A/N: Hellooooo Everyone! Thank you so much for your patience with me on this chapter. It took me a long while to get a chapter out on my other story, and so I had to put a small hold on getting this chapter out, but I really do hope that you enjoy it. I went back and forth between Hermione and Fred in this chapter, trying to switch it up a little and give insight as to what is happening with them both at the point in time. Anyways, enjoy the newest chapter of A Whole New World! There's still a lot left for me to get down, so please enjoy and continue being patient with me! Much Love- Bookworm
"Hermione, I have been thinking. I want to go see Xenophilius Lovegood." Harry told her one evening. She sighed and closed her book, and nodded.
"I've been thinking the same the same thing Harry. It's the only thing that makes sense. That eye symbol, it keeps cropping up. Maybe we can get some idea of where to go next." Hermione said. Ron had been listening intently, and hopped out of his chair that sat in the corner.
"That's a good idea. Let's put it to a vote." He suggested. Hermione raised an eyebrow at him, but he ignored it. "Everyone in favor?" He asked, raising his hand. Harry and Hermione shared an amused glance before they both walked away, Hermione making her way outside. She leaned back against a tree and let out a deep breath, watching her breath fog in the chill.
Ron had been getting on her nerves, though she supposed that it could just be that she and Harry had gotten so used to being on their own. It also annoyed her that he seemed to agree with anything that she said, no matter how stupid it really was. On the other hand, he had brought Potterwatch to their attention, giving her a chance to hear Fred, which she was beyond grateful for.
They decided to pack up their camp not long after, seeing no more reason to stay. Hermione was nervous to be leaving, even though she knew that they couldn't stay there any longer. She liked that they were safe, that they weren't in the open and in danger like they would be while moving about without wards. They had just finished packing when she realized that she had no idea where the Lovegoods lived.
"Harry, you don't happen to know where Luna lives, do you?" She asked, knowing it was a long shot.
"Erm.." Harry replied, apparently realizing the same thing.
"I do." Ron piped up, grinning at her. She raised her eyebrows at him, surprised.
"You do?" She asked, and he nodded.
"Well, sort of. Whenever mum would mention them, she would wave to the hills nearby. I'm sure they live there, they walked to the wedding after all." He said. Hermione looked skeptically at Harry, who shrugged.
"It's our best shot." He said, and she let out a sigh.
"Fine. You'll have to apparate us, are you able to?" Hermione asked Ron, who nodded. "Okay." She sighed, holding her hand out to him in the clearing that had been their campground. He took her hand hesitantly before reaching out and grasping Harry's hand. He gave her hand a small squeeze, and she sucked in a deep breath before they were pulled up.
"Please Fred. You have to get up and eat something. It's almost noon." George said, and Fred let out a loud groan.
"Please George… Please just leave me alone. I'm really tired." Fred said. He had been exceptionally exhausted lately despite not doing anything but speaking on Potterwatch. Even after George had forced him up, he only wanted to sleep. He wanted time to pass by, and he didn't care if he was awake for it.
"Fred. Please get up. Mum wants to cut our hair." George said, and with a heavy sigh Fred threw his legs over the side of the bed.
"Can I come back to bed if I do?" Fred asked, frowning at his twin.
"Sorry brother, I lost my wand. I need you to take me to P-watch." George said, giving Fred a smile.
"Okay." Fred said, defeated, as he pulled on his trainers and following George down the stairs. George forced him to eat a couple biscuits while his mother cut Fred's hair. He nibbled on the biscuits as he watched the red hair fall around his chair, impressed at how much his hair had grown. Hermione wouldn't have liked it, he and Fred had grown their hair out their sixth year and she had told him he had been pushing it. Fred smiled at the thought, and when his mother paused in her cutting, he looked up at George. He was also smiling, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched Fred.
"What?" George asked when he noticed Fred looking at him.
"Hermione would have hated it. She probably would have said that we looked like Gin." Fred said, and George laughed loudly.
"She would have said that soon enough it would get as curly as hers." George added,making Fred laugh as well. Too soon, their laughter died though their smiles remained. Fred heard a sniff behind him, and spun in his chair to see his mum wiping tears off of her cheeks. Without thinking, Fred stood and wrapped her in his arms.
"It's okay mum." He muttered, and she nodded.
"Oh it's so silly. I worry so much about them though." She said as they parted, and Fred gave her a small smile.
"They'll be fine mum." Fred reassured her.
They quickly finished up with their haircuts, and made sure to give their mum a kiss on the cheek before they left to Potterwatch. When they arrived, it was immediately noticed that Kingsley was absent. George took his seat around the table, and immediately asked if something had happened.
"Not sure." Lupin said, concern decorating his face. "But we should just start, say that he might join us later." He suggested, and Lee nodded.
"Hello, and welcome to another episode of Potterwatch…" Lee started, and Fred decided to close his eyes and tune out the broadcast.
He must have dozed off, because the next moment he was startled to his feet by a shout.
"Ki-"George started.
"Royal!" Lee shouted out over George, as they were still on air. "Erm… Royal has just landed, and we may have to cut off. Keep twiddling those-" Lee began to sign off in a hasty manner, but Kingsley held up his hand, looking pissed off.
"No." He said, and Fred was terrified by the sound of his voice. "Lovegood has betrayed Potter. He tried to hand him over to Death Eaters. To all of our listeners out there…." Kingsley trailed off, gathering his thoughts. "We will not hesitate to take down anyone who puts Potter in danger. Our top priority is helping him, doing everything on our end to make sure he is able to destroy You-Know-Who. According to our intel, Luna Lovegood has been taken hostage by the Death Eaters. I know it's hard to hear, but lives will be lost. I could die, you could die. The way I see it, they are casualties of war, and I would be more than happy to lay down my life for Potter. Do not misunderstand, we are at war here. This isn't a game, and treating it as such will cost more lives. Be careful, stay vigilant." Kingsley said, sitting heavily in his chair and letting out a sigh. There was a shocked silence for a moment before Lee realized that they were still airing and he hastily signed off.
"Thank you for listening. The next password will be… Luna." Lee said before swishing his wand over his head and cutting off the broadcast.
"He… What?" Fred asked, his mind reeling.
"Apparently, they were in his house. He had made a deal to hand Potter over if he could get his daughter back." Kingsley said. Fred's brow furrowed and he looked up at his brother, who also looked confused.
"Why would they be at the Lovegood's?" George asked, and suddenly Fred had a realization. He gasped and grabbed George's hand before apparating them away. He landed just outside the Burrow, and sprinted toward the door.
"Fred!" George bellowed out angrily. "What the bloody hell was that?" He asked, but Fred ignored him and burst though the door.
"Hermione?" He yelled, running deeper into the house. "Hermione!?" He shouted, his throat burning from his volume.
"Fred? Why are you shouting?" His mum asked as she ran into the room.
"Mum, where are they? I know they came here. They had to have." Fred said frantically. He darted up the stairs, ignoring the shouts of his twin. He checked every room in the house, even the attic that had the ghoul, before coming to the realization that they weren't there. They had been so close, just over the hill. His chest became tight as his back hit the wall, and he felt his legs collapse under him. He didn't hear the feet running up the stairs, or George saying his name when he saw his twin on the ground. His breath became to come out in shirt bursts, and tears threatened to spill onto his cheeks. They had been so close that he might have seen them if he looked out the window. He brought his knees to his chest, and closed his eyes tight as his chest wracked with sobs. He couldn't breath, he realized, opening his eyes wide in panic. He had forgotten how. George quickly realized his dilemma and sat down on the ground next to him, placing his palm on his back.
"Breath Freddie." He said gently, demonstrating. Fred stared at him, struggling with what seemed like the most natural thing. Fred focused intently on his breathing, and in just a few moments, he was breathing normally again.
"I thought…" He trailed off as new tears sprung into his eyes.
"I know Freddie… I know…" George said, pulling his twin into a tight hug.
"That-" Ron gasped in a breath, "bastard!" He yelled, leaning down and placing his hands on his knees. Hermione heard him, and was gasping for breath herself as she summoned the tent and placed a charm on it so that it pitched itself. She turned and quickly began to set wards in a circle around them.
"They have Luna." She heard Harry say just as she finished placing the wards. She turned to face Harry and Ron, and bit her lip.
"We… we can't worry about that. The whole reason that I made sure they saw Harry was so that hopefully they know Xenophilius wasn't lying." Hermione said slowly and carefully.
"About that, why did you cover me with the cloak?" Ron asked her. Harry nodded, also wanting to know the answer to that question. Hermione sighed and looked up at the sky, which she noted looked like it was going to rain.
"Ron, you're supposed to be ill with spattergoit. I'm only hoping that Lovegood doesn't tell them you were there too." Hermione explained. "If he does tell them, I don't know how much danger your family will be in…" She said, and Ron's mouth fell in realization. It took him a moment, but he cleared his throat and closed his mouth.
"Thank you." He said softly, and she nodded.
"Look, I think it's going to rain, we should get into the tent." Hermione said. The boys seemed to think that it was a good idea, and they led the way into the tent.
Once they were all sat down, Ron kicked his legs up onto the table and let out a sigh. Hermione had nicked some bread from Xenophilius' counter while they had been there, and she had cut it up for them to eat now. Ron was picking at a piece, but looked upset as he did so, which was unusual considering how much he loved to eat.
"Are you alright?" Harry asked him, noticing the same thing Hermione had.
"I can't believe we were so close to home." Ron said softly, staring intently down at the table. Hermione looked down at the table as well, she had been trying to avoid thinking about how close they had been to The Burrow.
"We couldn't Ron." Harry said, sparing Hermione the answer.
"Well why the blood hell not?" Ron asked, slamming a hand down on the table. "We could have just gone, to see that everyone was alright, and leave again." Ron said.
"Ronald." Hermione scolded, and he glared at her.
"We could have!" He yelled, and then it was her turn to slam a hand down.
"I couldn't have!" She said, angry tears pooling in her eyes. "I couldn't have left! Would you really have been able to?" She asked, her eyebrows furrowing. "Ron, we are doing the best we can here, and putting your family in danger wouldn't have helped at all." She told him, and visibly watched him deflate.
"I'm sorry Ron." She said softly, reaching across the table and grasping his hand.
"I just want to see them…." He said, and Hermione watched as Harry scooted himself over to his best friend and put an arm around him.
"I know you do." Harry said to him. "And we will, soon." He said, and Hermione nodded in agreement. They really needed a new lead on those horcruxes.
George burst into the room, slamming the door behind him and waving his wand at the door as he took a few bounding steps into the room. Fred stood from his desk chair quickly and drew his wand, though he wasn't sure why.
"Get your stuff." George said quickly, his eyes wide as he turned to face Fred. His mind raced to figure out why he would need to grab his things, but George threw a bag at him, disrupting his thoughts.
"George-" He started, ripping open a drawer of his dresser and throwing clothes into the bag.
"They came looking for Ron. They figured out that the ghoul wasn't him. We have to leave. We're meeting Mum and Dad at Muriel's." George said quickly, and Fred began to move faster. Before he knew it, George was yanking the bag from his hands and zipping it shut. "We have to go Freddie." He said, and Fred nodded.
He took one last glance around the room, and snatched up a framed photo of Hermione right before George spun them around and they were yanked into the abyss. They landed with a crash in their Aunt's garden, Fred was face down in the dirt and George had landed next to him. Their bags had landed on top of them, and it seemed like one of them had busted open and spilled around them. At the loud noise, Molly and Arthur had come running out of the house.
"Fred?! George?! Are you okay?" Molly asked as she reached them. Fred rolled over and sat up with a groan at the same time that George sat up, and they looked at eachother, grinning.
"All right Fred?" George asked, and Fred nodded.
"You George?" Fred asked, and George nodded as well. They both stood, and helped their mum clean up the clothes that had spilled out into the dirt. As soon as they were cleaned up, they were shown to their room and left alone by their parents. Fred sat down on one of the beds, claiming it as his own, and looked around the clean room they had taken up residence in.
"Welcome home Freddie." George said with a wink. Fred smiled and nodded.
"Hopefully not for too long though, remember how the old bat wrote us out of her will? Why would I want to stay long term with her?" Fred asked, only half joking.