Which Weasley

By jessebelle

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter do you really think I'd be posting this as fanfiction? The wonderful honor belongs to JK Rowling.

A/N: Hey everyone. At the moment I have so many stories going, only three I'm actively updating and many unfinished, but this plot idea has settled itself in my brain and just won't leave: the result; new story. I hope to update this one as frequently as possible. Luckily the plot is pretty much worked out and I have a huge idea on where it's going, I've even mapped out the chapters. I want to make it clear that this story is definitely AU. I'm choosing to ignore parts of OotP and HBP definitely didn't happen. Sirius is alive, the Order is still at Grimmauld Place, and the Prophecy doesn't really come into play at all. So keep this in mind before you review with complaints about it not being canon. If you have any questions, just ask and I'll be happy to answer them.

Now, without further adieu, let's get this story rolling.

Huggles and Snuggles,

jessebelle

oOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOo

Chapter One: The Rescue

Hermione Granger stared up at the ceiling of the Hospital Wing. She didn't blink, she didn't cry; she just stared. Her life had taken one of those funny turns, one of those turns that left you dizzy, sick, and utterly confused. She'd gotten past the dizzy part as she'd been carried out of the still burning house. Sickness had claimed her, along with her injuries during the fight and now she was at confused heading straight towards blankness. The quiet in her head scared her; she'd never been blank before, always thinking, her mind always racing. But now...now there was silence. She could barely bring herself to even acknowledge it even happened, let alone think about it. It was all too surreal. But not acknowledging it didn't mean she didn't know what happened, because as soon as she closed her eyes, she'd experience it again.

"Hermione, are you okay?" She heard the voice, but didn't respond. She'd heard many voices lately, but never responded. This one was familiar; she couldn't place it though she'd heard it frequently.

"I know you can hear me, so I'm just going to talk. I know you're in shock right now, but-"

Shock, was that what this was? It sounded…fitting. It reminded her of an electric spark, a flash of light…a fire of flames.

Oh, it was hot, so very hot. She could barely breathe. Where were they? Where were her parents? "Mum? Daddy?" No proud, loving voices answered, but instead a cool, amused voice answered her calls.

"Come out, come out wherever you are! I know you're here, you filthy little mudblood." She knew that voice, knew the danger, but she wasn't leaving until she found-

"Your parents are dead, you know. Your mother, well, she was a screamer. You wouldn't know that, though. Silencing charms are a wonderful thing. Your father, now he was clever. You don't suppose he liked his examination? I wonder… if he was still alive, do you think he'd still play, what was it, oh yes, dentist. After all, he knows the pain his little tools can cause now. Of course, that may be why he started the fire, didn't want you to have your checkup. But I think he forgot we we're magic, my dear. The flames won't spread unless I let them, which won't happen until you're broken on the ground and I'm gone, leaving you to burn in the fire your father started. Which means… in a roundabout way, your death is his fault. He knows this, you know; I told him right before he died. The horror on his face, it was...intoxicating. Now, my dear, I know you're out there, and I know you're hiding, but at least have the decency to face me with the Gryffindor courage I know you have." The door of the closet she'd been hiding in had been ripped open and He'd been standing there, looking down at her with an evil grin and those eyes…those grey soulless eyes. "My dear, Hermione-"

"Hermione….HERMIONE!"

It was then that she was brought out of her flashback. That wasn't fair; she hadn't even been asleep yet. Opening her eyes she found her view of the white ceiling blocked by a face; two bright blue eyes, freckles, red hair…Weasley.

She hadn't realized she'd spoken aloud until the face grinned at her, or at least she saw a blur of white, which, she assumed were teeth. "Of course, what gave it away? Was it my handsome physique or the devilish face? I know, it's the nose, family trait…always gives us away. But the real question is which Weasley, eh Hermione? There are quite a few of us now, aren't there?"

She felt an unfamiliar feeling bubble inside of her, one she couldn't stop. She watched the smug face above her change to confusion, then worry. "Hermione?" Her feeling bubbled over and out, and now she was doing something she couldn't control…she was laughing.

The Weasley above her watched as the broken girl on the bed began to laugh. The sound shocked him at first; she'd been silent for over a week since the attack. He smiled when he realized he'd been the one to break her silence, to make her laugh, but his smile quickly dropped as her laughter changed to sobs. It was instinct to grab her, to hold her as she finally cried. Everyone had been terrified that she'd been holding it in and now all her pain, all her fear, all her sadness erupted like a volcano. It was heart wrenching to watch, but he didn't leave. Rubbing her back in comforting circles, he whispered words of comfort as her body shook with gut wrenching sobs, then she became still. It nearly made him jump when the small voice came from his chest.

"Why? Why me?" He pondered her question for a while before giving her an honest answer.

"I don't know." But when he looked down, she was asleep.

He didn't move her except to make them both more comfortable; she didn't stir. He hadn't the heart to wake her; he knew she needed the sleep. In a few hours the whimpering would start, then the screams, and after that came the most frightening thing of all…the silence. He'd been there for quite a few of her nightmares, and even it you were expecting it, it chilled you to the bone.

The sound of a door opening made him look to the right where his brothers had entered. "Any change?" His second eldest brother looked to where Hermione lay in his arms.

He cleared his throat. "You could say that."

"Well?" His twin was lacking in the patience area.

He knew he was the same. "I got her to laugh, I got her to cry, I got her to talk…even if it was only a few words."

He watched as his eldest brother gave him a nod. "Good, I've been worrying about her." He didn't doubt that. Bill had been the one to find her, to take on her attacker. He himself had been second to arrive and he'd been scared by the intensity in his brother's dueling; then he'd seen Hermione. It had taken all his willpower not to join Bill in the fight with the monster that had hurt her, tortured her. But he'd realized she needed help, so he'd done his best to carefully transport her back to headquarters. He'd carried her outside and was just ready to apparate when Charlie had come out of the burning house, stopping him. Being around dragons, his brother knew how dangerous it was to move a person with serious injuries without hurting them further. They'd laid her out on the lawn then, and his brother had run a diagnostic spell. Thankfully she could be moved, but her injuries were bad. That had been when Fred came out of the house, carrying Bill. His twin had been struggling with their eldest brother, so Charlie had gone to help. He'd just picked up Hermione and was about to apparate when the windows in the house blew. Hearing the sirens he'd decided to go ahead.

The sight that met them back at headquarters was one he wouldn't forget any time soon. There had been an order meeting that night when the alert had gone up on Hermione's house. Due to her status as muggleborn and Harry's best friend, the headmaster had placed a few alarms. This one meant magic had been performed. He and his brothers had volunteered to check things out. They hadn't expected the fire, or Malfoy. That smug bastard had been the one who organized the attack.

The order meeting was still in session when he arrived in the kitchen, his brothers right behind him and Hermione in his arms. The sight of them had caused a panic and it wasn't until Dumbledore had yelled that they'd settled.

"QUIET!" The room had instantly silenced. Dumbledore nodded then turned to them. "Is that?"

"Hermione? Yes, She was attacked, Malfoy. Her parents were tortured and killed, the house is still burning. We left just as the muggle firemen were coming." Charlie answered for him.

"Place her on the table, George."

He waited until the table was cleared. Due to panic, everyone had forgotten they had the use of magic. The table was cleared with a swipe of several arms causing a loud clatter as the food and the dishes fell to the floor. George didn't hesitate to carefully lay her down. He ignored the bustle around him as he concentrated on his little brother's best friend, the know-it-all bookworm that frequently got him in trouble as a student. He felt a hand on his shoulder and knew his twin was there, offering comfort. The rest of the night passed in a blur for him. He dimly recalled seeing Madam Pomfrey; he knew she worked on Hermione, him, and his brothers. Apparently they'd been injured by the fire and Bill had gotten hurt dueling Malfoy. He recalled the Order panicking, especially those that knew Hermione, then it was a blur of colors and sound. The next morning he'd woken up in a hospital bed, Bill had been two beds down and Hermione was between them.

He was brought out of his reverie by his twin calling his name. "George. George!"

"What?" He looked up. They weren't actually yelling, not wanting to wake up the girl in his arms, but the whispers they shared were fierce.

"Finally back with us on Earth."

George just looked up at his brothers and sighed dejectedly. "Memories."

Nothing more had to be said. All of them had suffered that night. It was the first time they'd really been faced with death, loss, and fear. Though the war had been going on for a few years now, and even though they'd joined the order a while ago, they'd been shielded by the older members and their parents from the true horrors of what was going on. They didn't expect danger when they went to check on Hermione. Mainly they'd been bored and wanted to get out of the meeting early, possibly see where their little brother's best friend lived so they could tease her about it later. Instead they were thrown headfirst into a horror scene, featuring someone they knew, someone who was close to their family. Though the elder Weasleys barely knew her, Hermione Granger was an adopted Weasley, someone their brother cared about, and if anything, a women who had needed rescuing from the torture of Malfoy.

"I hope she wakes up soon, I'd like to get to know her before I go, make sure she's okay and everything." As one, all the present Weasleys turned to Bill.

"Where are you going?" Fred gave his 'cool' brother a questioning look.

Bill stuck his hands in his pocket and tried to look anywhere but at them. "Dumbledore wants me to go back to work for Gringotts in Egypt. Apparently I can do some good there, maybe recruit for the Order."

"So you're just going to leave again?"

Bill sighed. "Yeah, I guess. I'm doing no good just hanging around here."

"You got Malfoy!"

Their eldest brother's face darkened at the mention of Hermione's torturer. "Yeah, that I did. But I'm needed elsewhere now. I kinda liked being home, though. I don't know why but for some crazy reason I do miss you guys when I'm gone."

"I know, weird, ain't it?" Charlie shared a look with his elder brother, then turned to the twins. "It's not just him that's leaving. Dumbledore asked me to go back to Romania, too."

The twins shared a look, then nodded. "Fine." "Okay." But it was clear by their identical frowns that neither were happy about it. Charlie and Fred both moved to one of the other beds and sat down, facing Hermione and George, Bill just walked closer to their bed, sat down in a chair, and held Hermione's hand. The group was silent until Hermione began to stir.

It started out as a whimper, a deep whine…then she began to talk. "No, please, no."

The horror on her face was clear. She began to move in George's arms, like she was fighting his hold. Quickly realizing what was happening, he loosened his hold, then looked up to Bill's face. They'd heard her screams over the torture. Malfoy had apparently cursed her then moved onto muggle means. Hermione had been a mess when they found her. Almost all of her wounds were healed, now, and all that remained were a few scars. However, they'd also found her in a state that made them suspect Malfoy had had his way with her. This was the first time they could confirm it.

Her pleading continued until Bill couldn't take it anymore. Standing up, he leaned down and scooped her up into his arms. She struggled, at first, but as he began to rock her, to comfort her, her pleas and struggles slowed to a stop. Finally all was quiet, but the boys could still hear her pleas in their heads, and it broke their hearts. It was Fred who thankfully broke the silence.

"So when do you two leave?"

The elder Weasleys shared a look, before Charlie answered softly while Bill examined the girl in his arms. "Two days."

"Two Days?!"

"That's ridiculous!"

"Mum must be-"

"Furious!" The twins spoke in their usual way, finishing each other's sentences.

Bill just continued his examination of Hermione, noticing the healing scars. Charlie nodded. "I know; we're not thrilled about it either."

"So what are you going to do until then?" George climbed off the bed he'd been sitting on and moved to the chair next to Bill and Hermione, gently taking her hand.

Bill just sighed. "Wait I guess. Hopefully you made some progress today and we'll get to know her and see that spark that makes her so different, so wonderful."

Charlie nodded in agreement. "I know; everyone in the Order has nothing but nice things to say about her. Even Snape admitted her intelligence was astounding."

"Really?" Both twins looked skeptically at the dragon worker.

Charlie grinned sheepishly. "Okay, maybe he didn't say exactly that, but he admitted she had talent and even if she was an overbearing know-it-all she could brew a decent potion."

"Now that sounds more like the greasy git." Fred was grinning madly.

"Yeah, but coming from him its high praise." Everyone there was in agreement.

There was a bit more silence before George broke it impatiently. "So we just wait?" He rubbed Hermione's hand with his thumb, comfortingly. The mood, again, turned somber. Bill began to run his fingers through Hermione's hair. Then he sighed in resolution. "Yeah…we wait."

oOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOo

Author's Note: Okay, there's the first chapter. A wee bit angsty, but it'll lighten up quite a bit in the future. Now, I can't promise frequent updates because I have a problem with that:cough: hasn't updated her other stories in months:cough:, BUT, since this story is planned out more, it shouldn't be too long a wait between updates. Anywho, I hope you liked this and keep in mind, there'll be a lot of Weasley Love and humor later in.

Toodles,

jessebelle