Chapter Twenty Five
It was very early the next morning when Hermione felt someone shaking her gently. She rolled over slightly, waving the hand away. Hadn't these people ever heard of sleeping in?
"Hermione, wake up!"
She rolled over completely and sat up. "What?" she asked, her voice muffled by the hand as she tried to push hair out of her face. She opened her eyes to both Parvati and Lavender standing beside the bed.
"Get up," Lavender instructed. "We just got an owl from the Ministry. They found Harry and Ginny."
That woke her up. Hermione jumped out of bed and scrambled around the room trying to get dressed. "Where is my hairbrush?" she demanded frantically. "Where is my bloody hairbrush?"
It was thrust into her hand by one of them- she didn't notice who- and she proceeded to attack her hair. They found Harry, she sang in her head. They found Ginny. They found Harry and Ginny! She pulled her hair into an unruly ponytail, and spun to face her friends. "Well?" she demanded. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"
She started to the door, but Lavender caught her by the arm and held her back. "They aren't here yet," she said. "They're coming by car."
Hermione frowned. "They're not here yet? Then why did you wake me up?" she turned back around and flopped on the bed.
"The Weasleys are here," she informed her. "They want to see you."
"Oh," she replied. "OK. Let's go, then."
When she reached the Great Hall, the Weasleys were all there. All of them, even Bill and Charlie. All except Ron and Ginny, of course. Hermione stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do. But then she took a deep breath, and stepped forward to stand in front of Mrs. Weasley.
"Hi," she said. Her voice was barely louder than a bird chirping, but she knew Mrs. Weasley could hear her. She raised her head and looked at the woman, biting her lip at the pain she saw deep in Mrs. Weasley's eyes.
"Hello, dear," was all she said. Then, before Hermione had a chance to react at all, she had wrapped her up in a massive hug equaled only by enthusiastic grandmothers at Christmas time. Hermione felt the tears come as she hugged Mrs. Weasley, and she squeezed her eyes shut.
When she finally pulled away, Hermione knew she had tears running down her cheeks at an amazing rate. She looked around at Ron's brothers. Fred and George, whom she was used to seeing full of life and energy, both looked drained and joyless. Bill and Charlie were somber, and Mr. Weasley was simply sitting on a bench on one side of the room, his face tight and emotionless.
Fred stepped forward and offered Hermione a hand. "Ron said the two of you were together," he said quietly. "I'm sorry."
Hermione squeezed Fred's hand and hugged him. "The Ministry told you what happened?" she asked.
Mr. Weasley stood up at last, and brushed off his shabby cloak. "Yes, we got the whole story," he said bitterly. "If Fudge wasn't the Minister and guarded by twenty men…"
"Well-" Hermione started to say, but trailed off. She could just see a car coming up the road to the school, through the window in the front doors. A Ministry logo was emblazoned on the side door, and she could see someone in a uniform through the window. "They're here!" she cried, breaking away and running outside.
The man driving got out and opened the back door of the car. Ginny got out first, led by another man in uniform. She had been dressed in fresh clothes, and the shirt hem that had been around her eyes had been replaced by a clean black band.
Harry followed shortly after. He, too, had been dressed in new clothes, and his hair had been cut back to its usual length. It was still as black as coal and as wild as a spring wind, but it looked more mature, now, somehow. He was about the same height as Hermione, which wasn't short for a boy, but not tall either. He reached out and took Ginny's hand, then turned to face everyone else.
Hermione finally found her energy, and ran over to stand in front of Harry.
She just stood there for quite a long moment, unsure of what she ought to say or do. He stared right back at her, raising an eyebrow. "Going to say anything?" he demanded finally.
Probably to her own shock as much as Harry's, Hermione threw hwer arms around Harry's neck and hugged him tightly. He laughed and hugged her back, letting go of Ginny to put both arms around her. She was laughing and crying all at the same time, and Harry spun her around and put her down again.
"You're OK," Hermione gasped finally. "Both of you, you're both OK." She reached out and grabbed Ginny, hugging her, too. Ginny laughed and returned the hug. Hermione finally took a step away to get a look at them. They both looked very thin and pale, but happy.
"We're OK," Harry affirmed, grinning. "If barely." He looked up and his grin widened at the sight of the sea of Weasleys that was pouring out of the front doors towards them.
The moment the Weasleys appeared on the scene, there was an immediate strong sense of family. Ginny had been wrapped up in a huge hug by all members of her family and, to Hermione's surprise, someone had reached out and pulled Harry into the lot with them. She remembered Harry saying in one of his letters that the Weasleys were beyond being a second family to him. They were his first family, now.
At some point, someone pulled Hermione into the fray, and she was hugging and being hugged with everyone else, forgetting all about dignity or the state of her clothes. She just let herself be wrapped up in this sea of love.
Well, the old saying, "what goes up must come down" holds true in all situations, and the good mood could not last. They were all starting to break apart, laughing and crying, and simply hugging whoever was in reach, when Harry suddenly looked around and asked, "Where's Ron?"
End good mood.
Everyone immediately sobered, and Harry looked around worriedly. "Well, where is he?"
Mr. Weasley looked up from his shoes, where his gaze had been fixed a moment before, and looked at Hermione. She had closed her eyes and was backing towards the doors slowly. He sighed and gestured foe her to go, and she dashed away. As she sped through the front doors, she just heard Mr. Weasley say to Harry and his daughter, "I think you'd better come inside to hear this."
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