Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. Happy?
A/n: Well, what can I say. I was desperate to write my next chapter up so I can keep going with Draco, so here you are…two chapters in one evening! Pretty impressive, huh?
Chapter Four – 'Hermione's Tale'
Only a few seconds after Ginny had exited the room, there was a loud 'crack!' and Hermione Granger Apparated in the exact spot where the youngest member of the Weasley family had been standing. Seeing the hurt looks on the twins' faces, and Mrs Weasley's pale, shocked composure, she froze in her tracks, biting her lip fretfully.
"Is this – is this a bad time?" she asked hesitantly, mentally cursing herself for not thinking of sending an owl on ahead of time to check whether it was actually alright for her to stay at The Burrow for the rest of the summer – not that there was much left of it, anyway. "Oh, it is, isn't it?" she added fearfully. "I'm dreadfully sorry…if I'd known, I'd have-"
"-No, no, not at all!" Mrs Weasley had come to her senses and now she stood and rushed over to where Hermione was standing with motherly concern, fussing over the girl and taking her coat and bags from her. "What's happened? Is everything alright?" She motioned to Hermione to sit at the table and instructed the twins to take Hermione's bags up to Ginny's room, instructing them to set up a camp-bed in there.
A soon as they had gone, she turned to the girl who she looked upon rather as a second daughter, and spoke, kindly but firmly. "Now, Hermione, dear, you must tell me exactly what the problem is."
Hermione took one look at Mrs Weasley's kindly face and dissolved into tears, hiding her own face in her hands. Mrs Weasley was at her side at once, placing a comforting arm around her shoulders. "Now, now, Hermione, just tell me everything…""
In between sobs, Hermione told Molly Weasley all about her summer…how she had realised that something was wrong from the start…how her parents had tried to hide the fact that they weren't getting on but had participated in angry, whispered conversations late at night when they wrongly assumed that their daughter was fast asleep, not lying in the darkness listening to them bickering…how the arguments had become louder and louder until they had been fighting at all hours of the day, seemingly oblivious to their only daughter's distress…right up until Hermione had packed her bags and Disapparated in front of her father without warning.
Molly was silent throughout Hermione's account of her summer, and did not speak for a while afterwards, instead taking a good look at the young woman sitting before her.
Hermione had changed immensely over the past few years. Her hair was no longer bushy and out of control as it had been when the girl had first joined Hogwarts, but was sleek and shiny with a natural wave that went all the way through and even a few applied highlights. Of course, there were giveaway wisps of hair flying out of her pony-tail which showed that magic had played a large part in getting her hair to stay in place, but that made Hermione look more natural, somehow.
She had never been a plump girl, but now that she had lost her puppy-fat, she had gained a figure, and Mrs Weasley could see that she was slim and well-proportioned with a good, even tan and a figure that most girls would kill to obtain.
Hermione's teeth, of course, had been fixed by magic a couple of years back, and they certainly looked a lot better as a result – straighter and perhaps a little whiter than they had been.
Her eyes no longer showed the innocence of an eleven year-old, but had hardened, somehow, along with the contours of her face – they showed that she had been through – and seen others go through – an awful lot in a short space of time, but the look suited her and, with her high cheekbones and her new habit of applying a subtle layer of make-up before she left the house, her face could even be described as rather pretty.
Her manner, too, had changed – she no longer possessed the child-like eagerness that she had had through the first three years at Hogwarts, and her enthusiasm seemed to have dimmed a little, making her seem a lot more mature, although, Mrs Weasley reasoned fairly, she has just been talking to me about her problems, not discussing her latest homework assignment.
At last, Mrs Weasley turned to stare out of the window, and spoke, and it was with clear understanding. "Hermione, you may not believe me – or want to believe me – when I tell you that I understand completely…but when I was young, I was in much the same predicament. My parents split when I was only fourteen, and I was devastated. I only have one sister; there was no large family, and she's younger than I am, so I couldn't rely on her for support. Nobody ever seemed to understand that all I wanted was some peace and quiet, and a bit of love and attention now and again." Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Hermione nodding and a few more tears spilling over her flushed cheeks. "And of course, that was the one thing that nobody could offer, along with just a little bit of understanding. So I'm not going to let you down as everyone let me down. You can stay here for as long as you like, just send an owl to your parents to tell them that you're alright, no doubt you gave your father quite a shock – and you can come to me whenever you need to. Ginny's upstairs as well…and I understand that she's been having a bit of a rough time, from her little speech just before you arrived…so you can talk to her, if you need anybody else to confide in."
Hermione nodded gratefully, smiling. "Thank you, Mrs Weasley," she replied, meaning it sincerely.
"No problem at all, Hermione, no problem at all."