CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Summary: Hermione has recently found out that she is a witch and is off to attend her first year at the prestigious Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Wizarding World. There she meets a strange family of red heads, the famous chosen one - Harry Potter, a tight nit group of pranksters and Quidditch players that don't feel quite complete, along with meddling professors and ghosts. What will happen when long kept secrets are finally revealed? Will the new bonds of friendship and love that develop at Hogwarts create the saviours that are needed?
Disclaimer: All canon/original characters, plot line and rights belong to the author J.K. Rowling. Non-canon events and characters belong to me. I am not making a profit from posting this story. Some of the characters may be OOC and the plot is a mixture of both canon and non-canon with some of the main events from Rowling happening differently to canon.
Eastern Dragon patronus meaning - power, courage, nobility, luck and fortune, vigilance, optimism, protectiveness, intelligence, energetic, decisiveness and ambition.
Updated: 19/09/18
Page count: 8
Hogwarts - Saturday 16th November 1991
Two weeks later and it was the second Gryffindor Quidditch match. Gryffindor verses Ravenclaw. Hermione had spent her breakfast, glaring and scolding Oliver, Fred, George and Harry for not eating their breakfast, whilst making Lee laugh in the process.
Hermione thought that she should ease the tension somehow, so she decided to complete one of her dares. Hermione noticed that Malfoy hadn't appeared in the great hall yet and stood to leave and make her exit.
"Where are you going, Love?"
"I have something I need to do, I'll be right back," she said with a smirk that instantly had her boys on edge and they nodded slowly. Hermione left the great hall and cast the Disillusionment Charm on herself and waited by the great hall doors for her target to arrive.
"She's up to something, isn't she?" Fred asked.
"She's always up to something, brother mine," was the reply he received from George and they both smirked.
"Fair point."
Hermione didn't have to wait long for Malfoy to show up and when he did, she stepped out in front of him and cancelled the Disillusionment Charm. Malfoy jumped in shock and let out a very girly shriek.
"Why so jumpy, Malfoy?" Hermione asked.
When Malfoy looked at her he noticed that her lips didn't move.
Hermione spoke once more. "You know it's rude to stare," once again Hermione's lips didn't move.
Malfoy turned in the direction of the voice and saw Hermione stood behind him. He turned back around and Hermione stood there in front of him, looking innocent. Malfoy heard a noise and turned to his left to where Hermione now stood, then to his right where Hermione stood too. He slowly turned around in a circle to see himself surrounded by not just one, but four Hermiones. When he wasn't looking Hermione had deviously cast the Gemino Charm.
Malfoy let out a girly scream and ran into the great hall, pushing past the Hermiones on the way. Hermione cancelled the spell leaving only herself and she calmly followed behind him. Malfoy was still screaming and pointing at Hermione and stuttering as he tried to get the words out of his mouth. Then he fainted. Hermione looked at him lying on the floor, shrugging her shoulders she walked back to the Gryffindor table and took her seat next to Lee and opposite Fred, George and Oliver.
"What did you do, Princess?"
"Nothing," she amended her statement when she saw the looks of disbelief on their faces. "I didn't do anything to him; I cast the Gemino Charm on myself."
"How many, Spitfire?"
"Four, and he may have freaked out a little."
"A little! If tha's ye idea af a little then a would hate tae see ye idea af a lot, Lassie."
"A lot would be him fainting immediately. I'm actually surprised he lasted a lot longer than I thought he would," she shrugged and the others chuckled at her. "He's lucky; I originally planned to cast the Aquamenti Charm four times, but that would ruin his hair and I don't think I could deal with a crying Malfoy because his hair was wet," her words made the boys who were currently chuckling burst in howls of laughter as they imagined the visual Hermione had just described for them.
Hermione noticed that she had succeeded in her goal. Oliver and the twins looked less stressed and more relaxed and happy.
They headed over to the locker rooms, Hermione hugged and kissed the boys on the cheeks and wished them luck even though she knew they didn't need it, and she headed to take her seat in the stands with Ron, Seamus, Dean and Neville. And the game began shortly after. Hermione, like the previous match, wore Oliver's scarf and one of the twin's old Quidditch jerseys. This was going to be her routine for every Quidditch match to come which was fully supported by the twins and Oliver.
The match had finished. Gryffindor had won the match. Two hundred and ten – seventy points, and it had taken Harry nearly three hours to catch the snitch. It was the worst three hours of Hermione's life. She spent most of her time with her eyes glued to Harry, Fred, George and particularly Oliver. After his injury during the last match Hermione had stayed by Oliver's side, barely moving except for classes. Not that he was complaining, he was rather pleased with that development. She was just as protective of him as he was of her.
When she wasn't watching the game or her boys, she was gripping her clothes tightly with her knuckles turning white or she had a firm hold on Ron's arm, leaving bruises and almost breaking something. Ron decided that the next match Seamus could sit next to her.
Her boys were fine and without injury. However, Fred and George had aimed a few bludgers towards the Ravenclaw players and had hit their target. There were no serious injuries though and luckily no one fell off their brooms and Harry's wasn't jinxed this time round.
They had all headed to Gryffindor Tower for the after party to celebrate. Hermione and Lee had snuck down to the kitchens to retrieve food and beverages and Bopsy had kindly agreed to send some up to the common room for them.
They partied for the rest of the evening, only stopping to head to the great hall for dinner, and when they returned to the common room, the party continued until the early hours of the morning, when they all trudged up to their rooms exhausted and barley managing to change into their pajamas before they fell asleep.
~000~000~000~
Friday 29th November 1991
It was Bill's birthday. The twins' and Lee's eldest brother and he was now twenty-three years old. They had of course forgotten' they were useless at remembering numbers and dates unless it had something to do with pranking. Luckily for them, Hermione had remembered. The boys had told her everything about their families, so she knew that Bill was a curse breaker. To order the right gift for Bill, Hermione had read everything she could in the library on the profession of curse breaking, and to be a curse breaker you had to be smart, logical, enjoy challenges and puzzles, be determined and never quit.
Sticking to her muggle roots Hermione had asked her owled her Mother and asked for herlp in retrieving the items she needed. She had bought Bill a rubik's cube and four different wooden puzzles and brain teasers that requirde Bill to take them apart and put them back together again. The puzzles were varied in shape, size and colour and were some of the most difficult puzzles in the Muggle World –or so her parents had said- and she had also bought him the classic board game, Cluedo.
She reminded the boys of Bill's birthday and they panicked until Hermione placed a gift box in front of them wrapped in red papper with a gold bow sat atop.
They wrote Bill a letter.
'To our dear big brother,
Happy Birthday, Old Man! We hope these gifts keep your mind sharp. Use them every day to strengthen you mind and prevent you from forgetting things, which now you're old, we're sure you've already begun the process. They are muggle items courtesy of the Muggleborn extraordinaire that is our best friend and roommate. We've been informed that these items are the most difficult puzzles in the Muggle World so you can solve them to your heart's content. Just don't get to angry if you can't figure it out!
If you need help just let us know; we are, after all, geniuses and a lot smarter than yourself.
Fred, George and Lee
P.S. our roommate placed the Shrinking and Feather-Light Charms on the gift box so use the counter charms.'
They sent it off with the gift box after visiting the owlery.
~000~000~000~
Thursday 12th December 1991
Today it was Charlie's twenty-first birthday, and as the twins and Lee had once again forgotten another member of their family's birthday, Hermione was left with finding the perfect gift for him. And she had struggled until she was finally hit with inspiration. She knew that Charlie's patronus was an Eastern Dragon and she knew that Charlie had a thing for tattoos. For that reason Hermione had Dean sketch out a design for a new tattoo for Charlie. They worked together; Hermione researching and Dean sketching to incorporate both muggle and magical heritage into the design. When they had finished they looked over the final results and they were pleased with what they saw. In the middle of the page there was a large Eastern Dragon coloured with blues, yellows, reds and greens. It was surrounded by flames in the colours and shades of red, yellow, orange, pink and blue and the flames were emitted from the word Gryffindor.
Hermione had also gotten Charlie a book on magical creatures and a muggle book on the legends and myths of magical creatures which included creatures such as, Griffins, Dragons, Unicorns, Phoenixes, Werewolves and Vampires. Hermione thought that Charlie would find the muggle opinion on these creatures humorous compared to the facts –sometime biased bigotry- of the Wizarding World. She placed the items in a gift box and wrapped it in red paper and tied it off with a gold bow.
When Hermione presented the gift box in front of the boys, they sighed in relief.
'Did they honestly think I wouldn't come through for them? As if,' she thought to herself and snorted.
They wrote him a letter to be sent off with the gift box.
'To our second favourite oldest brother,
Happy birthday, Barmie!
We can't take credit for the gifts that have been sent your way. All praise should go to our terrifyingly smart roommate. They thought you would enjoy the books on magical creatures from both a magical and muggle point of view. Don't even get us started on that tattoo design of your patronus. We would've never thought of anything as brilliant as that. They collaborated with a fellow Gryffindor to get that done for you. They spent two days researching non-stop, everything they could about Eastern Dragons to make the tattoo as authentic and realistic as possible. Did they succeed? They would like to know. We think the tattoo will make you look manlier. Then maybe people will be able to tell that you're a guy and not a girl. In the words of our wonderfully amazing Mother, 'Honestly, you really need a haircut. You look ridiculous!'
We have also included two golden ribbons so that you can tie your hair up into pig tails like the little girl you are.
Enjoy you Ginger Sod!
Fred, George and Lee
P.S. our roommate placed the Shrinking and Feather-Light Charms on the gift box so use the counter charms.'
The letter and gift box was sent off to Romania and would arrive in the next couple of days.
~000~000~000~
Wednesday 18th December 1991
It was the final day of the Christmas term. Harry would be going to The Weasley's with the boys for Christmas, Oliver was going home to his family and Hermione would be returning home to her parents. At first she had been upset that she couldn't go home to see her parents as they had a dental conference in France during the holidays, but remembering their vow to spend time with their daughter, they decided that Hermione would visit with them until they had to leave and then she would spend the rest of her time with The Weasleys.
Hermione would travel on the train with the boys, and then she would go to The Burrow and floo home, back to her parents as they couldn't make arrangements to pick her up from Kings Cross Station. At this news she was ecstatic as she got to see her parents and still be with her boys. Well three of them at least. Oliver had promised that he would floo to The Burrow and visit during the holidays which had improved her mood somewhat. She was grateful that Professor McGonagall had made arrangements for The Granger's fireplace to be connected to the floo network, as it made travelling so much easier, and it gave her access to the Wizarding World.
Hermione had spent the night before the departure packing everyone's trunks the muggle way. She had to only pack three trunks that night. Oliver's, Fred and George shared and so did Lee and Hermione, and she would be leaving her stuff at The Burrow as she didn't need it when she was at home. When she'd finished packing, she picked up her wand and pointed it at the trunks performing a packing spell.
"Pack," she muttered. She had to make sure that she hadn't left anything out so nothing got left behind. Of course she hadn't, but she couldn't be too careful.
Everyone had now eaten breakfast and they returned to their dorm rooms to collect their belongings. Hermione pointed her wand at the trunks and perfectly performed two spells she probably shouldn't have.
"Reducio," she said shrinking the trunks before she added the Feather- Light Charm, "Pluma Lux."
She picked up the trunks and handed them to their owners and they smiled in gratitude, kissed her on the cheek and then placed the trunks in their pockets.
~000~000~000~
11:30
Hermione, Fred, George, Lee and Oliver were all sat in the same compartment Hermione had met the twins and Lee in. They had all commandeered that compartment for the rest of their Hogwarts years; it now belonged to them. They carved their initials into the wood on the overhead rack. They all left the compartment to go in search of the confectionary trolley and when they returned they had their arms filled with liquorice wands, chocolate frogs, Bertie Bott's every flavoured beans, sugar quills, pumpkin juice and pumpkin pasties.
When they opened their compartment door it was to see some third year Slytherins sitting in their seats.
"Oi move!" Fred said.
"Yeah, beat it," followed George.
"I don't think so, this is our compartment," one of the boys sneered.
"No it's not! Besides, we were here first," Lee said calmly.
"We don't care and I don't see your name on it."
Everyone smirked and pointed to the overhead rack. When the Slytherins looked up they saw the initials HG, OW, FW, GW and LJ carved intricately into the wood.
Some of the Slytherins huffed in annoyance at being out-thwarted by the Gryffindors, but that same boy as before glared at them and that's when Oliver stepped forward, leaned over him and he peered down at the boy. Before anyone knew what had happened, the seat was empty as the boy had legged it out of the compartment. The others chuckled and retook their seats.
Hermione was exhausted she had spent all her time last night packing so she didn't get much sleep. Oliver pulled her to lean against him, and she laid down on the seat, with her head cushioned on Oliver's thigh, whilst Lee covered her with a blanket.
She slept soundly the whole train ride, with the twins and Oliver just as relaxed and happy, as Hermione appeared to be in her dreams.
Lee had been observing the four for a while now -since the bullying incident- and he knew that they were different. He couldn't tell what they were or what they would become, but he knew that it was special. He would watch over and protect Hermione like a big brother would.
'They watch over and protect her as would a friend? No, that's not the right word. It's more than that. So much more than that. Lover? That's the word lover? I've heard stories about some witches and wizards having mates and soul bonds, but they're rare and it hasn't happened in centuries. They don't act like other people do. I'll have do some research. Whoa! Slow down, Jordan. Where the bloody hell did that come from? Oh for Merlin's Sake, I've been spending too much time with Hermione,' he thought to himself and he chuckled quietly.
"What you laughing at?" Fred, no wait... George asked.
"Nothing. Did Hermione remember to pack copies of the photos taken of the pranks pulled so far?"
Fred, George and Oliver raised an eyebrow in unison. 'Okay, because that's not creepy,' Lee thought to himself.
"Sorry, stupid question," he said and they shook their heads at him.
"Mum's going to love her," George spoke or was it Fred? Hermione was still the only one that could tell them apart. Lee and Oliver could sometimes tell them apart when they used their names and stayed in the same place but other than that, they were at a loss.
"Yeah, Bill and Charlie too, especially after the gifts she bought them, how do you think she can afford all those gifts?" Lee said.
"I don't know, we should ask her at some point. Anyway, Percy and Ron already like her," the other twin spoke.
"That just leaves Mr. Weasley and Ginny," Lee said.
"Ginny will love her because she's a girl and she won't be surrounded with males. Dad will love her because she's a Muggleborn," said one of the twins that Lee thought was Fred.
"My Ma an' Da, will love her tae," Oliver spoke.
Conversation continued until they finally reached Kings Cross Station. They exited the train with Hermione being carried and cradled to Oliver's chest as she slept peacefully; they didn't have the heart to wake her as they knew she was exhausted.
They met up with Harry and Ron -who also had their trunks in their pockets as Hermione had kindly cast the Shrinking and Feather-Light Charms on them- and they all began walking on the platform towards a group of five redheads.
Stood further back on the platform was Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, Charlie and Bill who had come to finally meet the 'Muggleborn extraordinaire' -they would've met them over the Christmas holidays but they couldn't wait- who their brothers had talked non-stop about and who had sent brilliant birthday gifts.
As they got closer everyone looked on at the scene and did a double take, shaking their heads to make sure that they were actually seeing what they were seeing. Walking towards them was Ron, Lee and a boy they presumed to be the famous Boy-Who-Lived, Harry Potter, from the very few letters they received from Ron.
But that wasn't what caught their attention.
Walking in front of them was Fred and George standing on opposite sides of Oliver Wood - The Weasley's knew him because he played Quidditch since his second year and with Charlie before he graduated and he was a Pureblood too) who was carrying a petite young girl with wild mahogany curls in his arms and pulled tightly, but gently to his chest, hugging her close.
Everyone could see her wearing blue jeans, white converse and a jumper that was easily recognisable as a Weasley jumper. One of the twins, in fact, as the blanket shifted slightly off Hermione's figure and showed a large yellow 'F' on the front.
Mrs. Weasley's eyes bulged at the sight, especially when they began fussing with the blanket draped over Hermione and securing it tightly around her to protect her from the cold, December weather. Not to mention, The Weasley jumper she was currently sporting.
"Who do you think she is?" Charlie whispered to Bill.
"Did they ever mention the name of their new roommate and best friend in the letters they sent you?" Bill asked.
"No, they just called them 'the Muggleborn extraordinaire who was terrifyingly smart.'"
"Same with the letters they sent me."
"Well, if she is their new roommate, Mum's going to be pissed. How did she even end up their roommate?"
"I don't know, do I? Twenty galleons Mum scares her off before we even get her back to The Burrow," Bill grinned.
"You're so on. If she is their new roommate and the things I've read are true, you're so losing that bet." They shook on it and waited for the bomb to explode as the group finally reached them.
"Here we go. Get prepared to pay up, little brother." They grinned at each other, before turning to watch the scene unfold.
"WHAT IN THE NAME OF MERLIN DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? YOU PUT THAT SCARLET WOMAN DOWN RIGHT THIS INSTANT!"