Chapter Four.
Hermione self-consciously toyed with the hem of her dress as they approached the Burrow. She sucked in her breath at the sight of it. It still looked the same as it had when she last saw it years before. As Ron continued to walk briskly up the front lawn, Hermione hesitated and fell back. She stood rooted to the spot for a few seconds until Ron turned around and saw her frozen in place, just staring up at the house. He turned and walked back to her.
"You okay?" he asked softly, brushing the hair out of her face and studying her expression.
She swallowed hard. "I'm okay," she replied uncertainly, still fingering the soft material of her dress.
"You look gorgeous," he whispered in his adoring way, grinning at her. They went to Bristol to buy her a muggle dress to wear to the Burrow since none of her clothes seemed appropriate to wear, and she absolutely refused to go to Diagon Alley and get new robes.
"Thanks," she said, feeling her cheeks redden at the compliment.
"Ready to head on in?" he asked, nodding his head in the direction of the house. When she didn't respond either way, he grabbed her hand and lightly tugged her toward the house.
She followed, her stomach tied in knots. This was not going to be easy. Merlin, she hoped she didn't cry. When they reached the front door, Ron gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before gently opening it.
"Mum?" he called out, walking lightly into the house with Hermione's hand still in his.
Hermione heard a lot of happy voices coming from the kitchen and hissed into Ron's ear, "I didn't know there was a big event going on here today."
"Just Sunday brunch," he whispered back, leading her closer to the kitchen. But she jerked her hand out of his and took a few steps back.
"I can't just waltz in there," she said softly, looking hesitant. "It'll be too…"
"It'll be fine, Hermione," he replied. "I wouldn't bring you here if I didn't-"
"Ronald?" Mrs. Weasley called out, cutting him off. "Is that you?" She bustled out of the kitchen carrying a bowl of what looked like scrambled eggs. "Oh it is, I was just--" she stopped mid sentence and stared at Hermione. "What, what… I mean--" Mrs. Weasley stumbled over her words for a moment before Ron cut in.
"I found her, Mum," Ron said, looking pleased but serious.
"You found her," she said, the bowl of eggs slipping out of her hands and clattering to the floor; but she didn't even notice as she crossed the room with her arms outstretched and enveloped Hermione into a bone-breaking hug. "My darling, darling girl," she whispered into her hair, pulling away and studying her with watery eyes.
"Mum, what was that crash?" a familiar voice called from the kitchen. Ginny Weasley walked into the living room, and practically shouted, "Merlin! Hermione?!"
An immediate scraping of chairs and collective shuffling of feet could be heard from the kitchen, and very quickly the room was filled with a bunch of red-heads, all craning to get a look at the present situation.
Hermione's attention was drawn to the one person in the room besides herself that lacked the famous Weasley hair. Harry Potter was gaping at her, blinking quickly and mouth hanging open. "Hermione?" he said hoarsely, squeezing past an equally shocked set of twins gaping at her.
Hermione felt tears spilling down her cheeks. Cursing herself, she felt Harry's strong arms pull her into a tight hug. "Where have you been?" he asked in wonder, his voice cracking.
At this point, though, she wasn't in the best state to answer many questions. She was clutching Harry to her, crying heavily. Harry helped her sit down on the nearest couch then sat down next to her. "It's okay Hermione, you don't have to say anything until you're ready," she heard Ron say; he mentally kicked himself for bringing her here-- of course this would be tough for her, being suddenly surrounded by so many familiar faces wishing for so many answers.
"Are you mad? We want to know everything!" George said, earning him a punch on the arm from Fred.
"Quit being a prat, George," Fred said in a serious tone. "Can't you see that the girl is not fit to talk right now?"
"Sorry, H'Mione-- it's just that it has been so long! Ron has just about driven himself mad looking for you," George said, rubbing his arm where Fred had nabbed it.
Hermione took a few deep breaths before standing. "I'm sorry… If you'll j-just excuse me for a moment-- I need some air," she rasped, stumbling through the crowd. When she reached the front door she felt a strong hand wrap around her upper arm
"Do we need to take the poor dear to St. Mungo's?" Molly's concerned voice sounded over everyone else.
"No mum! We'll be right back!" Ron called then whispered into her ear, "I'm sorry. Let's go out into the garden."
Hermione tried to regain some self-composure when they reached the back garden, taking a few deep breaths of fresh air.
"I'm sorry Hermione," Ron said quietly after a moment. "I really thought you were ready to go in there… I never would have forced you if--"
"Don't apologize. I'm fine," she said, then, after looking at Ron's doubtful expression continued with, "What? I'm serious. I'm just… Overwhelmed. Yes, overwhelmed, that's all."
"Well, I wasn't thinking when I brought you here… I just thought that after all this time--" he stopped short when he heard approaching footsteps and turned to see Harry marching briskly toward them.
"Hey mate, mind if I talk with her for a minute?" Harry asked Ron in what he hoped was a light-hearted tone.
Ron turned from Harry to look at Hermione for a long moment, as if memorizing all her features before he had to walk away from her. "Go ahead," he replied, turning to look at Harry once more, "I'll just be inside."
As Ron walked away, he said very quietly to Harry, "Don't let her go anywhere." Harry shot his friend a confused look as he walked away, but shook his head after a moment and turned his attention the woman in front of him.
"Why did you disappear like that?" Harry asked so quietly that Hermione almost didn't hear him. She was surprised to see how anguished he looked, and felt a stab of guilt. She'd definitely hurt more than one person during her absence… But then again, she had suffered, too. Oh how she had suffered! She had been through more than any of them could imagine… She felt herself get more defensive as her initial feeling of guilt ebbed away.
"Harry, I've been through a lot," she replied, keeping her tone level as she looked him in the eyes. "A lot."
"Well, hell Hermione, we've been through a lot around here too, you know?" Harry said, trying to keep his emotion in check. "What do you think it was like to watch Ron spend years looking for you? We all thought you were… Dead. Well, all of us save Ron, of course. Watching him go mad looking for you, watching him struggle to live without you, with the guilt of your absence always with him, has been the hardest thing this family has ever been through." Harry, not able to look Hermione in the eyes, took a few deep breaths to keep his tears from making an appearance. More quietly he said, "We've all missed you more than anything. Anything in the world."
Wordlessly, Hermione pulled Harry into a hug, feeling his arms wrap tightly around her as he sobbed into her shoulder. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I really am sorry." They stayed like that for a few minutes, Hermione letting him cling to her tightly. She could only imagine what he had been through and knew that he probably had his fair share of guilt about what may have happened to her weighing him down as well. Finally, they pulled apart, and Hermione took a few small steps backward. "I'll be back," she said in an almost whisper.
Harry gave her a confused look as she continued to take small steps backward, away from him and away from the Burrow. "What're you on about?"
"Just tell him I'll be back," she said more loudly.
Harry was frightened by the determined look in her eyes. "Hermione," he said warningly, making his way toward her.
She shook her head as she pulled her wand out of the pocket of her dress. "I'm sorry," she said in a wavering voice, before waving her wand. And with a small crack, she was gone.
Dun dun dun… Gosh, this was certainly a long time coming! My apologies. Feel free to throw rocks at me or reviews.
