"Fuck!"
"Bloody hell, Nympie!"
"Great piles of Merlin's underpants!"
Silence rolled through the room. Four mouths were dropped open, in plain shock.
"what the hell was that?" "Where'd that even come from?" "you're so weird." "are you sure she isn't brain damaged?"
Chocolate-cinnamon eyes rolled heavenward.
"Why don't we all just sit down and have a cuppa, hm?"
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Rather quickly, they all settled down with steaming cups of tea, warm scones, a plate of jam and a small bowl of clotted cream. Nymphadora sat back, one hand on her rounded stomach, looking rather pale and greenish at the edges as she sipped at her tea and watched the rest prepare breakfast.
"Morning sickness again, love? I thought it had stopped." Her rather concerned husband asked gently as he settled back into his seat. Tonks waved an impatient had at him, her short, floo blown hair changing from a green tinted blonde to fiery red.
"Nevermind that. What on earth is going on here?" Her nearly black eyes shot daggers at each of them as she turned her angry features to each of them. Draco scooted forwards and patted her knee.
"It's nothing awful. No one's done any dark magic or killed anyone." Tonks frowned.
"Hermione is dead." She stated. "We all know it." Severus slowly shook his head.
"no, no…she isn't. Clearly." He indicated the young woman sitting next to him quietly dunking half her scone in her morning tea. "A little bit more outspoken than usual, but here. Alive. Rather healthy. A tad sleep deprived, if you asked a professional healer, but honestly, we just got back the other day and you really can't expect much." He paused, then realized everyone was staring at him with rather wide, shocked eyes. "Bloody hell. I need more tea." He stood and stormed out of the room.
"He's been like that quite a bit, actually." Hermione commented suddenly. "Babbled at me like a schoolboy with a crush when we first arrived." Tonks snorted. Then snickered. Then burst into full blown feminine giggles. Her hands flew to her mouth as Severus stalked back into the den with a steaming pot of tea.
"oh, shut your clumsy trap and pick up your bloody tea cup before it tips over, Nymphadora." Severus snarled darkly. Draco chuckled quietly behind his own teacup.
"Honestly, godfather. You must be quite tired to be babbling so much, hmm?" Severus turned his grumpy gaze upon his godson.
"Indeed, brat." Tonks leaned forwards at the mention of exhaustion.
"Exactly why would you be quite so exhausted?" She asked. Draco, Remus, Severus and Hermione shared a look. Remus quirked a brow. Hermione sighed slightly, Draco groaned as he flopped back into his chair, and Severus simply sipped at his tea. "And what was that?"
Remus quickly folded his hands around one of hers.
"Love, there's a lot that's been going on. It was just a quick decision to let me tell you what has happened while they go start on actual breakfast." He nodded towards the large table with the map supplies that was being quickly cleared by the three hungry adults. Platters of fruit tarts, jugs of milk and pumpkin juice, steaming piles of pancakes and pats of butter were quickly appearing on the table as the three conjured seats for one another.
Remus pulled Tonks to the side, closer to the fire and explained to his wife what had happened. How Hermione had been captured by Ginny. How Narcissa had been put under the imperious. How Severus had been brewing awful potions for Ginny, but still managing to wean Hermione off of them. Then, all about his heroic escape, which Severus managed to catch a bit of, then proceeded to grumble about over dramatics and stupid werewolves. He told her about updating Hermione, and how he and Draco had been researching, locating and examining plans and ruins of old Death Eater haunts, searching for the exact location of Ginny's stronghold.
Tonks was in shock. Ginerva Weasley had done this? Why would she…ah. A niggling thought in her brain clicked into place.
Harry Potter. The ruggedly handsome boy-who-lived's image popped into Tonks' mind. Of course. Ginny was a jealous, petty young woman. Very greedy and always looking for ways to 'better' herself. Having Hermione around after the war would have pulled Harry, his money, and his political status away from the ever so needy Ginerva.
Tonks glanced over at the pale, sunken face of her favorite member of the Golden Trio and smiled. It was good to have Hermione home. But what would she do if Harry asked about Remus's whereabouts again?
She quickly told her embarrassingly understanding husband about how she and Harry had stuck Dobby on his trail. He had laughed and assured her that he wasn't upset, then told her he had already known about the devoted house elf following him, and had erected many a safety net to keep house elf and wizard away until Hermione was ready.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Later that evening, Tonks finally got the chance to have a bit of girl time with Hermione. The men had banished them from the room after the two females had begun to nitpick over the hand drawn maps, and the spells Draco and Remus had been researching to use to animate it.
"So…how was it, really?" Tonks asked gently as she braided Hermione's long, curly, and thankfully less bushy hair.
"Severus told you all of it." Hermione replied quietly. Tonks leaned down and tapped the younger woman's cheek with the tip of her finger.
"Naughty, naughty Hermione. Lying to your elders." She resumed braiding. "I'm here for you. It's girl time. Tell me everything."
Hermione heaved a relieved, but exhausted sigh. Tonks slipped down onto the bed next to Hermione, and waited while the younger woman settled back against the wall, in the space Tonks had just been kneeling in.
"Alright…well…from what I remember, it was dark. Very dark. Cold, lots of dirt and cement. I mostly remember having dreams. Most of them were about Ginny and Harry. She was always doing something that would hurt him."
Tonks gently slipped her hand into Hermione's. she squeezed the smaller, paler hand encouragingly. "I…I would always have to watch, and know. I could never do anything to help….I really odnt remember the torture Severus said they put me through. I suppose I could feel a dull ache here and there, but not much else. I do remember him coming though, feeding me, telling me that the dreams weren't real, that I was going to be ok."
A smile broke through her teary complexion as she turned to stare Tonks in the eyes. "Honestly? I knew I had to believe him. He was horrible to us in school, yes…and he almost killed the headmaster…but really, Severus saved Harry thousands of times, and kept every single 'dunderheaded' one of us in his potions class alive and relatively unharmed. Listening to what he was saying, believing it? It was simply…logical."
Tonks thought for a moment. She supposed it was true. Severus was always a grumpy, lonely looking man, but he was always the one that was right. Always had an answer.
"I didn't know it was Ginny till the other day, when Severus got us out. I saw her, she was telling him something in the doorway, she looked at me and it was the nastiest, most disturbingly proud look on her face that I've ever seen. Horrible, it was." She shook her head.
"Anyway. Severus brought me here. Let me borrow some of his elder sisters clothes. He told me that Remus and Draco were trying to figure out where we had come from. Ginny had some powerful wards erected. Apparently the place has a fidelious, confundus…all sorts of repelling charms…But Severus, brilliant minded Severus has done it. He memorized most of the corridors and rooms. They're trying to recreate the Marauders' Map, then find the location using the plans from the map. It's hard work, but they've been making headway since Severus and I got back."
Tonks shook her head.
"You've been through a lot, even if your mind doesn't recall it all….but…wouldn't you like to see Harry?"
Hermione pulled away from Tonks, and slipped off of the bed. She sat down at the vanity and inspected the messy fishtail braid Tonks had created. Her eyes focused on the braid, she did her best to ignore Tonks' piercing gaze.
"No….no, I'd much rather just deal with Ginny, then find a place to live in peace." A snort from the door cause both females to look up.
"Honestly, Granger. You won't have much peace once it comes out that you're alive, you know. Unless you go to the muggle world, but you wouldn't…" Draco paused as Hermione's eyes darted away. "you…you would? Hermione! Really!" he shook his head and began to pace, his hands balling into fists as he stalked in a circle.
"No. No, you cannot. Your mind is too brilliant for the muggle world. Don't forget Potter! Bloody Potter, getting his nose into everything. Still getting into trouble, he is. Heard he was looking to go to Romania, join up with that Charlie Weasley chap. Bleedin' dangerous if you ask me, and dirty too. Do you really think he'd be safe alone?" Hermione laughed softly as she smoothed the edge of her linen night shirt.
"He won't be alone. He has Ron, and Neville…and…you, right?" Draco snorted.
"Longbottom works for Hogwarts now. Ron is married with babies on the way. Come on, woman. Use that massive ol' brain of yours. Harry Potter needs you. Merlin, Granger. Here I was, thinking you were the smart one in this house." Tonks made a grumpy noise, and threw a pillow at him. "Oi!" He shrieked, patting at his perfect hair. "I'm just trying to convince the bint that she needs to stay around. No need to mess me up!"
Tonks giggled behind her hands.
"Ahh, I knew you were a smidge gay in there." She snickered out as Hermione's wand directed more pillows at the blond man, rumpling his clothes, hair and attitude. Draco froze at Tonks's words.
"Yes." He said slowly, whipping out his wand. "Just a smidge." He flicked it, and the pillows banished themselves to the bed. He flicked it again, and his clothing and hair straightened to it's perfectly tailored, groomed look. Draco turned on his heel and left immediately.
"You know," Hermione said slowly as she turned on the vanity stool to share an intrigued look with Tonks. "Ronald did always come back from his late nights with blond hair burrowed in his patent Weasley sweater…" The two females stared at each other in shock.
"No…"
"Couldn't be…could it?"
Hermione knew, then and there, that Ron's secret lover wasn't quite so secret anymore.