Dumbledore's Army

Full Circle: Hermione's Side Concluded

The cheery sounds of wizard carolers filled her ears as Hermione wandered through Diagon Alley, her arms filled to the brim with packages. But the witch wasn't feeling part of the cheer that spread through the alley, despite the fact that nearly every few steps she was stopped by some over-zealous wizard wishing to shake her hand, recognizing her picture from the cover of the Daily Prophet a few months back.

She tried to tell them that it hadn't been her doing, that it had been Harry's. But generally they stopped and then glossed over that part. For the truth was, everyone was in such a cheery mood because of Harry's sacrifices. And no one liked to think about what had become of the Boy Who Lived, who hadn't been seen since that fateful Leaving Feast when he'd defeated Voldemort.

Hermione chewed her lip thoughtfully as she very carefully placed the final two packages in her bag, rearranging them so that they were on the bottom. Saving the best for last? Perhaps. But really, her sensible side had kicked in and decided that the packages for those she was sure would be at the feast should go at the top. Just in case… No. They would be there. They had to be. It was Christmas, after all. They were both prats, but neither of them was so selfish that they'd skip out on Christmas at the Weasleys when she was certain Mrs. Weasley had sent at least two reminders to each boy. And even they weren't that selfish. Right?

Right, she told herself, shifting the bag containing the parcels into on arm and pulling out her wand, closing her eyes and concentrating on the Weasley's home.

A few minutes later, she opened her eyes and found herself outside their door, the packages now perched precariously in one arm. She again shifted them, and then reached forward to knock on the door, half-expecting a very tall boy with flaming red hair to answer.

Well, the flaming red hair part was right.

"Hermione!" Ginny shrieked, throwing her arms around her friend. But Hermione had noticed the moment's disappointment. She certainly didn't take it personally, as she knew that it had been just as hard-if not harder-on Ginny as it had been on her. A flash of annoyance at the two stupid boys she'd cared for over the last eight years surged through her.

"Are those for us?" Ginny asked, still beaming, despite the fact that Hermione could see the sadness behind her eyes.

"Of course."

"Brilliant. You can put them in the living room," Ginny said, gesturing to Hermione to come in and then leading her towards the living room.

Hermione followed, setting the packages down and then hesitating, chewing on the next question.

"Is-is Ron coming?" she finally asked. Ginny looked at her and from the look on the other girl's face, Hermione immediately regretted asking.

"I don't know," Ginny said quietly, her own expression turning to one of pity. Hermione wondered which was worse-the look of pity directed at her, or the look of disappointment on her best girl friend's face.

"We heard from him a month back," Ginny offered after an uncomfortable silence. "Er, mum did. He's graduated from Auror training. It sounds like he did very well there-better than in school." She frowned and chewed on her lip a moment. "Of course, she didn't get any word from him until she sent a very well-worded howler." Ginny chuckled softly.

In spite of herself, Hermione laughed as well. Until the reality of the situation set in.

"He'll show," she heard herself promising Ginny. "It's Christmas. Even he's not that large of a git…" she trailed off, exchanging a look with Ginny as both girls seemed to think the same thing.

"What about Harry?" Hermione asked in an attempt to change the subject.

Ginny turned away and instantly she knew that had been the wrong question to ask.

"The Daily Prophet reported a sighting of him about a month back. Somewhere up on the coast in Scotland. Much further North than Hogwarts. Mum didn't have the heart to send him a howler. I would have, but it's a waste, isn't it?"

"I've tried to write to him too and haven't hard anything back. It's almost as if-" Hermione cut off as Ginny's shoulders twitched a bit, as if she were suppressing a sob. "He'll come around," she finished quietly.

"There's nothing to come around to," Ginny said, turning on Hermione, an angry glint in her eye. "It's not as though I'm waiting for him, you know. I gave up on that a long time ago." She chewed her lip, and then instantaneously, her expression changed. "Oi. Mum's outdone herself this year as far as the feast goes. She's been shopping for days and cooking since four this morning. I'm lucky she let me off helping to answer the door. I really think she's outdone even the Hogwarts feasts, you know. And after dinner, we're going to go caroling-Fred and George already have sweets in stock that will radically change our voices. So be sure you don't accept anything from them before we go out." she smiled again, this smile only slightly less forced. "I'm really glad you came Hermione," the words themselves at least were genuine.

"Me too," Hermione replied as Ginny turned to hurry back into the kitchen.

"And Hermione?" Ginny said, stopping and looking over to your shoulder.

"Yes?"

"Don't mention them to mum, okay? I think she's still holding out hope that they'll show up, but perhaps we can keep her mind off it."

Hermione nodded in understanding. "I won't mention anything." Ginny flashed her a grateful smile and then disappeared in the direction of the kitchen as Hermione took a seat, alone with her thoughts.

"Charlie, wait up! It'll squirt you if you don't-" a voice called as Charlie Weasley dashed into the room, followed very closely by the thundering footsteps of Fred and George Weasley.

Charlie turned to face the twins, his face livid. "If you think I'm kissing one of you two-honestly, what were you thinking, testing these out here?"

"Oh, hello Hermione!" Fred piped in, and all three of the brothers turned to look at her.

Hermione surveyed the scene, her eyes falling on a sprig of mistletoe, floating above Charlie. The mistletoe twitched and Charlie looked up at it nervously and then back to Hermione, his eyes pleading. "Squirting Mistletoe. One of their inventions," he nodded towards the twins, a look of annoyance on his face. "Er, could you help me out here?"

Hermione shook her head and laughed, standing up. She took a step towards Charlie, eyeing the mistletoe nervously and then standing on her tiptoes and placing a kiss on his cheek.

The mistletoe huffed in disappointment and then soared away, clearly in search of its next victim.

"Mischievous Mistletoe," George announced proudly. "Our latest in the line of Holiday products, and our best seller this year. Of course, everyone's so full of Christmas cheer that they've bought out everything in keeping with the season."

"And you brought it to a family event. Really-didn't you stop to think that none of us would want to kiss you. And there are no girls here, you know!" Charlie threw a sideways glance to Hermione. "Except for you of course. No offense, I just don't think of you…"

"It's all right, Charlie," Hermione said with a smile. Leave it to the Weasley boys to provide a good distraction. Of course, it would help if they didn't all remind her of Ron, who had inherited traits from everyone in his family to some degree or another.

Of course, she had been the one to decide to spend Christmas eve with the Weasleys. Not that there were any question, though. She'd be seeing her parents for the holiday tomorrow, but how could anyone turn down an invitation to the Weasleys?

She frowned, thinking of the two who had most likely turned down that invitation.

"Oi, Hermione, did you hear that? You saved Charlie from being squirted with stink sap," Fred interjected, elbowing her as if he'd noticed the loss of cheer in her expression. "One of our more brilliant holiday inventions, if I do say so myself. Of course, they're all pretty brilliant."

Hermione laughed. "And modesty is your best quality," she teased.

Fred looked at her with mock-shock. "Hermione! I'm hurt! You mean to tell me you don't think we're brilliant?"

In spite of herself, Hermione was laughing again. "I do indeed," she teased. Fred opened his mouth to retort to that, but they were all interrupted by Molly Weasley's voice, announcing dinner.

She stopped at the door to the dining room as everyone took a seat, mentally counting the chairs. Two extra, beside the one that was clearly meant for her. She looked up and noticed Ginny staring at her. The two girls made eye contact and both gazes flickered over to Molly Weasley, who seemed determined to ignore the fact that the two chairs were empty, her smile warm and inviting but not quite believable.

Hermione took a seat quietly as everyone in the table burst into cheerful chatter, all clearly trying to keep the attention off the empty chairs.

And then, without warning, the doorbell rang. Everyone at the table fell silent as eight heads swiveled in the direction of the hallway leading to the front door.

"I'll get it," Mrs. Weasley finally said, the first to get over the shock. She sprang to her feet and hurried to the door, clearly expecting the two remaining members of the party.

"Oh!" came the surprised voice a few moments later, and then a loud sob of joy.

Hermione met Ginny's eyes quickly and then both girls bolted out of their chairs and to the hallway. Hermione stopped just a few feet away from the embracing pair, and Ginny hesitated as well, clearly fighting with her emotions.

And then, without warning, Ginny shrieked and launched herself at her older brother.

"Percy," she said through tears.

Percy, for his part, hugged Ginny back and then looked at his mother as the girl pulled away. "Hullo mum. I-er-had thought maybe…" he held out a bag, filled to the brim with parcels sheepishly. "I just picked up a few things in Diagonally. It's not much, and I'd understand if your table were full."

"Nonsense, Percy," Molly Weasley said, grabbing his arm and leading him down the hall. The two stopped just in front of the group of Weasley boys that had gathered, all looking expectantly down the hall, no doubt expecting, well, expecting the same two everyone had expected.

Fred was the first to speak. "Done being a prat, are you?" he asked coldly.

Percy hesitated, and Hermione, despite how angry she had been at Percy for turning his back on his family, felt a surge of pity for the older boy.

A moment later, Fred's face broke into a grin, and he clapped his hand to his older brother's shoulder. "C'mon, we saved you a few sweets."

And then Bill broke into laughter as the rest of the brothers swarmed around Percy, moving him into the dining room. "I wouldn't if I were you," Bill warned Percy, even as George shot him a dirty look.

Despite being heartened at the Weasleys' reaction to the return of one of their prodigal sons, Hermione felt herself feeling a twinge of disappointment. She noticed Mrs. Weasley's eyes travel to the two empty chairs, the woman clearly coming to a realization. "Here, we saved you a chair," she finally said, gesturing towards one of the two chairs.

Hermione had a seat, trying to keep her expression from being somber, as the Weasleys again took up a cheerful barrage of conversations-all competing for the loudest as they chattered away happily.

Later that night, after she had apparated home, she again looked through her bag, finding the two unopened packages. She sat down and began to write a letter to go along with one.

Three hours later, she was surrounded by crumpled pieces of parchment, none adequate to express how she was feeling.

And so instead, she reached for two new pieces of parchment and scribbled the same note on each:

Ron,

Happy Christmas. Missed you at dinner.

Love from,

Hermione

Harry,

Happy Christmas. Missed you at dinner.

Love from,

Hermione

She went over to her owl, Cerridwen, a gift from her parents for the successful completion of her schooling, and tied the packages to the owl, turning on the pile of discarded parchment and placing it in her trashcan. "Incendio," she whispered, watching as the unsent letters burst into flames, dousing them out as soon as all remnants were gone.

Unfortunately, that was only the first of many Christmases and other special occasions spent waiting for the doorbell to ring. Last year at Christmas, Mrs. Weasley had finally stopped putting out two extra chairs. Hermione hadn't been sure which was worse-the reminder of the two that seemed to have dropped out of their lives, or the absence of any evidence that they were still on the minds of the other people in the room.

"Hermione? Um, ah, would you like to dance with me?"

Hermione looked up, grinning as the voice broke through her thoughts. "I thought you'd never ask. In fact, I was just deciding which hex to use if you didn't," she teased, noticing the deep flush on Ron's face and the uncertainty in his movements. But despite all that, he laughed and took her hand.

"You forget, I have years of Auror training and practice behind me. I think I'm at least a match for the cleverest witch our age," he said, dipping her and then spinning the two around.

Hermione caught her breath. "I didn't know you could dance like this," she breathed.

Ron grinned sheepishly. "Well, there's a lot of things about me you don't know." Hermione raised her eyebrows and he flushed again. "Er. Okay, maybe not. They required us to learn in Auror training. Something about it helping with agility and reflexes."

"Oh," Hermione replied as they danced by Fred and Angelina, who were dancing near George and Katie.

"Our little Ronniekins, all grown up," Fred said, nudging Ron and grinning.

"Shut up Fred," Ron muttered.

"Just think. We saw it coming, didn't we, Fred?" George added over Katie's shoulder, throwing a wink in Ron's direction.

"Shut. Up." Ron said through gritted teeth.

Hermione glanced between the two twins and Ron, raising an eyebrow. Ron merely shook his head. "Ignore them. They're just being obnoxious," he intoned.

"Obnoxious, are we?" Fred teased. "You didn't think that earlier today when you were-"

Ron moved a bit closer to his brother, stomping on his foot.

"Ouch!" Fred exclaimed.

"Sorry mate. Couldn't be helped. You know me-two left feet and all," Ron said. Hermione frowned in confusion as Ron shot Fred what looked to be a warning look.

"Hermione, would you take a walk with me?" Ron said, glancing at her. Hermione noticed that his face was redder than ever, and that he looked even more uncertain than when he had in their seventh year, just before the Yule Ball. Of course, she hadn't realized that that was what had been going on at the time.

And now, she had no idea what was going on here.

"Please?" he whispered.

"Of course, Ron," Hermione agreed, allowing him to lead her away from the party, and into the garden. He stopped as they reached a clearing and turned to face her.

Hermione's face twitched with confusion. "Ron, what's this all about?" she asked as he stared at her, his mouth opening and closing, similar to that of a fish out of water.

"Er, sorry about Fred and George. Don't know when to keep their mouths shut. I had hoped to do it, well-" Ron babbled on. Hermione focused on him, trying to make sense of it all.

"Um." Ron said, interrupting himself, and then reaching into his pocket. He retrieved a small box and then looked at her, his eyes widening. "Oh. Sorry. Er," he said, getting down onto one knee.

Hermione stared, in shock.

"Ron, what-" she began, cutting herself off as he opened the box.

Ron stared at her, seeming to misunderstand her expression, and more nervous than ever. "I, ah, I mean, if you don't want, of course, I'd understand. But I'll be getting a job around here, something more dependable and, er, safe. And I guess I thought… we could make a go of it, yeah?" His face fell as Hermione continued to stay silent. "But, ah, I mean, if you didn't want…"

"You prat, of course she wants to." came a female voice from the side of the clearing. Hermione turned and looked to see Ginny and Harry, both standing a short distance away, both looking in good spirits, matching grins on their face.

She turned back to Ron, finally registering the ring in his hand, and dropped to her knees, throwing herself into a large hug around him.

"Of course I want," she said, laughing as she kissed the side of his neck.

"You do?" Ron squeaked, for a second, sounding just like he had in school.

Hermione laughed and again buried her face into his neck. "Of course I do," she whispered.

"That's decided then," Ginny interjected, beaming at the two as Hermione and Ron got to their feet.

"Congratulations, mate," Harry said, clapping his hand on Ron's shoulder. "Just make sure she understands that you'll still be playing Quidditch on Sundays, eh?"

Hermione smiled at Ron, who broke into a large grin. "As long as you promise you'll be around on Sundays."

"Yeah, I think I can swing that," Harry said with a grin. He glanced at Ginny and then back to his two best friends. "I don't think I'll be living very far from here, actually. So, I'll be around. If you can stand the beating, that is."

"Oh you think so?" Ron shouted, swinging playfully at Harry and laughing as he ducked out of the way.

"I know so," Harry replied, chuckling and darting away, with Ron in hot pursuit.

Hermione exchanged a smile with Ginny as the two walked out of the garden.

Some things never changed. And some things just came full circle.