In the three days that Sabrina had been with her, they hadn't seen anyone else. She had written people but hadn't wanted to bombard the girl and wanted her to feel at home. The request to go out today had been welcome and the two had spent most of the morning and early afternoon in a muggle mall in South London. It was fun to watch her watch everything around her. It did Hermione good to be anonymous in muggle London as well. Now though they both wanted to go to the Alley and Hermione was nervous. It was books that she wanted and potions ingredients that both of them did.
As they approached the muggle side of the Leaky Cauldron she couldn't help palming her wand and wondering if this was a bad idea.
"If I say come here then please do so. I want to be able to get us out of there if we need to. Stay together." Sabrina caught her eye and Hermione could tell that she understood and accepted her single nod of agreement. Nothing for it but to go on so they did. Walking closely together and Hermione just kept her eyes forward while they walked through the pub. Only Tom, the barkeep, received a small smile. People stared and whispered. It was talk by the time they opened the door into the Alley.
"Wow." The muttered whisper beside her got an honest laugh of agreement. They had made it halfway down the street before her name was called out.
"Hermione." Both girls spun to the voice and she smiled at George Weasley who was coming toward her with an honest grin.
"It's good to see you. Introduce me please." He winked in a jocular way at Sabrina and then looked at her expectantly.
"Hello George. This is Sabrina Rowle." The girl laughed as he bowed over her hand and hermione enjoyed the easy moment.
"This answer the big question then?" He asked and waggled his eyebrows. She only rolled her eyes and gave a small nod. Better to answer him than have him get too curious.
"Really?" He stared at her hard for a moment and she could only smile weakly in response. His silence lasted a beat too long and she decided this was over.
"Better get at least some of this list taken care of. Bye George." She gave him a quick hug and couldn't tell what he was thinking as he smiled at them and headed the way he had been before waylaying her.
"I see." Sabrina commented and Hermione just huffed.
Then at the continued silence she spoke.
"It will come out now. That you are with me and eventually the how. There is no way to hide it apparently and this will eventually die away. I'm sorry if people insult you. Either of you." Hermione tried to catch her eye but the rest of their time in the Alley was quiet and they returned home with shrunken bags galore.
"I'll just drop these in your room." Hermione felt tired and didn't know what to say to the younger witch. Who had been opening up to her more and more in the last few days. A nod was her response and she did as she had said she would before heading to her own room and enlarging the pile of bags in the one she had kept her things in.
Piece by piece, she took the tags off and put a pile to be washed and hung other things up. A lot of it was basics and she did feel a bit better to have clean new jeans and especially underwear and bras. Sabrina had been amazed with the styles and choices on offer. It had led to a quiet discussion over lunch of what the young witch knew of such things in the Wizarding world.
Feeling the eyes on her, she just kept going. The girl was standing in her open door and looking around. She had wanted her own suite so hadn't had reason to enter her actual bedroom yet. The last sweater was detagged and hung before she heard the quiet words.
"They won't like it." Her tone was angry and hermione took a breath.
"Some won't." Then she sat on her bed and wrapped her arms around her pulled up knees. Waiting for the younger witch to come in. It took a minute but she just waited and eventually Sabrina curled up like a cat on her bed wearing the Gryffindor hoodie she had before.
"I don't want to be me." It was honest and Hermione took a wobbly breath before thinking over what she could say.
"I wouldn't want you to be anyone else." It was true and not a platitude.
"Now everyone likes you. Or most people do. If it weren't for Josh and even Thor and me then they still would. You were a hero." Hermione snorted a laugh at the truth to those words. It didn't take away from what she had done but it changed people's perceptions of her. She decided to just share her own thoughts. Or some of them. Sabrina liked when she was honest and responded in kind.
"I spent a lot of time this last year, thinking about how upset I was not to be muggleborn. People would think that it wasn't as brilliant if a pureblood did it. A Rosier. Vaunted for their power and brilliance. That I only learned in the books at Grimmauld Place. In the Black Family Library there. We were already on the run and it was hard. To adjust my own perception of how I came to be me." She didn't have any answers for Sabrina so all she could do was share.
"Do you want him out?" Hermione did meet her eyes at that. Not knowing who she meant but her gesture at her own face made it clear. Her brother.
"Yes. I mean I don't know him. I can't marry anyone else and now I can't even have sex, so I'd like to one day. Have a family maybe." Hermione was pink and felt extremely embarrassed, Sabrina liked when she was honest though and returned the favour. Didn't offer first yet though. This was true eben if it ignored alot of her worries or flat out fears.
"A family. My brother married to you. Even dealing with yiu. It's not like what I thought would happen eventually." Then Hermione felt ill and made herself speak.
"Have you signed a contract?" The girls stormy blue grey eyes snapped to her and she gave one firm shake and then breathed in and out carefully. A tear slid down her cheek and Hermione made herself not reach for the girl. Sabrina wasn't used to those gestures and it made her self conscious.
"I'm glad. If you want to then alright but it should be your choice. Certainly you can choose not to." Hermione meant it and the girl laughed wetly. It wasn't much but it was heartening.
"Thor didn't want me to. He made deals and vows with father so I don't even know who they are for." The admittance seemed costly to the girl but Hermione couldn't help her smile. The relief and small bit of the man she got to know then.
"It was all I knew of your brother. Outside of his love of tormenting me and others and his friendship with Josh. That he loved you and didn't care that people knew it. I remember you two in the library together." Crying wasn't out of character for either girl but now they were quiet tears that fell occasionally.
"Will you be like this with him?" The question was curious and not defensive at all. Hermione could only blink her question. What did she mean?
"Open and trusting. You don't seem to mind that I'm a stranger in your house. In your life. You want me. Will you want him and Josh too?" Hermione watched the girl push some of her dirty blonde hair out of her face and considered the question. Really thought about it.
"If I can be. They aren't easy to talk to and there are other things. I'm not what either expected Charlotte Rosier to be." She flopped on her back and knew the girl was staring at her in the way she had. Watchful.
"So what? You're way better than she would have been. You would have been. Today, it was normal for you out there and I've had lessons on how to deal with scrutiny and you were pretty good. I've been thinking about it a bit. Since I've been here and even when I saw you in the papers. Hermione Rosier, badass Gryffindor. Now it's more than that. I don't know how to say what I mean. Just think about being brave with Thor too. I don't know Josh as well but Thor loves a tussle. Just a tussle he would assure the elves when he had me cornered in the attic. Or when him and Josh came in all cut and bleeding. Or after father. Think about it. Please." Hermione had been looking over at her and the girl meant it. Exactly what she meant, Hermione wasn't sure but she would think about it.
"Have you scheduled your NEWTs, finally?" Andromeda asked and Hermione scowled lightly and then deflated a bit.
"Yes. November 26th. I want them done but want some time for brewing and practicing. I haven't needed to make a teapot dance a specific number in a while." Andromeda gave her a look for her drool words but Harry and Sabrina laughed.
"I did it just the other day. Harrison's wife stopped by with their two year old and I made my coffee pot do the cha cha." Kingsley's deep voice made this all the more incongruous and they were all laughing while Zavi clicked and snapped his fingers quietly. Silencing the area around the baby. The elf had taken him from Sabrina who had him when dinner was ready.
"Sixth year then Sabrina?" Harry asked the witch and she nodded then looked down. He caught her eye and she indicated he could speak if he wanted to or leave it alone. They had spoken about school and the other kids a bit. It was still over eight weeks away.
"Don't take shit. Sorry Mione. I don't mean violence but
do what Hermione did with Malfoy. Chin up and know you could kick his ass in a duel." The witch looked up and gave a polite smile then looked to Hermione. She gestured her to speak. By all means be herself in this group. The rest did and it was safe. That was important.
"I'm not that good. I can do the spells but dueling is hard." The girl looked as if they would chastise her and Kingsley took it upon himself to speak before anyone else could.
"If you want to learn to duel for its own sake, then I'm sure any of us or even all of us would be happy to help. Your brother is good and quick for his size. If you don't enjoy it as a challenge or exercise then Hermione will make sure you can basically defend yourself and you needn't bother." His calm words were even but his eyes were on the witch and Hermione knew how that felt. Most of the people she liked were a bit extreme in some way.
"You mean the immediate danger is over." The younger witch responded after a minute and Kingsley nodded firmly. Then she looked thoughtful.
"It was fun in the DA. Learning spells and practicing." Harry put in and grinned at her. She grinned back and agreed.
"Even our training duels on the run were fun." She answered back and they laughed in recollection of their sometimes bizarre duels. Bored and frustrated.
"Like honest fun? Like with my friends at school even?" Sabrina asked and they all looked at her with levels of understanding.
"If you want, we can set a room up here or ask where the one Josh used is. I'm sure he had a warded dueling room. So you know, if it could be fun for you." Hermione spoke with genuine feeling and felt herself look forward to that. Doing magic with the younger witch. Teaching her a bit maybe.
"You should know. Before school anyways. So you can be ready." Andromeda spoke with surety and Hermione agreed but didn't speak. Knowing how the girl would react to someone pulling a wand on her or whatever was needed. Hermione herself was jumpy and liked wards.
"Have you spoken to Narcissa?" Kingsley clearly thought they needed a change of topic and all of them looked at Andromeda.
"No. I have received no letter and am relieved. Which is selfish but I just don't know. Yet." The witch answered honestly and Harry caught her eye. Interesting. Later though.
"I noticed the first mention today in the Prophet." Andromeda passed the uncomfortable baton to her and she groaned lowly. Sabrina had pointed it out. The way the girl read the papers minutely was amusing but in this situation also bothersome. She didn't sometimes and had been judging by article title whether or not she should. Until Sabrina arrived and pointed all sorts of things out.
"Yes. Could Britain's most talked about witch be chaste as expert on traditions claims." Her bored voice got a laugh out of everyone else and that was something anyways.
"Are you alright Hermione?" She nodded reassurance to Harry's question and then grimaced at their eyes remaining on her. Not accepting the non verbal assurance.
"Yes. It's embarrassing and I won't enjoy my next trip to the Alley or Azkaban. That's only three days away and it's not nice to have everyone talking about you." She admitted and they all relaxed a bit at that. Even Sabrina looked less tense and more thoughtful.