Chapter 8: The Aftermath
Author's Note: I just want to give a shout out to everyone who has reviewed and followed this story! This is my first ever fanfic and it's so nice getting all of this positive reinforcement. You truly don't understand how important they are to me.
Also, my apologies for the long cliffhanger (something I learned from one of my other favorite authors, Rick Riordan). ;) Work got crazy at the start of the year and just when I thought I'd get a break, it got worse. But, since today is a holiday, I figured I'd just sit down and get it done. So be prepared for the slightly long chapter ahead.
Thank you all again for your support and keep those reviews coming!
Fred woke up Friday morning with a happy feeling. He had spent the whole night without any nightmares (the first this week), and he would finally get to spend some more time with Hermione. Moving about his room to get ready for the day, he marveled at how lucky he was to finally date the girl he had harbored a crush on for years. Even if they hadn't quite defined the lines of this relationship yet. If he was being honest with himself, he'd fancied her ever since the Yule Ball all those years ago. He had seen, truly seen, what a marvelous witch she had become. Couple that with her no-nonsense attitude his last year, and he was a goner. Thinking about her total disobedience towards Umbridge and how she had allowed them to prank her, Fred smiled at the thought that right now, she was finally in his grasp.
When Fred had received her owl last night asking him about lunch, he'd immediately jumped at the chance and consulted George. His twin had agreed it was a great idea and with everyone at the shop for the monthly meeting, they'd be able to take their time for lunch too. George had claimed it was because he was such a good boss, but Fred knew he was just as excited to get some time with Angelina.
As he quickly brewed his morning coffee and made some toast, Fred heard George move out of his bedroom, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Morning Forge!" he called cheerily, pulling down a second mug and filling it with coffee for his twin.
"Ugh. Why do you have to be so damn chipper in the mornings, eh?" George complained before sipping his coffee and letting out a sigh of contentment.
"Because, my dear twin, one of us has to be. How else would we get anything done?"
"You've got a point there," George conceded. "Remind me what's on our agenda for today again? My brain still hasn't fully caught up with me."
Fred chuckled and brought his toast over to the table where his brother was currently seated. "Well, first we have the monthly staff meeting. We're going over the holiday schedule now that Hogwarts will be letting out soon. We're also forcing Dean and Timothy to join Lee and Verity in the shop all day so you and I can catch up on some inventing this morning, followed by working on stock in the afternoon. And for lunch, twin of mine, we will be leaving the store for our short break to join our marvelous witches, which should hopefully keep our moods bright afterwards." At the mention of lunch, Fred saw George's eyes brighten with delight and he quickly finished off his coffee.
"Well then, it appears I must get a move on brother! I need to be ready for this meeting, followed by finally seen Ange! Between her quidditch practices and these long hours at the shop, I haven't really been able to see her all week!" George put his mug into the sink to clear later and went to get ready for the day with a bounce in his step.
Fred chuckled at his brother's retreating back as he too finished his coffee and toast, cleaning his dishes and then headed down to the shop. Closing the door to the flat behind him, Fred worked his way down the crooked stairwell before opening the door to the right that led into the shop. The door to the left would have taken him into the small alleyway off the main street of Diagon Alley. He immediately entered the workroom and grabbed his magenta robes off on of the hooks on the wall. Throwing them on, he quickly made his way into the main shop area and began casting small cleaning charms on the floor and empty shelves, making a mental note of what needed to be restocked before they opened.
George came down a few minutes later and opened the till to begin counting the money while Fred continued sweeping the shop and brining out enough products to restock the shelves. By eight, the two had the shop ready to go and the other staff began arriving.
Verity came first, as she always did, and put her belongings under the counter and set her stool up at the till, her regular station. One of the things that Fred and George loved about Verity was her tenacity for her work. Not many young witches had the ambition to work in a joke shop as a cashier, but Verity treated it like any other job. She was always early to work and was prepared when she walked in the door.
Slowly, Lee, Dean and Timothy all entered the shop as well from the back entrance and grabbed their work robes from the hook in the work room. Amidst the good mornings and small talk, the group made a circle on the floor as they sat, prepared to start their meeting.
"We are gathered here today," George started with a grave voice, as though he were conducting a funeral. It vaguely reminded Fred and Lee alike of their third year of Hogwarts where they all sang the school song to a funeral dirge.
George didn't have a chance to finish his thought as Thomas snickered and Verity scoffed with an eye roll. After sticking his tongue out at both of them, George continued.
"Anyway. After that blatant disrespect towards your boss, it's time for the monthly meeting. I looked over the books last night and I'm happy to say we are still seeing a steady increase in sales. This means we can start offering more hours to you people, as well as a slight pay increase. We will provide more of individually. Fred?"
"Thank you George. Hogwarts is about to let the students out for the holiday which means we're going to see an increase in people, as per usual for the holidays. Therefore, we've worked out a new schedule that puts at least four people in and around the shop at all times. We've also increased the holiday hours starting next weekend." Fred tapped his wand against the stack of papers next to him and the distributed themselves over to everyone.
"As you can see, George and I are always in, and everyone here alternates every other day or every two days depending. Weekends we've split into shifts where everyone is in the store during the day to help with lunch breaks and the crazier of the rushes. Any questions?" The group shook their heads negatively.
"Good," George continued. "Now, I know we usually let one or two of you have the rest of the day during these staff meetings, however, we need all of you in the shop today regardless as Fred and I need to catch up on some stock for the holiday. We're mostly good, based on our numbers from last year, but we want to get ahead just in case."
"Aww come on," Timothy scowled. "I had plans for this afternoon!"
"You know the rules, you don't make plans on the day of monthly meetings, dumbass," Verity scolded.
"You'll have to cancel those plans," Fred said without sympathy. He glanced at his watch. "And that's perfect timing. Its 30 minutes until the shop opens, so everyone get to your stations. George and I will be in the back. Lee, you're in charge up front and if you need anything, come get us. Verity, you're in charge of the till, as usual. Dean, back of house, helping ensure that stock stays on the shelves. Timothy, front of house with Lee."
Fred stood up at the end of his statement and, after assisting Verity up because she was next to him, he made his way back into the work room. Pulling the magical notebook that kept track of how much extra stock of each item they had, Fred got to work on preparing the cauldron and started on the Skiving Snackboxes. When George joined a few minutes later after finishing his stuff up front, he set up the second cauldron, grabbed the notebook and started working on the love potions as they seemed to be a big seller this season.
The two worked in mostly silence all morning, only speaking when they needed something. Before they knew it, Verity had walked into the back telling them she was going on her early lunch at 12, saying she'd just sit back here to eat her meal and once she was done, they'd be good to go. Fred, having just finished a batch of Fever Fudge, took it upon himself to take Verity's spot up front. This also gave him a chance to keep an eye on Timothy. Fred was usually not on the same shifts as their newest employee, so barely knew him as much as the others did. Verity had spoken truthfully this morning during the meeting when Timothy complained about having plans. One of the things that was made clear to each of them upon hire was that they had to be fully available on the days of the monthly meetings in the event of an emergency or situations like today when it would help them keep ahead.
Much like it had in the back room, time flew for Fred while he was at the register. People had flooded the shop, just as Verity had relayed to them when she took her break for it had been the same all morning. There wasn't a moment he wasn't checking someone out. Every once in a while he could see Lee directing a customer his way with their arms full, Dean rushing around making sure things were still sitting on the shelves as well as assisting people in their Dark Arts section of the back. Timothy, he could see, was being very helpful up front, especially with the smaller children, too young to be at Hogwarts. He remembered this as being one of the reasons George and he had hired him. During his interview they have each of their prospects attempt to sell products to different customers. While he was okay with the older generations who might not understand certain things, the group that Timothy had excelled in was the younger children. He was the type to get on their level and listen to what they had to say, something most adults don't do with children. Many parents had sung his praises when Fred worked the counter and he asked who had assisted them.
Before he knew it, Verity had made her way back out to the front with George in tow.
"Our turn for lunch Gred!" he cried jovially, tossing Fred's cloak over to him as he made his way out of the shop. "Tell Hermione I say cheers!"
"Tell the same to Angie, Forge!" With that, the two left the store and disapperated with soft pops, Lee and Verity giving Fred incredulous looks at the information they just heard.
Fred reappeared right outside the Ministry's Visitors Entrance, swiftly entered the phone booth and soon found himself at the Welcome Center. After checking in with the guard he quickly made his way to Hermione's office. When he arrived at the floor however, people were rushing everywhere, and it vaguely reminded Fred of his shop. Stretching his head to see over people, he saw that the mass of people were surrounding an office and an older woman he immediately recognized as Henrietta. He pushed his way through the crowd and made it to her side. She gasped when he touched her arm.
"Oh Frederick! Thank goodness you're here. I just sent an owl to your store," she said to him with a slight strain in her voice. Her eyes kept glancing towards the closed door to Hermione's office.
"What's going on?" he questioned, worried about the closed door. Before he could answer though Harry appeared by his side as well.
"Henrietta. Sorry I'm late. Rita Skeeter is at the elevators. She's trying to get information and access to the floor. Can you go take care of it?" Henrietta briskly nodded and walked away with an angry glare in her eyes. Harry then turned to Fred. "When did you get here Fred?"
"Just a few minutes ago. Can you tell me what's going on? Henrietta didn't get a chance to say anything."
Harry visibly sighed and Fred started to get more worried as the silence went on.
"Honestly Fred, I don't know much. The other aurors got here before I did but Henrietta specifically sent for me. Apparently Hermione had a meeting with a goblin today and eh…it didn't, go…well."
Fred started and grabbed Harry's upper arm and turned to face him. "What do you mean not well?"
Harry didn't have a chance to answer however as the door to Hermione's office suddenly opened and two aurors walked out with a goblin magically bound between them. The goblin glared at Harry as he passed and the aurors muttered his name in greeting. A third auror Harry recognized stepped out after them and shut the door before they could get a good look inside the office.
"Potter," the auror greeted. "I assume Ms. Carter sent for you?"
"Yes sir," Harry replied respectfully, leading Fred to assume this is one of his superiors.
"Very well then. You might actually be best suited for this given your connection with Ms. Granger. And, who, may I ask, is this young man?"
"Fred Weasley sir." Fred took it upon himself to introduce himself. "I had a lunch meeting scheduled with Hermione at 12:30 sir."
"Another Weasley," the older man grunted. "I should have assumed you were related to Arthur and Weasley. Given your relation to Arthur, Weasley, Potter and Ms. Granger, I shall allow you to remain here with Potter."
"Sir, can you tell us what is going on? All Henrietta told me was that Hermione had a meeting with a goblin and they needed something from me. I assumed something went wrong because usually Hermione sends me a message herself and says exactly what she needs."
"That is exactly what she was instructed to say to you. We wanted to be sure if the memo was intercepted no one could figure out what it was. Especially that Skeeter woman." When he mentioned the reporter's name, Harry's superior sneered, obviously as unhappy with her as they were. "Anyway, our understanding right now is that the meeting was not going well and the goblin stunned Ms. Granger."
"What!?" Harry and Fred cried at the same time and Fred made a move towards the door but the auror grabbed his arm to stop him.
"When I left, Ms. Granger was still unconscious. We have healers in there right now and they left me instructions they were not to be disturbed until they say something. You both will have to wait. Potter, I'm putting this case in your hands. You know what to do."
"Yes sir." Harry replied and Fred could see his mind turn to business mode. He grabbed a piece of parchment and quill off of Henrietta's desk and started preparing notes. The senior auror left them to their devices and Fred sat himself in the chair in front of Henrietta's desk and puts his head into his hands. Worry for his…his what? He and Hermione had never truly defined what they were to each other, but Fred wanted to consider her his girlfriend. What Fred didn't understand was that this worry was different. He could tell it was more than just worry for his friend, for it almost matched the worry he feels for George, which is something no one else has ever come close to.
Harry and Fred sat in silence for a few more minutes, each absorbed in their thoughts, waiting for the moment the healers let them in to see her. After what seemed like an eternity, but was only about ten more minutes, the door opened and a healer stepped out.
"Mr. Potter?" she asked quietly, aware that there were still a great many people around the floor and she knew not to draw too much attention. Harry nodded when he stood to shake the healer's hand. "A pleasure to meet you. Ms. Carter told me to expect you out here if she wasn't around. I'm Healer Smith. I'm the healer in charge for Ms. Granger."
"Nice to meet you as well. Is Hermione okay?" Harry asked, the worry plain on his face.
"She's doing better than when we first arrived. From what Ms. Granger told us, the goblin she was meeting with got quite, incensed, about the way the meeting was turning, though Ms. Granger doesn't fully remember exactly what happened. All she can recall currently is that they were discussing an issue and next thing she knew the she was flying backwards. Then, she woke up after we checked her for broken bones or spell damage. The goblin used some sort of stunning magic and knocked her into the filing cabinets behind her desk. She hit her head pretty hard, but there doesn't appear to be anything wrong, other than the small amount of memory loss, but that is to be expected. She does have some nasty cuts from what appears to have been the goblin scratching her, but those healed over nicely, with minimal scarring. We can't cause the scars to go away just yet as the skin does need to heal naturally."
"Thank you Healer Smith. Can we go in and see her now?"
"Of course Mr. Potter. I am insisting that she takes the rest of today off and gets some rest at home. I'll need her to pop in quickly Monday morning before I can clear her for work, but otherwise she's fine to be home. I have my assistant in her office making a list of things she is not allowed to do until we clear her, and I hope she has someone at home who can make sure she follows the instructions.
"Don't worry ma'am," Fred responded, having been silent the whole conversation. "I'll take her home and keep an eye on her. She'll listen to me."
"What if she doesn't Fred? You know Hermione. She's ridiculously stubborn," Harry replied, interested to see how the prankster could get her to listen.
"Oh she will. If not, I'll just call mum. You know she can't stand mum when she's not feeling well. She can't stand how mum has to hover."
Harry started laughing and the healer gave them both quite the odd look. "Very well. Then she is in your hands sir. I'll have her put on my schedule for first thing Monday morning and I'll have an owl sent to her flat and to Ms. Carter here to confirm. Have a good day gentlemen." Harry and Fred nodded at the witch and then made their way into Hermione's office.
Hermione had her eyes closed and a cold cloth pressed against her head while she listened to the sound of the quill scratching at her desk. The healer was writing down instructions for her when she went home, though Hermione had no intention of following them to the letter. There was too much to get done. She'd just lay here for a few more minutes, wait until everyone leaves, then grab her work and take it home with her to complete over the weekend. That's what she'd do. And she'd make sure that Henrietta sent her a letter at the end of the day with anything important.
Before she could continue that train of thought however, the door to her office opened once more and she opened her eyes to see a mop of untidy black hair and a tall ginger haired man.
"Harry. Fred. What on earth are you doing here?" she asked as she started to sit up, but the healer at her desk tutted slightly and caused her to lean back down with a huff.
"Henrietta called me in, saying something was the matter. Mr. Jones put me in charge of this case. I'm working on the internal investigation. So, unfortunately, I have some questions, but they can wait until tomorrow. How are you feeling?"
"I've been better," she replied, still slightly confused as to why Fred was also standing in her office. "They're sending me home to rest up as soon as the healer is done writing out my instructions. Anyway, Fred, what are you doing here?"
Harry and Fred quickly glanced at each other and Hermione could see some silent conversation happen between them, much like when George and Fred would look at each other before a prank.
"Actually, Hermione," Fred started and he kneeled down next to her. "We were supposed to be having lunch together, remember?"
Hermione sat there a moment, wracking her brain but came up short. "I'm sorry Fred. Everything that happened before I passed out is kind of a blur. All I remember right now is meeting with Ragnuk, but that's it. I honestly can't even remember what I had for breakfast this morning."
Fred and Harry both glanced at the healer, concern clearly written on their faces.
"Don't worry," the young man replied as he started packing away his materials. "It's perfectly normal for some short term memory to occur. If you made any plans within the past day that were supposed to occur today, it's natural for you to momentarily forget them. You should be alright later tonight or tomorrow morning." Snapping his briefcase shut, the healer grabbed the parchment of instructions off the desk and walked over to the group. "Now, here I've provided the instructions of Healer Smith. These are to be followed to the letter Ms. Granger. No ifs, ands, or buts about it."
Fred could tell Hermione was about to protest and swiftly grabbed the instructions before she could. "Understood. Hermione will be in good hands. I'm taking her back to her flat for the rest of the afternoon."
"Good. Expect an owl at your flat this evening, Ms. Granger, with the confirmation of your appointment Monday morning with Healer Smith. Have a good day." With that, the healer left the office, shutting the door behind him to give them some privacy.
Hermione immediately turned on Fred the moment the door was closed. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself Fred Weasley! There is no need for you to accompanying me home, nor dictate what I can or cannot do!" Hermione would have continued to rant if Fred hadn't put his hand over her mouth.
"Hermione, love, please. What happened here is serious. Serious enough that you can't remember what happened. Let me take you home and get you settled at the very least." Hermione simply rolled her eyes at him and glared. "Very well then. I'll just have to pop by the Burrow and tell mum what happened." Hermione's eyes widened and Harry stifled a laugh which cause her to turn the glare on him.
"He's got you there Hermione," he replied with a smile. "I'll get out of your hair. I'll stop by tomorrow with Ginny if that's okay with you?"
Hermione nodded, still unable to speak as Fred's hand was still covering her mouth to prevent her from arguing. Harry smiled back at her, patted Fred's back and made his way out, letting Henrietta in as he did.
"Ah! I see you're awake. Good. The minister just sent a note over saying he's approved apparition from your office for the next ten minutes."
Hermione removed Fred's hand from her mouth. "Why on earth would he do that?"
"Because I asked him to," was Henrietta's reply and both Fred and Hermione's mouths dropped open. "Don't give me that look either of you! I'll have you both know that Rita Skeeter was pushing her limits and her floor ban. I had no choice but to send her on her way threatening to call the minister and sent a quick message to him about the situation. Now, I'd suggest the two of you get going." With that, Henrietta left the office.
Hermione pushed herself off the couch and started to get her stuff together. Fred watched silently as he watched her put parchment after parchment into a folder and then proceed to put that folder into her purse. Fred glanced down at the note real quickly and saw that doing work was forbidden, but Fred decided this was one of the smaller things that she could get away with if he could convince her to wait until tomorrow. He also pulled out wand and sent a quick patronus to George explaining what happened and where he'd be. After she ensured that everything was fine and locked, Fred gripped her arm tightly and spun them away to her flat.
