A/N: Chapter 2! Sorry I didn't update sooner, the last bit of this chapter was deleted accidentally and I had to find my backup...
.: *Aparecium*\:.
The next day was much unlike the previous one. The Burrow was warm and lively again, its inhabitants all crammed into the space surrounding the long kitchen table to eat Mrs. Weasley's food. After the Battle of Hogwarts, Mrs. Weasley hustled everyone home, no exceptions. Not that anyone was complaining, but Hermione had a feeling Mrs. Weasley was more worried she and Harry would try to back out. But Hermione was quite content in her spot squashed between Harry and Charlie at the Burrow table. Charlie especially seemed ecstatic to be home, but Hermione was a little unsure that wasn't because he just missed his mother's cooking.
Upon arrival late last night (or early this morning if she was being completely honest) Mrs. Weasley had taken a brief nap along with the rest of her brood, before waking in a nervous fit, and beginning to cook and clean. Hermione was aware of the early food preparation as she was awake even before Mrs. Weasley. The two women had chatted nicely over tea, eventually moving towards baking together. Hermione took over the dessert prep, leaving the main courses to Molly. And now, Mrs. Weasley was bringing in her dessert dishes, basking in the warm compliments on the perfect looking apple pies.
"Thank you dears, but I'm afraid I didn't make these. Hermione was so kind as to make her grandmother's recipe tonight." The reaction was immediate, every pair of wide eyes whipped to stare at Hermione as Mrs. Weasley dished out hearty helpings to everyone. Upon everyone's first bites, groaning and moans were heard around the whole of the table.
"It's settled, 'Mione's makin' dessert foreva now" Ginny mumbled around her too large bite of the pie, receiving an indulgent look from Harry and a reproving one from her mother.
Ron too had only good things to say about Hermione's cooking, "How come you've never made stuff for us before? We just spent half a bloody year eating cold beans on toast. Harry, mate, we could have been having these!"
Harry gave his friend a scathing look, "Yeah Ron, I'm sure the smell of baking pies wouldn't have given away our location." Ron had the sense to blush a bit, but continued to stuff the pie into his face. Hermione was warm in the face, but appreciated all of the good compliments sent her way. She had always baked for her mom and dad on her trips home, and for holidays. She couldn't remember the last time she had enjoyed baking so much and endeavored to ask to help Mrs. Weasley more often.
The twins were only a few seats down from her, whispering to one another between bites of pie. Hermione watched one of them – George she was pretty sure – grab another piece once his first was gone. "What are you two on about?" she whispered down to them, worried they were going to set out a prank to ruin the happy atmosphere. Fred looked over George's shoulder, who had to turn around to face her. Charlie rolled his eyes, gesturing for Hermione to move over him to speak with the twins. Hermione waved him off, but was picked up none the less by the dragon tamer, being deposited on the edge of George's seat, practically sat on his lap. Now blushing, Hermione waited for the twins to acknowledge her question. Fred had an odd look on his face while George just looked overly amused at the situation he found himself in with Hermione.
"If you wanted to get close Granger, apparently all you had to do was bother Charlie. What a wingman, eh Freddie?" George nudged his brother, effectively snapping Fred out of his stare. Hermione gave George a scathing look, but dropped it to maintain her happy mood. The twins wouldn't be able to knock her out of this mood. Fred on the other hand, still couldn't look away from Hermione's abandoned plate on the other side of Charlie. Most of his mother's cooking had ended up on her son's plates, but the small portion Hermione had taken had barely been touched. The meat was cut into miniscule pieces, and the potatoes moved around to create the effect of minimizing the portion. He couldn't tell how much had actually been consumed by the witch, which caused a bead of worry to settle in his stomach. Looking up into Granger's face, Fred noticed her face looked gaunt, showing the round circles under her eyes from what must have been a lack of sleep, and her cheekbones stuck out from her normally rounded face.
He couldn't deny Hermione was a small witch to begin with, something he could say he had admired before, but now the graceful femininity of her size was gone leaving only this frail little thing. He hadn't told any of this to George, but his twin seemed to pick up on his musings of the little witch.
"In answer to your question 'Mione: nothing to worry yourself about, dear." George started up, shoving another forkful of her pie into his mouth. Fred piped up, sticking his own two cents into their monologue and shaking off his worry over Hermione's plate.
"You just stick to your plate,"
"Because I bloody am sticking to mine." George finished, shoveling the last of his pie away, grinning like an idiot afterwards. Fred even rolled his eyes at his brother, poking the bulge in George's cheek. Hermione grimaced, just imagining the taste of that much food was putting her off. Food wasn't looking very appetizing to her, especially in large amounts, her stomach was too small to put more than a quarter of her helpings away.
"You gonna eat that, Granger?" Hermione looked up from George's empty plate to Fred, who was motioning to her plate on the other side of Charlie. She shrugged, not feeling comfortable in explaining why she was really very full. Fred stood up to lean over the three of them, getting a glare from Charlie, snagging Hermione's still brimming plate. He put it in between her and George, picking up his own fork and beginning to work on getting rid of the meat. "Come on Granger, bite for a bite." George watched them, ping ponging his head between them.
Hermione flinched, and this time both twins took notice, "Fred, I really am quite full."
Fred stared her down, fork hovering in front of him, "Humour me."
Sighing heavily, and not seeing any way out of it, Hermione took up George's fork and pushed a bit of potato onto the tongs. Urging her body to take the nutrients, Hermione took one bite after the other, each forkful following each of Fred's until her plate was empty.
.: *Aparecium*\:.
The next morning, Hermione woke up but felt like she was still stuck in a dream. The room she shared with Ginny was silent, and by glancing over to the other girls bed she noted it was empty. The sun had barely rose, but Ginny may have even left before now. Rousing herself to sit up , Hermione reached for her wand sending it a silent Lumos, and quietly left the room in search of Ginny. The hallway and staircases were silent as well, no other life moving this early in the morning. Hermione made it down to the living room without waking anyone else up, coming upon the girl she was searching for, as well as the boy-who-lived. Harry and Ginny were cuddled up on the couch, Harry slumped over in a restless sleep. Ginny on the other hand had looked up when she heard Hermione coming down, smiling a greeting to her friend.
"Morning Gin," Hermione smiled, happy to see her friends together again. "would you like any breakfast?" Ginny nodded her agreement, so Hermione went into the kitchen to make them some breakfast sandwiches from the leftovers in the fridge. Once she had two for each of them, and a cup of tea, she returned to the two on the couch, taking the overstuffed armchair beside them.
"Thanks," Ginny whispered, eating carefully around Harry's head.
"How long have you been up?" Hermione asked, taking a bit of her sandwich, and realized she wasn't very hungry. Putting the half eaten sandwich back on her plate, Hermione instead focused on her tea and the conversation.
Ginny shrugged, "I don't think it counts if I didn't technically go to sleep." Hermione was shocked, but looking at Harry still tossing around she understood Ginny was trying to ease him back into a normal schedule.
"No, I suppose it doesn't."
The girls were silent for awhile, content in nibbling on the sandwiches and sipping tea. They whispered about nothing, enjoying one another's company in the early quiet hours. Eventually, the sun came in through the windows, and Mrs. Weasley came down the stairs to begin breakfast. She smiled at the girls and Harry, but went straight into the kitchen, effectively leaving them alone. A few minutes later, with the clanging in the kitchen, Harry woke up groggy and confused. Ginny propped him up and handed him a plate of the breakfast sandwiches. He gave her a quick peck on the lips before stuffing his face, giving Hermione a shy smile in greeting. The three spoke in soft voices, no longer worrying about the chance of waking anyone too early. Hermione eventually caught Ginny admiring the her own tattoo on her left hand she had received yesterday, one that wrapped twice around her left finger and trailed up to the nail. It was quite similar to Harry's; it also wrapped around twice, but pointed the opposite way on his finger.
"Did you come up with any ideas on what they could be?" Hermione asked, casually tracing her own tattoo with her thumb.
Ginny shrugged, not caring too much, while Harry was giving his a much more intensive look. "I know I said it was a Patronus yesterday, but my tattoo has hoove prints different than a stag." Hermione frowned, leaning forward to see Harry's tattoo. He was right; the hooves were clearly a horseshoe shape, and not the pointed teardrop shape of a deer's.
"I suppose I didn't really notice that, but mine are different from my Clydesdale. Look Hermione." Ginny stuck out her hand next to Harry, and Hermione couldn't look away from the now near identical tattoos.
"Er, guys, I think you have each other's Patronus prints." Hermione whispered, a sudden dread filling the pit of her stomach. Ginny looked confused, but Harry look completely befuddled.
"Is this because we're dating?" Ginny asked, now rubbing at her tattoo like she was trying to reveal a trick. Harry was already shaking his head before Hermione could think up an answer.
"That doesn't make sense for people who aren't dating anyone but still have a tattoo."
Ginny frowned and stuck out her hand for Hermione's left one, demanding to see," What's on yours 'Mione?"
Hermione wasn't as willing to show hers, now that she was so aware of what these tattoos could mean. In Hogwarts: A History there had been mention of similar spells like these tattoos, though nothing so intricate. Most of those stories were in relation to the need for co-ed dorms that could house married couples after the first Wizarding War, when the Ministry had implemented a marriage law…
"Hermione you have dog prints! Maybe Ron has otter ones, that would be cute, wouldn't it?" Ginny grinned, but was given an odd look from Hermione and Harry. "What?"
"Ron and Hermione aren't together, Gin." Harry chuckled, sharing a smile with Hermione. Ginny sputtered, indignant over this new information.
"B-but you said he kissed you!" Ginny pointed at Hermione in accusation.
"And immediately said he likes me as a friend. Ginny, I'm sorry, but let it go." Hermione couldn't help the laugh from escaping at Ginny's crushed look. Harry also had a good laugh at his girlfriend's distress, earning a glare from her for his troubles. "Besides, you must have missed it, but Ron's Patronus is a lion now."
Ginny was in fact surprised, but went straight back to wondering what prints Hermione's tattoo belonged to. While she was busy, Mrs. Weasley came back into the room, asking for Hermione to help her with breakfast. Happy to help, Hermione excused herself from the lovebirds and joined Molly at the kitchen counter, where fruit was sitting waiting to be chopped. Hermione spelled a knife to begin slicing, and took up another to do the rest of the pile.
"Thank you dear," Mrs. Weasley told her cheerily, finishing the washing up from yesterday. Hermione nodded her welcome, and the two ladies continued in companionable silence. The silence didn't last long. Footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs, signalling the family was waking up. The first to arrive was Percy, with an owl letter firmly in hand.
"Sorry mom, I can't stay long, Kingsley has called Dad and I in to help with solving this tattoo mystery." Percy pecked his mother's cheek and grabbed an apple from Hermione, even giving her friendly pat on the shoulder. Mrs. Weasley waved her son away with a soft 'Have a good day, son' and Percy was out the door. Mrs. Weasley and Hermione continued with breakfast, before Molly decided to broach the subject everyone was debating.
"What do you suppose those tattoos of your are, Hermione dear?" She motioned toward Hermione's own tattoo. "Though if anything, they are quite pretty."
Hermione had to agree with Mrs. Weasley. Her tattoo had kept her up for an hour after Ginny had fallen asleep (or so she thought she had), investigating all of the graceful, quirky loops the paw prints formed. The tattoo, similar to the way Ginny's formed, looped only once around her left ring finger before trailing up to the nail bed. The other end trailed the opposite way, reaching down and curved into her thumbs socket. Though the beauty and unique quality of them was mesmerising, the implications of then were beginning to become clear to the young witch.
"I don't think you want to know what I believe they are." Mrs. Weasley gave her a pitying look, but dropped the subject entirely. Instead she brought up the insistent nagging of Mr. Weasley over his new love of Hermione's baking. With a laugh, Hermione agreed to take over the official duty of baking desserts when requested for dinner. Mrs. Weasley was well pleased, and finished her last dish before going outside to check on the drying laundry.
Hermione wasn't sure how the woman had even had time to do laundry, but could only shake her head in wonder at the powerful matriarch of the Weasley's. In her distraction she missed the entrance of a sleepy Weasley, one who grinned at the opportunity, and clapped his hands down onto her shoulders, shouting a jovial, if croaky, "GOOD MORNING GRANGER!"
Hermione jumped a foot she was sure, spinning around, wand already in hand. The proud smirk of Fred Weasley greeted her, eyes still half lidded with sleep and a discernable shadow of finger scruff along his jaw. "Fredrick Gideon, don't do that!"
"Why Hermione, have I made you speechless?" The grin only widened as Fred leaned against the counter Hermione had been working at. Hermione scowled, her heart still racing from the scare.
"I am many things Fredrick, but speechless is not one of them. If you'd like, I would love to impart my speech upon your poor ears." Hermione smirked back now, throwing an orange peel at his head. Fred chuckled, brushing the peel off his shoulder.
"Then thank you for saving my ears Miss Granger. Now, what's for breakfast?" He clapped his hands together, perusing the dishes his mother had already prepared. Lifting the lid of one revealed sausages drowning in juice, and Fred produced a moan of delight that had Hermione hiding a blush. Instead she slapped his hands off the pot, making him drop the lid. "Ow! Bloody hell woman!"
"Patience is a virtue Mr. Weasley." Hermione was the one smirking now, watching Fred rubbing his throbbing hand. It brought her attention to Fred's newly acquired tattoo on his hand.
"Nice tattoo," she brought up, distracting Fred from whining further about being slapped and kept from food. Instead, he frowned at his hand boasting the new design and took a peek at Hermione's hand.
"I guess, any ideas about them?" Fred asked, curious to see the markings on Hermione. Hermione also investigated Fred's and noticed the distinctness of the paw prints, as she had curiously researched those exact marks during her fifth year at Hogwarts.
"I'm getting some, yes." She answered distractedly, "Do you know what prints those are?"
Fred glanced down at his hand, holding the pattern close to his face to squint at the prints, following the pattern from his nail bed, around his finger, and down to his thumb. "Haven't a clue. They aren't like a dog's or any kind of cat. And they're too wide to be my fox's." He mumbled to himself, tracing one on his knuckle with the fingernail of his pinky from his right hand. Hermione shivered, her knuckle itching something fierce.
"A fox? Your Patronus is a fox?" Hermione was beginning to feel weak, but she pressed on. Fred nodded, giving her a concerned look.
"Hermione? Are you alright? Come here, sit down." Fred pulled out a chair for her, but Hermione instead snatched his hand, and showing him her tattoo.
"Here, mine, do mine look like a fox's?" Fred gave her a strange look but looked at her tattoo anyway, his eyebrows nearly hitting his hairline. "It does, doesn't it. And yours are from an otter." Fred dropped her hand, a deep frown etched on his brow.
"Hermione, I don't understand what this means,"
"It's not anything good if it's what I'm thinking."
Fred ran his fingers through his hair, tugging at the ends in coming frustration, "What are you thinking Granger?"
Hermione watched him a moment, waiting for him to lower his arms and look her in the eye, "I think these are soul marks."
A/N: Thanks so much to everyone following this new story!