I own nothing.
CHAPTER 12.
The morning dawned bright and cool, perfect quidditch weather hermione was informed by a gleefull Ginny. Hermione got out of bed, clad in a pair of pajamas chosen for her by said red head in diagon alley. They where a deep pink, floaty shorts and camisole, both in silk, they were a bit revealing, but very soft and comfortable, Hermione loved them. the litle camisole had a row of three pear buttons at the neckline, which she had to undoo to remove the top.
She had just decided to spend her day practacing wandless magic, when they heared a scream from the floor bellow.
Both girls grabbed their wands, still clad only in night clothes and bare foot, and ran towards the comossion. They skidded to a halt to see the rest of the weasley siblings and harry, all in various degrees of undress.
Fred and George it seemed had started on Ron's punishment, sneaking a live tarantula into his bed, where the hell they had managed to find a live tarantula without leaving the house, she really didn't want to know. She did however have the sudden wish to stand on a chair.
The twins had, unfortunatley, forgotten to warn everyone else of their prank, and so harry had an exsasparated, if sattisfied look on his face, as he went back to change.
Looking to the other weasley boys, she noticed that the two eldest must have been changing when Ron screamed, for both where shirtless, revealing musculed chests and arms. Hermione could feel her face burning as she fought to not look at Charlie after their escapades in the alcove yesterday evening.
When she finally managed to pry her eyes away from Charlie's musculed torso, covered in tattoo's (Hermione bit her lip), she noticed that the four men where all determinatley not looking at her. Then she remebered, very tiny silk pajamas!
Looking down she realised in horror that two of the three perl buttons were undone, affording an unpbstructed view of her soft creamy clevage, one of the little straps had fallen from her shoulder, and was dragging the top even further down her form. With her wild curley hair, still mussd from sleep, she looked as though she had just fallen from the bed of some extreemly lucky man.
"Yerunda!" She swore.
Flushing furiously in embarresment, hermione dove behind a hystericall Ginny who had tears of laughter running down her face, grabbing the younger girl's shoulders to keep herself hidden.
"Im glad you think it's funny." Hermione groused.
"Ermione? You look smashing." Came the teasing throaty voice of a smirking Fleur, this only served to make Ginny laugh harder. Fleur cought Hermione's eye and looked pointedly at charlie, wiggling her eyebrows suggestivley.
She flushed scarlett, burrowing into Ginny's back, hiding her face from view.
"This is the last time I ever let you two choose my clothes." Hermione whined.
"Everything?...But the lingery is marvelous..." Ginny said slyly, a teasing look in her mischevious eyes, much to Hermione's horror. The four men all made choaking noises, so she decided beat a hasety retreat to change.
Fifteen minutes later, and fully clothed in a pretty summer dress chosen for her by Tonks this time, she wished she had actually chosen her own stuff while they were in diagon alley, hermione arrived in the kitchen.
As she did so, the four Weasley men all blushed furiously and looked determinatley at their plates, this made Hermione giggle. A big mistake, for the four now looked at her with identical evil smirks, that promised repayment, in full.
"Oh dear." She dead panned, causing the twins to chuckle quietly. She had spent enough time being best friends with Fred and George to spot their pranks a mile off.
Fred pulled out the chair inbetween himself and George for her, she looked at it dubiously, but the innocent smile he sent her clinched it, she opted insted to sit next to Lupin, who smiled at her warmly.
"You're no fun Mya." George teased, whilst Fred clutched his heart in mock hurt.
"Some might say that," hermione aqueased, taking a sip of tea, "However, others might call it having excellent self presovationall skills. Cough tarantula in my bed Cough." she finished pointedly, causing both twins to laugh raocusly.
After breakfast everyone placed themselves as they had yesterday, with the majority playing quidditch, and Hermione and Fleur watching. Today however, Tonks joined the spectators.
"Not a fan of flying tonks?" Hermione asked.
"Nahh, I can fly ok, I just lack certain skilles required for team sports." she explained.
"Like?" hermione pressed, not sure she wanted to know the answer.
"Patients for one thing, people are idiots." Tonks said bluntly, making the other women laugh.
She had decided to spend the day researching wandless magic, to see if she could gain any clues as to her new found ability. Opening the book on front of her, which she had borrowed from the Black family library, hermione began to read.
A wandless spell is a spell which is performed without the use of a wand.
No way, Hermione thought, rolling her eyes at the idiocy of the auther. She scanned the page to see who the author had just quoted...
'Merlin'...huh. Hermione thought, shaking her head as she went back to reading.
This form of magic can be particularly volatile, and can only be used effectively by powerful and disciplined wizards and witches. Sometimes, specific hand gestures focus the power of the spell and guide it to the target.
Wandless spells are often used in cases of underage magic, in which children under the age of eleven, who have no wands, sometimes use magic. This is known as Accidental Wandless Magic. On most of these occasions, the children have no control over their abilities, and will unintentionally use magic when upset or in danger. Some children, however, exert some control over their magic, but they are untrained in proper spells.
Setting the book down, she decided to try something simple. She found it remarkably easy, in fact, almost as easy as using a wand, the only thing she struggled with more wandlessly was her aim. She had been trying to levatate the book before her, and ended up hitting a twig a couple of inches next to it with her charm.
After forty minuets of hard graft, she had pretty much mastered nonverbal wandless magic, much to the amazment of the two watching her, who could barley manage a wingadiem leviosa without their wands, after trying solidly for over half an hour.
She amused herself for some time by putting her palms flat on the grass where she sat, and making different flowers spring from the earth around her. Soon, the three women where sitting in a virtual medow full of wild flowers.
"Have you ever practiced the art of wandless magic before Miss Granger?" Came a smooth voice from behind the three women, causing them all to jump, and squeak in fright. The rose bush Hermione had been slowly growing suddenly exploded to the size of a small car before she could clam herself and stop it.
"Svyatoye der'mo." Hermione swore under her breath, turning towards her potions professor, her hand had flown to her throat in shock.
Professor Snape's mouth twitched in amusment, he looked very out of place in his black robes, standing in a field of flowers.
"No professor, yesterday was the first time." she said, curious as to why this new found tallent had made its self known now. She had never done any serious wandless magic as a child, even before her Hogwarts letter had arrived, and she knew from friends at school, that accidental magic was extreemly common.
Snape regarded her for a moment, black eyes staring at her calculatingly, before saying, "That is most impressive." Then turning on his heel, and walking back into the house.
Hermione was flabbergasted, that had been a compliment, no hidden insults no double meaning, a plain and simple compliment. She was in shock.
"Have I gone temporarily deaf?" asked a staggared looking Tonks. Hemione just looked at her, struck dumb.
Brilliant, she thought to herself, brightest witch of her age, can do wandless nonverbal magic, can't use her words though.
"I've never..." she finally stammered, still gobsmacked, staring at the back door through which the infamous potions master had just dissapeared.
"It was snape right?" Said tonks uncertainly, "Not some kind of trick, or group hallucination...?" Tonks cast arond for some explination as to Professor snapes personality transplant, she even pinched her arm expectantly.
By this point, Fleur who was sitting between them was crying with laughter, clutching her sides in mirth, and staring at the two british witches reaction to, what to her, had seemed to be a perfectly natural occurance. She was forgiven her ignorance however, she had never, after all, been tought by professor snape.
Hermione just shook her head, and went back to making flowers grow out of the ground around her, it was childish, but entertaining.
By the time the quidditch match had ended, this time with no near fatalitys, the three women could be found giggling like school girls, all wearing flower crowns and daisy chains. Fleur was currently weaving flowers through hermione's curls, and Tonks was weaving a flower crown which she planned to force on Sirius later.
They garnerd some strange looks from the others as they trapsed over to them. Well, except for ginny, who mereley planted herself on the ground next to them, and joined in.
"Women." Harry mumbled, shaking his head. The others could only nod in agreement.
That night was the second meeting since their arrival at Grimauld place. Half past eight found the entire order, along with Harry and Ginny sitting in the kitchen, having just finished a feast, curtasy of Molly, who had a single, perfect white rose in her hair, curtasy of Hermione and Fleur.
Dumbledore at the head of the table, sporting a daisy chain which he had draped over his wizards hat, much to Mcgonagalls dissaproval, cleared his throught for silence.
"Tonight is merley to finish the buisness started in the previous meeting," he began jovially, eyes twinkeling at Hermione. "Have there been any changes?"
The group unanimously decided not to discuss Ron in the meeting, but to let Molly and Arthur do so privitley with the headmaster later.
"Yes." said Hermione nervously, as every eye turned to her.
"I descovered yesteday that I can do wandless magic, I'd never done it before, it was an accident, but i tried again today, and, well, Professor Snape was impressed." Hermione finished, as if this alone where reason enough for it to be brought to the orders attention, which, in reality, it almost was. All eyes turned to Snape in blatant disbelief, he shifted uncomfortably.
"The girl mastered wandless nonverbal magic in under an hour." he said simply, causing many cries of shock.
"She was creating flowers like it was a simple switching spell." The order where now looking at Hermione in surprise, impressed.
"I don't get it." Harry muttered, thinking he'd alway known Hermione was brilliant. When he said as much, Sirius chuckled.
"Yes Harry, but wandless magic is rare," he explained patiently, "The only people i've ever seen do it are the headmaster and voldemort, and to manage it nonverbally, especially so young is..."
"Unheared of." Supplied Moody, who was eyeing Hermione warily, with both of his eyes. Hermione met his gaze head on, refusing to back down from the openly distrustfull look he was giving her. She was more than happy to stand toe to toe with the wizened auror, she was curious if she would past muster?
She didn't think she liked the way Moody was eyeing her, it seemed slightly threatning, although that may just have been the left over missgivings she had after her fourth year.
Harry rolled his eyes, still not surprised that his Mione should be so tallented, he grinned at her, before asking the room at large;
"Is this more or less impressive than making Polyjuice Potion in your second year?" Bill and Charlie laughed, remebering their conversation at the world cup two years ago.
Everyone gaped at Hermione, who blushed, and sent her potions master an apologetic look, he just smirked at her, indicating he had in fact known it was her that had stolen from his private stores, all along.
"Hypothetically?" Snape said, smirking at Hermione.
Harry snorted, "Sure."
"More impressive, even than creating a highly elegal potion, with ingerdients stolen from my private stores, whilst extreemly underage, in an abandoned, haunted bathroom, whilst breaking about fifty school rules in the process ...Hypothetically." Snape said, looking pointedly at Hermione, who was now remanising fondly.
"You did what?" the twins turned to their younger twin in disbelief, a look which many had mirrored on their own faces.
Harry elbowed Fred, "I always told you she was one of you two. She just never gets cought." He said smugly, looking at Hermione, who primly replied;
"I don't know what you're on about." But ruined the affect by winking at the twins.
Charlie chuckled, "So it wasn't you who smuggled an illegal dragon to me out of the castle in the dead of night, during your first year then?" Harry was remaicing fondly beside her now, a far away smile on her face.
"A dragon?" Molly asked faintly. Hermione nodded hesitantly back, shrugging.
"The illusion of bookworm prefect had now been ruined for me." Ginny teased, she had always seen the wicked streak in Hermione, being in possesion of one very similar herself.
Hermione just snorted in a very unladylike way, pocking her tounge in Ginny's general direction.
Dumbledore beamed, a look of great satisfaction crossed his face briefly, before he whiped it clean, going back to the topic at hand.
"I am not surprised my dear, you remeber me telling you that both your parents where extreemy powerfull?" she nodded. "This is merley your true power manifesting itself after the removal of your protection, you will grow used to it with practice, it will be a very usefull tool for you, never fear." he reasured her kindly.
After that, the meeting disbanded for Mr and Mrs Weasley to speak privatley with Dumbledore, and the others hounded Hermione to show then more wandless magic.
"Go on Mi, we were playing quidditch and didn't see any." Ginny whined.
With all eyes on her, hermione concentrated.
First she transfigured the plate on the table infront of her into a songbird, which sang merrily, and perched itself on Mad eye's shoulder, much to the rooms amusement.
She then plucked one of the flowers from her hair, that Fleur had added earlier. She held the pretty pink blossom in her hands, closing them brifley, hiding the flower from view. When she opened her hands again, the flower had turned to glass, keeping it's colour and delecasy, but now iternally frozen in bloom.
She took the little glass flower, and transfigured it into a clip, then handed it to a stunned Fleur, smiling shyly as she did so.
Fleur beamed in response, sliding the clip into her silvery blond hair after examining it closley.
People were watching her, entranced, she grinned, struck by sudden inspiration.
She imagined the flames she conjured and carried in jars when it got cold. Nonverbally she thought the enchantment, holding out her hand, palm up. There floating a couple of inches above her palm, was a small blue flame, flickering and dancing merrily. Before their eyes, the flame lightened, from blue to a vibrant glowing red.
Hermione then took her other hand and used it to stretch the flame, elongating it, and twisting it into a long rope of flame. Finally she held the rope of fire in one hand, whilst using her other to transfigure the flame into chrystal beads. When she was done, she held a long chrystal chain, that held flames within, dancing fire within ice.
Looking up, she saw that the whole room was watching her, stunned. Even Dumbledore looked shocked.
"I told you so." Said snape, smugly.
Unsure what to do, Hermione gave to chain to Ginny, who instantly placed it around her neck, matching her hair beautifuly.
Grinning sheepishly but inwardly cursing herself. Bloody show off, she thought, now their all gonna think you're a freak, said her inner voice snidley.
"Wicked." the twins said together, then, "Teach us."
The tension in the room gave way to laughter, and Hermione couldn't help thinking that she couldn't wait for things to clam down again.
The next few hours passed without trouble, but with lots more non verbal wandless magic, she ended up making matching bracelets, like Ginny's necklace, each for Fleur and Tonks. However then Mr and Mrs Weasley chose to share Ron's predicament as decided by Dumbledore.
It had been decided that Ron would be on educational Probation when he returned to school, for Hermione's safety. Ron had been called down from his room to hear his sentance, but only after most of the order, and Dumbledore, had left.
Needless to say Ron didn't take this news well, shouting about family loyalty, and how' The veela Bitch' always got her way. He had stormed of to his room soon after, but not before ailienating himself from nearly every member of his family, plus some others.
Molly had also decided that Ron was grounded until further notice, and that he has to maintain his grades, or else, something that was going to be much harder without Hermione's help.
Hermione went to bed that night dreaming of what it would be like to have a simple life.
She had trouble sleeping that night. The thought of this new power frightened her, she felt as though she was losing grasp of her self, regardless of her Headmaster's words.
In the early hours of the morning, she decided to give up on sleep. She pulled on some underwear, with some dark skinny jeans, a deep green soft woolen jumper, almost the same colour as her eyes, and some fluffy slippers before heading downstairs, pulling her raven hair atop her head as she went.
Nobody would be up yet, and she walked straight through the kitchen, to sit in the cool morning air on the back porch, intent on watching the sunrise.
She sat still as the sun rose, listening to the birds in the trees around her, heralding the day. They were beautiful, natural, and at peace with themselves. Some childish part of her envied them, but she knew that was rediculous.
She pushed her sleves up her arms, her face sareen, calm. Rubbing her hands together, she brought them both infront of her, palms outstretched, facing upwards. She closed her eyes, concentrating on the birds song, the breaze blowing lose strands of hair into her face.
When she opened her eyes, she gasped. There, floating above her hands, was a beautiful songbird. Only five or six inches long, and not much taller, it had beautiful plumage, streaked with blues and greens. But that wasn't the thing that took hermione's breath away.
The bird was made entireley of smoke. Giving it a strangley solid apperance, almost as if they were made from clouds. Its beauty brought tears to her eyes.
It spread its wings in her hands, and took of, circling her head. Closing her eyes again she focused on her surroundings, the feel of the mornings rays on her skin, and the crunch of the leaves on the trees.
Opening her eyes, she beamed, having succeded in creating more smoke birds, some yellow and gold, other purest white. They all took to the skies, and flew with their brother.
This is how Hermione was found later. By the time Ginny had come downstairs the others had alrady been at breakfast, and she saw Hermione wasn't there. Mrs Weasly motioned silently to the kitchen window, everyone went to look.
There, sitting cross legged on the floor, was Hermione. An entire flock of smoak birds in various sizes and colours flying around her. As they watched, she closed her eyes, conjuring another tiny bird, which quickly took of to it's brethren.
The order members watched intranced, none of them having seen Hermione look so sareen, so relaxed, even in sleep.
Beofre their eyes, she brought her hands together before her, making the smoak creatures vanish, she then straightened up, whiping tears from her cheeks silently.
The others went back to their food, acting as though they hadn't seen, giving Hermione her privacy. They kept sending her glances throughout the day, some awed, some wondering, and a few sympathetic.
None of them had considered the tole this would take on the young girl, for that is what she was. With her wisdome and intellegance, people often forgot that she was such a young woman.
A young woman who had, in the passed few days, discovered she was not who she thought. She had lost her muggle parents to some degree, only to discover she had lost her real ones many years ago, without her knowladge.
She had also unwillingly, and without choice, been gifted imense beauty and power, things that only the foolish truley wish for.
And she had born it such as no other young woman in her situation could have. Never once had she complained, or snapped at anybody. She accepted her situation with a grace that many people, years her senior, would have not.
If there was one thing that Hermione Granger...Greenwood had gained over the last few days, that was possibly the only good thing in all of it's aspects to be gained from this situation. It was the respect, love and affection of the Order.
People who had known of her before, been fond of her even, as the best friend of the chosen one, or as the brightest witch of her age, but didn't know her.
Now they did, and they loved her for it.
When Hermione came down to breakfast early on saturday morning, she was greeted by an exhausted looking Lupin, and Sirius. Molly was busy cooking breakfast, and didn't notice her come in.
Last night had been the full moon, and subsequantly Remus was looking a little the worse for wear, with dark circles under his eyes and sunken cheeks. He also had a great many fresh scratches covering the skin on his face and arms.
Hermione knew of the work that Dumbledore had Lupin do amongst the warewolves, and whilst she didn't like it, there was very little she could do, except make it as easy on Remus as possible.
As Hermione walked over to the table, she stopped in front of Lupin who looked up at her curiously. She smiled, and from behind her back, pulled an enormus slab of Honeydukes finest chocolate, she had ordered it via owl post, knowing it was Remus' favourite. She held it out to him wordlessly.
Lupin beamed, taking the chocolate, and leaning up to kiss Hermione on the cheek in thanks. She blushed, which made him laugh tiredly. He wasted no time, ripping into the paper, and breaking of a large slab.
"Hey, where are my Chocolates?" Sirius demanded jokingly, a fake pout on his handsome face. Hermione threw her hed back and laughed, but from behind her back produced a box of chocolate couldrans. They were his favourite because they had fire wiskey in them.
Sirius blinked in shock, before laughing delightedly, and getting up to swing her around in an exuberant hug. Lupin watched them fondly, chuckling through a face full of chocolate as Sirius proceeded to pepper Hermione's face with sloppy kisses.
This was the scene that Bill, Fleur, Charlie and the twins walked in on. Hermione scrunching up her face and laughing, as Sirius held her in his arms and attacked her face with kisses.
"Ok, Ok I get it, you're welcome." Hermion cried out between her laughter, wriggling away from his scratchy stuble.
"You can put me down now." She requested, looking pointedly at her feet, which were some five inches off the floor. Sirius put her down happily, and kissed her on the foarhead, before going to eat some extreemly alcoholic chocolates.
Hermione was shaking her head and laughing as she sat in the seat between Fleur and remus. She turned to the warewolf, "He's a bit like peter pan, isn't he?" She questioned cheekily. The others laughed, as 'peter' mock pouted, the effect ruined slightly by the chocolate stains around his mouth.
Later that morning found Hermione sitting in the library of Grimauld Place, finishing a viciously difficult essay for Snape. It had taken her the better part of the morning to complete it, and she grumbled darkly as she roled up the scroll of parchment, and tapped it with her wand, sending it, and her books and quill back to her trunk.
She then set about putting back the borrowed books on their respective shelves. She had just replaced the last one, skilfuly avoiding the spiders web that obscured her path, when she heared an almightly crash from upstairs, followed by Ginny's enraged shrieking.
Hermione sprinted from the room, up the stairs and skidded to a stop outside the twins room, the door of which was hanging open.
"I'M GOING TO BLOODY MURDER THE PAIR OF YOU." Ginny was yelling at her cowering older brothers. Hermion walked cautiously into the room and froze, eyes wide, seeing clearly what had angerd Ginny so much.
"Svyatoye der'mo." Hermione gasped, her hand flying to cover her mouth, eyes wide.
There in the middle of the room, stood a very angry, very orange Ginny.
"You're orange." Hermione siad blankly, her mind running in circles, half of her wanting to laugh, the other half knowing that would be a bad move with Ginny in this sort of mood.
"I'M BLOODY ORANGE." Ginny yelled at her brothers, who stepped back reflexivley, they had gone extreemly pale.
"Gin, it was just a..." But Fred never got to finish, because Ginny had screamed incoherently, incandesant with rage. It was Hermione's turn to take an involentary step back, not wanting to get int he way of Ginny murdering her brothers.
Her back hit something hard, and she looked over her shoulder to see the rest of the Weasleys, Fleur and Sirius, all staring in alarm.
"SO HELP ME MERLIN, IF YOU SAY THE WORD JOKE, NEITHER OF YOU WILL LIVE TO OPEN THAT SHOP." Ginny threatend, her eyes having narrowd into slits, she looked like she could breath fire.
"It's not permenant, is it?" Hermione asked George, fearing the answer.
"No," George cried fervantly, before adding, "It will wash off eventually." Hermione cringerd, but Ginny had gone very still. The twins both took another step away from their baby sister, effectivley backing themselves into a corner.
"What did you say?" Ginny asked lowly, her voice deadly.
"Um...?" Fred said, his voice an octaive higher than it usually was.
Sirius chose this point to intervene, coming to stand next to Hermione.
"Don't worry, well have this sorted in no time, re...ahhh." Sirius trailed off, he had been about to call Ginny red, which was the nickname he had always used with her. The room fell into an awkward silence, and Hermione clapped a hand over her mouth, determined not to laugh.
She could hear snickering behind her, from more than one person. The twins stayed silent however, neither of them yet trusting that they wouldn't be murdered in their beds by a vengefull Ginny.
"Right..." bill said awkwardly, killing the silence, "So, what was it?" He asked the twins expectantly.
"Hehe, well, you see, that's the thing..." Fred began sheepishly, shuffling his feet and rubbing the back of his neck.
"Oy khristos." Hermione mumbled.
Ginny's nostrils flaired, sending everyone diving for cover.
"What?" She growled.
"Well, you see Gin, we were experimenting with some different stuff, and, well..." george trailed off, waving his had towards his orange sister.
Hermione dived in before Ginny could explode again, "Not to worry," she said brightly, "What were you working on, we'll figure it out." she glanced desperatley at bill and Sirius, who upon catching her eye, quickly reasured the young red head.
Ginny just huffed angrily, crossing her arms over her chest and glaired at the twins, who seemed to be calming down slightly, now that it was looking less like they would be killed.
It took them nearly two hours to return Ginny to her natural skin tone. It was a tense two hours, filled with many tears - from the twins. But once things had been rectified, and Ginny had recieved her brothers solemn vow never to trick her again, even she conceeded that it had been quite funny.