First and foremost, I would like to point out that though I admire the woman's writing prowess I am not, nor will I ever be J.K. Rowling. So needless to say, I don't own anything Harry Potter, so if you recognize it I probably don't own it

Secondly this is my first ever attempt at a Grape so flamers, go easy.

Thirdly except for a few brief mentions, the life of Tom Marvolo Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort is completely ignored. Well at least, as of right now I'm not planning on using his name a lot.

Fourthly, 99.987654321% of this story will be in Hermione's P.O.V. Except for a few brief spots of somebody elses.

Fifthly, I will never beg for reviews, but I would greatly appreciate them. I'm all for constructive criticism, and would also greatly appreciate that, but as for my number two, flamers please go easy.

Sixthly, I figured I'd add this in. I don't intend to write short chapters, but some of them will be shorter than others. The chapter lengths will fluctuate, and I'm sorry.

And last but certainly not least, Enjoy!

P.S. Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! I was blown away. I'm glad that you guys like it. :)

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mundy - Thanks for taking the time to review! I'm glad that you think that! Thanks again! Anje

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This chapter was beta-d by Aimless Wonder. Thanks again Aimless. :)

Deseo del Corazón

Chapter Four

Hermione stood outside the Burrow for a moment, thinking about how much her life had already changed since Monday night when the Ministry had visited her. Controlling her thoughts, she finally trudged her way across the yard towards the front door. However, before she had even gotten her hand on the doorknob the frame was suddenly flung backwards, and Hermione found herself yet again engulfed in another hug.

"Hermione," Molly greeted as she held her for a moment.

"Molly."

Hermione returned the hug generously before the elder woman released her. "We saw you on the clock. Come. Everyone's inside," said Molly as she turned to move back into the house.

Closing the door behind her, Hermione followed after the matriarch, before moving around the corner into the living room where everyone else was already seated. She noticed their attention shift from her to Aphrodite as she sat down the new cage on top of the coffee table. From his perch near the small window, Apollo flew over and settled himself down on her shoulder; the owl was waiting to greet her before going off hunting.

"Hey, there." She reached up with one hand to stroke his crown while the other fished into the pocket of her coat to withdraw a small tin. "I'll need you to stay with mum and dad after a few days, alright? That way they can get a hold of me whenever they need to."

Swallowing the offered treat, Apollo nipped her cheek affectionately before flying past her and out the open window, no doubt to join the others. As he left, Hermione turned back to everyone.

"Hello."

"Hermione?" Harry asked.

She looked to him, "Yes?"

"Where'd you get the owl?"

"Oh."

She looked down to hide the slight blush across her cheeks.

"She's a gift from Snape. He mailed me this morning about how the ministry stated that he had to give me a gift. Her name's Aphrodite."

She contemplated on whether or not to mention the music box.

"He gave you an owl?" Ginny asked as she observed the bird, "I guess that's not so bad. She is beautiful. Though Harry's was probably more romantic. He gave me this."

The redhead reached up and pulled a necklace out from under her shirt.

"I found it when I went looking in the family vault," said Harry as he took Ginny's hand, "The ministry said that I had to give her something, but that didn't mean that I didn't want to. So I gave her the necklace. The portraits said that it belonged to my grandmother, and that my grandfather gave it to her before they got married."

The last part was said with a blush so Hermione turned her attention to Ron. "And what about you? What did Lavender get?"

Ron looked down and mumbled something.

"Sorry? What was that?"

Harry laughed, "He sent back the necklace that she gave him a few years ago."

Her brows shoot up as her head jerked back in surprise. She shoot Ron a look of utter disbelief, though she was trying very hard to keep the smile off her face.

"No," Hermione whispered, "Ron... you didn't."

"Oh, he did," Harry said.

"And what did she say?"

"Her reply came back this morning. Said that she thought it was horrible that he couldn't think of anything original!"

Her shoulders were shaking now. "It gets better," said George.

"Yeah," continued Fred, "She sent a howler."

"Woke up the whole house with her screeching," said George, rubbing his injured ear, "Almost thought that we were having a banshee invasion. As if I needed an excuse to lose another ear."

Unable to control it anymore, Hermione sunk down to her knees on the floor as a snort escaped her, which erupted into laughter shortly after.

"Hey!" Ron yelled in indignation, "It's not that funny!"

If anything it just made all of them laugh even harder. "Yes, it is!" She fired back, "And also a bit concerning, wouldn't you think, Ronald? That Severus Snape- a 'slimey Slytherin'- could make a more romantic gesture than a 'bleeding heart Gryffindor'."

At his answering glare, Hermione only scoffed at him, "You honestly think that that looks going to scare me after being tortured and having mudblood carved into my arm?"

The words were out before she stop them and Ron's face turned blank as Ginny gasped; none of them had really talked in detail about what had happened the year that the three of them had gone.

"Hermione," said Molly as she came closer, "May I see it?"

Giving her a sad smile and a nod, Hermione reached down and pulled up her right sleeve, and in the sudden silence of the room Molly Weasley gingerly took the young woman's arm into her hands.

After all the time that had passed, the scars were still fresh against her skin. They had neither softened nor faded. Whatever the curse that had been used on the dagger was, it assured that Hermione would not be getting rid of the word on her skin anytime soon.

"Who?" Whispered Molly as she looked down at the scars.

She started to shake her head, "Molly-"

"Who?"

The grip on her arm tightened slightly and Hermione grimaced as she averted her gaze. She gave a sigh.

"Bellatrix."

The hands left her arm, only to come up and cup the sides of her face. Molly gently turned her head to face her and Hermione caught the tears running down her face.

"I promised myself at Hogwarts that I would not allow that woman to hurt another member of this family. Not after how she went after Ginny," she sobbed as she brought her hands down to pull Hermione into another hug, "But I hadn't realised that she'd already hurt one."

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