Hermione sat down at the table just as everyone else did. She counted twelve of them there in all. Twelve people burdened with the task of fixing Hogwarts. Whether it was a terrible or wonderful task, Hermione could not decide. Professor McGonagall sat on her left side and Professor Flitwick was on her right. The ghosts of the school had gathered and floated behind those seated at the table. Several wizards from the Ministry of Magic were seated across the table and then there were others who she didn't recognize. There was no one else who Hermione knew. And then the doors burst open and a huge man with wild black hair and an even wilder beard strode in, limping slightly.
"Hagrid!" Hermione yelled at the sight of him. Forgetting everything else, she jumped up and ran into his open arms. He gave her the usual bone-cracking hug and then set her back on her feet. While she tried to fill her crushed lungs with air again he said, "Hermione! Good to see yeh! Gotta say, I didn't think I'd see yeh 'round here for a while yet!"
They walked back to the table together and Hermione took her seat again while Hagrid pulled up a bench, something strong enough to hold his great weight. He was a half-giant, after all. The meeting began and everyone but Hermione and Hagrid spoke and discussed the best way to go about repairing the school. Eventually they decided that there would be no official place to start and work from and that they would fix things as they came to them. Then they began to discuss who would help where.
The Ministry workers would be working on the exterior, mostly. Professor McGonagall was to oversee their work and to instruct them on any interior restorations they did as well. She would also be working herself. She turned to Hermione. "You know Gryffindor Tower better than any of us. Would you take responsibility for its repair?"
Hermione nodded. She hadn't realized just how extensive the damage to the castle was. Even the common rooms and dormitories had been harmed. While the dungeons remained of course untouched, as did the headmistress' office, the rest of the school seemed to have been hit harder than Hermione had previously thought.
At the end of an hour, papers and plans were folded back up and placed in vanishing folders to be stored until later and the table was cleared. Everything was decided. Professor McGonagall looked from one witch or wizard to the next, reading off of her own list exactly what each person was assigned. "Flitwick, you'll take the hallways and corridors in the east side of the castle. You will also help in any place where the rest of us need assistance. The entrance hall is also yours. Byron, you are in charge of the west and east battlements and the walls facing the forbidden forest . . ."
The list went on and on, until she came to Hermione. "Miss Granger, you will take Gryffindor Tower, the library, and several of the classrooms. You will also work with me on the entrance hall." As Hermione was the last to receive her special instructions, McGonagall turned to face all of them once more. "We will all work on the restoration of the Great Hall and the courtyard outside."
Then she folded the parchment and tucked it in her robes. Smiling, she said, "Now, I fancy some food!"
Immediately food appeared on the table. Upon the food's appearance, Hermione realized that she hadn't had any lunch and was rather hungry. Only a matter of weeks before, she had been questing with Harry and Ron and they had gone without or skipped meals many times. But just a week at the Burrow had caused her to expect large quantities of good food at every meal. But the missed lunch was quickly forgotten as everyone helped themselves and began eating.
Everyone was talking, some were smiling, and a few were even laughing. Hermione had only just swallowed her first bite of bread when Nearly Headless Nick floated to her side. "Hermione," he said, nodding. His head wobbled dangerously and he pulled up his ruff a bit farther on his neck.
"Hi, Nick," she smiled. She refrained from eating with him so close, knowing that it was a greatly depressing thing for ghosts, not being able to eat.
"The castle is wrecked," he said absently, as if she hadn't already seen.
She nodded, but he was staring off into the distance at something she couldn't see.
"Peeves has even offered to help," he muttered before floating away. Hermione was surprised. Peeves the Poltergeist? Helping? That didn't sound like him at all. He was probably hoping to be given something to do and then find some crafty way to mess it up and cause trouble.
Thinking over what Nick had said and the meeting that had just ended, she went back to eating. Hagrid's booming laugh brought her back from her thoughts and she joined in polite conversation with Professor Flitwick, who sounded thrilled to have his best student back and working at Hogwarts. They talked until the end of the meal, though he did most of the talking and she the listening. She didn't mind, though. Eating with the others, she had a feeling of comfort and homeliness even though the castle around them was still in a rough-looking state.
When everyone had finished eating the meal disappeared from the table. Professor McGonagall folded her hands in front of her and everyone waited to hear what she had to say. "The meeting went well; we know where we will start tomorrow. I now trust that I'll see you all at breakfast in the morning!" And with that, she rose from the table. Everyone else followed her lead and stood as well. Hagrid smiled at Hermione before leaving the castle, and everyone else began making their way out of the Great Hall. On her way out, Hermione passed McGonagall.
"Miss Granger," she said, walking beside her. Hermione stopped and turned. The professor went on, "We can leave for Australia whenever you like; Flitwick can keep them busy with the outdoor repairs while we are gone."
Hermione hadn't given her parents a single thoughts since the headmistress had offered to accompany her. "Oh, thank you," she said, smiling. The two women walked back to the teachers' quarters in silence.
Hermione bid the other witches and wizards in the teacher's lounge goodnight, took a few seconds to admire the exquisite carvings on her door, and entered her own room. She closed and locked the door behind her, shutting herself in for the night. Then she turned to the open room before her. The bright white light shone from the open door in the bathroom and clashed unnaturally with the golden light form the bedroom and study. Smiling to herself, Hermione decided it was time to change the room's appearance a bit.
Before she could redecorate, however, she needed to unpack. The elves had brought her things to her room but had left them for her to unpack. She was thankful, as she always enjoyed doing it. Unpacking her things was a simple matter, anyways; with a flick of her wand her suitcase opened and so did the wardrobe, and articles of clothing began folding themselves and lining up on shelves or in drawers or putting themselves on the wire hangers. When all of her clothes and robes were folded or hanging in an organized fashion, her suitcase closed itself and slid beneath the bed and out of sight. Then the trunk opened, seemingly of its own accord, and the books stacked inside rose and flew to the single shelf in the study. Before any had lined themselves on it, though, Hermione realized that one shelf was not enough. She flicked her wand again, and the books stacked themselves neatly on the floor. She made the other books which were already on the shelf stack themselves with the rest and then duplicated the shelf.
But even then, two shelves didn't seem to be enough. So she waved her wand at the entire, bare wall of the study and it became a wall of shelves from floor to ceiling and corner to corner. Pleased with her work, she waved her wand at the books and they flew to the shelves and began organizing themselves. Without the books to fill it, her trunk was rather empty besides the shoebox of personal belongings she'd taken from her bedroom at her parents' old house. She walked to the trunk and leaned down, picking up the shoebox not with magic, but with her own two hands. Books were still moving through the air and on the shelves behind her. She set a small jewelry box in a drawer in the little bedside table and put a glass container of magically preserved flowers, picked from her old home, on the table. Then she tucked a small, leather-bound book in the drawer as well and slid the shoebox under the bed to hide with the suitcase.
Looking around the room once more, she imagined several different ideas for decorating. Finally, still undecided, she pointed her wand at the wall, and the walls and ceiling turned a light cream color like the sheets on the bed where she sat. Unsatisfied, she pointed her wand again and the walls changed to a deep Gryffindor scarlet. Liking the idea, she waved her wand at the entire room and everything became Gryffindor themed. She was a proud Gryffindor, but even she had to admit it was a bit too much. So she pointed her wand at the wall for a third time and a fourth, not quite happy with either of the colors she had chosen.
She spent the next half an hour trying to decide on the right wall color and eventually turned the walls to dark wood paneling that was the same color as the doors leading from the teachers' lounge. This, paired with the bookshelf and the golden light, gave the study and the bedroom comfortable, friendly atmosphere. Now truly enjoying it, she waved her wand at the study and the couch before the fireplace became Gryffindor red. The rug on the hearth became red and gold. She waved her wand at the bedroom and the bedframe became dark wood like that on the walls, while the sheets became red and the curtains around it now hung gold. A dark wooden frame with red canvas stretched across it sprung up, separating the study from the bedroom and shielding the bed from view, leaving an open space to walk through on the opposite side of the bedroom than the four-poster and the wardrobe.
Hermione moved to the bathroom, pointing her wand at the offending orbs on the ceiling, and the light from them changed to the same golden warmth as it was in the other part of her rooms. The walls in the bathroom she changed so that they were red like the couch and the bed, and the sink became cream colored rather than white. The faucets and handles all turned to gold. Feeling accomplished and rather pleased with herself, she walked back out to the bedroom and changed into her pajamas. Then she waved her wand at the room around her and the orbs in the bathroom and the bedroom and study stopped producing light. The fire was burning itself out in the fireplace as she slid into bed and set her wand on the bedside table, closing the curtains around her and falling asleep.
She woke the next morning and rose early enough to enjoy a long, hot bath. It was good to be relaxed again after everything that had happened just a week before. She sat down at her desk and wrote a letter to Harry about Kreacher before going to the bathroom to do her hair and makeup and get ready for the day. She brushed her hair out but used magic to do her makeup once she had seen the time; there was only just enough for her to run up to the owlery and send her letter. Putting her wand in her robes and patting the secret pocket that held her beaded bag and the phoenix tears, she left her rooms and found the teachers' lounge empty. She hurried to the owlery and sent her letter with one of the school owls, making her way quickly down to the Great Hall. She stopped short when with a crack that echoed around the corridor she was in, Kreacher appeared. Crookshanks was in his arms, wriggling and trying to get free.
The elf attempted a bow, which looked strange because of the squirming, hissing ball of orange fur in his arms. "Kreacher will take Crookshanks to his Mistress' rooms," he said. Hermione was so surprised by his and her cat's appearance that she didn't say a word and the elf was gone with another resounding crack. She glanced at her watch and ran to the Great Hall, composing herself outside the doors and walking in like a civilized person. The others weren't all even there yet, and she relaxed a bit as she took a seat around the same table they had used the night before. A tall witch and two wizards, one broad-shouldered and big, the other looking like a wilting plant, walked in and took their seats. They were the last to enter, and only seconds later breakfast appeared and they began eating.
After the meal, McGonagall looked to Hermione questioningly while the other witches and wizards mulled about in the Great Hall, waiting for the instruction to begin. Hermione walked over and said, "I'd like to leave today, if we can."
She nodded. "Of course." Then she turned to Professor Flitwick. "You know what to do."
He nodded and clapped his hands, catching the attention of the Ministry workers and others who were there to help. They walked over, gathering around the half-goblin, and Hermione smiled at how tiny the poor professor looked, especially standing beside the towering witch from the Ministry. She remembered the first charms lesson she'd ever been in, when the tiny wizard was sitting on a stack of books on his chair just to see over his desk. He had been calling out the names of the new students and when he got to Harry's name he had given a squeak and toppled off of his books and out of sight. She had never thought she'd have affections for any of her teachers, but she found herself more than relieved that all of the staff members who had fought and made it through had survived. She suddenly realized just how much they meant to her.
Her thoughts were interrupted when McGonagall spoke. "We can return to our quarters. I must gather a few things and I'm sure you'll want to add your own possessions to that bag of yours?"
Hermione nodded and they set off towards the teachers' quarters together. They parted and went into their own rooms, and Hermione returned to the lounge and found the headmistress waiting for her. The older witch nodded and they walked back to the entrance hall and out the doors. Once off the school grounds, Hermione took her teacher's arm and they disapparated. It occurred to her while they were being crushed in smothering darkness that she had no idea where the professor was taking her, but it didn't matter to her, as long as they ended up with her parents. Then their feet touched the ground and when she opened her eyes they were standing in the Ministry of Magic.
Hermione didn't ask where they were going when the older witch began to walk and instead followed her without a word, observing the Ministry headquarters and thinking over how the last time she'd been there, she was traveling with Harry and he had been a wanted wizard. Now he was a hero and all of that rubbish was forgotten. But Hermione wouldn't forget. No. She would never forget the hardships they had faced together. It was tough, looking back sometimes, but she simply stored those memories away whenever they became painful to think about. Professor McGonagall had led to her several fires that were green with floo powder.
"Alright Miss Granger, I'm going to tell you where we will be heading to. Once you get there, wait near the fire for me; I'll be right after you. Once we've flooed, we'll apparated again. Now, we'll be flooing to . . ."
And.. Cliffhanger! Alright, I know this chapter is pretty short and for that I apolagize, but it was necessary for this part of the story! Thanks again to all of my readers and all of you who have reviewed, I wish I could hug you because it means so much to me that you're giving me some feedback! Please review if you have a moment; I'd love to hear from you and it makes me a better writer to know where my mistakes are and to figure out how to make this story better! Thanks again! All my love. ~Taelr