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CHAPTER 24.
The next morning, Hermione awoke with a slumbering Charlie spooned behind her, wrapped around her protectivley. She sighed, despite the situation, she could get use to this, to waking in his arms.
The Hogwarts express not due to arrive untill the following afternoon, hermione would spend the day with the other adults, bar mr weasly, who had work.
"Morning sweetness." Came the rough baritone, saturated with sleep. As Charlie stretched, Hermione noticed for the first time, as the bed clothes shifted, that he had on a sleevless top, showing off his enormous musculed tattooed arms. Some might not like his tattoo's, she new molly still grumbled about them, but hermione loved them, they were typically Charlie, and that, in her book, could never be anything but a good thing. Plus, she had always had a soft spot for art.
"Morning." She replied, her voice throaty from lack of use, she cleared it and tried again, "I could get used to this."
Charlie smirked, leaning over her gently, not to hurt her, and kissing the top of her head, "Me too Princess, hopefully we will..." He trailed off, the thought left her extreemly happy. The moment was ruined however by a somach rumbling, the both looked at eachother accusatorily, then chuckled. Time to get up.
Slowly, painfully slowly - pun intended - hermione sat up, wincing here and there as she shifted her weight.
"Ughh." She made a disgusted noise.
She was most deffinatley not going to bother fighting with clothes, her frineds would just have to take her as she was. She was determined to walk today, grasping onto Charlie's arm as if she were an old age pensioner.
She kept up a constant stream of curse word under her breath, in many varied languages, some of them so coulorfull that even Charlie seemed impressed, and he worked with a hundred other, multi lingual dragon tamers, and new a thing or two about swearing as a result.
Hermione didn't like being in pain, nobody did, she supposed, but as she reached the kitchen and sat down, she found she was fighting tears, every muscle, every bruise and joint ached viciously. She won the battle, sighing as she sat down, having vanquished her frought emotions.
"Morning." She said dryly, halting the stares she was getting from the other occupants.
They looked at her sheepishly, and chorused, "Morning."
"How are you feeling dear?" asked mrs weasly, as she set tea and toast infront of the two newcomers.
Hermione really wished people would stop asking that, she felt crap, but that wasn't really a 'socially acceptable' answer.
"I've been better." was her consesion, she couldn't make it any brighter than that though. Her friends gave her sympethetic nods of understanding.
"Didn't Poppy, leave you with any pain potion?" asked Remus.
Hermione shook her head, "I had enough yesterday to get me here, and through the night, but thats all." She finished, cradeling the warm mug of tea in her hands, she shrugged, and regretted it at once, yelping, then shaking her head and chuckling at her own stupidity. Note to self, no shrugging.
"I think i'll floo Minerva." Molly said thoughfully, Hermione requested something to help her sleep later on, and Molly returned a few moments later from the fireplace, holding a bottle of dreamless sleep, enough for the next few nights, and a pain potion.
"Thanks Mrs weasly." She said greatfully, munching on a piece of toast.
She quickly drank a measure from the pain potin, after reading the instructions. It was blissfull, her entire body went numb, and she sagged in relief. She wasn't sure she would be able to walk, or stand, but she would take it.
"That stuff's golden." she murmured appresiativley, handing the bottle back to Mrs weasley, who had a curious look on her face.
"I think this is the potion they gave me when I had the twins..." She said thoutfully, and hermione groaned into her hands, no wonder she couldn't feel her body.
With a wave of her hand, she sent both potions back to her room, and looked calculatingly about her, wondering if she was going to be able to walk.
"Non, cheri!" Fleur said, the voice broaching no argument, shaking her head.
"But..." Hermione began, only to be silenced by Tonks.
"You will not be able to walk, Mione. Trust me!" She said, finallity in her voice.
"How would you know?" Asked a curious sirius, eyeing his cousin, alarmed.
"Hehe, well," Tonks looked sheepishly about the expectant room, "May or may not have drunk that stuff before...on a dare." She cringed as she spoke.
Sirius burst into laughter, patting his cousin proudly on the back. There had been a smattering of chuckles from here and there, and Hermione noticed that Remus had a strange glint in his eye, a glint that made hermione and Fleur exchange smirks.
"So yeah, walking'll be a no go, unless you want to fall face first into that fountain of magical brethren, in that case...go ahead!" Tonks said jovially, to renewed laughter and head shaking.
She spent the day quietly, talking with charlie, catching up, filling in, and enjoying eachothers company. Charlie told her of all his old friends on the reserve, and how they wanted to meet the girl that had finally tied him down, she'd laughed at this. He told her how much his little snow ragon, Aput, had grown, and showed her the new burns he had aquired.
"He was just warming up to me." Charlie told her, his deep baritone voice rough with humor. The others for the most part left them to it, but were never far away, leary of leaving Hermione.
Fleur and Tonks had come in after lunch, discussing the coming wedding. Fleur had asked Hermione weeks ago via letter if she would be a bridesmaid, along with Ginny and Gabrielle. That night she stayed in her own room, after taking her potion, sleep came quickly, and Charlie waited with her untill it did.
Hermione woke from her magicaly indused sleep the next morning, still in some pain, but refreshed. More people would be arriving today for christmas, Fred and George at lunch time,and Harry and Ginny in the afternoon.
Ron had opted to stay in school, with his new girlfriend Lavander, for the hollidays. Part of Hermione had hoped that, now that Ron had a girlfriend, he might become slightly more sivil to her, but as of yet, no such luck. If anything, it had been the opposite, with snide remarks now coming from him and his other half, who Hermione struggled to get away from, being that they shared a bedroom.
She decided that the arrival of more people ent that she should get dressed today, after staying in her pajamas for the last forty eight hours.
She showered, a feat in and of itself, and dressed in a cream, long sleeved woolen dress, with black woolen tights and fluffy slipper boots that Ginny had given her the previous christmas , to cover eighty percent of her bruises. There was nothing she could do about the ones on her face and neck. Charming her hair back into a bun, she stuffed her wand up her sleeve, took another, smaller, swig of pain potion, enough that she could still walk, and went downstairs.
She met Bill and Fleur on the second landing, both dressed and ready for the day.
"Morning sweetie." Bill said to the girl he had grown extreemly fond of since the summer, kissing the top of her head, she barley even flinched at the contact anymore.
He had been pleased that Hermione had gotten close to Fleur,who had been having problems fitting in, something that hermione seemed to solved within a week of her stay, much to Bill's gratitude.
"Morning Billy-bear." she teased, grinning cheekily up at him, using the nickname she'd learned from the twins.
"Oh ha ha." said the curse breaker, rolling his eyes, and carefuly throwing his arm around her slender shoulders, just because he couldn't see the bruises, didn't mean he could easily forget them.
"Ow are you zis morning, cheri?" Asked Fleur, who was wearing a beatiful golden clip in her shining hair, and looking effortlessly splendid.
"Getting better thanks, got dressed this morning all by my self." She said, mock proudly, causing the couple to laugh.
Bill held the kitchen door open for the women to pass him, both smiling their thanks. The rest of the Weasley's currently residing in Grimauld place, were allready awake. Hermione sat next to charlie, kissing him on the cheek in greating, he smiled up at her, that heartbreakingly boyish smile, that melted her insides.
"We were just congratulating Mya on dressing herself this morning." said Bill, intent on revenge for the nickname usage, the kitchen chuckled.
"It took a few goes," hermione intoned mock seriously, gazing into the distance as if experiencing war flashbacks, "but i got there in the end." more laughter.
"Why are you all so bloody chipper in the morning?" Came Sirius' gruff complaint as he staggered, still half asleep, into the room, collapsing into an empty chair.
"Morning sunshine." charlie grinned cheekily, sirius just grunted into his coffee, slowly coming back to life.
By the time that Sirius was once again lucid, some point after his fourth cup of black coffee, molly had served a spectacular full english breakfast, to keep them going untill supper that evening, when the others had arrived. Everyone stuffed themselves, then stayed very still for a very long time, only managing to make it to the living room, before falling into chairs, and staying there untill the twins arrived at half past one that afternoon.
"CHRISTMAS GREETINGS GOOD PEOPLE...WHAT THE BLOODY HELL HAPPENED TO YOU?" The twins shouted after first seeing Hermione.
Hermione had reverted back to how she was when she first came to Grimauld place, the day of the attack. The sudden apperance and noise had shocked her, making her cringe. She flinched violently back into her chair, getting concerned lookes from those around her.
She smiled apologetically, to show that she was fine.
"Ahhhh, no one told you then. Don't worry, this is nothing." Hermione said, brushing it off.
She filled the twins in on the attack, her injurys, the slight aversion to contact, and being carried into headquaters by Professor Snape. They were both to shocked to even crack a joke at that.
"Who?" was the first thing they said, need for revenge etched into every like of their faces. Hermione shrugged, then swore at herself, stupid shrugging, she thought, rubbing her side softly where the bruises had flaired.
"Don't know, they attaked from behind." She managed to gasp out. The twins growled, looking at eachother, "We'll kill them." They promised.
"Get in line." replied Sirius, Bill and Charlie in stereo.
"Thanks guys." hermione said grinning, wasn't this what every girl wanted, a group of men willing to maim, kill and seriously injure for her? She could see why Voldemort liked it.
Things livened up slightly after the twins arrived, the house losing its sleepy, food induced state, to jokes, and tales of WWW, which was doing spiffingly. At one point during the afternoon, the twins enlisted Hermione's help with some products they were creating. The three of them sat on the floor in the middle of the lounge, being watched curiously by the 'adults', basically those no longer in school who wern't Fred and George.
"Its like with the DA last year," Fred explained, holding up a hat for Hermione's inspection.
"Protection from minor to moderate hexes or jinxes." George informed the room proudly.
"Whats the problem?" asked hermione, pulling out her wand.
"Can't get the charms to extent and hold." george replied.
Hermione bit her lip, thinking. She tried a few charms, none of them sticking, then a thought occured to her. "Their not sticking, because their shield hats. So if i add the protectin to the material..." She waved her wand, and a rune embroidered itself into the fabric of the hat. "There." She said happily. "If you enlarge to rune, with a simply engorgio, the protective charms with enlage aswell." She finished proudly, handing the hat back to a slightly stunned Fred.
"Bloody brilliant, are you sure you don't want to work with us at weezez?" George asked, now examining the hat closley.
"Not at the moment thanks." Hermione said, chuckling.
George then put the hat on, and fred and Hermone exchanged mischevious looks, before taking it in turns to pelt hexes a him, just testing that the hat worked, they explained seriously, much to the amusement of the room.
At five o'clock, Mr and Mrs wealy, along with Remus and Tonks, went to collect Harry and Ginny from the station, Ron haveing chosen to stay at school. It was dark by the time they returned, and Hermione had moved to sit at the kitchen table to keep Fleur company as she started with supper.
Hermione had just charmed some potatoes to peel themselves, when they heared the front door open, and then close. Both women left the kitchen, to meet with the others in the hall. Harry had sirius in a tight embrace, whilst Ginny was steadily working her way thrugh hugging her brothers. They both froze when they saw Hermione.
"Shit Mi." Ginny whispered, as she threw herself at Hermione in a tight, and painfull hug, Hermione magaged not to scream, barley. She had frozen, and was trying desparatley not to panick, but her breathing was becoming shallow, and her hands had clenched into fists.
"Sorry." the red head said hurredly, letting go of her, Hermione held up her hands to keep them away, hunching in on herself slightly.
"I'm...Fine." Hermione managed to choke out, as the others watched her with concern and pitty. Harry and Ginny looked downright scared.
She then felt Charlie move behind her, and she nearly collapsed back into him, shaking violently.
"Any ideas who?" Harry asked darkly, she just shook her head, hugging Charlie tightly, taking comfort in his arms.
"We shoudn't have left you alone." Harry said dejectedly. Hermione snorted breathlessly.
"Come off it Harry, you can't follow me around 24/7, I've got to be alone some time." she pointed out, Harry didn't seem convinced, but dropped it.
Once Hermione had calmed again, the atmosphere in the house became truley festive.
Supper that evening was a joyous affair, with many order members in attendance, swapping storys and jokes. It had been decided, that everyone would retire to the comfort of the front room, by the fire, Mr weasly and Sirius mumbling something about firewisky.
Hermione and Ginny went to change into their pajamas before this, knowing they would be too exhausted to do so later. Ginny went pale when she first saw the true extent of hermione's damage. Hermione having pulled on red silk cami and short set to sleep in, her hair still in a bun, forgoing a dressing gown, because it cought on the scabbs that were now forming over her many scrapes.
Looking the mirror hermione cringed, she couldn't go downstairs like this! Ginny, sesning her dilema, took Herione's hand in her own, and pulled her back to the others, which consisted off those staying at Grimauld over christmas.
Ginny glared pointedly as she entered the room, daring anyone to mention Hermione's bruises. Nobody did, although eyes did darken, and hands tightened on glasses. Hermione tuned them all out, curling into Charlies side, and listening to fleur and ginny talk about bridesmaid dresses.
"Gold I sink, Or per'aps silver." Fleur was saying, "Not pink wiz your air." She pointed out delicatley.
Hermione was only half listening, Charlie's hand stroaking her arm, playing with her fingers, kissing the top of her head occasionally, distracting her. They where both in two totally sepparate conversations, not completley aknowladging eachother, but co-excisting perfectly, she would move, and he would shift uncontiously to accomodate her, like magnates, with some anchient pull connecting them.
Further into the evening, sirius, Mr Weasly and the twins got steadily drunker, until they where replacing the words in traditional christmas carols, with rude allternatives, which everyone except for Molly thought was funny, as she declaired it to be time for bed. Fred and George groaned.
"But Muuuuuum." they whined, only to fall silent under their mothers glair, everyone went to be pretty quickly after that.
Over the two weeks that led up to christmas, Hermione slowly got better, her bruises faded as did the aches and pains.
She stopped flinching at small touches, and panicking at the slightest things. Surprises still sometimes made her slightly edgy, but the paralysing, bone crushing fear that had been her constant comanion over the first week after her attack dimmed, before eventually dissapearing all together.