Hermione's Terror
"Settle down Crookshanks, we're almost home!" said Hermione to the wicker cat carrier. Just around this bend and…
She barely held back a gasp as her home came into sight. The Dark Mark.
The cab pulled over to the curb; apparently the Muggle cabbie couldn't see it. It was a struggle to keep the terror out of her voice as she said, "Why are we stopping? My house is on down the road!" With a funny look in the mirror they pulled away. She casually turned her head to take it in. Her home!
Hermione let him take her as far as she had Muggle money to take her. Finally she had him unload her things on the sidewalk next to a house in a strange neighborhood. As soon as he was down the road, she rummaged in her trunk for her wand.
The conductor of the Knight Bus barely had time to start his little speech before she half-yelled, "Here's my trunk and cat! Please hurry!" As he loaded her on a plush bench (it was still daytime, though the cab had taken its time), she wondered Where can I go? With a plea to hurry she was on her way to the Burrow.
Not nearly fast enough she got there. She had some sickles left over from the year before to pay for her ride, but she made sure somebody was home before she let the bus leave. She had barely knocked when Mr. Weasley opened the door. "Hermione, what are you doing here?"
She started to cry silently. "Oh thank goodness! Please, my trunk is still on the bus!"
"Fred, George, get out here!" The twins must have been just behind the door because they got there as quickly as Mr. Weasley, and stared at her questioningly. "Go get her things from the bus!" They ran down the walk and he took her inside to be swooped down upon by Mrs. Weasley.
"Who was there Arthur? Why, Hermione, what's happened?" She had begun to sob, so Mrs. Weasley led her into the living room.
"I-I saw it! I was in a cab, my parents sent me a letter they wouldn't be able to get me!" she managed to choke out. "We just came in sight of my house and there was the-the Dark Mark!" Here she lost control for a minute and the couple exchanged glances over her head. Fred and George crept unnoticed through the hall and up the stairs with Hermione's things to Ginny's room.
She stemmed her gulping sobs a bit. "They're both Muggles you know. They probably thought I would be home by then, but traffic was bad. I-I just told the driver to go on like nothing was wrong. When I ran out of money to go any farther I made him let me out and hailed the Knight Bus. I didn't know who else to go to!"
"I'm going to the office. See what I can find out." Mr. Weasley apparated away as Mrs. Weasley led Hermione to the kitchen and started making tea.
Hermione was at the kitchen table crying her heart out when Ginny ran in. "Hermione! What-?" She stopped when her mother waved her arms frantically from the stove and pulled her aside to explain. Ginny's eyes grew wider and wider 'til she flung herself at Hermione and started crying herself.
Four boys crept slowly into the kitchen, the sight of three weeping women making them shy. Their mother usually got mad or hysterical, she never cried. Ginny knew they would tease her forever. Hermione had been known to cry at silly things, but she was usually strong. Mrs. Weasley noticed and waved them into the living room. She quietly told them all they knew and warned them not to say anything to Hermione, especially about why she was there. Percy for once didn't feel that he could work and stayed in the living room with the twins. Ron, however, followed his mum into the kitchen and sat on Hermione's other side.
She looked up when she heard him and stemmed her tears to turn around. "Mrs. Weasley, I'm sorry. You must've been so glad to get your kids home and then I turn up like this…"
Mrs. Weasley was at her side in a second. "Don't you feel sorry Hermione. I have seven children and I don't mind taking care of one more. We're glad you came here. You can always find a comforting shoulder at the Burrow."
Hermione smiled through her tears. As she hurled herself at Mrs. Weasley she choked out "Thank you."
~*~*~
Hermione and Crookshanks were alone in Ginny's room. Everybody else was sitting at the table, Mrs. Weasley's Welcome Home dinner not nearly tasting as good as it should.
When dinner was over, the older three boys went to the living room, Ron took a plate up to Hermione, and Ginny helped her mum clean the kitchen. Before long the Weasleys were gathered together in the den waiting for news.
Before long, Mr. Weasley apparated in. After a look for Hermione, he started. "She was right not to go in. It took me a while to convince someone to go with me, but the ones that did knew what they were doing. The Death Eaters hadn't put any spells on the house, so we think they were waiting for Hermione. Her father had a cast on his leg-"
"So that's why they couldn't go get her." Mr. Weasley nodded tensely and went on.
"Well, he was on the couch in their living room, head turned to the doorway. Her mother was in the doorway between there and the door. Must've thought it was her daughter, found a strange wizard, and tried to run. We looked around for anybody, but they must've thought since it was a Muggle-one-student house, the Ministry would be on the lookout for magic and left. They messed up the living room and kitchen, but didn't seem to go into the back. We sent the bodies to St. Mungo's."
Everybody was looking pretty knocked out. Again the Dark Mark, again an attack on Muggles. This time it wasn't just for their fun.
"Do you think she could see them, go to her house, tomorrow? Will anybody be there from the Ministry? Surely Fudge can't deny You-Know-Who's existence now!" Mrs. Weasley went from upset to mad in a second.
"She will stay here tonight, Molly. I guess we could take her to her house, but we're going to test the bodies. See if we can tell if You-Know-Who himself was at her house or just the Death Eaters. Think we've got a technique that might work. We can tell her all this tonight, it's better than not knowing."
Silence reigned again. Slowly everybody went off in their different directions. "Ginny, wait," called her dad. "I'm going with you to tell her, and she might rather cry on you than me." They headed upstairs together on a mission to confirm the desperate girl's worst fears.