A/N: Again, none of this is mine. JK is wonderful for conjuring up such amazing work and she will always get credit.
Chapter Two :: The Charm
Hermione walked up to her room on the second floor. Her favorite thing about her house was all of its rooms. Each room was completely different from the others. There were 4 different bedrooms upstairs. Her parents' room was massive. It had deep red walls and was decorated in an Arabian or Middle Eastern style. The bed had reddish brown blankets with gold sketching all over. The pillows were all different shapes, sizes and colors. There was a canopy above the bed that draped sheer gold sheets around the bed. Hermione loved the pillows because they had little gold tassels on each corner. The two guest bedrooms were the only rooms in the whole house that were slightly similar. I don't think the boys will like the décor of their rooms…it seems a little girly for them. She thought. Each room had different colored walls and sheets (one was light blue, the other was light green) but they were both the same style. There was a dresser, writing desk and one large bed in each room. Well, I guess they will just have to live with it. The last room on the second floor, other than a few bathrooms, was Hermione's room. It was a white room with little flowers stenciled in at the top corners. Most people would expect that Hermione would be a very neat and tidy person in her room, but it was obvious that she was not. Books were sprawled out all over her desk and floor. Different scrolls with various titles and writing laid everywhere. Boy, I am such a slob. I need to clean my room before anyone sees it. Although she couldn't use any magic to help her clean, she was able to tidy her room very fast.
After about an hour of cleaning, she heard a strange "pop" downstairs. Knowing what it could be, she ran downstairs to find Professors Dumbledore and Flitwick making themselves at home on one of the family room's sofas.
"Hello Professors, so good to see that my letter got to you quickly."
"Good Afternoon, Hermione. I hope your summer has been going pleasantly so far!" squeaked little Professor Flitwick.
"Hermione, when can we expect your parents to be home?" asked Dumbledore.
Hermione glanced at a nearby clock. It was ten minutes after five o' clock.
"Any minute Professor. They got off work at five, just as long as no one came in with a chipped tooth or anything like that. Can I get you some tea?"
"That would be very nice Miss Granger. Thank you."
Hermione was not nervous at all that two of her most favorite people were sitting in her family room right now. Actually, she was quite excited to be helping out as much as she was. As she poured the hot water into the two teacups and dropped in teabags, she began to wonder if she would be able to watch Professor Flitwick perform the Secret Keeper charm. I could completely understand if they wouldn't let me watch, but man! If they did, it would be so interesting to witness. As she walked back into the family room and handed the professors their tea, she thought that there would be no harm in asking.
"Professor Dumbledore, do you think it would be okay if I watched Professor Flitwick perform the Secret Keeper charm? I understand if you don't want to…"
"Oh Professor Dumbledore! I see no harm in that! She's my best student in charms, I know she would love to see it performed!" peeped Professor Flitwick.
Hermione smiled. She knew all of her hard work in Charms would pay off someday. Hermione watched as Professor Dumbledore sat and thought to himself. Oh please, oh please let me watch… she thought. Professor Dumbledore looked up at Hermione and smiled.
"Of course you can Hermione," Dumbledore replied, "I know you would be very saddened if I said no, and I'm sure that you would deeply benefit from seeing Professor Flitwick do his charm work. We will be performing the charm tonight, so I will make sure to tell you when to be ready."
Hermione felt her heart fly. She was so excited. Wow, I'm going to see Professor Flitwick do some VERY advanced magic! I wonder what sort of technique he will use…
Suddenly, there was a loud crash on the other side of the house.
"Hermione, do you have a fireplace in your house?"
"Why, yes it's in the living room…"
Dumbledore got up and started to walk towards the direction of the crash…towards the living room. The living room was a white room. Everything was white…but when Hermione walked into the room, everything was NOT white. She looked at the floor and saw two very ashy boys sprawled out.
"Why Misters Fred and George Weasley! How good it is to see that you didn't blow up the fireplace…" said Dumbledore.
Fred and George immediately stood up in response to seeing Dumbledore. They looked like they were soldiers and their rank leader had just called attention. But it didn't last for long. Suddenly, there was another bang, and another person rolled out of the fireplace. It was Ginny. Even though she was covered with soot, Hermione could tell that she had grown-up in the past month. She looked a lot older, and her hair was much longer and straighter. Knowing who was next to come out of the fireplace, she wasn't surprised when Harry and Ron popped out simultaneously after the next bang. They both were a lot taller and more built. Hermione couldn't really see anything other than their eyes and grinning teeth behind all the soot on their faces.
"Hey, Hermione," said Harry, "It's about time that I see you again!"
"Well, you all probably want to get cleaned up. Upstairs and to your left there is a bathroom, and on the opposite side of the hall, there is another. Feel free to use all the soap you need." Hermione said.
"Soap? What is this thing you call soap?" Fred asked jokingly as he walked upstairs.
"I know I have never used it…" said George grinning.
"Well Miss Granger," said Dumbledore, "I'm sure your parents would not want to see this mess first thing when they walk into the house, so…"
And with a flick of his wand, all of the soot that covered the couches and floor gathered in a dust ball in the air and shot back into the fireplace.
"Thank you Professor. I was afraid I would have to clean that up by hand."
Dumbledore and Flitwick chuckled. Then, Hermione heard two noises almost at the same time. On one side of the house, she heard a door opening, must be my parents… and on the other, she heard two more "pops."
"Ah, I see the Weasley parents have arrived." Said Dumbledore.
Hermione first walked over to her parents and gave them both hugs. They walked together into the kitchen where Dumbledore, Flitwick, Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Weasley all stood. Mrs. Weasley walked over to Hermione and gave her a big hug. She seemed to have tears in her eyes.
"Oh, Hermione, I'm so glad you can do this for us!" Mrs. Weasley said, sobbing.
"Mr. and Mrs. Granger we can't thank you enough." Said Mr. Weasley, "If your daughter didn't already mention, I work in the Ministry of Magic, and my family would be in great danger by staying home. We really can't thank you enough."
Mrs. Granger seemed almost shocked that so many wizards and witches were standing in her kitchen, but when she looked at her daughter, whose face was bright and illuminated with pride, she knew she was doing the right thing.
"We are just glad we could be of service to you," Mr. Granger said, "I have been wondering when Hermione would ask her friends to stay with us, and we are glad that they can finally stay."
"Well," Professor Flitwick said, "I feel bad for imposing so much on your family, so would you mind if I made dinner for everyone? I love to cook and I brought my own food with me…"
Mrs. Granger looked overjoyed that she wouldn't have to cook dinner for all these people.
"Professor, do you mind if I help?" Mrs. Weasley asked. Hermione smiled. It seems like Mrs. Weasley does enough work for her family at home, but even when she is away, she still wants to cook and help out.
Professor Flitwick smiled. "Now, Molly! I want to do dinner for once! You just take a break!"
Mrs. Weasley looked like she would find it very hard to do, but she knew that Flitwick would not allow her to help.
After they ate, even Mrs. Weasley was satisfied with Professor Flitwick's dinner. He had prepared a roast chicken with vegetables, mashed potatoes, and a raspberry cheesecake dessert that no one could finish because they were all so full. Flitwick looked very happy with himself that he was able to please everyone at the table.
After the Weasley Twins had amazed the families in the backyard with a colorful and bright fireworks display, Hermione knew that it was time for the Secret Keeper charm. I wonder who the Keeper will be? Hermione went inside only to find that Dumbledore was just about to come outside to get her.
"Hermione, what we are about to do is very top secret. You cannot tell anyone, no not even Harry or Ron, the details of what is about to happen. If ANY part of this get out into the open, the charm is worthless."
Hermione nodded. She was so excited about what she was going to see.
"Professor, who will the keeper be?"
"After much argument with me, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley are both going to be the keepers. Professor Flitwick has already planned how he will do this."
"What do you mean, 'after much argument'?" Hermione asked.
"Well, I really don't like the idea of either of them being the secret keeper. It is very obvious that they would be it, and I don't want either of them to be in danger of Voldemort and his followers…"
Hermione flinched at the sound of that name.
"But," Dumbledore continued, "They didn't want anyone else to hold onto such an important secret to them. No, not even me. They said that they wanted to protect their children, no one else. So I didn't want to argue with them anymore, and I agreed."
Hermione nodded. She could understand why Mr. and Mrs. Weasley would want to be the secret keepers. She just didn't understand how it would be done. She followed Dumbledore into the living room. Dumbledore had already warned everyone that Hermione was the only one who would be allowed to watch. Everyone else must stay away from the living room until they were done. Harry and Ron were a little confused and they tried to ask Hermione what was going on, but Dumbledore told them not to ask her any questions, because she would not answer.
The living room was dimly lit by the setting sun. Hermione saw Mr. and Mrs. Weasley on the couch, and they smiled when she walked in. Professor Flitwick was looking through a book, probably making sure everything is correct.
After a few more minutes of waiting Professor Flitwick said, "Ok. Let's get started. Now Hermione, I won't be able to tell you what I am doing, but that's what Dumbledore will do. He will very quietly whisper into your ear to tell you what's going on. Do not talk to me during the process or everything will be ruined and we will have to start over."
"Don't worry Professor, I'm sure Hermione understands the seriousness of this situation." Said Dumbledore smiling at her.
And then, it started.
"Dormions." Whispered Flitwick and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley both fell asleep.
Dumbledore whispered into Hermione's ear.
"The secret keepers must be asleep when the process begins. In order for the secret to be safe, the keepers must reveal everything that is troubling their heart at the moment. This way, there will be no way that the secret could come out because of one of the keeper's problems. "
Flitwick muttered something under his breath and at once, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley started mumbling different things
"…He was one of my co-workers…I wish I could have helped him…Fudge is planning on moving me down…"
"The gnomes are multiplying faster than the twins can get rid of them…Ron and Ginny are going to need new robes this year, we don't have any money to pay for it…my sister is sick…"
Hermione didn't really understand most of what the Weasleys were saying, but she knew there was a lot on their hearts. As quickly as they started, they stopped talking.
"Now Hermione," Dumbledore whispered, "The actual charm begins. Flitwick is now going to produce two orbs. These orbs are what hold the secret inside of the Weasleys' hearts.
Flitwick waved his wand and two bright, white spheres of light were produced. Flitwick then whispered into the orbs, "Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fred and George are staying with the Grangers at the Granger household."
"That is the secret. Now that the orb holds the secret, it needs to be placed into the Weasleys' hearts." said Dumbledore.
Flitwick waved the orbs over next to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and walked over. He then opened each of the Weasleys' mouths and waved his wand so the orbs went in. Hermione watched as she saw the light from the orb flow down Mr. Weasley's throat and stop right about where his heart was. It glowed through his skin and clothes for a moment, and then died away.
"Ennervate. And that's it." Said Professor Flitwick, obviously very pleased with himself.
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley woke up, completely aware of everything that had just happened, but they did not look worried or scared, actually they looked quite happy. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley are so brave. They deserve so much more credit than they receive. Hermione thought. She ran over and gave both of them a hug.
"Hermione, you make sure the boys finish the rest of their homework for the summer…" Mr. Weasley winked at her.
"You bet I will." Said Hermione, and she grinned back.
"Arthur and I will be staying with some of my relatives who live an hour outside of London. If you need to contact us, Pigwidgeon and Hedwig will know where to find us. I guess you could use Errol, but he's a bit unreliable in his old age…"
"Don't worry, Mrs. Weasley, everything will be fine. We will keep in touch."
And with a "pop," Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had disappeared from the living room.
"Hermione," said Dumbledore, "Before I go, I would like to talk with you, Harry and Ron."
"Okay, but what about?"
"You'll see…I'm sure you will be very happy after I tell you."
A/N: Alrighty, that's it until the next chapter, and oh yes; I am extremely proud of my little mind for thinking of the process of the Fidelious Charm. I came up with that and I'm sure it's wrong, but until JK tells us how it works, that's how I would imagine it to be…and I have never heard it ANYWHERE else….man I sound so horrible there…sorry—but I'm extremely proud like I have already said…please R/R! merci beaucoup!