The Favor

For the first time all summer, the Burrow was quiet. Until now the house had been buzzing with the aftermath of the war, and it had been filled to the brim with Order members popping in and out to relay messages of reconstruction. In fact, it had been so busy that its occupants had had barely any time to think, to celebrate the downfall of the Dark Lord, or even to grieve their numerous losses.

Today, though, no one had come bearing news, and not one of the Weasleys had been summoned to the Ministry. It was a hot, lazy day, and under normal circumstances, the heat would have been the cause of much whining and complaining. However, no one was bothered much, partly because the weather was the last thing on their minds, and partly because this meant the Dementors had finally cleared the area.

Hermione Granger took note of this as she sat sprawled in the overgrown lawn of the garden. Although she was not one for wasting time, she couldn't help but relish the few moments of peace she had to herself. She too had been busy all summer; as she, Ron and Harry had all been instrumental to Voldemort's defeat last May, their help had been requested multiple times by various sources.

The trio had been needed most often by the Order of the Phoenix, who was currently working with a group of Aurors to help regain control of the Ministry of Magic. Although many Death Eaters had been present and captured at the Battle of Hogwarts, there were still a handful scattered throughout the Ministry, and the Order was attempting to round them up. Besides Death Eaters, there was also a large group of people who had taken advantage of the war and used it to enforce their own perverse policies. With the help of the Order, the Ministry had finally cracked down on these witches and wizards and was currently attempting to return to its pre-war state. Hermione could vividly remember the satisfaction she felt, two weeks ago, when she heard that Dolores Umbridge had been taken into custody and the Muggle-Born Registration Commission had been dismantled. The Burrow experienced a rather pleasant celebration that night.

Though Harry, Ron, and Hermione were not the ones to personally set things right again, their opinions had been sought and they had also been used to answer many questions. Soon after the Battle of Hogwarts, they had explained most of what had actually happened between Harry and Voldemort. Harry, at least, revealed the existence of the Horcruxes, and how Voldemort was finally able to die. Using the information that they gave, the Order had been able to identify who had worked, both willingly and unwillingly, under the Dark Lord's regime.

It wasn't terribly difficult work – nothing compared to searching for and destroying horcruxes – but it was time consuming. They did have to help rebuild a whole wizarding community, after all….

Hermione's thoughts drifted, and she turned her attention on a garden gnome that was rummaging through some garbage. Somewhere in the distance, a door opened and slammed shut. Footsteps crunched through the dry grass, and she heard her name.

"Hey, Hermione."

It was Harry and Ron. Her heart swelled at the sight of them, her two best friends. They had made it through alive, all of them, together. She felt so proud to have fought along side them, even though it had been tough at times. But the worst was over and no matter what had happened, everything was bound to get much better.

They crouched down beside her and gazed in the direction of the gnome, too. After a few moments, Ron spoke. "Dinner's almost ready," he said. "Mum said Hagrid's going to be coming."

Hermione nodded. "It'll be good to see him again."

"Yeah, maybe he'll take Mum's mind off of…." They all looked at each other. Hermione knew they were all thinking the same thing: although the end of the war had been an immense relief, it was truly bittersweet. Each of their loses had been a suffocating blow; first Moody, then Lupin, Tonks, and Fred…. It was especially hard on Mrs. Weasley, who was still in despair over her son's loss. The rest of the Weasleys were also devastated; however, her grief could only be matched by that of George.

"I said we'd help her set up," Harry said, breaking the silence.

"Good idea."

They all got up and brushed themselves off. Ron extended a hand to Hermione, which she took gratefully, and together they walked back into the house. There they found Mrs. Weasley standing in the crowded kitchen, waving her wand over a pot on the stove.

"Oh there you three are," she said, a little breathlessly. "I wondered where you had gone off to. Would you mind setting up the table outside? You know how Hagrid is…." She looked at them a bit helplessly, and Hermione's insides ached with pity. Mrs. Weasley looked as though she hadn't slept in weeks; her eyes were red and sagging, the lines on her face were more pronounced than ever, and her normally vibrant hair had been streaked with gray.

"No problem, Mrs. Weasley," Hermione said kindly.

"When is Hagrid coming?" asked Ron.

"He should be here any minute," Mrs. Weasley said. "That's why I need you all to be quick with setting things up. Dinner will be rea – ahhh!"

Suddenly, a sort of explosion took place; a potato had evidently been overcooked and shot out of the stove, ricocheted off the wall, and landed spectacularly on the ground, splattering everyone standing in the near vicinity.

Mrs. Weasley cursed. "Oh, oh no," she cried, on the verge of tears. "This is just what I needed…." She bent down to clean the mess just as Ginny came skidding into the room, clearly having just run through the house towards the source of the commotion.

"What happened?" she asked, clutching her side. Her eyes widened as she looked around the room and saw everyone covered in a mushy gray mess.

"It's okay, Ginny," Harry said, gently taking Mrs. Weasley's arm and pulling her back up. "Just an exploding potato. Here, Mrs. Weasley, let me get that for you." He took out his wand and said, "Scourgify." Ron and Ginny took out their wands also, and together they continued cleaning the floor and walls. Meanwhile, Hermione went to retrieve the remaining potatoes before they ended up elsewhere in the kitchen.

Mrs. Weasley looked extremely gratified. "Thank you so much," she said, trying to compose herself. "You four are such a big help, I don't know what –"

"Don't worry about it, Mum," Ginny said, picking a piece of potato out of Harry's hair.

Hermione smiled and grabbed a handful of silverware. "Really, Mrs. Weasley, we don't mind helping out," she said. "It's no big deal."

Mrs. Weasley's lip trembled and she rushed forward, bringing Hermione and Ginny into a fierce hug. Their two heads banged together and Ginny yelled out.

"Geeze, Mum! Gerroff me! Don't you have to finish dinner or something?"

"Oh, that's right; Hagrid's coming," Mrs. Weasley said, releasing the girls from her death-grip. She looked at them all fondly before turning back to the stove and saying, "don't forget about the table now."

As they made their way outside, Hermione thought she heard a rather large sniff coming from back inside the house. No one said anything about Mrs. Weasley's behavior, as this was quite the norm nowadays. Instead, they began to talk about Hagrid, and also about Hogwarts, which they haven't visited since immediately after the battle.

"I wonder how the Hogwarts cleanup is going," Ron said, guiding the table with his wand. "It looked awful the last time we were there."

"I'm sure it's fine," Hermione replied. She looked at a chair thoughtfully, then pointed her wand at it. "Engorio," she said, and it swelled to three times its normal size. "Do you think that'll be strong enough for Hagrid? I don't know if I should use some extra reinforcing charms or not…."

"It's probably okay," Harry said. He looked at Ron. "You know, you're right," he said. "There were some walls missing and a whole floor caved in… how would they possibly repair all of that?"

No one answered. Hermione began to lay the table when Harry pointed towards the distance and said, "look, Hagrid's here!"

Sure enough, Hagrid was slowly coming into view just over the hedge. They all dropped their things and ran up to meet him. "Hey, you lot," he said, stepping over some bushes. "How've yeh been?"

"We're okay," Harry said. "But never mind us. How are you? How is it at Hogwarts?"

Hagrid chuckled. "Can' wait fer nothin'," he said. He studied the four teenagers, who were all staring at him expectantly. "It's fine – fine! Cleanup's goin' well, we'll have everythin' up an' runnin' for the students when they come in September. Don' know what yer all expectin' ter hear."

"I dunno," Harry said, shrugging. "We've heard a lot about things going on in the Ministry, but nothing about Hogwarts. And seeing as we kind of destroyed half the school, we thought we'd like to hear how everything was going."

"I told yeh, everything's goin' ter be fine," Hagrid said. He looked back up at the house. "How're yer parents, Ron, Ginny?" he asked.

There was an awkward pause. "They've been better," Ron finally said.

"Ah, well, yeh – yeh know it'll take some time. It always does. But they'll be okay, in the end."

No one said anything for a while. At times like these, Hermione felt awful; it was as if she was intruding on a family's grief. Yes, she was also devastated about what had happened, but sometimes she felt she had no right to act as though her sorrow was as deep as the Weasley's. She, after all, still had her whole family. Although her parents were still in Australia, she was planning to bring them back as soon as she deemed it safe enough. But the Weasley's had lost a family member…. Hermione looked at Harry, and could tell he felt the same way, that he shouldn't be here. But Harry had no place to go either.

After a few minutes, Mrs. Weasley came back out of the house, followed by Mr. Weasley and George. "Hello, Hagrid," she said, placing a large platter on the table. "It's good to – oh look!" They heard a faint pop, and Kingsley Shacklebolt appeared just beyond the Burrow's property. He walked into the yard and smiled when he saw everyone standing there.

"Hi everyone," he said, extending a large, calloused hand to Harry. "Sorry to just drop in like this, but I needed a quick word with these three." He gestured to Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"Will you be staying to eat?" Mrs. Weasley asked. "There's plenty to go around."

He shook his head. "Not today, Molly; I only have a few minutes here, and then I have to get back to the Ministry."

Mrs. Weasley looked crestfallen.

"I'm sorry; some other time." He beckoned to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and they all walked towards the edge of the garden. Hermione briefly wondered why he wanted to talk to them alone. She stole a glance at Ron and saw he looked confused as well.

"I'm not trying to be secretive," Kingsley told them, as soon as they were out of earshot of the others, "I just wanted to ask you a favor without anyone interfering."

"What is it? Will my parents not approve?" asked Ron, somewhat hopefully.

"Not necessarily," Kingsley said. "It's actually about the trial tomorrow, for the captured Death Eaters."

They all nodded; they had read about this in the Daily Prophet.

"Originally, they were all just going to be identified; we planned to simply confirm that they had worked for Voldemort, and then take them back into custody." He paused. "But apparently, the Wizengamot is ordering that we follow a standard procedure: hold a full trial, use witnesses…."

"And lemme guess, you need us to testify as witnesses, is that right?" Ron interrupted.

Kingsley looked at them carefully. "Well, yes," he said. "It would really be helpful, seeing as you had already offered your services to the Order and the Ministry…."

"And did away with Voldemort?" Harry added.

They all laughed.

"So will you come? I'm sorry it's such short notice; I only found out today."

"Of course," Harry said. "I can't wait to see them all locked up – I'll be glad to help."

"Me too," Ron said, while Hermione nodded.

Kingsley clapped Harry on the back. "Thanks so much," he said. "You three are great. And you know," he added, "if you need any help deciding what to do with yourselves once everything has calmed down, I'll be glad to lend you a hand. Have you thought about this at all?"

Hermione's stomach gave a jolt. The thought had crossed her mind occasionally, and she had since come to the unwelcome conclusion that she had no plan for her future whatsoever. She voiced her thoughts.

"Well we didn't get a chance to take our NEWTs, and I know they are instrumental in determining one's career path…. I don't know what we can do without them, maybe we can arrange something with Hogwarts…."

Harry and Ron rolled their eyes.

"Hermione, exam scores don't matter anymore," Kingsley said. "We need experienced witches and wizards, and I can't think of any three better than you. The Ministry can hire you – I'm sure you would all make wonderful Aurors if you want."

Ron looked beside himself in excitement. Hermione, meanwhile, was skeptical.

"Really? Even though we're technically not qualified?"

"Really." Kingsley looked her right in the eyes. "You are plenty qualified in my books. You'd all be a great addition to the department – we could use some fresh ideas, especially if we're trying to rebuild the Ministry."

"He has a point, Hermione," Harry said, grinning. He also looked elated. "Well I'm up for it."

Kingsley stared at a point over their shoulders. The sky was darkening now, and the garden was becoming speckled with flashes of lightning bugs. After a moment, he continued.

"Maybe we can get you all set up tomorrow after the hearing," he said. "Can you bring Arthur with you? Just in case I'm not around; he can bring you up to the Auror Department. Plus, I think we'd all feel safer if you were escorted by an Order member."

"That's a good idea," Hermione said.

Kingsley looked pleased. "Great. Well I should be leaving now. The hearing is at ten o'clock down in Courtroom Ten. Do you know where that is?"

"Yes," Harry said, grimacing. "That's where I had my improper use of magic hearing."

"It's also the only courtroom large enough to accommodate everyone. We should consider that a good thing, though." They all shook hands, and after waving goodbye to the others, he walked to the edge of the yard, turned on the spot, and vanished.

The Weasleys were all sitting around the table now, Hagrid at the far end in his half-crushed chair. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were there, of course, and they were joined by Mr. Weasley and George. Other than this, though, the table was empty: Bill and Fleur had gone back to live at Shell Cottage, and Percy, after spending a week or so with the family, had returned to his London flat. Charlie had also spent some time at the Burrow during the beginning of the summer, but had since returned to Romania.

Hermione, Harry and Ron walked up to the group and took their seats.

Mrs. Weasley wasted no time in interrogating them. Before Hermione could even reach for the pumpkin juice, she said impatiently, "Well? What did he want?"

Hermione knew Mrs. Weasley was not going to like what she heard, so she took the plunge. "We're going to act as witnesses in tomorrow's trial," she said bluntly.

As expected, Mrs. Weasley gasped, and after a moment of gaping open-mouthed at the three teenagers, she began to protest.

"That's ridiculous!" She said. "Why would they need you? It's dangerous, being around all of those Death Eaters again…"

"Mum, we've helped the Ministry with this kind of stuff before."

"…there's too many of them together in one room…"

"Mrs. Weasley, everything will be under control."

"…absolutely no tact, the Ministry should know not to put children in danger like that…"

"We're not children!"

"…look at what we've been through – we don't need another person hurt or –"

"MOLLY!"

Everyone stopped at looked at Mr. Weasley, who had put down his fork and stared back at his wife in an even determination.

"Molly," he repeated more calmly, "they're not children anymore – they're all of age. And they've been at the Ministry plenty of times; it's completely safe now that everything's under control."

Mrs. Weasley still looked infuriated. "But if they're in a whole room full of Death Eaters, who knows –"

"No buts," he said. "Kingsley obviously needs their help, or he wouldn't have asked." Then he turned to Harry. "I'll come with you three tomorrow morning. What time is it?"

"Ten o'clock," Harry answered. "And Kingsley wants us to go up and visit the Auror department afterwards."

"Oh very good; the hearing probably won't take too long then," Mr. Weasley said.

"That's what it sounded like," Harry said.

Ron snorted. "Yeah, I expect we'll just have to check under their sleeves for the Dark Mark. It can't be too hard to prove they worked for You-Know-Who. They all have a certain look about them, anyway…."

They all laughed at Ron's lightheartedness, but Hermione couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. She really did hope that the hearing would be as quick and easy as Mr. Weasley said, but a tiny part of her agreed with Mrs. Weasley: tomorrow had the potential to be dangerous if they weren't careful. And she was worried that it was nonchalance like Ron's that would cause this potential to become a terrifying reality.