A/N: This story has gotten so many follows and favorites; thank you guys so much! I hope you guys keep reading even though I'm really bad at updating frequently.
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, I'm borrowing.
Back at home, Hermione took a deep breath of relief. It had been a long week. Charlie wasn't back yet; to keep her mind occupied, she decided she would try to cook something. Without magic. Behind her, she heard a familiar flutter of wings. "What have you got there, Pig?" Hermione asked the barn owl as he settled down on the kitchen counter. A small scroll of paper was attached to his right foot. Hermione smiled instantly at the illegible scrawling on the note. Harry must have sent it in with another owl.
Dear Hermione,
You can stop worrying now. I'm back, in one piece. We've got owls here though so keep Pig if you want to, you might need him. Loads to tell you two. Floo today?
Love, Harry
Hermione breathed another sigh of relief. Harry was back from the trials so it must not have been too bad. She had heard from McGonagall that most of the death eaters were imprisoned in Azkaban, excluding Narcissa and Draco Malfoy who were vouched for by Harry and Luna respectively. The few who escaped are still being searched for. McGonagall still hasn't given her the go to search for her parents, which she supposed was for the best. She wouldn't want to risk bringing her parents back to England until they were sure it was safe. And there's also that sinking feeling of doubt in her mind that kept bringing itself up: what if their memories were irreversible?
Hermione shook her thoughts off. No time for pessimism now.
Hermione soon gave up trying to cook something without magic and whipped up some chicken roast with her wand. The smell of a home cooked meal seemed to surprise Charlie a great deal.
"Hermione! I thought I told you to rest?"
Hermione smiled, "I have had enough rest, Charlie, really. Here, try some," she gestured to the food.
They ate in silence for the most part, not an awkward one though. It was quite comforting to Hermione. She told him her plan to meet Ginny in Seattle next Saturday.
"Are you sure? And all by yourself?" Charlie asked, concerned.
"I'm sure I can manage," Hermione said.
"Do you want me to come with you?" he asked in a paternal manner, sending a pang through her chest. That's exactly what her father would've said.
"No, no. I'll be fine. I was planning on apparating some of the way anyway. I'll be fine."
"If you say so." Then, as an after note, he added, "You know there's a dance at the school on Saturday, don't you?"
Hermione was surprised he knew about it, "I do. But dances are the least of my worries right now."
Charlie nodded, understanding. Hermione had told him about her parents the week before when he saw a potion brooming in her room. She had started making a locating potion to use when she goes to search for them; she wanted to be fully prepared for when McGonagall gave the signal. Charlie had been very sympathetic and asked if he could do anything to help, which there wasn't but Hermione appreciated the gesture.
The next morning, Hermione woke up dreamlessly. Not wanting to go through the gesture of getting ready, she flashed some clothes on with her wand. Magic is honestly a time saver. Charlie was still sleeping when she headed out.
Surprisingly, she found an empty parking spot right beside the infamous silver Volvo belonging to the Cullens. Unexpectedly, Edward appeared in front of her truck as soon as she parked it. She had expected him to avoid her for a few weeks. Hermione smiled internally, he really was quite amusing. He opened her truck's door for her before she had the chance, "Bella," he nodded.
Hermione smiled, "I thought you didn't want to be friends," she replied.
"No, I said it's better if we're not friends. I didn't say I didn't want to be friends."
Hermione scrunched her eyebrows; wasn't he quite the charmer. "You are strange," she replied.
Edward chuckled, "You are stranger."
Hermione didn't doubt that for a bit. "So… is there a reason why you wanted to be friends?"
Edward was staring at her and she felt him trying to nudge her thoughts, she tightened her Occlumency shield a little more. It was apparent that he relied a lot on his ability to read people's minds; he seemed at a loss of words right then. "You are… intriguing," he finally replied.
"Why, thank you."
"So, I heard you were going to Seattle on the Saturday of the dance," Edward started. He sounded nervous. Almost jittery.
"Yes," Hermione answered.
"How about a ride?"
She raised her eyebrows, "You're offering me a ride?"
"I'm doing you a favor. It doesn't seem like your poor truck can take it."
She didn't know what to say. She was planning on apparating some of the way. And going with him might defeat the whole purpose of trying to stay hidden while meeting Ginny. And there was also the obvious question: was he asking her out? She needed some time to think through this. "How about I give you an answer later?"
"Alright," he agreed. It seemed like he wanted to add something but thought better of it; he gave her a small smile, "I'll see you later."
Hermione watched his silhouette slowly recede; sometimes, she wished she could read minds too.
Hermione had been waiting for her friends in front of the fireplace for almost half an hour. Just as she was about to leave, thinking the boys forgot about the floo, Ron's face popped up. His cheeks looked bright red and his hair was parted in all the wrong directions. Seeing that Harry wasn't there yet and it was only her, his face flushed even more. "Hey, 'Mione," he said, looking down so his head looked like he was watching the firewood.
"Hello," Hermione replied, cheerfully. She had a feeling she knew what was going on. "Where have you been?"
Ron stuttered, "Err… I was… you know… potatoes."
Hermione smiled. "Ronald, you are a horrid liar."
Ron looked up hesitantly; he looked almost shy, she noted.
Hermione shook her head. She would tease him but the poor bloke seemed utterly clueless. "What's her name?" she asked, softly.
Ron looked unsure of what to say; he probably decided to just go with the truth, "Naya."
"Pretty," she said.
"Hermione…" Ron started.
Hermione smiled again. "It's alright, really." She was genuinely happy for him. She was in no position to judge after all, she was going through a crush herself. If it can even be called a crush. "Tell me about her."
And so he did. Naya was a witch, a daughter of one of the dragon trainers Ron was living with. She had a natural talent with the dragons and had taken him out to ride one of the tamed ones. Hermione listened intently, Ron seemed happier than before.
Harry joined the two of them after a few minutes. Ron was the first to speak, "Why the bloody hell were you so late when you called the meeting in the first place?"
Harry's eyes looked puffy from exhaustion, "I fell asleep." He yawned right afterwards as to prove his point.
"What did you want to tell us?" she asked.
Harry's face changed to a more grim expression. He seemed to look straight at her. "It's Greyback."
Hermione's breath caught, there are very few people she hated more than Greyback. No, not people, a better term would be monster. "What about him?"
Harry let out a breath, "They never caught him," he said, "They're trying to keep it under wraps now to avoid causing widespread panic," he paused and then started again, "but he's not in Azkaban."
Ron let out a mouth full of curses. "Any clue as to where he is?"
Harry shook his head, "The Aurors, or what is remained of them, are searching. But he's had years of experience hiding out in the woods, catching him won't be easy."
Hermione noticed the gears going around Harry's head, his face was easy to read. "No! Harry James Potter, you will not do something so stupid like trying to go after him!"
Ron agreed, "She's absolutely right, mate. We're in hiding for a reason."
"I know, I know," Harry replied, "I wasn't going to, I promise. But he'll come after us," he said with certainty.
"We know he'll come after us, Harry, we're smarter than we look," Ron said.
Both Harry and Hermione chuckled. "Look out for yourselves, alright? You both defeated him in the Battle of Hogwarts once, he won't forget that."
Hermione remembered; she had incapacitated him with a blasting spell when he was moving to bite Lavender Brown.
"Look out for yourself," Ron scoffed, "Never done that before."
Harry looked unamused.
"Everything will be fine, Harry, we'll get through it. We always do." Hermione assured.
The two boys agreed, because it was true, wasn't it. They did always get through; that was their specialty.
