A/N: OK, sorry for the last chapter-I know it was a little short, but I
really wanted things to unravel. Please R&R!
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Ron stared incredulously at his brothers. Hermione's hand had shot straight up to her mouth, while Harry stood there, no sign of emotion on his face.
Then, quite suddenly, he smiled. He smiled like he was going to laugh-like they were all going to laugh, like this was all a big joke.but when he saw the look of seriousness on Fred's face, he knew.
"No..it can't be.."
"I assure you it is." Said George, his voice going unmistakably harsh. "Fred and I need to take you to Grimmauld Place. Grab your suitcases, we need to go as quickly as possible."
"They're..they're by our feet, George." Hermione said, trying to find her voice. "How are we to get there?"
"Portkey" said Fred promptly. "There's no other safe way, unless Ron's learned his apparation test within a couple of hours..."
"Right then, portkey. What'll the portkey be?" shouted Ron from his upstairs bedroom-undoubtedly he was grabbing his suitcase, and maybe-
"Pig?" he shouted.
"Oh, Ron, come on!" Shouted Hermione "You haven't seen Pig since june, what are the chances of him showing up now?"
"No, that's just it..." he said, coming down the stairs. "He's brought me a letter..."
Ron stumbled down, carrying his suitcase in one hand and trying to open the letter with the other. Once down, he put the suitcase down and opened the letter. He looked up at his brothers, looked at his friends, and then back at the letter. Then, throwing everyone off their guard, he strode over to the table, grabbing Hermione by the wrist as he went, and kicked a chair away from the set. He sat her down, said "Just sit." and sat down beside her.
"There has been a...change of plans." said Ron.
"Ron, don't be a prat, we need to-"
"What you need to do is tell the three of us what is going on, why it involves Hermione, and why my letter says that Voldemort's taken over the Order of the Pheonix." Ron said, as calmly as his voice could make out.
Fred snatched it. His eyes blurred over the lines and handed it to George. Then he drew up a chair. As he sat, he buried his hands in his hair. After a couple of moments, George sat, still reading, and Harry collapsed onto one of the remaining chairs. Fred looked up.
"Well, we don't want you to be exposed to such things. But as you know, Lord Voldemort has risen again, and, well-"
Fred paused. It wasn't for effect-rather, it seemed like it would pain him to say these next words. He drew in a breath, and said, quite rushed-
"Heakenmorovergwarts"
"*What?*" asked Hermione.
"Taken over Hogwarts." George said, folding the letter back up.
There was a stony silence as nothing was heard but a tear-shedding woman dragging herself up the stairs, and a minute owl making a ridiculous amount of noise.
"That's impossible." Hermione said, her voice growing sharp. "Ridiculous. Absurd. No way could he have-I mean, Dumbledore would never have permitted it-even if he is dead, that doesn't mean he was powerless when he was alive, and-and-"
She looked at the twins, and practically screamed, "Say something! ANY thing! Anything to let us know this is just some joke! Some stupid prank, like a swamp or a canary cream or-"
Tears were now streaming down Hermione's face. George took her hand in his, and said softly, "It's not a joke, Hermione. I wish it was-we all wish it was. But what's done is done, and we're going to have to deal with it."
Hermione stuttered "H-h-how?"
George leaned back, but his hand did not leave hers. He knew not whether she meant how Voldemort managed to take Hogwarts over, or how they'd deal with things, but he made up his mind quickly. He drew a deep breath, and said, quite simply, "Snape."
Ron immediately sat up strait. "I knew it." he said softly. "I knew he was no good. Told you, didn't I, Hermione? Told you he was no goo-"
Ron was cut off by three looks, and another wave of tears from Hermione. He stared back at his brothers. There was still something missing from their story...
"So...what does this mean?"
"Well, let's think, shall we." replied Harry, his voice bitter. "Let's think really hard. With Dumbledore gone, Hogwarts is history. Not to mention the fact that he'll be coming to kill me soon, and without a good education, it'll be fairly hard, you know?"
"You have an education, a good one." Said Hermione, still sniffing slightly. "Just because you won't get a last year-"
"A good last year..." mumbled Fred softly.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Hermione inquired.
"Hermione..." said George, squeezing her hand. "That's just the thing...Voldemort's decided not to close Hogwarts..he says he wants you to have your final year there, while you can."
"Wha..?" Said Harry, dumfounded. "Why would he care? Never really stopped to think of others before, has he? Why should he care if we can't defend ourselves, and-"
Harry then was interrupted promptly by a swooping bonk on the head. He looked up to see what it has caused it, and a large black owl looked at him from the table, with a pained look in her eyes, as if to say, "Sorry!" He dropped a black envelope in the Hermione's hand. She removed her hand from George's, and opened it hurriedly.
As her eyes moved across the words, her face became paler. She began to shake, and her letter dropped from her hand. She looked up at the boys..and fainted.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
At the Order of the Pheonix, Voldemort was seething.
"You did WHAT??"
Lestrange looked absloutely petrified. "Well, master, you told me to get rid of-"
"SILENCE!" Screamed Voldemort. "I have lost one. I will not lose my other..."
He turned his back on Lestange. He took a deep breath, and called for Lucius Malfoy. Minutes later, he stood at his side. "You called, Master?"
"Yes, Malfoy...I want you to bring me the golden trio...Harry, Hermione..Ron, perhaps, while you're at it.. "
"It shall be done, sir."
"But, Malfoy-do take care in making sure they are all alive..if not, you will be punished most severely...now, I have to do some punishing myself...alive, Malfoy, though, make sure.take them," he paused, thinking "Take them to Hogwarts. The room of requirement should do."
He bowed, and then was gone, giving time for Voldemort to utter "*Crucio*" on Lestrange.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Harry dumped a bucket of water over Hermione's head. She fluttered her eyes, and was revived. Ron drew a great sigh of relief.
"Bloody hell, we thought you were dead! We tried smelling salts and *enervate* and-"
Hermione burst into tears. She could not speak of all the pain, so she gave the letter to Ron. Still unaware of the goings-ons, Ron read it out loud.
"*Dear Ms Granger," he read,
"We regret to inform you that there has been a most tragic loss. David and Anne Granger, your parents, have been murdered by Bellatrix Lestrange, a death eater whom we are still looking for. They suffered no pain. We are sorry to inform you of these deaths. They died approximately an hour ago. Everything they owned now belongs to you, as you are the sole heir. Their funeral will take place whenever conveinient for you.
Best Wishes,
Jacklline Abraham,
Ministry of Magic,
Magical Deaths.*"
He reread the letter in his mind, then looked down at Hermione. He fell to his knees and embraced her.
"Oh, Hermione...I'm so sorry." he said.
Hermione didn't say anything. She just rested her head on Ron's shoulder and cried.
"Well, well, well..." a voice behind them drawled. "What do we have here?"
They all looked up at the same time, to see a blond death-eater pointing his wand straight at Hermione.
Lucius Malfoy. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Another cliffie! Tee Hee! Allright, I know my chapters are a little short, but I love writing and I know that I definitely wanted a cliffie for this chapter 2!
Next Chapter-more is explained. Has Hermione actually lost her parents?
Please Review!
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Ron stared incredulously at his brothers. Hermione's hand had shot straight up to her mouth, while Harry stood there, no sign of emotion on his face.
Then, quite suddenly, he smiled. He smiled like he was going to laugh-like they were all going to laugh, like this was all a big joke.but when he saw the look of seriousness on Fred's face, he knew.
"No..it can't be.."
"I assure you it is." Said George, his voice going unmistakably harsh. "Fred and I need to take you to Grimmauld Place. Grab your suitcases, we need to go as quickly as possible."
"They're..they're by our feet, George." Hermione said, trying to find her voice. "How are we to get there?"
"Portkey" said Fred promptly. "There's no other safe way, unless Ron's learned his apparation test within a couple of hours..."
"Right then, portkey. What'll the portkey be?" shouted Ron from his upstairs bedroom-undoubtedly he was grabbing his suitcase, and maybe-
"Pig?" he shouted.
"Oh, Ron, come on!" Shouted Hermione "You haven't seen Pig since june, what are the chances of him showing up now?"
"No, that's just it..." he said, coming down the stairs. "He's brought me a letter..."
Ron stumbled down, carrying his suitcase in one hand and trying to open the letter with the other. Once down, he put the suitcase down and opened the letter. He looked up at his brothers, looked at his friends, and then back at the letter. Then, throwing everyone off their guard, he strode over to the table, grabbing Hermione by the wrist as he went, and kicked a chair away from the set. He sat her down, said "Just sit." and sat down beside her.
"There has been a...change of plans." said Ron.
"Ron, don't be a prat, we need to-"
"What you need to do is tell the three of us what is going on, why it involves Hermione, and why my letter says that Voldemort's taken over the Order of the Pheonix." Ron said, as calmly as his voice could make out.
Fred snatched it. His eyes blurred over the lines and handed it to George. Then he drew up a chair. As he sat, he buried his hands in his hair. After a couple of moments, George sat, still reading, and Harry collapsed onto one of the remaining chairs. Fred looked up.
"Well, we don't want you to be exposed to such things. But as you know, Lord Voldemort has risen again, and, well-"
Fred paused. It wasn't for effect-rather, it seemed like it would pain him to say these next words. He drew in a breath, and said, quite rushed-
"Heakenmorovergwarts"
"*What?*" asked Hermione.
"Taken over Hogwarts." George said, folding the letter back up.
There was a stony silence as nothing was heard but a tear-shedding woman dragging herself up the stairs, and a minute owl making a ridiculous amount of noise.
"That's impossible." Hermione said, her voice growing sharp. "Ridiculous. Absurd. No way could he have-I mean, Dumbledore would never have permitted it-even if he is dead, that doesn't mean he was powerless when he was alive, and-and-"
She looked at the twins, and practically screamed, "Say something! ANY thing! Anything to let us know this is just some joke! Some stupid prank, like a swamp or a canary cream or-"
Tears were now streaming down Hermione's face. George took her hand in his, and said softly, "It's not a joke, Hermione. I wish it was-we all wish it was. But what's done is done, and we're going to have to deal with it."
Hermione stuttered "H-h-how?"
George leaned back, but his hand did not leave hers. He knew not whether she meant how Voldemort managed to take Hogwarts over, or how they'd deal with things, but he made up his mind quickly. He drew a deep breath, and said, quite simply, "Snape."
Ron immediately sat up strait. "I knew it." he said softly. "I knew he was no good. Told you, didn't I, Hermione? Told you he was no goo-"
Ron was cut off by three looks, and another wave of tears from Hermione. He stared back at his brothers. There was still something missing from their story...
"So...what does this mean?"
"Well, let's think, shall we." replied Harry, his voice bitter. "Let's think really hard. With Dumbledore gone, Hogwarts is history. Not to mention the fact that he'll be coming to kill me soon, and without a good education, it'll be fairly hard, you know?"
"You have an education, a good one." Said Hermione, still sniffing slightly. "Just because you won't get a last year-"
"A good last year..." mumbled Fred softly.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Hermione inquired.
"Hermione..." said George, squeezing her hand. "That's just the thing...Voldemort's decided not to close Hogwarts..he says he wants you to have your final year there, while you can."
"Wha..?" Said Harry, dumfounded. "Why would he care? Never really stopped to think of others before, has he? Why should he care if we can't defend ourselves, and-"
Harry then was interrupted promptly by a swooping bonk on the head. He looked up to see what it has caused it, and a large black owl looked at him from the table, with a pained look in her eyes, as if to say, "Sorry!" He dropped a black envelope in the Hermione's hand. She removed her hand from George's, and opened it hurriedly.
As her eyes moved across the words, her face became paler. She began to shake, and her letter dropped from her hand. She looked up at the boys..and fainted.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
At the Order of the Pheonix, Voldemort was seething.
"You did WHAT??"
Lestrange looked absloutely petrified. "Well, master, you told me to get rid of-"
"SILENCE!" Screamed Voldemort. "I have lost one. I will not lose my other..."
He turned his back on Lestange. He took a deep breath, and called for Lucius Malfoy. Minutes later, he stood at his side. "You called, Master?"
"Yes, Malfoy...I want you to bring me the golden trio...Harry, Hermione..Ron, perhaps, while you're at it.. "
"It shall be done, sir."
"But, Malfoy-do take care in making sure they are all alive..if not, you will be punished most severely...now, I have to do some punishing myself...alive, Malfoy, though, make sure.take them," he paused, thinking "Take them to Hogwarts. The room of requirement should do."
He bowed, and then was gone, giving time for Voldemort to utter "*Crucio*" on Lestrange.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Harry dumped a bucket of water over Hermione's head. She fluttered her eyes, and was revived. Ron drew a great sigh of relief.
"Bloody hell, we thought you were dead! We tried smelling salts and *enervate* and-"
Hermione burst into tears. She could not speak of all the pain, so she gave the letter to Ron. Still unaware of the goings-ons, Ron read it out loud.
"*Dear Ms Granger," he read,
"We regret to inform you that there has been a most tragic loss. David and Anne Granger, your parents, have been murdered by Bellatrix Lestrange, a death eater whom we are still looking for. They suffered no pain. We are sorry to inform you of these deaths. They died approximately an hour ago. Everything they owned now belongs to you, as you are the sole heir. Their funeral will take place whenever conveinient for you.
Best Wishes,
Jacklline Abraham,
Ministry of Magic,
Magical Deaths.*"
He reread the letter in his mind, then looked down at Hermione. He fell to his knees and embraced her.
"Oh, Hermione...I'm so sorry." he said.
Hermione didn't say anything. She just rested her head on Ron's shoulder and cried.
"Well, well, well..." a voice behind them drawled. "What do we have here?"
They all looked up at the same time, to see a blond death-eater pointing his wand straight at Hermione.
Lucius Malfoy. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Another cliffie! Tee Hee! Allright, I know my chapters are a little short, but I love writing and I know that I definitely wanted a cliffie for this chapter 2!
Next Chapter-more is explained. Has Hermione actually lost her parents?
Please Review!