest of the summer was a lot of fun. Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione would play Quidditch together with Harry on Hermione's team and Ron and Ginny on a team. Hermione always felt awful because she was so terrible at the game and hated flying, but Harry was so amazing that it didn't even matter. She really enjoyed her days at the Burrow just hanging out with all of her best friends, especially Ron. Why did she always put the "especially Ron" at the end of everything? She was starting to realize more and more just how much she liked him. The year they had the ball she had wanted him to ask her but it wasn't really because she had liked him. She had liked Viktor Krum. They had snogged and talked and taken walks and it was really lovely. But now that she was starting to realize her feelings for Ron, she saw that the feelings she had had for Viktor were so minor. She had liked Ron for a long time. How long, she wasn't really sure, but for some time. He would never like her though. She had to stop liking him. But how?
Daily there were disappearances. The Death Eaters kept killing people. Hermione read it in the Daily Prophet so when everyone else was talking about all the deaths she thought about books she could read to help Harry with defeating Voldemort. She really was worried about him and she seemed to be the only one.
The day after Harry's birthday the booklists and letters from Hogwarts arrived. Harry had been made Gryffindor Quidditch Captain.
Hermione practically jumped for joy, "That gives you equal status with prefects! You can use our special bathroom now and everything!"
Ron began examining Harry's badge. "Wow, I remember when Charlie wore one of these. Harry this is so cool, you're my Captain… if you let me back on the team, I suppose, ha ha…"
Mrs. Weasley gave in to a trip to Diagon Alley since she couldn't put it off any longer. Ron almost wasn't allowed to go but Mrs. Weasley finally agreed.
The day finally came for them to go to Diagon Alley. It was overcast and murky. Mr. Weasley got a Ministry of Magic car for Harry's protection. Everyone walked outside to go to the car. They all got in and stretched out.
"It's good Dad can get us these again." Ron said while Hermione got in next to him. It was weird for Hermione do to something as simple as sitting next to Ron now that she knew she liked him; something that would have been second nature. So the order in the back seat went Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Harry.
Mr. Weasley turned around and told Ron that the car was only because of Harry and that they would have top security following them during their shopping for extra security. Hermione glanced at Harry, she knew full well that he would be very uncomfortable with Aurors around, and she was right. Harry paled and his jaw clenched: a sure sign that he was uncomfortable.
They arrived at the Leaky Cauldron and while Mrs. Weasley was working out when the driver should return to pick them up, Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Ginny looked out the window to see what Aurors would be following them. It turned out that there weren't Aurors at all; it was Hagrid! When they got out of the car Hagrid came over, his face beaming.
"'arry!" he called while he hugged Harry very tightly. "Buckbeak… Witherwings, I mean… yeh should see him, Harry, he's so happy ter be back in the open air…"
"Glad he's pleased," Harry replied. "We didn't know 'security' meant you!"
"I know, jus' like old times, innit? See, the Ministry wanted ter send a bunch o' Aurors, but Dumbledore said I'd do." Hagrid beamed. "Lets get goin' then…after yeh, Molly, Arthur…"
The Leaky Cauldron was empty. Hermione couldn't remember a time that she had seen the place empty. There were always weird people just sitting in corners and stuff. The war was taking more of toll on people than she thought.
"Jus' passin' through today, Tom, sure yeh understand, Hogwarts business, yeh know." Hagrid told the barkeeper.
After they got through the brick wall Hermione thought they were in the wrong place. There were Ministry of Magic posters everywhere. Covering every sign and store window. There were WANTED posters of known, loose Death Eaters and advice pamphlets on what to do if a Death Eater confronted you. There were some shops that were even boarded up.
While Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, and Hagrid worked out who was going to go with who where, Hermione looked around. The look of the place made her want to cry. She thought back to the summer before her first year, when she had come to Diagon Alley for the first time and had seen real magic for the first time. It was one of the happiest times of her life. Now, the place that held one of her favorite memories was falling apart and depressing. Ron, probably reading the look on her face, wrapped his arm around her and gave her a squeeze and then dropped it. Even though Hermione was supposed to be upset and sad, she couldn't help but smile.
The groups ended up as Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Hagrid as one group, and Mrs. and Mr. Weasley, and Ginny as the other group. Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Hagrid got to Madam Malkin's and Hagrid told the three of them to go in without him. They entered the shop and heard Draco Malfoy.
"…not a child, in case you haven't noticed, Mother. I am perfectly capable of doing my shopping alone."
Madam Malkin replied instead of Malfoy's mother. "Now, dear, your mother's quite right, none of us is supposed to go wondering around on our own anymore, it's nothing to do with being a child…"
"Watch where you're sticking that pin, will you!" Malfoy screamed at her.
As much as Hermione hated Malfoy, and hated the sight of him, she had a hard time holding back a small laugh when Madam Malkin said that. The Malfoys were Death Eaters; it wasn't dangerous for them.
When Malfoy finally saw them he said, "If you're wondering what the smell is, Mother, a Mudblood just walked in."
Madam Malkin looked disturbed. "I don't think there's any need for language like that!"
Hermione saw Harry and Ron pull out their wands so Hermione quickly whispered, "No, don't, honestly, it's not worth it." Just as Madam Malkin said, "And I don't want wands drawn in my shop either!"
Draco Malfoy just couldn't stop with his hateful remarks. Hermione didn't really mind. She didn't let anything he said get to her. She knew that he was just a bully and she didn't mind what he thought of her. She had her friends and that was good enough for her. Harry and Ron, however, were very protective of her. That was actually very flattering except for the fact that they always got in trouble because of it.
"Yeah, like you'd dare do magic out of school. "Who blacked your eye, Granger? I want to send them flowers."
That's where Madam Malkin drew the line. "That's quite enough!" she screamed and then turned to Draco's mom, Narcissa Malfoy, "Madam, please!"
Narcissa strolled over next to her son and looked at Harry and Ron. "Put those away," referring to their wands that were still held out toward Draco. "If you attack my son again, I shall ensure it is the last thing you ever do."
"Really? Going to get a few Death Eater pals to do us in, are you?" Harry said while he walked towards her until he was face to face with her.
Madam Malkin looked like she might faint.
"Really, you shouldn't accuse… dangerous thing to say… wands away please!"
To Hermione's displeasure, Harry still didn't drop his wand and Narcissa smiled evilly.
"I see that being Dumbledore's favorite has given you a false sense of security, Harry Potter. But Dumbledore won't always be there to protect you."
Hermione was growing more and more worried every second. She knew Harry was getting closer and closer to snapping and cursing Narcissa. She also knew that in doing so he would get expelled from Hogwarts, the only safe place for him.
"Wow… look at that… he's not here now!" Harry retaliated. "So why not have a go? They might be able to find you a double cell in Azkaban with your loser of a husband!"
As much as she agreed with what Harry was saying, Hermione was upset that Harry still hadn't learnt how to control his temper. He could never let anything go like she told him to.
Draco tripped as he walked over to Harry and yelled, "Don't you dare talk to my mother like that, Potter!"
"It's all right, Draco," Narcissa said slyly. "I expect Potter will be reunited with dear Sirius before I am reunited with Lucius."
Uh oh. Hermione looked at Harry and saw him raise his wand.
"Harry, no!" Hermione was very worried now. "Think… you mustn't… you'll be in such trouble…" she was struggling for the right words but she knew it was important.
Malfoy told his mother he didn't want the robes anymore and the Malfoy's stalked out of the store. Madam Malkin was out of sorts the whole rest of the fitting. She even tried to sell Hermione Wizard's robes!
Hermione, Ron, and Harry joined Hagrid and very quickly after that were joined by Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Ginny. They continued the rest of their shopping all together. Hermione thoroughly enjoyed shopping for her school supplies, even if Diagon Alley was in shambles. She loved being a witch. Being a witch meant being accepted. Although not everyone accepted her, Harry, Ron and the rest of the Weasley family did and that's all that mattered.
Walking along looking for Fred and George's shop she couldn't help but stare at Ron, so when he stopped in his tracks being so surprised by the twins shop, she was so startled and had to shake her head back into reality. The store was an amazing sight. Although Hermione had disapproved of the twins dropping out of Hogwarts to run the joke shop, she had to admit that they were doing very well. Inside the store was packed full of people. Hermione pushed her way through to a counter and read one of the daydream potions.
"Patented Daydream Charms… one simple incantation and you will enter a top-quality, highly realistic, thirty-minute daydream, easy to fit into the average school lesson and virtually undetectable (side effects include vacant expression and minor drooling). Not for sale to under-sixteens.'," Hermione couldn't help but be impressed. "You know," she said to Harry, "that really is extraordinary magic!"
"For that, Hermione, you can have one for free" Hermione heard Fred say and quickly turned around. "How are you, Harry? And what's happened to your eye, Hermione?" Hermione had almost completely forgotten about her eye and she immediately was embarrassed.
"Your punching telescope," she said, looking down.
"Oh blimey, I forgot about those," Fred said as he handed her a tube of yellow goo. "Just dab it on, that bruise'll be gone within the hour. We had to find a decent bruise remover. We're testing most of our products on ourselves."
Hermione looked anxious. " It is safe, isn't it?" Hermione knew the twins reputation for danger and didn't want to put exploding yellow goo on her face. Fred assured her that it was and as he and Harry left her she dabbed the yellow goo around her eye.
Ron found his way to her saying, "isn't this place wonderful?" His eyes sparkled as he looked around and then at Hermione. She blushed a little and nodded her head in agreement.
"Oh, see they gave you something to help with that eye," he added
"Oh. Yeah. Fred had some stuff in his pocket. Can you tell the goo is there?"
"A little, but really, you just look bloody tough with that black eye!" Hermione blushed again. Why does her face suddenly get red every time Ron talks to her?!
"Hold on… you, um got some hair stuck in the goo…" as he said this he brushed Hermione's hair off her face. They looked each other in the eye and then…
"Hermione. Look at all of these daydream things. Sure'd like to get me one of them for History of Magic. The class is incredibly dull." Ginny had made her way over to Ron and Hermione and they both shifted uncomfortable hoping Ginny hadn't seen that moment.
"History of Magic isn't dull, Ginny. I'll admit that professor Bins isn't the most fascinating teacher, but it's an important subject."
Just as Ginny was about to respond Fred came back saying, "Haven't you girls found our special Wonder Witch products yet? Follow me, ladies…" Fred led the girls over to a display of an array of pink objects; so much pink. Hermione had never been a fan of pink and it made her want to gouge her eyes out. However, when Fred said, "love potion" Hermione couldn't help but think of Ron. What if she slipped it into his pumpkin juice at breakfast? He would love her for 24 hours, and then he would realize that he had no feeling for her and she would be crushed. Bad idea.
Hermione completely missed the conversation Ginny was having with her older brothers and caught the last few words. "…one boy, not five. What are those?" Hermione looked to where Ginny was pointing and saw some of the cutest creatures she had ever seen.
"Pygmy Puffs," George answered. "Miniature puffskeins, we can't breed them fast enough. So what about Michael Corner?" Hermione stopped listening after that. She found it rather amusing and cute that the Weasley boys were so protective of their little sister. However, at this moment, Hermione just wanted to play with the cute little Pygmy Puffs. When Ginny started to try and convince Mrs. Weasley to buy her a Pygmy Puff Hermione went and joined Ron and Harry. All three of them saw Malfoy walk past the shop alone.
"Wonder where his mummy is?" Harry said.
"Given her the slip by the looks of it," Ron answered.
"Why, though?" Hermione thought it strange that Malfoy would hide something from his mom. What did he need to hide? Hermione let the thought go. Malfoy wasn't her concern. If he wanted to become a Death Eater, what was it to her? She was thinking about the daydream potions when Harry pulled out his invisibility cloak.
"Get under here, quick," Hermione heard Harry say.
"Oh – I don't know, Harry," Hermione didn't want to get in trouble before they even got to school.
"Come on!" Ron said. And to her amazement, she listened to Ron with no further hesitation. Now he had control over her she thought bitterly. The three of them left the shop unnoticed to follow Malfoy. After they passed Hagrid, Hermione saw Malfoy in the distance turning into Knockturn Alley. They hurried so not to lose him. Hermione was afraid that their feet would be seen. Now that the three were older, and taller, the cloak did hide all of them easily. They turned down Knockturn alley and couldn't see Malfoy. Hermione was the one to first see him and she pointed him out to Harry. Hermione couldn't understand why Harry was so keen on following Malfoy. She really worried about him. He never opened up and he had weird obsessions, like proving Malfoy evil. However, when Hermione noticed that Malfoy was in Borgin and Burks, she too became interested in what Malfoy was up to.
Ron pulled out some extendable ears and they listened to Malfoy and the owner Borgin's conversation. Malfoy was keeping something from his mother and threatening Borgin. Whatever this was, it was definitely something dark and illegal. What was he trying to fix? And why? While Harry and Ron contemplated the same things out loud, Hermione got an idea.
"You two stay here," she whispered as she got out from under the cloak on her way to Borgin and Burks to find out what exactly Malfoy had been doing in there. She went into the shop and got the chills. This place was creepy. She gathered herself, however and preceded to ask Borgin questions on pricings, whether or not something was for sale.
Eventually she said, "The thing is, that – er – boy who was in her just now, Draco Malfoy, well, he's a friend of mine, and I want to get him a birthday present, but if he's already reserved anything, I obviously don't want to get him the same thing, so… um…" Hermione knew it was a lame excuse for a story but it was all she could think up. Borgin kicked her out.
She got back under the cloak as Ron said, "Ah well, worth a try, but you were a bit obvious - "
"Well, next time you can show me how it's done, Master of Mystery!" She said, rather angrily. Hermione had been terrified in that shop and at least she had tried. She and Ron bickered all the way back to the twins shop and even though she was angry with Ron, she couldn't help but notice how cute he was when he was angry with her. His eyes flared and his freckles stood out from his flushed face. What was she going to do about this? Her desire for Ron only intensified every time she was with him, which was all the time. She didn't know what she was going to do but she was Hermione and she would figure it out.