Disclaimer: Dream the impossible dream, Fight the unbeatable foe, Strive with your last once of courage To reach the unreachable star. -Unknown Source

My impossible dream is to own Harry Potter. Alas that happy honor falls to J.K. Rowling and unless I stumble upon a time turner and manage to publish the series before her then it will stay my impossible dream.

Previously…

"Merlin Hermione. This is all my fault. I should have never left you," George whispered as he stroked her hair. He lost the battle with his tears and they flowed unchecked down his face, stinging his many cuts and falling silently into Hermione's hair. He sat silently holding her hand for a very long time. Eventually he rested his head on the bed next to her and a short time later his exhaustion caught up with him and he fell asleep.

Chapter 14: Recovering and New Friends

Darkness was everywhere, but so was an unnamable sense of duty. A sense that told her she was not where she should be. What had happened? Suddenly lights flashed across the insides of Hermione's eyelids, screams echoed in her ears, an explosion, and then pain. Lots of pain. Hermione's eyes flew open and she sucked in a breath that she immediately regretted as pain flared across her chest and abdomen. It all came back to her in that instant.

The battle. They were outnumbered. They were beginning to sustain more and more injuries and then came the one that took Hermione to the ground. Her skin was sliced open across her front as though she had been slashed open with giant claws. She would recognize that curse anywhere.

Hermione attempted to sit up. She couldn't just lay here while her friends battled for their lives. They needed her. She gasped in pain yet again and had to use all of her will power to maintain a sitting position and convince her head to stop spinning so she could tell what was going on. In that moment she noticed several things: the silence of the place she was in, the blinding white, a warm hand clenching her own, and soft snores coming from somewhere down and to her left.

Hermione blinked a few more times and the room came into focus. She was in a hospital room, but she had no recollection of how she got there and it wasn't the Hogwarts hospital wing. Just then the door at the other end of the room opened. Hermione instinctively jumped from the bed and reached for her pocket to grab her wand. Unfortunately her legs did not appreciate the sudden change and refused to hold up her weight. She collapsed to the floor. To make matters worse, her wand was not in her pocket.

"Whoa there! Miss Granger! Your wounds aren't fully healed!"

Hermione lifted her head and focused on the figure at the end of the room. A young, dark haired man in green scrubs stood in the doorway in shock. A concerned look swept over his features and his hazel eyes swept over her as though looking for any fresh injuries He didn't seem to find any and rushed to her side. Hermione sighed in relief and allowed him to help her back onto the bed.

"Where is my wand? How did I get here? Who are you?" Hermione asked with a voice raspy from disuse. The healer smiled in amusement.

"Let's get you settled and make sure you didn't tear anything and then I'll answer all the questions I can," the healer suggested lightly as he pulled out his wand and cast a diagnostics spell over her.

"Everything looks okay. Nothing new anyway," he said as he stowed the wand back in his pocket.

"To answer your questions, I am Healer Davis, a healer here at St. Mungos. I am deeply sorry, but I don't know where your wand is. You were brought here without one. And this young gentleman here was the one who brought you in, via portkey by the way, so he can more than likely answer more of your questions. I'm assuming you know each other by how adamant he's been that we take care of you and not him," Davis told her with an amused smile. Hermione turned to look at the warm figure leaning against her bed for the first time.

It was George although that might have been hard for someone who did not know him very well to see. His hair looked more brown than red because of all the dirt in it. The right side of his face was covered in blood courtesy of a large gash on his cheek that had yet to be closed up. His face also was covered in dirt and ash, hiding his usually prominent freckles from view. His clothes were ripped, bloody, and filthy. Hermione turned her eyes to his hand that still laid on the bed where it had been holding hers and gasped. It was covered in dry cracked blood, as though he had been holding it to a heavily bleeding wound.

"Where did all that blood come from?!" Hermione squeaked. "You said he hasn't been checked yet. What if he's bleeding to death?" Healer Davis chuckled which caused Hermione to shoot a glare at him as she held her fingers to George's neck in search of a pulse. The healer held up his hands in surrender.

"Easy now," he tried to placate her, "It's not his blood. It's yours," he explained. Hermione let out a deep sigh of relief, not seeming to care that she had been the one that had bled that much, and allowed herself to fall back onto her pillows as she pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes. It had been a long day.

"He's been in a right state waiting for you to wake up," the healer continued. "Waited hours while we fixed you up and got you stabilized. Then he was finally able to come see you and hasn't left your bedside since… Even though I told him hours ago to come get me when he was ready to be looked at. He hasn't moved an inch. He looks awfully uncomfortable doesn't he?"

Hermione turned her gaze back to George and tried to take inventory of all of his injuries from her limited perspective while she drank in every word the healer said. George did look uncomfortable. It looked as though he hadn't moved far enough away from her to even grab a chair. Instead he was kneeling on the hard floor with his upper body leaning against her bed, his face resting atop it, and his right hand stretched out to where it had been holding hers. He was snoring slightly and looked utterly peaceful, despite his battered and bloodied appearance. Hermione sighed.

"Oh George…" She raised her hand and ran it lightly through his hair, causing hundreds of little shards of glass to tumble from his dirty mop of hair. Her touch seemed to rouse him slightly as he turned his head and rubbed his nose into the sheet, wincing slightly as it rubbed against his many cuts. He opened and closed his hand a few times as though looking for something and then his eyes flew open and his head shot up. He blinked dazedly as he tried to get his eyes to focus on Hermione. Finally his brain caught up with what he was seeing and he jumped to his feet.

"Mione! You're awake! Thank Godric, I was so worried. I'm so sorr-,"

"George Weasley don't you dare apologize," Hermione said quietly, effectively putting a stop to George's loud exclamations. George stared at her in confusion for a moment.

"But Mione," he said slowly, as though she didn't understand, "It's all my fault you got hurt. If I hadn't-,"

"No," Hermione interrupted yet again. "It's not your fault George. I told you to go find Fred. I thought we had control over the situation enough for you to leave. I am an adult and can be held responsible for my own decisions. So don't you dare try to blame yourself," Hermione hissed at him as she prodded him in the chest with each emphasized word. George looked utterly bewildered, but was smart enough to hold his tongue when he saw the glint in her eyes.

"Oh… Umm… Well how are you feeling?" he asked hesitantly. Hermione glared at him.

"A more appropriate question would be, 'How are you feeling?' Why haven't you let anyone check you over? That cut on your face is more than likely going to scar now since you left it for so long. What were you thinking?" Hermione demanded and crossed her arms over her chest only to wince in pain and drop them to her sides again. George noticed, but refrained from saying anything due to the death glare she leveled at him.

"I wasn't thinking Mione. Well I was, but not about me," George defended. "I was too busy pacing and worrying about you and-,"

"Kicking chairs into walls," Healer Davis couldn't help but add in, looking highly amused. Hermione and George both blinked at him in surprise, having forgotten, or in George's case not known, that he was there. Hermione renewed her glare at George.

"George! Why would you do that?!" she demanded. George threw up his hands in exasperation and looked heavenward.

"Why? Honestly why?" he started loudly. "There is no why Hermione. I told you, I wasn't thinking, I was just doing. I was frustrated because they took you away and no one gave me any news for hours. I was bloody terrified because I didn't know if you were ok. They stuck me in an awful bland white room full of stupid uncomfortable chairs that could not have been designed for humans. So of course I kicked the chair!" George exclaimed in frustration. Hermione's lips twitched slightly before she stopped fighting her grin.

"What am I going to do with you?" she sighed. George grinned back, seeing that she wasn't angry with him.

"Cherish me, revel in my ingenious uniqueness, laugh at my jokes, be the genius behind my pranks, and, most of all, just sit there and let me look at you," George told her as he cupped his chin his hand and widened his eyes as he stared at Hermione. Hermione tipped her head back and laughed, only to stop short and press her hand to her abdomen as she winced in pain. George quickly grew serious.

"How are you really?" he asked in concern as his hand dropped back to his side. Hermione sighed.

"I'm alright. It doesn't really hurt unless I move a certain way or if I laugh apparently. I also found out the hard way that I shouldn't try to jump out of bed yet…" George's jawed dropped.

"What?! You should know you're not well enough-," George reprimanded her. Hermione held up a hand to stop his words.

"I know. I know. I had just woken up and was still pretty confused about what had happened and then the door opened and I just reacted. I was still in fight off Death Eater mode I guess," she explained and then frowned in thought. "Speaking of which, you don't happen to have my wand do you?" she asked, her eyes almost pleading for a positive answer. George looked slightly guilty as he answered.

"No. I don't. I'm not sure who has it actually…" he trailed off in thought. Hermione frowned.

"What happened anyway? How is everyone else?" she asked. George sighed and ran his hand through his hair, dislodging several more glass shards. He frowned at them as they glittered innocently on the floor.

"Well, I found Fred out back and we were on our way back to the front to find you when the Death Eaters blasted apart the front entrance. I saw Sirius get caught up in the explosion and he was thrown pretty far by it." Hermione gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.

"I'm pretty sure he was okay," George quickly placated her. "He just got knocked out. So then a whole swarm of Death Eaters rushed in and Fred and I joined in trying to fight them off. We were really outnumbered at that point, but there was nothing else for it. Then out of nowhere the Death Eaters started panicking and running away. At first Fred and I couldn't figure out what was going on, but then we saw Dumbledore. He showed up just in the nick of time and he looked dead scary. He managed to rope up the Death Eaters that didn't run fast enough and we all helped by stunning and body binding those that we could.

"Then it was like everyone was kind of in shock that it ended so suddenly. They got over it pretty quickly though and people started cheering and clapping and crying and – and I couldn't find you. I was so scared," George's voice dropped to a whisper. Hermione slipped her hand into his, ignoring the blood. "Then when I did find you," George continued quietly as he started at their entwined hands, "Nikki was there and she looked so pale and scared and you- you were covered in blood and I thought- I thought-," George shuddered. "Anyway, so she told me you were still… you know. And so we rolled you on your side. I was trying hard not to panic, but it was just like-, like with Fred… Then Dumbledore came over. Bless him. And made us a portkey and it brought us here and, well, you know the rest," George finished, refusing to look Hermione in the eye and frowning at the blood on his hand. Hermione squeezed his hand reassuringly and the couple sat in silence for a few moments.

"May I borrow your wand for a moment please?" Hermione asked suddenly. George's head snapped up and he stopped rubbing at the blood on his hand.

"Sure," he mumbled, looking a touch confused. He pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to her.

"Now hold out your hands," she instructed as she held out the wand. George complied and held out his hands palms up.

"Scourgify," she said calmly as she pointed his wand at his hands. The blood disappeared and left his hands looking clean and faintly pink as though they had been scrubbed vigorously. Hermione then turned the wand to the rest of George, waved it a few more times and then nodded in satisfaction to see George all cleaned up. George said nothing as he turned his hands over and examined them.

"Better?" Hermione asked as she turned his wand around to hand back to him handle first. George smiled faintly and accepted his wand.

"Much. Thank you," he replied. Hermione smiled back and for a moment they just looked at each other.

"Hem, hem," a deep voice cleared their throat causing Hermione and George to jump. They had, once again, forgotten that Healer Davis was in the room. He raised his eyebrow at the pair, but also had a smirk on his lips.

"Well then, if you two have finished your cozy catch up am I permitted to treat… Mr. Weasley was it did you say?" he asked, looking curiously at George. George's eyes widened momentarily, but he quickly schooled his features to look just slightly confused.

"Oh, er- No it's actually Westley. You must have heard wrong," he corrected. "George Westley." The healer nodded, but still looked skeptical.

"You do look an awful lot like a Weasley though," he insisted as his eyes landed on George's once again vibrant red hair. George frowned at him.

"Yes I've heard that quite a bit, but you can't expect everyone you meet that has red hair and freckles to be a Weasley now could you?" he reasoned. The healer thought for a moment.

"No, you're right. I suppose not. Shall we get on with it then?" he asked. George just nodded as the healer raised his wand. It was all over in a couple minutes. George had all of his cuts healed and goop smeared on his various bruises to speed up the healing process. The cut on his face healed well enough and you could hardly notice the slight scar unless he stood in the correct light. The cut on his arm though he had underestimated. It left a somewhat raised pink scar behind.

"It's not so bad," George commented as he examined his forearm. "This just means I get to look like the cool dangerous twin, what with my scars and lack of ear." Hermione giggled.

"Oooh yes. I do fancy bad boys," she teased. George plastered a goofy grin on his face.

"Then I'm perfect for you babe! Just don't tell Fred that I'm more bad A than him because he'll get jealous," George told her with a wink. Hermione giggled again.

"Stop making me laugh. I'm going to hurt myself," she told him as she lightly slapped his arm. George's grin faltered momentarily, but he hitched it back up and changed the subject.

"Speaking of Fred, I definitely thought he'd have been able to finagle permission from Dumbledore to come visit by now. Usually he-,"

"Oh dear brother, do you really have so little faith in my abilities?" a familiar voice from the doorway asked. George spun to face the source of the sound with an ear splitting grin on his face.

"Freddie! It's about time o brother mine! I was beginning to think you'd lost your touch," George said as he attempted a disappointed facial expression, but the grin sort of ruined it.

"Pish posh!" Fred dismissed the very thought. "Have I ever inspired doubt before Georgie boy? Have I ever failed to deliver?" George shook his head solemnly.

"No Gred you have not," he answered with his head bowed.

"Then why doubt now?" Fred asked rhetorically. "If you must know there was much cleaning up to do and inventory to take that you oh so happily skipped out on." George's grin slowly disappeared and his face grew serious.

"And how did the inventory turn out?" he asked in a would-be casual tone.

"No one we know," Fred answered in a grim tone of voice. George nodded and turned to see Hermione with a look of immense relief on her face.

"How many then?" George asked turning back to Fred. Fred grimaced.

"Total? I think the count got to 15," he paused to let that sink in. George frowned and Hermione paled slightly.

"That many?" Hermione whispered. Fred turned his attention to her.

"They attacked the entire village, not just the Three Broomsticks. We're lucky that was all we lost. It's thanks mostly to you that we only lost one at the pub," Fred told her with a slight grin. Hermione flushed.

"It was not. They just needed some leadership and I- I stepped up to do it," Hermione tried to reason. Fred just grinned at her and shook his head.

"That's not how the villagers see it Mione. You're a right bloody hero to them. I give it another hour or so before they start flooding in here to shower you in gifts and thank yous," Fred declared dramatically. Hermione flushed further.

"I- No. You're exaggerating. And besides, they don't even know my name, so they can't find m-,"

"Ah, ah, ah," Fred interrupted. "They do too," he informed her. Hermione's jaw dropped.

"You didn't," she whispered dangerously. Fred grinned even wider.

"I didn't have to doll face. Georgie boy did it all for me," Fred told her as he gestured exuberantly at his brother. This time George gapped at him.

"I did not!" he denied furiously. Fred smiled at his brother.

"What, you think the villagers are deaf?" Fred asked his twin. "Hermione! Hermione!" he called in a high girly tone while he waved an imaginary handkerchief over his head. George scowled at his brother.

"But that's just her first name," George pointed out. Fred rolled his eyes.

"Brilliant observation Feorge. The canary in the crème is that Dumbledore called her Miss Granger while he was setting up the portkey for the two of you. So badda bing. Badda boom. Two plus two equals four. The villagers now know Hermione's full name and that she is currently in St. Mungos," Fred announced theatrically. Hermione groaned and dropped her head in her hands. George sighed in defeat. And none of them noticed the healer slipping quietly from the room.

True to Fred's word villagers started showing up to visit Hermione within the hour. They professed many thanks and some even brought their children and had them thank Hermione as well. Hermione found it all very embarrassing and highly unnecessary. After all, she did it as much to save herself and her friends as much as she did to save the other patrons.

"I just don't see why you don't tell the front desk that you don't want any more visitors if they bug you so much," Fred told her for what must have been the fifth time. Hermione sighed and sent a suffering look towards George who just smiled and shrugged. Hermione rolled her eyes and turned back to Fred who was scowling at his twin.

"Because," she started out in a slow and patronizing tone, "I don't want to offend anyone. They just want to say thank you. Even if I don't think I deserve it, it would be bad form to just turn them away without giving them a chance," Hermione explained for the fifth time. Fred rolled his eyes.

"Then stop complaining Miss I-don't-want-to-hurt-their-feelings."

Hermione scowled.

"I wasn't complaining. I was just wondering when this would end. It's exhausting trying to politely accept their thanks and then try to convince them that they don't need to thank me," she explained. Fred rolled his eyes yet again.

"Actually, I believe your exact words were, 'When will this torture end?'" Fred exclaimed dramatically. Hermione blushed slightly. "And why are you even bothering trying to convince them you don't deserve their gratefulness? How many do you think you've convinced?" Hermione glared at him, but remained silent.

"Oh I dunno Freddie," George inserted. "I think she had that one bloke just about swayed," George grinned at Hermione who smiled back in appreciation. Fred furrowed his brow in thought.

"Which one? The big one with the beard or that one scrawny one who couldn't keep his eyes off Hermione's knockers?" Hermione blushed brilliantly and it was George's turn to scowl.

"That prat was lucky he didn't get socked in the nose," George growled. "But no. The one who looked like he could be Dumbledore's grandpa and smelled like tuna was the one I was thinking about," George clarified. Hermione giggled at his description while Fred laughed.

"Oh so it wasn't just me then? I thought I was going crazy with hunger and I was just smelling imaginary scents," he said with a grin. George laughed.

"Fred you hate tuna. Why in the world would you start imagining the smell of it if you were hungry?" George asked his twin incredulously. Fred just shrugged.

"I guess I just thought I was that hungry. Speaking of which, when was the last time we ate? I'm starving again," he complained while rubbing his stomach. Hermione checked her watch.

"Oh we missed lunch," she said with a frown. "Well if you want to go see if you can find us some food that'd be good. I'm starving as well. That cereal this morning did nothing for me."

"Hear, hear!" Fred and George shouted in agreement just as the door to the room opened yet again. Hermione stifled a groan and George shot her a sympathetic look. It was the woman who had helped Hermione rally the group at the window. She was a beautiful brunette with happy twinkling brown eyes. She had also brought in two children with her. There was a boy and a girl. The boy looked to be about 7 and had his mother's brown hair but striking blue eyes. The girl looked to be about 5 and was apparently very shy. She hid behind her mother's long flowing skirt and only peeked her eyes around it to see the occupants of the room. From what Hermione could see of the girl she looked very much like her mother. She had the same eyes and face, the only difference being her head of flaming red hair. Hermione's smile was genuine for the first time in hours as she looked at the young children.

"Well hello there," Hermione greeted them. "My name's Hermione," she introduced herself.

"My name's Sebastian," the boy replied immediately as he strode forward to shake her hand. Hermione grinned and glanced over his shoulder for a moment at his mother as she shook his hand. His mother looked very proud and was beaming happily. Hermione turned her attention back to the boy in front of her.

"A pleasure to meet you Sebastian," she said with a smile. "How old are you?" Sebastian grinned widely, revealing that he was missing his two front teeth.

"I just turned 7 last week," he said proudly as he thrust out his chest. Hermione giggled.

"Did you now? You're just about all grown up aren't you? When did you lose your teeth?" she asked.

"Well I lost this one," he pointed to one gap, "when I was eating some treacle tart. It just stuck right in there. And this one," he gestured again, "I pulled out because for the first one the tooth fairy came and gave me a whole sickle! Now I have TWO sickles! And guess what else!" he asked excitedly as he bounced on the balls of his feet, comically reminding Hermione of Fred and George.

"What?" Hermione asked, her eyes wide with anticipation.

"This one is loose now too!" he told her. "See?" he wiggled the tooth and it was indeed very loose as it went completely horizontal. Hermione gasped lightly.

"Wow! So once you lose this one and the tooth fairy pays you for it how many sickles will you have?" she asked. Fred and George, in the background, rolled their eyes. Typical Hermione to try to insert education into every conversation.

"Three sickles!" the boy exclaimed excitedly. "That's more money than my sister has ever had anyway," the boy commented. Hermione laughed.

"Oh really? I haven't had the pleasure of meeting your sister yet," Hermione said and looked up to where the small girl had removed herself from her mother's skirts to better watch Hermione's interaction with her brother. Hermione smiled nicely at the girl who blushed, but stood her ground.

"What's your name?" Hermione asked nicely. The girl opened her mouth to speak, but her brother interrupted.

"Her name's Penelope. She doesn't talk to anyone because she's always afraid," Sebastian said rapidly, eager to turn the attention back to himself. Penelope glared at her brother.

"I'm not scared Seb! And I was trying to answer!" she yelled. Sebastian just rolled his eyes and ignored his sister.

"Sebastian apologize to your sister," their mother told him quietly. Sebastian glared at the wall for a moment, but turned to his sister anyway.

"Sorry Penny," he said quietly.

"For what?" his mother pressed.

"For being rude and saying that you're always afraid," Sebastian continued. There was a slight pause in conversation after Sebastian was reprimanded that Fred and George hastened to fill.

"So Sebastian," George started.

"What do you think of Quidditch?" Fred finished. Hermione and the children's mother both groaned. Hermione because it was such an overused topic, and the mother because he son spoke of nothing else.

"I love it!" Sebastian exclaimed. "When I go to Hogwarts I'm going to try out for my house team and I'm going to be either a chaser or a beater, whichever position is open. Chaser if I get a choice.

"Chaser?!" Fred and George both looked appalled.

"No, no, no young one," George said, shaking his head.

"We thought you were alright at first with the beater option, but chaser? Just no," Fred continued also shaking his head.

"What's wrong with chaser?" Sebastian asked looking confused and surprised at the twins' vehement outburst.

"Come young one and we shall reveal to you the secrets of life," Fred said theatrically as they beckoned the boy to a corner of the room and summoned a few chairs for them to sit in while they conversed. The woman watched her son follow the twins with a furrowed brow and then approached Hermione's bedside for the first time.

"Should I be worried?" she asked.

"Yes," Hermione said immediately. The women traded glances and burst out laughing.

"But no really, right now they are probably just trying to sell him on becoming a beater for Gryffindor. But let them alone with him for too long and you never know what they could be poisoning his mind with," Hermione told her seriously, but with a fond smile. The lady smiled in return and nodded.

"I'll keep that in mind," the woman replied with her smile. "I'm Heather by the way. Heather Sanders," she said as she stuck out her hand for Hermione to shake.

"Hermione Granger," Hermione responded as she returned the hand shake. "Though I suppose you have figured that out by now," she said with a wry grin. Heather looked slightly sheepish by smiled regardless.

"Yes I have, as has most of the village. No one has taken lightly what you did back there," she said. Hermione blushed.

"I just did what seemed… best? At the time. I didn't try to be a hero or anything," Hermione tried to explain. Heather smiled at her.

"Those are the best heroes," she told her with a bittersweet smile. "The ones who just set out to do good, to save lives, and not to seek glory and fame."

Hermione smiled slightly in return.

"Well when you say it like that…" The women both laughed, but it was quickly overpowered by loud hoots and shouts of laughter coming from the corner. Hermione and Heather turned to look and saw all three boys in a heap laughing their heads off.

"Boys! Honestly! If you don't calm down you're going to get kicked out! This is a hospital!" Hermione raised her voice to be heard over their merriment. George and Sebastian immediately began taking deep breaths and attempting to calm themselves. It mostly worked save a few manly giggles here and there. Fred on the other hand continued to laugh uproariously.

"I say let them!" he yelled through is laughter. "It's not like they feed people properly here anyhow! I'm starving! Absolutely delirious with hunger!" Fred shouted and began pounding on the wall.

This of course threatened to set Sebastian over the edge again, but he managed to control himself.

"Fred! Honestly! No one is making you stay! Go get food you ridiculous man!" Hermione scolded him.

"But I get so Looonneely!" he whined. "You've stolen my twin away from me! I can't get him to leave here for anything." Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed.

"George, go with your pathetic brother and get some food. Make sure you bring something back for me. Would you guys like something?" Hermione asked Heather politely, ignoring George's dropped jaw. Heather shook her head smiling.

"But Mione-," George began whining. Hermione snapped her head back to face him and shot him a fierce glare that immediately shut George up.

"If you know what's best for you, you will leave with Fred now. The two of you are driving. Me. Around. The. Bend," Hermione all but growled at the poor boy. George visibly gulped, but Fred's severely depleted food supply must have caused him to lose all sense of self preservation.

"What do you mean the two of us? I've been nothing but a saint! It's Georgie here who-,"

Hermione wished that she had her wand so that she could incinerate Fred on the spot. As it turned out, that wish was soon to be granted as the door opened yet again. This time though it was thrown open forcefully and a boy with messy black hair and another with long shaggy black hair strolled into the room.

"The fun has arrived!" the latter sang out.

"Oh shut it Black," Nikki said as she entered behind Sirius and James, thumping Sirius in the back of the head as she passed him. Lily, Alice, Frank, and Remus followed, causing a momentarily very crowded room before it automatically expanded to accommodate for the new arrivals. Peter was conspicuously absent.

"Ow! That was uncalled for," Sirius complained as he rubbed the back of his head. Nikki just rolled her eyes and refrained from commenting.

"Here's your wand Mione," she said as she tossed a thin strip of wood to Hermione. Hermione reached out her hand and caught it by natural reflex. She gapped for a moment at the very thing that she had just been wishing for.

"You're my new best friend," Hermione said to Nikki in an awed tone, still staring at her wand. Nikki looked at Hermione as though she thought she'd lost it.

"Erm, ok then," she said.

"Hey! What about me!" Fred exclaimed. "How could you just replace me like-," Fred stopped abruptly as he found Hermione's wand pointed unwaveringly at his chest. He raised his hands in surrender and for once kept his mouth shut.

"I swear to Merlin Fred, one more obnoxious outburst and you will wish you had started out life a girl." Fred gulped visibly, a mirror image of his brother 5 minutes before. Hermione lowered her wand and Fred sat down in the chair in the corner with his arms crossed like a petulant child. Hermione collapsed back on her pillows and pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes while she moaned something that sounded suspiciously like 'Why me?' A giggle penetrated the silence that followed. Hermione removed her hands and looked down, toward the source of the sound.

Little Penny looked back with adoration and mirth in her eyes.

"I want to be just like you when I grow up," she announced. Hermione blinked.

"What? Why?" she asked stupidly. Penny giggled again.

"Because boys are scared of you," she said, glancing at Fred. Fred opened his mouth looking offended, but a glare from Hermione had him snapping it shut again. Penny giggled again.

"See?' she said. Fred glared at the girl and Hermione couldn't help but smile and chuckle slightly.

"I suppose you're right about that," she admitted.

"And my mommy told me that you saved a lot of people and that you're really brave," Penny continued. Hermione blushed furiously.

"Well- I- You see-," she gave up her stuttering for a moment and sighed. "I wasn't the only brave one. Everyone in this room was there save you and your brother and they were all very brave," Hermione told the girl. "In fact without your mother things might not have gone as well as they did. She was very, very brave." Penelope's eyes widened in wonder as she looked up to her mother.

"Really mommy? You saved people too?" she asked. Heather looked slightly uncomfortable for a moment before smiling as well as shrugging.

"I suppose I did," she answered. Penny beamed at her mom.

"Wow. My mum is cool," Sebastian said as though it was a new thought he was trying out. Heather laughed at her son who was still on the other side of the room sitting with Fred and George.

"It's okay if you still want to think of me as boring ol' mum," Heather told him with a smile. "It might be less of a shock to your system." Sebastian just nodded, still looking slightly bewildered.

"So anyway," Sirius filled the silence in his typical tactless fashion. "We brought food."

"FOOD!" Fred and George yelled in unison as they nearly trampled poor Sebastian and then nearly attacked Sirius in their attempt to get to the food.

"WHOA!" Sirius yelled as he held up his empty hands. "Frank has it," he said pointing at the tall sandy haired man.

"Thanks Sirius," Frank grumbled as the twins came bounding over to him. He held up his wand and pointed the business end of it at the twins causing them to stop a good foot and a half in from of him.

"If you want the food you need to give me space and only attack it once I'm safely away," he explained. The twins nodded their heads rapidly as they nearly drooled at just the thought of food. Frank lowered his wand and reached into his pant pocket to pull out a tiny picnic basket. He placed it on the side table by Hermione's bed and tapped it twice with his wand, causing it to rapidly grow into a huge basket that had already begun giving off scents of its contents. Frank leapt back from the basket as the twins rushed forward like starving Hippogriffs.

"Hey! Leave some for me!" Hermione shouted at them. "I swear you two are worse than Ron," she complained. Fred and George froze and looked up at Hermione with shocked and wounded expressions.

"What?" George asked.

"No one is worse than Ron," Fred told her.

"We are offended-," George continued.

"We are hurt-," Fred added.

"That you could even think to make the comparison," they finished together. Hermione just rolled her eyes while Heather looked amused at their antics and Sebastian and Penny laughed.

"Just get me a plate. I can smell Sheppard's pie and that horse feed they gave us was hours ago," Hermione said as she breathed deeply through her nose.

"Hear, hear!" the twins cheered as George made Hermione a quick, but very full plate, and Fred made his own. Hermione took the first bite and sighed happily. Fred began scarfing his while George was still making his plate and his stomach let out a very loud growl. Everyone in the room who was not eating laughed and George smiled slightly as he stuffed an entire roll in his mouth.

"Ahh, 'at's be'er," he sighed through a mouthful of food after he was about midway through his plate. Hermione coughed and it sounded suspiciously like the word 'Ron'. George glared at her as he struggled to swallow down the impossibly large mouthful. Hermione raised her eyebrow as she watched. George narrowed his eyes.

"At least I'm only like this in times of desperation," George told her. Hermione smiled.

"Yes, we do have that to be thankful for," she said sarcastically. The trio finished their food and the group fell into contented chatter.

"So where is your husband?" Hermione asked Heather as she watched Fred, George, James, and Sirius have a pumpkin juice drinking contest while Sebastian and Penny cheered on their favorites and Frank and Remus took bets. Heather smiled sadly as she watched Penny laugh and squeal.

"He died," she said quietly. Hermione gasped slightly.

"Oh I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have-,"

"No, no. It's alright," Heather reassured her as she turned to give her a sad smile. "It's good to talk about him sometimes I think."

Hermione only nodded, still embarrassed over her assumption.

"He was a wonderful man. Great with Seb. He never got to meet Penny. He was murdered while I was pregnant with Penny. I was about six months along when I got the floo call. He was an auror so it wasn't- It wasn't entirely unexpected. Still a shock mind you. I didn't really think it would ever happen, not to us anyway. We were so happy," she stopped for a moment to compose herself. Hermione politely waited, somehow sensing that the older woman just needed someone to talk to.

"I went through a bad time for a while. I wasn't myself and being pregnant didn't help. I blamed the ministry for a long time for allowing my husband to die. I hated anything to do with them. I knew somewhere inside that I wasn't being rational, but at the time it didn't matter. I moved out of our flat in London, bought a small cottage on the outskirts of Hogsmead, and we've been there since. Last night was a real eye opener.

"It was then that I realized exactly what my husband died for. It was like he was there, whispering in my ear. This is why. I wanted to stop this. This is what I sacrificed myself to prevent. And now I'm just not bitter anymore. I've finally accepted his death. I'm moving on. I didn't even notice how heavy the weight on my shoulders was until it was lifted. And I understand so much more now. I want to fight too. I want to put a stop to what my husband died to keep from happening. I just- I don't know how. And I can't risk my children." Heather stopped again and wiped her eyes and chuckled.

"You probably think I'm crazy telling you all of this," she said with a wry grin. Hermione shook her head, her own eyes slightly misty with tears after listening to the heartache this young mother had already suffered.

"No I completely understand. One of my good friends was murdered too. A couple of them actually. It was really… hard to move on. I say hard, but that doesn't seem like a strong enough word. I had it easier than others though, so that helped me keep perspective. One of the ones who died left behind his brother," Hermione told her as she watched George laugh at some unknown joke across the room.

"It tore him apart. He stopped living. He hid in his apartment all the time. Stopped going to family events because it was just too hard. We all tried to help him, but he only wanted help from one person and that person was gone. It was heartbreaking to sit back and do nothing."

The women fell into silence as they watched the others romp and joke across the room. It somehow seemed muted to their ears as they were both lost in their own thoughts of death and loss. Hermione heard Heather sniff slightly and glanced over at her to see the lady fighting tears.

"I miss my husband," she gasped out as she lost the fight with her tears. Hermione could no longer stop the tears from cascading down her own cheeks and opened her arms to the woman she barely knew. Heather sat on the bed next to Hermione and leaned on her shoulder. Hermione rested her head on top of Heather's and they both cried silently for the sadness in their lives with only the occasional sniffle.

"What is going on?" George suddenly exclaimed as he caught sight of the two women sobbing on each other. "What happened?" he demanded as he raced to Hermione's side looking panicked.

Heather slide from the bed and stood, wiping her face quickly before her children could notice.

"N-Nothing," Hermione said with a small smile while she wiped her cheeks as well. "We- We were-," Hermione and Heather exchanged glances, both feeling rather silly at the moment. Heather giggled and tried to continue Hermione's failed explanation.

"Umm. We were- We just-," she said as she gestured in the air. Hermione giggled this time and Heather couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped her lips as well. Soon both were laughing hysterically. George looked utterly bewildered. One minute they were sobbing all over each other and the next they're laughing their arses off.

"Women," he grumbled as he shook his head and walked away. This only caused Hermione and Heather to laugh all the more. It was a few minutes before they were able to gain control of themselves and begin breathing normally again. Hermione turned to Heather, her eyes still glittering happily, but a look of utter seriousness upon her face

"If you're serious about wanting to fight I can help you," Hermione told her. Heather looked surprised.

"Really? How?" she asked looking bewildered and slightly suspicious. Hermione smiled at her reassuringly.

"Well I know who you need to talk to. You need to talk to Professor Dumbledore. Just tell him I sent you and that you need a way to fight and he'll know what to do. You need to be absolutely sure though. This isn't something to be taken lightly. This is war," Hermione told her. Heather nodded, a fire and determination entering her eyes.

"I understand. I've never been more sure of anything in my life. Well except maybe marrying Jeremy, but other than that, this is ranked in first place." Hermione smiled at the woman. Everyone chatted and visited for a long time after that. Lily, Alice, and Nikki made their way over to Hermione and Heather at some point and they were soon all laughing at Heather's hilarious stories of married life. Penny came shortly after that and curled up in Hermione's lap. They talked for a while longer until Heather realized that Penny had fallen asleep on Hermione.

"Oh dear. Is that the time?" Heather asked as she looked at her watch. "We stayed much later than I'd meant to. I need to get some dinner in these kids and get them off to bed." Heather began rounding up Sebastian while Hermione gently roused Penny.

"But muuuumm! I was having fun with the guys!" Sebastian complained loudly. Heather frowned at him and he turned his sullen expression to the floor.

"Don't worry Seb," George told him as he clapped him on the shoulder. "We'll keep in touch," he told him with a wink.

"Really?" Sebastian asked, looking eager.

"Oh course!" Fred chimed in, slapping his hand onto the opposite shoulder. "We'll come visit you next Hogsmead trip."

"Yeah all of us will!" James agreed loudly while Remus and Sirius nodded their agreement.

"Promise?" Sebastian asked delightedly, but with a small reservation of doubt in his eyes.

"We solemnly swear," all five boys said with their right hand raised.

"And that's a Marauder's promise," Sirius informed him. "We never go back on Marauder's promises." Sebastian's face bloomed into a full smile.

"Great! When's your next trip?" he asked. The boys all looked at each other and shrugged.

"We'll figure it out and owl you," Remus told him.

"Brilliant!' Seb exclaimed, looking more ecstatic by the thought of receiving his own owl post than he did about his new friends visiting him. Everyone laughed.

"C'mon Seb. Let's go home," Heather told her son with a smile as she held a still sleeping Penelope against her shoulder. "And I expect you to keep in touch with me as well,' Heather said with a stern, but playful look towards Hermione. Hermione grinned.

"And I expect the same from you," she told her. The women smiled at each other one last time and then Heather bid her adieus and she and her children left the room. Hermione slouched back against her pillows with a lazy grin on her face, glad to have another friend in this crazy world.

AN: Everything resolved? Everyone happy? Oh and for those who may be wondering, it will be later revealed in the story that Heather is a half-blood (her mom is a muggleborn) which is why Seb got money from the tooth fairy for his teeth.

On a completely unrelated note. I about had a heart attack this week. I had this chapter nearly completed and saved to my flash drive on Tuesday and then washed my flash drive in the washing machine… And then dried it in the dryer… All on accident of course. Then miracle of miracles it still worked and everything was still on it afterward. Phew!

Reviews make authors happy!

Oh and speaking of reviews and happy authors, we broke a hundred reviews after the last chapter! SQUEEEEE! Lol I just wanted to write squee... But anyway, great job everyone! You're all awesome! :D