Chapter Ten
Hermione woke the next morning and groaned, her head felt like little people were pounding at her skull with drums. Fred was sound asleep and snoring loudly into her ear. She frowned and realized that she'd been drooling all over his pajama top and scourgified it, before slowly getting out of bed and taking a hangover remedy from her purse. She drained one and set one on the bedside table for Fred, before looking at the clock and noticing that it was just past six. She went to the kitchen to start on breakfast then, gathering together the bacon, eggs, beans and toast and cooking the food. She smiled as Harry stumbled into the room, as she started to cook the bacon.
"Budge over and let me do it." Harry said and Hermione laughed, before moving over.
"Did you still have some of the hangover potions I gave you?" Hermione asked. "Because I can make more."
"I'm set for a while, what happened last night?" Harry asked and Hermione frowned.
"You know I can't quite remember, it all goes slightly fuzzy after that first tray of shots." Hermione said and Harry laughed.
"Those were wicked, if you don't know what else to do, when in doubt be a bartender."
"Oh yes, because the sum of my life's ambitions is to work for Madam Rosemerta." Hermione said and Harry laughed.
"Why do you need to go back to Hogwarts, bet you already know most of what they will be teaching you." Harry said. "Why don't you just take your Newts like I'm doing?"
"I don't know what else to do."
"Well there's plenty of programs for post Hogwarts, what about Spell Casting, I stopped by the ministry after the war and got a few booklets. I'm alright at casting spells, but I'm not great like you are and I think you would be really good at it." Harry said and Hermione smiled.
"Alright, I'll consider doing it, instead of going to Hogwarts next fall. Still I want to graduate from Hogwarts, it's been something I've been working towards since I was eleven."
"McGonagall already offered to give us diplomas saying that we graduated, as long as we pass our NEWTS. I think she said don't let your friend of yours waste a whole year learning things she already knows and encourage her to actually learn something she doesn't know." Harry said and Hermione said.
"Well if the Headmistress said that, I suppose there would be no harm in studying for the NEWTS, if my grades aren't up to my standards, I can always take them again in a year."
"If you're studying for the NEWTS, George and I can help in the shop."
"Morning Fred, why were we in bed together when I woke up?"
"You don't remember, Frost Vodka sometimes has that effect. Nothing bad happened, we just played Truth or Dare and you comforted me when I had a nightmare." He admitted and scratched the back of his neck. Hermione smiled, as Fred got down the plates and a sleepy George made his way to the kitchen.
"Morning." George said around a yawn and Hermione had to take the kettle off the stove.
"Just some English breakfast alright, or will you be wanting something else."
"George likes a blend from the apothecary in the mornings." Fred said and pulled down a large bag of loose-leaf tea. "Would you like some too?" He asked and Hermione nodded.
"Sounds interesting, I had tea in Divination, but that room smelled of incense so bad that you can hardly smell anything else."
"Alright." Fred said and brewed a pot of tea, putting the tealeaves to soak in the pot. He then took out the bread and stared at it. "It's already sliced?" He said and Harry and Hermione laughed, as George stared at the bread in shock. "Why does it come sliced?"
"A muggle machine does it." Hermione replied. "So the pieces are fairly uniform." She explained and the twins nodded. Fred put four pieces in the toaster and got out the jam Hermione had bought at the store. She scrambled the eggs as George sat at the table, resting his head on his hands. Half way through cooking the egg's George's head hit the table and he jerked upright again. Everyone laughed, including George as he rubbed at his head.
"Keep telling him we should put cushioning charms on that table." Fred said. "If George doesn't get a good ten hours he's useless in the mornings and really I can't remember the last time we actually slept for ten hours." Fred said. "Before I was kidnapped of course, really Georgie, haven't you been sleeping enough lately?" He asked and George groaned.
"Leave me alone, how can you be so bloody chipper?" George demanded.
"I'm sorry I forgot George." Harry said and handed George a hangover potion. He looked at it like it was the greatest treasure known to the wizard world and perhaps at that moment for him it was. He drank it and grimaced at the taste, as Hermione served the eggs onto plates.
"We should get these in flats, once we run low again, we should all go together on Tuesday to the Tesco. How did you come up with Tuesdays as your day off anyway?"
"Its the day we were the least busy on, when we first opened." Fred replied and Hermione nodded.
"So will you help me with the shopping?"
"Of course."
"Er Hermione, don't they need muggle clothes for that."
"What they normally wear in the shop should be fine, I mean really its just nicer quality pants, without those robes." Hermione replied.
"I've always thought it strange that muggles don't wear robes, I mean where do they put stuff?"
"Not sure, women have handbags and well men have to make do somehow." Hermione said and George frowned.
"You mean that they don't have pouches for their money, where do they keep it?"
"In wallets, muggle money is paper based."
"Paper, but how do they know how much they are worth? Paper is a bit less solid than gold." Fred said and Hermione laughed.
"The paper is backed by the government and painted specially, it's easier to have on hand than gold, which is a finite resource."
"Who cares if its finite or not, you know gold is worth something, even muggles know gold is worth something, its better than using muggle currency."
"I suppose it is." Hermione said rather than continue the conversation. They finished eating and Fred stood.
"I'll do the washing up, if you can get started?" Fred said and Hermione, Harry and George walked down to the stock room together. They brewed and cast layers of spells to make the products. Hermione started asking Fred questions about the spell work, which he was eager to answer. He showed Hermione how spells were built off runes and intent and once the focus word was named, the spell was created. It was also a lot more complicated than he was explaining, but what he said gave Hermione a general idea of what went into making spells.
In a few minutes George came down and they finished making the inventory for the day. "Hermione, you almost forgot that potion." Harry said and Hermione blushed, before taking one of the bottles Andromeda had given her and swallowing it.
"You're taking a potion?"
"Has to do with my hair, have to take it to make sure it doesn't develop a mind of its own, when I'm feeling threatened." Hermione said and pocketed the bottle. "I was wondering if I could make some today."
"Of course." Both brothers said and Hermione smiled.
"Thank you." She said and smiled at them. "I'm going to go to the prophet and do an interview about this, so people don't worry."
"That's a good idea." Harry said and put a hand on her shoulder. "Do you want me to come too?"
"No I can do this on my own." Hermione said and Harry nodded. "I'll see you after its done." Hermione added and walked over to the Daily Profit office building, she hated how people walked across the street, when she came near them. She went over to a receptionist who turned white at the sight of her. "Hello, I'd like to speak with a reporter please?" She asked and the receptionist nodded and she was soon sitting on one side of an oak desk, looking at a man in his fifties.
"Hello Miss. Granger, I'm Hubert Cosgrave, so what did you want from me today?"
"To assure people, I might share a common ancestor with Bellatrix Lestrange, but that doesn't mean I'm her. I'd never knowingly use spells that would permanently harm another and I'm on a potion to help stop my magic from defending me, without my knowledge."
"What sort of potion?"
"Not sure actually, Andromeda Tonks gave them to me." Hermione replied. "They make it slower to respond to my mood."
"This must be so confusing for you." The reporter said and Hermione smiled.
"Actually its not, at least I know now where my magic comes from. Everyone knows I never stole my magic from anyone now, and so they can't ever make that excuse again."
"It bothered you what the Death Eaters were saying?"
"Of course it did, wouldn't it bother you? My magic is part and parcel of who I am, has been all my life, despite what others may think, I'm proud to be a witch."
"Yet you feel you have something to prove?"
"I've felt that way, since before Hogwarts, when I do a thing, I want to be really good at it."
"So you would say that you have ambition?" He asked and Hermione laughed.
"Don't most people really? A lot of people want to get ahead in this world and most that accomplish it have ambition. Does that mean that I'm obsessed with a certain goal, absolutely not. In fact I'm not even sure what I want to do with my life at the moment."
"Which is perfectly normal for someone your age, so what are you considering doing?"
"I'm thinking about asking to sit the NEWTS, a part of me wants to go back to Hogwarts for my seventh year, as the Headmistress offered. Still I think I'd rather decide on a field of study, my friends have been encouraging me to try something new, rather than go back to school where I know most of the material they cover already."
"So you won't be going back to Hogwarts in the fall?"
"I'm honestly not sure at the moment, it's only been a month since the last battle and I was on the run for nine months."
"What was that like?"
"Scary, but my best friend needed my help, so I went with him. The worst was when I was captured, it's rather ironic that my seventh cousin tortured me because they had squibs."
"So you think that's how magic is passed down?"
"I don't have any proof as of yet, none of the noble houses has come forward offering something to compare what my findings are against. Still I think that's the most obvious explanation for my family tree. Both my parents had magical ancestors, so perhaps it was a recessive gene."
"What's a gene?" The reporter asked and Hermione stared at him.
"Its interesting how different the two worlds are from one another, when I was a little girl, before Hogwarts I was bumped up two grades to keep my attention on my studies. In class we learned about genes, which are a part of your genetic makeup, for example if my parents both have blue eyes, I'll be more likely to be born with blue eyes than brown. I think magic is the same way, if wizards didn't abandon their squib offspring in the old days and instead raised the child, they wouldn't have had to "deal" with muggleborns. You've seen my family tree right?"
"Yes, its interesting how long it took to produce a witch again."
"Well those are the direct lines, they just show who my grandparents and great grandparents and so on and so forth were. The people who I've taken family trees from, all have these gaps to a greater or lesser degree."
"Really?" The wizard leaned forward fascinated.
"Most purebloods haven't asked to take the potion yet, as they already know their magical heritage. Still I think that more could be found if they stepped forward."
"What about the proto wizards?" The reporter asked.
"I don't know how magic came about in the first place, but I do know there were wizards as far back as several thousand years."
"How could you know that?"
"Because my family tree goes back that far. I'm distantly related to Morganna LeFey and there are even older names than that. Those that didn't go down in history for doing something and didn't become legends in their own right."
"This is all very fascinating, could you test my magical heritage, I'm a pureblood technically, but it only goes back five generations, I'd like to know more." He said and Hermione nodded, taking out the potion.
"I need a piece of paper, do you have a problem with blood?"
"It requires some of my blood to use?"
"Someone said the potion was dark, because it requires the use of blood, but how can that be?"
"Dark Arts classifications came about do to Muggleborns lobbying for safer spell practices in the sixteen hundreds. These classifications were largely ignored by the general populace until the eighteen hundreds, when a law was passed stating that people couldn't practice Dark Magic."
"So it was an arbitrary decision on the part of those Muggleborns in the sixteenth century?"
"Yes it was more or less, but most of them were religious and so didn't want others to practice spells they determined were evil in nature."
"That's ridiculous, I mean I understand not practicing some spells, but right now I'm taking a potion to stop my magic from protecting me on its own and it would be classified as dark magic."
"Really now?"
"All it has is blood though, to stop my magic from coming to my aid whenever I'm upset or scared, I say it's worth it." Hermione said.
"I see, you must be confused about all of this."
"I was at first, but then Harry took me to Andromeda Tonks and she assured me that I wouldn't become like her and gave me a potion to stop my magic from getting to wild."
"Fascinating." The reporter said. "So you have to use a spell that's classified as dark, do to the blood sacrifice?"
"Yes I do, if I don't something worse will happen."
"What do you mean?"
"I'd never want to hurt anyone, I stun rather than cast curses at others for the most part. Still my magic seems to have a mind of its own now and if I wasn't on the potion I don't know what it would do."
"Magic doesn't have a mind of its own." The reporter said.
"I know that, I know it reacts to the emotions of the witch, but really do you know the amount of anger and frustration I have to deal with on a daily bases?" Hermione demanded and her hair became slightly frizzier. "I'm good at spells and have the highest grades in my year, every year yet most wizards and witches look down on me because of a problem I believe they caused."
"So you think it's the fault of the old families, that muggleborns are born?"
"Yes, but again I don't have any proof." Hermione said. "This is all conjecture from the data I've collected so far. Three of those I tested were third cousins."
"Really?" The man asked and Hermione nodded.
"I've only tested about fifty people so far and there's a lot more left to go, if anyone is interested." Hermione said.
"So once you are finished, will you publish your findings?"
"I'm not sure how to publish academic findings in the wizard world, if there's a different process than in the muggle world or not. They don't seem to cover that at Hogwarts."
"That's mostly covered in the Master Programs." The reporter said. "Not everyone has your academic interest." He added and Hermione laughed. He pricked his finger and Hermione put a few drops of potion over the blood. As he said there were the five generations of people before him, but there were also gaps going back a thousand years. "Fascinating." He breathed. "No one famous like you, but knowing this is incredible, thank you."
"Can I share your results for my study, or do you want to keep them hidden?"
"You can share them Miss. Granger." The reporter seemed dazed. "Why does it stop like that?"
"I'm not sure, most people I tested seem to have a starting point around a thousand years ago. A few went as far back as fifteen hundred years, but not many. Just one other person went back a thousand years that I tested."
"Was that Harry Potter?"
"No comment." Hermione replied. "Harry's results are his business."
"Mr. Potter seems rather uninterested in his fame, do you feel similarly?"
"I've never enjoyed the spotlight, that's not why I'm Harry's friend."
"Why are you then?"
"Because he saved my life when I was eleven, some kids were being mean to me, so I hid and cried in a bathroom. That night a troll was let loose in the castle and the students were supposed to go back to their dormitory. Harry and Ron realized that I hadn't been at dinner, so set out to go look for me. The troll found me first and together we fought it off. We've been friends ever since."
"I see that must have been quite frightening."
"It was, but with Harry and Ron in danger too, it kept my mind off my own fear."
"Not many could say they faced a troll at eleven." He said and Hermione blushed.
"Things happen to Harry and people that he's around, I suppose its do to a madman being after him growing up. Getting back to your question, I find that the willingness of the wizard papers to sacrifice the truth in the name of a story is despicable and so of course I don't like being in them. I'll never forget the way that Rita Skeeta hinted that I was a woman of ill virtue, just because Victor Krum took an interest in me. I think it was more the fact that I saw him more as a person, than a postcard, that he was interested in, in all honesty."
"Are you still on speaking terms with Victor?"
"It didn't work out, we're too very different people, but he's still my friend." Hermione said and smiled. "I haven't written him lately, because of the war and getting settled, but we used to write back and forth when we had the time."
"It sounds like a good friendship."
"It is, he's an interesting man and pretty funny as well." Hermione said. "He's just not the one for me?"
"I see, are there any love interests in your future?"
"My magical match is Fred Weasley, but we're taking things slowly. We're both a bit traumatized from the war."
"Fred Weasley is alive?" The reporter demanded and Hermione stared at him.
"He was one of those taken by the death eaters, I don't know who the others are and wouldn't tell you if I did."
"He's alive?" The reporter repeated.
"Yes and recovering from his ordeal, as we all are. He doesn't need to be bothered by others at the moment." Hermione said and the reporter nodded.
"I'm going to have to print that he's alive, we'd sell a lot of papers."
"No more than that though, he's been through a lot."
"And what about you, you said we."
"I was tortured by my seventh cousin, according to the Black family tree, of course I've got my own scars, both physical and emotional." Hermione replied. "I think this interview is over for now." She added and stood. "Good day." She said and walked out the door, going back to the shop. She knocked on the door to the supply room.
"Come in." One of the twins said and Hermione entered.
"I'm so sorry Fred, it just slipped out."
"You told them about me, didn't you?" Fred said and Hermione nodded. "Its alright, it was bound to happen eventually, couldn't pretend to be George forever after all." He said and Hermione laughed. "How did the interview go?"
"Fairly well." Hermione replied. "The man they had me talk to was nice and really good at his job." Hermione said and the twins laughed.
"So are you going to help us today, or focus on your research?" Fred asked. "Whatever you want to do is fine."
"I think I need a break from it, to be honest." Hermione replied. "What are you making?"
"Fainting Fancies, but now that your here, I can help Harry out on the floor." George replied and Fred looked pale.
"Don't go."
"You'll be fine here with Hermione, Fred and we can't spend our lives constantly together. Harry needs the help and there isn't much point to all three of us being here."
"I can help on the floor." Hermione offered.
"You will do nothing of the sort, I'm going out there and that's final." George said and Hermione nodded, going over to Fred and helping him finish the candies. Next they worked on more fireworks as a wizard appeared from the floo and walked out of the room.
"One of Harry's deliveries." Fred said and Hermione nodded. "So what's your favorite color?" He asked.
"Purple and yours?"
"Orange." Fred said and Hermione smiled. "Favorite animal?"
"I like dogs best, but you can't have a dog at Hogwarts."
"Dogs really?" Fred asked and Hermione nodded.
"My family had a Golden retriever named Marty, until I was seven. What's your favorite animal."
"Dogs, I've always liked how loyal and protective they are."
"Maybe we should get a puppy?" Hermione said and then they both blushed.
"That's a good idea, we should discuss it with George and Harry." Fred said and Hermione nodded.
"So do you want kids? I've always wanted two." Hermione said and Fred smiled.
"I've always wanted two or three myself, not like my Mum though, that was a madhouse." Fred said and Hermione laughed.
"I don't want them to outnumber us." She joked and Fred laughed. "Astrological sign, I'm a Virgo, you?"
"Aries." Fred replied. "What's your favorite food?"
"I love French and Italian, but I wouldn't say no to some fish and chips."
"What are chips?"
"Potatoes that have been cut and fried. The fish is battered and fried as well, its great." Hermione replied. "I'll have to make some for you, homemade is always better than buying it somewhere else." She said and added a layer to the spell. "And you?"
"I've always loved my Mum's chocolate, strawberry and vanilla cake, but for real food I suppose I like chicken."
"What kind of chicken?"
"Any kind." Fred said and Hermione laughed. "Favorite book?"
"Hogwarts a History, you?"
"One thousand and One Spells for The Creative Mind."
"Can I read it?" Hermione asked and Fred grinned.
"Of course, I'll get it after we're done for the day." He said and Hermione smiled, before getting back to work. She found she enjoyed the work and asking Fred about his and George's creative process. It was fascinating to listen to him talking about it. So much so that it was around two o'clock by the time she excused herself and went upstairs. She took out the lunchmeat she had bought at the store and made sandwiches, before opening a bag of crisps and putting them on the four plates. She handed two of the plates to Harry and George, before going back into the supply cupboard with the two remaining plates.
"Excellent, just in time, I'm just finishing up." Fred said and cast the last incantation. He sat on a stool across from Hermione and they ate together in a companionable silence. Hermione took their plates after they were finished and the two others, putting them upstairs to wash, before coming back down and helping Fred again. She was exhausted by the end of the day and had to get a stain out of her dress. She then opened the fridge and looked back at the three equally exhausted men.
"Egg salad sandwiches alright?" She asked and they nodded.
"You cooked lunch, I've got dinner Hermione." Harry said and Hermione smiled at him.
"Thank you Harry." She said.
"I'll go get the book." Fred said and came back a moment later with a large book, Hermione sat down on the couch and started to read. She managed to tune everything out, until Harry tapped her on the shoulder and she started.
"The sandwiches are ready." He said and Hermione nodded, going over to the table.
"We need a TV, do you think you could make a magical version?" She asked George.
"What's a TV?"
"Its a muggle invention, it shows moving pictures like a wizard photograph, only longer and with sound."
"I think I could make one of those, the spell to make photographs is common knowledge and in the archives, it would just take a bit of tinkering to transfer it to a larger screen." George said and Hermione smiled.
"I'd be happy to help." She said, before pulling out an energy elixir that lasted seven hours. "Want one?"
"Sure." Both twins said and she handed one to each of them. They drained it and Hermione passed one to Harry.
"Thanks Hermione." He said and smiled at her. Hermione grinned in return and after dinner went with George to help him on the spell work. She had several suggestions and by two in the morning they had a working prototype. The sound was either too loud, or too soft, but it worked well.
"I'll get an early camera tomorrow and we can go from there." Hermione said and George nodded. They walked back upstairs and saw Fred and Harry playing exploding snap. Harry lost his concentration at seeing them and the tower collapsed.
"Hello George, Hermione." Harry said. "How is it going?"
"Pretty good, George has been teaching me the basics of spell crafting and we've got a prototype. So far we've only used a camera though. I'm planning on looking for an old video camera tomorrow." Hermione said and yawned. "You want to go to bed Fred?" She asked and Fred nodded.
"I want to try sleeping without the potion, I slept through most of the night last night." He said and Hermione nodded. She changed into her nightgown and crawled into bed beside Fred. Fred fell asleep shortly before her and his snoring lulled her into sleep.