I own nothing at all. I sure wish I did.
Chapter 12
"Welcome to another year of school her at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Professor McGonagall greeted the students later that evening.
The rest of the train ride had been uneventful. They had talked about the various weddings that would be coming up. Ron and Luna wanted to get married on Halloween. Well, Luna did. Ron didn't care as long as she was his wife. That line had earned him a good snogging, leaving Harry, Ginny and Hermione trying to look anywhere but at the pair.
Harry and Ginny weren't sure exactly when they wanted to get married. Ginny wanted a winter wedding but Harry thought a nice outdoor spring wedding would be nice. They decided that they would continue to talk about it for a few weeks before making the final decision.
"I'm so glad to see all of you back for another wonderful year. I would like to welcome our new first year students. We hope that you fit in well with your new houses. They will be your family for the next seven years; your home away from home.
To our older students, welcome back. Last year was a very trying year for us all. But we've prevailed against the forces that tried to knock us down. we lost many and we miss them terribly. But we are strong and we are persistent. And we will move on."
Applause erupted through out the Great Hall, from all four houses. Someone at the Slytherin table stood and the other three tables quickly followed.
"Who would have thought a Slytherin had a heart," Ron said as they took their seats.
"I would," Hermione replied, sneaking a peek at the blonde haired Slytherin who had stood first
"We have some new things that are happening this year at Hogwarts. First of all, there will be many seventh years who will be getting married this year, because of the new marriage law. There will be suites available for those couples. For those of you who have not chosen a partner yet, there will be classes that will be mandatory for you as well as for our married couples. The Ministry wants to make this as easy for you as possible. Also, on a lighter note, the Ministry has decided there will be three balls this year: One at Halloween, one at Christmas and the last one on Valentine's Day. This way you can mingle amongst yourselves and get to know people. The ball's themes will be decided by our prefects. The meeting times will be posted tomorrow. Now, why don't we tuck in and eat?" she suggested, as the food appeared on all of the tables.
"Three balls?" Ginny exclaimed excitedly as they filled their plates.
"Is that all you got out of that speech?" Hermione teased.
"No, I get to sleep with Harry here in the castle as soon as we get married," she replied, smiling mischievously.
"Bloody hell Ginny! Could you not talk about that while I'm trying to eat?" Ron complained as he stuffed food in his mouth.
"You're not having any problem eating. We had to watch Luna snog your head off in the train and none of us said a word!" his sister retorted, causing Ron to turn red at the thought of that kiss.
"I wonder if McGonagall will let people who are in different houses who are married sit with one another at meals," Hermione mused, taking a small bite of chicken.
"I don't know, but I miss Luna like crazy," Ron said, looking over at the Ravenclaw table.
"Now who's going to make us sick?" Harry teased his best friend.
"Shut it!" Ron said, grinning good-naturedly.
Hermione smiled as they feel into a comfortable silence. She knew things were going to be like this all year long. Her friends had all found love and were extremely happy about it. She would just have to focus on her school work and finding her own love.
"'Mione!" Ginny hissed at her from across the table.
"What?" she asked, confused as to what she did. The red head pointed her finger behind Hermione.
"May I sit here?" A deep, smooth voice asked.
Hermione turned to see none other then the Prince of Slytherin, Draco Malfoy.
"You really want to sit at the Gryffindor table?" she asked, teasingly.
"If it means I can sit and talk with you, then yes," he replied, actually smiling.
Hermione blushed furiously, "Sure you can sit."
The blonde sat between Hermione and Ron, much to the redhead's horror. A plate appeared in front of him, but he pushed it away.
"I've already eaten," he said in way of explanation.
"Oh," she replied stupidly. There you go again with that nonsense, she thought to herself.
"So did you like the book I sent you?" Draco asked, smiling.
"Oh, I loved it! It was beautifully written and the plot was something I would have never thought to write," Hermione gushed.
"I'm glad you like it," he replied happily.
"Did you get my thank you letter?" she asked.
"Yes, I did. How was the last few days of your summer break?"
Hermione looked across at Ginny, who smirked back at her."Well, it was eventful," she replied reluctantly.
"Oh, how so?" Draco wondered, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, I went on a Scavenger Hunt," Hermione said.
"Really? Was it a game you were playing? Or a family thing?"
"No. I...it was...well at the end of the hunt, someone was waiting with a petition," she stammerd, feeling extremely guilty. He was the first on I promised to consider, she thought to herself.
"Oh," he sat quietly for a moment. Then he turned and smiled at Hermione. "Well, did you accept it?"
"No, but I told him basically the same thing as I did you," she informed the blonde.
"Well, at least I know I still have a chance," Draco replied.
Hermione nodded, deciding not to speak for the moment. The feelings that she had for Draco were quite different from the ones she had for the Weasley men.
"I had better go back to my own table before McGonagall dismisses us so that I can help with the first years. See you later!" He said standing and walking back to his own table.
"That was awkward," Ginny replied, taking a drink of her pumpkin juice.
Hermione nodded in agreement, putting her head in her hands.
"Now that our stomachs are full and our eyes are heavy, it's time to go to our dormitories. If you are officially engaged to a person in another house, you have thirty minutes to say good night. If a professor finds you after that fifty points will be taken from each house. Prefects, please make sure that your first years make it safely to your houses. Good night," Professor McGonagall announced.
"I'll see you later," Ron said hurriedly as he stood and ran towards the Ravenclaw table.
"I guess he wants to make the most of their thirty minutes," Harry replied, smirking.
"Yes, but doesn't he remember the he is a prefect? I could use his help," Hermione replied as she walked towards some of the Gryffindor first years.
"First years, please come over here," she called in her best impression of Professor McGonagall. The small group made their way over to where she stood. "All right, please follow me. The stairs move so it's easy to get lost. You don't want to become lost in your first night at Hogwarts, do you?" she asked, turning to see all of her first years closely behind her, all shaking their heads.
"Good," Hermione said, smirking as she gave them a brief tour on their way to the Gryffindor tower. When they made it to the portrait of the Fat Lady, she turned to her charges.
"This is the entrance into your new home. To be able to get in there, you must have the password. You do not give it to anyone in any of the other houses no matter what. Do you understand? Good. Our new password is Dumbledore." The portrait swung open for the group, causing a few of the first years to gasp.
"The boy's dorms are that way, the girl's are that way. You should probably go on up and get settled in. Classes start early in the morning. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. Good night," she finishing smiling at the overwhelmed group of kids. After they left the common room, she looked around, noticing not very many people had returned to the tower yet.
Might as well go upstairs and write Fred, she thought to herself. She walked up the familiar staircase that lead to the room that had been hers for the previous six years. When she opened the door, she saw that all of her things had been placed at the end of her bed.
"I bet you want out of that cage, don't you, Austen?" Hermione cooed at her bird, who hooted happily. "I'll let you out, but don't go too far, please. I need to send a letter off tonight," she told her bird as she opened the cage. He hooted and flew out the opened window.
Hermione changed out of her robes and into a pair of pyjama pants and tank top, deciding to get comfortable before she sat down to write the letter.
Dear Fred,
I was extremely surprised to find your letter in my back pocket. How did you get it there anyway? I don't know how in the world you put it there without me knowing.
I think we should write back and forth. I'm not going to make any promises, but I've though about the brief kiss we shared several times since that night. That has to mean something, right?
I'm not sure how much you want for him to know, but I do think that one of us should tell George. Ginny told me to make you tell him, but I'll leave that up to you. I just do not want any secrets. They hardly ever lead to anything good.
I look forward to receiving letters from you. I've missed talking with you the last few weeks.
The young witch read the letter over, making sure it sounded all right. She wasn?t sure as to how she should end the letter. She thought 'love' was inappropriate and 'sincerely' seemed too formal. My name should be fine, she assured herself as she folded the parchment and placed it into the envelope.
Hermione
"Austen," she called to her bird, knowing he wasn't far away. The bird quickly flew to where she sat, legs crossed in the middle of her bed and sat patiently on her knee. "Would you please take this to Fred?" Hermione asked.
The bird nipped her finger goodbye before flying happily back out of the window.
"Knock, knock," a voice said from the door, followed by a certain red-haired girl.
"I figured you would be snuggled up to Harry by the fire right about now," Hermione teased the girl who sat down on her bed.
"I would be if I wasn't having to deliver a letter like I'm an owl," Ginny replied, handing Hermione as envelope.
"Who is it from?" she asked, taking it out of Ginny's hand.
"Read it and find out," the red head said, grinning widely. "I'm going to go sit with Harry. Have a good night," Ginny waved at her friend as she walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.
Staring at the envelope curiously, she quickly opened it.
Will you please look out your window?
Hermione turned the small piece of parchment over, wondering if there was anything else. Cautiously, she walked to the opened window.
"Hi," a voice said from below, startling her.
"Merlin, Charlie, you scared me to death," Hermione exclaimed, holding her chest. "What are you doing?"
Charlie grinned and flew closer to the opened window. "I didn't get to see you any this evening. Would you let me take you for a midnight ride?"
"Its not midnight," she teased. "And I don't really like brooms."
"Please?" the former dragon handler begged.
"What if I get caught out after Professor McGonagall's curfew?" Hermione wondered, trying to come up with every excuse possible not to get on that broom. Not that she didn't want to talk with Charlie, she just really hated brooms
The red head grinned and pulled a piece of parchment out of his pocket and handled it to her.
Ms. Granger,
You have my permission to leave your dormitory with Mr. Weasley until midnight.
Professor McGonagall
"You thought of everything," she replied, turning slightly green.
"I did," he replied, flying extremely close to the window. He noticed how pale Hermione had turned and smiled gently at her. "I promise I'll protect you," he assured her, holding a hand out for her to accept.
She looked at the smiling, gorgeous man for a moment and sighed. What the hell, she thought as she grabbed a jacket. If I die, at least I'll be with a gorgeous man.
"You sure you won't let me fall?" she asked, taking his hand.
"I promise," Charlie grinned and pulled her onto the back of his broom, where she quickly grabbed a hold of his waist. "You know love, I do need to breathe," he teased as he flew quickly away from Gryffindor tower.
"You can breathe when we land," she retorted, grinning widely, causing him to laugh loudly. Hermione could feel his heart beat through his shirt and could smell his outdoors smell. It was all rather intoxicating.
"We aren't going far," he said as he started descending.
"Where are we?" she asked, curious as to what he was up to.
"We are on a hill," he said as he landed on top of a beautiful green hill, that over looked a lake.
"Really?" she asked sarcastically. "This is beautiful," Hermione said, looking out over the lake. In the distance she could make out hundreds of tiny lights, causing her to gasp. "Is that Hogwarts?" she asked.
"It is. It's just on the other side of the lake," he replied, coming behind her and putting his arms around her. She leaned back into him, enjoying the warmth that was radiating off of him.
"How did you find this place?" Hermione wondered.
"Well, how do I begin?" he pondered.
"The beginning is usually a rather good place," she teased him, causing him to grin. He grabbed her hand and pulled her down to sit with him.
"You've heard of my mothers twin brothers, right? Well, Fabian was always looking for ways to make money and he figured that land was a good way. Well,before he could do anything with this particular piece of land, they were killed. "
"So, this is your Uncle Fabian's land?" Hermione asked.
"Actually, it's mine," he said slowly, watching her reaction.
"What do you mean, yours?" she asked.
"When they died they found out that he had left this land to her. Mum has decided, with all of this Marriage Law stuff to give all of us one thing to help with our new family. She gave Ron a ring and Percy allowed her to give him our grandmother's china. He wouldn't take anything else, that stupid git," he mumbled, remembering how hurt she looked when he had refused anything else. Molly and Arthur had gathered the boys up and had a talk with them a few days after the law had arrived.
"So she gave you this land?" Hermione asked, shocked. She knew that the Weasley's had always had just enough. If they had sold the land, along with the jewellery, they would have been just fine. But they chose to save it to help their kids get started, she thought, in total awe of these people who had become her family.
"She did," he replied, holding Hermione's hand. "Mum wants me to have a place where I can build a home for my family."
Hermione looked over at Charlie, feeling extremely scared. Not the kind of fear she felt while looking for the Horcrux, but another one entirely.
"Why did you bring me here?"she whispered.
Charlie moved so that he was in front of Hermione.
"Because I wanted to share this beautiful place with you. I wanted you to see that I have a place where I can build a home that we can grow with, a place with a big kitchen, rooms for the kids and maybe a library," he added, making Hermione smile slightly. "I want you to help me plan this. I want you to help me decide it all. Hermione Jean Granger, I want you to be my family."
Hermione felt tears escaping from her eyes. "Charlie, I can't..."
"I know you can't promise me anything tonight or ever in the next week. I just wanted you to know that I'm still here, waiting," Charlie replied, kissing her gently.
So what did you think? Sorry that I didn't upload this yesterday, as I promised, but I have the flu and left my computer over at my parents house. Got it today when I got out to go to the doctor. I hate being sick. Anywho, please tell me how you liked it, because if you don't I don't know if I'm still writing what you want me to write. Oh and just so you know, I now have an AMAZING beta. Thank you Ms. Tannya! :) Happy Reading.