A/N: Hey all! I'm so sorry for the long (and I'm sure terrible) wait. It was cruel of me, and I am really sorry. I really appreciate all of the support I've gotten from my readers, and it only took so long because I was working on a fic for a fest on AO3. It should be posted on the 9th this month! My name is BookwormKAF, you should be able to find it then if you wanted to read it! Thank you again for everything! Much Love- Bookworm

Before she realized what was happening, the date of the first trial was upon her. Hermione was sitting in her bed at the Burrow, staring at the wall and worrying her lip as she realized what day it was. She glanced at the notebook next to her, but looked away quickly. It was full of answers to questions Harry had told her they might ask her at the trials. Hermione had charmed it so when the question was asked, the pages would flip to the answer and hopefully it would shorten the amount of time she was on the stand.

There was a knock on the door, and Hermione jumped slightly before standing to open it. She brushed her wild hair out of her face before taking a deep breath and swinging the door open. Fred stood before her with a steaming cup of tea in hand, and a small smile on his face. Relieved it was only him, she stood aside and allowed him to come into the room. He fully entered and set the tea down on the desk before speaking to her.

"How are you feeling love?" He asked, taking a seat on the edge of the bed and watching as she picked the tea up and blew lightly on it.

"Nervous." She answered honestly.

"I know… but they can't hurt you now. And I'll be right there the entire time." He assured her.

"Are you sure you want to hear everything?" Hermione asked him.

"I'm sure. I don't want you to go through anything else alone." He told her, shaking his head slightly.

They both knew that she had left Fred in the dark about everything that had happened while she was on the run with Harry, and Hermione was less than thrilled that she would be asked to relive it now. It would be a relief to have him know everything that happened, but she was scared that he wouldn't like what he was going to hear and that he would try to run from her again.

"Did.. did you want to come to the shop after?" Fred asked softly.

"Really?" Hermione asked, sounding almost excited.

"Yeah. George has to be at the shop, and even though Verity is there too, I know that they'll be busy. I was planning on brewing and restocking." He told her, knowing that being in the front of the shop was too much for her.

They had reopened last week, and the shop had been busier than ever. George had asked Hermione if they should keep the shop closed until after the trials, but she insisted that they open. She knew how much they needed the shop to reopen, how much she needed it to reopen. She loved working at the shop, and dreaded the time that the twins would tell her they didn't need her help anymore. She had thought about asking them for a regular job, but had decided that if they had wanted to hire her, they would have asked her already.

"I'm so sorry love, but I think it's almost time for us to go." Fred said, looking down at his watch. "Do you want me to leave so you can get dressed?" He asked carefully. Hermione looked down, and sighed and looked down at her pajamas. She wished that she could just wear this.

"No. You can stay." She said softly. They had started working on their relationship, which Hermione was grateful for. She needed him now more than ever. She turned to the closet and pulled out the robes that Harry had gotten for her. She stared at them for a moment before letting out a sigh.

"I can leave." Fred said softly.

"No." Hermione shook her head and turned to him. "Just… I don't know if I can do this." Hermione said, her eyes prickling a little with tears.

"Hermione…" Fred spoke her name gently and stood, taking her hands gently in his. "You can do this. I.. I don't know what you went through, but I know how hard this must be. Harry said that you only have to be there for the days that you testify. That's only three days. And then it'll all be over and done." He assured her.

"Three days." Hermione repeated.

"That's all. Three days." Fred said, nodding.

"I can do three days." Hermione said.

"Exactly. Three days. Now, drink some of your tea and get dressed. We don't want to be late." He told her. She nodded and did as he suggested, drinking some of her tea before quickly undressing and pulling on her new robes. She looked at herself in the mirror and cringed slightly. She hadn't been eating much, so she still looked sickly thin. She quickly looked away and ignored the sadness that had taken hold of Fred's features.

"You'll be there the whole time?" Hermione asked, taking one of his hands and smiling weakly at him.

"Of course I will be." He assured her, pulling her into a gentle hug. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her cheek against his chest as she enjoyed this short moment of contact.

"We best go downstairs." Hermione said after a few moments, pulling her arms from around him. He nodded and walked to the door in front of her, holding it open for her. He gently closed it behind them, having learned that Hermione was now sensitive to sharp and loud sounds.

Molly had breakfast ready for them downstairs. The rest of the Weasleys were already eating, and Molly smiled at her as she took her seat right next to her. She had made a plate special for Hermione, smaller than the plates that littered the table in front of her. She picked up her fork and took a bite of eggs, smiling gratefully at Molly. Hermione wanted to eat, to look healthy again, but it seemed that her stomach had grown used to the emptiness that came with being on the run, and refused any food past a certain point.

"Alright everyone." Molly said as soon as Hermione was finished eating. "We best get going." She said, taking a deep breath. "To the floo." She commanded, pointing toward the sitting room that held the fireplace.

Hermione stuck close to Fred when they were inside the Ministry. There were reporters everywhere, sticking cameras into their faces and shouting for a picture. Fred kept an arm tightly around her as the group picked up their pace, eager to catch a lift downstairs and away from the throng of reporters.

Hermione began to shake and her breaths began to come in sharp, short bursts. Her legs felt weak, and she leaned heavily against Fred. The flash of cameras and shouts had set her on edge, and now she felt as though she had just dropped off of it. Fred glanced down at her, concerned, just as a reporter shoved his camera into her face. Hermione jumped and her eyes went wide as the reporter commanded that she smile. Her face crumpled and tears began running down her cheeks. She couldn't breathe. She stopped walking and Fred immediately stepped in front of her, shielding her from the strangers that surrounded them.

"Harry!" Fred called out, looking around in a panic for him.

"Here." Harry said, appearing at his shoulder. He looked steadily at Hermione and nodded, signalling to Fred that he could handle this. Fred stepped away, and immediately turned to the reporter. He snatched the camera from his hand and threw it down, breaking the offending object. Fred pushed him against the wall they were standing next to, his forearm pressing against the man's collarbone.

"You." He growled. "You get all of your friends, and leave. You are leeches. Can't you see that? You feed off of their- off of our pain. She-" He hitched his thumb back to point at Hermione, who was watching the scene with terrified eyes as Harry comforted her. "gave everything to save our world, even pricks like you. So why don't you do us all a favor and go away." He said all of this in a low voice, slowly increasing the pressure he held on the man in front of him. Once satisfied that the man was going to leave, he released him and turned back to Hermione.

"Are you alright?" He asked, no longer angry but worried about her.

"I'm.. I'm alright." She said shakily as they began walking again.

They reached the courtrooms, and Fred took a seat with the rest of his family as Harry, Ron and Hermione made their way down to the seats for those that were testifying. Hermione glanced back at him, and Fred nodded at her reassuringly. She seemed to relax slightly, though she still held tightly to Harry's hand.

Fred didn't pay much attention to the trial, he only watched Hermione. He continuously bit the inside of his cheek, ignoring anything his family whispered around him. Finally, he heard Hermione's name being called, and he watched as she slowly stood from her seat and made her way to the makeshift witness stand.

"Miss, could you please state your name for the record?" The wizard asked.

"Her-Hermione Granger." She said, taking a deep breath.

"Thank you. And I think I speak for everyone when I say thank you for everything you have done for the wizarding world." He said sincerely to her. She nodded once and he looked down at the paper he held in his hands.

"Now, were you present at Malfoy Manor on the day in question?" He asked.

"I was." Hermione confirmed. Fred mentally kicked himself, he wished that he had listened to everything before now.

"And could you please tell us everything you remember?" He asked her. She was obviously uncomfortable and she set her notebook down on the desk in front of her with shaking hands. As soon as she released it, it flipped open and she stared down at the page in front of her.

"Yes, I can." She said, her voice now steady even though her hands were shaking.

"We had been caught in the woods by some snatchers. We lied about who we were, saying that we had just been out camping. I had cast a stinging jinx on Harry's face, so that they wouldn't recognize him. They didn't, and they were going to take us to the Ministry until they found a copy of the Daily Prophet that had all of our pictures on it. They figured out who Ron and I were, and because it was known we were on the run with Harry, they figured out who he was too. They took us to Malfoy Manor instead." She paused to take a deep breath, and the man in front of her decided that it was a good time to ask her a question.

"Why did they decide to take you to Malfoy Manor instead?" He asked her.

"Well, we didn't know it at the time, but that's where Voldemort had made his headquarters." Hermione answered.

"How did you find that out?" He asked, and Hermione raised an eyebrow at him.

"Lestrange said so when we were there." Hermione answered slowly.

"Bellatrix?" He asked for clarification.

"Yes." Hermione said through clenched teeth.

"Thank you, please continue." He said, giving her a nod.

"We got to the manor, and they were going to call Voldemort when they decided that it was really Harry. But Lestrange- yes, that one-" She interrupted herself as the man questioning her opened his mouth. "She saw that we had the Sword of Gryffindor. We didn't know, but Severus Snape had smuggled it out of the castle and had planted it in a pond for Harry to find it. She knew that the Sword of Gryffindor had been inside of her vault in Gringotts, and she insisted that they wait to summon Voldemort. She told Worm- sorry, Peter Pettigrew, to take Harry and Ron down to the cellar, and said that she was going to question me…" She closed her eyes, and continued to speak.

"She asked me where we had gotten it, I told her the truth, we had found it. She didn't believe me. She… She used the cruciatus curse on me first. Too many times, I didn't think to keep count. Then.. I felt her on top of me. She held me down and pressed a blade against my neck, and continued to ask me where we had gotten it, and what else we had stolen from her vault. She put the knife against my arm and carved 'mudblood' into my arm." She said, opening her eyes as she finished and looked at the man in front of her.

"Thank you, now do you remember if any of the Malfoys were in the room?" He asked. "Or, if any of them tried to stop what was happening?"

"I… Lucius was there. I know that. He was watching from the corner. I saw… Narcissa next to him. No… She was crying. He was holding onto her arm, but it looked like she was trying to get away from him." She told him.

"And, the young Mr. Malfoy?" He asked, gesturing to the middle of the room, where Draco Malfoy was chained down in a chair.

"I- I think he was outside… She had told him to take the snatchers outside." Hermione answered.

"Did either of the Malfoys inside the house try to help you?" He asked.

"No." She whispered.

"Is there anything you would like to add to your testimony?" He asked.

"Yes. I- I think that Draco Malfoy was forced into the position he was in. In the end, he fought some of the Death Eaters and, if I recall correctly, he and his mother turned themselves into Minister Kingsley as soon as they were sure that the Ministry had been cleared of any other Death Eaters. I honestly believe that he did everything he could to survive." She told him.

"Thank you, you may return to your seat." The man said, giving her a slight bow. She quickly stood and walked swiftly to her chair. Harry wrapped an arm around her shoulders until his own name was called.

His and Ron's questions ran along the same lines that Hermione's had, and Fred listened to every word. He wanted to know everything that had happened, and he knew that this was his chance to learn everything he could about when they were on the run. After this, he and Hermione would be able to talk about it, but he knew why she didn't want to relive the story more than once. He felt pure rage as he listened to the detailed accounts of what they had been through, but urged himself to remain calm as that was the reason they were here, for justice.

As soon as the testimonies were over, they dismissed the witnesses and Fred rushed to meet Hermione and the other two outside of the courthouse. When he saw them, he found that only Hermione and Ron had exited, looking slightly confused.

"Where's Harry?" He asked, looking around for him.

"He said he wanted to talk to Kingsley." Ron said with a shrug.

Fred turned to Hermione, who immediately wrapped him into a hug. He gently settled his chin on her mass of curls and hugged her tightly back. They stayed like that for a moment, until Ron cleared his throat, reminding them that they weren't alone.

"Are you alright?" Fred asked, looking at Hermione as she released him. She gave him a smile and nodded.

"Better than I thought I would be." She answered.

"Well good." He glanced down at his watch just as his stomach growled. "Do you think we could go get a bit before we head to the shop?" He asked, and she nodded.

"Can we wait for Harry though? I want to make sure that he's alright." She said, glancing around with concern. Fred couldn't help but smile at her, the way she looked reminded him of when they were in school and she was always trying to keep an eye on Harry.

"Of course we can." He replied, reaching one hand out and lightly brushing the back of her hand. She jumped slightly, but inserted her hand into his palm.

Luckily for Fred, they didn't have to wait long for Harry to show up, looking pleased with himself. Hermione instantly let go of Fred's hand and hugged Harry.

"So, what did you want to talk to Kingsley about?" Fred asked as Hermione backed away from Harry and returned to his side.

"I wanted to know if they really needed to hear all of that again for the other two." Harry said, looking grim.

"Do they?" Ron asked, his face pale.

"No. They are going to just use the testimonies on record. I just told him I didn't want any of us reliving the worst days of our lives." Harry said, looking down at the floor.

"Thank Merlin…" Fred heard Hermione whisper. He reached out and squeezed her hand, and she smiled up at him, looking immensely relieved. "Can we go get lunch now?" She asked. Both Harry and Ron perked at the prospect of food, as neither of them had eaten much that morning due to nerves.

"Erm.. could we maybe come along?" Harry asked, smiling hopefully.

"Of course, Harry." Hermione said with an exaggerated sigh. "What about the rest?" She asked, looking to Fred.

"They wanted to stay and watch the whole thing." He said, shaking his head and wondering how anyone would want to watch a trial.

He had asked Ginny why the day before, and she had raised an eyebrow at him in disbelief before answering.

"Don't you want them to see your reaction? You, staying strong and being happy that there is finally justice? Justice for all of the lives lost, for what they did to the people we love?" She had asked him.

"Not particularly, I'd rather not set an eye on them for the rest of my life." He had answered truthfully.

"Well… I want them to see me. I want them to know that they didn't break me, that I'm still me." She had said with determination.

He didn't see the point. As a matter of fact, he saw it as a lie. They were broken, all of them, in one way or another. They had lost people that they loved, and it had left a hole in their lives, something that could never be repaired. They had fought in a war, something that they should have never been involved in if Dumbledore had done his job right, and had just told them everything. The Order had formed for a reason, and Dumbledore had neglected to tell them about the one thing that could have saved them time and people.

The small group made their way to a nearby apparation point, purposefully avoiding going back to the atrium and being further accosted by more reporters, and after agreeing on a place to eat, they apparated.

They had chosen a small sandwich shop hidden in Diagon Alley, knowing that the shop was well known for their discretion (and their sandwiches). The owner, after seeing who had just entered their shop, ushered them to a small table that was nestled into the furthest corner of the establishment. Hermione insisted that she take the seat in the corner, as it had a full view of the shop, and pulled her wand out of her robes and held tightly onto it with one hand under the table. Fred had noticed this new habit over the last week, as she even did it when they were having dinner at the Burrow, but had chosen not to say anything. If it gave her comfort, who was he to argue? He himself had taken to placing his wand in his lap when out in public, which unnerved George.

Fred was surprised when Hermione ordered a meal instead of her usual chips or snack of some sort. He raised his eyebrows slightly, and she smiled at him.

"I'm hungry." She said with a shrug, and he grinned widely at her.

"Really?" He asked. "You aren't just pulling my wand?"

"I might not be able to eat it all, but.. I need to start trying." She told him softly as Harry and George struck up their own conversation across the table. Fred rubbed his knuckles lightly against her knee, pleased that she didn't jump at the contact.

"That's my girl." He said, leaning in and giving her a kiss on the temple. He had been worried, she had seemed to be getting thinner, and he had told George that he was ready to check her into St. Mungo's if only to get her a nourishing potion. George had rolled his eyes and shook his head, telling Fred that he just needed to give her a bit more time.

As she predicted, Hermione was unable to finish her meal, but she managed to eat almost half of it before stopping. She stared down at her plate as everyone around her ate, and Fred looked to the other men across the table. They came to a silent understanding, if she was done, they were too. Fred caught the eye of a waiter nearby, and held up his hand. The waiter seemed to understand that they were done, and brought over takeout boxes and the check.

Hermione and Fred said bye to the other two, and began walking down the lane to the shop. There was a small crowd in front of the shop, and Fred instantly took Hermione's hand. She bit her lip, nervous about how many people were there. Instead of going through the front door, Fred led her around the shop and let go of her hand just long enough to undo the wards that he and George had set on the backdoor. He held it open for her, and she quickly stepped inside and immediately went to the lab that they had entered next to. After warding the door again, Fred made sure that she was okay before going to change into his work robes and finding George.

His twin happened to be at the checkout counter, attempting to help a long line of people leave the store in record time, and Fred easily slid behind the counter and began to help him.

"Thank you." George said when the line finally disappeared and there was only a handful of people left in the shop.

"My pleasure. I left the lab in more than capable hands." Fred said with a grin. "She ate half a sandwich at lunch." He whispered to his twin. His face brightened, and hugged Fred.

"She did?" He asked, releasing him. Fred nodded happily. "That's brilliant! She's in the lab?" He asked. Fred laughed and nodded, knowing that when he had been absent in Hermione's life, George had been there and they had grown to be closer friends than before. George gave his twin a smile before excusing himself and practically running to the lab, where Fred was sure he would give Hermione a large hug.

Fred busied himself with the customers that filed into the shop, going back and forth between the floor and behind the counter. Years ago, he might have been jealous that George was alone with Hermione, but they had both proven long ago that the only love between them was highly platonic. Hours passed, and finally it was time to close up. Fred began to clean up and was just about to lock the door when a figure appeared. It was close to dark outside, so Fred couldn't quite make out if it was a friend or not, so he held his wand in one hand as the person entered. He laughed as he stepped into the light, it was Lee Jordan.

"Lee!" He said, flicking his wand at the door, locking it.

"Hello mate." Lee said, grinning. "Thought I'd stop by, see if you and George could spare some time for me?" He asked. Fred rolled his eyes, and gestured for Lee to follow him. They walked together to the lab, where they found George and Hermione working in a comfortable silence.

"Look who I found." Fred said, stepping aside and allowing them a clear view at Lee. Hermione and George both jumped up, as none of them had seen him since the battle, and each hugged him tightly.

"George, Hermione, how are you?" He asked them after hugging each of them.

"Brilliant!" George answered gleefully.

"Better, now that we are all together again." Hermione answered with a small smile.