Missing

When Hermione woke up, she was alone in her room. Crookshanks had probably gone outside and Ginny was not in her bed. Hermione rubbed her eyes and looked at the clock on the wall. It read that it was nine thirty. She groaned and got out of bed. She never slept in. She hurried into the bathroom, and then changed into some jeans and a light pink shirt. She padded down the stairs, thinking she was late for breakfast. But when she got downstairs, she saw that only Mrs. Weasley was there.

"Good morning, Hermione." She said, lacking her usual verve.

"Hi there. Mrs. Weasley, where is everyone?" She asked, looking around.

"Oh… well they're off looking for George." She said, lowering her face.

Hermione snapped to attention. "What do you mean?"

Mrs. Weasley just looked over Hermione shoulder, her lip trembling. Hermione turned and saw that Mrs. Weasley was looking at the Weasley's magic clock. She walked over to it and saw that George's hand was pointing in the "Lost" section. Ron and Ginny's hands were in the "Forest" section, and Hermione assumed that Harry was with them. Mr. Weasley's was at "Work", he had probably left before anyone knew that George was missing.

Hermione turned back to look at Mrs. Weasley, who was now sitting at the table. Molly's shoulders were shaking and her face was buried in her hands. She hurried over to Mrs. Weasley and hugged her. "I'm sure he's fine, Mrs. Weasley."

"Oh Hermione you should see his room." Molly managed to say between sobs.

Hermione thought it was better not to ask. She put the kettle on the stove and waited for it to heat. When it was ready she poured some water in a mug and made some tea for Mrs. Weasley. She set it down on the table, and Mrs. Weasley took it gratefully. "Thank you, dear. That's very kind of you."

"You're welcome, Mrs. Weasley." Hermione patted her shoulder and then left the kitchen. She crept up the stairs and walked cautiously to George's room. She gasped when she pushed open the door. There were things strewn all over the place. Clothes and books littered the floor, posters hanging half off the wall and some ripped off completely. The curtains had been ripped off and the rod was hanging on by one end. The desk chairs had been knocked over and drawers from the dressers and desks had been ripped out. He must have cast a silence charm because with the damage he caused, George would have woken up the whole house.

Hermione whirled around and left the room. She grabbed her wand from Ginny's room and hurried down the stairs. She ran out the door and conjured a Patronus, with some effort. She thought about Ron taking her out on the date to Hogsmeade and that worked fine. The silvery blue otter shot out from her wand and spun around in the air. "Go find Ron. And then lead me to him." She said.

The otter flipped and zipped away. She walked away from the Burrow and into the fields that surrounded it. She strode purposefully through the tall grass, hoping to find George. She pushed back some reeds and found her otter sitting on the ground. It tilted its head. "Lead the way." She told it.

After a few minutes of following her Patronus, which led her into the woods, she found the others. "Ron!" She called.

He turned and looked at her. "Hermione. Sorry I didn't wake you. I knew this would stress you out."

"That's alright. So you haven't had any luck?" She said.

"No. We've looked everywhere!" Ginny said, frustrated. "Oh." She slapped herself in the forehead.

"What?" Harry asked.

Ron looked like he knew what Ginny was talking about. They shared a sad, knowing look.

"What is it?" Hermione asked.

"He probably went to his grave." Ron said in a small voice.

Hermione almost dropped her wand. "Oh." Was all she could say.

Harry took Ginny's hand and started to walk away, back to the Burrow. Hermione did the same with Ron, intending to go back, but she felt Ron Disapparate, pulling her along with him. They landed at the cemetery where Fred was buried. "Ron I don't think this is a good idea."

"I just want to see if he's here. Then we'll leave." He said, his tone a bit firm.

"Alright." Hermione said, squeezing his hand.

They silently walked over to the area where Fred was buried. Sure enough, there was George, sitting at the headstone, his head bent down. Ron let out a sad sigh. "Ok. Let's leave." He whispered.

"Alright." Hermione said, searching his face. She Disapparated, then pulled Ron into a hug when they were back at the Burrow. He stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head. "Have you had any breakfast yet?"

"No. I'm starving." Ron answered.

"Ok, well let's go eat something." They let go of each other and walked inside. Ginny and Harry were eating some toast at the table.

"Mum knows." Ginny said numbly.

Hermione and Ron nodded and then got some cereal and sat down with them. They were all silent as they ate, and then when they finished, they just kind of sat there. Minutes passed by before anyone did anything.

"I think I'm going to go take a shower." Ginny said, standing up from the table.

"Ok." They all said in unison. Ginny left and they heard her walking upstairs.

"I'm going to ride my broom around for a bit." Harry said.

"Ok." Ron and Hermione said together.

Then it was just them two. Hermione stood up and put everyone's dishes in the sink. She filled it up with soapy water. She began to wash them all, and felt Ron come up beside her. She handed him a clean plate and he took a tea towel and dried it. They continued like this until all the dishes were done. Then they moved to the family room and sat down together on the couch. Hermione picked up Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them from the where she left it yesterday. She rested her head on Ron's shoulder and he puts his arm around hers. Hermione opened her book and began to read. The rest of the morning dragged by. Harry came in and went up to his and Ron's room. That was about the most exciting thing that happened before Mrs. Weasley started making lunch. A few minutes later she called to everyone that it was ready. They all went into the kitchen and sat down, not saying anything as Mrs. Weasley poured some soup into their bowls.

They all ate quietly; no one tried to bring up any conversation. When they were done they all thanked Mrs. Weasley for the meal, and headed upstairs. Harry and Ron went to their room, so Hermione and Ginny went into their room, and quietly sat together on the floor with their backs against Ginny's bed, petting Crookshanks. Nothing needed to be said, and neither felt like talking anyway. After a while, Hermione got up to go get a drink, telling Ginny she'd bring her something too. She went into the kitchen and poured them each a glass of pumpkin juice. She brought the glasses upstairs and handed one to Ginny. She smiled gratefully and accepted it.

"Thanks Hermione." She said.

"You're welcome." Hermione said, sitting back down.

"Do you want to do something? I hate just sitting here." Ginny said after they had both finished their drinks.

"I don't know. What did you have in mind?" Hermione said.

Ginny let out a big sigh. "I don't know. Something other than sit on the floor."

Hermione shrugged. "Want to see what the boys are up to?"

"I don't see why not." They both stood up and left their glasses on the desk and went to Ron's room. Harry was sitting in the windowsill, staring out the glass, and Ron was lying on his stomach on his bed.

"Hey." Ron said when he saw them.

"Hey." Hermione said with a small smile.

Ginny walked over to Harry and wrapped her arms around him, resting her chin on top of his head. Hermione walked over and sat on the edge of Ron's bed. She reached over and lightly ruffled his hair.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." Hermione sighed. "We wanted to see what you were up to, but it seems like you're doing the same thing we were."

"Yeah, don't really feel like doing much." Ron said.

Hermione nodded and lowered her eyes. After a few moments, they heard a cry from downstairs. Ron shot up.

"Mum?" he called.

"Come downstairs!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed.

The four of them looked at each other and then hurried down the stairs. They found Mrs. Weasley standing in front of the clock, with her hands by her mouth.

"Mum, what's the matter?!" Ron asked.

"Look!" She pointed at the clock. They all did, and they all gasped. George's hand had moved and was now in the "Work" section.

"Merlin's Beard!" Ginny said.

"That's a good thing, right?" Harry asked.

"I think so!" Ginny said. "He's back at the joke shop."

"Yeah." Ron nodded.

"Well, that's good! Maybe he's fixing it up. He did say he was going to reopen." Hermione reasoned.

"Yeah. Let's hope he's not destroying it like he did his room." Ginny muttered.

"Don't talk like that, Ginny." Ron said. "You've got to have faith in him."

"Sorry." She mumbled.

"Whatever." Ron said, turning to leave. Hermione followed him and they went up to his room. They sat down together on his bed and snuggled together.

"It's all going to be ok." Hermione said softly.

"I know." Ron said.

"I love you, Ron."

She could almost hear him smile. "I love you too."

A/N: Hey everyone. Sorry I haven't updated for a long time. Just didn't have a lot of inspiration to write... :(

But I sat down and told myself I was going to write. So I hope you liked it. :)

Merry Christmas everyone.

-Wolf

PS: please review. maybe a couple per chapter would make me want to write more often... ;)