Our 200th reviewer was LoneAlpha! However, since a lot of you sent in your information and guilt-tripped me, I've decided to write chapters for your birthdays. PLEASE NOBODY SEND ME ANY MORE INFORMATION, I'M FEELING ENOUGH GUILT. *pouts*
As promised, the sequel to chapter 27 – "Just Believe Him."
Fifth Year
"Look," Harry sighed, looking tiredly at Hermione across the table from him, who had looked pale ever since the Triwizard Tournament, where she'd been picked as the fourth champion. Barty Crouch Junior, disguised as Mad-Eye Moody, had set her up to help bring Voldemort back. "We all know that Umbridge is ruining this school – she's not teaching us anything when we need to know how to defend ourselves. So we're coming up with a group to know how to defend ourselves."
Hermione scooted a paper forward, letting it rest in the middle of the group of kids huddled at one corner of the Hog's Head. Already at the top of the list was Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger in varying scripts. Fred, who was right next to Hermione, reached out and took it, taking the quill from Harry and getting ready to sign his name before George reached over and did it first with a cheeky grin at his brother.
"And remember," Harry continued as more and more people signed up, "Nobody can know."
Hermione was standing in the middle of the arguing group of people, her eyes closed and her hand pinching the bridge of her nose before she silenced everybody with a flick of her wand. Once they realized that they didn't have the use of their voices, they turned to her expectantly.
"You want to know how I know Voldemort's back?" she questioned, gaze hard, "You want to know how I know this is real? Try being pulled from the middle of a maze into a graveyard. Try being tied to the headstone of somebody, ropes digging into your skin as somebody starts brewing some potion that you've never even heard of. He plops in a bone from the grave you're standing on. He cuts off his hand and drops it in. Then he pulls out a dagger and gets your blood to put in it. And then there's this white figure, calling for an audience to your murder. You don't know how you got out of it, you don't know what would've happened, but you damn well know that you won't let anybody else feel as scared as you did!" The spell was gone by that time, but nobody spoke. "If you want to leave, there's the door."
Nobody moved, except Fred, who seemed to have appeared next to her to grip her hand tightly. She gripped it back with the same force and gave him a small smile as well.
"There will be no need for wands today," Umbridge announced to the fifth year class as she walked down the aisle the desks made.
Hermione dropped her wand in her bag and dropped her book in front of her with much more force than necessary and muttered loudly, "More like 'no need to think.'" Harry, seated beside her, froze with a hiss as Ron whispered out a harsh "Hermione" behind her.
Umbridge turned to her before walking up to her desk, "What was that, Miss Granger?"
"I said 'More like 'no need to think,''" she answered swiftly, not even pausing to register that Harry had slumped his head onto his desk.
"And why is that?" she questioned before adding a "hm?"
Hermione stood, proud to find that she was an inch or two taller than the toad, "Because you're having us sit here, learning nothing, when Lord Vol – " Ron prodded her in the back to get her to stop before she continued, "When the Dark Lord is out there laughing at the sorry excuse of a teacher you're making. You're more like an executioner than anything."
The two had a stare down before Hermione turned to the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, "I saw him that night! He tried to kill me!"
"Stop telling lies, Miss Granger," Umbridge demanded.
"Lies? Lies?" Hermione scoffed, "You think that I'm lying about him calling an audience to my death? Do you really honestly think that I could even think up a story like that?"
"Be quiet," she gritted.
"The headstone I was tied to was 'Tom Riddle,' there was a tree root in front of the cup that I had to jump over, there was fog hanging around my ankles," she cut off sharply, "You think I could forget, let alone think up, something like that? Something that repeats itself in my dreams night after night?"
"DETENTION!" she screamed, "Detention, tonight, my office, eight o'clock!"
Hermione picked up her bag and slammed the book on the floor as she hooked it over her shoulder, "Wouldn't miss it for the world, Dolores." She walked out of the classroom without a second glance, practically growling as she made her way to Gryffindor tower. Fred, George and Lee all jumped, as did a few other seventh years who had a free hour at this time, when they saw her.
"Oh no," Fred said immediately, getting up from the couch as she dropped her bag and scrunched up her hair in an attempt to calm herself down. "What happened? Hermione? Why aren't you in Defense? What did you do? Should I be proud or mad?"
Hermione slid down the wall as George and Lee walked over to them, letting out a sigh before grinning and retelling them the story. By then, all of the other seventh years were around them as well. When she finished, only Fred and George were the ones who weren't grinning.
"You're my role model," Alicia exclaimed before dropping down and kissing her hair, "I now dub you my little sister!"
"No, she's mine!" Lee exclaimed as Hermione began to laugh. She quickly stopped it at the looks Fred and George were giving her and shrunk against the wall.
"Hermione," George began with a frown, "Did you happen to get detention?"
"Err," she faltered, "Yes. Tonight at eight o'clock."
Fred let out an annoyed huff before turning back to her, "Go and apologize."
"What?" she jumped up and blinked at him as everybody else gaped at him as well.
"Look, if it was anybody else, I'd be rooting for you," he admitted, "But not with Umbridge. Look, I hate her too, but you can't get detention with her, Hermione."
She studied him for a moment before frowning calmly and crossing her arms across her chest, "Alright, Percy, that's enough of that. Stop imitating Fred – you're doing a terrible, lousy job of it."
"Hermione, I'm serious!"
"And that's what's scaring me!" she picked up her bag and started to walk towards the girls' staircase, "Look, I can't let that toad think I'm just some stupid little girl. Fred, I love you and everything, but I'm stubborn. I admit it – I'm very stubborn. I can't let her get away with all of this."
Angelina ushered everybody away from the twins except Lee, who turned to George and winced.
"First time she's said it to him and it's like that," he grimaced.
"Maybe it's a good thing she's stubborn," George shrugged, ushering Fred back to the couch, "Maybe she won't…."
"Then what'll Umbridge do to her, George?" he sounded tired, "Suspend, expel, what?"
George only winced and shrugged and patted his back, "It'll be alright, in the end."
Hermione was well aware that she was crying, but she ignored the pain as she tore the sleeve of her robe away and brought her wand out, pointing it at the angry marks on her skin. She muttered a few spells before pausing and using one more, making her hiss and dig her nails into the palm of her hand. She swore a little as she inspected the little cuts she'd made, jumping when somebody's hand appeared on her shoulder.
Fred kissed her temple, glancing down at her hand before grinning.
"It's basically what she's saying anyway, and since I can't get rid of the other ones," she whispered, holding her hand out to him so he could see it more clearly.
I must not tell the truth.
He shook his head, kissing her on the lips before pulling back to hug her, her injured hand behind his neck, "I love you, Hermione."
"I love you too," she winced and pulled away a little to look up at him, "I'm sorry the first time I said it was like that, I mean…."
"I know you're stubborn," he grinned, pecking her cheek. "You're you."
Sixth Year
Hermione sighed, looking out the window once more, watching the rain drops drip down the glass. Several books were lying open in front of her, but she couldn't bring herself to read them.
She was that sad.
Ginny dropped down next to her, slowly bringing a chocolate egg out from under her robes to nibble on it before handing Hermione a handful of brightly wrapped crème eggs. Hermione felt her mood bubbling up as Ginny smiled at her, handing her a note as well.
Hermione –
I'm sorry Ginny had to be the messenger, but Ron would've eaten them all.
Happy Easter, Love. Stop being so stressed and go walk outside. Trust me – I think you'll like what you'll find out there.
- Fred
(PS – I am getting rained on all alone. And I don't like it one bit.)
Hermione gaped at the note before gaping at Ginny, who was already closing her books and putting a few up. She glanced up and rolled her eyes before shoving the crème eggs into her pocket and ushering her out of the library, "Go, Hermione!"
Hermione sighed, glaring at Ron and Lavender mushily call each other pet names. She glanced over at Harry, who was sharing the table at Hogsmeade with them as well, and snorted softly as she brought her glass of butterbeer to her lips.
And then she heard it.
"Won-Won," Lavender said gleefully, making Hermione's eyes widen before she had to stop the liquid from going up her nose, coughing a bit before laughing with Harry about the whole ordeal as Ron blushed and glared at them.
Hermione was hugging herself, tears running down her face as she sat next to Ginny, who was gripping Harry's hand. She looked up when somebody sat next to her, throwing her arms around his neck when she realized it was Fred. He rubbed a circle into her back, still doing so when they broke the hug.
McGonagall's voice was wobbly, a handkerchief clutched in her hand, "Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore was a great man…."
Seventh Year
Hermione was flying. She was darting over the crushed pieces of wall and hexing anybody who pointed their wand at her. Her legs were going to ache in the morning, if there even was a morning in which they could ache during.
However, when one is flying, one suddenly forgets that they need to learn to brake as well.
Fred felt the air woosh out of him, tumbling with Hermione as she gave a little scream. Percy, George and Harry paused to blink at them before freaking out about the wall that crumbled down.
"He was right there!" Percy exclaimed, his freckles popping out as George groaned and clutched at his hair, Harry rubbing at his eyes.
"Hi," Hermione said meekly, half of her sitting on top of him as he blinked up at her.
"I think you just saved my life," he told her.
"In the process of nearly killing you by knocking you down, sure, why not?" She smiled when he grinned at her before hissing, "Ahh, my leg."
He blinked and rose up a little, biting his lip when he saw that her leg was pinned underneath a large chunk of wall.
"Perce! George! Can you help us?" Fred asked, making his brothers rush over to lift the chunk off of her, George helping her up and leading her into the Great Hall. Fred stood, dusting off his jacket and watching his twin and Hermione walk off, George doing most of the walking up until he gave up and just carried her with much protest from his package.
Percy coughed, making Fred blink at him as he held out a fist, "You dropped something."
Fred turned very pale when he saw the ring in his brother's grasp, looking up at the smirk and the arched eyebrow, "Now what are you doing with great gran's ring, Freddie?"
Fred took it back from his brother with a frown, shoving it back into his pocket, "Stay quiet, Percy."
Percy grinned, nodded, and clapped him on the back before running off to go get a Deatheater off of his girlfriend.
Hermione rubbed at her leg with a frown, cursing the ghost pains that occasionally still flared up, despite having Madame Pomfrey fix it quickly. She sighed and looked around at the dark room she was sharing with Ginny at the Burrow. She was definitely not having an easy time going to sleep, and wondered if Ginny had taken a Dreamless Sleep potion, as that was the only way this girl could be sleeping so soundly after the night.
Ginny finally began to snore, making Hermione smile and stand gingerly on her bad leg. Poor Harry, he'd have to deal with that eventually.
Hermione wandered down the hall of the Burrow, taking care to miss the creaking floorboards as she walked down to the living room, intent on reading something to take her mind off of everything, up until she saw a red head slumped against the couch. As she was wondering whether this was Fred or George, she missed the last step and hit the floor loudly, one hand clutching the banister as the other gripped the wall, her still sore leg hovering over the one that'd made the noise.
He looked up, making her find that this was Fred as he grinned widely at her as she winced and shuffled her way over to him quietly. He opened his arms up for her, tugging her into his lap and reaching behind them to cover them up with a blanket.
Hermione smiled as she moved and rest her head against his shoulder, smiling a little bit wider when he lowered his head to hers and left his lips on her forehead.
"I love you, Hermione," he told her as she finally began to feel sleepy.
"I love you too, Fred," she whispered back.
When Hermione woke up, she and Fred were still on the couch together, despite the fact that the sun was just coming up and she had absolutely no desire to wake up. She stretched her arms and legs out underneath the blanket, being careful not to wake Fred when she stopped and pulled her hand up so she could see, confusion on her face.
There it was. The little ring on her left ring finger. It was gold and had a dark red gem in it, settled in the middle of two littler diamonds. It was so simple, but the meaning behind it was gigantic.
"Fred," she hissed, poking him in the side to make him blink his eyes open and look blankly at her, "Fred, what is this?" She showed him her hand, ring facing towards him.
He blinked at it for a few moments before glancing back at her, "Well, it's a ring."
"I know that," she frowned.
"It's a wedding ring."
She bit her lip.
"A bit unconventional, really, but we're hardly conventional, and besides – I really just wanted to hold you, and you looked like you needed the sleep," he shrugged, running a hand across his face before looking at her with one eye hidden behind his hand. "Hermione, love? Could you say something, please? Somewhere along the lines of 'yes'?"
She shook her head, making Fred drop his hand as his heart plummeted into his stomach, but he blinked when she grinned and kissed him fiercely, him responding back warily. She pulled back and smiled wider, wrapping her arms around his neck, "Of course."
And he sat there with her in his lap, cuts along his face with dirt that he was pretty sure would never come off, the blanket having fallen halfway off of them, his hair wayward and his clothes rumbled, sat there and grinned and believed her with everything he had, just like he had all those years ago in the crevice in the wall.
…Uhh…Yeah.
Well…
This is awkward…
I've got nothing to say here….
Except for…
Of course…
This is always at the end of every chapter….
You're wondering if I'm going to do it or not…
I'm wondering that too…
I mean, I do it entirely too often…
There's not even a point to it anymore….
…
…
…
I feel so lost….
…
…
Love,
Birdie