A/N: Another long chapter, this one went a little quick, but I love how it turned out. Please enjoy! And as always, please review, although I'm always open to PM as well! Thank you all for reading! Much love- Bookworm
The only way to describe how she felt was numb. Hermione only ate the food she was given, drank the water that was brought to her, and slept. She didn't want to do anything else. She didn't read, didn't practice any magic, she hadn't even touched her wand since they had been in Australia. George had come into her room countless times a day, trying to convince her to at least get out of bed and come downstairs, but she refused each time.
It had been a week since she had found out about her parents, and Hermione hadn't spoken a word. Her throat felt constricted, she could hardly breathe properly, let alone speak. She was unable to cry anymore, she had already cried everything she had out and now her eyes only stung when she opened them. Although that could be due to the fact she had slept so much in the last week, and seeing light gave her a headache. She had just woken up, and was relieved that no light shone in the room, the sun must have gone down. She sat up slightly at a light knock on the door, and though she expected to see George, when the door opened she was met with the sight of Molly Weasley.
"Oh, my dear." She heard Molly say softly before walking into the room and closing the door softly behind her.
She looked at Hermione for a long moment, before walking over to a dresser and picking up a hairbrush. Hermione sat the rest of the way up in the bed, and watched the older woman, confused. Molly stayed silent, but walked to the bed and took a seat. She patted the spot in front of her, and lifted the brush up. Hermione furrowed her brow, her hair couldn't be that bad, and tried to run her fingers through it but was only met with an impassable mess of tangles and knots. She sighed and held her hand out to take the brush, but Molly only shook her head and patted the bed in front of her. With a sigh, Hermione turned and allowed Molly to gather her hair together and begin to brush it. It was painful at first, as she began to undo all of the knots and tangles that had settled into her curls, but after a little while it was calming. Even after Molly had gotten rid of the tangles, she continued to brush it.
"My sweet girl, you have been through so much. Let us take care of you… you have spent so long taking care of everyone else…" Molly said softly. Hermione let her eyes close, and allowed her shoulders to relax as Molly tended to her hair.
"I-" Hermione said, but closed her mouth again.
"I know… We love you, we're just worried about you. Talk to us." Molly told her. She opened her mouth to speak again, but only released a pained sigh as tears filled her eyes.
"Did I kill them?" Hermione asked, her voice raw from disuse.
"No. No, you did everything you could to help them." Molly answered, the brush releasing Hermione's hair and not returning to it. Instead, Molly brought her hands to Hermione's hair, and began to braid it back.
"Then.. why do I feel like this?" Hermione whispered.
"Grief. Grief is a terrible thing, it makes us feel the worst we ever have. I suppose it's our way of saying goodbye one final time." She explained.
"When will go away?"
"Never, never truly. It might become easier to manage, but it never goes away." Molly told her, sounding sad.
"Is this how you feel?" Hermione asked, thinking of Percy.
"Yes." Molly whispered, her hands stilling for a moment on Hermione's hair.
"But… you don't seem like it."
"I've dealt with loss before. Not the loss of a child, its much more difficult. But I have had loss in my life, and It's easier for me to function. Besides, how could I freeze my life with everyone else around here needing me?" Molly asked, letting out a soft singular laugh.
"I'm sorry." Hermione said.
"You needn't be. You're like a daughter to me dear, and I'm here if you need to talk." She said, as she finished the braid and tied it off. Once she felt the completion of her hair, Hermione carefully turned on the bed and latched herself to Molly. She held her closely as Hermione let out a few ragged breaths, and rubbed her back.
"Do you think you might be up for some tea? You'll have to come downstairs, but I'd be more than happy to make some for us." She suggested, and Hermione nodded. "Okay, let's go then." Hermione sniffed once before standing, and they walked out of the room and down the stairs together.
On their entrance to the kitchen, George spotted her and quickly stood with a large grin plastered on his face. Hermione failed to notice the small shake of the head Molly gave him, and though he sat down, he continued to smile happily.
It was another three days before Hermione pushed herself to leave the room by herself, and she found herself curled up on the chair closest to the fire with a thick book in her hands. She wasn't reading it, just holding it as it gave her a sense of calmness. She heard a crash come from the kitchen, and without thinking she summoned her wand and tossed the book aside. She slowly made her way toward the sound, her wand held up in front of her. She took a deep breath before swinging the door open and bursting into the kitchen. Instead of the intruder that she expected, she was met with the sight of George staring down at his feet where he had dropped a bowl and it had shattered.
"Fuck." George said in a whisper, leaning down to pick up the pieces. Hermione lowered her wand slightly, but flicked it and vanished the pieces. George looked up quickly, and his eyes grew wide at the sight of her wand pointed at him still. He slowly raised his hands above his head and gave her a nervous smile.
"Sorry." Hermione said, looking down and stuffing her wand into her pocket.
"No, I am. I just, dropped it." He said with a shrug. "I didn't mean to startle you." He added as he stood upright. Hermione shook her head, and turned to exit the room without saying a word.
"I'm making some cookies, want to help?" He asked brightly. She took a moment to decide, but eventually turned and walked to his side.
George spoke about everything and nothing the entire time that they worked, saving her from having to speak at all. He told her about fixing the shop back up, and about how the trials were going at the Ministry. Hermione had been saved by Harry and had managed to only be asked to speak at the Malfoy's trials, though she had been trying not to think about it. They were still a couple weeks away, so it wasn't too hard to manage.
"How's Fred?" Hermione asked tentatively as they were waiting for the cookies to finish baking.
"Oh… erm… he's okay I suppose." George answered awkwardly.
"He's been at the shop?" She asked, looking at him through the corner of her eye.
"Erm.. yeah. He's been spending all of his time at the shop actually." He said, just as the timer on the oven dinged and they both jumped before walking over to get them before they burned.
Fred woke, feeling sick. He lurched toward the bathroom, and fell to his knees just as he reached the toilet, clutching the rim as he began to retch. He felt the firewhisky come back up, and felt the tears raced down his cheeks as he got sick. Once he was done, he flushed and leaned back against the wall, breathing deeply. His head was pounding hard with every breath, and he crawled to the sink to get some water. He flinched at the sound the tap made when he turned it on, but was thankful when he brought the full glass of water to his lips and took a large gulp. With an aggravated sigh, he stood and rifled through the medicine cabinet for a hangover potion. As soon as he found one, he took the stopper out of the vial and tossed it back, thankful for the instant relief that washed over him.
He looked in the mirror, and was disgusted with himself. He needed a shower, and some coffee. He groaned and turned to the bath, roughly turning on the water and undressing before stepping under the steaming stream of water that rained down on him. He scrubbed himself down quickly, according to his watch George would probably be home soon and he didn't want him to see him like this.
When he did get home, Fred was standing at the counter in the kitchen, drinking a hot cup of coffee. George stared at him for a moment, before shaking his head and pulling his cloak off and setting it down on a barstool.
"What?" Fred asked, his eyebrow raised.
"Nothing." George said, grabbing a mug and pouring himself some coffee.
"Seems like it might be something." Fred insisted.
"Just… I've noticed the missing potions Fred. And the missing alcohol, you aren't exactly being subtle about it, are you?" George asked. "Why are you doing this to yourself?"
"Are you joking? You must be. You realize, we just lost a brother because of a war that we just won. He's dead. And it's because of a girl I thought I could trust. A girl I loved. He's dead. I think I have a right to grieve as I like." Fred stated, setting his mug down hard on the counter.
"By getting pissed? That's how you're going to deal with it? What about when we reopen? Are you going to ban her from coming into the shop that she helped plan, that she encouraged us to get?" George asked, angry. "You have no right to be mad at her, she didn't kill Percy! A death eater did, she tried to bring him back like she did you. You are just being ungrateful. That woman loves you and you are just too thick to get it through your head what she did for all of us. We aren't the only ones who lost someone, she did too."
"She didn't lose him! We did!" Fred said, his voice raising.
"She lost her parents! They died!" George shouted. "She has been sitting at the Burrow, she didn't eat for a week, she just sleeps and she holds a book if she isn't! Doesn't even read it! Just sits there! Today was the first time that I have talked to her since two days after we got home! I've heard her shouting in her sleep, begging for you to help her, but you aren't there! You won't even come to the house, you bloody arse!" Tears of anger had filled his eyes as he shouted at his twin.
"Her parents died? I thought she modified their memories?" Fred asked.
"She did." He said through gritted teeth. "Look." He said, taking a deep breath. "We all lost someone, and you haven't been around to see how any of us are doing. Me coming here doesn't count either."
"Right… Is mum doing Sunday dinner?" Fred asked, looking slightly guilty.
"Of course she is, she just wants everyone home." George answered.
"Fine. Then, tell her I'll be there." Fred told him, picking his mug back up and taking a drink.
"And Hermione?"
"I still… I don't know." He answered honestly.
"Fine." George sighed.
He had been late, but as promised, Fred had shown up for dinner on Sunday. His mum had hugged him tightly when he entered the house, but then had quickly ushered him to sit down at the table for dinner. He had purposefully sat as far away from Hermione as he could manage, planting himself between Ginny and Bill. They had both stared at him for a moment, before glancing over at George, who had sat next to Hermione. Fred avoided eye contact with George, looking instead, at the opposite side of the table and keeping up a conversation with Harry and Ron.
"So, how's the shop?" Harry asked.
"It's fine." Fred answered quickly. He hadn't intended to say anything else, but Harry was staring at him intently. "It's almost done, we should be able to open back up in a week or so. We just have to brew some more potions, restock."
"Oh, George was telling me about that." Molly said from next to George down the table. "I was thinking, to keep you lot busy, why don't you ask Hermione to help?" She suggested with a smile. Fred's eyes went wide, and he couldn't help but look at Hermione, who had visibly perked at the suggestion.
"I think it's brilliant!" George said with a grin. "But… erm… we'll talk about it?" George asked quickly. Fred nodded once, before turning back to his food and spending the rest of the meal in silence.
George had cornered him at the bathroom, locking them both inside. He had his arms crossed, and stared at him expectantly.
"What now?" Fred asked with a sigh, turning to the sink to wash his hands.
"She needs it." George said. "That was the first time I have seen her remotely happy about anything since everything."
"Its only been two weeks 'since everything' happened." He said, drawing quotation marks in the air with his fingers before drying them off.
"I know. It's just… we have already tried to get back to normal. The shop is almost back up and running, they already started fixing up the castle, trials are underway. She is stuck. Hell, even Harry and Ron got offers already to join the Aurors."
"I don't know if I could work with her." Fred muttered, staring down at the floor.
"Then don't! Just let her brew, you can work on something else. She helped us come up with half of those potions, she's better than us at brewing anyway." George pleaded.
"Fine. Fine. She can help at the shop." Fred said, rolling his eyes.
"Thank you!" George said with a grin. "Are you going to stay?" He asked as they exited the bathroom and began to make their way down the stairs.
"Do you think I should?" Fred asked, sounding tired.
"Do you want to?" George replied.
"I think I just want to go home…" Fred answered.
"Okay, I'll let them know you went back to the flat." George said with a nod, turning and giving him a hug as they reached the bottom of the stairs.
"Thank you." Fred sighed.
"Are you sure about this?" Hermione asked nervously for the fourth time.
"Yes. I'm sure." George answered again as they entered the backroom of the shop. "All of the books are along the wall there, they have all of the potions in them." He pointed at a table that had a dozen notebooks scattered on it.
"Anything you need done first?" Hermione asked, raising her eyebrows as she tied her hair up and out of her face. George walked to the books and shuffled through them, flicking through some of the pages, before apparently finding one he approved of and handing it to her.
"Just start with these ones. Fred and I have to work on some of our other products in the next room, if you need anything just come on over and ask." He told her brightly. She nodded and turned to the newly stocked ingredients cupboard as George exited the room, leaving her to herself.
Hermione immersed herself into the brewing, working quietly on three different potions at once. She felt, for the first time in a long time, at peace. Working kept her busy, kept her mind busy and off of what had happened in the past few weeks. She was so busy brewing, she had failed to realize how much time had passed until George came in to check on her.
"Wow, yeah. Glad we brought you on, Freddie and I would never have gotten this much done by now." He admired the vials that she had filled and placed on the table with the notebooks. She grinned at him, and looked back down at the cauldron in front of her.
"Did you need something?" She asked, stirring the potion in front of her.
"Would you like some food? Nothing here is open yet, but I was going to go to Muggle London and get something." He told her. She squinted down at her watch, attempting to make out what the small hands said through the steam-filled room.
"Thank you, that would be nice." She answered after seeing that it was well past lunchtime. "What are you getting?" She asked him.
"Erm, probably just some sandwiches." He said with a shrug. She nodded, and he left the room with the promise of food at his return.
She had been just fine, finding the ingredients and brewing, until she began to work on the potion for their daydream charms. She didn't see any rose in their stock, and she paused for only a moment before leaving the room to find some. The potion was time sensitive one, and though she still had a while until she needed the rose petals, she knew she couldn't wait for George to come back to ask him. She tentatively knocked on the door, and a smiling Fred opened it. The smile quickly left his face though, and it was apparent he had been expecting his brother.
"What?" He asked shortly, turning back into the room but leaving the door open. Hermione took a step into the room, and glanced around before remembering why she had come here.
"Erm, I'm looking for the rose petals? I couldn't find any in the cupboard." She explained, wringing her hands as she watched him move around the room.
"I saw them around her somewhere, just a minute." He said, making his way over to a messy table and shifting through boxes and containers. Hermione opened her mouth to speak to him, but changed her mind and shut it again. Fred found what he had been looking for, and turned back to face her, the small box extended in his hand. He finally met her gaze, and his hand dropped a fraction before Hermione took it.
"I-" Hermione began to speak, but something seemed to click in Fred, and he looked away from her.
"Thank you for helping us, but I have work to do." He said, turning back to what he had been working on. Hermione stared at him for just a moment longer before leaving the room and getting back to the potions.
George knocked on the door just as she was finishing up, and he entered holding a carry out box. He grinned at her, but she couldn't bring herself to smile so enthusiastically back at him.
"Here you are, are you alright?" He asked, setting the box down.
"I'm fine." She told him, bottling up the last of the potion and cleaning up the cauldron so that there wasn't any cross contamination between potions.
"Are you sure? You look upset." He said, gazing evenly at her.
"Yes. Thank you for the food." She said, turning away from him and looking at a page in the notebook.
"Oh… alright. Well thanks again, for helping." He told her. She nodded, and heard him exit the room behind her.
They had to test the potions Hermione had made, and George had handed the Daydream Charm one to Fred, who had taken a seat before drinking it down in one gulp. He crossed his arms, and waited for the potion to take affect while he watched George take a seat with a notebook, ready to write down any adverse effects and how long Fred was dreaming for.
Fred took a calming breath as his vision became blurry, then went back into focus. He was still inside the shop, but instead of George sitting across from him, Hermione was. She smiled at him, and he noted that she was wearing the magenta robes of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. He smiled back at her, and winked.
"You brewed today?" He asked.
"Yes, that's why you didn't see me." She answered, rolling her eyes. "How was business today? Do you think we could close early and… maybe go upstairs?" She asked, flicking one eyebrow up.
"I think we could do that." He agreed, flicking his wand and locking the door. She laughed and stood from her place, leading the way up to the flat above the shop. When he entered the flat, his conscious mind noted that the decor was different, and he quickly realized that was because it was no longer his and George's flat, but his and Hermione's.
"You know…" Hermione said, pulling the magenta robes off to reveal muggle clothes underneath and setting them on the couch. "I thought about you all day." Hermione whispered, turning to face him and setting her hands on his chest.
"Oh really?" He asked, grabbing her waist and pulling her close to him.
"Well, how could you not be? We are getting married after all." She said, grinning at him.
"Yes, yes we are… Mrs. Weasley." He said slyly.
"Fred. We said-" She began, but was cut off as Fred brought his lips to hers. He felt her smile against his lips, and gripped her waist tightly. Her arms went around his neck, and he shifted his hands to be under her and lifted her up. Her legs wrapped around his waist, and he began to make his way to their bedroom.
"I love you." She whispered in his ear before kissing him gently on his jaw.
"I love you too, Hermione." He replied, easing her down on their bed and marveling at the sight of her. She grinned and sat up slightly, just enough to pull her shirt over her head and baring her abdomen and nearly naked chest. Fred's hands went to her bare stomach, and slowly moved over her soft skin, before leaning back down and kissing her.
The dream became foggy, and Fred's breath hitched as reality came back into focus. He closed his eyes, and wiped away a bit of drool that had formed. His hand fell back to his lap, and he attempted to ignore the aching in his chest as he thought of the daydream.
"Anything interesting?" George asked lazily.
"I- well, it worked." Fred said, adjusting himself in his seat. "Is Hermione still here?" He asked.
"Erm, yeah. Why?" George asked. Fred ignored him, instead standing and walking into the backroom. He didn't bother knocking, he just walked into the brewing room. Hermione looked up at him, startled, and her mouth dropped open.
"I was just-" She started to say, but she stopped talking when he dropped to his knees beside her.
"Tell me you did everything. Promise me." He begged her, keeping eye contact. He refused to look away, even as her eyes began to fill with tears.
"I did everything I could think of… I tried to save him… I'm sorry." She told him, rouge tears dropping from her eyes.
"I'm so sorry I didn't believe you…" He muttered, reaching out and pulling her to him. "I'm so sorry."
"You don't have to be." She muttered against his chest.
"Yes, I do. I should have believed you, and everyone else." He told her, kissing the top of her head. "I'm… I'm so sorry about your parents." He told her, and her shoulders began to shake. He held her, even as the potion behind them began to bubble.
"I… I love you Fred." He heard her say, and he held her even tighter.
"I love you too." He whispered.
They sat like that, Fred holding tightly onto Hermione, until her shoulders had stopped shaking and they could smell the potion burning. She rubbed his ribcage softly, telling his silently that she was okay and that he could release her. He did so, and his heart grew heavy at the sight of her face. Her eyes were red, and she was frowning. He lightly touched her cheek with one knuckle, and was pleased when her gaze softened.
"Fred, is everything okay?" George called out, walking into the room. "Oh."
"Yeah." Fred answered, giving Hermione a small smile.
"Everything is fine." She replied, returning the smile.