Title: Gone
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 685
Hermione was awash with conflicting emotions as she crawled into bed for the evening. When she'd taken her son to Diagon Alley to purchase his first school supplies, she'd been almost as excited as him. They'd bought new robes, selected an owl, and picked up all the school books he'd need for the year. Although he'd protested when she'd slipped a copy of Hogwarts: A History into his bag, he'd stopped complaining after seeing his parents' names in the chapter on the Battle of Hogwarts.
They hadn't been able to return home without a stop at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, where to Hermione's horror, George had insisted on giving his nephew a bag full of products destined to land the lad in detention. Now in addition to worrying that her son might not make friends or do well in his classes, Hermione would have to worry about him getting expelled from the only school of magic in Britain.
With a soft sigh she cuddled deeper into the blankets on her bed. Freddie's enthusiasm about leaving for Hogwarts had finally given way to anxiety as Hermione had kissed him good-night. "What if I don't get sorted into Gryffindor, Mum?" he asked.
"Then the Sorting Hat will put you into a House better suited to your temperament."
"What makes you think my temperament isn't suited to Gryffindor?" he demanded, sounding partly frustrated and partly scared.
She had smiled in response. "Keep ithat/i attitude and you'll end up in Slytherin."
"Mum! Don't even joke about it," he'd exclaimed in horror. "Do you… do you think Dad would be disappointed if I don't end up in Gryffindor?"
"Never," Hermione had told him truthfully. "Your father would see whichever House you got sorted into as an opportunity to prank an entire new variety of wizards."
Freddie had settled down at that thought and soon after fallen asleep. Hermione wished she could do the same. She was having second thoughts about not purchasing her son a wand. Although Mr. Ollivander's wand shop had been closed for over a decade, she could have easily gone to Braintree's, the new wand maker in London, and gotten a wand particularly well suited to her son. Freddie had insisted, however, that he wanted to take his Dad's wand to Hogwarts.
Hermione shivered at the memory of how she'd ended up with the wand. Molly had wanted to bury it with Fred; she had demanded that Arthur snap it two and place it in the casket. It was George who had stopped her – George who had informed his entire family that the wand should go to his twin's child. Hermione had collapsed at his words. She and Fred had vowed not to tell anyone about the pregnancy until after the Battle of Hogwarts. They wanted to have time to explain to everyone how they'd managed to fall in love in the midst of a war. Their plans, however, had been demolished and Hermione had been left alone. Somehow George had known and he had taken the burden of informing his family from her shoulders, allowing her to grieve freely for the first time since Fred's death.
It had been a dozen years since Fred's passing, but Hermione still felt the loss deeply – she still recalled the touch of his hands and the feel of lips on her body. Hermione had poured her love for Fred into their son and was now worried that emptiness might consume her once the boy went to school.
As Hermione closed her eyes and took a deep breath, a sensation of tranquility swept over her. It was the same sensation that she had experienced numerous times since Fred's death. She liked to pretend that the calm was Fred's spirit trying to assure her that everything would work out. She knew this idea was crazy. Obviously if Fred's spirit did visit, it would be rowdy and amusing, rather than peaceful. Nevertheless, the serenity she felt during these times always convinced her that in her next adventure, Fred would be by her side.
And with that comforting thought, Hermione drifted into a dreamless sleep.
