Disclaimer: Yes, they're mine… What? They're not?! And I'm not being paid for this either! JKR has all the fun…
.:/*\:.
The Ministry of Magic are morons.
That was the thought that kept circling Hermione's mind on the morning of Fred's funerals. As Fred had requested, he was to be buried this day alongside his favorite uncle, Fabian Prewett. But everyone then had to go back to Hogwarts to endure the unveiling of what had been termed the Monument. Hermione supposed it was a good enough idea. Dumbledore's tombstone had been restored after the Dark Lord's desecration. And it was now to be improved on, with a semi-circular wall being built around it upon which the names of every witch and wizard who had fallen to the Death Eaters, whether in the first or the second war, would eventually be inscribed.
Where the Ministry showed its insensitivity was that they were using the occasion to try and garner more popularity. Even with Kingsley Shacklebolt currently running things, it was obviously to Hermione that the politically-minded members of the Ministry were already vying for the better spots to dethrone the Head of Magical Law Enforcement and take his place as Minister. With better and more important things to do than fight over this point, both Hermione and Shacklebolt himself had taken the easy option on this, and chosen to go along with it after expressing their initial disapproval. They could both see more difficult battles coming on the horizon, and they wanted to save their strengths and their arguments.
"Hey, 'Mione."
The young witch looked up from the spot on the floor she had been looking at.
"Hey, Harry."
Her housemate came to sit beside her and Hermione couldn't help leaning against his side. Her honorary brother put his arm around her shoulders and held in firmly.
"Don't know how you've done it all, 'Mione."
Hermione shrugged and said nothing. Fred had actually done most of it, trying to make sure everything would go as smoothly as possible. She had just followed his instructions. The private burial had been simple enough to arrange and a single meeting with Arthur Weasley was all it took to secure Fred's wish to be buried beside Fabian Prewett. After the short private ceremony, they would have to move to Hogwarts for the Ministry's silliness and the two readings of the Will.
"You're thinking too hard, Hermione."
"I just don't want anything to go wrong. Fred deserves the best."
"Hey, it's you we're talking about. The mistress of revision-planning and color-coded charts. It's going to be fine!"
Hermione chuffed softly against Harry and bumped his shoulder a bit.
"Have they told you when you're supposed to start training?"
"Yep. Ron, Neville and I will be reporting for training on June 15th."
The obvious pride in Harry's tone had Hermione smiling and she reached up to ruffle his hair.
"Just don't let it get to your head, Potter."
"I'm counting on you to help keep that head out of the clouds."
"Even if we won't see each other as much?"
"Of course! We both know you won't ever hesitate to cut me down at the knees whether via Patronus or Howler if my ego starts to get in the way. Ron and Neville know the same."
Hermione chuckled softly and snuggled a bit more into her brother's side. She took a deep breath and puffed loudly before getting to her feet.
"Come on. I'm sure Molly will be gluing you to her side in short order, so you might want to get in some time with Ginny before that."
Harry blushed slightly but grinned back at Hermione as he let her pull him to his feet.
"Who says I haven't?"
"Oh, I know you haven't. Or are you forgetting that I slept in the same room as your girlfriend last night?"
Harry laughed softly and the two of them made their way outside. As Hermione had predicted, Molly Weasley hugged both of them but kept Harry safely beside her from that moment on. From the other side of his mother, George rolled his eyes at Hermione and the witch's lips twitched. The lonely twin was still working on getting his mother to truly move on, like he was trying to. Hermione knew very well that George was far from all right and fighting off depression as hard as he could. But he was trying.
Hermione took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Everyone had already arranged themselves around the old bicycle wheel she had requested the Department of Transportation to make into a portkey. This would allow them to travel together to the cemetery. They would Apparate to Hogwarts in groups as the Headmistress had made it clear that portkeying in or out of Hogwarts would not be allowed under any circumstances until the School Wards had been repaired. One by one, they all reached out to grab a section of the wheel and right on time, it glowed and vibrated, jerking them all to their destination.
Hermione stumbled but managed to stay upright as they all landed in the cemetery. As everyone approached the spot where Fred would be laid to rest, Hermione chose to stand back. She would have to take her place in front of all these people in a little while, and many more, to discuss the last wishes of the wizard they were about to commit back to the earth, and she couldn't take more at the moment. Luckily, she wasn't expected to. She had already done her part here by arranging all the details. Flowers had been ordered, a headstone commissioned and checked over at delivery, paperwork filed at the Ministry and at Gringotts…
So now she only watched as George said a few words, followed by Bill and Ginny. Molly was trying her best to stop crying and was never close to succeeding, while Arthur never even tried to hide his tears. All in all, the ceremony was short and to the point. When Hermione summoned her wand to her hand to give her final farewell to the departed Weasley, she was both surprised and not when her walnut wand came to her fingers. And the light she shone from the curved length of wood was as bright as what her vine wand would have once produced for her.
As the Weasleys huddled together around Fred's final resting place, Hermione took the opportunity to Apparate away. She stepped out of her turn gracefully just in front of the Hogwarts Gates. They opened even as she approached. She felt the School Wards reach for her and caress her mind with their combined magics, centering her even as she made her way to the Castle. The feeling stayed with her all the way to the door of the Anteroom by the side of the teachers' entrance. There, Hermione quickly changed and she sat to wait.
.:/*\:.
Hermione stood in the middle of the Great Hall, behind a podium raised on a platform. Every seat had been taken and many people were present who probably had no right or reason to be. But she was sure Fred wouldn't have minded. In fact, he most likely would have enjoyed being the center of the attention.
In accordance with his wishes, Hermione was wearing bright red robes emblazoned with the three gold W's that had become the logo of Weasley Wizard Wheezes. The date of the funeral and reading of the will had been first published in The Quibbler then a few days later in the Daily Prophet. One of McGonagall's first act as the official Head of Hogwarts was to allow the use of the Great Hall for the reception. All the staff had volunteered to help out. Professor Flitwick had somehow replicated the famous swamp the Twins had 'gifted' the school before they had left, complete with the gondolas the students had subsequently used to cross it. Professor Hooch had commandeered Professors Vector and Babbling to transfigure and enchant fake Bludgers to zoom about the room. Hermione knew that Professor Snape and Argus Filch had teamed up to convince the House Elves to let them spike the drinks. Nothing harmful, but typical of the Twins.
Hermione now looked around everyone currently sitting or standing in the Great Hall, whispered conversations rumbling through the room to create quite the din. Her gaze settled on the tables closest to her spot for a moment. The Weasleys were all sitting together, Harry added to their numbers. The entire staff of Hogwarts, including Madam Pince, Argus Filch, and a representative from the Hogwarts House Elves, sat at another. Many of the members of Dumbledore's Army were seated at another, Neville and Luna amongst them, their families and friends gathered at a few more tables. The Malfoy family sat at another table, along with the rest of the Slytherins who had been invited. Hermione had been surprised at their inclusion, and determined to get Draco Malfoy into this room when she had read Fred wanted him there because he had helped in his own way. It had actually been relatively easy if a bit awkward. Beyond the tables, chairs had been lined across the Hall for those Fred knew would just turn up. Buffet tables lined the two main walls so those guests so they would not starve. The young witch twirled her quebracho wand in front of her and small fireworks crackled overhead, hushing the talks and bringing all the attention on her.
"Welcome one and all to the public reading of Fred Weasley's will."
Hermione paused as some people started to bray or quack while others transformed into canaries or bunnies. As the din started to grow once more, Hermione cut through the confusion and the noise with a few loud fireworks shot over the crowd.
"You're dealing with the co-founder of a joke shop. What did you think would happen?"
The laughter that swept the Hall at her words brought a few tears to her eyes, and Hermione blinked hard and sniffed as discreetly as she could.
"All right, all right, settle down now. This is serious business."
This got a few more laughs and chuckles and Hermione smiled in turn.
"As I was saying, this is the public reading of the last will and testament of Fred Wealey. It is as follows…" Hermione made an attempt to swallow against the lump growing in her throat and took a deep breath. "I, Fred Weasley, presently of the flat above Weasley Wizard Wheezes, Diagon Alley, London, England, hereby revoke all prior Wills and Codicils and declare this to be my last Will. I am not married, I do not have living children, and I have appointed Hermione Granger of the Blue Guest Rooms, Hogwarts, Scotland, as the Executor of my Will, since my twin chickened out of it."
George made a sound that was between a laugh and a sob and it echoed in the now silent Great Hall. Hermione had to close her eyes against the painful sound and her own sudden tears. Twins were often close and magic was said to only make the bond so much stronger when it existed. Some said losing a bonded twin was exactly the same as losing half of yourself. And there was no doubt in anyone's mind that the Weasley twins had been bonded… Hermione re-opened her eyes just in time to see Angelina Johnson and Lee Jordan leave their seats at the Dumbledore's Army table to come surround the lonely brother. Hermione nodded once to them then took another breath.
"To the great establishment that is Hogwarts and its most honored staff, I leave the terrifying threat of more products from Weasley Wizard Wheezes," Hermione said with her most ominous voice while looking at the table where the staff was seating.
She smiled as a cheer rang through the Great Hall. The newly appointed Headmistress rose with a smile and bowed her head slightly.
"We'll be ready, don't you worry about it."
"No, you won't," George promised with a bit of a tearful smile.
"To make good on this promise to our esteemed Professors," Hermione continued, "I leave the students of Hogwarts with the promise of a free Skiving Snackbox each." Another great cheer echoed through the room and Hermione couldn't help but laugh as she carried on. "Just the one each though. I don't want to ruin my own business.
"Now as you may know, I was particularly fond of Quidditch as well. So I have one last gift to Hogwarts. I leave to all four Quidditch House Teams a full set of racing brooms."
Among whispered ooohing and aaahing, Hermione signaled the Team Captains and Professor Hooch forward. She gave each of the Captains a set of ten miniaturized Nimbus 2002. To Professor Hooch, she gave a Firebolt to the astonishment of all.
"I should point out that these were greatly discounted by their respective manufacturers in thanks to Hogwarts for services rendered during the war. And finally, to everyone gathered here today, I leave a world free from Lord U-No-Poo. I can only hope we all continue to work together to keep our world safe. Enjoy the food and drinks, if you're brave enough. Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"
Everyone laughed and the Great Hall dissolved into noisy talks as people started to eat and drink. Hermione could see that many voluntary went for those drinks and dishes that would have them changing into small animals or start making funny noises. With a small shake of her head, Hermione stepped off the platform and made her way to the table the Malfoys were seated at.
"Good afternoon, Lords and Lady Malfoy. Thank you for coming. I just would like to reassure you that none of the food or drinks served at the tables has been doctored with any of the WWW products. It is quite safe to consume."
With a nod of her head, Hermione left them before the silence could get too awkward. The section concerning Draco Malfoy had been left black out in Fred's Will, just as her own was. Hermione understood that it would only be revealed as she read it during the private reading. As she made her way to the Weasley's table, George snatched her hand and brought her to sit on his lap.
"Thanks for that, Hermione."
"Not a problem, big brother."
George huffed and put his head against her shoulder. Hermione put her arms loosely around him, swallowing hard but finally losing the battle against her tears as one rolled down her right cheek.
"Fred really did want to duel Ron for you at one point."
"Did he now?"
"Yeah… He thought you might go for an older guy. But he decided to wait since you seemed to like our little brother for some strange reason."
Hermione rubbed George across his back. Beside them, the rest of the Weasleys were quietly eating. It was such an odd sight, all of them just sitting there and picking at their food. The young witch turned her sight back to the Malfoys. They too were barely eating and she turned back to George.
"You need to have a word with your cousin and his family. I have assured them they are welcome, but I'm afraid that, between the facts that they fought against us, I'm a Muggle-born, and I have no idea why Draco was named in the Will, my word does carry much weight with them."
George took a long, shuddering breath against her shoulder then straightened.
"Let me see what I can do."
Hermione stood to let George up and the wizard went to stand in front of Lucius Malfoy. She could not hear what was being said but she turned away before curiosity could get the best of her. It was not really her business at this moment in time, and she would know soon enough. George rejoined the table and took his seat with a smile for her benefit.
"Did you know, little sister, that Fred always thought you would have made a delightful partner-in-crime for us?"
"What? You mean, if you two had managed to corrupt me to your way of thinking?"
"Way of pranking, sis', way of pranking. And I like to think we did contribute to your eventual… shall we say awakening… during the Year of the Toad."
"Really?" Hermione scoffed with a smile.
"Yes," and George's smile was positively evil. "It's always the quiet ones, isn't it? I think we did a good job, slowly bringing you to the Dark Side of the Force."
"George," Hermione laughed, "did you just quote a stupid sci-fi movie at me?"
"Don't slag the classics off, 'Mione!"
"Since when do you even know Star Wars?"
"I'll have you know that Fred and I are highly educated, well rounded-up wizards… Who happened to live in London and you can't really escape news of the release of the new movie next year."
"So what? You went and rented the videos?"
"Philistine!" George sniffed haughtily. "We went to see a special screening of the three originals at our local indie cinema."
Hermione chuckled and shook her head, purposefully ignoring everyone else for now.
"Fred cornered me not too long before the two of you decided you had outgrown school. Got me to work on your Dragon Fire."
"The little sneak. He told me he had worked through the night to get the charms working as they should. I hope he paid you well at least!"
"He did. After all, he did convince you to use the only prototype in the Great Hall!"
"And you still say we haven't corrupted you?" George laughed. "You wanted to see Umbridge running from that firework as much as we did!"
"Worth every second I spent on this charm instead on revising!" Hermione's smile was positively devious and George laughed even harder.
"And I don't think that's the worse you two got up to," Lee Jordan said. "Remember Third Year? You guys managed to slime the whole of the second floor on the North Wing."
"I remember that one," Argus Filch grumbled loud enough for all to hear but with a very slight upward tilt of his lips. "I could still find slime in hidden away nooks and crannies a year later!"
"Aw… Come on. We did help cleaning up!"
"Only after being assigned two months detention with Mr Filch," Headmistress McGonagall interjected, "and losing two hundred points to Gryffindor. I swear we would have had the House Cup that year if not for your stunt."
"A fact for which I am very grateful, I assure you."
Everyone looked to Professor Snape as he sipped his cup of tea. Hermione sat back as more stories were shared of Fred's, and by extension George's, many exploits and pranks. The laughter got less strained as more anecdotes were shared by friends, classmates, teachers, and family members. Even Draco Malfoy shared and Hermione was once more certain there was a really good reason he was here. Many toasts were drunk in honor of Fred Weasley until the sun finally set and Hermione resumed her task, leading a few away from the revelry to discuss the last terms of Fred's Will.
.:/*\:.
Hermione closed the door of the Transfiguration classroom behind the last of the attendees. She took a few seconds to compose herself before stepping to the front once more. She let everyone settle as they would. It didn't take long for everyone to be seated. She wasn't really surprised to see that once again, the Malfoys were sitting apart from everyone else, but there was little she could do about this. The quiet sniffles of Molly Weasley were much louder here, in the quiet of a classroom, than they had been in the Great Hall. With a small shake of her head, Hermione swallowed against the lump that had once more taken residence in her throat.
"This is the private will of Fred Weasley. To Neville Longbottom, I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that you're truly a Gryffindor. The work you've done over the last school year was amazing and so I have commissioned for you a replica of the Sword our Founder used himself. May it serve as an eternal remainder of your bravery."
Hermione swallowed thickly as she bent to retrieve Neville's gift. Her yearmate looked as stunned with the gift as she had been initially.
"But… He-he d-didn't kn-know…" Neville stuttered as he held the sword.
"We all did, Neville. We all knew just how brave you could be," Hermione said. "Fred may not have been present to see what you did with the real Sword of Gryffindor, but he knew just what you were truly capable of. And he knew what you'd been doing…"
With a deep breath, Hermione went back to the desk she had commandeering, looking at the parchment and seeing for the first time the words pertaining to Draco Malfoy. And now, she wasn't really surprised anymore.
"To Draco Malfoy, I know exactly what you did over the past year too, cousin. Not only did you donate money for the shop, but you also warned us when saboteurs were sent to shut us down. And you managed to delay Bellatrix Lestrange just enough to save Ron, Harry and Hermione. Your patronage of the shop was always welcome and will always be. But I still hope to draw out the prankster in you. And so, I give you a 5% stake in Weasley Wizard Wheezes. Use it wisely, cousin."
Hermione picked up the sealed scroll and handed it over to Draco Malfoy with a small smile. The younger Malfoy accepted with a short nod, obviously not knowing how to react given what had just been revealed to his father, who had been a loyal Death Eater until the Final Battle.
"To Argus Filch, sir, it was an honor to run away from you in the halls of Hogwarts for all these years. You and I both know you let us get away a few times. Just like we know exactly how much you helped during that year with Umbridge. Without you, we would have been caught a lot sooner than we were. I leave you with a 5% stake in Weasley Wizard Wheezes and the promise that a good stock of our various counter-charms and protective gears will make their way to you each year you remain at Hogwarts watching over the miscreants - I meant students."
Hermione went to hand over his scroll and Argus Filch took it as he tried to surreptitiously wipe a tear.
"To Harry Potter, well you're the one who started the whole joke shop. So I guess I can't really leave you out. And then there's the whole Ginny thing. I should warn you that if you ever hurt my sister, I will find a way to come back and haunt you until the last of your miserable days. You get to watch over Ginny! And I suppose you can have a 5% stake in the shop too…"
Harry chuckled as he took his own scroll from Hermione and the witch couldn't help but chuckle right along with him.
"To Ron Weasley, you've got your whole life ahead of you now. Try not to mess it up brother. Learn to control that temper and remember that not everything is about you, and little is as it seems. And if you ever get the guts to ask for Hermione's hand, know that I envy you and I would have fought you for her if I thought I had a chance. I'm leaving you 20% of the shop. Hopefully, it should set you up so you don't have to worry about money too much. Have a great life, Ronniekins."
Ron scoffed at the nickname but got up to take the scroll off Hermione.
"To Bill, Charlie, and Percy Weasley, you three have already got good things going for yourselves. So I won't leave you a share of the business. But I do hope that your children will be told just who their uncle was. And maybe I can make pranksters out of them too, from beyond the Veil. And to help in this matter, I give each of you a part of our original research projects with the understanding that my nieces and nephews will inherit these when they start Hogwarts."
The three older Weasley siblings chuckled to each other and stood to approach Hermione as she took out three quite large notebooks and handed them over to their new owners.
"To Ginevra Wealey, I hope you'll get to follow all your dreams in the future. And to help you out with that, I've set up a meeting with the manager of the Holyhead Harpies for you. He knows your name and he'll give you a tryout when it's safe to do so. Also, since all good players need a good broom, I'm giving you a Firebolt."
Ginny gave a tearful smile as she took the Firebolt from Hermione. The two witches exchanged a quick hug, and Hermione had to wipe a few tears away before she could carry on.
"To Mum and Dad, I know there's nothing I can do to make it all better. Just keep in mind I would have fought even if I had known how it would end. I'm proud of the fact our family stood up for what was right. I can only leave you with that knowledge and the hope we'll see each other again beyond the Veil."
Molly's sniffles turned to sobs and Arthur took her in his arms as Ginny moved to squeeze her mother's hand.
"To George Weasley, I leave my good looks, amazing brains, and everything else beside the proviso we agreed on for Hermione. Take good care of yourself."
Hermione sighed and put the scroll down, knowing that nothing else was written and looking at the wizard in question for further instructions. George smiled and motioned for her to keep reading. Hermione frowned, quite sure that there was nothing more to the Will. But as she looked at it again, more lines appeared at the end.
"And finally to Hermione Granger, the cleverest witch of our age, for being the voice of reason all these years and in the hope of making a prankster out of you yet, I give a complete copy of our research. Everything, from our humble beginnings to the finished formulas for our forthcoming products. I know you won't use them, but it might give you ideas. And I also leave you with this promise of patronage. I'm afraid that, even with Voldemort gone, it'll be difficult for you to find Masters willing to teach you, so I hereby pledge my patronage for you to pursue any and all Masteries you wish to attain, with the understanding that you'll at least consider putting your new skills to use at Weasley Wizard Wheezes."
George came to stand by Hermione and gave her a hug.
"We're keeping those notebooks and books in the shop's vault at Gringotts. We'll have to pop there together one day so I can either transfer them to your vault or we can sign them out. As for the thing with your further education, just let me know if, or rather when, you decide on a Mastery and I'll help you track down a good Master to learn under."
Hermione huffed but kept her arms around her honorary brother and snuggled her head in the crook of his shoulder in an effort to hide her tears.
"Thanks for doing this for me, 'Mione."
The younger witch nodded even as she heard the catch in George's voice.
"Anytime, brother. Anytime."
.:/*\:.
Author's Note: And there you have it. I know some of you were looking forward to this chapter and I'm sorry if this fell short of your expectations. As I said, part of why I'm writing this fanfic is to work on my 'emotion writing'. The other main reason is to get the storyline out of my head once and for all. It feels to me a bit like a big information dump but…
I'm posting this now to say thanks to amr and Dutchgirl01 for their reviews and to welcome my new followers. And also, I'd been working on a concept for the cover for this fanfic and I finally managed to come close to the effect I was looking for.
I'm afraid to say that the next chapter won't be for another two to three weeks at least. I've just received the author's proof of my book and it has to be sent back before the middle of the month to make a deadline. As I've said before, writing that feeds me before writing that only pleases me.
Gosh that was a long note… Keep smiling!