Hermione's Terror
Chapter 2
Ginny looked like she hadn't slept much the next morning, but was nothing compared to Hermione. Hermione looked awful and haunted, but managed to keep her eyes dry all morning. Everyone kept shooting worried glances at her, but her glassy eyes seemed not to notice.
In their awkward, sweet, nervous ways, Ron and Ginny said comforting things to Hermione while she emptied her Hogwarts bag to claim some things. She gave them small smiles for their trouble.
The Ministry had lent them a car, since the house was Ministry business. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ron, and Ginny went with Hermione to her house that afternoon. As they were driving, thoughts kept popping in her head:
A Mr. Hagrid pulled Harry from the scene. "The house was almost destroyed," said Mr. Hagrid. "I barely got him out before the Muggles started swarmin' around."
After the Dark Lord killed his parents and destroyed the
house…
The Ministry had to perform many Memory Charms on Muggles
who had seen the house…
Only after she had worked up a nice terror did she remember
she had seen the house before the Ministry did. Nice going Granger. Good to
know you keep your head in emergencies. Just like in the Devil's Snare you kept
your cool. I won't cry, I won't cry, I won't cry…
"It's Sunday so their office won't be open, but how do we cancel all the appointments without letting the Muggles know?"
"Well," said Mr. Weasley, "they'll probably have to know they're dead if you close down the office-"
"No!" Mrs. Weasley burst in. "If they know they're dead, she will be put in foster care or some other awful Muggle thing. Hermione, we'll say you're moving. You will be anyway, right? That way you can sell their office without suspicion. Let's see, Arthur, your department can see that they didn't jinx anything and-"
"Mum?" Ron butt in, "She's a kid! She can't just go around selling off the stuff! We'll need an adult to do that, and one that knows how Muggles do business." A poke right at his dad, but he didn't notice.
"Yes, maybe someone from the office could help. Some keep up with Muggle business." Mr. Weasley kept on. "After we check everything, of course, Molly. Look, here we are."
They all piled out of the car and looked at her house before Hermione removed the key from her bag and asked, "You did lock it, right?" An affirmation, she turned the key, and they looked into the welcoming hall. "Mum was here, right? And dad there?" She stayed amazingly calm as she let Mr. and Mrs. Weasley have fun looking at Muggle things and testing them for jinxes, and led Ron and Ginny to her room.
"Nice room," they said simultaneously and roved around. Ginny tried to make the dresser mirror talk as Ron prodded her family picture. Hermione moved around, packing clothes between the pictures she rescued from Ron, knick-knacks, her Hogwarts books from other years, and a stuffed mouse.
"Crookshanks has been missing this."
Once she had her bag packed and two full purses over Ginny's shoulder, they headed into her parents' room. Ginny grabbed a few tissues from Hermione's room before she followed them, but Hermione kept her eyes dry. Peeped in the closets, rifled through the drawers. Room by room they worked their way to the front of her house, picking up little things here and there.
When they met up in the kitchen, Mrs. Weasley was trying to keep her husband from taking apart the toaster. "Ready to go, dear?" she asked, partly to Hermione and partly to Mr. Weasley.
They were walking to the car when Ron was dive-bombed. "Pig!" He tore off the letter and started reading it. "Go home Pig, we're not for a while."
"Ron, who'd you send a letter to?" his mother asked with a look.
"Um, Harry."
"And why?"
"So… he could know what's happening? I figured Hermione would want him here!" his voice rose defensively.
"Yeah, thanks Ron," Hermione said almost tiredly. "What'd he say?"
"To write him when the funeral is and he'd even use Floo powder to get here."
"You guys are so sweet." She smiled and surprised Ron with a hug.
"Ok, time's a'wastin! Let's go to, um, where was it again Hermione?" asked Mr. Weasley.
"The banks. Don't worry, I know which ones we have accounts at."
"More than one? Goodness, Arthur, can you believe Muggles are so complicated!"
~*~*~
Emerging from the third bank with a bag of things from the safety deposit box, Hermione announced, "Well, I think that's the last place we kept anything."
"How could they keep people from stealing all your stuff?" asked Ron. "They're just boxes behind bars!"
"Well, sometimes people do break in. I like Gringotts a lot better."
"Can you direct me to their office Hermione?"
"Sure, Mr. Weasley. It's on the other side of town, yeah turn right here…"
~*~*~
"Guess this is their appointment book."
"Oh, how are we going to cancel all these appointments for tomorrow? And all the workers? Oh dear, oh dear…"
"Hermione!" Mrs. Weasley thought for a minute. "We'll just have to call all these people and cancel. Do you just call the nurses and say they're fired?"
"Surely somebody knows how to undo a business in a day. I'll go check." Mr. Weasley apparated away.
Hermione gave them a tour of the building she had been in so often. Ginny was especially interested in the x-ray, and spent the whole time trying to turn it on. Mr. Weasley apparated back before she figured it out.
"This is Greg Essex, Department of Magical Catastrophes." After informing him of Hermione's wishes to shut the office down, he took over, speaking rapidly.
"Okay, first we call tomorrow's appointments, then fire the workers, cancel all the others for the future, and see about selling the building, equipment, and if we have any legal issues. You're the owner now, aren't you?" A slightly mystified Hermione nodded. "So then you know how to use a phone; start calling until you get everyone. You two look for paper and pens. Make a 'closed' sign for the door. No details. Arthur, Molly, let's see about these files. Need to get them to another dentistry." They went into a back room, leaving the three teens blinking after them.
"What's a pen?"
~*~*~
Hermione lightly banged her head on the desktop. Another person thought she was just a childish prankster. I don't sound that young! She had just picked up the phone to dial a client that hadn't answered when Mr. Essex came in.
"Give me the phone book. I need to contact some other doctors' offices about all these files." Ginny and Ron came over from the toy area, wondering if he knew they would all be closed. After leaving a few messages, he said to Mr. Weasley, "Meet me here tomorrow morning. Most open at 8, right?" He left with that.
"Mr. Weasley, Maybe you should do the firing. Everybody thinks I'm joking when I cancel their sessions." So Mr. and Mrs. Weasley took turns on the phone after Hermione showed them how. Ginny and Ron were found in the storage room trying the flavored floss.
Some hours after they started, all of the next day's clients and workers had been notified. With a normal lock and magical one (for those with keys) they were ready to drive back to the Burrow. Mrs. Weasley was quite miffed. "I can't believe how mad some people get when you won't reschedule!"