Chapter 4

Hermione waves goodbye to the Tonks and Bella as she gets ready to get into the carriage. Their daughter, Nymphadora, and her husband, Remus, arrived shortly after Andy and Bella walked off to argue.

"I can escort her home, Andy, she really shouldn't be alone," Bellatrix argues, trying to get to the carriage but being blocked by Andy.

"I cannot begin to explain all of the reasons that would be a horrid idea," Andy says, holding onto Bella's arm to keep her from getting into the carriage.

"Fine, but if she dies, that's on you," is Bella's retort, crossing her arms and watching the carriage.

"That's enough," Andy says, swatting Bella with her fan before turning to talk to Hermione, "I'll write you today probably, we should schedule tea so we can talk," Andy begins, and then she whispers, "without her," she says, gesturing to Bella.

The carriage driver opens the door for Hermione so she can step in and as soon as she does, the door is shut and the carriage is off. It quickly gets to the bakery and she's inside her apartment in no time. Once she's there, she sees her father sitting at the table, eating breakfast and reading a book. She greets him and hurries off to her bedroom, changing from the ill-fitting dress to one that's comfortable.

Most of her day is spent reading up on etiquette and social rules for the upper class in the library. She needs to present herself as a noble woman if she's going to marry Ron Weasley. Most of the rules restrict her and when she reads up on how to be a proper wife, she begins wishing she could just become a lonely spinster. The rules that will dictate her life very soon make the money involved have no meaning to her. Losing her freedom for pretty things and children isn't even close to worth it. But she can't go back, there's no choice. There wasn't even much of one to begin with, she wouldn't be able to deal with disappointing her father.

When it's time for dinner, she goes into the kitchen and begins cooking and her father joins her, sitting at the table and making conversation.

"You've got a letter here from Andromeda Tonks. How do you know her?" He asks, picking it up from the table where he laid it down after he opened it.

"I met her last night at the ball, why? I know her husband is a coworker of yours,"

"Why didn't you stay with the Weasleys last night?"

"I didn't want to go find them and Andromeda offered to let me stay in her guest bedroom," Hermione says, getting defensive.

"Just be careful," her father sighs, "imagine if they had a son, you'd never hear the end of it. I love you Hermione but now everyone is watching to see if you'll mess up. You need to be more responsible," he seems worried, not disappointed, "anyway, she wants you to meet her for lunch tomorrow at the restaurant in town, the nicer one of the two,"

"I'll meet her there then," Hermione says, putting the food on the table but barely eating anything.

"Why don't you eat, Hermione?" her father asks, attempting conversation.

"Do you know anything about Bellatrix Lestrange?" Hermione asks out of the blue, obviously starling her father with the question.

"Yes, I know of her," He says, "why do you ask?"

"Well, I saw her at the Weasley ball, and actually spoke to her last night," Hermione says, leaving out the being pinned in a corner and sleeping in the same bed, she has a feeling that wouldn't go over well, "I was just wondering what you know of her, if you've ever done business with her family. Besides the Tonks, of course,"

"No, Hermione, I haven't. The Blacks keep to themselves. They're a strange lot if you ask me," with that, the conversation dies and dinner is continued in silence. Hermione excuses herself from the table early, making her way to her room to get ready for bed.

…

Hermione wakes up late, she stayed up reading and worrying herself over her upcoming marriage. She quickly gets up and gets dressed, doing some light cleaning before lunch time. Her father is at work so there's no cooking to worry about until this evening. She keeps herself busy, doing anything she can to avoid thinking about her future.

She meets Andy at the restaurant around lunch time, the business is decorated nicely but still maintains a cozy appearance. A waiter brings out menus and they order quickly; the menu is actually rather complicated. Hermione and her father have never gone to a restaurant, there was never excess money. So, Hermione ends up ordering the same thing Andy does. She hopes she did a good enough job of not giving away her confusion. But, Andy's smirk says otherwise.

"So, what I meant to talk to you about is actually my sister. She's not an easy person to get along with, but I'm sure you already know that," Andy begins, taking a sip of her tea, "Bella is strange in many ways, she's not much for being social and if she is, she's always drunk. It makes her a big nuisance to everyone else but to her, she's having the time of her life. That's why I can't really stay angry at her, she's unhappy and mad at the world. I'm not too sure why, I just know she hates her marriage to Rodolphus Lestrange, that's why I call her Black, by the way, she can't stand anything to do with that man. Anyway, I invited you here to talk about something mo-" Andy is cut off by a scream from the street. Naturally, everyone hurries out to see what's going on but they're pushed back by shopkeepers while the police arrive.

Hermione is quickly swallowed by the crowd, trying to fight to keep up with Andy. Her pace and presence making it easier for her to cut through the crowd than Hermione. And it's completely impossible for Hermione to walk behind Andy, the crowd closes in just as quickly as it parts.

Andy doesn't even stop to look, she just pulls Hermione from the crowd and toward her waiting carriage, muttering something that Hermione can't quite make out due to the noise surrounding them. Once they're in the carriage, Hermione feels like she can breathe again, and though it had felt like at least a few minutes in the crowd to her, it was most likely only thirty seconds, if even that.

"Are you okay Hermione?" Andy asks, a look of genuine concern on her face.

"Yes, I just need to catch my breath," Hermione replies, "you were saying there was something else you wanted to talk about. What was it?"

"Oh, nothing that matters right now. We have no idea what happened and it could be dangerous, we just need to get you home safe," Andy says, quickly changing the subject.

There's no time wasted getting Hermione to the bakery, but she really wishes not to be left alone, the idea of someone getting attacked is fresh in her mind and will be tumbling around her head for the rest of the day at the very least. But, her father will be home around eight and he'll most likely bring home a paper if the story was urgent enough to put into a paper and printed tonight. Hermione assures herself it can't be so bad, but a sinking feeling in her gut makes her think otherwise.

…

Her father gets home with a paper in hand, Hermione's fears were confirmed, it was definitely bad. Her dad handed her the paper, it was a short and to the point single article describing all of the details the police disclosed.

Animal Attack in Downtown

Earlier in the day, around half past twelve, a scream was heard by nearby shopkeepers. Upon further investigation, the incident resulted in the death of a man, near the age of sixty, who sold second-hand clothing. The death was ruled an animal attack and residents of the area are advised to only venture int crowded sections of the city, and if they must go somewhere more remote, go in a group.

And that's all the article says, nothing more, no name, though Hermione knew the man and had bought clothes from him quite a few times, no information on the type of wound or thoughts on the animal type. The whole thing seemed rather vague but the police tend to be rather secretive when it comes to big stories, they don't want to upset anyone with too much detail.

Supper is quiet tonight, there's very little conversation, Hermione can't stop thinking of the animal attack and her father is only talkative when she is.

Once the plates are cleared away, Hermione retires to her room, getting undressed and ready for bed. As she brushes her hair out at her vanity, she glances to her left, out the window and sees a figure. She steps closer to it, intending on locking it and drawing her curtains, but it sends her a playful wave and she relaxes immediately, it's just Bella, though she must be wearing new boots or it could be the angle, because she looks slightly taller. The green in her cloak is a strange contrast to her typical black. Hermione locks the window and draws the curtains anyway, just in case it isn't Bella.

…

Hermione wakes in the morning to whispering in the kitchen. Her father should be at work but it sounds like his voice and a woman's, too young to be Nan's. As soon as she steps into the kitchen, the conversation stops. Andy and Nymphadora are sitting at the table, talking with her father, a newspaper laid open in front of them.

"Hermione, love, I see you're awake," her father says, an obviously fake smile plastered across his face.

"Good morning Father," Hermione says, blinking sleep from her eyes, "is there a reason we have guests?"

"I don't mean to impose," Andy begins, "but, there was-" Hermione's dad holds up his hand.

"Please, let me explain, I want to be the one to tell her," he says, "Hermione, there was another attack outside the bakery last night, this was on a boy who was carrying flowers. We don't know if you knew him but, he was right below your window,"

"Okay, but what does this have to do with me? You can't possibly think I did it," Hermione says while putting a kettle on to boil.

"We've all agreed that it would be best that you didn't stay here anymore," was the quiet response, his voice pained.

"What? I can't leave. Where would I go? What about helping Nan in the bakery?"

"Well, we were debating sending you to live with the Weasleys," Hermione's heart sank, she didn't want to stay with them, "but that would bring gossip, you staying in your fiancé's home would have everyone whispering,"

"So, you'll be staying with us," Andy says, quiet excitement behind her otherwise level tone. Hermione breathes a sigh of relief at the fact that she won't have to stay with the Weasleys.

"You'll need to head to your room and pack your things, you most likely won't move back here, and Nan is hiring a new employee to help in the bakery. You'll stay there until your marriage to Ron and then you'll move to Weasley manor unless whatever creature is doing this is caught. You should spend the day downstairs since you're leaving tomorrow morning, Nan and Neville will want to see you," Her father says while Hermione finishes making the tea.

Instead of staying in the kitchen, Hermione goes back to her room to get dressed and packed. Once she has everything ready, she heads downstairs to the bakery where Nan and Neville are sitting and talking.

"Are we not opening the bakery today?" Hermione asks, her hand stopped halfway to the hook where her apron hangs.

"No, the police are outside, no one will come in. Not to mention, this may be the last time we see you for a little while," Nan says sadly.

"I can come to visit and we can have tea often, it's not like I'm going far away," is Hermione's confused response.

"You'll be busy with wedding preparations, dear. That will need a lot of your time,"

"But, we can have tea whenever possible," Neville adds in, trying to help and lighten the mood. Despite all of their best efforts, conversation fails and they're left sitting in silence, picking at pastries. None of them know what to say, they're not sure if they should say goodbye, or that they'll see each other soon. No one is really sure how these next few months will go. It's completely possible that there will no longer be a threat and Hermione can move back home. But it's more likely that she will stay in the Tonks' house until the wedding.

"Well, I do need to bake, there's a party a few streets over and they've ordered cakes," Nan says, getting up from her chair with some difficulty. These past few years, Nan has gotten less mobile, but she still runs the bakery every day, excluding Sundays of course.

"So, Hermione," Neville begins, clearly upset, "I know you're leaving and this will most likely be the last time I see you for a while. But please write, I don't know what I'll do if I don't get to hear from you. You've become such a common occurrence in my life, I couldn't imagine it without you,"

"It's not like I'm leaving forever, I won't be far either," Hermione says, confused at the solemn goodbyes she's been receiving.

"You may not be going far away, but you most likely won't come back to live here. It's barely six months before your wedding,"

"I can come back to visit,"

"Do you really think that once you're happily married to a rich man and you have more kids than his parents, you'll have time to come visit your old friends?" Neville asks, bitterness creeping into his voice.

"Of course, I'll have time. And I'm sure you know better than anyone that Ron isn't particularly my first choice for marriage. And you know I'd rather not have kids, not with the mess my mother went through,"

"But you'll still be busy," he says, his voice and demeanor becoming smaller.

"I'll never be too busy for my family," Hermione says, putting her hand on Neville's arm to comfort him.

They end up spending their time in the library, Neville writing a letter to Luna about the attacks. She's spending time with her family in the country, but Neville has been writing to her regularly to keep her caught up on what has been happening. He works on the letter quietly while Hermione reads books. She can't keep her mind from wandering though. She's absolutely terrified that she'll end up a victim of one of these attacks. They always seem to happen near her. Then again, she could just be being silly, it's very likely that more will happen if the animal hasn't been caught. It was most likely just a coincidence that the first two happened when she way nearby.

Nonetheless, the words swim on the page and the ones she can make out make absolutely no sense.

"Hermione," Neville startles her out of her daydreaming, "you've been staring at that same page for at least five minutes; are you alright?"

"Oh," Hermione says, flipping the page quickly, "yes, I'm alright, I'm just thinking too much,"

"About what?"

"I've been thinking," she begins, "and I'm aware I may sound mad. But I was thinking that maybe the animal attacks have something to do with me,"

"Why would they?"

"They both happened very near me, and so maybe the animal wants me,"

"You've definitely been thinking too much, just try to relax and read," Neville glances at the book and takes it once he sees the title, "and don't read about social rules, read something you enjoy," he sets the book on the pile occupying slightly less than half of the desk. The library is overflowing but Hermione doesn't mind. All of these books are important to her in some way, most were here when she moved in. She's read every single one of them at least once.

She picks up a book full of fairytales, it was her favorite when she was a child and it shows by the tattered cover and yellowed pages. She still can't concentrate though and Neville notices. He finishes his letter and moves to sit in the chair across from Hermione.

"'Mione, there's obviously more bothering you. We don't have to talk about it, but we can talk," Neville says, Hermione welcomes the distraction and they begin talking about completely mundane things. The normalcy in the face of these sudden changes is comforting to Hermione. They used to spend hours in the library, talking and reading together.

…

Evening has arrived quicker than Hermione would have liked, but it's here and she's watching her belongings get loaded onto the carriage.