Chapter 8
The memories start as the twins look for their younger brothers, being Ron and Harry.
They encounter Hermione sitting alone in a compartment. Fred decides that the two boys didn't make it on the train and will be at the school some point during the meal. With this opinion, he leaves his twin to spend time with Hermione alone. George thanks him silently and goes to sit with the girl. Fred locks the door, so the two are not disturbed.
George hears the locking and decides to leave it be. He sits down next to Hermione and they talk for hours. Hermione falls asleep against the window and starts shivering, so George gently pulls her into his arms and warms her chilled skin.
He feels a few tears leak out of his eyes. She is physically in his arms, but yet she is not his. The thought depresses him immensely.
Hermione boarded the train, hoping to see her friends again. Most of all, she wanted to see George. After some intense introspection, she had found that she did like him. He seemed to care about her too, though he was a little distant at times.
When she and the twins figured out that Ronald and Harry had somehow missed the train, she assumed that they would continue on to sit with their friends. Fred nodded to her and left, but George stayed and talked with her until she fell asleep. The long hours bowling with Dad and taking classes with Mum had tired her out. She was leaning against the window when she fell asleep, even with the cold. When she woke, she was wrapped securely in George's warm arms.
She stretched up, yawning and thanked him with a small kiss to his cheek. She watches amazed when he blushes deep red. It matches the burning on hers.
The train pulls in and Hermione is sure that she will have to endure another ride with Lavender and Parvarti. She doesn't, because George hurries her along to pile in with him, Fred and Lee. The black boy with the wild dreadscheers her when she asks how his spider is doing. He is happy to see a girl that doesn't freak at the sight of the hairy eight-legged bug. "She wasn't like this guy, but there is a story with a huge spider in it. It is called The Lord of the Rings, by J. R. R. Tolkien. It is filled with wood elves, trolls, goblins, men and wizards." She tells them.
The boy tells her that he is going to seek it out, the next time he gets to the Muggle world. Hermione realizes that he is probably being nice, but she appreciatesthe effort.
At the feast, she sits with Fred, George, Lee and Percy. Soon, Harry and Ron are escorted into the Great Hall by McGonagall and Snape. That must have been a great showdown.
Hermione lays in bed and wonders if she might have a chance with the beater.
The days pass, soon George is busy with practice and games and the like, as well as coming up with new pranks with Fred. They want to be like their heroes, the Marauders. They have had their map for a year now and it is a huge help.
On the map, George notices that Hermione is spending a large amount of time in the second floor girls' room. He hopes that it isn't something like last year.
About a month later, he finds out what has been going on. Hermione is now in the infirmary. He sneaks out one night and goes up to find out what is wrong. He searches her out, but doesn't see her anywhere.
The map doesn't lie, so he looks harder. When his spot is directly over hers, he looks up again and only sees a drawn curtainaround a bed. George draws it back and finds Hermione sleeping soundly. Her whole body is covered in fur. She has cat's whiskers attachedto a little snout and pointed ears. The blankets move and he picks up the side. There is a long, smooth tail.
Hermione had turned into a cat, but how? He had no clue how something like this has happened, but he knew who might. Angry that Harry and Ron had done something stupid again, he goes back to the dorms and falls asleep. He will have a talk with Harry in the morning.
The young boy was already upset about it. He told George the whole thing. Shaking his head, George thinks about the ingredients of the potion. He is the twin with the gift with potions. Soon enough, in his spare time he has what he thinks might help, but first he needs to convince Hermione to take it.
It takes a lot of cajolingfor do so, but finally she reaches over and drinks the potion, mostly to just shut him up. Within an hour, Hermione is fur and tail free. She thanks George, hugging him. He just wraps her tightly in his arms and holds on.
A month later, Hermione is back in the Infirmary. This time as a victim to whatever was plaguingthe halls. Hermione was petrified and with the whole school in an uproar, there was nothing for him to do, but switch off with Harry sitting by her bedside.
He poured his heart out to her on his nights, telling her what went on that day, how Alicia Spinnet was still trying to get him to ask her out. "That is not going to happen." He told Hermione's frozen form.
He read her stories from the few fictional books in the library. Mostly, he told her how much he wanted to be with her, but how he was trying to give her time to like him and be old enough for a real relationship, no matter how much it killed him to do so.
It took two whole months to brew the potion to unfreeze the students and Mrs. Norris. Hermione helped all she could. Harry used the clue that Hagrid told him and then her scrap of parchment to figure it out.
The fact that it was Ginerva was surprisingand Hermione tried her best to help the girl. When she walked into the Hall, she rushed into Harry's arms, shook hands with Ron and was hugged hard by Fred. George twirled her around in a hug and whispered how happy he was to see her again.
They all sit to eat the farewell feast and Hermione hands in what work she had done for the year. The professors were amazed that she had that much ahead, before she was frozen. This is the beginning of the Smartest Witch comments.
The summer is easier, with both Harry and George writing to her. The Weasleys had traveled to Egypt to visit Bill, the oldest son, on his dig. They had won the money to do such in a Ministry lottery. Both the twins and Hermione thought that it was not a very intelligent use of the money, but it wasn't up to them to say.
Hermione and her parents had gone to France and everyone met up at the Leaky Cauldron. They go shopping for their supplies and Hermione gets a cat with the money that her parents give her for an early birthday present. Crookshanks immediatelyhates Ron and loves the twins and Harry. So he is great in Hermione's book.
The twins and Percy are the most organized of their family the next morning. They pass on their mother's liverwurst sandwiches, and place their trunks into the cars that their father had commissioned to take them all to King's Cross.