I don't own Harry Potter or anything in his world. I just own this story's plot!
The Ostrich Hides
"Hermione, I don't know what I am going to do about Harry." Ginny said as she flopped down on her bed.
"Ginny, he needs time." Hermione explained. "He loves you. He just needs time to finish everything Voldemort started and then, breathe."
"I know. I know. But Voldemort is dead and Harry no longer has a life or death purpose." Ginny said in an exasperated tone. "It has been a year. He should be living it up. He should not be running off after every hint of a rogue Death Eater. He should be with me trying to move on."
The older witch lay down next to her best female friend. "He will. He has been living this way for so long, I don't know if he knows any other way to live."
"The few combined days we have had together have been amazing. I just don't get why he doesn't want more of that?" Ginny shrieked.
"I don't know, Gin. I just don't know." She answered, rubbing her friend's shoulder even though Hermione knew Harry was just too afraid to become close to any one person and end up causing them pain by a rogue Death Eater coming after them.
"Okay, enough of my daily rant. Did anything happen with you and Ron while you were hunting down the latest hint of a Death Eater?" Ginny asked turning on her side to face her bushy haired friend. "Verity complained that you were taking a long time when I would drop off George's meals in the workroom."
Hermione shrugged her shoulders and tried to avoid Ginny's questions about Ron by changing the subject. "Come on, Ginny. Let's go downstairs and get some breakfast before Ron, Harry, and the rest of your brothers eat it all." She pushed herself up off the bed and crossed to the vanity to pull her hair into a messy ponytail.
"Without George here eating eighths, I don't think we could possibly run out, you know how my mother cooks." Ginny said as she grudgingly got up from her bed. She paused after getting up and sheepishly looked up. "How is he, Hermione?"
"He's, well… he's… um…" Hermione stuttered while worrying her lip between each word.
"It's okay. It's okay." She cried as she quickly crossed the room. After wrapping her arms tightly around her friend, she added, "I'm not my mum. I'm not going to fall apart if you tell me something bad. Also, I am not going to jump down your throat if you don't tell me anything. I don't pretend to understand why George will only see you and Harry, but I will respect it."
"Thanks, Ginny." Hermione sighed with a watery smile. She decided to give Ginny part of an explanation. "I think he doesn't want to be a painful visual reminder of Fred."
"He is such a dumb prat." Pulling back from the tight hug, she added seriously, "I want you to know that if you need to talk, whatever you say stays with me. I know he isn't doing well, but I can handle it."
"He… the thing is… he… bloody hell… shit! He has almost blown up the shop five times in the past week alone. He is desperate to make some of Fred's wacky, off the wall ideas come to fruition." Hermione stepped away as tears started falling. She began to pace as she continued. "It is almost as if he thinks Fred will come back if he finishes off all of the product ideas that Fred had on a list stuck to the wall. Plus, he won't let me help him. Sometimes that brother of yours is so bloody, fucking frustrating!"
Ginny started laughing, stepped in the pacing path, and helped wipe away the tears. "Hermione, at least he isn't out at the pubs drinking himself into oblivion all night, every night. That's a plus, right?"
Hermione nodded her head slightly. George's family did not know about his new, private drinking habits that started after he had been brought to his parent's home by two Magical Law Enforcement officers from the Leaky Cauldron six months ago. George, Harry and Hermione had made an agreement that no one would tell them all about his every night, all night activity if he promised to keep it to his flat.
"See, silver lining. Now, don't worry about George blowing up the place. Ask him sometime about the many, many times mum and dad had to repair the walls of their room while he and Fred experimented."
Both of the girls chuckled at the vision of the twins covered in soot and ash while poking their heads out of a giant hole in the wall.
"Better now?" She asked and was answered with a half-smile. "Okay, let me finish getting ready and we can go get some food. I'm starving."
"Nope, you are a Weasley." The older witch giggled as she slipped out of the room avoiding a flicked hair band that was flying her way.
When she hopped off the bottom stair, Hermione was surprised to see that Percy and Mr. Weasley weren't at the table eating with Harry, Ron, Bill, Fleur, and Charlie.
"Morning, Hermione." Harry and Ron said together around the food in their mouths.
"Morning, guys." The third of the trio answered with a kiss to each of their cheeks. "Where are Mr. Weasley and Percy?"
Harry and Ron shrugged their shoulders seconds before Bill could say, "They had to go to the ministry offices early. Kingsley flooed them. It seems like something important is going on over there today." He capped his statement by biting into a biscuit and then, leaning back in his chair to be able to rub his wife's very pregnant belly.
"It must be serious. They haven't had to go in early for almost an entire month. I think the last time was when Mundungus Fletcher accidentally set fire to the Ministry's holding cells." She muttered mainly to herself. Then, she received several grunted responses from the men eating at the table. Fleur, Hermione, and the newly arrived Ginny shook their heads and smiled.
After Hermione checked her watch that had once belonged to Tonks, she hurried over to Mrs. Weasley in the adjoining kitchen.
"Morning, Hermione dear. Give me one or two more moments and I will have the breakfast baskets ready. I already have yours packed. I am just finishing up plating George's third and fourth helpings." Mrs. Weasley said quickly, almost all in one breath.
Hermione and Ginny rolled their eyes at the matron of the Weasley family ability to overdue everything. "Mrs. Weasley, I have told you time and again that I can pack the baskets myself. Neither one of us want to be any extra trouble for you."
Mrs. Weasley turned around with her hands on her hips. "Fine, then. I will stop packing your breakfast basket when you start calling me Molly." She said patting her faux daughter's cheek gently.
"That sounds like a great plan, Mrs. Weasley." Hermione said with a giggle causing Molly, Ginny, and Fleur to laugh out loud as well.
"Now, do you want something while you wait?"
"No, I am fine. George was actually expecting me about twenty minutes ago, if he is even awake that is."
Mrs. Weasley looked worried at being the reason of a delay and tried to cover her worry. "He never has been an early riser."
Hermione tried to calm the older witch's fears by saying, "Don't worry. He will understand. Ginny and I had to have some extra girl talk time this morning. Plus, my hair decided to not be friendly with me."
Mrs. Weasley smiled. Everyone in the kitchen knew that Molly was happy that she wouldn't be the one to cause her lost and floundering son to worry.
Less than four minutes later, the breakfast baskets were fully packed. Hermione reminded Harry to come to the shop by four in the afternoon. Then, she headed out the kitchen door to the Burrow's garden gate. She turned on the spot and landed in the kitchen of George's flat.
After setting the baskets on the kitchen table and placing a warming charm on it, Hermione began searching the flat for its now sole owner. As she searched, she picked up the empty butterbeer and firewhiskey bottles that were lying around after George's drinking last night and sent them floating into the bin near the kitchen.
Hermione was unsurprised to find him not in his own bed, but in Fred's bed. She shook his shoulder, saying, "George, it is time to wake up. I have breakfast, made and packed especially for you, by your mum. It is waiting in the kitchen… George, come on, it is time to wake up."
"Hermione, it is too early. Come back to bed with me." George mumbled. He still did not open his eyes as he grabbed her hand that was shaking his shoulder. He rolled so he was now facing away from her and pulled her haphazardly onto the bed with him.
"George, food is in the kitchen. There are scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, gravy, hot biscuits, and fresh squeezed orange juice." Hermione whispered in a slight seductive voice in his ear.
"Bed… you and me… cuddles…" was the only response that she received.
"Cuddles never actually means cuddles to you." Hermione said dryly.
"Bed… you and me… sex…" was his new response.
"You stay here and sleep. I am going to go eat my breakfast and maybe one or two of yours and then, open up the shop."
George refused to let go of her hand. It was a rare occasion that George did not get up when she described food or threatened to eat one of his portions. She knew what had to be said to get him to release her hand if food didn't work, but she hated to say it. It was a few things that he needed to hear and needed to hear often, but he didn't want to and often refused to listen.
"George, I don't want to sleep in Fred's bed, again. Also, you need to stop sleeping in Fred's bed." She said quietly, grimacing to herself. "It has been almost a year. You need to move on. Fred would not want you to be behaving like this. I believe he would come back just to kick your arse if he could to get you out of this stagnant part of your life."
"Really, Hermione? You are bringing that up now? When we are in bed together? That is an extremely harsh way to try to get me out of bed."
"Well, I am not going to do your version of the nice way!" She almost shouted.
"Why won't you? You seemed to like it the other day in my bed. You seemed to be having a grand time screaming my name." George asked in a huff as he sat and then, stood up from his twin's bed. "Or did Ron finally confess his feelings and ask you out?"
As he stretched, she blushed profusely and stuttered, "No… but…"
"But, nothing, Hermione!"
"Great, this is just what I needed this morning, a tongue lashing from you." She mumbled under her breath.
"You need to forget about the idea of you and Ron because it will never be what you seem to want it to be." He said as he crossed to the bathroom door. He turned to look at her still sitting on Fred's bed. "He loves you, but he is too much of a coward to actually do anything about it. Remember, it took him four years to realize that you are in fact a girl. Plus, another almost four years to kiss you… Oh, no. That's right, you had to kiss him, the bloody wanker." Then, his tone changed and lost the tiniest bit of its sharpness. "Also, you need to realize that you aren't really in love with him. You are in love with the idea of love. You, my dear Hermione, are just in love with the idea of having someone and that idea of having a family again."
The feisty brunette huffed and jumped off of the bed. She crossed to him as she screamed until she was right in his face. "You are such a self-righteous, fucking arse. I have no idea why I come here almost every day and subject myself to you, your mess, and your crude behavior. Apparently, I am blind, naïve, and a fucking idiot. Or more correctly, I am sometimes fucking an idiot. I stupidly thought you wanted help. I thought that you wanted to move on and to be a part of your family again. I thought that you needed peace and privacy to grieve Fred, but all you do is drink until you pass out." She pushed his arms away as he tried to place them on her shoulders to calm her down. She walked away from him toward the hallway door. "Since you obviously don't want my help to become a productive member of your family or society again, I will just grab my breakfast and eat downstairs as I open the shop. Harry will be by later this afternoon."
George followed the petite witch to out of Fred's bedroom to the kitchen and watched her wade through a not small pile of bottles piled up next to the bin to get her plate of food. "Hermione, I didn't mean to make you so mad… again. I just lashed out… again. I wasn't thinking… again. Please, please I am begging you. Don't leave me with just Harry to talk to. He doesn't help me, all he does is whine. Or he talks about how he is too damage and tainted by Voldemort to be good enough for Ginny."
George took it as a sign of hope when Hermione paused at the door out of the flat. "If you see Harry before I do, tell him to talk to Ginny about how he is feeling. Maybe if he does, he will be able to help you, me, and Ginny. Then, I will have everyone off of my back and I can finally move on with my own life."
George sank to the floor as Hermione shut the flat door behind her and descended the stairs to the shop.
Harry sauntered into Weasley's Wizards Wheezes minutes before the cuckoo clocks chimed four in the afternoon. He waded through the small bits of mothers and small children milling about the shop toward Hermione and the register. "Good afternoon, Hermione!" He said as he hopped onto the register counter and kissed her cheek. "How is our good friend, George, today?"
"First, why are you in such a good mood?" Hermione asked as she finished ringing up a small boy's purchase of an Exploding Snaps pack of cards.
"Ginny and I degnomed the garden before I went home for lunch. It was really nice doing something completely mundane with her." Harry said as he shrugged. "Now, can you tell me how George is?"
She waited until the small boy was well away from the counter before she grumpily answered, "Ask the bastard. He is still upstairs in his flat, I think."
"I understand. His misery loves company." Harry said nodding his head as he slipped off the counter and dreaded have to go up to the flat.
"He will lay into you about Ginny." She warned him in a sing song voice as he started toward the workroom and the hidden stairs beyond it that led to George's flat.
"Misery REALLY loves company today." Harry whined as he stopped, turned, and began walking back to the counter. "Do I have to go see him? I am sure that he has plenty of firewhiskey already."
"Yes, if I had to deal with him this morning, you have to deal with him this afternoon. Besides, I told him you were coming, so he is expecting you."
"Did he have a go at you about Ron, again?"
"Kind of; not really."
Harry was able to hear something off in his best friend's voice. He came behind the cash register counter and gently grabbed her hand. As he pulled her toward the workroom, he called to Verity, the twin's first employee. "Hermione is going to give me a quick breakdown of the day and then go home. I will be back out shortly. Please, watch the till." She nodded in understanding just before they slipped through the workroom door.
Harry led Hermione over to one of the work tables and lifted her up to sit on it. He stood between her legs and held onto her hips to keep her from getting away from him. To anyone else, this would seem like a very intimate position, but Harry knew that he had to trap her in order to break through her defenses. "Now, explain what you mean by kind of and not really?"
"It was nothing, honestly. He was just being cranky, half hung-over, half sober George. He snapped at me when I mentioned that he needed to stop sleeping on Fred's bed." The stubborn witch mumbled inwardly cursing Harry for knowing her so well and the traitorous tears that were beginning to form.
"What exactly did he say, Hermione?" Harry asked softly as he wiped a tear that had escaped.
"He said that Ron cannot love me the way that I need or want and that I don't really love Ron as more than a friend." She answered with a sigh. She decided to give up fighting before Harry could really begin to beg. Harry was the one person that Hermione always gave into. "He said I just love the idea of love and the thought of having a family again."
"Hermione, you have to work on ignoring his lashing out better. You know he isn't saying anything that is true." Harry said putting his chin on her shoulder as he pulled himself closer to her. "He will just keep pushing your buttons if he gets such an emotional reaction out of you. You have to ignore his lies."
"But what if they aren't lies?" She timidly asked as she squeezed her eyes closed.
"What?" Harry and George squeaked in an unison disbelief.
Hermione's eyes popped open as Harry turned quickly, still staying between her legs and almost hiding her.
"How… What… How much… How much did you hear?" Harry and Hermione stammered at the same time while interrupting each other.
"I knew I was right about Ron not loving you the right way for you, but I was right about you not loving Ron?" George asked with a stunned face as he slumped against the doorframe.
Hermione pushed Harry away and hopped off the worktable landing hard on the floor with a fire in her eyes. "George, you may have been right about Ron and me, but you were a right arse about it as well." Hermione said as she slowly marched across to George. Her anger was building and her magic was leaving her body in waves, "I was right about you and Fred's bed though."
"Hermione, you need to calm down." Harry said half-heartedly from behind her. He knew that if Hermione built up her anger too much she would be scarier than Molly Weasley. He, also, knew that George kind of deserved this.
"I am here helping you every day. It's not because it's fun or because you pay me. I could be working for the ministry of magic to help those that were emotionally and physically devastated by you-know-who." She said standing on her toes trying to be eye to eye with him. They still weren't eye to eye, so she grabbed his shirt front and pulled him down to her level. Seething, Hermione hissed, "I come here every day because I love you, Fred and the rest of your family. Your family and Harry have been my family since my first year at Hogwarts. But starting tomorrow, I am not doing this for you anymore." She yelled roughly wiping tears from her face. "I'm going to help you for Fred and your family's sakes. I will thank you to no longer make any more comments about me, my feelings, or my personal life."
Turning from George to Harry, she said, "Harry, I am going back to the Burrow, taking a long bath, and turning in very early."
Harry grabbed her arm as she began to stride past him. She tried to shake him off, but his words stopped her movements. "If you want peace and quiet, you need to go to Grimmauld Place. Andromeda and Teddy are there cooking and baking, but it is quieter than the Burrow will be."
"Harry, I can sleep through the noise at the Burrow." Hermione scoffed.
"I don't think you can or that anyone will let you tonight. There is going to be an Order meeting. It was requested that I persuade George to come. Plus, Arthur owled and said that he had some major news to share during the meeting."
"Fine, I'll go to Grimmauld Place. I send Andromeda to the meeting and stay home to watch Teddy." She said quietly before kissing Harry on the cheek. "Please, talk to Ginny before coming to tell me about the meeting." Then, she left the room without even glancing at George.
As Hermione was closing the workroom door, she heard George ask, "Why doesn't Hermione want to go to the Order meeting?"
She stopped her movements with the door a hair's breathe open to hear if Harry would tell George the truth. Almost a minute later, Harry answered, "She doesn't want your mum to have any chance of knowing that she has been crying."
"I don't understand." George said as she heard him plop down on one of the stools.
"Your mum is hard to handle right now. If she sees that Hermione has been crying, she jumps all over her like Buck Beak does on a dead weasel to find out why."
"Shite! Really? I never meant to be so hard on either of you, especially her." After a pause, he continued, "You have Ginny to fall back to… when you decide to pull you head out of your arse and talk to her instead of Hermione and me. But Hermione, she has no one to lean on. I should apologize to her tomorrow."
"You could, but I don't know if she will care." Harry said.
At that point, she walked out of the joke shop and apparated to Number 12 Grimmauld Place.
Hermione arrived among a swirl of leaves in the courtyard in front of Number 12 Grimmauld Place. The tense brunette took a deep, cleansing breath of the late spring air. Seeing the quiet street, she was suddenly very glad she had come here instead of the Burrow.
The sun was still shining and it cast a heavenly glow on the surprisingly empty courtyard. Usually, at this time of day, especially in this nice weather, there were a several, muggle neighborhood children running around. They loved to play on the small play structure or run in the field until the last second before their mums called them in for dinner, but she could feel it in the air that something was keeping them inside today.
Shaking her head, she looked both ways and swiftly walked across the street. Looking around again, she made sure no one was watching before ascending the stoop that had just appeared like it was an inflatable children's bouncer.
Hermione slipped in the front door and tried to be as quiet as possible. She tiptoed down the hall, stopping just before the main painting in the hallway. All that could be heard was the occupant's quiet breathing mixed with light snores.
Trying to jumpstart herself into a good mood, she jumped out in front of the painting and screamed, "Good Evening, Sirius!"
Sirius jumped in his frame and scolded, "Hermione, must you jump out at me almost every time you come here? I didn't think I would ever hear myself say this, but you need to be more serious. You have spent way too much time with George." He acted mad, but the young witch knew that he enjoyed watching her be a little wacky sometimes.
"Watch it, Sirius. You're beginning to sound like Severus." She replied in a singsong voice.
Severus' piped up from his portrait placed a few frames down the hall. "Don't ever say that again, Miss Granger."
As she started down the stairs, the young witch called back to him over her shoulder, "It is Hermione, Severus. You'd do well to remember that."
Immediately when she stepped off the bottom stair, she was engulfed in delicious smells and two little arms. She scooped down and gathered thirteen month old, Teddy Remus Lupin, into her arms. "Well, hello. How are you, little man?"
His only response was to growl.
"Should I say, how are you, little werewolf?" She asked as she looked over to Andromeda, who was stirring something on the stove and laughing.
"I told Harry not to tell him about his father being a werewolf until he was older."
"I haven't seen this child in two days and he has changed so much." Hermione said laughing as she carried him over to his toys and placing him on the floor. "Changes I expected, but I didn't expect growling. Has he talked since he was told?"
"He only talks when I scowl his direction like my sister used to do to me, but I don't do that too often." She attempted to joke as the younger witch walked over to her.
Hermione gave the older witch a hug and said, "Nice. Do you need any help with finishing dinner?"
"No, I have it almost done. It just needs to simmer for a bit while I chop the vegetables for a salad. Go take a quick bath and it will be ready."
"If you are sure," Hermione asked slowly backing toward the stairs and loving that Andromeda was giving her time for herself.
"Hermione, please try not to antagonize the portraits on your way up. Most of them find it way too humorous when you and Harry bug them, while Severus and Alastor are just too annoyed for anyone to deal with afterward."
"I'll try, but I can't promise anything!" She answered as she ascended the stairs. She decided to take a quick shower instead of a bath. With the extra time, she sat on the window seat in her room reading Hogwart's, a History and making notes to update it.
After eating a quiet dinner where Teddy refused to use cutlery, Andromeda sent the dishes off to be cleaned before heading off to the Order meeting. Hermione gave Teddy an extra bubble, bubble bath. The little boy went to sleep easily after two special, Auntie Hermione stories about the adventures of Harry and dragons.
%
Hours later, Hermione was sitting in the work study that Harry and Kreacher had created for her to use when she was writing or researching. She was writing away about the latest expedition to find a rogue Death Eater and listening to Teddy through an Extendable Ear connected to a wireless. Hermione had credited George with this creation. She told the family the wizarding baby monitor was a surprise for Bill and Fleur when the half-veela was pregnant and the part werewolf was being extremely protective. Not surprisingly, when Hermione floated the idea pass a few Weasley Wizard's Wheezes patrons, they begged her to put the product on the shelf.
Hermione glanced at the clock and realized that it was almost midnight. Order of the Phoenix members usually left meetings by ten or eleven at the latest. She started to wonder what was happening at the meeting that even Andromeda was willing to be away from Teddy this late into the night. Hermione, finally, started to worry about what Arthur's news might be.
Walking down stairs, Hermione peeked in at Teddy. He was still serenely curled up in his crib holding onto his bubblegum pink, stuffed werewolf that Harry had gotten for him in a muggle shop shortly after the war. She continued down the stairs, waving at a couple of portraits lining the stairs and corridors that were still awake. She had to put her hand over her mouth to keep herself from giggling when she saw Amelia Bones and Sirius asleep wrapped in each other's arms within Sirius' frame. She had always suspected a close relationship between the two, but they seemed to keep it close to their chests.
Down in the kitchen, she started singing a song about what she was doing to herself as she danced around the kitchen getting things together to make a mug of hot tea and a hazelnut spread covered piece of toast. She giggled a little when she realized that she had watched her mother do this same thing while she was growing up. She just had taken the slightly whistling teakettle of off the stove when she heard some feet scuffling and a tearful sniffle behind her.
"Welcome home, Harry. Do you want a cup of tea?" She said in a sing song voice as she poured the water into her mug. When, she turned around to see Harry standing there she noticed that he had with tear tracks streaking down his face. "Harry, what is going on? Why have you been crying? Who do I need to hex?"
He rushed over to where Hermione had frozen with tension. He wrapped her tightly in his arms almost refusing to let her go like a small child did when their mum came home from a long day of work. "Hermione, something horrible has happened." He said trying to stop crying and tucking her head under his chin. Not even knowing any details, she wrapped her arms around him. The pair of friends just stood there and cried together.
She could hear Andromeda softly sobbing in Teddy's room trying not to wake him up over the Extendable Ear Wireless. Hermione had just enough emotional strength for Harry and herself, but not enough to go comfort the older woman at the moment.
After the tea had long been stone cold, Hermione finally pulled back slightly, but continued to embrace Harry. "Harry, you have to tell me what is going on. You are really scaring me."
"The Dark Mark was seen over a several houses across America in the past fortnight." Harry explained in a stilted voice.
"What? How? Why?" She stuttered shaking her head in disbelief.
"No one is really sure, but the two American and the two British governments are working together to figure this out."
Then, her heart was gripped even tighter with another fear. "Are you going to have to leave?" She said as her brain began to whirl into action just like it had when she and Harry had separated in Bathilda Bagshot. "I can stay here at Grimmauld Place to be available to help Andromeda with Teddy for as long as you and she need me to be. I can take care of George and Ginny by myself. Maybe Ginny can start helping me with George. It might be good for both of them, if she does. You don't worry about anything here at home if Kingsley needs you to go."
"Slow down, Hermione, slow down." Harry set pulling her tighter into his arms again. "Kingsley isn't going to send me anywhere. He does not believe that the Americans will really listen to a teenager. He is sending ten, older and more experienced, aurors to America. They will be sending information back to the auror offices here for analysis. Kingsley, also, wants you to bring that brain of yours to analyze things from a distance and to help build up protection for Britain."
"I can come in or you can bring things here where I have better access to the Black Family Library." Hermione said burying her face into his chest. "I am glad you aren't going. I do not think I could stand it if you went."
Author's note~
I have been away. I have many reasons, but things are getting better and I am trying not to dwell on the soap opera / telenovela my life has been the past two years.
I have been reworking and rearranging this for the past month. I have added things it was lacking and cut things that made no sense. Harry will still get silly drunk at least once (because that is how my best friend is when he is drunk & it cracks me up).
This is going to be a twisted story filled with angst, humor, and work for the main characters. I hope you enjoy the story and where it will lead.
DuckiBelle