Hermione was desperate to tell Harry and Ron that she had won, that she had caught Rita Skeeter, literally! But that was only a very small part of her, and the rest of her was consumed with worry. Harry had told her and Ron exactly what had happened. You-Know-Who was truly back. Even Dumbledore had told them so. With everything happening, Hermione didn't really think that it was the right time.

"You ever going to tell me- what exactly are you doing?" Fred asked as Hermione tried to drag all her trunks down the stairs.

"I'm taking my trunks down," Hermione grunted, "So that the house-elves don't have to."

Fred laughed, "They like helping. It's like Harry, he can't stop himself being a hero, they can't stop themselves trying to clean."

"Only because they-Shit!" The trunk slipped from Hermione's fingers. Fred had waved his wand before Hermione could, and it froze in midair, then floated gently down.

"Careful there, Hermione," Fred grinned, "Why don't you just let me handle this?"

Hermione glared, "I am perfectly capable."

"I know," Fred laughed, "So am I. Though why you didn't just use magic in the first place-"

Hermione mumbled something unintelligible, going to one of the smaller of her bags. She anxiously checked the little glass jar. Rita flew up at the glass angrily.

"What is that?" Fred asked, "Why do you have a bug?"

"This happens to be a very rare kind of beetle," Hermione smiled, "This may just be the last of its kind. My dad has a few doctor friends, they may want to study it."

"What's a doctor?" Fred asked suspiciously.

"Someone who studies things," Hermione said simply, not wanting to waste the time and effort to explain things much further. She slumped against the wall and sighed.

"I'll take you down," Fred offered his arm. Hermione rolled her eyes and ignored it.

Hermione climbed out of the dormitory, running a little to make it down and meet Harry and Ron. They were waiting in the Great Hall, Ron, as usual, was eating a little before they had to get in the carriages that would take them to the train. When they finally elbowed their way through to the entrance hall, Hermione's things were waiting for her. She sighed heavily. Hedwig hooted irritably at Harry, already in her cage.

"'Arry!" Fleur called, and Hermione rolled her eyes. She scowled at Ron for blatantly lying to the beautiful woman just to compliment her 'Eenglish.' Very good her arse.

As Fleur sashayed away, Hermione's eyes caught on another form. Ron said something incredibly dimwitted, and Viktor turned to Hermione.

"Could I have a vord?" Viktor asked.

"Oh, yes," Hermione said, trying not to sound too hesitant. He started to pull her away, "A-All right."

"Promise me you vill write, yes," Viktor said, taking her hands, "Vat I said was true, I have never felt this vay before."

"I will," Hermione said, "But Viktor, with You-Know-Who back, it's not safe to be near me. I hope you know that."

"I do not think it is safe anyvhere," Viktor said, determined.

"Viktor, I'm sorry but I can't visit you this summer," Hermione said softly, "I do want to, maybe sometime else...?"

"I vill remember this," Viktor smiled, and leaned down to kiss Hermione. She turned so it landed on her cheek. He settled for a tight hug. A sob broke them apart. Hermione looked over her shoulder to see a head of long, sleek black hair.

"Oh, Cho," Hermione said softly, now feeling extremely guilty. If only Cho knew really knew how perfectly unhappy Hermione was with Krum, it really was nothing like what Cho'd had with Cedric.

"Hermione," Ginny said slyly, smiling at her. Hermione blushed briefly before setting her face into something similar to neutrality and walking back to Harry and Ron, Viktor in tow.

"I liked Diggory," Viktor said to Harry, "He vos polite to me, always. Even though I vos from Durmstrang, with Karkaroff."

"Have you got a new headmaster yet?" Harry asked, and Hermione wondered if he was just trying to be polite or, more likely, his insatiable curiosity had finally returned. Harry had been too quiet for too long. Viktor merely shrugged, then shook both Harry and Ron's hands.

Ron looked as though he might burst open for a moment before blurting, "Canihaveyourautograph?!"

Hermione couldn't believe that after all his fussing, after all their arguments, Ron still had the audacity to ask for Krum's autograph. She smiled as the carriages finally arrived.

"Hello, Harry," Fred and George said together, appearing on either side of him as they climbed into the carriages. Fred offered Hermione a hand into the carriage which she took gratefully. Then George bowed deeply to Harry, offering his own hand.

"Piss off," Ron said.

"Still mad at us, eh?" George asked.

"S'not like you keep company with saints anyway," Fred winked knowingly at Hermione before disappearing again, off in search of Lee Jordan.

Hermione and the boys managed to claim a compartment of their own on the train, despite everything that had happened, people still made a point to ignore Harry and hate Hermione. And even though it hurt, Hermione decided that it didn't really matter in the end. There were more important things to worry about now.

When talked finally turned to Rita Skeeter, Hermione couldn't stop the smug smile from reaching her faces.

"Oh, Rita hasn't written anything at all since the third task," Her voice quivered with excitement and pride, but still a small amount of shame, "As a matter of fact, Rita Skeeter isn't going to be writing anything at all for a while. Not unless she wants me to spill the beans on her."

"What are you talking about?" Ron asked.

Hermione rushed to explain, "I found out how she was listening on private conversations when she wasn't supposed to be coming onto the grounds-"

"How was she doing it?" Harry asked. If he'd be patient for once, Hermione wouldn't have to waste time answering all his new questions, which would have been answered anyway, as it was part of the story.

"How did you find out?" Ron too interrupted her.

"Well, it was you really who gave me the idea, Harry," Hermione admitted, allowing the interruptions.

"Did I?" Harry asked, confused, "How?"

"Bugging," Hermione said simply, hoping he'd start to understand. She pulled her bag towards her.

"But you said they didn't work-"

Now it was Hermione's turn to interrupt, "Oh, not electronic bugs. No, you see, Rita Skeeter is an unregistered Animagus. She can turn-"

Hermione fished the jar from her bag, brandishing it triumphantly in front of the boys. Rita buzzed around angrily, and Hermione was proud her charm had stuck. She'd tried to make the glass a little bit accommodating, she didn't want to be cruel to poor, jobless Rita Skeeter. She'd managed to snatch up a few twigs here and there to help her feel more at home. There was even a leaf in there and she'd dropped a piece of toast in it that morning.

"-Into a beetle," Hermione finished.

"You're kidding- You haven't..." Ron looked up at her in awe, "she's not-"

"Oh, yes she is," Hermione nearly shook the jar before she remembered poor Rita Skeeter, instead pushing it out closer to Harry and Ron.

"That's never-" Ron took the jar and inspected poor Rita Skeeter, "You're kidding-"

"No, I'm not. I caught her on the windowsill in the hospital wing," Hermione smiled, glad that she had stopped Skeeter from telling the Wizarding community about Sirius' return, and how technically Dumbledore had harboured a fugitive... She continued, "Look very closely, and you'll notice the markings around her antennae are exactly like those foul glasses she wears."

She saw the recognition in Harry's eyes and he exclaimed, "There was a beetle on the statue the night we heard Hagrid telling Madame Maxime about his mum!"

"Exactly, and Viktor pulled a beetle out of my hair after we'd had our conversation by the lake," Hermione said, "And unless I'm very much mistaken, Rita was perched on the windowsill of the Divination class the day your scar hurt. She's been buzzing around for stories all year."

"When we saw Malfoy under that tree," Ron said slowly, starting to catch on.

"He was talking to her, in his hand," Hermione nodded, "He knew, of course. That's how she's been getting all those nice little interviews with the Slytherins. They wouldn't care that she was doing something illegal, as long as they were giving her horrible stuff about us and Hagrid."

Hermione took the jar back from Ron then, smiling mischievously at the little beetle. She'd enjoyed her little game with Skeeter, even more so because she had won. Then Hermione slipped the trapped reporter into her bag again.

"I've told her I'll let her out when we get back to London," Hermione shrugged. She didn't really want to have to care for the beetle, because it really wasn't her responsibility. Skeeter was a grown woman who could care for herself, "I've put an Unbreakable Charm on the jar, you see, so she can't transform. And I've told her she's to keep her quill to herself for a whole year, see if she can't break the habit of writing horrible lies about people."

The compartment door slid open then, and Hermione bristled as a strangely pleased Malfoy said, "Very clever, Granger. So, you caught some pathetic reporter, and Potter's Dumbledore's favorite boy again."

Then he switched tactics when he got no reaction.

"Trying not to think about it, are we," Malfoy said viciously, "Trying to pretend it hasn't happened."

Hermione wondered what had made Malfoy so horrible, what made Crabbe and Goyle so determined to follow him.

"Get out!" Harry snarled, his face showing just how angry he was, though his hand proved that too as he gripped his wand. Hermione, knowing that at this point a fight was becoming inevitable, went for her wand as well. She would not let that foul git of a human being beat them.

Malfoy ranted for a short while about warnings from first year that Hermione didn't remember, but her blood set to boil as he said, "Too late now, Potter! They'll be the first to go, now the Dark Lord's back! Mudbloods and Muggle-lovers first! Well, second, Diggory was the first-"

Hermione shot off the first of 5 hexes aimed at the three Slytherins. She couldn't even remember which she had cast as colorful lights flashed quickly with loud pops. Hermione coughed quietly, looking down at the three children of escaped Death Eaters.

Hermione was surprised to see Fred in the hall outside their compartment, George as well. Fred stepped on Goyle as he made his way inside it, George stomping on Malfoy as he followed, "Thought we'd see what those three were up to."

"Interesting effect," George said, looking down at Crabbe, who's face was bubbling and turning orange, "Who used the Furnuculus Curse?"

"Me," Harry said, frowning down at the heap of them.

"Odd, I used Jelly-Legs, looks as though those two shouldn't be mixed," George said, surprisingly nuetral toned, "He seems to have sprouted tentacles all over his face."

"Ginny said you had a rather fond farewell with Krum," Fred whispered to Hermione as the others set to brutally moving the Slytherin's from the doorway with kicks that moved them about half an inch every time they landed. She wasn't about to stop them, nor was she going to join them, not when Fred was... ever so close to her.

"He surprised me," Hermione answered, "And Ginny hasn't ever seen us alone, I don't think there's much of any sort of comparison-"

Hermione stopped talking altogether, blushing a deep red. Fred leaned closer to her, touching her waist gently. She closed her eyes and berated herself.

.o0O0o.

Another long one. I'm glad I write so far ahead because I have been miserably sick and you guys wouldn't have gotten an update until next week or so. I'm looking for someone to glance over a piece I have for Book 7 during The Battle. It won't have spoilers I just need some advice on it, so if anyone wants to read it...

Binka Fudge: You know, I can actually picture a very strange Weasley family dinner where they're all different birds, perhaps at Grimmauld place before Harry gets there... That was a really cool idea! P.S. You may not need everything crossed ;)

Electrocorrosive: Thank you so much, I try very hard to keep them as close to their original characters as possible.

badwolfinwinterfell: I think that Muggles organize sporting events much better than Wizards at this point. Hermione is going to go on the Horcrux Hunt (because otherwise Harry would have a very lonely Christmas and we wouldn't want that), and the Battle of Hogwarts is going to remain relatively the same. I will keep as close to canon as humanly possible until the very last moment.

sdrlana21: Alone time is the most awkward to write though.

Irianna Marie: That is the plan.