'Now, does everyone have everything?' Mrs. Weasley asked as her children and Hermione pulled their cases and various pets into the living room. There were murmurs of assent as they all lined up, ready to disapparate to the headquarters. 'Good. Well, we're not gone forever; we can always pop back if anything gets left behind. Now then: Ginny, you go with your father, George, take Ron. Hermione you can go with Fred. I'll take the cat.'
As they each headed to their disapparating partners and Mrs. Weasley picked up Crookshanks, Fred bowed to Hermione and offered her his arm.
'M'lady,' he joked. Hermione giggled as she linked her arm with his. She was almost certain that she saw Ron narrow his eyes at them before the room distorted in front of her and she felt as though she was being squeezed through a terribly narrow tube.
They appeared on a lawn facing a row of grim looking terraced houses. Ron and George appeared next to them, followed by the rest of the Weasleys and Crookshanks. Hermione tried to catch Ron's eye. Last night, when everyone retreated inside, he had gone to bed without even saying goodnight to her. Thankfully things had been ok between them over breakfast; it seemed that the two of them were acting as though nothing had happened. She had to keep reminding herself that nothing had happened, as much as she would have liked it to.
'Now, everyone read this note from Dumbledore. Do not say it out loud. Just read it and memorise it,' Mr. Weasley said, unfurling a small piece of parchment he'd pulled from his pocket. He gave it to Fred who, after reading it, passed it to Hermione.
The Headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London she read, before passing the paper to George. To her surprise, when she looked ahead of her in search of number twelve, she did not find it. Instead, she saw only houses number eleven and thirteen. Her first instinct was to look behind her to see if the houses on the other side of the green were numbered evenly, but before she could do so, the two houses began to move apart revealing another house between them.
'Oh my, I've never actually seen this charm in action before! It's amazing!' She said. As much as she adored books, Hermione was always eager to experience new spells in person where possible.
'What are you on about?' Ron asked looking from Hermione's face to where her gaze fell, clearly unable to see what she could see.
'George, give Ron the note,' Mr. Weasley said.
'Wicked…' George said as he passed Ron the piece of paper without even looking at him, his gaze fixed on the house that Hermione realised must now be materialising for him too.
'Come on now everyone, hurry inside as soon as you've read the note please,' Mrs. Weasley said ushering Hermione, Fred, and George towards the house, evidently keen to get everyone inside to safety.
'Whoa that's cool!' Hermione heard Ron say from behind her as he witnessed the house emerge too.
'Ron give it to me, I want to see!' Ginny exclaimed.
Hermione followed Mr. Weasley, Fred, and George up the steps and into the house. The smell of damp and dust greeted her as she stepped through the front door. She squinted through the darkness in an attempt to get a first glance of their temporary home, but it was too dull for her to make anything out.
'Now, I've been told we're all going to want to keep very quiet. Something to do with a painting, I don't remember exactly what Sirius said,' Mr. Weasley whispered as Ron, Ginny, and Mrs. Weasley (carrying an agitated Crookshanks) followed them into the house. The door closed behind them leaving the narrow corridor in complete darkness. The pitch black was quite a shock after the bright summer sunlight outside.
'Ron, is that you?' Hermione whispered as she felt someone close behind her. She hadn't expected the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix to be this eerie, and she felt slightly frightened.
'Yeah it's me,' Ron replied, and she could hear a slight unease in his voice too. His left hand brushed up against hers and she could've sworn it was on purpose. She held hers there, not wanting to lose the slight contact.
'Right, the light must be around here somewhere,' Mr. Weasley said. 'If I could just find my wand… honestly I only had it a second ago…'
Hermione was going to reach for hers and use Lumos to help Mr. Weasley find either his wand or the light, but she quickly remembered that she couldn't do magic outside of school. It had only been a week since they were at Hogwarts, and it always took a while to adjust to not being able to use magic again. She wasn't sure she'd reach for it even if she could though; she didn't want to move her hand from where it was right now, her fingers brushing with Ron's.
'Here you are dad,' George said, 'Lumos.' He shone his wand over the wall in the hopes of helping find a light.
'Thanks, George,' Arthur said as he reached for a gas lamp now illuminated by George's wand. Before he could turn it on however, he was stopped in his tracks by a scream from his wife.
Everyone jumped back and scrambled for their wands, pointing them in Mrs. Weasley's direction. Hermione found herself pushed against the wall, Ron in front of her, shielding her from whatever his mother was so frightened of. Their left hands were no longer brushing against each other but were instead linked tightly together, their fingers interlocked. Their other hands were clutching their wands.
Seconds after Molly cried out, before anyone could do anything other than draw their wands, the screams of someone else erupted from the other end of the corridor. Everyone quickly aimed their wands in that direction instead, Hermione having to bend her arm around Ron in order to do so. As Crookshanks dived out of Mrs. Weasley's arms and Pigwidgeon rattled around his cage screeching, Hermione stood on her tiptoes to look over Ron's shoulder, trying to see from the dim light of George's wand what was making the awful racket.
Someone must have finally got to the light, as suddenly it flickered on to reveal Tonks trying to drag some curtains closed over the portrait of a foul looking old woman from whom the screams were emitting.
'Some… one… help me then!' Tonks got out between heaves on the curtains, and after getting over the initial surprise, Fred and George ran over and helped her force them closed. Everyone else remained motionless, apparently still in shock.
'What on earth was that?' Ginny exclaimed after a few seconds. This seemed to bring everyone else to their senses and they lowered their wands, looking at each other and Tonks with disbelief. Ron stepped forward, and in doing so, unpinned Hermione from the wall and broke apart their hands. Hermione straightened out her top and ignored the glances some of the Weasley's were casting in her direction.
'That,' Tonks said with one final yank of the curtains, 'is my auntie.'
'Your what dear?' Asked Mrs. Weasley.
'My great aunt, Molly. Any loud noise sets her off. What was it this time?' Tonks said.
'Mum cried out, but I don't know why. What happened, mum?' Fred asked.
'Well,' Mrs. Weasley looked rather embarrassed, 'it was that.' She gestured to a serpent shaped candelabra resting on a rickety table. 'In the light of George's wand, I thought it was a real snake!'
As everyone calmed down and with the lights now on, Hermione finally took in her surroundings properly. The peeling wallpaper and aged, dusty furniture were not what she had pictured when she thought about the Order of the Phoenix Headquarters.
'I… I'm sorry that I like, pushed you against the wall just then,' Ron stuttered out suddenly, 'I mean… I didn't know what mum was shouting about… and then that screaming… I know you can defend yourself. It was just like… instinct you know,' he finished quietly, rubbing the back of his neck and avoiding her gaze.
She wanted to tell him not to be sorry. She wanted to tell him how much she loved that his first instinct was to protect her. She wanted to tell him how good it felt to hold his hand and have his body pressed against hers, even under such scary circumstances. Before she could respond however, someone else appeared at the end of the hallway next to Tonks.
'You all got here in one piece then?'
'Sirius!' Both Ron and Hermione ran over and hugged him. Crookshanks darted after them and wound around his legs.
'Ah it's good to see you both,' He said wrapping an arm around each of them. 'You too, Crookshanks.'
'It feels a bit weird you know,' Fred said, 'seeing your little brother hugging someone who, until a week ago, you thought was a mass murderer.'
After explaining to Hermione, Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny that this was his parents' house, and that the woman in the painting was his mother, Sirius lead everyone down some stairs and into the kitchen.
Every step further into the house Hermione took, the more repulsed she became. She could feel the dirt in the carpet under her feet and each breath felt heavy with dust. As she took a seat beside Ron at the grimy table, she could tell from the look on Mrs. Weasley's face that she was regretting agreeing to stay here without seeing it first. As she looked around, she could see from everyone else's expressions that they weren't too pleased either.
'Yeah, I know,' Sirius said in response to the looks upon everyone's faces. 'But unfortunately, this is the best place we've got, for reasons the Order have already discussed. The kitchen here is where the meetings will be taking place. Plenty of room for everyone. When everyone else arrives tonight we're going to kick off with the new intelligence we received from-'
'This is where the Order will be conducting meetings, Sirius. The Order. Not the children. No need to discuss it now,' Mrs. Weasley interrupted.
'Molly please, I wasn't going to go into too much detail,' Sirius laughed.
'Any detail is too much detail thank you very much,' Molly said with attempted finality.
'But mum we want to know!' Ron said. As much as she understood where Mrs. Weasley was coming from, Hermione too was a little frustrated that she was so adamantly against them knowing anything.
'-And besides, we're not children,' Fred said. 'At least George and I aren't. And I wouldn't usually say it but you've got to give Ron here some credit. Hermione too of course.'
'Just stop it with that will you!' Mrs. Weasley snapped. 'None of you are members of the Order so that's that.'
'Then why on earth did you bring us to this filthy hovel - no offence Sirius- for the rest of our summer if we can't even be involved?' George snapped back.
'Well,' Mrs. Weasley said trying to keep her voice steady, 'that actually brings me onto something very important that I need all of you to do that will help the Order significantly.'
'Really?' Ginny said, surprised, 'even me?'
'Yes you too, Ginny,' Mrs. Weasley nodded. Everyone sat forward in their seats, excited to hear what they could do to help. 'This place is going to be our headquarters for the foreseeable. We're going to have very important people passing in and out of here every day,' everyone was listening intensely now, 'so it would do us all a tremendous favour, if you could help us clean the place up.' Everyone's faces fell.
'You are kidding right-'
'-We can't even use magic-'
'-I'm sure You-Know-Who is terrified of a clean house-'
'-This place? Have you seen how filthy it is?!'
'Alright, enough! I'll admit that I didn't know quite how bad it was, but you all want to help the Order don't you? And this would help!' Mrs. Weasley said.
Even Hermione had to admit that she didn't like the idea of cleaning this place up at all, especially as she, Ron, and Ginny couldn't use magic. As though sensing that the conversation wasn't going well, Mr. Weasley interrupted.
'Sirius, do mind showing us all to our rooms so we can put our things away?'
'Ah yes, of course,' said Sirius, trying to stifle a laugh, as he led them out of the kitchen and upstairs.
Over the course of the afternoon, Hermione and Ron were introduced to many other members of the Order, and were happy to see some familiar faces such as their old Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Remus Lupin. Shortly before that day's meeting was scheduled, they had joined him and Tonks for a cup of tea in the kitchen. They were heading back upstairs, Lupin and Tonks ahead of them, when Hermione heard the front door open.
'Ah professor,' She heard Lupin address the new arrival.
'Remus, lovely to see you,' Hermione caught Ron's eye and he returned her look of excitement. That voice belonged to Dumbledore. They hurried the rest of the way up the stairs.
'I'm actually just on my way out,' Lupin said.
'You're not staying for the meeting?' Tonks tried to sound nonchalant, but Hermione could hear the disappointment in her voice.
'No, I'm on guard duty tonight,' Lupin replied, avoiding her eyes.
'Professor Dumbledore!' Mrs. Weasley hurried down the corridor followed by Fred, George, and Ginny.
'Hello Molly dear,' he smiled, and then finally noticed Ron and Hermione standing in the doorway of the staircase. 'Hello you two,' he said as he shook both of their hands. Hermione felt a little flustered and she knew Ron must too. Though Dumbledore often spoke to Harry, he didn't interact with the two of them all that much.
'We're going to have the meeting in the kitchen if you'd like to make your way down,' Mrs. Weasley said to Dumbledore, then directed her attention towards her children and Hermione. 'You lot, clear off. If I catch any of you trying to listen in-'
'Actually Molly, if you have no objections, I'd like a word with Mr. Weasley and Miss. Granger before we begin,' Dumbledore smiled at her.
'Oh… of course,' Mrs. Weasley said hesitantly.
'Would you care to show me to one of your rooms so we can talk privately?' Dumbledore looked back and forth between them. Both Hermione and Ron seemed momentarily unable to speak.
'Don't keep the Professor waiting you two,' Mrs. Weasley said.
'Um, right this way, Professor,' Hermione said, exchanging a glance with Ron as they made their way to the stairs. Fred, George, and Ginny threw them looks of curiosity and envy as they ascended the staircase.
'Here we are, sir,' Ron said as he opened the door to his room. He and Hermione sat on his bed, as Dumbledore settled himself on the edge of the bed opposite that was meant for harry.
'You must have lots of questions,' Dumbledore said giving them a look of understanding. Hermione and Ron exchanged glances with each other before seemingly being unable to help themselves.
'Where is You-Know-Who?'
'Are we safe?'
'Can we get involved with the Order?'
'Why is the ministry behaving like this?'
'When can Harry come?'
Dumbledore held up a hand to stop them before they could continue.
'Firstly, Harry will be arriving eventually, but until then I must ask you not to disclose anything you may hear in this house, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to him via owl. Anything at all. I know it's tempting, but they may be intercepted.'
Hermione knew that Harry wasn't going to like that. Ron glanced at her and she could see from his expression that he was thinking the same.
'As for your other questions… well I'm afraid there is only so much I can say. But rest assured that the Order is doing everything it can. I know it must be frustrating for you not to know what's going on; you've fought along side Harry saving his and many other lives, for which we are all thankful, and for which some may argue that you have a right to know as much as the rest of us. However it's your parents' decision Ron, and regarding you also, Hermione, whilst you're in their care, and I believe your mother just doesn't want you to have to go through anymore than you already have. And quite right too. Although you have done tremendous things in the past, you are still underage, and we intend to keep you as safe as possible in the future.'
Hermione did not want to argue with Dumbledore, but this didn't sit well with her, and she knew it wouldn't with Ron either. It must have been obvious from their expressions, as Dumbledore continued, his expression more serious than before.
'There is more to this than meets the eye. It is not simply a matter of you being too young. I promise you that as soon as the time is right, you will find out everything you desire to know. Harry too of course. But until then, I ask you to be patient. And again, I must implore you not to tell Harry anything.' He looked at them both expectantly.
'We won't, sir,' Hermione said as Ron nodded his head in agreement.
'Do you swear? Not a mention of this place, the people in it, or even a single word they may utter?' He was looking at them both so intensely, Hermione found herself gulping.
'We swear,' they both said. He looked back and forth between them for a few seconds as though contemplating whether or not they were telling the truth.
'Thank you both for understanding.' The serious look on his face vanished and became a smile as he stood up from the bed. 'Now for the rather more tedious matter of discussing things with the adults.'
As he pulled the bedroom door open, Ginny fell through the doorframe onto the carpet in front of them, as though she had been leaning on the door. She quickly got up, embarrassment at being caught eavesdropping clear on her face.
'Good evening, Miss. Weasley.' Dumbledore raised his eyebrows at her.
'I… I was just coming to see Ron and Hermione,' she said quickly.
'Well they're all yours now. I bid you all farewell,' he tipped his hat to them as he left.
Hermione and Ron sat in silence as his footsteps faded and Ginny stared at them expectantly.
'Get out Ginny,' Ron said.
'Charming!' Ginny replied, but seemed to realise that Hermione and her brother needed to talk, and so she left.
'Harry…' Hermione said after a few more moments of silence. She felt guilty already.
'I know,' Ron replied, guilt evident in his voice too. 'He'll understand though.'
'Will he?' Hermione could imagine how disappointed he would be with them, having to spend his summer with a family who were nothing short of abusive, whilst they got to be together at the heart of the action. To her surprise, she felt Ron's arm gently rest on her shoulder.
'Eventually,' he sighed. 'Don't feel too bad. At least he doesn't have to attempt to clean this filthy place,' he joked. Hermione gave him a small smile.
'As long as he's safe. That's the main thing,' she said as Ron stroked her shoulder.
'Exactly,' He agreed. 'Hold on a second, can you hear shouting?'
Hermione concentrated for a second and realised she could indeed hear raised voices.
'Shall we see what's going on?' Ron stood up from the bed and pulled Hermione after him by the hand when she hesitated to follow. She was reluctant to eavesdrop on an argument. They left the bedroom and looked over the banister to see three people in the hallway downstairs. To their great surprise, one member of the group was Snape.
'What on earth is he doing here?' Ron exclaimed quietly.
'He must be a member of the Order,' Hermione replied.
Snape was currently face to face with Sirius, who had hold of him by the collar of his robe.
'Please! I ask both of you to remember where we are and why we are here! We are on the same side. Honestly,' Dumbledore said, the authority clear in his voice. Sirius reluctantly let go of Snape. 'Now if we could please get on with the meeting like adults,' He said, ushering them into kitchen.
'I can't believe Snape is part of the order,' Ron shook his head.
'Dumbledore trusts him, so we should too.' Hermione said simply. That said, she wasn't best pleased at the idea of being around a teacher who mocks and bullies her for the whole summer. Thankfully he didn't stay for dinner.
