Roon0: It will be more of memories rather than chat! Hope you enjoy that.
InfernalBooks: So much...so, so much!
Leonix2009: Thank you! Hope you enjoy this chapter as well!
KateKat1992: Thank you so much for your reviews! I am glad you are enjoying the story!
Hermione's life has never been quiet after getting on the Hogwarts Express. So yeah, I doubt she will ever be calm and fine.
As for the pairings, that is something I am still working on. But oh dear lord, I cannot do a triad. The only triad I have ever loved is from Avengers.
Hope you enjoy this chapter as well!
A/N: Hola! So, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Warning: This chapter contains some great deal of angst and some, a bit of graphic violence? Yes, it does. Too sad too, if I may add. Do let e know what you thought of this chapter!
Chapter 26- A trip down the memory lane
Fred Prewett was pacing in the hallway, every now and then looking out, hoping to hear a pop sound. Ginerva Prewett sat, knitting one scarf after the other. This was far too confusing.
Gideon's message had been very short-'An attack on Hermione and Fabian. Both in an enquiry. Will let you know as soon as we come home.'
Ginerva shook her head. She could not do it. She put down her knitting needles and looked up. "What do you think happened, Fred?"
The older man looked at her, letting out a deep breath. "I do not know Ginerva, but whatever it is, it is bad. I mean, an enquiry is quite extreme, don't you-"
Four loud 'whoosh' were heard one after the other. The two looked at each other briefly, before running to the living room. As expected, the four Prewett siblings stood there, each with a scared and confused expression.
Ginerva ran and pulled Fabian in a hug, murmuring soothing things as Fred took to Hermione. While Fabian held on to his mother, Hermione was reserved, refusing to respond to any of Fred's touches.
Ginerva pulled apart, looking at the four. "What happened?"
Fabian snorted, staring accusingly at Hermione. "I think Hermione can explain the best what exactly happened."
The mentioned person refused to meet anybody's eyes, her eyes blank and trailing on the carpet.
"Well?" Fabian broke free of his mother's embrace, walking towards the younger girl. "I think we all need and deserve an explanation, don't we Hermione?"
"Fabian, darling," Ginerva pulled her son back, looking at her other two children. The two looked as confused as her. "What are you talking about?"
"You ask her!" he shouted, pointing at Hermione.
"Enough!" Fred raised his voice ever so slightly. "Can't you see she is shaken up?"
"Shaken up?" Fabian huffed. "Trust me, father, I am worse than her right now."
"All right, All right," Gideon immediately stepped in front of his twin, laying a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Why don't you start and then we can get to her? Huh? Sounds good?"
Fabian did not answer, still staring at Hermione. But a moment later, he walked towards the couch and took a seat, letting out a deep breath.
Everyone followed fashion, everyone except Hermione. Fred tried to coax her, but it yielded no result.
Fabian took a few deep breaths, under everyone's gaze, before starting.
"Hermione and I had gone off to a Muggle place, to have lunch. I needed to tell her something, regarding her safety."
"Fabian!" Gideon stood up, shocked. "I thought we discussed this!"
"I know!" Fabian shook his head. "But I think we all agreed that she is smarter than we think she is."
Molly looked at her brothers. "What are the two of you talking about now?"
Gideon gave a long stare to Fabian before turning to Molly. "That Dark Lord, You-Know-Who, he has taken a special interest in Hermione."
There were gasps and hitched breaths. Hermione remained unaffected, her eyes lost somewhere, her mind was a thousand miles away.
"But it seems Hermione already knew it!" Fabian continued, standing up. "She said that she needed to defeat him-"
"Hermione!"
"-because he had killed her family."
There was a pin drop silence as every pair of eyes turned to Hermione. She, she remembered her real family? After all these years?
Ginerva stood up, silently, looking at her adopted daughter. "Hermione, darling..."
"Well, aren't you going to tell them the rest, Fabian?" The young woman finally spoke up, something hard and sad in her voice. It felt as if the person talking to tem was not Hermione-it was as if somebody had replaced her soul with someone else's, someone who had been through hell and back.
"What, what rest?" Molly asked, looking at Fabian.
Fabian, meanwhile, seemed to have lost all his anger and frustration. He looked smaller, scared even, by Hermione's voice.
"Um, Hermione, she duelled the Death Eaters," he spoke in a lower voice, "better than what I have seen Moody do. And then, then she, she killed one of the Lestrange brothers."
"Killed?" Fred's heart seemed to skip a beat.
"Why are you not saying it properly, Fabian? Say it, come on! Say it out loud!"
Everyone was shocked at Hermione's changing mannerism. As Fabian refused to speak, Hermione took the step. "Fine, I will do it myself. I cast an Unforgivable Curse, Killing Curse to be exact and killed one of the supposed followers of Voldemort. I believe you can say I am a Dark Witch. Isn't that what you wanted to say Fabian?"
"No," the other man whispered as everybody fell in a deep pit of shock. "No, Hermione. Yes, you cast the Killing Curse but no Dark Witch would feel remorse the way you were feeling."
"Fine then," she huffed, "I am a grey Witch."
"There were no traces of an Unforgivable being used," Gideon murmured, looking at the two. "I checked the scene myself. Lestranges' head was cracked-"
"No, Gideon," Hermione turned to look at him, "That was done by Fabian to cover up my tracks."
Before anybody could respond, Hermione turned to Fred. "Father, we have a Pensive in our house, do we not?"
Fred took a moment before answering, "Well, yes, but-"
"And can't it be made bigger just in case a lot of people have to take a trip down the memory lane?"
"Uh, yes-"
"Great. Can you bring it out? I believe it is the time you all know the truth about who I am."
Every Prewett watched in fascination as Hermione pulled one memory out of the other, mixed them and poured them in a vial. She had been doing it for over an hour now, and it seemed she would finish soon. The Pensive was brought out, made bigger by a family Engorgio charm. All six of them could look in if they wanted to, it seemed.
Once Hermione was finished, she shook the vial a bit as if settling her memories and then poured it in the Pensive. Nobody questioned how she knew how to do that. Hermione seemed to know a lot.
Once the silvery liquid began swirling in the water, she took a step back.
"Be my guest."
Everyone around the Pensive looked at her, confused. "Are you not coming?" Molly asked.
Hermione gave a humourless smile. "I live through that every living day of my life, Molly. Trust me when I say I have no intention of seeing it once again."
Molly, albeit worried, nodded and shared a look with her family. On a uniform nod, all five of them took a deep breath and put down their heads down the Pensive, unsure of what was going to come.
It was a small Muggle house, with a man and a woman sitting carefully on a couch. The man was reading the newspaper while the woman peered over some book. The man looking like he was in his late thirties and had a pair of spectacles on his nose. The woman had bushy hair tied back in a ponytail and she almost looked like-
"Hermione," Molly whispered.
Fabian nodded. The woman looked exactly how Hermione would look when she grew older. Maybe, a bit less weight and the height was wrong. But overall, it was too eerie.
"Where are we?" Gideon asked.
Just then, the doorbell rang and Fred said, "Well, it looks as if we will find out."
The woman looked up and stood up. "Were you expecting somebody Daniel?"
The man, Daniel shook his head. "No, Jean. Maybe it is Hermione's friends?"
'Hermione' Molly mouthed. The Prewetts shared a confusing look.
"You know well enough Hermione's friends are upstairs," the woman said, laughing, "She and her books, I swear."
She looked out of what seemed to be a peephole and said, "Yes?"
"Is this Dr and Dr Granger's house?" came a female voice.
"Yes?" Jean answered, a little surprised. "Who must this be?"
"My name is Minerva McGonagall. I am the deputy headmistress of Hogwarts, a school for gifted people. If you would be kind enough, I would like to talk to you about your daughter."
Jena and Daniel shared a look. It was as if they were expecting it. With a nod, Jena pulled the door open and in front stood Minerva McGonagall in Muggle clothing.
"She looks, older." Ginerva realized. They watched as the woman was invited inside.
"If you would be kind enough, I would like to talk about this with Miss Granger here."
"Of course," Jean said nodding, before going back in the house and shouting, "Hermione! Someone's here to see you!"
"Coming Mom!" came an unmistakable voice of a younger Hermione. Before they knew it, a young girl of about 11, with wild bushy brown hair and buck teeth was in front of McGonagall and them.
"That is so...like and unlike Hermione."
Before anybody had time to comment, the scene changed and the family of five were standing in a small compartment of the Hogwarts express. Two boys sat beside each other, the only barrier between the two being a load of sweets. The boy near to the window had dark, messy black hair and he looked like James Potter.
The boy closer to the door, however, had the trademark Weasley hair, hand me downs and his wand, which was obviously old, pointed at a rat.
The compartment door slid open and it was Hermione again who peeped inside.
"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one." She said, looking at the two boys.
The brothers couldn't help but chuckle at the bossy voice.
"We've already told him we haven't seen him," the red headed boy said, but Hermione was more interested in the wand in his hand.
"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it then."
The boy was taken aback, looking confused.
"Eh-all right."
"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."
He waved his wand, but nothing happened. The rat stayed grey and fast asleep.
Fabian chuckled, "Isn't this something like what we used to fool the young Gryffindors?"
Gideon huffed. "Yes."
"Are you sure that's a real spell?" said Hermione. "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard - I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough - I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"
She said all this very fast.
The Prewetts couldn't help but chuckle at the young girl that Hermione was.
The boys looked at each other, confused.
"I'm Ron Weasley," The red head muttered.
Molly gasped. So it was Weasley all right. But she did not know any Ron Weasleys!
"Harry Potter," said Harry.
"Are you really?" said Hermione. "I know all about you, of course – I got a few extra books. for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century.
"Am I?" said Harry, feeling dazed.
"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione. "Do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad... Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon."
The family of five were left stunned. Harry Potter? Ron Weasley? Who were these people?
Before they could react or understand, they were back on the platform and their eyes landed on the figures of Hermione, Harry and Ron coming out through the wall.
"There he is, Mom, there he is, look!"
The family turned their attention to from where the voice was coming. Everyone gasped, mostly Molly.
For right in front of them stood an old woman, dressed in sober clothes and holding hands of a young girl with red hair. The woman herself had red hair and she was plump.
But despite the age difference, it wasn't hard to make out who it was.
"That, that's me!" Molly put a hand over her mouth, still trying to get over the shock of seeing herself. Fabian and Gideon held on to each other for dear life. Ginerva and Fred, meanwhile, seemed to begin to understand what was happening.
"It can't possibly be, can it?" Ginerva whispered.
"Time travel?" Fred said, looking at his wife.
"What?" was the reaction from the three Prewett children.
"Harry Potter!" she squealed. "Look, Mom! I can see"
"Be quiet, Ginny, and it's rude to point."
Yes, it was Molly all right and she had a daughter named Ginny. Ginerva was going to faint.
"Busy year?" Older-Molly said, looking down kindly at the bunch.
"Very," said Harry. "Thanks for the fudge and the sweater, Mrs Weasley."
"Oh, it was nothing, dear."
"Ready, are you?"
The Prewetts turned to look at a walrus man, purple faced and none of them liked the sight of him.
"You must be Harry's family!" said Older-Molly.
"In a manner of speaking," he said. "Hurry up, boy, we haven't got all day." He walked away.
Harry hung back for the last word with Ron and Hermione.
"See you over the summer, then."
"Hope you have - er - a good holiday," said Hermione, looking uncertainly after the man.
"Oh, I will," said Harry, and they were surprised at the grin that was spreading over his face. "They don't know we're not allowed to use magic at home. I'm going to have a lot of fun with Dudley this summer..."
With that, the young Potter was gone. Hermione shared a look with Ron. The young Weasley said, "You reckon he would be fine?"
Hermione sighed. "Well, it's Harry. He can handle himself. We will write loads of letters to him and make sure he has us."
Ron nodded. "Yup. I might as well call him over. You won't mind, Mum, would you?"
"Of course not, Ronald!" Older Molly laughed. She looked at Hermione, a small motherly smile on her face. "In fact, you can come too, dear."
"Oh no thank you, Mrs Weasley," Hermione said.
Molly felt weird at being called 'Mrs Weasley'.
"But I will be going out of the country with my parents this summer."
The scene changed again and everyone was standing in the Leaky Cauldron. Molly easily spotted herself and there was Arthur. He looked older, with a patch of hair already gone. She was surrounded by red heads.
And that is when she noticed Harry, Ron and Hermione. All had grown up. Hermione looked almost as old as looked now. Harry and Ron had a growth sprout as well, it seemed.
One of the red heads, older ones with a shining Head Boy badge extended is hand to Harry.
"Harry. How nice to see you."
"Hello, Percy," said Harry, clearly trying not to laugh.
"I hope you're well?" the boy said pompously, shaking hands. It was rather like being introduced to the mayor.
"Very well, thanks —"
"Harry!" said one of the twin boys Fabian and Gideon had spotted, elbowing 'Percy' out of the way and bowing deeply. "Simply splendid to see you, old boy —"
"Marvelous," said the other one, pushing the first one aside and seizing Harry's hand in turn. "Absolutely spiffing."
The older bespectacled boy scowled.
Fabian and Gideon couldn't help but laugh.
"Oh stop laughing!" Molly scolded her brothers while her parents enjoyed the scene.
"That's enough, now," said Older-Molly.
"Mum!" said the first twin as though he'd only just spotted her and seizing her hand too. "How really corking to see you —"
It was enough for Gideon and Fabian to forget all about the dark things they were worrying about outside and fall on the ground laughing.
"I said, that's enough," said Older-Molly, depositing her shopping in an empty chair. "Hello, Harry, dear. I suppose you've heard our exciting news?" She pointed to the brand-new silver badge on Percy's chest. "Second Head Boy in the family!" she said, swelling with pride.
"Well, it seems we have an able grandson on our way," Fred commented and Molly couldn't help but blush.
"And last," the first twin muttered under his breath.
"I don't doubt that," said Older-Molly, frowning suddenly. "I notice they haven't made you two prefects."
"What do we want to be prefects for?" said the other twin, looking revolted at the very idea. "It'd take all the fun out of life."
Ginny giggled.
"You want to set a better example for your sister!" snapped Older-Molly.
"Ginny's got other brothers to set her an example, Mother," said Percy loftily. "I'm going up to change for dinner. . . ."
He disappeared and one of the twins heaved a sigh.
"We tried to shut him in a pyramid," he told Harry. "But Mum spotted us."
Fabian and Gideon gave a sly smirk to Molly. "It seems we never leave your side, huh sister dear?"
"Oh shut up!"
The scene changed again and again, showing various adventures Hermione got into with Harry and Ron. There was no doubt that there was time Travel involved.
And then saw the beginning of the Second Wizarding War and the love that bloomed between Hermione and Ron.
"I am not sure how I feel about this," Molly said honestly as she watched her supposed future son and her present adopted sister come closer.
And then they watched as Bellatrix Lestrange tortured Hermione in what they knew to be the Malfoy Manor. All of them wanted to kill that witch, curse her, stop Hermione from the torment.
They wanted to do something, anything. But it was then that they realized that it had already happened. There was no stopping this.
That made it even worse.
At last, came the final war. They watched as Voldemort fell and all of them felt a great sense of weight lift of their shoulders. But...if everything ended what went wrong?
"Is he dead?"
Ron asked, slowly approaching the dead body. Voldemort was lying there, like any other man, merely dead. Harry was far too tried to check and Hermione knew he was trying to find Ginny.
"I think so." The elder girl said, looking at the body. He looked pale-he always looked pale but there he looked pure white.
Ron firmly clasped her hand and whispered, "We did it."
Hermione couldn't help but smile as she turned. "Yes, we did."
"HARRY!"
Both Ron and Hermione looked around, but their eyes darted high above, above the castle and near the Gryffindor tower.
It was a spirit, a spirit that should have been dead. Harry came running out, his fingers intertwined with Ginny's. Soon, all the survivors were standing in the courtyard, bloodied, bruised hurt and scared.
"You think you could defeat me?" the voice, the dreaded voice echoed through the halls. "You can't! That fool Dumbledore thought he knew me? Well, let him try!"
"I WILL RETURN!"
And with that, he was gone.
"Hermione," Harry at once turned to her best friend. "Do you think…"
"He has made more hocruxes." She finished with a nod. The fear was visible on her face. Ron tightly clasped her hand and turned to Harry, "What do we do?"
Harry looked at Hermione. She was shaking as she spoke, "If Voldemort knew that we were hunting hocruxes, he sure knows how we destroyed them. We can't use the same way again. And we also have to find what things he made them into."
"Oh dear!" Ginerva gasped. "Hocruxes?"
"What are those Mother?" Fabian asked.
Ginerva shook her head. "I am not exactly sure, but I do know that they are dark objects and are meant to keep one immortal. It is not supposed to be something good, I can assure you."
Before the Prewetts could digest the information, the scene changed again.
Hermione and Ron were running through the streets of London, trying to duck every single spell being thrown their way.
Hermione pulled Ron behind a blind turning, hoping it would draw the Death Eaters away.
"Where the hell are Harry and Neville?" Ron groaned as Hermione peeped over to see the Death Eaters.
"Probably fighting their own share of Death Eaters," she sighed, shaking her head. "They are confused. You think you can apparate?"
"I am not really good at it?" Ron gave a smile and Hermione shook her head. Hermione huffed out a laugh before turning around and ducking as a spell came their way.
"Blimey! What can a person do get these slimy people off your trail? Sectusempra!"
The Death Eater groaned in pain as Hermione began wordlessly firing spell.
"How do you do that?" Ron asked, before throwing another spell.
"I actually paid attention in class, Ronald!"
He fired another spell. "You mean when that slimy Snape was Teaching? Please, I would rat-HERMIONE!"
Hermione barely had time to respond as Ron pushed her away and fired a spell at Bellatrix. When she looked up, Ron was falling down.
"Ron!"
She clutched him as a gash of blood poured out of his mouth and cuts began appearing everywhere on his body. She looked up to see Rabastan Lestrange grinning, before coming forward to cast another spell.
Hermione wasted no time in apparating both of them away.
"That explains it," Fabian murmured and everybody turned to look at him.
"What?" Fred asked, seriously worried.
"Why she killed Rabastan Lestrange."
The thought made them very uneasy. However, before they could think further, the scene changed again.
It was a very brief scene, but they saw some people-some people they recognized and some they didn't. Hermione and Ron seemed to stand on an alter, getting married. Ron seemed too weak to stand, but all watched they wedded by a kiss.
"Hermione's married!?"
The scene changed again, this time inside what Molly knew for sure was the Burrow, but only from a height that didn't exist yet.
"It's so cold nowadays!" Older-Molly exclaimed, rubbing her hands together. She peered out of the window to see snow and a few Dementors. For some reason, the Burrow couldn't be seen.
Ron groaned and Hermione tightly held his hand.
"I am fine 'Mione." He mumbled and then began coughing.
"You certainly aren't! Go to sleep!" Hermione snapped and shushed him. With a smile on his face, he said, "All right Mrs Weasley!" and drifted off to sleep.
"Yup!" Gideon said, shell shocked. "Hermione is older to us and married."
"To my future son!" Molly looked sick.
Once Ron fell asleep, Hermione stood up and walked up to Older-Molly, who was staring out of the window.
"It was a day like this," Older-Molly suddenly said, "that I really lost my first family."
Hermione turned to the older woman.
"What happened, Mrs Weasley?" Hermione asked.
"It's Molly for you now Hermione."Older- Molly smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. She looked out again and looked far off in a distance. "We were out shopping for Christmas. It was still one of the early years, so You-know-who was not really that big. A few Dementors came to Diagon Alley and my mother" her voice cracked and she wiped away a tear, "my mother became their prey. Father was never the same after that and he died a few days later. Fabian and Gideon, my brothers, they weren't the same either. They just threw themselves in the work. They were Aurors you know."
Everyone looked shocked.
"She...You are talking about last Christmas!" Fabian suddenly exclaimed.
Ginerva tightly clasped her husband's hand. She was supposed to die last Christmas?
"That explains Hermione's behaviour and the lie about being a Seer."
"They were killed by Dolohov," Older Molly said.
Molly immediately inched closer to her brothers, both protectively holding her.
"I remember Moody saying it took five Death Eaters to take both of them down," Hermione whispered, looking at Ron.
"Yes," Older-Molly sighed, putting her hand on the window. "They were quite a pair. Strong too. Fr-Fred and George reminded me of them. Too much alike. It was as if they had never left. They both died a few months after the twins' birth."
There was a pause before Molly continued. "I think it was a blessing that they died together, Hermione. I see George and see what he has become after Fred's death. Gideon and Fabian would have taken it much worse."
"I sometimes wonder if this was will ever end."
"Of course it will!" Hermione said, looking at Older-Molly. "I promise you, one day this vile man would be dead and he would pay for everything that he has done."
Older Molly smiled at Hermione, running a hand through her hair. "I am glad you came into the boys' life. They needed someone like you."
Molly was openly crying in her brother's arms. The Prewetts looked as the scene changed. They were too tired. Oh dear Lord, what else had poor Hermione gone through?
What were they going to go through?
The dark sky began to darken more. Twilight was long gone, the night had begun. As the lightning was heard, Hermione and Harry turned to see the Death Eaters behind them.
"Hermione, run!"
But Hermione's eyes were fixed on that one person. Rabastan Lestrange. Ron's killer.
"Hermione, go!"
"If it isn't the mudblood Weasley!" Rabastan laughed. "What are you going to do to me, kitten? Send an Expelliarmus my way? I can kill you the way I killed your dear husband, slowly and painfully!"
"You wish." Hermione raised her wand and said, "Crucio."
Whatever Lestrange was expecting, this wasn't it. Hermione watched as Rabastan fell to the ground, screaming. Hermione put in all the power she had in that one curse. It wasn't an Unforgivable anymore-not after Voldemort took over, so why should she care?
She watched as Lestrange begged her to stop. A small smile crept on her face.
Nobody was firing her way. With one last flick of her wand, she stopped the curse and Lestrange sat there, panting and taking heavy breaths.
"Next time," she said, "when you think about coming to us, remember this. Remember that we are not the school students you thought you could easily defeat. Those people are long gone."
"But you won't use the killing curse," Rabastan said, a slow evil smile creeping on his face.
Hermione looked at him, her eyes boring into his head and said, "No. I will not use the killing curse. I will use something much more drastic."
"Oh, Darling!" Fred whispered, crying. Hermione was not the girl he thought she was-she was older, wiser than him. What had she not gone through?
The scene changed again. Hermione, Harry, a young black man and another boy sat around on a table. It seemed they were in some dingy place, barely able to make ends meet.
Hermione looked like the warrior she was-eyes hard, posture straight and her hand gripped on the wand.
"Are you sure about this Seamus?" Hermione asked. The other white man smiled a bit and said, "Well, I may be well-known for blowing up things but my theory is always correct."
"Can't say the same about calculations." Murmured Harry.
Seamus threw Harry a dirty look as the black man said, "This is our only hope. We know that till 1994 You-know-who had five hocruxes-the diary, the cup, the locket, the ring and the diadem. It was only after he came back and around 1996 that he began making more after he found his diary destroyed."
Silence took over the table. Everybody was thinking.
"So 1991?" Finally, Hermione asked. The black man nodded. "You will remain in your same age as now unless you take a de-aging potion."
Hermione looked at Harry and said, "SO who'll go?"
"You will." Harry declared, his hands firmly crossed. Hermione knew better than to protest. Harry had changed, for the worst.
Taking a deep breath, she looked at Seamus and asked, "When do we start?"
Before they knew it, everyone was being pulled out. The Prewetts felt sick and tired.
But they then looked at Hermione, their adopted sister, sitting a few paces away, her hands down. Nobody dared to speak. Nobody knew what to say.
"The ritual went wrong," she slowly began, not looking up. "Seamus didn't mess it up, it was just that the Death Eaters attacked. We could not hold ourselves and while I did come back, I came way further than what was intended and my body de-aged."
Everyone stood silently. No one knew what to speak.
Molly suddenly took small steps and before anyone knew, she had wrapped her arms tightly around Hermione.
"Oh Darling, we are here. All of us are here. Nothing is going to happen. Everything will be fine."
For the first time in years, Hermione allowed herself to be free of the weight she was carrying and cried her heart out.