Which Weasley
By jessebelle
oOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOo
Chapter Four: Acceptance
Living with two Marauders and one boy-who-conquered was not always easy. Sirius had been correct in saying a female influence was needed in the house because, simply put, they were the ultimate bachelors. Hermione felt like an exasperated mother as she yelled at Harry to get his muddy feet off the table, reprimand them for pulling pranks, or call them in from flying. Luckily, Dobby had followed Harry from Hogwarts, and though she refused to admit it, she was thankful for the house elf's help. With him there she didn't have to worry about the cooking or cleaning, though she did help out when possible. And of course, she'd insisted and nagged Harry until it was agreed that Dobby was free with a salary of two galleons a month (he'd take no more) and whatever days off he wanted.
Of course, living at Grimmauld place also had its perks. She had full use of the library and was able to spend as much time as she wanted studying. She also knew the latest on the cleanup front of the Death Eaters as Dumbledore kept Sirius and Remus well informed. And though they hadn't had any official meetings at the house yet (they wanted to give her time to adjust first) company was now able to pop in at any time Just last week she'd had Tonks over to help her get revenge on the boys for the prank they'd pulled on her. Honestly, charming all the books so they were in Ancient Greek was completely childish.
But then there were the little things that made living there special. The things that cemented in her mind that she'd made the right choice. Being able to talk to Remus when her thoughts became too much and get the gentle werewolf's wise advice. Or being able to seek out Sirius when she needed a hug and have him instinctively pull her into a comforting embrace. And then there was Harry. Living together, actually living together instead of having an entire castle to share had changed their relationship. Both only children (Dudley didn't count), they'd never had a sibling to annoy and fight with. And now, at times, the two would revert back to childhood; name calling and fighting over the stupidest things.
Things like the bathroom:
"Hermione, are you out of the bathroom yes? You've been in there forever!"
"Harry, I've been in her five minutes, it takes a while to do my hair. Use the bathroom downstairs!"
"But this is the one with my shampoo!"
"You're a wizard, conjure it!"
Or the fights over the TV they'd insisted Sirius get as they were both from muggle families:
"Harry! I was watching that!"
"But my show is on!"
"I was here first!"
"But this is a rerun!"
"I don't care, Buffy's about to blow up the judge with a rocket launcher and I didn't get to see this one because I was at Hogwarts!"
"But you already know what happens!"
"Yes, but now I want to see it!"
One such fight over the remote had had the two actually wrestling on the floor to get the devise form each other. Remus had to come in and break it up as Sirius had been too busy laughing and giving encouragement to Hermione. "Use you elbow! That's my girl!"
But their fighting had only strengthened their relationship, so much that both had slowly gotten over their personal taboos with touching. Growing up with the Dursleys, Harry wasn't used to hugs or pats on the back, nor could he even contemplate a good snuggle. After her encounter with Malfoy, Hermione had shied away from physical encounters. But slowly, she'd recovered and now sought out hugs with Sirius, and with Harry. One night the two had fallen asleep with each other in front of the TV. Sirius hadn't wanted to wake them, knowing Hermione hadn't been sleeping well thanks to her nightmares and so the adults had let them stay there. It had been the first night since her attack that she'd slept the whole night through. It was the same for Harry who'd been suffering with dreams of the final battle. Together they'd been able to find comfort through the night. Now whenever Hermione had a nightmare, or just to feel safe at night she'd taken to climbing in to Harry's bed. By now it had become routine. However, it was purely platonic and Ginny knew about their arrangements since that first awkward morning when Harry had owled her out of guilt. She'd owled back immediately saying she trusted them and if it helped, to continue, but not to say anything to her mother as she was still uneasy about Hermione's living arrangements. Hermione feared the day Mrs. Weasley found out about their new sleeping arrangements.
It was today, though, a month after graduation that Hermione was dreading. Dumbledore had decided it was time to start holding Order meetings back at the house and today her comfortable routine would have to change. It was the first time she'd be faced with a crowd of people since the train ride home, not to mention that these were the same people who knew exactly what had happened to her and had even seen the evidence. It would also be her first Order meeting since the defeat of Voldemort, and the first time she'd be seeing some familiar faces from Hogwarts and the majority of the Order, including the Weasleys. Though Ron, Ginny, and Mrs. Weasley were frequent visitors to Grimmauld, the rest of the Weasleys had been occupied with business from the Order, the same business that they'd be discussing tonight. Tonks, Dumbledore, and Madame Pomfrey were the only others that she'd seen personally, and though she'd glimpsed a few other Order members, for the most part she'd taken to 'studying' in the library when company came to visit the boys.
Currently she sat on the stairs watching Sirius and Remus argue on pulling a prank at tonight's meeting. Sirius apparently wanted to rig the chairs so that when the Order members sat down their hair would change colors to reflect their moods. Remus, though not against the prank entirely, was trying to convince Sirius just to wait until after the meeting. Personally, Hermione though it was a bit childish, but at the time she was curious to see how the spell would work. Living with the Marauder's and seeing the extensive knowledge of spells, potions, and how magic interacts together had given her a new appreciation for the havoc the twins used to pull at Hogwarts. Not that she'd admit it, though, she had a reputation to uphold.
"You okay?" She jumped in shock when a voice spoke from right next to her ear. Harry had taken a seat next to her on the stairs to watch the argument. "What's wrong?" he asked when she jumped.
"I'm fin, just jumpy." She insisted as she waited for Sirius and Remus to continue with the argument, though it looked like it was about to turn into a duel now that Sirius had taken out his wand.
"Sorry." The boy replied as he put an arm around her. She sighed comfortably and rested her head on his shoulder. "So, nervous about tonight?" Without taking her eyes off the now pink haired Remus she answered.
"No, why would I be nervous?"
"Maybe because the last time you saw these people was, I dunno, right after your attack and it'll be the first time you're going to have to face most of them, and all at once in a crowd, which if you haven't forgotten, you don't do well with?"
Instantly her blood began to boil and she pulled away from him sharply. She could see the remorse from what he'd said on his face, clearly he hadn't been thinking, but she didn't care. She also Sirius and Remus turn to t\watch them, but ignoring their presence she let into the boy-who-conquered.
"Why Gee, Harry, thank you for reminding me. I'd nearly forgotten that the last time most of these people had seen me I WAS SPRAWLED NAKED AND BEATEN ON THE TABLE AFTER BEING RAPED BY MALFOY!!"
As soon as the words left her mouth her entire body froze. She'd never said those words before, never even though them. She knew people had suspected that that's what had happened, but never had she confirmed it. As long as she didn't say it, didn't think about it, it wasn't true. Horror written all over her face, she turned when she heard quite a few gasps. It seemed that Order had arrived and Dobby had showed them in just in time to here her words.
She spotted Dumbledore, his features darker then she'd ever seen. Sirius and Remus looked like they wanted to tear someone apart. Her old professors were there; Snape and McGonagall wearing faces to rival Sirius and Remus', Flitwick looking like the dueling champion he'd been, and Sprout looking like she wanted to take her pruning sheers directly to Malfoy. The female Order members, such as Tonks, Hestia Jones, and Emmaline Vance looked shocked and sympathetic with their hands covering their mouths. The male members of the Order sported angry looks mixed with sympathy, a combination that gave them a fierce look. Then there were the Weasleys.
Molly stood gripping her husbands arm looking like she was about to cry while at the same time looking like she was ready to hunt Malfoy down herself. Arthur looked scarier then she'd thought capable, a protective are around Ginny who looked floored, not knowing of everyone else's previous suspicions. Ron…Ron looked angrier then she'd ever seen him and at the same time heartbroken. And then there were the rest of the Weasley boys. They were all there, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, and George, and each of them wore looks so angry, so protective, she didn't know quite how to describe it.
"Hermione." Instantly she turned back to Harry who had called her name. He himself looked so upset she nearly felt sorry for him. He reached out and placed a hand on her arm. "I'm-"
"Don't you dare!" her voice was low and laced with so much hurt it made him and everyone present wince. She jerked her arm out of his grasp.
"But-"
"No! You made me say it! You made me say it and now it's real! You!-" She went from screaming to sobbing. Again he tried to take her in his arms, comfort her like he had in the past, but as soon as he got a hold of her-
"Don't touch me!" she shrieked. He pulled away like he'd been burned.
She held her arms around herself protectively, trying to hold in the feelings that were over taking her. Her breathing quickened, the room felt like it was shrinking. She could see the horror on everyone's faces, their worry, their pity.
Sirius could see the panic in her eyes and ignoring her previous yell moved to pick her up. She didn't deserve to have everyone watch her as she finally broke down. It was a mistake. As soon as he got near, her panic increased and he received an elbow in the gut. She was hysterical.
Hermione herself only saw a figure approaching, and she fought, she fought like she had that night. Grimmauld place swirled before her eyes and was replaced with her old house, the one that was now a burnt shell. She didn't hear the yells telling someone to call Madame Pomfrey, the voices telling her to calm down, to breathe. All she heard was Him.
"My dear, Hermione, how lovely to see you again. What, no hug?" The door of the closet she'd been hiding in had been ripped open and He'd been standing there, looking down at her with an evil grin and those eyes…those grey soulless eyes. "You know why I'm here, don't you?"
She clung to the back of the closet, tears streaming down her face. "Please."
"What, begging, Miss. Granger? From all those stories I've heard I expected better from you. But then again you're nothing but a filthy mudblood, so it's hardly surprising. I wonder, does you blood look like the muggle filth I'm covered, in? After all, you do share it with them." The flames from the fire he held at bay illuminated his robes, his robes that were dripping with her parents' blood. A whimper escaped her lips.
"Aww, does my appearance upset you, Miss Granger? I suppose I'll have to change, I wouldn't want to make you…uncomfortable. I do have so much fun planned." He went to wave his wand, the cleaning charm on his lips, before he chuckled. "I think I like this much better, it forces you to realize exactly who you're dealing with." Then with no warning he reached in the closet and pulled her out by her hair.
"No! NO!"
"Keep struggling Miss Granger, it only makes it more exciting for me." One hand holding hers above her head, his weight crushing against her chest, pinning her to the floor, his other roaming. "Now lets try and have some fun. I wonder, how will you compare to your dear Mummy?"
Screaming in horror as her head was jerked to the side and she was face to face and with her mother's corpse, the older woman's face contorted into a silent scream, her eyes, exactly like her own pleading in an unanswered cry for help.
"NO! Get off!" Trying to break free.
"So you want it rough then?" SMACK! "Is this better Miss. Granger?" She could feel his punches, feel each hit. Managing a knee to his groin and taking him by surprise; running, crawling from his grasp. Feeling his arms encircle hers, his warm breath on her ear. "I'm done playing around like a hapless muggle, bitch. Immobulus." Instantly her body froze, she couldn't move. "Much better. Now take it like a good mudblood, Miss Granger."
"Miss Granger."
"Miss Granger."
"NOOO!" She was wrenched back to the present. She was at Grimmauld place, sitting on the floor as she rocked, and surrounded by concerned and horror filled faces. A hand reached out, she registered it as Mrs. Weasleys but she didn't care. She crawled backwards until she was flat with the wall and reached for her wand. "Don't Touch Me!"
"Herm-"
"Get Away!"
"Her-"
"I said get away!" She pointed the wand at the approaching figure, Harry. The boy-who-lived stopped in his tracks. As she began to voice a curse, he quickly held up his hands in surrender. "Okay! Okay, I'm backing away Hermione."
As he watched the scene before him, Bill Weasley had had enough. "Everyone Out!" His voice was loud, entering the fray along with red sparks from his wand. "I want everyone in the kitchen, now! She doesn't deserve this, staring at her like an exhibit at the zoo."
Agreeing with their brother, Charlie, Percy, and the twins began ushering everyone into the kitchen, pushing and using curses when needed. It took quite a bit of manhandling, but soon the foyer was near empty. Hermione still sat pushed up against the wall with her wand out in front of her protectively. It was now only the Weasley boys, Harry, Sirius, and Remus that remained.
"Harry, go to the kitchen." Sirius' voice matched his name.
"No, I'm not leaving her like this."
"Cub, you're doing more harm then good by being here." Remus chimed in.
"No, I-"
"All of you OUT!" George's voice was a far cry from his usual tone.
"But-"
"If you want to help her, go to the kitchen like everyone else. We'll take care of her." Fred's voice stopped any arguments.
"Percy, can you?" The middle Weasley son nodded and with help from Charlie managed to wrangle the house's owners into the kitchen.
"You'll take care of her?" Percy asked. He knew he wasn't a part of the group, but he still cared for the girl, especially after tonight.
"Do you have to ask?" Charlie answered. A look passed between the brothers before the youngest disappeared behind the door. Pulling out his wand, Charlie quickly sealed the kitchen, then returned to where Bill and the twins stood.
"Now what?"
"You're the one who wrestles dragons all day, you tell us." Bill looked to Charlie, his eyes never leaving the girl on the floor.
"Yeah, fire breathing dragon, hysterical crying girl; I can see the resemblance. Oww!" Charlie grabbed his side where one of the twins had hit him
"Quit joking around."
"This isn't funny." Coming from the twins it certainly spoke volumes.
Taking a deep breath Charlie decided it was time to act. "Fine I'm going to try approaching her. Stay back and whatever you do don't touch her, don't crowd her, and don't raise your voice above a whisper. Stay calm." Closing his eyes and wishing he were back in Romania with the dragons, he slowly began walking towards the crouched figure.
"Hermione." She whimpered and her wand shook in warning. "Hermione, can you hear me?" Her response was the same. With a look back to Bill, he took another step forward. "Hermione, I'm going to come closer now-"
"Stay Back!" She yelled and her eyes flew up to meet his. Seeing the terror and fear in her eyes, he wished it had been him that had dueled Malfoy. He stopped at her words and like Harry had done before, held his hands up in surrender.
"Okay, I'm stopping. Hermione, do you know where you are?" She was shaking like a leaf and her face was pale, but her eyes never left his.
"Grimmauld Place." Charlie nodded.
"Good girl, yes, we're at Grimmauld Place. You're safe here, do you know that?"
"I-I-"
"Shhh, remember, you live here with Sirius and Remus and Harry. Do you remember them?" Her eyes flashed in anger. Good, another emotion. Now if only it didn't make her resemble a dragon even more
"Harry-"
"I know, he said some awful things. Do you remember what happened after that?" Tears began to well up in her eyes.
"He made me say it." The hurt in her voice made him wince. At the moment he wanted to hurt the boy, defeater of Voldemort or not. Then he wanted to hurt himself for what he had to do.
"What did he make you say, Hermione?" She began to cry again.
"Charlie, what are you doing?" Fred's voice from behind questioned.
"She needs to say it, she needs to accept it if she ever wants to get past it?" He answered quietly, then in a strong voice he demanded again, "What did he make you say Hermione?"
"I-it-"
"Maybe this isn't such a good idea Charlie." Bill's voice was telling him to back off, but he persisted. "Hermione-"
"I"
"Charlie!" Now George called his name, but before he could respond, he got the response he'd been after from the girl on the floor.
"I was raped." It was a strangled cry. Her wand dropped to the floor in loud clatter and rolled toward the Weasleys. Landing at Fred's feet, the twin picked it up for safe keeping before turning back to the heart wrenching seen.
"I was raped. I was raped. I was raped." She began to rock, back and forth as she sobbed the words. Unlike previously, however, her thoughts weren't internal.
Abandoning his own previous caution, Charlie raced to where she sat but stayed a foot away. "Shh, its okay, you're safe. Do you remember-?"
"He hurt me, I can feel-"
"I know, luv." He didn't touch her, but offered as much comfort as he could. She looked up to him with dead eyes.
"Why?" That simple word finally broke the damn in his heart and he could feel a tear slip out. He gave the same answer that George had given her months back.
"I don't know, sweetie, I don't know." And she cried.
Hermione could feel the pain, feel the hurt, feel everything. Every emotion she'd stored, every thought she'd ignored, every tear she'd held in came pouring out. She cried, gut wrenching sobs, full blown body shaking sobs until finally those observing couldn't take it anymore. George was the first to break; kneeling down by his brother he ignored the warnings of 'don't' and scooped the girl up into his arms. At first she struggled, and then too tired to do anything but cry she let him hold her as she wept. At her acceptance of his comforting, Fred and Bill also came closer, kneeling down and offering as much comfort as they could. What seemed like hours was only minutes and soon, emotionally exhausted, she went limp in his arms. Seeing this Fred became panicked.
"Is she?"
"She's fine, just asleep." George assured his twin. "Bill, can you?"
The eldest Weasley son nodded, then reaching down he scooped her up into his arms as he stood up. His brother's followed. He made it as far as the stairs before asking, "Where does she sleep."
"I don't know." Was the general consensus. Knowing there was only one way to find out, Charlie released the charm on the kitchen doors. As soon as it was gone it opened and the majority of its occupants rushed out.
"Where is she?"
"Is she okay?"
"What did you guys do?"
"How-"
"Quiet!!" Bill spoke, catching the attention of everyone present. Before they could question her status again upon seeing her unconscious form, he quickly answered. "If anyone makes one noise to disturb her, I'll curse you then give you to the twins and Charlie. She's fine, only sleeping and emotionally drained. I need to know where she sleeps."
Everyone was quiet as they registered the curse breakers words, then Harry quietly answered as if in a daze.
"She sleeps with me." A few seconds went by before the reactions began.
"What!"
"Sirius, Remus, I told you-"
"Improper-"
"I though he was seeing Ginny-"
"QUIET NOW!" The loud whisper had the effect of a scream. Ginny Weasley separated from the crowd and joined her brothers, facing them.
"Ginerva-"
"Mother, be quiet. We can deal with the improperness of it all tomorrow. I knew about it, I encouraged it. It's purely platonic and it's so both of them can get a decent nights sleep without nightmares." She turned to her eldest brother. "Take her to Harry's room. She should be fine for tonight and we can check on her later."
Bill nodded at his sister then disappeared up the stairs. Ginny then turned to the rest of the group. "I just found out my best friend has been through hell and back, I'm tired, I'm going home." She looked back at her brothers. "Take care of her." Then she disappeared into the drawing room. A flash of green light and a whooshing sound informed them all that she'd used the floo.
Bill reappeared at the top of the stairs. Taking a deep breath he pinched the bridge of his nose before addressing the group. "She's in Harry's room and she's sleeping. No one disturbs her. Charlie got her to accept she'd been raped which she needed to do if she's ever going to face this thing." He reached the last step. "Harry, find somewhere else to sleep tonight. I know you've been comforting each other and I know you two are close, but right now in her mind you're the one who made her face these things and she's not going to like you very much for a while. Sirius, Remus, take care of her, she's fragile, but don't treat her like a porcelain doll either. She's strong, she'll recover. I, and I'm sure my brothers will be by to check up on her when we can, though I believe Dumbledore would like us to return to our posts. Speaking of, Professor?" He turned to the wizened wizard.
Albus Dumbledore had seen a great many horrors in his lifetime, but the scene tonight had still affected him greatly. Shaking out of his thoughts he faced the eldest Weasley son and nodded in acknowledgment. "That is true, though after seeing the way you handled her I wish it didn't need to be that way. Everyone, while I know that tonight was filled with many revelations and has disturbed you all, I ask that we recollect ourselves and reconvene in the kitchen."
"Albus, after everything you've witnessed tonight you still wish to hold the meeting? What about Hermione?"
Sighing the headmaster addressed his Transfiguration Professor. "Miss Granger will no doubt sleep the night, and though I wish it weren't so, if we don't come up with a plan, tonight will only be the start of her worries. I'm afraid something has happened which is going to affect some of us greatly, especially Miss Granger." At his words the Order members who worked for the Ministry gasped.
"You mean?" Arthur asked, aghast. His thoughts immediately went out even further to the girl upstairs, the girl who was as much of a daughter to him as Ginny, a girl whose troubles tonight were only going to get worse.
Nodding sadly, the twinkle in his eye nowhere in sight, Albus Dumbledore delivered the horrible news. "Yes, Arthur. It's as I feared, Lucius Malfoy has gotten his way; The Marriage Law has been passed."
oOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOo
A/N: Okay, this is quite a heavy/angsty chapter. I know most of you want some more lightheartedness and happy Weasley lovin', but to get to the good and to build up the relationship between the characters there's got to be a bit of badness. I promise, the story will get more romance/fun, but Hermione was raped, a very serious issue, and I'm a firm believer that you can't just go :poof: she's fine, and have it be done with in one chapter. The next chappie will introduce my version of the marriage law, hopefully bring a close to most of the angst, and soon we'll be able to get to the good stuff. In the mean time, though, tell me how I did. Was it rubbish? Was it okay? Too much, too little? Let me know. Hope you all are still enjoying it and I'll do my best to get the next chapter written ASAP. Now until next time…
Huggles and Snuggles,
jessebelle