"Hermione," Remus pleaded, very conscious of the shaking window panes, "You have to calm down. Breath."
Hermione shuddered, moving away from his outstretched arms.
"He can't be back." She pleaded, tears spilling down her cheeks, eyes still fixed on the front page. Sirius swore and folded the paper, hiding it from view.
Harry stepped forward, wrapping his long arms around her and tugging her close to him. She sobbed gratefully into his shoulder.
"It's her." Remus whispered to Sirius. "Isn't it?"
Sirius shrugged.
"I always said I'd give her the world if I ever found her. But I can't be sure. Amelia said they wiped her mind. If it is her, she shouldn't remember a thing."
"You and I both know how inept the Obliviation Squad are."
"Hermione!"
Harry staggered slightly as Hermione went limp, her eyes rolling back in her head.
Sirius scooped her up easily and jogged upstairs.
Harry sat next to her on her bed, Remus and Sirius standing shoulder to shoulder at the foot, arms crossed, watching. Susan was down in the kitchen, organising the house elves. They always took it very badly when one of the family was hurt.
"'Mione?" Harry asked as she stirred.
Hermione pushed herself up in bed, looking confused. Suddenly she paled and vomited into the bucket Remus thoughtfully held out. Harry dragged her hair back from her face and waited for her to finish.
"Sorry." She whispered.
"Don't be." Remus vanished the contents of the bucket and held out a glass of water, which she accepted gratefully. "It's to be expected when you've had a shock."
"Why did you faint?" Harry asked, linking their hands together.
She shrugged, listlessly.
"The Twins panicked...I think. They must have felt my shock and overloaded the bond."
"You can do that?"
"Apparently."
Remus frowned.
"They can feel your emotions?" He asked.
Hermione nodded.
"Only the strong ones. Like fear. Pain."
Harry let of a gasp of realisation.
"The Quidditch match. Last year. Fred and George fainted in the changing rooms. It would have been just about the time..."
"I got petrified." Hermione nodded. "We've been meaning to speak to Flitwick about it."
"I didn't realise it was so strong." Remus murmured.
Sirius scowled.
"Hermione, how do you know who Peter Pettigrew is?"
Her eyes went dark and she swallowed.
"He broke into our cottage." She whispered hoarsely. "Killed Mum and Dad. Policemen said he was a robber." She frowned at them. "What was he doing in Azkaban?"
Remus sighed, rubbing a hand down the side of his face, pulling at one of his scars.
"It's her. I can't believe it, but it's her." He turned back to her. "Hermione, Peter Pettigrew is a wizard who was locked up for following You-Know-Who."
"What?" Hermione frowned at them, her breathing picking up. "No. No. He's a muggle. He broke in and he shot my parents. He's not a wizard."
Remus groaned. He looked like he'd aged significantly in the last hour or so.
"Hermione your memory was wiped. All that...its just a cover story. When the Aurors finally got a fix on him, they found him at the home of a muggle family. No one knows why he was there or why he killed them. He had evaded capture for seven years. We don't even know the full details because Amy refused to tell us, but we know there was a little girl there. She was the reason he was finally caught. He was supposed to serve be serving three life sentences for the murder of the Potters." Remus swallowed slightly. "One for each of the dead."
"Three?" she asked confused.
"Mum was pregnant when he betrayed them to You-Know-Who." Harry whispered.
"Oh." She whispered.
Remus sighed, ignoring the dark look on Sirius' face.
"The Obliviation Squad are responsible for stopping muggles from remembering magic. They will have wiped any mention of it from your mind. You shouldn't have remembered Pettigrew."
"I used to have nightmares." She whispered. "They'd stop me sleeping. I see his face and a flash of green light. I remembered his name and his face...but" She stopped and frowned at Remus. "Three life sentences? The Potters?"
Remus nodded.
"What about my parents? Why weren't they counted?"
The wizard flinched.
"Hermione, you have to understand. In the eyes of the Wizengamot, they were just muggles. Two in millions. James and Lily were wizards and their deaths were the priority."
Hermione saw red.
"My parents died and you're telling me that they didn't count." Her voice had turned venomous. "They weren't cockroaches they were people, they had lives, they had me...Just because they didn't have magic didn't make them any less real!"
"Hermione...?" Harry reached for her cautiously.
She got to her feet, shoving her boots onto her feet and grabbing her broomstick.
"Piss off." She yelled, storming out.
Remus sighed again.
"That could have gone...better."
Sirius grunted.
"Is that true?" Harry asked quietly, rubbing the scar on his forehead.
Sirius and Remus nodded.
"How could they do that? I mean Mum and Dad were special, they were my parents. But so were Hermione's. How could they just disregard them like that?"
Sirius shrugged.
"Old prejudices run deep Harry. Muggles aren't exactly held in high regard, especially not by the Ministry. We had to fight for three life sentences."
"What?"
"Your mum. They were happy to accept the baby, it would have been half blood. But Lily was muggleborn. They almost didn't count her either. We won the vote but only because Amelia threw her support behind us."
Harry swallowed, seeing a tear tracing its way down Sirius' face.
"I just can't believe that bastard got free." He muttered. "As soon as Hermione calms down we need to take her to the Ministry. Amy needs to know about this."
"Sirius, she's just had a hell of a shock..."
Sirius glared at the sandy-haired wizard.
"Yes, and her photograph was on the front cover of the Prophet days before he escaped." Remus paled. "Now we know he's not after Harry because we kept him out of the photographs for that exact reason. So it narrows it down. If he's after revenge he'll be after me, Amy or Hermione."
"But she'll be safe..." Harry asked, frowning. "Won't she?"
Sirius shrugged.
"I don't know. That's what we need to see Amy about."
"Sirius we cannot take her to the Ministry. Imagine if the papers got hold of it. Wait until Amelia comes home. She must be mobbed at the moment and we don't want to draw any more attention to Hermione than necessary. The thing we really need to do is contact Minerva."
Padfoot bounded out of the room, snarling.
ESCAPE FROM AZKABAN!
Peter Pettigrew, (above) possibly the most infamous prisoner to be housed at Azkaban, escaped from the Ministry prison in the north sea, early yesterday morning. He is the first prisoner to ever escape. Ministry Officials are baffled.
He is rumoured to be extremely dangerous and wizards are cautioned not to approach Pettigrew.
Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, issued a statement today,
"We are doing everything we can to recapture Pettigrew, and we beg the magical community to remain calm."
Fudge has been criticised by the International Confederation of Warlocks for informing the Muggle Prime Minister of the crisis.
"Well, really, I had to, don't you know." said an irritable Fudge. "Pettigrew is completely mad and a danger to anyone who crosses him, magic or muggle. I have the Prime Minister assurance he won't breathe a word of Pettigrew's true identity to anyone. And let's face it -who'd believe him if he did?"
Pettigrew is best known as the Death Eater who betrayed the location of James and Lily Potter to You-Know-Who, resulting in their deaths and the defeat of You-Know-Who at the hands of Harry Potter.
Mr Potter's guardian, Sirius Black, has refused to comment and as the search gets underway the attention must turn to Lord Black's new wife Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. The breakout occurred whilst she was away from her post enjoying her honeymoon.
The Prophet has to question how long it will be before Madam Bones' inevitable resignation.
Hermione screamed and dropped the paper into the small bonfire one of the garden elves was managing.
Not one line, not even a single mention.
It was as if her parents had never existed.
She watched with mounting hatred as flames destroyed the screaming photograph of Peter Pettigrew.
If she ever saw him, she'd do her best to kill him.
I'd like to tell you that she didn't mean that. That that was a promise she made out of anger and fear. But Hermione had been living with the grief of her parents for a very long time. And to find out that no one had ever considered getting justice for their murders was heartbreaking.
She truly wanted Pettigrew dead.
Amelia didn't come home that night. In fact, it took three days before she even set foot in the Manor again.
Hermione, usually the first awake, found her slumped at the dining room table, surrounded by files. The house elves were attempting to set the table for breakfast around her. Filly sent her a pleading look as she balanced a full carafe of coffee on a stack of manilla folders.
"Aunt Amy?" Hermione called, unused to using the words. Amelia stirred slightly, burrowing deeper into the paperwork. Hermione reached out and shook her shoulder.
Amelia jerked awake with a start and aimed a fork at Hermione. She blinked and her eyes cleared.
"Sorry." She yawned, lowing the utensil.
Hermione poured the witch a mug of coffee, used to seeing Amelia like this.
"It's all right." She murmured, pressing the mug into the older witch's hands.
Hermione sat down at the place next to her and began to help herself to breakfast, watching her adoptive Aunt by marriage, wake up slowly.
"Hermione, I need to talk to you about something..."
Hermione dropped a piece of toast in front of her.
"Eat first."
Amelia chuckled but did as she was bid. She looked terrible. Her hair was in disarray, her monocle tangled in with her fringe, the chain blending in with the blond strands. Her Auror uniform was battered and rumpled and there were large bags under her eyes. Sleeping on the papers had left large ink stains on her skin and Hermione could read words like "updated security" and "high alert" off her cheek.
Amelia swallowed the last of her toast and turned to Hermione.
"I was going through Pettigrew's arrest file and I found the report submitted by the Obliviation Squad..."
"And you realised that I was the little girl who survived the attack?" Hermione chuckled darkly. "Sirius worked it out after I had a panic attack at seeing his photograph."
"You remember?"
Hermione shrugged.
"In a way. I remember his face and his name. Otherwise, Remus says, my memories are faked. I thought my parents were shot."
Amelia sighed.
"Yes, but do you remember what you did?"
"Hid under the stairs," Hermione muttered.
"What?" Scowling Amelia rummaged through the stacks of paper until she came across a sheet of parchment. "This is the report of the first Aurors on the scene that night. They found Pettigrew, screaming and on fire, next to two..." Amelia trailed off uncomfortably. "Well...Hermione, you were the reason Pettigrew was captured. We had a trace on Pettigrew's wand, but he rarely used it and never stayed in the same place after he did so. But we found him because you kept him there long enough for the trace to connect."
She shook her head violently.
"I didn't set him on fire."
"Hermione you were the only magic user on the premises. We know it was a magical fire because it took six extinguishing charms to even stop him burning."
"I was eight." She protested desperately. "I couldn't. I wouldn't know how."
Amelia shrugged.
"Hermione you were a young, uncontrolled witch in the most emotionally unstable situation possible." She relented slightly, seeing the stubborn look on the girl before her. "Look Hermione it might not have been you. It could have been anything. But Pettigrew was in Azkaban for almost six years. Now some wizards can survive that. However, Pettigrew was one of the weakest pieces of scum I've ever come across. We were expecting him to be dead by now. If he is after you, he won't stop for reasonable explanations. You understand?"
Hermione nodded grudgingly.
"Very well. I need to go back to the Ministry. Hopefully, Fudge will give me permission to upgrade the security around Hogwarts. Weak fool." she added, getting to her feet. Hermione darted in front of her, blocking the route to the fireplace.
"Sirius has been going insane waiting for news."
"Well, he'll have to wait a little longer. Move Hermione."
"It's six-thirty in the morning. Can you honestly tell me the Minister is even at the Ministry right now?"
Amelia summoned her papers, bundling them into her arms.
"Hermione, I have a murderer on the loose, I really don't have time for this."
"Go to bed." She ordered, folding her arms.
Amelia stared back, visibly unimpressed.
"Go to bed," Hermione reiterated. "Or I'll wake up the whole house and Sirius can drag you there himself."
The Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement groaned and gave in, dropping her papers onto the hall table.
Hermione followed her up the staircase, keeping her well away from any fireplaces.
Hermione,
Are you okay?
Fred and George
Fred and George,
I'm fine.
See you soon,
Hermione.
Minerva McGonagall sat down at the dinner table watching the unusually sombre family.
"Where's Susan?" She asked politely.
"Staying at Hannah Abbots for the night." Sirius murmured. "It's nice for her to spend time with her friends."
Minerva sighed.
"Right. Has Fudge approved new security for the school yet?" She asked.
Amelia stabbed at her dinner.
"That lily-livered, bloody, fuc..."
"Amelia Bones!" Minerva interrupted. "I'll thank you not to swear in front of children.
Amelia sent an apologetic glance at Harry and Hermione who didn't look terribly offended.
"Sorry Professor." She blew out a long breath and relinquished her death grip on the carving knife. "That...bureaucrat refuses to admit that Pettigrew is powerful enough to be a serious threat, or that he'd even go anywhere near Hogwarts. Fudge is more concerned with his budget than the safety of one muggleborn." She twisted her face into a mocking sneer. "We don't want to alarm people Amelia. Think of the voters Amelia. We can't afford to station Auror's around Hogwarts Amelia. The utter...pillock knows that it's my neck on the line. As long as he isn't seen taking a proactive roll in the matter he can't be blamed. It's all politics." She smiled winningly. "How do you feel about France Hermione? Lovely wizarding school in France, excellent classes."
"No," Hermione said flatly.
"Worth a try," Amelia muttered.
Minerva and Remus exchanged a glance.
"We may have something of a solution to that." Remus hedged. "Minerva couldn't find someone to fill the Defence post at Hogwarts so she asked me."
There was a pause whilst everyone digested that.
"Congratulations!" Hermione and Harry called. Remus chuckled before spluttering as a large black dog rested his paws on his shoulders and proceeded to lick his face enthusiastically, whilst wagging his tail fast enough to cause the table cloth to flutter in the breeze.
"Sirius!" Amelia scolded. "We have guests. Stop kissing Remus,"
The dog snorted and padded under the table to sit by Amelia who was then forced to feed him scraps for the rest of the meal.
Remus smiled happily, banishing the haunted look in his eyes for a second. His ears had gone rather red.
"Between myself and Minerva she should be safe enough. We both know what to look out for."
Minerva nodded.
"Have you considered getting a cat? Nothing keeps a rat away like a feline."
Amelia considered that.
"Actually that might not be such a bad idea. Don't bite my fingers, Sirius." She smiled at Hermione. "Do you like cats?" She asked.
Hermione shrugged.
"I've not had much to do with them. Better than dogs."
Minerva smirked in approval as Sirius barked grumpily.
"Shush Black. Besides she's got those Twins of hers." Hermione blushed slightly. "Peter would have to get through them first."
They suspected it was that, more than anything else, which convinced Amelia not to transfer Hermione to Beauxbatons.
"I should put a collar on you," Amelia muttered.
"I already know I'm yours," Sirius replied. "But if you insist on putting your mark on me..."
Harry and Hermione exchanged a disgusted look.
"C'mon," Harry whispered, tugging her down the corridor to their study and away from the newlyweds.
Well, they called it a study. Really it was library/playroom that the three of them shared, but Susan insisted that study made it sound like they actually did some work, instead of holding exploding snap tournaments.
"How are you?" He asked, settling the two of them onto the sofa.
Hermione gave a non-committal shrug.
"I'm all right. I mean there's a maniac loose in the country, possibly after me. Otherwise, I'm fine."
"Wow. Sarcasm." Harry leaned into her shoulder and closed his eyes. "How're the Twins dealing with this?"
"Dealing with what?"
Harry opened one eye and glared at her.
"You did tell them about Pettigrew?"
Hermione gave a long-suffering sigh.
"Do I need to tell them?"
"Yes. Merlin Hermione, they care about you. They have a right to know."
"I was kidding. But it's not exactly something I can write in a letter and send to Egypt. They know something is wrong. I told them everything was fine."
"So you lied?"
"Lying is such a technical term. I was still in one piece. Physically I was fine."
Harry rolled his eyes, transferring his head to her lap.
"Cuddly thing aren't you?"
"Sirius says it's because for the first two years of my life I was almost never put down. Either Mum or Dad or Sirius or Remus or Amelia was carrying me. Apparently I was only put down to play on my broom and go to sleep. I am emotionally needy." He fixed her with his most pathetic look. "Love me?"
Hermione laughed, messing up his hair with her hand as she did so.
"Right..."
It was nice to have a brother.
The moment the Weasleys returned from Egypt, Remus summoned everyone together for a shopping trip. And Hermione meant everyone. Sirius, Remus, Amelia, Minerva, Harry, Susan, Hermione, all of the Weasleys and Tonks.
Amelia pulled Hermione to one side before they were due to leave and introduced her to the nervous-looking witch beside her.
"I've got Aurors patrolling Diagon today. However, you only need to be concerned with one of them. This is Trainee Auror Tonks." The green-haired witch waved. "Officially speaking she's here to pass the personal protection module of her training."
"And unofficially?"
"Unofficially she finished that module months ago, she's Sirius' cousin and she used to babysit Harry and Susan. More importantly, she can blend in."
Hermione looked sceptically at the ostentatious woman.
"Really?"
Tonks cackled.
"Watch."
Her hair began to curl and lengthen, darkening to a brown shade close to Hermione's. Her nose straightened out and freckles appeared across the bridge of her nose. When she was finished, she looked like Hermione's older sister.
"Tonks will be with you all day. You do not leave her side. Got it?"
As tempting as it was to roll her eyes, Hermione refrained. Amelia only got like this when she was being really serious.
"Got it."
Amelia paused.
"Eyes, Tonks."
"Oh right." The witch blushed and her eyes darkened from a bright yellow to a deep green. Amelia strode off to stop Sirius hexing Remus, for refusing to let him buy new robes.
"I'm a metamorphmagus."
"You change your appearance at will?" Hermione queried, pulling apart the Latin.
"Close enough. Sirius tells me I should welcome you to the family." The witch grinned and hugged her. "I hope you know what you've got yourself in for."
Hermione watched Remus sulk in a corner as Sirius danced triumphantly around the hall. Apparently he'd won.
"Me too." She whispered smiling.
The moment Hermione stepped off the Apparition platform with Minerva she was tugged into two sets of arms and hugged tightly. She smiled as the tug on the bond lessened and for the first time since Pettigrew's escape she felt like things really could be all right.
"Hello." She said pointlessly.
The Twins released her, each beaming down at her. They'd grown over the summer and now stood close to six feet. The freckles on their noses had multiplied thanks to the Egyptian sun and their hair had been bleached, the red interspersed with strands of blond. They looked gorgeous.
Hermione blushed and shook her head willing the though away.
They were her friends.
"Hermione!"
Fred and George were pushed aside before they could say anything and Hermione was gripped in yet another bone-crushing hug.
She seemed to be having that sort of day.
"Hello, Mrs Weasley." She gasped out.
"Molly, dear." The witch released her and looked her over. "You're looking better. Bit skinny though. Been having a nice holiday?"
"Er yes." Hermione stepped back so she was standing with Fred and George. "Professor McGonagall brought me here to do my shopping."
Mrs Weasley brightened slightly.
"I must go and thank her for choosing Percy. He's Head Boy you know. Ever so proud of him."
She bustled off.
"That will not..." Fred murmured darkly.
"Be the last time you hear that phrase." George finished.
The Twins tugged her away from the crush and didn't notice Tonks following them closely, pretending to be interested in a poster on the wall. The witch winked at Hermione and held up five fingers.
George dropped a pendant around her neck. It was a small, smooth piece of lapiz lazuli onto which had been carved a woman with wings spread around her.
"That's the goddess Isis..."
"Who Bill reckons was actually a really powerful sorceress..."
"She was apparently in charge of magic and women and she supposed to give you protection."
"Bill put a couple of shield charms on it too."
Hermione smiled down at the stone, familiar with the figure from her primary school projects.
"It's lovely." She turned it over and frowned down at the two cartouches engraved on the back.
"What do these say?"
Fred blushed.
"Well they either say Fred and George, or they are two alternate definitions of the word "bum". Bill promised that they didn't though."
"Although we did put beetles in his soup."
Tonks choked, earning herself a very strange look from the Twins.
Beaming, Hermione tucked it beneath her shirt so it rested against her skin.
"I love it." Tonks burst into a loud coughing fit and Hermione realised their time was up. "C'mon we need to get back to Sirius. He's losing his nut."
The trio, McGonagall and Tonks, wandered Diagon Alley picking up their school supplies.
Hermione picked up the defence book with approval.
"I'm glad Remus picked a decent book." She told them.
"Wanna burn Lockhart's books?" George offered.
"Hang on. Remus is teaching this year?" Fred looked shocked but not unhappy about that news.
Hermione nodded enthusiastically.
"Yeah. Minerva offered him the job."
"He'll be a darn sight better than the last two idiots." The Transfiguration professor muttered.
"Wait, what happened to Lockhart?"
Minerva burst into full-blown laughter.
"When Miss Weasley went missing, we suggested he live up to his boasting and go after the monster himself. He'd been telling us for months that he knew where it was and exactly how to deal with it."
"What happened?" Tonks asked, forgetting that she was supposed to be pretending not to be there.
"He packed his stuff and fled that night. Just as well too, I was ready to feed him to the squid."
Tonks snorted with laughter.
"Excuse me, who are you?" Fred asked, glaring at the older witch.
"And why are you following us?"
"Tonks. I'm Hermione's bodyguard. I went to school with your big brothers, Bill and Charlie. Pleasure."
Fred and George turned identical glares on Hermione who was hiding behind a large tome.
"Hermione..."
"Was I not supposed to mention that?" Tonks asked. Minerva shook her head wearily.
"Why do you need a bodyguard?" The Twins asked simultaneously.
Hermione eyed them warily and sighed, seeing that they weren't going to give in.
"Not here." She said, gesturing around the busy bookshop.
They paid for their purchases and headed for the relative quiet of the Apothecary. Leaving Minerva to browse the aisles, Fred and George hemmed Hermione into a quiet corner away from the other customers. Tonks followed them but developed a sudden interest in a jar of frogs spleens.
"Hermione..." Fred warned.
Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Look I couldn't tell you earlier and it wasn't the sort of thing I could write in a letter."
George paled slightly.
"That was you, wasn't it? About a week ago. When you told us it was fine we thought it was a curse in one of the tombs."
She sighed.
"I just got a bit scared."
"Scared? 'Mione you were bloody terrified."
"I had a good reason." She snapped.
Fred glared at her.
"Care to tell us? Or are you going to keep lying?"
Hermione winced slightly, tugging on her bracelets.
"I deserved that." She took a deep breath. "Peter Pettigrew. The escapee? There's a very good chance that he's after me."
Fred and George froze.
"How much of a chance?" George whispered.
Hermione winced.
"About a one in three chance?" She hedged.
Both boys paled, George pulling her closer to he could wrap his arms around her. He sighed into her hair.
"Why did you lie to us?" Fred asked quietly.
"I didn't think it was important. I'm fine Fred."
Fred glared at her.
"Do you think I can't tell when you're lying to me? Even if I couldn't I can feel it. You are literally inside my head Hermione, of course, it's bloody important."
He stormed off.
George sighed again dropping a kiss onto her hair.
"He's just worried." He assured her.
Hermione fought back a sob.
"And angry. I can feel it, George. He's furious."
"Yes but not with you."
George stepped away.
"When he's calmed down a bit we're going to have a talk about this okay?" Hermione nodded reluctantly and he grinned at her. "Be good, Twist."
Tonks stood next to her watching the tall redhead walk away. The older witch tugged on her brown ringlets.
"Both of them, eh?"
Hermione blushed slightly.
"Shut up."
"The Weasleys are good people. They'll do right by you."
Hermione frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Tonks pursed her lips, twirling her wand absently.
"You're muggleborn aren't you? Like my dad?"
Hermione nodded.
"Well, that sort of thing doesn't hold the same level of taboo here. It's not unusual for Twins to date the same person. Or anyone really. A lot of wizards view it that the more magic you have in a relationship, the better."
Hermione went scarlet.
"We're just friends." She muttered.
"Right. But still..." She winked down at her. "Something to think about. How about we go and get you a kitten now?"
Crookshanks was, as far as Hermione was concerned, the best cat in the world. He may not have been the prettiest or the youngest but he had character. He'd been in that pet shop for years and the other animals refused to go anywhere near him. Hermione felt like they were kindred spirits. Evidently Crookshanks did too because she was the only person he hadn't hissed at.
Sirius hated him, Fred and George called him "That monster" and Remus fed him bits of bacon under the table.
Amelia loved him, especially after he brought her a dead rat that he'd killed. Unfortunately, it wasn't the one they were looking for but he got points for trying.
Fred and George didn't write to her after the trip to Diagon Alley. But they sat together on the train and Hermione counted that as something. Susan had gone to sit with some friends of hers from Hufflepuff, so it was just the trio and Harry.
It was a long journey.
Not only was the weather foul, but Amelia had managed to get Fudge to agree to have Aurors stationed on the train, so the journey was interspersed with Tonks sticking her head through the door and asking,
"Still alive?"
It became rather irritating rather quickly. Harry insisted it was a Black family trait.
Hermione and Harry explained everything Amelia had told them and Fred had finally calmed down.
She sighed, leaning against his shoulder.
"You two aren't going to let me out of your sights this year are you?"
Fred and George exchanged a truly evil grin over her head.
"Nope."
Hermione groaned and Harry patted her knee sympathetically.
"We have a few new additions to the staff this year. Professor Lupin will be teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts..."
"Look at Snape." George hissed over Dumbledore's introductions.
Professor Snape was staring at Remus along the Staff table. Even Fred and George, who Snape hated, were startled at the expression on his face. It was beyond hatred.
This was loathing.
For his credit, Remus was quite stubbornly staring out at the students and not paying the potions master any attention.
Harry hissed across the table,
"Dad said they went to school with Snape, remember Hermione? Couldn't stand any of the Marauders."
"Oh."
"And of course, congratulations to our new Head Boy Percy Weasley and our..."
"Told you so." Fred whispered in her ear.
Remus was a fantastic teacher. Luckily he didn't call on Hermione either which was a relief and didn't care that her cat followed her to class.
Not that that would have stopped Crookshanks.
After a long discussion with Bill Weasley at the wedding, Hermione had dropped Divination and Care of Magical Creatures to concentrate on Ancient Runes and Arithmancy.
"Avoiding the mystic vale are we?" Fred teased as he walked her to her next class.
Hermione rolled her eyes.
"It seems like a load of crap to me. Susie was telling me that they spent the first lesson staring at soggy tea leaves. How are tea leaves supposed to know the history of the East India Company, let alone the future?"
A nearby window pane cracked and Fred almost doubled over in laughter.
"Here comes Hermione Granger. Hide your crockery." He gasped out.
She hit him with her book bag.
Had it not been for the escape of Peter Pettigrew this year would have been the closest Hermione ever got to normality. Fred and George were sitting their OWLs that year and were, much to the amazement of the faculty, busy studying. Inside Hogwarts, it was easy to forget that a crazed lunatic was slowly making his way towards the school. Up until Halloween of course.
Hermione collapsed into her seat at the Great Hall.
"Tired?" Harry asked sympathetically.
"Exhausted. The Twins dragged me all over Hogsmead."
Harry laughed.
"Good fun."
She frowned at him.
"What exactly did you do?"
Harry blushed slightly.
"I sat in the Library."
"And..."
"...stared at Luna..." He muttered.
"Have you even spoken to her yet?"
His eyes went wide.
"Are you insane? This is the girl I'm going to marry. I'm can't talk to her."
She gave him a disbelieving stare.
"Oh really?"
"Really!"
"Hi, Luna!" She called brightly, waving over his shoulder. Harry whipped his head around so quickly his neck cracked. There was no one there, except a slightly confused looking Neville Longbottom.
"You are evil." He grumbled, flicking peas at her. The vegetables stopped midway and flew back at him landing in his hair, shortly followed by several more.
"Don't throw things at our Amazon," Fred said reasonably as he dropped into the seat on Hermione's left.
"Can't be good for your health," George added, taking the seat on her right.
Harry had his hands over his hair, glaring at the two of them.
"All right. All right."
"Apologise." Fred said seriously.
Harry glanced pleadingly at Hermione who shrugged. She had no idea what they were up to either.
"I'm sorry."
The carrot that had been heading his way, fell to the table with a thump.
"Better."
It was a long walk up to Gryffindor tower, especially on a full stomach. There was a large crowd in front of the portrait, so large that it filled most of the corridor. Harry and Hermione couldn't see over it.
"Can you two see anything?"
Fred frowned.
"Some thing's happened to the Fat Lady." George said before he was pushed aside by Percy.
"Let me through! I'm Head Boy. Out of the way!"
"And again." Fred muttered, hand on her shoulder.
There was a hush and then Percy spoke again, his voice tense.
"Has somebody called the Headmaster yet?"
Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall arrived two minutes later, followed by an out of breath Argus Filch.
"Did anyone see what happened?" Dumbledore called over the crowd.
"Oh, I did!" A voice cackled.
Hermione saw Minerva take in a deep breath through her nose and let it out very slowly.
"What exactly did you see, Peeves?" Dumbledore asked with more patience.
"Face all covered in scars." Peeves widened his eyes for effect. "He got very angry when she wouldn't let him in, you see." Peeves hung upside down from a chandelier, grinning ghoulishly. "Terrible problem that rat Pettigrew."
Dumbledore sent the Gryffindors back to the Great Hall. Fred and George didn't let go of her, almost carrying her between them as though she might be stolen away from them.
Hermione herself was pale and quiet.
He had gotten that close and now they could be entirely certain about who he was after.
When Dumbledore conjured sleeping bags, Fred grabbed three and hauled them over to the side of the room away from the others.
"Stay with Susan." He whispered to Harry. Harry sent a worried glance to Hermione, who still hadn't spoken a word but did as he was told, tugging Susan away from the other Hufflepuffs.
"You all right?" George asked quietly, settling in his sleeping bag.
Hermione shrugged slightly, staring up at the starry ceiling.
"I don't know." She whispered.
Fred and George shuffled closer to her and Hermione settled into her usual place between them. They hadn't slept next to each other since her first year, something in Hermione telling her it was inappropriate to sleep next to two fifteen year old boys, but she soon settled back into her usual spot.
"It's just...I thought I was safe here." She whispered.
Fred shrugged, wrapping his arm around her.
"We did too." They whispered.
Updated 2020