Here is the second chapter. Leave me a review to tell me what you thought of it.
And I'm still looking for a beta-reader...
Chapter 2: Grimmauld Place
When Hermione woke up, a man was standing in front of her.
"Are you okay miss? We just called the police. They will arrive soon."
Her head was throbbing. She rose her hand to her temple and felt blood trickling from there.
"Mione! Mione! Do you hear me? No Ginny I don't know… MIONE!" It was Harry on the phone trying to know what was happening.
Her phone was lying next to her and after a few moments she took it to answer and stop Harry from screaming on the other end. It made her head ache even more.
"Harry?"
"Hermione." Harry sighed in relief. "I'm so glad to hear you. I was just talking to you when I heard a terrible noise and then you didn't answer. What's happening?"
"I don't really know Harry. I think there was an explosion."
"WHAT? Where are you?"
"I'm okay. I'm in my street. I came down with my phone when I couldn't hear you. I hit a wall. I suppose the building exploded, it's all fuzzy in my head. And I feel dizzy."
"I'm coming 'Mione. Don't move."
She chuckled. "As if I could, my flat just blew up."
"All right, I'll be there in a minute"
"Harry! You might want to call your team. I'm pretty sure there is something magical in this explosion and the muggle police has been called. We may need to obliviate some people."
"Right. Even when you are dizzy, your brain works better than mine."
A few minutes later, Harry arrived. Policemen were everywhere interrogating the witnesses and taking notes. Their cars blocking the street with their lights on. The scene was not pretty. Half of the building had been blown up. There were dust, clothes, books, bricks and other things everywhere.
Harry found Hermione standing and wrapped in a blanket given by the police. She was covered in dust with a trail of blood running down her cheek from her temple. She was staring at the building.
"Hermione?" Harry said when he approached her. "Are you alright?"
She turned around and throw herself into his arms.
"Oh Harry! I've lost everything."
"That's alright Mione. You're alive and that's all that matters. What happened?"
"The police says that the third floor exploded. My floor. We will have to wait for the Aurors but I'm pretty sure that it was the Death Eaters. They must have booby-trapped my flat and when I opened the door it triggered something. If you hadn't called me I might have been dead by now."
"Yeah. You've always been very lucky. Are you alright?"
"Yes. I'm just feeling a little bit dizzy. A muggle doctor looked at me and said it was normal. I banged my head pretty hard against the wall. He said that I was to experience dizziness for some times before my inner ear returns to normal."
"Well, let's hope it won't be long. And your temple?"
"Just a cut where I hit my head. It's okay." She sighed watching her building in ruins. "What am I going to do now?"
"You're going to come and live with us at Grimauld Place!"
"Don't be stupid! I don't want to annoy you."
"You're the one who is stupid if you think for one second that I will leave my best friend wandering the streets of London. You are coming home. We have plenty of rooms and we already have a part of the Order living there. One more or one less is the same to us."
"Really?"
"Yes, really. You're my sister and I'm sure that Ginny would be happy to have someone to chit-chat with."
Hermione smiled. She was so lucky to have friends like that.
"And if it's really you who was targeted it means that the Deatheaters are after you somehow. You're in danger, we better not take it lightly."
"As if I was not targeted before…"
"Hermione…" Harry said reproachfuly.
"All right, all right. I'm coming. I'll live with you" Hermione said giving up.
Living at Grimmauld Place would be nice but the explosion meant that she would have to be even more careful now. Harry and Ginny would surely be overprotective. She did not really want that but Harry was right.
When they opened the door, Ginny ran down the stairs to embrace Hermione.
"Oh Hermione! I'm so happy you're alive. I was so scared!"
"That's alright Ginny. I'm alive. And I'm very thankful. Thank you for letting me stay here for the moment."
"Nonsense, you don't have to thank us. You're part of our family."
"See, that's what I told you." Harry said from behind Hermione. "Plus, if you really were the target of the Death Eaters you better remain hidden for a few days."
Hermione forced herself to smile at the mention of "a few days". Nobody was foolish enough to think that the war would be over in a few days. A few years more likely. It has already been years since Voldemort's return already and Hermione could not imagine remaining hidden for so long. She loved Harry, Ginny and the rest of the Order living at Grimmauld Place but she needed her independence.
"And you can help me with the preparation of the party." Ginny added with a smile.
"Oh joy!" Hermione said while rolling her eyes.
She was not particularly fond of parties and even less of preparing parties but if it was for Harry… But for the moment, all she could think of was going to the loo and a good hot bath.
"Guys, would you mind if I took a bath. I feel so dirty and exhausted."
"No, no. Come. I'm going to show you the room I've prepared. I've put some clothes of mine. The good thing with all that is that we are going to go shopping altogether! You need new clothes." Ginny said while climbing the stairs.
Hermione smiled and followed her. Ginny was always the one to look at the bright side of things. Even if you just experienced a very traumatic event, Ginny was here to make you smile again. Hermione quite liked that. It was better than desperately crying over everything she had lost in the explosion.
She knew it would happen. She was Harry Potter's best friend and one of the Death Eaters' targets. Professor Snape had warned them enough times during the Order's meetings. She and the Weasley family were the main targets after Harry and Dumbledore.
While Ginny showed her her room, she also explained that she was on the guests' floor. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Lupin and Nymphadora, and Snape all had a room on this floor. And even though most of them were not at home for the moment, she would not be alone in this house.
"Take your time," Ginny said leaving Hermione in her room. "Dumbledore postponed the meeting to tonight. And you better be in great form because there will be a lot to discuss."
Ginny left and Hermione started to prepare for a well-deserved hot bath.
When Hermione entered the kitchen of Grimmauld Place where the meeting of the Order was held, the majority of the members had already arrived and most of them were chatting. But the atmosphere did not reflect happiness.
Several people were gathered in different groups and from the words Hermione could overhear she was one of the main topics of discussion. Moody Mad-Eye stood in one corner of the room, his eye relentlessly scanning the kitchen. In the opposite corner, a dark silhouette stood leaning against the wall. It was Severus Snape. And close to the sink she spotted Ron, Harry and Ginny and decided to join them.
After a few moments, Dumbledore signalled the beginning of the meeting and everyone except Moody Mad-Eye and Snape sat down around the table.
"I've gathered all of you to talk about two events which happened today. You've all read about the sad news in Edinburgh." Dumbledore started with the headline of the Daily Prophet and it was decided that some members of the Order would be appointed to have a close look at the investigation.
"The second point of our gathering of today is the case of Miss Granger." When he stated her name most of the people present in the room turned their head to her and smiled with compassion. "We have yet to find who is behind this explosion but we all know that the list of suspects is rather short. Being a close friend of Harry, he and myself decided that you would remain at Grimmauld Place until further notice. If you agree."
He said this last sentence in a way that let little possibility to say no. And though Hermione was a little bit offended that such a decision had been taken without having been consulted, she nodded. A few moments later, she would realise that it was for the best. Such an explosion – two storeys had been blown up – was not to be dealt with lightly.
"Miss Granger," Dumbledore continued "you would naturally be able to continue your apprenticeship in St Mungo's but we may appoint some members to look after you for a few days." At this, Hermione frowned. It seems that the more Dumbledore talk, the less she felt free. "We don't want anything to happen to you and it's for your best."
"Of course, sir" Hermione replied bitterly.
"On a more positive note," he said looking at the rest of the audience. "I also wanted to bring to your attention that I have chosen Miss Granger to the mission of finding a spell or a potion which would weaken our enemy. Miss Granger is known for her love of books and research and she is the perfect asset to find a solution as quickly as possible. We cannot lose any more time."
How sweet of Dumbledore to add this last point! Hermione was already enough overwhelmed of having been appointed this mission, she did not really need this additional pressure. Dumbledore had come to see her at her flat two days ago to propose this mission to her. She had felt proud that he had thought of her to accomplish that. It's true that she loved looking for new information but this was different. People would rely heavily on her if she accepted. And so she had first refused the offer. Plus, she was studying to become a healer which was not really an easy thing. And she was certainly not the most qualified in the Order when it came to curses, spells and potions. But then Dumbledore had succeeded in making her accept. He had the gift of making people accept anything.
For the people in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place, this news seemed to be a really good one as most of them congratulated her and wished her to find rapidly a solution.
But not all of them seemed delighted. Severus Snape seemed to be unshaken by the news. But if someone had looked more closely, one would have noticed the clenched fist and whitened joint over his crossed arms. Severus was angry. Why would Dumbledore entrust the insufferable one of the Golden Trio with a mission concerning spells and potions? Was he not the most qualified for that? Was he not the current Potions professor or did he not apply several times to the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?
Surely, Dumbledore had thought through this but it still hurt. For some times now, Severus had felt pushed away from the decisions taken by the Order. And he was often accused by some members of not having warned the Order whenever there was an incident involving Voldemort and his Deatheaters.
Severus could not take it anymore for today and stormed out of the room. Nobody seemed to notice except some twinkling blue eyes.
Once Severus had left, the discussion went on for some more minutes and then everybody went back to their own lives.
It was Saturday. The day of Harry's birthday party. It felt good to see that despite the war people could still celebrate and be happy.
They had then moved to the Burrow to celebrate the birthday. The kitchen had been enlarged for the occasion. But with the many guests that Harry and Ginny had invited the room was crowded anyway. The whole Weasley family was here: Arthur and Molly, and all the Weasley brothers with their wives, kids and so on. A great part of the Order was also here. There were also friends from school – and members of Dumbledore's Army. Thus Luna and her boyfriend Neville Longbottom were here. Cho Chang, Dean Thomas, Seamus Fineggan, and the Patil Sisters attended the party.
But Hermione did not really like crowded places. She was getting tired of all the noise. She had sat as far as possible from Lavender Brown – she did not really want to spend the entire evening talking about the last dress shop in town or the last fashionable cosmetics. And thus she had found herself sitting at the end of the table with no one on her left and Kingsley Shacklebot chatting with one person – a member of the Order – she did not really know on her right. It had been a terrible evening. She was happy to see that Harry was glad of his little party but she would be even happier when it would be over.
The big cake had just been served when a shadow appeared in the threshold of the room. Snape had been delayed and just arrived. How Harry had succeeded in making some truce with the Potions professor after they left Hogwarts was a mystery to Hermione. But they seemed to be on "friendlier" terms and Professor Snape even lived in Harry's house when he was not in Hogwarts. The professor mumbled some excuse and went to sit in the only chair available around the table.
The party then moved to a bigger room in the house where everything had been pushed aside for a dancefloor. Music was reasoning loudly in the room and everyone was enjoying themselves. Hermione would have too if her dizziness had not started again after her first dance with Fred. Fred had had the brilliant idea of making her spin around him. She had had to stop and sit. Damn explosion! Just when she started to enjoy the party!
She sat for a few minutes watching the dancers. She was surprised to see how well McGonagall could actually still dance. Dumbledore was not that bad either. But watching all of them moving and spinning did not make her dizziness go away – on the contrary – and she decided to retreat to Grimmauld Place.
She apparated there. She wasn't tired yet and had to find another occupation. Hermione – being the little bookworm we all know – naturally ended up in the library of the old house. When she came in the room was barely lit up and there was just enough light coming from the fireplace for her to see the titles of the books.
The library was not huge but is was comfy. She had rediscovered it the night she arrived in the house and spent most of her time there for research or leisure – both were sometimes synonymous. The walls were covered with shelves from floor to ceiling. Some armchairs had been placed here and there in the room. A big sofa and two other armchairs had been put in front of the fireplace. The floor had been covered with carpets that looked fluffy enough to walk on them barefooted.
Hermione started to look at the different shelves and read the titles of the books in order to decide which one she would read. There were so many subjects. There were not as many books as in the library of Hogwarts – of course – but she found really interesting books and subjects. She spent some minutes studying and flipping through as many books as she could when she decided to move on to another shelf. And that's when she heard a deep voice coming from one of the corner of the room.
"I wouldn't read any of the books on this shelf if I were you Miss Granger."
She startled.
