CHAPTER NINETEEN
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.
Page count: 8
Saturday 4th January 1997
"Marry us? Marry us? Marry us?"
The words echoed in her mind.
She felt herself sway a little, before two hands reached out and grabbed hers, pulling her out of her shocked state.
"Marry us?" the twins repeated, the ring box still held in George's free hand.
"But I can't." The words tumbled out of her before she could stop them.
"Why not?" Fred asked her softly, but also nervously.
She couldn't answer him. "If this is about sex then..."
"Of course it's not about sex, Hermione," George spoke. "We wouldn't marry you just so you'd have sex with us. If we wanted a relationship focused on sex, we would be dating the village broomstick." Fred couldn't help the snort at his twin's words. "We are at war."
Fred took over. "We want to marry you because we love you. We want to spend the rest of our lives with you, whether it's a hundred years or three months. We don't know what will happen in the future, but people will die and that could be us. We want the chance to have a life with you before you are taken from us. We want to tie ourselves to you in every way imaginable before we don't have the chance to."
"I don't want to hurt you," she whispered, tears beginning to fill her eyes and they fell down her face, running over her cheek and dropping to the ground.
They both frowned and stood up.
"Why would you hurt us?" George asked confused.
Fred reached out to wipe away her tears with his thumbs.
"I love you so much that it hurts, Merlin knows that I do and in any other circumstances I would've said yes without a moment's hesitation," she took a deep breath. "I don't want to hurt you because I haven't found my mates. What if I agree to marry you, and I find my mates? I wouldn't be able to stay with you."
"We'd understand," Fred spoke. "But you have decades, centuries to find your mates. We could die long before you've found them."
"But what if I find them a month after we get married? What if I find them a week after I say yes? What if I find them on our honeymoon? I couldn't do that to you. It would kill me to know that I'd hurt you."
"Hermione, we don't care if you're afraid of hurting us. All that matters is that we're at war and we love you. We could die before the wedding. But we want the world to know how much we love you." She stared at them.
"We understand that we just sprung this on you. We've had a while to accommodate to our decision to propose to you. So, take some time, you don't have to give us an answer right now. Just know that we'll love you no matter your decision."
~000~000~000~
Hogwarts - Friday 17th January 1997
It was two weeks after the twins had proposed and Hermione still didn't know what to do. She was working on autopilot. She slept, woke up, ate breakfast and went to class, she ate lunch, went to class, had dinner, did her homework and then went to sleep. Everyone had noticed a difference in her; she was moody, the slightest comment earned a glare from her and the students were definitely avoiding her, more so than they had been before the holidays.
Even Harry couldn't get through to her, he had tried to talk to her about what was bothering her, but she'd just shut down. She didn't even raise her hand in class anymore.
Before returning to school, Hermione had gone crying to Sirius about what the twins had done, and she discovered that he'd already known about their proposal plans, since the twins had asked for his permission to marry her beforehand and he was fully supportive of Hermione agreeing to marry the twins.
She had told him the same reasons to why she couldn't marry the twins and in return, Sirius had all but repeated what the twins had said. He hadn't been any help whatsoever.
She was currently sat at the Gryffindor table eating her dinner. Sounds of laughter buzzed around her but she hadn't taken notice to it, simply moving the food on her plate about with her fork. She was debating leaving and going back to the privacy of her room, where she could wallow in peace, but something stopped her.
She dropped her fork to her plate with a clatter and gasped loudly, her hand clutched at her heart, feeling as if it were being ripped in two, it breaking forever. She stood and stumbled away from the table, before collapsing to the floor, her breathing almost nonexistent.
The last thing she saw was Harry's worried face and Dumbledore's frown before she passed out.
~000~000~000~
Hermione woke up suddenly, but it wasn't Hermione. Sure, she looked like Hermione, she smelled like Hermione, she talked like Hermione, but there was one big difference, her eyes. Hermione's chocolate brown eyes were nowhere to be seen. They had been replaced by an odd ensemble of colours which made her eyes consist of orange, green, blue and silver flecks.
Without thought she sat up and climbed off the bed, not registering her surroundings. The air around her picked her up so that her hair blew out behind her, her robes billowed in the wind and she was floating five feet off the ground, moving forward and out the doors of the hospital wing.
She floated through the corridors of the school, past portraits and students that gawked and screamed, past professors that gasped and quickly made to retrieve Dumbledore.
The students all followed behind her and it wasn't long until the whole population of the school and its professors were walking behind Hermione, following her out of the caste and to the Hogwarts' gate.
The gate opened for her and when she was out of the protective wards, the air around her swirled violently, creating a tornado around her before it suddenly vanished, as did Hermione.
Whispers and shouts broke out at her disappearance.
"Albus?" McGonagall briskly walked over to him, seeing him approaching. "What has happened?"
"I have just received word that Messrs. Fred and George Weasley were attacked whilst at their shop."
McGonagall gasped. "She knew?"
"That is why she fell unconscious," he confirmed.
~000~000~000~
12 Grimmauld Place
Hermione reappeared in the middle of the dark street, still floating five feet above the ground. She moved forward to Grimmauld and when she reached the door, it was flung open, but no one came running.
The house was filled with Order members rushing around, the most noise was coming from the kitchen. Hermione moved forward, following the sounds and the door closed behind her.
The closer she got, the louder the voices became. She could hear a woman crying and a man begging, she could hear arguing and yelled instructions asking for supplies and potions.
The kitchen door opened and she floated inside, entering to the scene of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley holding onto each other, Remus and Tonks going through all the potions that sat on the countertop and looking for the ones that were requested. Moody was pacing, muttering to himself whilst Kingsley stood off to the side looking to be in thought. Sirius was stood at the end of the kitchen table, the kitchen table where George lay motionless and with one side of his head covered in blood. Fred was by his side, begging someone to help him as tears fell down his face.
Sirius noticed her entrance and his eyes widened in surprise, before he gave a laugh of relief.
"My brother's dying and you're laughing?" Fred yelled furiously.
Fred moved from George's side and lunged towards Sirius, who stepped out of the way as Remus made to move forward to restrain him.
"He's not going to die; she won't let him," Sirius spoke, not taking offence to Fred's behaviour given the current situation.
That's when everyone noticed the sudden coldness in the room, the sudden charge in the atmosphere and they turned towards the source.
Many gasps and curses could be heard but Hermione's attention was on George. She tilted her head to the side and frowned unhappily.
"Hermione?" Fred breathed out, his watery eyes blurring his vision. Her eyes turned to him giving everyone a perfect view of her new eye colour and they gasped loudly in response.
She floated over to the kitchen table and slowly lowered herself down to the floor, where she leaned over so that her head was over George's and her eyes were looking directly down at him.
"Hermione?" Fred spoke again, she looked up at him, her eyes mesmerising him.
"What's she doing?" Mrs. Weasley whispered, sounding as though she wasn't sure she should speak in case it distracted Hermione.
"Healing him," Sirius said with a smile pulling at his mouth.
Hermione rested her hand against the left side of George's head, specifically where all the blood was flowing from. Everyone watched in awe as water slowly flowed out of her fingertips and over his injury, washing away the blood and leaving him clean, but with a gaping hole in his head where his ear had once been.
Mrs. Weasley sobbed but Hermione ignored her and the others in room; she had to make her George better. Next fire licked at her fingertips before moving across George's face, somehow closing up the gaping hole and cleaning the wound, stopping infection from setting it.
Everyone gaped in shock.
"George," Hermione spoke, only her voice came out different. It came out like a tinkling sound, a soft musical tone that melted their hearts. "George, My Mate, it's time to wake up."
Noises of surprise filled the room at her words. She slowly leaned down and pressed her lips to George's.
"What's she doing?" Tonks spoke quietly, not wishing to disturb the silence in the room.
"She's giving him some of her magic," Sirius spoke in awe. "She's pouring her magic into him to jump start his magical core."
When Hermione pulled back from George, it was a wait of silence for a few minutes, before his eyes fluttered open. He blinked a few times and then his eyes widened not only when he saw Hermione looking down at him, but also when he saw the colour of her eyes.
"Your eyes," he whispered.
Everyone watched as the air around them suddenly picked up only to swirl around Hermione and the twins as it formed into a tornado until they could no longer be seen and no one could approach them. When it dropped they were gone.
"They're still here," Remus spoke, before Mrs. Weasley could start shrieking. "They're in her room, they need to talk."
"Talk about what?" Mr. Weasley asked, looking dazed by what he'd just witnessed.
"The twins are Hermione's mates, she's confirmed it," Sirius spoke. "And I've suspected it for a while now."
~000~000~000~
Up in her room, George landed safely on the bed whilst Fred and Hermione landed standing beside it.
They both stared at her.
"You saved my brother," Fred whispered.
"I wasn't going to let my mate die."
"Mate?" they both questioned, evidently shocked.
"You are my mates, I know that now," Hermione spoke softly. "And yes, I will marry you."
They stared at her before registering her words and bright smiles appeared on their faces and they laughed out loud. Fred pulled her into him, hugging her tightly as George sat up and fished around in his robe pocket, pulling out the ring box he had carried with him every day since they'd proposed.
Fred pulled Hermione onto the bed sitting her between him and George, as George opened the ring box to reveal Hermione's engagement ring, and she couldn't help smile when she saw it.
Fred took the ring from the box and slipped it onto her left ring finger. The silver band sat three gemstones, one round sapphire and two round diamonds on either side, and they were their birthstones.
She felt her face light up and she hugged the twins tightly.
"I love you," she whispered.
"We love you," they replied. She pulled back and quickly kissed them.
"You need to rest, I gave you some of my magic to heal you," she told George, "I'll be back in a little while," she spoke as she stood.
"Where are you going?"
"I have some business to attend to and now I have a new form of transportation, one that no wards can stop."
Before they could ask her to elaborate, the air around her picked up, a tornado swirling and disappearing and taking Hermione with it.
~000~000~000~
Malfoy Manor
Hermione and her tornado landed in the room she had been brought to when she'd been abducted. And just like she thought, Voldemort was sat on his throne with his Death Eaters surrounding him.
Though, upon her entrance, the crowd quickly parted like the Red Sea and Hermione floated down the pathway.
"Incredible," Voldemort murmured, not even trying to contain his interest in her. "I see you have received my message," he spoke, standing up from his throne, his wand held lightly in his hand.
"Message received and message understood," Hermione replied.
"Excellent," he clapped his hands, a scary smile coming onto his face.
"And now I am here to deliver a message of my own," her voice turned cold and the torches in the room blew out, leaving it in complete darkness. Several mutters of 'Lumos' could be heard and many lit wands could be seen.
"You have made a terrible mistake in threatening the lives of Fred and George Weasley and I will not stand for it. You wished to push me into joining you, but threatening my loved ones was a damaging blow towards your wishes. Fred and George were the only ones you had easy access to, so you targeted them. But I am telling you now, hurting My Mates was the biggest mistake of your life." She saw his eyes widen slightly before he composed himself. "My Mate almost died tonight and I will remember this. You wished for me to fight in the war, well you have your wish. I am no longer neutral. I am working with The Order of the Phoenix, from now until you die. And I promise you, Riddle, you will not win this war. My magic wants you punished and it will be far worse than what your little lapdog Bellatrix got."
With that, the air around her swirled, the tornado grew in size and then disappeared.
~000~000~000~
12 Grimmauld Place
Hermione landed back in her bedroom, where she saw Fred and George both reclined on the bed and chatting with deliriously happy smiles on their faces. They sat up at her reappearance and they noticed that her eyes were now back to her usual chocolate brown. She was Hermione again and The Blue Mage has retreated to the shadows.
"I was thinking the Easter holidays, is that too soon? Three months?" she asked them.
They grinned at her, easily understanding her meaning.
"Not soon enough in our opinion," George snorted. She looked over to him.
"How are you feeling?"
"Perfect, you wouldn't think I almost died."
"That's not funny," she scowled and Fred was in agreement.
"I'm fine. Want me to do a jig to prove it?"
"No," her scowl lifted. "I saw how you danced when Sirius got you drunk during the summer, not something I want to ever witness again." Fred burst out laughing at the look on George's face. "Let's tell the others, I have an announcement to make anyway." She took their hands and dragged them out of her room and down the stairs.
Everyone was still gathered in the kitchen, having whispered conversations, though the room fell into silence when she entered.
"Voldemort crossed a line this evening when he attacked My Mates. I will not allow this to happen again. As of today, I am working with The Order of the Phoenix. I won't be able to hurt those that are innocent and I have a responsibility to keep this war fair. So, I will protect both The Order and the Death Eaters the best I can in battle, but I assure you, I can be helpful in many ways that do not have me breaching my reason for existence." The torches in the house flickered, before burning bigger and brighter.
Everyone stared at her in awe and Sirius smiled knowingly.
"One more thing, I was thinking the Easter holidays."
"Easter holidays?" Remus spoke, his head tilted slightly in confusion.
"Yes, and blue and silver," she nodded, seeing the twins smiling from either side of her.
"Blue and silver?" Mr. Weasley frowned.
"Yes, as the colour scheme."
"The colour scheme for what, Dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
"For our wedding in April, of course," she answered lightly.
They chocked and spluttered and the twins sniggered. Hermione left their side and went over to Sirius, whilst the others appeared to be digesting the news that she'd delivered to them.
"You knew, didn't you?"
"Yes," he said, not bothering to look apologetic about keeping it from her.
"How long?"
"I've had my suspicions since you revealed to me that you didn't have nightmares when they're in your presence, but to be honest, it first occurred to me when you revealed you were dating all those months ago, I just didn't have the proof."
"They're My Mates."
"They are," he agreed, they both grinned at each other.
"If you knew, why didn't you tell me?"
"This was something you had to discover on your own. I didn't want your decisions or feelings towards them to be influenced by anything I told you. I wanted you to know love because you felt it naturally, and not because you felt as though you were obligated to."
"This is why you were adamant that I marry them, or at the very least stay with them, isn't it?"
"Yes, and I'm glad you've finally come to your senses. You're going to make a beautiful bride"
"And you're going to look rather dashing in your suit as you walk me down the aisle," she replied with an amused twitch to the lips at the way he grimaced.
"It'll be the only time I willingly wear a suit in my lifetime." She laughed at him. "Are you happy, Kitten?" he asked her.
She looked behind her to see the twins stood rooted on the spot as Tonks and Mrs. Weasley were asking them question after question, their hands waving about madly with scary looks on their faces, whilst the men stood back watching the twins' predicament in amusement.
"Yes, I am, given the circumstances and the times we are in, I am happy. Are you happy?" she asked him.
"Since the day I adopted you, Kitten."