CHAPTER TWO
Summary: With the War finally won and a rapid decline in the wizarding population, drastic measures are taken in a bid to save Wizarding Britain with the introduction of a new Marriage Law. Under the law, Hermione is forced to marry at eighteen or face being exiled from the Wizarding World. She must learn to deal with her past and look forward to her future with rising Quidditch Star, Oliver Wood. Rated M for a reason.
Disclaimer: All original characters and canon events belong to J.K. Rowling. Non-canon events and characters are my own. I am not making any profit from posting this fanfic. Characters are likely to be OOC.
Updated: 16/01/19
Page count: 14
Weasley's Wizard Wheezes - Wednesday 6th May, 1998
Hermione left the hospital the next morning and headed to The Burrow where she had a few hours sleep before being woken up by the nightmares that plagued her. She showered and dressed and ate the breakfast that Mrs. Weasley left for her in the kitchen, before heading to the twins' shop.
Now that she'd fixed up the twins' shop and apartment, there were only two things left to do; repair the outside of the building and try and restock the shelves for the twins, in order for the shop to be truly ready for a reopening, and that meant she had to make the products herself.
She set to work in the potions lab and the work area, where she found a book of recipes and instructions hidden behind a lose brick in the wall, and don't ask her how she knew it was there, but she did.
She started out with making products for the Wonder Witch line as they had a long expiration date and were fairly easy to make. She made three batches of two hundred of each Wonder Witch product and whilst they were simmering she moved onto making Canary Creams and Ton-Tongue Toffee and she made a batch of a thousand. When they cooled she found the correct packaging boxes and placed the correct amount in each box, before banishing them to the storage room to the candy and sweets section. She put the Wonder Witch products in vials when they'd cooled and she labelled them clearly and sent them off to the storage room, too.
She called it a day, summoned more clean clothing for George and then floo'd back to The Burrow, where she talked with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, ate dinner and then went to the hospital for the night.
~000~000~000~
St Mungos – Sunday 17th May, 1998
Two weeks had passed since the Final Battle and Fred being admitted into hospital. The Wizarding World was well on its way to being repaired, but not healed; the scars of the war would forever be a reminder of what happened.
Hermione had a routine. She would stay awake all night at the hospital attending to Fred whilst George slept and in the morning she would leave and go to The Burrow, where she would be woken by nightmares after a few hours sleep. She would shower, dress, eat breakfast and then head to the twins' shop where she would continue to restock the storage room. In the evening she would return to The Burrow, eat dinner, talk with whoever was there and then head to hospital with George's dinner and clean clothing before repeating the process the next day.
A few days after Hermione had started on the twins' shop, she sent off the order for the potion ingredient and they'd arrived the next day. She was surprised since the war had only ended a few days before, but then again, she was the most famous Muggleborn in the world, now. They'd even sent her double the amount she'd requested at no extra charge.
Equipped with everything she needed, she set to work on making the rest of the products. By the end of the two weeks she'd restocked the storage room with the most popular products according to the twins' records and she made a fair amount of the other products and at some point she'd fixed up the outside of the shop and restocked the food cupboards in the flat.
Now she was at St. Mungo's sat by Fred's bed. It was just her that night. After bringing George his dinner and clean clothes, they'd chatted and then argued for over an hour, after which Hermione won, and for the first time in two weeks, George left the hospital and went home to The Burrow for the night and he would return in the morning.
George had reluctantly left the hospital knowing that he could trust Hermione with his brother. Over the past two weeks they'd gotten to know each other rather well, she'd even had him in hysterics a few times from her wit and sense of humour. He knew more about Hermione than he did his own sister, who abandoned his family. But Hermione didn't, she stayed. She stayed with him every night and took care of him at a level Molly Weasley would be proud of. In return Hermione had learned more about George and through him she learned more about Fred, and he'd had her laughing to the point of tears on a few occasions which pleased him.
It was early in the morning, somewhere around three o'clock, when Hermione leaned forward and checked Fred's temperature like she did every night and then she conjured a bowl of water and a cloth, pressing the cold, damp cloth against his forehead and then she sat back down in her chair. She draped her legs over the side of the arm rest and used the blanket from the other bed. She pulled it over herself and tucked the excess blanket behind her back, which rested against the other arm rest of the chair and she rested her head against the back rest and closed her eyes.
Fred felt a warm and soft hand rest against his forehead, before it was removed and replaced by something cold and damp. He heard some shuffling and when it quieted, his eyes slowly fluttered open. His eyesight was blurry but after a few blinks he regained his perfect vision. He was glad to see there was no sunlight in the room; that would just give him a headache.
He lifted his arm and touched his hand to his forehead, feeling a cloth pressed against him. He slowly lifted himself into a sitting position and the cloth fell onto the bed beside him. He looked around the room to see the most unexpected sight that met him. Hermione Granger sat by his bedside and she appeared to be asleep.
For a few moments he watched her stunned in silence, before he finally spoke.
"Granger?" He said, still groggy from sleep and his voice came out rasped from weeks without use.
Hermione slowly opened her eyes and when hers locked on Fred's turquoise gaze, she blinked slowly and then jumped, sitting up quickly.
"Fred, you're awake" she said, both relieved and surprised.
He rolled his eyes at her. He spoke but it came out hoarse and he frowned. Hermione took a glass from the tray on the table beside his bed and she used her wand to fill it with water. She handed it to him and he took it gratefully.
"Thanks," he said after downing half the glass. "How long have you been here? How long have I been here?" He asked her curiously.
"Every night for two weeks," she replied softly and he raised an eyebrow at her. "George needed me here, he's been through a lot."
"Why aren't you with Harry and Ron?" He asked and he noticed the look of pain and betrayal that flashed in her eyes for a small moment.
"I'll leave George to explain that to you. It's better that it comes from him."
"Where is George?"
"Oh right, I almost forgot." She pulled her wand. "Expecto Patronum," she muttered and blue-silver majestic lion emerged from the tip of her wand and stood in front of her, waiting for her orders. She looked at it stunned, before clearing her throat. "George, Fred's awake," said and the lion was sent off to deliver the message as she sat back in her chair, slightly dazed.
"Why so shocked, Granger? Although a lion does suit you," Fred said amused.
"My patronus is an otter," she whispered.
"Well that was one funny looking otter," he commented.
"It's changed to a lion."
"Alright, that's not normal," he said with a frown.
"You're right, it's not, but a patronus can change depending on someone's emotional state or when something significant has occurred in their life."
"I would say a war is rather significant," Fred chuckled. "So where is George?" He asked her again and she shook her head to clear her thoughts.
"I sent him back to The Burrow. He hasn't left your side in two weeks. We had an argument last night that lasted for over an hour and I won," she replied, sounding pleased with herself. "As a result he had to leave to get some actual sleep and so he could have a proper shower."
"FRED!" She heard George shout from the doorway. He rushed forward and hugged Fred tightly and he chuckled at his twin.
"George, you're cutting off his air supply," Hermione scolded lightly, smiling when he pulled back looking sheepish, and she stood from her chair. "I'll leave you two to yourselves. I'll be at The Burrow if you need anything. Now that you're awake and all your injuries are healed, you should be allowed home soon."
She walked past George and ruffled his hair until it light a right mess, which he chuckled at –she did it every time she left him at the hospital– and Fred looked at his brother with clear confusion at the interaction between them.
"Alright, explain," he ordered.
"How are you doing?" George inquired, ignoring his brother's words.
"Brilliant, no aches or pain and I'm well rested. You'd never be able to tell I almost died by way of a wall crushing. Now, tell me what's going on with you and Granger," he demanded with a frown.
George sighed and sat down in one of the chairs. "She saved your life," he stated and Fred raised an eyebrow at him. "We were in the great hall and your body was on the floor, we all thought you were dead. She came rushing in and dropped to your side and she put her ear over your face. I pulled her away from you and I was yelling at her until she elbowed me," he said, rubbing his stomach as if remembering the pain. "And I dropped her. She scrambled back over to you and lifted your arm. I don't know what she was doing. I was yelling at her, but she ignored me, pressing her fingers against your neck before screaming at Madam Pomphrey that you were alive. The healers ran a few tests and she was right, you were alive, but barely and you were rushed here," he explained.
"So she saved my life?" Fred said in disbelief and George nodded.
"If it wasn't for her you wouldn't be here talking to me right now. She's been here every night since the battle. She never left me alone and she watched over you during the night, whilst I slept. I refused to leave you so she transfigured a bed for me and gave me a blanket. I've caught her checking on you a few times and putting a cold cloth against your head to help keep your temperature down, but she doesn't know. She leaves every morning to help repair a local business, but I don't know which one. She always returns covered in paint or some sort of potion ingredient," he chuckled and Fred watched him carefully with a slightly tilted head. "She brings me clean clothes and food and she forces me to eat. She's been keeping me company."
"Something's happened" Fred stated. "I asked her why she wasn't with Harry and Ron and wouldn't tell me."
George's happy expression dropped from his face and he sighed. Fred knew that wasn't a good sign.
"Harry, Ron and Ginny left," he muttered and at Fred's confused look he explained further. "The night of the Final Battle, Harry, Ron and Ginny left the country." Fred's eyes widened. "Harry told her in a note. They left her behind and they don't know when they'll return, if they will at all. He said they can't deal with the aftermath and they left Hermione to deal with it all by herself."
"Hermione? Since when do you call her Hermione?"
"We've become closer over the last couple of weeks. She knows things about me that only you know, and I know things about her that no one knows. I know more about her than I do Ginny," he said honestly. "I'm the first person she's told certain things to, she confided in me."
"About what?"
"I can't tell you, I promised I wouldn't tell anyone."
"Even me? I'm your twin," he said, sounding hurt. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind you telling me."
"She would," George sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "But I can't lie to you, so you better not tell anyone."
"Twin's honour" he said, saluting, and George chuckled at him.
"Christmas, her sixth year, Hermione obliviated her parents." Fred's eyes widened. "She removed their memories of her, gave them new identities and sent them off to live in Australia."
"Why would she do that?" He asked shocked.
"To protect them; she's the most famous Muggleborn in the world thanks to that Tosser who left her to deal with everything by herself," he said angrily. He'd come to think of Hermione as a sister in the last couple of weeks. "Before Bill's wedding she received word from the Australian Ministry that her parents had been tortured and murdered by Death Eaters. Then she was on the run."
"She didn't look well herself," Fred said frowning.
"She's lost a lot of weight. They ran out of food and she starved herself so that Ron and Harry could eat. They never even noticed. She hasn't told me much about what they went through, but I know that Ron abandoned them for a few months and she was tortured at Malfoy Manor and almost raped." Fred had paled. "Even after all she's done for them, they left her. She hasn't told anyone, she said she doesn't want to be a burden, that there's bigger things in the world than her mental and emotional state."
They sat in silence, George allowing Fred to digest everything he told him. George spoke after a while, breaking the silence.
"She's amazing," he said. Fred raised an amused eyebrow at the small smile on George's face. "She's broken more rules than us combined."
"I doubt it," Fred scoffed.
"She brewed Poly Juice in her second year in a girl's bathroom, so she could break into the Slytherin common room."
His eyes widened. "Did she?"
He nodded. "Harry and Ron managed to get in, but Hermione accidentally used a cat hair and turned herself into a human-cat hybrid," he said chuckling. "She was in the hospital wing for a few weeks. And in her fifth year, after we left, she got a giant and a heard of centaurs to attack Umbridge," he laughed.
Fred stared at him in surprise before he burst out laughing. "That's brilliant," he commented. "Why didn't we think of that?"
"Because we're not Hermione Granger," George grinned. "It would suffice to say that I never argued with her about eating or sleeping after I learned that."
"I don't blame you. Safer that way," Fred nodded in agreement.
"She's really funny, too; she had me wetting myself a few times with her wit. She joked not even two days after the Final Battle, that I couldn't get rid of her because it would be harder than killing Voldemort."
"My kind of humour," Fred chuckled.
"And she scared away the healers when they tried to call security because we wouldn't leave you. No one has bothered us in two weeks," he said grinning and then his grin suddenly dropped.
"What is it?" Fred asked, noticing the change in his brother's mood.
"She's needs taking care of. For the past seven years she's kept The Boy Wonder and our idiot little brother alive. She's been to hell and back because of them and for them. Even you can remember the way they treated her. She's taken care of me and you these last couple of weeks and she didn't have to. Now that she doesn't have any family, she needs someone to look after her. It's her turn to be taken care of," he said with conviction in his tone.
Fred looked at him thoughtfully. "And that someone's going to be you," he said with a knowing look.
"Yes, it is. I've only spent two weeks with her and I already see her like a little sister. We were so wrong about her, Fred. She's the complete opposite to what we thought she was."
"So, tell me more about the Gryffindor Princess," he demanded, rubbing his hands together.
And he did. For two hours he told Fred everything he'd learned about Hermione over the last two weeks and they laughed and marvelled in her creativity and pure genius. Fred himself felt like he knew Hermione from everything George had told him, but he found himself looking forward to getting to know her for himself. They were both laughing hysterically when the healer walked in and looked to Fred in surprise.
"Mr. Weasley?" The middle-aged wizard blinked slowly. "I'm glad to see you're feeling better," the healer said as he made his way towards the bed and he began casting Diagnostic Spells. "Any pain or discomfort?" The healer asked as began writing the results down on his file.
"Nope, never felt better," Fred replied.
"Well in that case, all your results are perfectly fine and you are healthy and fully healed. You require no further treatment. Usually we like to keep the patient in a few more days after coming out of a coma for monitoring, but your results are the best I've ever seen, so we will discharge you and you may go home."
The twins grinned at each other and after paperwork had been filled out, Fred had been changed, they headed to The Burrow to see the family and surprise them. It was still early and they didn't expect anyone to be awake, so they would have the honour of rectifying that situation.
~000~000~000~
The Burrow
They floo'd into The Burrow and their assumptions were correct. It was only seven in the morning and no one was up. The sun was now shining and it was a new day of rebuilding the Wizarding World.
They grinned at each other and bounded up the stairs, but they stopped on the third floor when they heard screaming.
They looked to each other and ran towards the noise. When they found the room, they pushed the door open and their eyes widened in horror as they looked at the sight of Hermione screaming and flailing around, with tears rolling down her cheeks.
"NO...PLEASE...NO! STOP! I DON'T KNOW WHERE WE GOT IT...I PROMISE...NO! WE DIDN'T! IT'S NOT REAL! NO!"
They looked at each other and without a second thought they rushed towards her.
"Hermione!" George yelled as he shook her shoulders. "It's just a dream, wake up. They can't hurt you. She can't hurt you; it's over. Hermione!"
Fred watched horrified as his brother tried to calm down the hysterical little witch, but was ultimately failing.
"Hermione!" Fred yelled, and she bolted awake and she sat up so fast that George fell backwards in shock.
Hermione's breathing was heavy and loud as she wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. "I'm so sorry, I knew I should've put a Silencing Charm around the room as a precaution," she said, still wiping her tears away as they continued to fall, no matter how hard she tried to stop them.
"How long?" George asked as he got up off the floor and sat down on the bed beside her and rubbed comforting circles on her back.
"How long what?" She asked.
"Don't go there, Hermione, being dense doesn't suit you."
She sighed. "Since the night I found out about my parents."
"That's almost a year," Fred said. "How much sleep do you get?"
She shrugged and leaned into George. "Three, maybe four hours if I'm lucky."
"That's not good, Hermione, you're putting your health at risk," George said frowning.
"Oh, I'm sorry, George, maybe if I ask the nightmares politely they'll stop tormenting me," she snapped.
Fred smothered the chuckle that threatened to escape when looking at George's scolded expression. He'd never seen that look on his brother's face before.
"What are they about?" Fred asked, and he sat himself on the other side of the bed, squishing her between them.
"You told him, didn't you?" She said looking at George.
He nodded sheepishly. "You mad?"
She shook her head. "No, he's your twin. I wouldn't expect you to keep it from him." He looked relieved and then she turned to Fred. "If you tell anyone, I will make your life a living hell," she said, pointing a finger at him threateningly and he gulped and nodded.
"I promise I won't tell anyone." He didn't want to get on her bad side, especially after everything he'd learned about her from George. "So what was your nightmare about?" He asked for the second time and changing the subject.
"Sometimes about my parents slaughter, sometimes about being tortured, sometimes both," she muttered.
"Will you tell us what happened?" George asked softly.
"No,"
"You will someday," he said smugly.
"No, I won't," she scowled.
"Yeah, ya will, I'll get it out of you sooner or later," he said grinning like an idiot and her scowl turned into a smile that she tried to hide, but failed.
"You mentioned Silencing Charms?" Fred said.
"I'm quite good at casting them, so Charlie and Percy have me put them on their rooms so their own nightmares don't wake anyone, the same with your parents. I saw no point in putting a Silencio around my own room for that fact. I didn't want to wake them of my nightmares either. I don't want to be a burden to anyone. I'm leaving The Burrow soon anyway."
"What? Why?" George asked frowning.
"There's nothing keeping me here. My best friends' have left me and I don't want to be a burden on your family," she muttered, looking down at her hands. "I need to go somewhere; somewhere the press won't be able to bother me. They haven't left me alone since the day after the battle."
They turned their heads when they heard a tapping on the bedroom window. There sat on the window ledge were four owls and they could see more in the distance heading their way.
"See?" She sighed in annoyance.
She climbed off the bed and opened the window and the owls flew in and dropped the letters on the mattress. She took the bowl from her bedside table that was filled with owl treats and she gave one to each owl.
When there were finally no more owls to be seen she closed the window, put the bowl back on the bedside table and sat on the bed opposite the twins. There was over sixty letters and The Daily Prophet newspaper.
"Who are these all from anyway?" Fred asked, picking one up and scrutinising it.
Hermione finished sorting them into piles and she pointed to each pile as she went through them. "These are from The Daily Prophet and reporters wanting interviews and an exclusive on the battle and on the disappearance of Harry and Ron. These are from the Ministry requesting my presence at an upcoming celebration ball. These are from the Ministry requesting my presence at certain departments. These are job offers. These are requests from random strangers wanting me to have dinner with them. These are offers from companies wanting me to be the new face of their company, these are death threats and these are endorsement offers," she sighed. "I can't do this," she said sadly, shaking her head. She picked up the newspaper and fell backwards onto her back and turned to the page that listed accommodation and housing, holding it above her face.
Fred and George looked to each other and nodded, and George leaned forward and took the newspaper from her hands.
"George, give it back, I need to find somewhere to live. I'm not staying here and leaching off your family and I can't go to my parents' house," she said sadly.
"Nope," he said, popping the 'p'.
"George," she said, sitting up and with warning in her tone and he wasn't going to admit it out loud, but she scared him. "Give it back."
"Move in with us," they said in unison.
She looked at them and then she burst out laughing. Fred and George cocked their heads to the side.
"What are you laughing at?" They asked together which only made her laugh louder and she fell backwards onto her back.
The twins watched her both amused and confused. She finally settled down and took deep breaths.
"Thanks, I needed that."
"Well, you're welcome," Fred said. "But you haven't given us an answer."
Her smile dropped. "Wait, you were serious?"
"Yes, completely," George said.
She sighed. "Look, boys, that's incredibly kind of you and I appreciate the offer, but I can't."
"Of course you can," George said, brushing off her rejection. "I mean, you'll have to wait until we fix the shop up." She looked down at that. "But we have a spare room and it's got your name on it."
"George, I can't," she said, standing up and heading out of the room.
She walked into the bathroom and closed the door in their faces. She showered and dressed in a pair of blue shorts dungarees, her converse which she charmed blue and a white long sleeved top, that covered a scar given to her by Bellatrix. She headed down to the kitchen where she found Fred and George sat at the table eating breakfast. She sat down and began eating herself.
"Does your mum know Fred's been discharged?"
"Yep, she cried, hugged us, made us breakfast and then left to Hogwarts with Charlie, and Percy. Dad went to the Ministry," Fred answered.
"So are you going to move in with us then?" George asked.
She shovelled the last of her breakfast into her mouth and then ran out of the kitchen and she floo'd to the twins' shop before they could find out where she was going.
They looked at each other and shrugged.
"Well, let's get the shop up and running."
"I was thinking the same thing, brother mine," Fred said.
"After breakfast," they both said and then they walked back into the kitchen and continued eating.
~000~000~000~
Weasley's Wizard Wheezes
Fred and George floo'd into their flat half an hour after Hermione left.
"Okay, let's make this place liveable..." Fred trailed off when he saw the flat and he looked around. It looked better then when they'd first moved in. Everything was in its rightful place, the walls had been repainted and the furniture had been repaired and it looked as good as new. "I thought you said you haven't been back here," Fred said, looking to his brother, who looked just as shocked as he did.
"I haven't, I've been at the hospital. Last night was the first time I left in two weeks," George spoke as he walked into the kitchen and he opened up all the cupboards to see they were filled and overflowing with food."Check the other rooms," George suggested and Fred nodded.
He walked towards the doors and opened each one, peaking his head inside. "They've all been repaired and repainted, too," he said and they looked at each other strangely.
They nodded to the front door and they both walked down the stairs, out behind the velvet curtain and onto the shop floor. Everything was perfect and fixed. The windows were gleaming and the floor was sparkling clean. The shelves had been repaired and products lined the shelves in perfect organisation.
They shared a look.
"You mentioned Granger was working on repairing a local business. Did she ever tell you the name?" Fred asked George with a raised eyebrow.
"No," he said thoughtfully. "But she wouldn't do this for us, would she?"
They turned their heads towards the velvet curtain when they heard what sounded like something scraping across the floor. They nodded and pulled their wands and walked slowly to the back rooms, pulling the velvet curtain out of the way. Fred opened the door to the work area and potions lab and they both walked in. They dropped their arms when they saw Hermione sat at one of the potion benches, hunched over pieces of parchment with a muggle pen in hand and another behind her ear.
They crept up behind her and before they could get any closer, Hermione whirled around with her wand pointed in Fred's face and he gulped.
"Easy there, Granger," Fred said, holding his hands up in surrender.
She sighed, dropped her wand and then punched him in the arm.
"Ow!" He whined in surprise. "I've just come out of a coma," he complained, rubbing the aching spot on his arm.
"You're walking, you're talking; you're fine," she deadpanned, before turning and going back to what she was doing before they'd interrupted her and George laughed.
"So, Hermione, did you fix the flat up for us? And the entire shop?" George asked and he flung his arm around her shoulders.
"Yes," she replied absentmindedly as she was looking over a list with carefully eyes.
"Why?" Fred inquired, moving to stand on her other side and leaning against the work bench.
She sighed and turned to face him. "Because you deserve it," she said simply and they looked at her with cocked heads. "You two have been through a lot, your family has been through a lot and I thought I would take care of it for you whilst Fred was in hospital. I wanted you to be able to get out of the hospital and continue on with your lives without any distractions or setbacks. You've worked hard to create this place and without any help. I decided that this time I would help you. Plus, the Wizarding World is going to need the two of you. The war may be over and the Wizarding World may be almost repaired, but what happened will never be forgotten. You two will bring joy and laughter to people's lives once again. Because of you people will know what it feels like to laugh again," she said sincerely and George beamed and turned his eyes to a stunned Fred.
"I thought you didn't approve of our mischievous ways," Fred said.
Hermione scoffed. "You're kidding right? I think you two are geniuses. Two of the finest minds I've gone up against."
"You think we're geniuses?" George said, batting his eyelashes and she laughed at him and hit his arm gently.
"But you were always giving us a hard time," Fred said confused.
"What happened when I yelled at you? When I gave you detention? When I threatened to tell your mother about your pranks at school?" She asked smiling.
"We got mad and we made more products to prove you wrong," he said frowning.
"You genius!" George whispered, looking at Hermione in awe and she grinned in response. "Don't you get it, Fred? She pushed us to be better. She's the reason we made so many of our products in the first place. She's the reason some of our products exist."
Fred looked at her, still looking surprised and confused.
"It's true; I deliberately aggravated you because I knew you were capable of so much more than pranking first years. I knew the world would need you to give them hope and laughter in times of war," she said softly.
"But you were so..." He trailed off, not knowing the right word to use.
"Goody to shoes, bookworm, bossy, know-it- all?" She supplied and he nodded. George shook his head at them. "I was that way for a reason or I appeared that way for a reason. I've broken more rules than the two of you combined. I am a book worm, but that's because I didn't have any friends as a child, the other children all thought I was a freak and my parents were always working. I don't have any siblings and it was a lonely childhood, the only thing I had were books. That's where I found my comfort, my solace. Bossy? Well, I am bossy," she said shrugging, not denying it and they chuckled at her. "But I had to be. Harry and Ron would've failed every class otherwise and they would likely be dead without me constantly giving them instructions and nagging them to be careful. And I'm a know-it-all for more than one reason."
"Oh yeah? And what are those then?" Fred asked curiously and turning to face her.
"I had to know everything I could in order to keep Harry and Ron alive, because they sure as hell weren't going to study. They left the burden of knowing everything to me. If I didn't know something and we needed it, it could've gotten us killed."
"Okay, and the other reasons?"
"I'm a Muggleborn. I didn't find out about the Wizarding World until I was eleven. Coming into this world, I was at a disadvantage. I wanted to catch up to everyone so that I wouldn't be a freak in the world I was meant to be in. Then in second year I was called a Mudblood for the first time," she said, looking down at her left arm.
"What are you looking at?" George asked her.
"Nothing," she said quickly and it made them suspicious. "Anyway, when Malfoy called me a Mudblood for the first time, I realised that I would never be equal in this world. So I worked harder to be better than him. Better in classes, better at spells, just basically kicking his arse." They chuckled at her. "And the final reason, I was that way because it was expected of me."
"No one expected that of you," George said softly.
"My parents did, specifically my dad. They changed when they found out I was a witch. They became more distant. It wasn't their fault because they didn't understand magic or our world. But then after my parents were informed about what had happened during my first year, they lost it and threatened to pull me out of Hogwarts. Dumbledore was able to convince them otherwise, but since then my father had always expected perfect grades, otherwise he would've pulled me from Hogwarts and made me give up my life as a witch. They never knew of anything that happened after my first year," she said sadly and they looked at her strangely.
"Well, thank you for getting this place fixed up for us," Fred said and she nodded. "All that's left to do is restock and then we can open the doors," he said, rubbing his hands together excitedly.
"Have you not seen the shop floor?" She asked amused.
"Yes, why?"
"Go and look, and really look this time," she ordered and she pushed them in front of her and out of the room onto the shop floor.
That's when they noticed all the shelves had been restocked and the window display had been put up.
"Check the storage room," she said amused and they ran back through the velvet curtain and into the storage room.
"No way!" They yelled and she laughed and walked into the storage room after them.
"I fixed your flat in a day and the shop the next day. I've spent the last two weeks getting your stock back up, I fixed up the outside of the shop and restocked your food cupboards, too." They looked at her in surprise. "I've made a thousand of your most popular products and five hundred of the rest and I organised them into categories and then alphabetical order. That way you know where everything is and you can restock the shelves in a hurry and you are also fully stocked on your potion ingredients."
"How?" They asked in awe.
She grinned. "I found your recipe and instruction book hidden behind a loose brick in the wall." They looked at her shocked and she chuckled.
"How did you follow the recipes?" Fred asked curiously.
"We tried to hire staff with qualifications in potions, charms and transfiguration to help us with restocking the shelves, but they couldn't make the products. They said they were too complex. Fred and I are the only ones that can make the products without messing them up or injuring ourselves," George said.
"Please, they were easy. Well, I mean they were complex, but they were easy. I just followed the instructions, used the correct charms, stuck to the correct time frame and packaged them up," she shrugged and they looked at her in awe. "I don't actually think it's the recipes that are the problem, it's more of the method in which you've written the instructions, but I understand you, I know there's a method to your madness and others don't, which is why I was able to follow your recipes without getting confused. I went through your potion inventory and ordered every ingredient you used in your products, plus a few others that you may want for any future products. They sent the order back the next day, I guess they saw my name and rushed it out. They even sent me double what I asked for," she said annoyed and they chuckled. She walked out of the storage room and back onto the shop floor.
"So we're ready to open the shop?" Fred asked excited as they both followed after her.
"I would maybe advertise first so that people know, but yes, you're ready to open your doors to the public."
They twins had the biggest grins she'd ever seen on someone's face and George picked her up and hugged her, spinning her in circles and she laughed at him. When he put her down, Fred picked up her hand, pulled her into him and began spinning her around and dancing about the shop floor and George laughed at the two of them.
"So, Hermione?" George said.
"Yes?"
"Move in with us," they said together and she scowled.