Hello!

Thank you to everyone to Followed, Favorited and Reviewed this past chapter! Pianomouse, Binka Fudge, MissesE, and Death By Insanity; Hugs to you all for the extra love for this story, Thanks! And I love the 'ranting' Binka; no worries.

Enjoy!


Fred's POV

Fred chuckled to himself as he read Hermione's response to his owl. George had been the one to convince him to send her something… anything really. And with them overhearing through their newest invention, extendable ears, that the Order would be bringing Hermione to Grimmauld place; Fred thought it would be perfect timing and a bit humorous to send her the invitation.

And… it was safe… Fred had to admit that he had taken the safe course when he had devised the letter. He knew that she would say 'yes' since Dumbledore would be requesting her to come as well. But Fred had hoped that she would at least feel compelled to write back and he was delighted that she had played along with his joke.

Hermione had also requested him to hand off her note to Ginny, as well as politely asked if Fred's owl could carry her other letter to Harry.

Fred knew that everyone in the house had been ordered to not give Harry any kind of information about the happenings that were taking place in the wizarding world. Ron had used a few choice swear words when they had overheard that decision; he didn't agree with cutting Harry off from their world 'for his own good.' But when the youngest Weasley son had attempted to send an owl to his best friend, he had been caught and the note had been confiscated when it was deemed too revealing.

The twins thought this had been ridiculous and had sent Harry little notes occasionally with the help of Ginny and Ron. They were usually nonsense and just meant to give the Boy-who-lived a laugh and reminder that they were still there for him. The four of them had gotten caught a few days ago by Remus. And though the older wizard had chuckled at their strange limerick and pretended to not see them anymore; since then, the post had been a bit more tightly regulated.

But Hermione had answered more quickly than Fred had anticipated; and no one was at Grimmauld place other than the Weasleys and Sirius at the moment. …And Hermione didn't know about the ban on owling Harry…

Fred grinned widely and grabbed a treat for Sofia, his owl, and quickly apologized as he instructed her to immediately go to Harry and wait for a reply.


Hermione's POV

Hermione decided that she needed to clean out her trunk and began to filter through the items from her fourth year.

She pulled out all her books and set them on the shelving in her room, next to all her other lower year texts. She tried on her robes and found that they were a tiny bit short; she would have to ask her mother if she could let the extra fabric down. As if on cue, Mrs. Granger came into the room and began helping her daughter sort through the school items.

"So, you still haven't told me about the Yule Ball…" Mrs. Granger knew that something had happened at the Christmas dance, and she didn't want to bring up any uncomfortable memories... but she wanted Hermione to talk to her. "You told me all about the incredibly dangerous tasks that Harry had to participate in, but I could not get you to tell me about this ball you had been so excited about."

Hermione shifted a bit nervously at Mrs. Granger's words. She usually told her mother everything; with the occasional edit to downplay some of the danger, but she hadn't had 'boy' problems before so this was new territory, "Well, it was lovely. The dress we found made me feel gorgeous and I made some new friends. I went with one of the other school's champions actually; he was very gentlemanly and we had a very nice time."

"But…" Mrs. Granger tried not to smile as her daughter huffed a little and continued the story.

"But, my friend Ronald put a bit of a damper on the night… right at the end."

"Is everything alright between the two of you?" Hermione had never made friends easily, so Mrs. Granger had been delighted when Hermione began writing home about her two 'best friends' that she had met at her new school. She hated the idea of her daughter quarreling with one of those close friends.

"Yes; we're fine now. I just…" Hermione's face blushed a rosy hue, "Well, I thought I liked Ron for a moment. But we've talked and decided that we are much better as friends."

"I always knew you would end up fancying that boy at one point or another."

"Mum!" Hermione's face flushed a darker red.

"Well, it's true, Dear," Mrs. Granger chuckled lightly as she folded some of the old clothes from the trunk. "I always felt like Harry was like extended family to you, with the way you spoke about him. But Ron was always… a conundrum. Are you sure you don't fancy him anymore? You're sure everything is alright between you both?"

Hermione rolled her eyes but smiled at her mother's concern, "Yes Mum. Ron and I don't really compliment each other well; in the couple sense. I think we're both too insecure and stubborn to fit together. But we are very good at being friends, so I choose to focus on that."

Mrs. Granger nodded in understanding, "Well, that's very wise of you. You need to find someone to balance your occasionally severe outlook on life anyway."

"Mum!"

The two Granger women laughed heartily as they continued to pick through the forgotten clothes and magical items while they excitedly discussed the anticipation of the coming school year.


Tell me all your thoughts; and... GO!

Hope you all liked the little bit with Mrs. Granger, I always wished we had a bit more of them in the stories so I hope you all are ok with hearing more from them in the future.

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***I love, Love, LOVE Reviews... just fyi. =)

Always,

Misha

Ps. Check out my other stories too! 'Thrown Back,' 'Begin Again' and 'Penelope Jackson.'