The morning brought Hermione and the Weasley's a fresh start, and all of them were much more cheerful as they took down the tent and portkeyed to the Burrow. Despite the early hour, they trooped inside to find Molly reading the paper and sipping some strong tea.

"Oh, Arthur, kids, I'm so glad you're alright!" She immediately abandoned the tea, coming up to give Mr Weasley a firm hug, followed by each of her children. "I heard about the riot – nasty business, that. I'm just glad the Aurors and that brave witch were able to stop them."

"What brave witch, mum?" Asked Fred (or George, Hermione was never certain). "Why, it's on the front page! Someone managed to photograph the woman who single-handedly stopped the riot!"

They all gathered round the Prophet, sitting on the table. Hermione had to keep herself from gasping, as her disguise's doppelganger crouched over the cowering muggle family, protecting them from the Death Eaters.

The girl in the photo looked vicious – dangerous – in a way Hermione had never seen herself. This was a woman she wouldn't want to go against. It was an odd feeling, knowing that she was in the picture and yet not identifying with the girl in the photograph. More pressing, however, was whatever the article said.

"THE HEROINE OF SUSSEX: WHO IS THIS BRAVE WOMAN? By Rita Skeeter."

Hermione groaned. There was another piece to this game she had neglected – that blasted woman, Rita Skeeter, had somehow managed to make Hermione's alias the most famous person in Britain, at least for a day. The article lauded her (or the Heroine of Sussex, really) as an incredible dueler of unknown origin, and described her contributions to the riot, if a bit over-exaggeratedly.

Honestly, the way Skeeter told it, she may as well have been fighting a foreign army single-handedly, instead of overpowering fourteen bullies. And she hadn't been alone, she had aurors helping her. While she processed her own presence in the paper, the rest of the crowd was chattering excitedly over the paper.

"I can't believe we were there with her the whole time and never saw the Heroine of Sussex!" Ginny complained loudly.

"Dad, does she work at the Ministry with you?" That came from Charlie.

"I wonder if she's from abroad – she looks like she could be Greek or something."

"I wish I was that good at Defense," said Harry longingly. Hermione had to keep herself from laughing – if only they knew that the woman they spoke of was in their midst. She knew she had to keep quiet, though. There was no reason at all for them to suspect her, and the sooner this Heroine of Sussex drama calmed down, the happier she'd be.

Watching Molly's fly swatter soar through the air to swat a mosquito, Hermione was reminded of another pesky insect. Maybe something good could come out of this whole Heroine of Sussex business. It was about time she reigned Rita Skeeter in, anyway.

As soon as Hermione could get an owl to her, she was going to realize exactly what Hermione was capable of. She smirked, and Ron gave her a strange look. The rest of the family was sitting down to eat breakfast, so Hermione quickly shoved her thoughts to the back of her mind and joined them.

While the Weasley's house was always a rowdy, crowded affair, it really did feel like a sort of second home. She didn't appreciate the level of attention she was under, having spent the majority of her summer alone, but getting to bask in the friendly, familial atmosphere of the Burrow was almost like a vacation. It had taken a while for Hermione to realize it, but she was tired. She had been working almost nonstop since she had returned in the past, and the forced break was a welcome one. Even if it involved de-gnoming the garden and sharing a bedroom with Ginny, who was famous in her family for having the loudest snore.

A scant few days later, they were all going to Diagon Ally to get school supplies. Surprisingly, Molly let them go without having to stay in a big redheaded pack, which Hermione attributed to the less catastrophic riot at the Cup. Molly felt secure enough to let them go and wander off, which suited Hermione quite fine.

She cast an obscuring charm on her face. It was quite clever, if she did say so herself. It functioned something like muffliato but for sight, keeping those around her from seeing her facial features but not realizing it was because of a spell. Instead, her face just sort of slid past people's attention, and they moved on without giving her a second glance.

This worked well for Hermione, because she wanted no associations at all between Hermione Granger, Gryffindor Know-It-All, and the letter she was about to send.

Hermione had agonized over the wording, going so far as to read it aloud to Dobby and ask for his opinion (really, the only useful part of that whole endeavor was reading aloud, but she felt silly talking to herself). At the end, however, she had a very carefully worded letter that suggested Rita Skeeter ask permission before writing about the Heroine of Sussex in the paper again, and that the woman should keep in touch lest she let her little buggy secret slip.

She was quite proud of it, and wished she could show it to someone besides Dobby, who didn't quite appreciate the wordplay.

Hermione slipped back into the group after her stopping by the post office, hopefully without anyone noticing she was missing. Seeing as she found them at Quality Quidditch Supplies, she guessed she was safe. The rest of the day passed uneventfully, although Hermione was amazed to re-find her pale blue dress robes. Unhesitatingly, she grabbed them again. It wasn't as if anyone in this timeline had seen her wear it, after all.

Due to the excellent payout from her gambling at the Cup, Hermione wasn't wanting for gold. This gave her quite a bit of room to play with, and she probably spent a little more than she should have on books, potions supplies, and a new trunk (it was only thirty galleons, and it had four secret compartments, one of which was a library!). Since they weren't being chosen by Molly, Ron got some actual decent dress robes. Hermione would have to see about making sure Ron had a better time at the ball – his words had stung, and if a nicer date could keep him occupied, she would be quite relieved.

Hermione wondered about Ron on occasion – he had always been a bit childish, but was (generally) fiercely loyal to Harry. She was a little concerned about his jealous behavior, it would just keep Harry from doing his best in the Tournament. Not to mention, it was bloody annoying. Ron was only just growing out of his jealousy after the war, and she mourned the mature man he had grown up to be. Now, Hermione would be surrounded with adolescents and miniature versions of the friends she knew.

If she didn't have the time turner to give herself breaks from their immaturity, Hermione wondered if she might go insane this year.

AN: Thanks for reading and reviewing! What do you think of the Heroine of Sussex?