A/N: Well, my second update is a little earlier than I had anticipated...turns out I still can't seem to find the words for 'A Crack in the Glass...' but this fic is coming along pretty well.
Thank you to everyone who read the first chapter, and thank you to my first reviewer! :) Hope you like chapter 2...just a quick note, I've taken some liberties with Hermione's character, I've decided to have her coming from an affluent background - I don't go into much detail in this chapter, but her background will come into play more as the story progresses.
xBx
~ Chapter 2: Options ~
The trio spent the next week at Hogwarts, still assisting with the clean up. After their brief tête-à-tête in the kitchens after the battle, Hermione had been frequently spotting Draco Malfoy, keeping to himself, sometimes working away on the castle, sometimes carrying a vast amount of potions bottles to and from the hospital wing – or so she assumed. Whenever they happened across each other she would always nod in acknowledgement, a courtesy that was always returned. By the end of week, Hermione's civility had even stretched to speech: On her way down to the hall around dinner time, in the company of Harry and Ron, they passed him clearing rubble from a hidden staircase, and Hermione spoke to him without a seconds thought:
"I didn't realise there was still rubble to clear away, I thought it all got done last week?" She asked him, with civil curiosity.
Malfoy turned at her voice, and shrugged, "In all the obvious places, yeah." He replied, with equal candidness, "I don't think many people use this particular short-cut though, I only noticed this lot yesterday." He explained.
"Need a hand?" Hermione offered, receiving strange looks from Ron and Harry, which she chose to ignore.
"Don't worry about it. Pretty much got it sorted now." Draco even gave a small smile.
Hermione shrugged, "Ok then. See you around."
Draco nodded and turned back to his work, as Hermione continued to the marble staircase, closely followed by Harry and Ron.
"What the bloody hell was that?" Ron asked incredulously as they began their decent toward the entrance hall. "You do realise that was Malfoy you were being so friendly to?"
Hermione rolled her eyes, "I was merely being civil. After the year we've had, the last thing I want to do is to renew petty disagreements. We're not twelve anymore. I'm not going to go out of my way to be nasty."
"But it's Malfoy! And as the years went by, it became a little more than petty disagreements" Ron reiterated. "In fact, I think I remember him trying to kill us rather recently."
Harry spoke up then, "Ron, give it a rest mate. At the end of the day, he's here isn't he? He hasn't gone on the run, that's got to say something in his favour. I think Hermione's right. Things are different now, we may as well be civil. And it wasn't malfoy that burnt down the Room of requirement, it was Crabbe who conjured the fiendfyre."
Ron looked from Harry to Hermione and back again. "Have you two forgotten what happened at his home?"
Hermione turned slowly on the spot to face Ron squarely, "Are you serious?" she asked quietly, "Have I forgotten that you two were thrown into the cellars, while Bellatrix Lestrange tortured me to within an inch of my sanity?" She pulled up her left sleeve and thrust her arm under Ron's nose, "Have I forgotten that she carven this into my skin, lest I forget just how low-born I am? No Ron. Of course I haven't forgotten." Hermione never raised her voice, but the anger was there, and didn't escape Ron, who took a step backwards and looked down at his feet, mumbling a barely audible "Sorry".
Hermione whirled around and dashed down the stairs, taking deep calming breaths before she completely exploded in his face, Harry and Ron followed silently, a few paces behind – Harry being sure to give Ron a small shake of his head a look that clearly conveyed the thought: "Seriously, dude? Did you have to go there?"
Unbeknown to the three of them, Draco had finished up clearing the hidden staircase, and had followed in their footsteps only a few minutes behind, and walking with a quicker step, he had caught up with them in time to hear Ron ask: "Have you forgotten what happened at his home?"
Hearing Hermione's response, and the mention of his Aunt, made him realise they had been talking about him, and referring to his home. He therefore stepped back, out of their view, feeling that now would be rather an uncomfortable moment to enter their notice again. Seeing Hermione flash her 'Mudblood' scar made him even more uncomfortable, and slightly sick, as he remembered the night she had been given it. He suddenly lost his appetite, and he retreated back to the staircase he had been working on, to begin his attempts to repair the damage to the stairs.
At the end of the week, Ron departed for The Burrow, to be with his family, still grieving for the loss of Fred, and to help with the funeral arrangements. Harry and Hermione returned to Grimmauld Place, along with Kreacher, and began to make the place into a home. There was very little left for them to do: Kreacher had outdone himself the past couple of weeks cleaning the house from top to bottom in anticipation of his master's return – he had even lit the fires in all the principal rooms the night before Harry and Hermione had returned, to warm the place through and clear out the flues.
The only rooms left to really sort were the bedrooms: Harry had decided to use Sirius' old room as his bedroom, and Hermione used one of the larger guest bedrooms, which happened to be across the hall from Harry – the only other room on that floor was Regalus' bedroom, which Harry decided to leave as it was, as a kind of tribute, after all Regalus had started the hunt for the Horcruxes, he was the first to find one, Harry had technically continued his work. He also gave Kreacher free use of the room, as a gesture of friendship and gratitude for all his help the past year – a gesture that Hermione fully condoned.
After a few days in London, Hermione decided it was time for her to return to her parent's house: after being shut up for near enough a year, it would no doubt need a good going over before it was fit for her parents return.
When she voiced this decision over dinner, Harry immediately offered his services,
"I don't mind," He told her, "and I'll have the time: this place is pretty much sorted now, I'm sure Kreacher won't mind me disappearing for a few hours to give you a hand."
Hermione smiled, "It's alright, don't worry about it. Me and my wand will have the cleaning sorted in a couple of days – the rest will be all paperwork: I'll need to get my parent's business affairs sorted out, ready for them to jump straight back in," Hermione explained, "It's that which is going to take the time. And anyway," she added, "You should be using your free time to prepare for your new job. Has Kingsley been in touch with you any more about it?"
Harry's countenance brightened at the mention of work, "Yeah, actually he called round while you were out with Ginny, dropped off some paperwork for me to look over – you should see the size of the handbook, it's huge!"
Hermione laughed, "Well you better start reading, you're on your own now, you can't be relying on me to give you the gist of things anymore."
Harry had the decency to blush, "I read most of the things, and I read more than Ron." He mumbled, as Hermione laughed. Kreacher began clearing the table, and the pair leaned back in their seats, finishing their wine and letting their food digest.
"That was really good, Kreacher, Thank you." Hermione complimented as Kreacher removed her plate. Kreacher accepted the praise with a smile, and continued clearing.
Harry then remembered what else Kingsley had called round for: "Oh I almost forgot, he left a bunch of paperwork for you, as well," He said, summoning over a large stack of parchments, and setting them down in front of Hermione, where her plate had previously been. "It's all the information about trainee positions you requested."
Harry smirked then, as Hermione gaped at the pile in front of her, and added, "He asked me to apologise for the delay, but when people started hearing that Hermione Granger was looking at her options, a few more trainee programmes became available, but the paperwork just needed to be finished up."
Hermione rolled her eyes, "So there's something from every department?" she asked,
Harry nodded, "Pretty much. Well, except from the Department of Mysteries."
"They don't have a programme?" Hermione asked, frowning in confusion, "I thought they did."
"Oh they do. But our names have the opposite effect on those guys, when Kingleys said he was sending the details to you, they withdrew their paprwork, claimed they were fully staffed. Apparently the incident of a few years back is still a bit of a sore point for them."
Hermione's eyes widened and her jaw dropped "Are you serious?" she asked, incredulously.
Harry laughed and nodded, "Totally. Come on think about it, we destroyed their entire time-turner collection, along with nearly every prophecy ever made. Not to mention that we destroyed their credibility right along side – it's the one place in the ministry that no one knows how to get in or out of, except those who work there. Yet a bunch of teenagers, with us two at the head, managed to break in and cause chaos, then get out again, in less than five hours."
Hermione laughed, "Well, when you put it like that, no wonder they don't want me. I suppose I should make a start with the ones that do though," she sighed.
"I lit a fire in the Drawing Room, Master Harry, and I've laid out some Firewhiskey for you both. I thought you might be more comfortable up there." Kreacher spoke up.
Harry stretched himself out of his chair, "Thanks Kreacher, that sounds great. Joining me?" Harry asked Hermione.
"Of course" she responded, rising herself, and hauling up the stack of papers. She followed Harry up the stairs, "I don't suppose he had any news about my parents?" she asked, quietly, as they entered the drawing room.
"No, not as of yet," Harry said, then smiled encouragingly, "But it's early days yet: He's got a good team together, they've been briefed well. He's going out to join them tomorrow morning. No doubt they'll find them within the week. Firewhiskey?" he asked, walking over to the tray and pouring himself a drink.
Hermione smiled back, and nodded. "Thanks,"
Harry poured a second glass, when handing it to Hermione he noticed the concern still etched across her forehead. "I'm serious, finding them is the easy part, it's approaching them that's going to be complicated. Don't fret, all will be well."
Hermione smiled, "I know," she said then sat her self on one of the couches, laying the tower of files next to her, and opening the top one, "Time to read" she grinned.
Harry sat down on the couch facing her and summoned a large portfolio from the writing desk, "Me too," he sighed, opening the large volume that was the Auror Handbook.
######
The next morning Hermione rose early, long before Harry; she left him a note after breakfast, letting him know she would join him for dinner, before apperating to the home she once thought she would never return to.
She appeared outside a wide pair of iron sweeping double gates, taking her wand from her pocket she undid the concealment, and secrecy charms she had placed on the grounds a year ago, she then removed a set of keys from her bag, unlocked the padlock and entered the grounds. She walked up a long gravel drive, which took her a little under five minutes, and stopped in front of the large, three-storey Georgian mansion (four, if you counted the sunken, lower floor that now housed the extravagant kitchen, and extensive wine cellar - the tops of the windows of this floor could just be seen from the driveway.)
Hermione ascended the stone stairway up to the large double doors, unlocked them using the keys she still had in her hand and swung them wide open, entering the extravagant entrance hall.
Hermione took a deep breath: "I suppose I ought to start somewhere" She sighed, and raising her wand she began murmuring a selection of spells removing the layer of dust from the floors, the tables and the lights. She then turned and opened up the shutters on the windows either side of the doors, flooding the hall with light. She then turned to the door on the left hand side of the entrance hall, and proceeding through, entered into a room of darkness. She repeated the spells, focusing first on the large heavy curtains draped over the many windows. Once they were dust free, and relatively fresh, she drew them open and opened the shutters, flooding the room with light, and revealing a cavernous study. Continuing with her charms, she had the study back in shape within half an hour, she then proceeding through a set of double doors into the large Library, which stretched the remaining length of the house, repeating the procedures practiced in the previous rooms. The library, being considerably larger than the study, took her a little over an hour, after which she reluctantly proceeded through the door at the opposite end of the room to which she entered, resisting the urge to curl up on one of the couches and read. She emerged once again in the large entrance hall, behind the grand staircase, facing another door, to her right, directly underneath the grand staircase were a set of stairs leading down to the kitchen and cellars – those she would tackle next she resolved.
As she crossed the hallway, she opened four more sets of shutters, revealing more large windows looking out over the extensive landscaped gardens, considerably lower at the back of the house, compared to the front. The rooms on the other side of the hall consisted of a moderate sized reception room, sympathetically decorated to match the period of the house, and a large multimedia room – the most twenty-first century room in the whole house, which happened to be one of her father's most prised rooms. By mid-day Hermione had the ground floor completely clean, and fit for re-habitation, she turned her attention to the kitchen.
Descending the spiral staircase, she entered the most renovated part of the house: all along the back wall were full length windows, and a couple of French doors leading out onto a large decked area, overlooking the landscaped gardens. Her parents had dug out the land behind the house, bringing the ground level considerably lower to allow more natural light to enter the kitchens. The Kitchen itself took up about half the width of the house: plenty of counter top space, a large oven that wouldn't be out of place in a busy restaurant kitchen, complete with an eight ring stove top and two oven spaces. A vast island in the middle of the floor doubled as a breakfast bar. The rest of the room expanded the rest of the width of the house and included an informal dining space and a couple of couches placed around a large coffee table: the perfect family room, inspired by the typical Australian layout her parents had come to adore. On the left hand side of the Kitchen were two doors, one lead to a large pantry, which took Hermione all of two minutes to clean with her wand, though she did frown when she realised she would need to re-stock the entire kitchen before her parents returned.
"That is going to a full day in itself," she muttered. Then, deciding to worry about that at a later date, she turned to the other door underneath the stairs, and proceeded down a short flight of stairs into the wine cellar. This happened to be the joint favourite room of her father and herself, which was the same size as the family room she had just quit, and ran the full width of the front of the house. A minimal amount of light entered the room from the windows that were just visible from the driveway. The walls of the first half of the room that Hermione came into from the stairs were stacked with wine racks, filled with a decent amount of bottles, expertly ordered: two of the walls were filled with wines; reds, whites and rosés had their own sections, and the whites and rosés were further split into still and sparkling. A fourth section, slightly smaller was reserved for champagne. The third wall was split into two sections; the first housed a collection of spirits, ranging from the finest Russian and Polish vodkas to an array of Scotch and Irish whiskeys of various ages. The second was Hermione's own personal addition to the family's wine cellar, and consisted of alcoholic beverages courtesy of the magical world, including Firewhiskey, Butterbeer, and of course, Madame Rosmerta's finest Oak Matured Mead as well as a fine selection of elf-made wine.
In the centre of these shelves stood a long scrubbed wooded table and a couple of benches, where Hermione had often spent time with her father as she was growing up, transferring various liquids into the correct decanters to be taken upstairs into various rooms. Further into the room was the more modern area, with a full-length bar, complete with bar stools, behind which all the open bottles were kept, and a large fridge housed a variety of chilled beers, largers and ciders. In front of the bar was a cosy sitting area, where Hermione and her father, had often sat, the last summer she had spent here. Another hour had the cellar completely clean, and using a clever combination of charms she had looked up, she managed to control the atmosphere around the wine-shelves to keep to the perfect temperature, suitable for each wine there: the whites would always be chilled, and the reds would be at optimum room temperature. Feeling rather pleased with her ingenuity, she made her way back up through the kitchen, into the entrance hall, and proceeding to make a start on the staircase and the first floor.
By Five O'clock, Hermione had managed to get half the first floor up to standard: She had gone over the two drawing rooms, the Billiards room and the Family Dining Room. She resolved to leave the large, formal dining room and the ballroom until tomorrow. Returning down into the entrance hall, she closed the doors, locked them from the inside, and disapparated back to Grimmauld Place.
Arriving in the kitchen, she was greeted by Kreacher, who immediately told her that Harry was in the Library with Ron, who had arrived this morning. Hermione bounded up stairs, having not seen Ron since his return to the Burrow, she met the pair on the landing, as they emerged, both looking rather tired, and red eyed.
"Hey Hermione," Harry greeted with a smile, "When did you get back?"
"Just now," she said, and then turned to Ron, "Kreacher told me you were here," she gave him a hug, "How've you been?"
Ron returned the hug, "Pretty good. Harry and me have been studying the Auror's Handbook. Bloody hell, Hermione, I miss not having you doing the same thing we are, all this reading is hurting my brain."
Hermione laughed, as the trio began to descend back to the kitchen, "I'm sure you can handle it just fine, Ron, if you apply yourself."
"I know, but it's so thick. I was never good at reading long books, not much of a reader at all to be honest, and we have to get through it in a week!" Ron complained, Harry shook his head, while Hermione asked:
"Have you two been given a start date then?"
Harry nodded, "Yep, a week on Monday."
"Kingsley wanted us earlier," Ron added, "But I asked to wait until after Fred's funeral." He explained.
"When is it?" Hermione asked, quietly, as the entered the kitchen and sat themselves at the table.
"Next Friday," Ron answered, "At the Burrow, there's going to be a bit of a service at 11. We're going to bury him in the orchard, you know where we used to play Quidditch in the summer?"
Harry and Hermione nodded as Ron continued, "After, we thought we would hold a bit of a memorial for everyone else who died that night, you know, Remus and Dora, Colin, everyone we knew."
###
Hermione spent the weekend finishing up with the cleaning: Friday she spent all morning, on the remainder of the first floor, and made a start on the guest bedrooms. Saturday she spent most of the morning completing the guest bedrooms and getting the bathrooms back into order, she then spent the rest of the day on her parents' rooms.
Sunday she devoted to her own rooms which was set out like her parents' though on a slightly smaller scale.
She first entered a modest sitting room, to the right was a working fire, in front of which was a plush rug. On the rug sat a small oak coffee table, surrounded by a small couch and a couple of comfortable reading chairs. The colour scheme to this room was as close to Gryffindor as her rooms would get - having redecorated this area the summer after her first year at Hogwarts, she had compromised with her mother, and instead of using bright reds and yellows, she had settled for a compliment of earthy browns and reds.
Directly opposite the doorway was a set of double doors leading out onto a balcony, which stretched the entire length of Hermione's suite. To the left of these doors was a small study area, complete with a set of bookshelves, which stretched the width of the room. The bookshelves were interrupted in the middle with a set of double doors, which led into Hermione's bedroom.
Hermione's room consisted of a queen sized four-poster bed, with a matching pair of bedside tables on either side. A chaise-long sat in front of anther set of double doors leading out onto the same balcony that continued from the sitting room. A small book table was placed next to the chaise-long, and a large dressing table stood against the left hand wall, directly opposite to the windows. On the back wall, were two doors, on either side of the bed: the left led into a luxurious en-suite, consisting of a rather extravagant roll-top bath, a double shower, and a large sink and vanity unit. To the right of the bed, was an extensive walk in wardrobe and dressing room – the kind of closet every girl would kill for - which housed an array of clothing, muggle and wizard robes alike, and not to mention a killer shoe collection. Hermione had never considered herself a girly girl, but her parents had many functions and many parties, all of which Hermione would attend should they fall in the summer, and she would always have to appear properly dressed. She therefore had a vast selection of cocktail dresses and evening gowns, all with the perfect matching shoes, she also had a good selection skirts and suits, as her role in her parents' business had started to increase before their abrupt departure last year.
The colour scheme to Hermione's room was not what her Hogwarts friends would have expected: The furniture was all teak, the carpets plush and cream, but the hangings on the four poster, the drapes at the window, the chaise-long and the rugs we're all emerald green: she had fallen in love with The Wizard of Oz at the age of six, and since then she had wanted her room to be her very own Emerald City. The bedding, and cushions scattered around the rooms were all in sympathetic shades of greens, silvers and greys. When once it may have been 'Wizard of Oz' she couldn't fail to notice, after enrolling at Hogwarts, how very Slytherin her room was – but Emerald green had always been her favourite colour, The Wizard of Oz her favourite film, and that wasn't going to change that anytime soon.
By four O'clock, Hermione was exhausted, but pleased with herself, the house was back to the state it had been when her parents had left, and perfectly ready for their return. The only things left for her to do was re-stock on groceries and turn back on all the electrics and water. Deciding to wait until her parents' return date was specifically known, she turned her attention to the family business, and from Monday right through to Thursday, she was holed up in Parents' office from 9 to 5, sifting through a mountain of paperwork, organising a mass of emails and making what felt like a million never-ending phone calls.
By Thursday evening she was fairly confident she had everything in order for her parents return, she returned to Grimmauld Place, exhausted, yet happy with her weeks work. When she entered the kitchen both Harry and Ron were already sat down tucking into their dinner. Hermione grabbed herself a bowl and ladled out some stew still sitting on the stove.
"Sorry we didn't wait" Harry said as Hermione sat down, "But you know what Ron gets like when he's Hungry," he added with a grin.
"Hey!" Ron protested, with a mouth full of bread, as Hermione laughed.
"It's fine. I was later than I planned, I was looking through my wardrobe for something to wear tomorrow." Hermione explained. "What time would you like us there?" She asked Ron, who shrugged.
"Well, I think people are going to start arriving about half-past ten. But you guys are pretty much part of the family, you guys can come over at breakfast, if you wanted."
"Where are you sleeping tonight?" Harry asked,
"I'll stay at the Burrow tonight, I think. I might even stay there tomorrow night as well." Ron said. "But if you're still up for me living here, I'll move in at the weekend."
Hermione beamed, "About time, we've missed you constantly hanging around." She admitted.
"I could say the same about you," Ron joked, "I've been here most of the week, studying for Monday, with Harry. Where the hall have you been?"
Hermione laughed, "My parents' place. I've cleaned the house from top to bottom, and spent this week going over the business accounts and readying everything for their return. I thought Harry told you that?"
"He did, but good god Hermione, how big is your bloody house if it takes a week to clean!"
Hermione blushed, she had never told her friends about her affluent lifestyle outside of Hogwarts, "I spent more time taking care of business than cleaning" she told them truthfully, while cleverly evading Ron's question. "But it's sorted now, I don't need to go back until Kingsley tells me when my parents will be returning. And even then I'll be there a day at the most probably."
"By the way," Harry spoke up at this point, "You had an owl today, it arrived while I was having breakfast." He summoned it to the table as he spoke, "Looks like it's from Hogwarts." He commented as the letter landed next to Hermione's plate.
"Thanks," she said, taking the letter to open and read.
Dear Miss Granger,
Due to the disruption of last years teachings, and the Failure to sit NEWT exams, all students belonging to your year have been given the opportunity to return to Hogwarts to retake your seventh year in full. Alternatively, if you attended your seventh year, and feel confident in your achievement level, you can opt for Summer School, which will run from August 1st through to August 31st and will involve an intensive recap of material needed to pass the NEWT exams. Should you opt for Summer school, exams will take place in the Final weeks of August, and results will be Owled to you the final week in September.
If you decide to return to fully repeat the year, you will be eligible for the position of Head Girl. Alternatively, you may take the option of not returning to Hogwarts, should you have another option in mind. If this happens to be the case, all of us here at Hogwarts wish you the best of luck.
Please inform us of your final decision no later than June 30th
Thank you,
Headmistress Minerva McGonagall
"It's the letter about potentially returning in September." She commented as she finished reading, "Did you two not get one?" she asked, looking up.
Both boys shook their heads, and Harry elaborated, "I guess, since we both told McGonagall back at Hogwarts we wouldn't be returning, there was no need for the clarification. You were still undecided at that meeting, right?"
Hermione nodded, "Still undecided now, if I'm honest." She checked the letter again, "I have until June 30th to decide." She stated, "I was hoping to defer this decision until after the return of my parents."
"June 30th is still a couple of weeks away," Harry reassured her, "don't worry about it, Kingsley will find them before then."
####
The next morning Hermione was awake, dressed and down in the kitchen at least a half hour before Harry even left his bed. He finally entered the kitchen a little after 9am, wearing a pair of black tailored pants and a white shirt with the top couple of buttons left open. Draped over one arm he had a black suit jacket and his plain black cloak, he stifle a yawn as he sat opposite Hermione,
"Morning." He greeted, drowsily.
Hermione smiled "Good morning, you look nice." She commented.
"Thanks, so do you." He responded automatically, Hermione laughed.
"Thanks," she said, "Even though you haven't even looked at me, for all you know I could still be in my pyjamas and dressings gown."
Harry looked up apologetically, "Sorry, I'm running on auto-pilot. I need coffee." He mumbled.
"What time do you reckon we should leave?" Hermione asked as she summoned him some coffee.
Harry shrugged, "Give it another half hour, then we should be too much in the way."
True to his word, exactly half an hour later the pair stood and Hermione walked around the table to join Harry.
"You do look very nice, by the way." He commented as he held out his hand, as he finally took in what she was wearing – a modest, sleeveless figure hugging dress in dark grey, that fell to just above her knees, couple with a pair of sensible black heels. It was an outfit she had worn to some business meetings her parents had forced her to attend the summer before they left. She threw her own black cloak over her shoulders, and then took Harry's offered hand.
The pair disapparated and reappeared outside the Burrow a moment later. When they entered the kitchen, it was to find a deep silence over all the Weasleys: the table was heavily laden with a variety of breakfast goods, but no one seemed to be eating. Harry and Hermione entered in silence, and took a couple of empty seats around the large wooden table.
No one spoke, and Harry and Hermione looked at each other in discomfort – neither of them could remember ever being this quiet for such a long period of time. After a few more minutes, Hermione noticed Ginny look down at the table, covering her mouth with her hand, her body shook slightly, as if she were trying to hold back sobs, she then raised herself from the table, and hastily departed out of the kitchen, heading back into the sitting room. Hermione frowned and followed silently.
"Ginny?" she spoke softly, as she entered the sitting room, "Are you alright?" she asked, then stopped short, when Ginny looked up at her. She had not been trying to hide sobs, as Hermione had assumed, but rather she had run to hid a hysterical fit of giggles that seemed to have overtaken her.
"I am so sorry," Ginny spoke while laughing, "But it's just too quiet in there, I couldn't control myself."
Hermione sat down, "Are you sure you're alright?" she asked again, Ginny nodded.
"Yes, I'm fine." She took a breath, and calmed her giggles, "I don't know what came over me, but you know I hate silence. I've never known my family to be so quiet. I mean, we were all still in shock when we first came back here after Hogwarts, but after a few days, everyone started to get more like their normal selves again. But today, it's like we've all regressed back the day he died." Ginny explained, "And this isn't what Fred would have wanted either. He would have wanted us laughing, joking, celebrating all the things George and he did."
"Like turning a corridor into a swamp?" Hermione remembered fondly, with a laugh.
"Exactly!" Ginny laughed again.
"The tried to send me a toilet seat in my first year, when I was in the hospital wing." Harry commented from the doorway, the girls turned in unison, not knowing he had followed them.
"What the hell?" asked Ginny, "Why?"
Harry shrugged, "No idea, maybe they thought sweets were over-rated, and nothing said 'congratulations on thwarting Voldemort' quite like a Hogwarts toilet seat." He said taking a seat. Hermione and Ginny laughed again, and the three lapsed into thoughtful silence for five minutes.
"Speaking of Hogwarts," Ginny spoke up then, "I got a letter yesterday, asking if I wanted to repeat my sixth year, or go strait into my seventh. Ron didn't get a letter inviting him back, did either of you?" She asked.
"Ron and I didn't because we already told McGonagall we wouldn't be returning. She was there when we accepted our posts at the Ministry." Harry explained, "But Hermione got one."
Ginny turned to Hermione to see her nod in confirmation, "What are you going to do?" she asked Hermione, who shrugged.
"I'm not sure yet. There are a lot of trainee programmes at the ministry that are willing to accept me, all starting mid October. They still want a couple of NEWT qualifications relevant to the field, depending on the department, but they're willing to let me study throughout the first year of internship, and take the exams next year."
"So if you took a place at the ministry, you'd only need to take two or three NEWTs, instead of the seven or eight you'd be doing if you returned to Hogwarts?" Ginny clarified.
Hermione nodded, "But, on the other hand, part of me would like to finish my education. But my main focus right now is finding my parents. If they're not found in the next couple of weeks, I'll take a trainee programme for definite I think. I'll be able to help more with the search if I'm down in London, as opposed to holed up in a castle in Scotland."
"And if you find them before then?" Ginny asked.
Hermione sighed. "I don't know. That will depend on my parents, I fear."
Both Harry and Ginny frowned at this, unsure what the meaning was behind it, but were prevented from answering when Ron came to the doorway,
"We're heading down to the orchard now." He said, "People will be arriving soon."
Ginny stood first and went to her brother's side, Ron put his arm around her and the pair left the room, with Harry and Hermione following close behind. Harry took Hermione's hand silently as they walked down to the orchard, she gave his a gentle squeeze in silent reassurance: both would be each other's shoulder to cry on should they need one. Ron and Ginny slowed their pace and came to walk beside Hermione and Harry, Ron taking Hermione's other hand. The four of them made the rest of way joined together and Hermione smiled, thinking of everything they had been through the past couple of years, the disastrous romances they had all experienced and the fighting they had endured – even after all that, they were still four of greatest friends, with a bond nothing was ever going to break.
A/N: So there's chapter two - I know not much happens, still in the stages of setting the scene for the rest of the story. The next few chapters will start involving more of Draco Malfoy, I know he seems a little bit forgotten in this chapter, but don't worry, he'll get his share of the limelight soon :D
I'll try an update as soon as I can, until then, please review - I love to hear what you guys think, good or bad...I thrive on constructive criticism :)
xBx