Grimmauld Place

"Welcome, welcome dear Hermione!" Molly Weasley rushed forward through the narrow hallway, nearly toppling Hermione back over her luggage.

"Easy, Mum," Ron said. "It's not like you haven't seen her."

"Not all summer. Those parents of yours kept you away, did they? Well at least we've got you now. Ginny, show her where your room is. Ron, pick up her bags. For goodness sake, don't make her carry them."

Weighed down by a summer cramped in the house with her parents, Hermione felt the sudden freedom strike her as sad. Her parents left her to her own devices as they bared on with their life as if nothing changed. Of course, it was all changed.

The change among the Weasley's was nonexistent. Their red hair stumbled through the narrow way of the house as they all parted. Ginny and Ron started up the steep staircase to the left, as Molly and Arthur walked to the back. As they passed through, Hermione caught a glance of Remus Lupin. Remus was a member of the Order and seemed to be content within the walls. She settled a bit. It was all different than she thought. She pictured it all summer. The panic, the chaos. The truth was hidden, even in the papers. There hadn't been a shred of truth in the Daily Prophet for months.

"Comin' Mione?" Ron called down from the landing above.

His little head broke through the haunted darkness of the house. All of it was dinged a pale black. It wasn't cheery like the Gryffindor Common Room or the Great Hall, or even homey touch of the Burrow.

"We're all the way up here," Ginny said. "Couldn't get any closer to the ground. Apparently those rooms are saved for the ones who don't like going up and down these blasted stairs. There's four of them."

"Nothing worse than Hogwarts." Hermione climbed the stairs with her satchel. She hadn't known how long she'd be there, so it was stuffed full of miscellaneous things.

"Watch it!" Ginny pointed down to the railing.

Hermione glanced down and saw a letter nearly out of the pocket, ready to descend to the ground floor. She quickly scrambled to grab it, in turn spilling the satchel down the stairs.

"Merlin's sake, Hermione. Did you bring your whole house?" Ron ascending the next flight, ready to set down her luggage.

Ginny helped clean it up, shoving it back into the bloated bag. It was overpacked.

"Sorry," Hermione mumbled as she pushed a brush down into the mess. "Guess I got carried away."

"Why don't you give it an extension charm?" Ginny asked with a smile. "It'll help. Keep your letters in at least. Who is this to anyhow? Is this a dragon?"

Ginny glanced up, puzzled.

Hermione blushed. "Oh, that's nothing."

She plucked the envelope away. Ginny watched over her shoulder as Hermione flattened the letter and placed it gently within the satchel. When she turned back, Ginny acted disinterested.

"Where's the room?" Hermione tried to change the subject.

"Just up this way," Ginny replied. She overtook Hermione on the stairs, leading the way down a narrow hallway to the bedroom both the girls shared, just as they did in the Burrow.

Hermione felt lucky there was a Weasley girl for her to bunk with. If it'd just been the boys, she would have had to take to the floor.

"Wow."

The room was heavily dated with rich velvet drapes covered the windows, a very Slytherin green. It was everywhere. The walls, the drapes, the glass shined in green hue. Faded wallpapers peeled off the walls, split with golden frames.

There were two single poster beds, a dresser and beautiful vanity past it's prime.

"I know right? Feels like one of the dungeon rooms in Slytherin," Ginny commented.

Hermione shivered. It was so very close. Even the accents were silver, same as the Hogwarts House. She knew what the rooms were like from a distinct, small memory. The fireplace gave a more heartily glow in the castle than it did in Grimmauld Place.

Whoa. She stopped herself. It was not the time to go there.

"It is very Slytherin-esque. But I'm sure it's safe enough. Not every one of them can be bad, can they?"

The Weasley sister looked uncertain. "It still gives me the creeps."

Hermione agreed. "Let's sleep with the lights on."

"The beds are nice. Soft at least. And look at these blankets. I have to kick them off by the end of the night. I've never been so warm."

"They do look lovely." Hermione fingered the plush fabric between her fingers without thought. It was thick with silver strands cut through rivers of emerald green trimmed with silver snowflakes. There were patterned designs of green laced overtop silver, locked in some endless battle as they wove through the fabric and each other merrily. It reminded Hermione of waves of the ocean swimming together. Strands moved as water through cloth.

Ginny sat atop her bed as Hermione unpacked her things into the bedside table. She moved quietly and quickly. Sure to shove the letter down quickly whenever it poked out. It was suspicious for Hermione to act so mysteriously. Ginny wondered what secrets it bared, and to who. A dragon wasn't a particularly popular magical animal.

It was curious. However, she left her friend to her silence. Hermione seemed to thrive with time to think, the more of it, the better.

Frankly she was overjoyed to have a friend to break up the monotony of the summer, Ginny couldn't have cared if Hermione came covered head to toe in magical tattoos. All summer with Fred, George and Ron as they belched, farted and snored their way through the day. It was hard enough at the Burrow, where the air flowed freely amongst the rooms. Hermione would put a stop to it. Or, at least a distraction.

"Have you heard from Harry?" Hermione suddenly asked.

Ginny startled. "Um, no. No, we haven't. Dumbledore told us not to tell him what's been going on."

Hermione tried to hide her frown, but the disappointment was too much.

"Me too," she said. "I was at least hoping to hear how he was doing, if he was alright. Not one word. He might need help, you see. With Cedric's death, Voldemort's rebirth. All of it."

"Do you really think he's back?"

"Who?"

Ginny felt silly, questioning the great Harry Potter about the Dark Lord. After all, she'd follow Harry anywhere. As would anyone who knew him. Things didn't feel as catastrophic as they should with Voldemort back. The world to stop itself. The Order was a tiny group, not an army.

"You mean Voldemort?" Hermione questioned. Ginny nodded. "I do. Nothing feels the same as it did before. After Cedric…Harry would never lie about something like that, but it felt true because of Cedric. Only a monster would kill him. What kind of person would want a brilliant wizard like him from the world?"

Silence fell to them as both girls remembered that night. Cedric's death. It was a dream Hermione had almost every night. Ginny kept it pushed out of her mind. She didn't want to think of him. It was too unreal.

"Things are going to get a lot worse than Cedric," she said.

Hermione nodded. "Yeah, definitely."

Ginny and Hermione dropped the subject and left it gone until later that night once they were tucked in bed, hopeful of sleep. Ginny's soft breaths sounded on the very edge of rest when Hermione muttered something from underneath the dense blankets.

"What's that, Hermione?"

"I'm scared," she said softly.

Ginny's eyes opened to slits. "The lights are still on, Hermione. This place isn't that bad. At least we don't hear Ron snoring like a bear."

"No." Hermione sighed. "I'm scared of what's going to happen. To Harry. To the Order. Voldemort is out there right now, waiting for the chance to get to us. What if he's too strong? What if he takes over wizarding world? What of our loved ones? I've tried to but I don't know how to picture that future. All I see is darkness. Pitch black evil."

"One day at a time," Ginny murmured. "Go to sleep. It'll all feel better in the morning."

The days passed slowly in Grimmauld Place, as news of the Order came secretly and slow. Molly Weasley kept them all away from the meetings. They were corralled out the way like steers as members of the Order flocked in.

Professor Snape appeared one day, to Hermione's surprise. She'd never seen him outside of Hogwarts. It felt odd. He looked the same, dressed as he did in the Castle. Head to toe black. His tone, his manner was all very much the same. He ignored them as they passed by. It was notable because the narrow halls made it impossible to avoid anyone. Hermione thought it strange.

Crookshanks ran down from his daily napping spot to greet Hermione with a playful pant scratching. She tucked the fur ball between her arms, aching to hold something so very close to her. The cat meowed. A rough paw touched Hermione's nose, claws retracted. Big black eyes stared into her soul. She felt their connection pass.

"I know. I miss home, too," she said. "But we've got to get all this sorted first: school, You-Know-Who, Harry. We have to do this first."

"Talking to your stupid cat again, Mione?" Ron snickered as he passed.

"He holds a better conversation than you," she retorted. The cat sent Ron a warning meow as he stepped closer.

Ron narrowed his eyes. The cat had, on more than one occasion, went out of it's way to scratch Ronald and run away. It shredded the sleeve off one of his favorite sweaters when they'd been down for supper. Not only that. Crookshanks also sprayed across the length of his trunk full of school clothes and trinkets. It'd taken Molly a full day of washing to get rid of the smell.

"I miss Harry," she said suddenly.

Hermione looked to her friend. Ron pushed his lips together in a line.

"He'll be here. Nothing ever happens to him, Hermione."

"Everything happens to him. Always!"

Ron shrugged. "Don't worry, mate. The Order will keep him safe. If he gets into trouble, they'll go help him out of it. Now come on you nutter. Let's go on up there before Mum hears us."

It was days before Hermione caught one scent of news of Harry. She'd gotten tons of news from the papers. The disappearances. The slander of her best friend and headmaster.

There was a sudden meeting of the Order, a chaos of shouting with Harry's name being center news.

"We've just got word that Harry's been expelled," Alastor Moody said. It was a gruff recognizable tone.

"Oh my goodness!" Molly exclaimed. "Is he alright? What happened?"

"'Use of a Patronus Charm in front of a Muggle'? That can't be right." It was Lupin.

Hermione gasped. She pulled Ron closer in silence.

"Did you hear that?" She whispered.

Ron nodded. "Do you think he'll actually be expelled?"

A year without Harry sounded awful.

The Order dispatched once news came from Dumbledore that he'd requested a hearing from the Ministry of Magic. Sirius, Lupin, Molly, Snape and Arthur stayed behind to mind the headquarters as Hermione dove deep into her books. She had a rulebook from first year. She'd also gotten a book on the laws of underage wizard restrictions. It made her feel calm until Harry was delivered, though irate at their absence over the summer.

It was awful to see Harry so upset. They'd sworn Dumbledore, or else Ron and Hermione would have told him everything. Or rather, Hermione would have. She wished Harry could see that. His thoughts seemed more focused on other things. He let it go.

Hermione thought he itched to see Sirius, to talk to the Order. He was much more driven than before. No longer content to sit around with the rest of them while plans were made without. He wanted more.

And if Harry Potter wanted to be more, she knew she'd have to be too. He was her best friend. They had to stick together. Voldemort was back.

The letter came sometime later. The letter from Hogwarts. Ron got one, too. Harry did not.