Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.

Chapter Twenty- Eight

Bearers of Bad News

"Come in girls, come in!" Mrs. Weasley exhorted. "You must tell us what's going on!" The small smile George and Hermione had been sharing moments ago was now exchanged for a look of dread.

"What are we going to tell her?" George whispered quickly to Hermione as they proceeded to the door/window of The Burrow.

"Nothing!" hissed Hermione back.

"Nothing?" George reacted in shock. "How are we going to pull that off?"

"Let me handle it," Hermione said as she started into the kitchen.

"Gladly!" George proclaimed under her breath as she crossed the threshold.

Hermione guided them to the huge fireplace, where Ginny and the baby sat swaddled, Stan and Mr. Weasley bustling about them. Arthur Weasley looked at times giddy with excitement over the baby, perplexed over Stan's presence and slightly annoyed at being in the dark. Molly Weasley couldn't contain her delight, though she too had an odd overlay of confusion on her face. Mr. Weasley stepped back from his little girl, and her little girl. "Stan Shunpike, thank you very much for delivering, er uh, bringing Ginny home. We've been worried sick, and now we have a new one to worry about as well, as you can see," Arthur said graciously to the conductor.

Seeing where this conversation was headed, Hermione grabbed a fistful of floo powder and jumped headlong- to both the discussion and hearth. "Well, glad to see all's well and everything's fine. Sorry not to make the introductions, but George and I really need to get back to Hogwarts before we're missed." With that, she grabbed George's hand, yelled 'Gryffindor Common Room', and was twirling in the green with her partner.

Moments later, they emerged in the dormitory fireplace, glad to be the only ones up at the late hour. Even the remaining dogs were snoozing around their card table. The girls immediately started grousing about their absent boyfriends. "All we've been through, and they couldn't wait up for us. Babies!" Hermione complained.

"You'd think they'd have figured out something was up when we didn't return earlier!" George seconded.

Hermione looked thoughtfully at George and said in a calmer tone, "it's probably for the best though. With everything we've been through, I could use the rest."

"Me too," George again seconded her friend. "I don't have enough energy to go through all the events of tonight. Besides, this gives us a chance to talk through everything in the morning before we meet the boys for breakfast and head to Hagrid's."

"Good point," Hermione acknowledged, and headed up the girls' stairs with her friend.

The next morning, they woke bright and early, despite the late night prior. While quickly getting dressed, they surreptitiously exchanged their versions of last night's events, glad they'd both witnessed and experienced the same things, careful for no one else to hear the conversation. Deciding to just share everything with the boys and Hagrid all at once, they were not surprised to see Harry and Ron waiting expectantly as they touched the bottom of the stairs. "Well, what happened? Where were you?" Harry started quizzing.

Ron chimed in, "we were worried sick! Where did Sirius go?"

"Wait! Wait! We'll tell you everything, but we have to get to Hagrid's. There's too much to tell to repeat things twice," Hermione directed in her casual, bossy way. The suspense was killing the boys, and they persisted in shooting questions at both the girls as they practically ran to the Great Hall, grabbing breakfast buns and fruit before heading to Hagrid's Hut.

Hagrid was pleased to see the foursome, and put both strong coffee and tea over the flame of his hearth. The girls knew how anxious they all were to hear what'd happened, and they were anxious as well to share the story. They were both afraid they'd forget things and concerned about deciding who and how they should get back to the Weasley's- and Neville.

They were stopped short early into the recounting of the night's adventure. "Ya two girls left Hogwarts after ya left the Hut? Ya jumped on the Knight Bus? Ya has no idea the bad lot that can hang about on the Knight Bus, I'm telling ya! It's a wonder the two a ya weren't dragged down to Knockturn Alley with some lowlife wizards. Just take a look at that greasy Stan Shunpike. 'E may look harmless, but 'e's been known to get into some mischief, I'm telling ya!" Hagrid growled loudly at the girls. They knew he'd be upset with them, but hadn't counted on how frightened they'd be when he actually expressed it!

"Hagrid, we know you're upset, but we couldn't tell you we were following Sirius!" George implored.

"Yer darn right you couldn't, cuz you'd knew I wouldn't let ya!" he bellowed back.

"Really, Hagrid," Hermione tried reasoning, "you wouldn't believe us when we said we worried about his wanderings, and you had no idea how despondent he was getting about staying a dog."

"Well, a course not! 'E's had me and Fang to hang around with. Three squares a day. What more could a dog ask for?" Hagrid persisted.

"That's just the point, Hagrid," Harry said softly, "Sirius isn't just a dog. I know you liked having him around, but he was getting frustrated. We couldn't figure out how to help him. You have to try to understand." Harry always had a gentle way to explain things to Hagrid that was like explaining to a small child, and yet maintained Hagrid's grown-up need for dignity.

Hagrid got misty-eyed as he suddenly understood the full meaning of what Harry was trying to convey. "And I kept 'im 'ere like a silly little house pet. Like a smart friend for Fang. Like one of me grooches 'ere," Hagrid cried pointing to some strange, cute, little, fuzzy creature he'd recently aquired.

"Oh, Hagrid! Don't worry about that! You always treated Sirius well, and I'm certain he appreciated the good care and the safehouse you provided him. If you hadn't been looking after him, there's no telling what could have happened to him," Hermione reassured her big, loveable friend, patting him on his huge back with her tiny hand.

"Besides Hagrid, Sirius is back in human form! I'm sure he'll still need to come back to you occasionally as he tries to find Scabbers," George added, re-igniting the group's interest in last night's escapades.

"Human!" Ron, Harry and Hagrid yelled in near-unison.

"Yes, you never let us finish- or rather start- our story!" George teased.

"Well, get on with it!" Hagrid said laughing, wiping his eyes on his moleskin sleeve. The girls took turns taking the lead on the night's events, each filling in the gaps for the other as they recalled some stray detail. To their surprise, the three men asked no questions along the way, each spellbound by the girls' crazy ride on the Knight Bus. Their faces mirrored each other's expressions of relief, dismay, excitement and worry as they heard about seeing Ginny; hearing about Ginny and Stan's plans; Ginny's new baby; Sirius' transformation, and finally, their quick exit from The Burrow.

"Oh, Mum and Dad must be besides themselves. I hope Dad didn't kill Stan," Ron mused, quite in shock over his sister's continued surprising and inappropriate behavior.

"So you never found out whether the little tyke is a girl or a boy?" Hagrid asked.

"You don't know where Sirius went off to? And you were right about Stan, Hagrid. He's pretty much of a slime," Harry observed. George couldn't hide her expression of mild annoyance at Harry's comment. What did he care about Stan if he didn't care about Ginny anymore? Just as she was thinking 'he's not the only slimey one', Harry turned to her, catching her facial expression and understanding its full meaning.

Harry put his hand on top of George's and gently said just to her, almost in a whisper, "the Weasley's are my family, George. I'm concerned about how they're alldoing." He said this in a way that helped her understand his concern while allaying her worries about Ginny. George gave a little smile to Harry, and he smiled back. Harry then turned back to the full group and opened the topic of 'what next?' Looking directly at Ron, he suggested, "I think we need to go to The Burrow. What do you say, Ron?"

Ron nodded, looking grim. "I wasn't kidding about Dad killing Stan. He may be a softy, but not about Ginny. I think we should all go back and see what's going on, and if we can help."

"I agree. What about Neville?" Harry asked, again deferring to Ron out of respect for the Weasley clan.

"We can find out what Mum and Dad think, but I really think it should be Ginny who tells him. She needs to take responsibility for what she's done. And who knows, she may have come to her senses," Ron added hopefully.

They all nodded solemnly. "Hagrid, are you coming?" Ron asked the gentle giant.

"No, no Ron. I think I'd best stay here. Ya all deal with the family, and I'd better be letting Dumbledore know what's going on. 'E's got a right to know, especially about Sirius. And just don't worry a bit, Ron. I won't be telling another soul than Dumbledore about your sis. Your family should decide about Neville and telling other folks before it's all over Hogwarts."

They hadn't thought about that! While Sirius' memory charm would protect his involvement in the story, the rest of the wizarding world would be quick to learn of the arrival of Ginny's baby on the Knight Bus. Dread was known to be the worst gossip, aside from Madam Rosmerta. They better know what was going on and have a plan in place soon for letting other people know before Neville and his grandmother found out through someone else- who may not be a friend of the family's...