PROLOGUE PART 2
Summary: Hermione's secret is discovered by The Order of the Phoenix. Before Harry is rescued, she needs to be first. But from who? With the help of Sirius she learns to put the past behind her, and with the help of two Weasleys, they show her a happy future. But Hermione isn't who she thinks she is, what she discovers will change her life for good. Rated M for a reason.
Disclaimer: All original characters and canon events belong to J.K. Rowling. Non-canon events are my own ideas. I am not making any profit from posting this fanfic.
AN
Trigger Warning! Although nothing is described in detail, sexual and physical abuse and attempted rape is mentioned and implied, at least for the next couple of chapters.
Page count: 13
12 Grimmauld Place - Tuesday 18th July 1995
When everyone was still sleeping, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Sirius, Remus and Hermione gathered in the living room. They would be taking a port key to Muggle London, whilst Tonks stayed behind to watch over The Weasley children, and Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall would be waiting for them to arrive at the courthouse.
They were all dressed in muggle clothing with Remus wearing his customary white shirt, brown tie, brown suit and black shoes, Sirius wearing a black suit accompanied by a black tie and shoes and a white shirt. He left his dark shoulder length hair down and Hermione thought the sight amusing since he hated dressing up. She laughed when Remus smacked Sirius on the back of the head for his inability to stop fiddling with his suit jacket and trying to take it off. In the end Remus placed a Sticking Charm on it.
Mr. Weasley was wearing a blue suit and tie, with a white shirt and brown shoes. Mrs. Weasley was wearing a grey pencil skirt with a white blouse and two inch black heels on her feet, whilst Hermione had settled for a black trouser suit, a white short sleeved blouse and black flats. Her suit jacket rested over her right shoulder since she couldn't move her arm, but after the trial was over Madam Pomphrey would be able to magically heal her. She couldn't be bothered with her mass of curls that had sorted themselves out somewhat over the years and had therefore asked Sirius to put it up in a pony tail for her, since she couldn't do it herself.
Fred and George had placed Disillusionment Charm on themselves and snuck into the room, where they saw Hermione for the first time in a week. She didn't look well. She looked exhausted and pale. She had dark circles under her eyes, but all of her injuries were covered with the exception of her broken arm and healing black eye, cut lip and the slowly healing broken nose.
"We should get going before we're late," Remus spoke up, as he held out the port key, waiting for everyone to grab a hold before it activated.
They each took hold of a small section of the old walking cane that had been turned into a port key, and before they left Fred and George grabbed a hold of the end, far away enough to not bump into someone during transport.
~000~000~000~
Muggle London
They landed in an alleyway and Fred and George made sure to stay behind them, not wishing to risk being caught. They followed them into a large building and someone showed them to the correct room. They noted it looked similar to a wizarding trial room only it was much smaller.
The judge sat at the front of the room with the witness stand beside him. Opposite them were two tables, on one of them sat her lawyer and on the other sat her parents and their lawyer. The jury box was off to the right and the galley was as soon as you entered the room.
They all took seats to the right and as far away from Hermione's parents as possible. Remus and Sirius sat on either side of Hermione and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley sat beside Remus. Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall were already in attendance and they sat on Sirius' other side. Fred and George kept on their Disillusionment Charms and sat further back away from their parents, but they could see and hear perfectly.
Hermione's mother was already on the witness stand and had previously been questioned by her lawyer. Photographic evidence had already been shown as well as hospital scans and records over the years. It seemed Hermione had visited the hospital a fair few times over the years and her muggle doctor testified to that before she'd arrived.
"Mrs. Granger, you don't deny that your daughter has received medical attention many times in the past?" Farrow asked.
"Well, Hermione has always been a clumsy child," she replied with a sniff, her head titled slightly as though she were looking down on him.
"A clumsy child? Her medical records show that Miss. Granger has been treated for several broken fingers on both hands, a broken left arm, a broken right leg, a broken right wrist and several broken ribs throughout the years. Not to mention several burns and cuts."
"Like I said, she's a clumsy child."
"Don't you have any remorse for the pain you've caused your daughter?"
"I haven't done anything, these charges are ridiculous. If there had been concerns, I'm sure the doctor would've contacted Child Protective Services long before now, but they never have. She's an attention seeker."
Sirius gritted his teeth and pulled Hermione towards him protectively as she looked down at the floor, unable to lift her eyes and look at her parents.
"No further questions, Your Honour," Farrow spoke.
Mrs. Granger sat back at the table and Mr. Granger took his place at the witness stand, his lawyer asked a few simple questions and then Farrow took over.
"Mr. Granger, your DNA was found on several items of Miss. Granger's clothing and the results of the sexual assault test show that your seminal DNA was found in her mouth."
He shrugged. "My daughter's a slut, she wanted it. I know she did."
Hermione started crying and Mrs. Weasley gasped and clung to her husband, Remus let out a low growl which would be associated with a wolf, and Sirius mumbled words and insults not appropriate for a young person's ears. Fred and George knew they both had looks of horror on their faces even whilst they still sat under the Disillusionment Charm.
"When you were found your daughter was begging, screaming and crying, was she not?"
"Yes, for more, she loved it," he shrugged.
"You don't think highly of your daughter, do you?"
He didn't answer. "I am a well respected member of the community. Anyone will testify to that, anyone will tell you that I only gave her what she wanted."
"You didn't answer the question I asked you, but it no longer matters. No further questions, Your Honour."
Dumbledore was called to the stand.
"Professor Dumbledore, what is the nature of your relationship with Miss. Granger?"
"I am the Headmaster of the school she attends."
"And this school is?"
"Hogwarts, we are a school for students with exceptional gifts," Dumbledore answered.
"What is your opinion on Miss. Granger?"
"Miss. Granger was invited to attend Hogwarts for her intelligence. I have been the Headmaster for thirty-nine years and I have not met a brighter student. She is a credit to the school."
"Do you believe that Miss. Granger is 'seeking attention'?"
"I do not, no. Miss. Granger has the highest grades in the school; her intelligence rivals some of the greatest minds the world has ever seen. Not only have I witnessed her incredible intelligence, I have witnessed her kindness and her selflessness. She goes out of her way to make sure others understand the work set and are passing their classes if they are struggling. She has never been late to a lesson and her school work is always exceptional. There is not one Professor who has nothing but compliments for Miss. Granger, and I believe she is destined for great things"
"You speak highly of Miss. Granger. Why were you at The Granger residence?"
"Mr. Black, Professor Lupin and I were visiting Miss. Granger. We wished to confirm that Miss. Granger would be returning to Hogwarts for her fifth year. We had wrote several letters asking for a response, but we never received one, so as protocol and under the guidelines of Hogwarts policies and the Board of Governors, a personal visit was made."
"What time did you arrive at The Granger residence? What alerted you to Miss. Granger requiring help?"
"We arrived outside The Granger residence at approximately half past four in the evening and we heard a noise. We waited for our presence to be acknowledged, before entering the unlocked house when we heard the sound a second time. Mrs. Granger was found to have ingested copious amounts of alcohol."
"How much would you say?"
"I can't know for sure, however, there were several empty bottles of alcohol on the living room coffee table."
"What happened after that?"
"Mrs. Granger was laughing, when a scream and crying was heard. Professor Lupin and Mr. Black immediately followed the sound upstairs, where they stumbled upon Miss. Granger and her father. I called the police and alerted them to the need for assistance."
"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore."
Professor McGonagall was called to the stand.
"Professor McGonagall, what is your relationship with Miss. Granger?"
"I am the head of her school house."
"What is your opinion of Miss. Granger?"
"She is without a doubt an exemplary student, academically and otherwise."
"Has Miss. Granger ever received disciplinary action whilst attending school?"
"Once or twice, though the reasons were not severe."
"The reasons being?"
Miss. Granger was caught sneaking out of her common room after curfew to get a midnight snack from the kitchens. All students do this at least twice during the school year, it is a regular occurrence."
"So other than that no serious transgressions? Has Miss. Granger caused any trouble? Is she an attention seeker?"
"No and I do not believe she is an attention seeker. I have witnessed on many occasions Miss. Granger putting others before herself. When she isn't with her friends she is in the school library studying. As Professor Dumbledore said, Miss. Granger's intelligence is unrivalled by most in the school. I dare say her intelligence is greater than many of the Professors at Hogwarts, as is her kindness and compassion for others."
"Thank you."
Next on the stand was Remus.
"Professor Lupin, we have already heard why you were visiting Miss. Granger, what happened after you heard Miss. Granger's cries for help?"
"Mr. Black and I moved to the staircase and followed the sounds of Miss Granger's cries, screams and begs. The door was locked and at that point, the sounds heard were hysterical, and so Mr. Black kicked the door off its hinges to gain access to the room. Mr. Granger was seen to be on top of Miss. Granger. Mr. Black pulled him off her and I stayed by her bedside. Mr. Granger was on the floor unconscious and once he was no longer a threat, Mr. Black and I removed Miss. Granger from her bedroom and took her to the guest room. I found a camera and documented her injuries. A pair of shorts were retrieved for her to slip on under her dress and I photographed the bruises on her stomach and back, knowing she would be more comfortable with me doing it over a complete stranger. When the police arrived I gave my statement and Miss. Granger was taken to the hospital."
Sirius was up next on the stand.
"Mr. Black, why were you accompanying Professors Dumbledore and Lupin to Miss. Granger's residence? You are not a staff member at Hogwarts."
"Hermione is the best friend of my Godson, we are not blood related but we are family. I was an innocent man convicted of unspeakable crimes. Hermione helped my case and thanks to her, I am now a free man and the truth of the real criminal is known. I was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. I wished to visit her before visiting my Godson. I attended Hogwarts as I child and Remus Lupin is my best friend and has been since my first year at Hogwarts. Professor Dumbledore was my Headmaster and he agreed to allow me to accompany him to the visitation."
"What happened when you entered the residence?"
"Mrs. Granger was clearly drunk; she could barely sit up by herself."
"I can confirm that both Mr. and Mrs. Granger consumed alcohol that night, a breathalyser test was carried out on both," Farrow said, his eyes falling down to a report he held in his hands. "Results show that Mr. and Mrs. Granger both ingested profuse amounts of alcohol." A copy of the report was given to the judge and jury. "What happened next, Mr. Black?"
"I heard screams and cries. Mr. Lupin and I ran up the stairs and the bedroom door was locked so I kicked it in. I saw Mr. Granger to be on top of Hermione and she was begging him to stop. I wasted no time in pulling him off her, and for Hermione's safety, I punched him in the face breaking his nose and the second time I punched him I knocked him unconscious. When the threat was contained I carried Hermione out of her bedroom and into the guest bedroom. Mr. Lupin photographed her injuries and the police arrived. I stayed with Hermione whilst she gave her statement and once I'd given mine, I carried Hermione to the ambulance and accompanied her to the hospital, and I later took her to her new home. I am now Hermione's legal guardian until she reaches the age of eighteen."
"Why were you made her legal guardian?"
"I have known Hermione since she was fourteen. She is family and I am both physically and financially able to support and care for her. She deserves better and I can give it to her. I can protect her and keep her safe. After all she has done for me, the least I can do is keep her safe."
"What is your opinion of Miss. Granger?"
"Bossy, know-it-all, bookworm are words that spring to mind, but she is kind, caring and selfless. There is not one mean bone in her entire body. She has to be bossy otherwise my Godson would fail out of school," he chuckled. "She cares for him and keeps him on track with his school work. She's incredibly intelligent, scarily so in fact."
"Thank you, Mr. Black."
Finally on the stand was Hermione.
She sat in the witness box fiddling with the edge of her suit jacket and with dried tear stains on her cheeks.
"Miss. Granger, please state your date of birth for the jury."
"Please don't call me that," she whispered. He nodded understandingly. "My birthday is the 19th of September 1979."
"I'm going to ask you several questions that you will find difficult to answer, but take your time and we'll move at your pace." Hermione nodded. "When did the abuse start?"
"The earliest I can remember, I was four. I had an older brother named Kevin, he was six when he died and I had just turned four."
Everyone but Sirius appeared surprised at the news. Fred and George had been listening attentively, they felt sick at what they'd heard so far, and they were stunned at the news that Hermione had once had a brother.
"Kevin was diagnosed with Leukaemia as a small child and he lost the fight when he was six. My parents blamed me for his death. They used to say that it was my fault my brother had died. They would say that the family was perfect until I came along, that I had ruined everything and they wished that it had been me that had Leukaemia and died. I think Kevin was diagnosed sometime after my first birthday, I'm not sure though, I was too young to remember."
"What happened after your brother passed away?" he asked her softly.
"My parents started drinking, which led to them yelling at me, which then led to them hitting me. Most of the time it was just my father because my mother would be passed out drunk, but she sometimes she'd hit me. I remember hiding under my bed and crying. I remember every kick, every slap and every punch. I remember every bruise, every cut and every broken bone. I remember the pain and the begging them to stop hurting me." She had tears falling down her face.
"We have evidence of your father sexually abusing you, when did that start?"
"He started touching me when I was eleven before I left for Hogwarts. I love my school. I spend months at a time there. It's where I am safe and my parents can't reach or hurt me."
"What did he do? What did he make you do to him?"
"He started touching me and he would get mad when he saw that I was crying and begging him to stop. He would hit me or hold me down. He made me do stuff," she whispered, her eyes locked on the grey carpeted flooring and tracing the faint patterns that remained after years or foot traffic.
"What do you mean by 'stuff?' Can you elaborate?"
"He would... he would make me... touch him. He would make me... use... use..." she started sobbing uncontrollably, and Mrs. Weasley was crying silent tears as she clung to her husband, whilst Professor McGonagall appeared to be trying to keep back her own tears.
"Take your time Hermione," he said kindly.
Hermione wiped away her tears with her uninjured hand, but more continued to fall. She took a deep breath and forced her breathing to calm.
"He would make me..." she couldn't stop crying and Sirius could tell she was on the verge of a break down.
He excused himself from the room and when he returned it was in the form of a large black dog. The dog ran and jumped the gate before running to Hermione where he jumped the witness stand, landing beside her. He stood up on his back legs with his paws resting on her knees and he licked at her cheek. Hermione put her good arm around him and cried into his fur as he made a distressed whining sound.
It was clear that every occupant of the room was surprised when the large dog had entered the room, before heading straight to Hermione.
"How did that get in here? Someone please remove the dog," the judge said. A security guard made his way over to the witness stand.
"No, please, let him stay, he won't hurt anyone, I promise," Hermione said quickly looking up at the judge with begging eyes. One look at her face had him agreeing to her plea.
"Very well, the dog may stay," he agreed.
Hermione removed her grip on Padfoot and he sat himself beside her with his head resting on her knees and Hermione scratched behind his ear, allowing her something to focus on rather than reliving the memories.
"He would..." Hermione took a calming breath and with the support of Sirius, she was able to reign in her emotions. "He would make me use my mouth on him. He used to say if I was a good girl he wouldn't hurt me. He didn't like it when I cried."
"Has he ever raped you?"
"No, he said he wanted to wait until I was older, until he had more to work with and my body had matured. Apparently turning fifteen was when I became old enough. The evening Sirius and Professor Lupin found me wasn't the first time he had tried to rape me. He'd tried three times before. The first time was in April and I was home from school for the Easter holidays. He'd drunk too much and I was able to fight him off, but the next day he hit me with his belt."
"The second time was after I returned home for the summer. He was interrupted when a neighbour knocked on the door inquiring about the noise coming from the house. He made the excuse of my screams and cries being caused by the fact I was just having boy trouble, that I was angry and distraught as I'd just broken up with my boyfriend. I had a cat named Crookshanks. My father killed him in front of me for making too much noise and alerting the neighbours. He snapped his neck. I buried him in my back garden and that earned me another beating." Her tears were flowing down her face uncontrollably, but her voice didn't waver this time.
The judge handed her a tissue and she quietly thanked him, whilst looks of sadness, disgust and horror filled her vision from the others in the room.
"The third time he tried he was almost successful, but my parents were having a dinner party that evening and the guests had arrived and were knocking on the door. The fourth time was when Sirius pulled him off me."
"I hate to ask this, but I must. Despite the situation, I would like you to answer me honestly for the judge and jury." Hermione nodded understandingly. "Did you want your father to act sexually towards you? Did you want it to happen?"
"No, a father is supposed to protect his daughter from harm. He's supposed to warn potential boyfriends off and threaten actual boyfriends. He's supposed to offer to hurt any boy that breaks his daughter's heart and supply terrible dad jokes and comforting hugs. He is not supposed to hurt her. He is not supposed to be the one she is afraid of. I am terrified of my father. I have nightmares every night about what he did to me, what he does to me. He had rules and if I broke them he would punish me with a beating and starvation. I begged him not to hurt me, but he did. He didn't care."
"Why did you never mention this to anyone?"
"He told me that if I didn't do what he wanted or if I told anyone he would kill me. I believed him because he's what terrifies me most. He killed my cat in front of me, there was nothing stopping him from killing me too. I wished he had. I wish he had killed me so that I wouldn't have to live with the memories. So that I wouldn't have to live with what he did to me. He's ruined my life and I will always be affected by what he's done to me. To what extent I don't know, only time will tell."
"Hermione, may we see your injuries first hand? We have photographic evidence and medical records and scans, but will you please show the jury what your parents have done to you?"
Hermione looked over at the judge and he nodded in allowance to the request.
Padfoot removed his head from her knees so she could stand from her seat. She removed her jacket and they could see the hand shaped bruises on her arms and wrists and that her right arm in a sling.
"Your stomach and back?"
Hermione turned around and with her left arm she lifted the back of her blouse to show her back covered in bruises. She then turned around and showed them her stomach and she heard gasps and intakes of breath.
"Thank you, Hermione," he said softly.
Fred and George wasted no time in rushing out of the room and towards the nearest bathroom. They each entered a stall and threw up. They removed the Disillusionment Charms and washed their mouths out with water from the sink before casting cleaning charms on their mouths and splashing their faces with water.
They looked at each other. They were both pale and had horrified looks on their faces.
"I can't believe it," Fred said quietly.
"I can't believe they actually treated her that way. I can't believe her father made her..." George trailed off, looking as though he were going to be sick again.
"How did no one notice? This has been going on for years."
"Because no one was paying attention."
"I can't believe she wished she was dead."
"We keep an eye on her," George said and Fred nodded in agreement.
They recast the Disillusionment Charms and made their way back to the court room and retook their seats.
"Hermione, you have no living relatives, are you comfortable with Sirius Black being your legal guardian until you reach the age of eighteen." Hermione nodded instantly. "He is able to care for you physically and financially."
"I trust him," she whispered.
With that said the judge gave a recess of forty-five minutes, Padfoot left the room and returned as Sirius.
"You did very well, Kitten," Sirius said and he hugged her as she started crying again.
They led her out of the room and they sat in a waiting room with a cup of tea. When recess was up they headed back into the court room and the trial continued.
After a few more questions, the judge had the jury retire to the jury room to work on the verdict. The results came back within an hour, which was either very good or very bad, considering the deliberation hadn't taken long.
"Defendants please stand," the judge said and Mr. and Mrs. Granger both stood. He looked to the jury. "Charges brought against Richard Granger include sexual abuse, physical abuse, neglect towards a minor and animal cruelty. How do the people of the jury find Mr. Granger?"
"An all accounts, guilty," the head juror spoke, his voice clear and confident and Hermione cried into Sirius' chest with relief.
"Was this a unanimous decision?"
"It was, Your Honour."
"Charges brought against Jean Granger include physical abuse and neglect towards a minor. How do the people of the jury find Mrs. Granger?"
"An all accounts, guilty."
"Was this a unanimous decision?"
"It was, Your Honour."
"Thank you for your time," the judge said to the jury. "All that's left to do is the sentencing. Mr. Granger, in addition to twenty-five years to life in prison, you will be put on the sex offenders registry." Mr. Granger looked outraged. "Mrs. Granger, your sentencing is sixteen to twenty years in prison with a chance of parole after fourteen years served." To make the decision final he banged his gavel. "Court adjourned."
People started talking and everyone hugged Hermione.
"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT, YOU BITCH!" Mr. Granger yelled as he was being dragged away.
"YOU KILLED HIM!" Mrs. Granger shouted as she was being led away. "YOU AND THAT WITCHCRAFT OF YOURS! YOU'RE A FREAK AND YOU KILLED HIM! YOU DESERVED EVERYTHING YOU GOT! IT SHOULD'VE BEEN YOU!"
"Don't you dare listen to her," Sirius said. "Your brother's death was a tragedy, but you didn't kill him. The cancer did." Sirius held her face in his hands so she had no choice but to look at him. "There was nothing you could've done and it wasn't your fault," he assured. She nodded, but tears continued to fall.
They left the court house and went into an alleyway where they all apparated to Grimmauld Place with Sirius side-along apparating Hermione. They entered the house and Mrs. Weasley quickly went to work on making lunch and Hermione made her way to her bedroom without being seen by the other occupants of the house.
Dumbledore sent his patronus to Madam Pomphrey informing her that Hermione was cleared to be magically healed and she flooed into the house, heading straight to her. Sirius was with her and Madam Pomphrey already knew what had happened to Hermione because Dumbledore had told her, but that didn't stop her from gasping when she saw her injuries first hand.
She rushed forward whilst running off diagnostic spells. She handed Hermione a Pain Potion, before casting several Episkeys and giving her some Skele-Gro Potion for her ribs and arm. She put some Murtlap Essence on her lip to heal the cut and she put some paste over her bruises. The paste wouldn't heal them, but they would help accelerate the healing process and take away some of the pain. She left it for Hermione to put on her bruises once every two days until the bruises cleared up.
With that she left the room and spoke to everyone to let them know of Hermione's progress and she left afterwards.
Sirius smiled softly. "Do you want to go down for lunch?"
"No, I don't want anyone knowing I'm here. They'll ask questions and I don't want anyone knowing what happened. They'll treat me like a china doll; I don't want anyone's pity. What happened in my life happened and I don't want to be reminded of the fact that I was treated that way."
"We can give you a cover story," Sirius suggested.
"No, they won't believe it, especially since I still have my bruises and they'll take a couple of weeks to heal, even with the accelerating paste and they can't be explained away. They know someone's been staying in here and they'll figure out that it was me all this time. I'll stay in here, at least until Harry arrives and I feel comfortable being in the presence of everyone," Hermione answered.
"That could be till mid-August," he frowned.
"Then I'll stay in here till mid-August. I'm not leaving, I need time to process everything that's happened so I can put the past behind me and move on. I don't want to flinch every time someone walks past me or accidently brushes up against me. I don't want to be scared when someone hands me a fork or leans over me to grab something from the table."
"If anyone can put their past behind them, it's you," he said and Hermione smiled. "Now, we need to visit Diagon Alley. I need to add you to the Black vaults and..."
"No, Sirius, I don't need your money."
He frowned. "You're getting access to the Black vaults whether you like it or not. And we need to sign some paperwork. I'm your guardian in the Muggle World, not yet the Wizarding World. But that should be sorted by the end of the week."
"I'm not fifteen."
"What? Yeah, you are; you were born in '79; that makes you fifteen."
"I'm actually sixteen, on my next birthday I will be seventeen but the Ministry won't see it that way. They won't accept me as being legally of age because they don't know that I'll be seventeen."
"How will you be seventeen?" he asked confused.
"Time turner," she shrugged and his eyes widened. "Third year, it's how we saved you. Dumbledore allowed me to use his personal time turner my third year because I was taking twelve classes, well thirteen except I dropped divination. I needed it to get to my lessons because I had multiple lessons at the same time on the same day. A side effect of using a time turner is that you age. I used the time turner to go back hours multiple times a day and those hours added up. So I'm actually sixteen, soon to be seventeen."
"You're full of surprises," he chuckled.
~000~000~000~
Fred and George came down the stairs and walked into the kitchen making it look as though they had been at Grimmauld all morning, instead of sneaking out and following them to Muggle London. They thought they had gotten away with it, except once their mother looked at them, her eyes widened.
She immediately noticed the difference in them when they entered. They were loud and joyful as usual, except their eyes held something; they held a sadness, and a look of knowing of the horrors in the world.
"Fred, George, I need your help with something in the living room. It won't take a moment," she said, seeing they were about to argue with her and then she walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. She put up a Silencing Charm when the twins entered after her.
"You know," she stated with narrowed eyes.
"Know what?" they asked angelically.
"You know very well what, you think of lying to me again and you'll be cleaning this entire house by yourself and without the aid of magic." They sighed, knowing there was no point in denying it further; they'd been caught. "How?"
"We heard you talking when Sirius brought Granger back and we heard him tell you about her injuries. He mentioned a trial and we knew that no one would tell us what had happened, so we disillusioned ourselves and followed you to Muggle London," Fred said sheepishly when his mother glared at them.
"We sat in the back and watched the trial. We were horrified by the way her parents spoke about her. We never knew she had a brother that died," George spoke.
"I don't think anyone did, she's never really mentioned her family before," Mrs. Weasley spoke with tears once more gathering in her eyes. "And now I know why."
"It made us sick to our stomachs and when she showed her injuries, we had to leave and find the nearest bathroom."
"Hearing her talk about how she wished she was dead, it wasn't right. She looked so defeated and nothing like the bossy, know-it-all we're used to. She didn't deserve what happened to her," Fred spoke.
"No one deserves what she went through, and for her to sit and talk about what they did to her in front of strangers and friends shows tremendous courage and strength," Mrs. Weasley said proudly.
"She's a Gryffindor," they replied.
"We'll keep an eye on her." Mrs. Weasley raised an eyebrow at George's statement.
"At school, she isn't going to tell anyone what happened to her and we'll be the only ones that know," Fred clarified. "We'll watch her to make sure she's coping."
"It all makes sense now. Why she was such a stickler for the rules," George said.
"Yeah, because she was punished when she didn't follow them. She was conditioned to do as she was told," Fred said sadly.
"She may need you boys to make her laugh, but don't be obvious about it," Mrs. Weasley said.
"We'll get right on it," they replied.
"She isn't coming out of her room. She told Sirius that she doesn't want to have to explain herself to anyone and that everyone will discover it was her that had been hidden in the room for so long. Her arm and ribs have been healed, but there is nothing that can be done for her bruises. They'll take weeks to heal and she isn't leaving until Harry arrives from The Dursleys."
"That's not for another month," George all but yelled in surprise.
"It's her decision. Don't tell anyone what you know; you weren't supposed to witness the trial. And when she does emerge from her room, do not treat her any differently because she'll know."