Chapter 5

(Nov. 4, 1998)

"Hermione!"

Bolting upright and jostling Teddy, I scrambled off the bed.

I quickly bundled Teddy up with a random baby blanket and ran towards the door just as Harry yelled my name again. My mother's door opened at the same. We glanced worriedly at each other for a split second.

She took Teddy from my arms just as he began to rouse.

It was still dark outside, which meant it was still night or early morning. Harry wouldn't barge in like this unless it was important. He'd left a little after dinner since he was supposed to pick Ginny up from the Burrow.

Coming into the living room, I saw Harry pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace. I quickly strode over, checking him over for injury.

"What's wrong, Harry?"

He'd been home since he was wearing different clothing and his hair was curlier than usual.

"Hermione. I- God, I don't know how to feel. I just-," his face took on an expression of fury and despair, "They're dead. I mean, I wasn't talking to them since they came back. I just don't know if I'm sad because they're blood-wise the only family I had left."

The Dursleys were the ones he was talking about then. They had treated him like trash when he'd been living with them. There were no love or family ties left.

Only bad blood and estrangement.

"I thought you said they had moved away?"

He was about to answer when Teddy let out a loud wail. Harry noticed that we were in our nightclothes and that he had woken up everyone else.

Harry took a deep calming breath before approaching Teddy. He picked him up, rocking him back and forth to soothe him. Mother patted Harry's back in support before striding out of the living room. Presumably, boil some water for tea. Merlin knew we all needed some right now.

"They'd moved away, but they came back last month. Not in the same place but close enough that they must have been seen by whoever wanted to hurt them. I got a patronus from Kingsley who had been working late. He heard that there had been a large magical signal from the wand of somebody they had been tracking near Little Whinging. Two Aurors who were on duty went to check on it and reported back to Kingsley through their patronus, saying it looked like regular fire. It wasn't a regular fire. One of the Aurors touched it and lit up like a matchstick." Harry said as he followed my mother into the kitchen.

Harry sat Teddy down on his chair, handing him the bottle my mother had prepared. Teddy sleepily accepted it, his hair turning a baby blue, eyes darting between all of the adults.

"It was Fiendfyre, wasn't it? The same one that killed Crabbe." I said as I sipped my tea. She had seen how fast Crabbe had died to it. The Auror had stood no chance against it.

The smell of Earl Grey filled the room, the aroma almost soothing us into a false sense of calm. Mother passed us mugs of hot tea, making sure to give Harry more.

Harry gazed down at his tea with a heavy stare, "Yes, though this time it was somebody else that cast it but got away with it."

I stared at his hands, which were clenched tightly around the mug. "Who? I didn't think anybody other than the most powerful wizards could weld it, much less control it."

"This person didn't control it at all. The wand signal had come from somebody that we think is already dead. When the Minister wanted to catch the missing Death Eaters, he had set wards, spells, and charms so that we knew whenever they used their wands. But we hadn't included the ones that had already died, or we thought were dead. The majority of the wands were lost or destroyed. Gregory Goyle was seen at the scene. Auror Shirhan didn't know at a glance who he was until after Goyle escaped. Kingsley and Amelia Bones had to run the description before asking us if we knew who it was. It still doesn't tell us much since the wand used was Alecto's." Harry said grimly while taking a large mouthful of tea. He probably wished it were something stronger but I knew he wouldn't drink.

He'd once said that seeing Sirius get drunk made him see that it didn't make things better. Just worst. Sirius had told him that he drank because he should have never outlived James and Lily.

I had a feeling that it was more than just their deaths that drove him to drink.

Forcing my shields tighter as my emotions started taking a dark turn; I reached for Harry's hand. It was warm from the cup, but when I moved my hand a little higher, his skin was ice cold.

"You came directly from Goyle's residence?" I asked as he wrapped his arm around me.

"Yeah, the manor was empty since the Ministry took almost anything with dark magic."

I remembered when Harry had told her exactly what they had found in Goyle's residence. The stench of death had been strong. The dungeons had been full of bodies. Young girls of all ages. A mixture of muggles and wizards alike.

The bodies had been in several stages of decomposition, others had been only bones. The bones had let the Minister know how long Goyle Sr had been doing it.

Even before Riddle's rise to power.

Harry had been with the group that had gone. He'd told me everything he'd witnessed. He did not get to sleep that night. I hadn't either. Ron hadn't been able to go since he'd been helping Billy and Fluer with their move. That hadn't stopped Ron from hearing about it.

"We didn't find anything, and the wards we had set before hadn't gone off. I was told to go home since the muggle authorities might try to get in touch with me. Ginny was home, but I don't want her to see me like this." Harry said as he pushed his cup away.

Poor Ginny, she had moved in with Harry and Ron at Grimland place just two months after the battle because they couldn't live at the Burrow. Ron sometimes stayed with his parents when he couldn't be around Harry.

Everybody knew that Molly needed all the help she could get. Losing three of her sons had hit her hard. So Bill had moved back in with his wife, Fleur. Even I went over often.

"Go back to her, Harry. She wants to be there for you. You know I'll always be here. We may not be blood-related, but I see you as my brother." I said gently.

My mother got up to pick up Teddy, who had slowly slumped to the side in a baby coma. She kissed Harry's forhead, knowing that a hug would be pushing it. She knew what was allowed and what wasn't with us.

Harry pushed back from the table and walked up behind me. He leaned down and wrapped his arms around my shoulders, chin resting on my shoulder.

"I know. I see you as a sister, and now you're the only family I have left aside from the Weasleys, Remus, and Teddy. I love Ginny, but I fear losing her. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night to stare at her for hours. She's so amazing and smart. I don't want to trouble her with my petty problems." he said quietly.

"Harry, I love you, but you can be an idiot sometimes. Ginny loves you, and she probably doesn't think your problems are 'petty' as you put it. Go to her and try to talk to her. You are not the only one hurting right now. She also lost three brothers," I spoke, pushing him back and away from me.

I ruffled his hair and grabbed all three cups before moving to the sink.

"Love her and trust her to listen to you. But also listen to her."

He walked out but not before sending her a tired smile. "I need you and Ron right now. We've been together for so long that sometimes being away from you two makes me anxious. That will probably never go away. At least not anytime soon. Bye, Mione."

I washed the cups before putting them away with a sad sigh. I had wanted to get it all done before anybody died, but I guess that was impossible. Especially since we were dealing with people who hadn't minded going to war with a bunch of teenagers. They had killed children, women and men alike without remorse.

Heading upstairs, I planned to check on my mother, but she was already sitting at the top of the stairs. I moved to sit beside her and wrapped my arm around her.

"When I see both of you like that, it's easy to see why people think both of you are more than just friends. The same could be said about Ron and you. But it isn't. Only the ones that know you three closely understand that you all need each other. I used to worry that you would never have close friends when you left your first year. Whatever you three have now is more. The war only made it permanent."

"I'll admit that I too, was afraid I would never make friends at first that was true. I didn't like Ron in the beginning. Harry was just the boy who lived to me. They were awful to me at first, but as the year went on I came to love them," I chuckled, "I used to have a crush on both boys. Hey, don't laugh! Mum! I'm serious!"

Mum snorted before laughing outright. "Your father was right! We had spoken about which boy you would end up liking, and I said Harry, your father said both jokingly."

"Mum! Dad would never have said that. He forbid me from dating till I was twenty!" I gasped in mock outrage.

Mum giggled, "Oh, your father was only joking. But I'm sure he wasn't expecting you to date until you were in your late teens."

It was the first time she had willingly spoken about dad. I didn't want her to stop talking. I hugged her tight as she continued talking.

"Your father and I had the same experience. I was best friends with him and another boy named Lane Wood. We only ever saw him in the summer when he came to visit family. We saw him every summer before we turned sixteen and never heard from him again. Hayden asked me out a year later, and we headed to college together. The rest, you know."

"I miss father so much," I whispered as my eyes watered.

Mum grabbed my hand tightly, "I miss him too, pumpkin."

It was almost time to leave when I woke up from the nap I had taken with Teddy on the couch.

Mother took him, baby food ready for him on the table. I stretched like a cat before making my way upstairs.

I changed into some dark jeans and a brown pullover before strapping the holster for my wand around my wrist. I put on the new portkey Remus had sent over around my neck. It was a simple necklace made of dark string with a black bead hanging from it. I had to tap it twice, and it would take me to the Burrow.

Grabbing the cloak hanging behind the door, I grabbed my bag and shoved in two books along with some parchment. I hesitated but didn't want to risk it and added some potions.

"Remus said he was coming over for lunch, so you should be fine. If, he asks where I'm at, tell him I'm at the ministry."

She frowned but didn't question me. "Alright, take care."

Nodding, I kissed Teddy on the cheek and stepped outside to apparate to Malfoy Manor.

Landing a bit unsteadily on the gravel floor, I pulled the cloak tighter around me as I looked up at the gates in front of me. They looked the same as the last time I'd seen them. I stood there for God knows how long.

Too many things crowded my mind as I stood there. So distracted with memories that it took me a second too late to realize I wasn't alone anymore.

I held my wand at ready without a second thought.

Severus Snape, Draco Malfoy, and Theodore Nott were standing in front of me. They didn't even look at my wand.

I swallowed hard past the lump in my throat, "Sorry, I was lost in thought, and I wasn't paying attention."

Nott shrugged while Malfoy stared down at the floor. Snape was staring intently at me but otherwise didn't try to talk. I stepped forward and felt the pull of the wards as I did. I walked until I was directly in front of Malfoy, while Snape was to my right and Nott to my left. I kept a careful distance from them.

Malfoy still wouldn't look at me but instead kept his gaze on the floor.

"Malfoy." Nott's low voice seemed to snap him out, and without so much, a glance at me turned around and headed back the way they had come.

I followed Malfoy, fully aware that I was in the middle.

We stopped at the large doors in front of the manor. Draco pushed the door opened and stepped aside to let me in first. I took one step and almost staggered. The door opened the same way as the last time I had been here. Both doors slid open silently.

But this time, I came in willingly.

Merlin, watch over me, please. I didn't want to do this, but I needed to.

I forced myself to stand still and not run. I knew if I did the latter, I would never move on.

That was worse.