CHAPTER TWENTY-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.
Page count: 13
Puddlemere United Stadium - Thursday 13th August 1998
"Congratulations!" Hermione called, with her and the team being gathered in the corridor. "You won!" The team cheered and shared high-fives. "As promised, the celebration party will be at our apartment which means there's no fans, press or partners and you can drink until you pass out without fear of unflattering photo being on the front page of the Prophet." The team cheered again. "In preparation, last night Oliver and I went shopping and we bought plenty of alcohol, both muggle and wizarding, so drinks are on us for the whole night."
"You can afford it," Thompson said cheekily, the others laughing at him.
"Thompson's the only one to be keyed into the floo network, so I've had a port-key made for us and I adjusted the wards this morning so."
Hermione removed a battered goblet from her beaded bag and when everyone touched it, they disappeared.
~000~000~000~
Wood Apartment
"Bloody hell!" The team chorused.
"This place is huge!" Pallie muttered in disbelief, his eyes darting about the large space.
Hearing music flittering from the kitchen, Hermione approached, seeing the twins almost complete with setting up the drinking options on the table whilst Quaffle lay sprawled on the floor, a chew toy in his mouth.
"I see you decided to start without us," said Hermione.
"Of course," started Fred, "We've gotta get at least some alcohol in our system before they drink it all," he gestured towards the voices with a jab of his thumb. "Trust us, us athletes know how to handle our drink."
She rolled her eyes and drew her wand, setting Cooling Charms over the many bottles that covered the table. When done, the team was given a quick tour of the apartment before the alcohol was soon flowing. They teased, laughed, drank and danced for hours, all being comfortable with the knowledge that there was no one to spy on them and capture their drunken moments to used as front-page news the next day.
It was after midnight, they were all tuckered out from dancing and laughing and they'd all squeezed onto the couch and corner suite whilst Oliver was sat on the armchair with Hermione sitting on his lap. He had one arm around her waist, his hand pressing against her stomach, and a tumbler of vodka was held in the other. Hermione's legs were thrown over the armrest, her back pressed against the other whilst she also held a tumbler of vodka, wishing they hadn't run out of juice and other mixers. Quaffle was asleep on the floor, somehow ignoring all of the noise happening around him.
Wishing to play a drinking game that didn't require much energy or skill, something Hermione thought might've been a little childish given their age, the team had asked Hermione if she knew of any muggle games. The twins had just finished explaining the game 'I have never' with the team all agreeing that they wanted to play. They were all drunk at this point, or in Hermione's case, tipsy, as she'd been careful with her alcohol intake, not wanting to suffer in the morning.
"I have never cheated on someone," Bishop began, Hermione looking around the room and seeing that no one sipped from their own drinks, nodding in approval.
"I have never injured myself during sex," Malloy offered.
Pallie, Kings and Briggs all sipped from their drinks.
"Explain," Oliver sniggered.
"I fell out of bed and almost knocked myself unconscious," Pallie said and they laughed.
"Slipped in the shower, fell over the side of the bathtub and brought the whole shower curtain down with me," Kings explained and they laughed with tears in their eyes and he grinned unabashedly.
"I fell down the stairs and almost broke my hand," Briggs told them and they laughed.
Hermione wasn't sure she wanted to know why or how, if she was honest, and so remained quiet.
"I have never had sex with someone of the same sex," said Wilks.
Malloy took a healthy swig from his tumbler and they all stared at him in surprise. Now, that was one person Hermione wouldn't have suspected.
"I was fifteen, hormonal as hell and drunk. It was only once and that's when I decided I definitely preferred women."
"Okay, I'm curious, were you a top or a bottom?"
"Fred!" Hermione cried. He grinned at her. "You don't have to answer that," she looked to Malloy, the wizard seeming unaffected as he shrugged, looking rather like was going to answer.
Thompson was next and he looked to Hermione and Oliver, his mouth twitching into a smirk, something that worried her, if she was honest.
"I have never had sex whilst there was someone waiting for me in another room," he said innocently. Hermione and Oliver both glared at him before sipping from their tumblers.
"You didn't?" Malloy laughed in disbelief.
"Explain," Pallie demanded, his eyes darting between them.
Hermione, whilst being by no means drunk, was glad for the fact she was tipsy enough that she didn't feel completely embarrassed by the turn the game had taken.
"The Sunday after our wedding, we were having sex when there was a knock on the door. Who turns up knocking on the door befere ten on a Sunday mornin'?" Oliver grumbled with a shake of his head.
"I feel ill," the twins chorused, covering their ears with cushions to drown out the conversation, their expressions pulled into sickly grimaces, something that made them snigger.
"We tried tae ignore it but in the end, a climbed aff the bed, wrapped meself in a bedsheet an' stormed tae the door, understandably pissed. On the other side was a woman, an' a had this damn obvious tent tha' a couldn't hide. It was our assigned Marriage Official, an' when a reluctantly let her in, Hermione came oot covered in a bedsheet."
Hermione cleared her throat. "She was staring at Oliver and glaring at me. I was so embarrassed that I quickly left to change into actual clothing and Oliver followed me. I threw on one of his jerseys and I ran to the door to leave but he caught me."
"A had her pinned tae the wall befere she knew it," Oliver grinned shamelessly, not caring for their smirks or sniggers. "We dinnae t bother with Silencing Charms an' when we left our bedroom dressed, the Marriage Official was looking all flustered." The team laughed. "It helped tha' Hermione had bitten mae 'coz was feeling territorial an' she left scratch marks on me back."
They all burst into laughter, struggling to breathe as they took in Hermione's embarrassment and Oliver far too pleased expression.
"Never would've taken you for an exhibitionist, Hermione," Malloy winked.
Scowling, she picked up a cushion from the floor and threw it at him before doing the same to Fred, he and George removing the cushions from their ears, looking grateful that the conversation was over.
"Moving on," Hermione encouraged, looking to the twins with narrowed eyes when they shared a smirk.
"I have never had a professor hit on to me," Fred said innocently. Hermione glared at him and his sniggering twin but took a sip from her tumbler.
"What?" Oliver choked.
"Sixth year, Slughorn came on to me after class. It's one of the reasons he made me a member of the Slug Club, he had a thing for me," she shuddered, grimacing in disgust and they laughed at her. "He touched my shoulder and ran his hand down my back; I've never run from a classroom so fast in my life. I mean, I know I was of age, but the thought of..." She trailed off, unable to finish her words.
"I have never set a heard of hippogriffs lose in Hogwarts," George supplied. She glared at him but took another sip from her tumbler.
"You did what?" Fox arched an eyebrow.
"Fifth year, after Dumbledore had left school, Umbridge became Headmistress. Then the twins left and I was pissed, so when I had a free period, I snuck down to the stables and released the hippogriffs. I left a trail of food leading to the castle. It took the whole day to round them up and return them back in the stables."
"That's brilliant," Wilks muttered, staring her in surprise.
"No one knew it was me, well, except McGonagall, of course. She took fifty points from Gryffindor for doing something so dangerous and then she gave me fifty-five points for giving Umbridge hell," she grinned and they laughed at her. "Anyway," Hermione looked to the twins, smiling innocently. "I have never kissed my brother."
Fred and George glared at her but sipped from their own drink of choice. They all stared at them before sniggering.
"Yer've gotta explain tha' one," said Oliver.
"We'd just brewed Amortentia and we needed to test it for its potency before we bottled it and put it on the shelves," began George.
"So, I slipped a drop into George's pumpkin juice," Fred continued. "It worked great, except I was the first person George saw... I was in the storage room in the back of the shop and George walked over to me and planted one right on me," he grimaced.
"Fred took my wand and locked me upstairs in the flat for the rest of the day until it wore off," added George.
"I was in the potions lab at the time and all I could hear was George shouting love poems and singing love songs from upstairs for the rest of the day," offered Hermione, her laughter mixing with that of the others.
"I have never been on a date with an octopus," Fred said unexpectedly. .
"You bastard," Hermione groaned and the twins laughed as she took a sip of her drink. "Sixth year, I needed a date to Slughorn's Christmas party and I took Cormac McLaggen to piss Ron off. He hated him and he wasn't only getting on my nerves, but everyone else's as well with his disgusting public displays of affection with Lav-Lav. However, the plan backfired because McLaggen kept pawing at me and trying to catch me under the mistletoe. Harry was practically glued to my side that night so that I could kiss his cheek and then run and hide," she shivered with them sniggering at her.
"I have never slept with two people at the same time," Kelsy supplied.
Hermione shrugged and took a drink, seeing their stares of surprise.
"You said you were a virgin when you married Wood," Malloy said, looking between the two of them with a smirk.
Of course, he would think that, she thought, rolling her eyes.
"I was, but you said 'slept' with, not have 'sex' with, you have to be more specific."
They looked wholly unimpressed with her as she shrugged her shoulders.
"I have never had a stalker," Fisher said and both Oliver and Hermione sipped from their tumblers.
"Mary," Oliver shrugged.
"McLaggen and Viktor."
"What?" Oliver questioned, looking to Hermione in confusion.
"McLaggen wouldn't leave me alone after the party, he would show up wherever I was and insist that I loved him and I was just playing hard to get," she rolled her eyes. "Before Viktor and I started dating, he followed me to the library and watched me study whilst he hid behind bookcases. I didn't notice until Madam Pince pointed it out to me and then he seemed to be wherever I was," she shrugged.
"I have never kissed a member of the same sex," Martin said.
Malloy, the twins and surprisingly Hermione, drank. Having heard the stories for the twins and Malloy, they looked to Hermione.
"Explain," both Malloy and Oliver demanded in unrehearsed unison.
"I kissed Ginny and Luna on a dare."
"You're full of surprises, aren't you?" Pallie mused.
She shrugged before saying, "I've never snogged a street sign," she and George laughing when Fred unabashedly took another drink.
"Hoo did tha' happen?" Oliver laughed.
"Hermione took us out drinking in the Muggle World, something we weren't prepared for. We had a shit load of muggle alcohol, unknowing of how strong that stuff is. We were pissed before we even left the first club."
"She cast a Confundus Charm on Fred," George explained, "So not only was he pissed, but extremely confused and he started snogging a street sign thinking it was a woman." They laughed. "To make things worse, she also cast a Sticking Charm, so he was stuck to the street sign, too. I thought she was going to leave him there all night."
Fred's eyes turned to her, his mouth twitching. "I've never had my arse pinched by a fourteen-year-old."
Hermione grumbled and took a drink.
"I've never turned myself into a cat," George added and Hermione took a drink.
"How did you manage that one?" Thompson asked amusedly.
"I brewed PolyJuice in a girl's bathroom my second year... We wanted to sneak in the Slytherin common room. Harry and Ron got their hairs and I got mine, the only problem was, I discovered my hair belonged to a cat. I was in the hospital wing with fur, ears, whiskers and a damn tail." They laughed at her. "I have never streaked through the house and jumped in the lake and almost frozen my arse off."
The team laughed as Fred and George shamelessly took a drink.
"We were drunk and playing truth or dare. She dared us to do it so we drunkenly floo'd to our parents and streaked through the house and then jumped into the lake 'cause our mum was chasing us with a wooden spoon, yelling at us to put more clothes on," said Fred. "I have never broken into Gringotts."
The team stared as Hermione took a drink.
"How'd you do that?" Malloy spluttered.
"It was part of the mission to take down Voldemort. We had help from a goblin, I was PolyJuiced as Bellatrix Lestrange and had her wand. He helped us sneak in and took us to where Harry, Ron and I needed to be, but he double-crossed us and left us to die. We broke out on the back of a dragon and then I set it free... Moving on, I've never caught my parents having sex."
The twins grimaced before sipping from their drinks as they laughed at them.
The game continued that way for some time, mostly with the twins and Hermione revealing each other's secrets and getting back at one another whilst the team laughed and occasionally threw in their own prompts, and soon after, they'd all passed out with Hermione and Oliver being the only ones awake.
"I think we should prank them before we go to bed," Hermione mumbled, feeling the effects of the alcohol slowly taking hold of her faculties.
"Hoo?" Asked Oliver.
In response, Hermione stood and padded barefoot to her potions lab, returning with two vials of Sobriety Potion, drinking one down and handing the other to Oliver, slowly feeling it eradicating the effects of their drinking.
"Tha's better; a can think now," he said, "When did ye brew tha'?"
"Last night, I thought it best that I be prepared. Anyway, levitate Malloy and Kings into one of the bedrooms and put them in bed. Cover them with the blanket and then Evanesco their clothes away. They'll get the shock of their lives in the morning," she grinned and he snorted at her.
"You scare me sometimes," he admitted, but he did as she asked.
Whilst he did that, Hermione levitated Thompson into his room and covered him with the blanket before doing the same to the twins, placing them both in her old bedroom with Quaffle following and curling up in his dog bed. She then levitated Fox, McGee and West onto the couch, Bishop onto the armchair and Wilks onto the corner suite since they all had passed out on the floor. She Accio'd blankets and covered each one of them.
"Yer such a mum," Oliver commented fondly, returning to her side and seeing what she'd done.
"I know," she whined and he snorted. "Is it done?"
"It's done," he confirmed with a grin before he chased her into their bedroom and locked and silenced the door.
~000~000~000~
Wood Apartment - Friday 14th August 1998
Hermione and Oliver exited their bedroom showered and dressed for the day and without a hangover, making their way to the kitchen, seeing that everyone was still asleep and Hermione smothered a laugh when she saw Pallie and Wilks cuddled together. Oliver, however, summoned his wizarding camera and snapped a photo.
"Blackmail material," he grinned and she rolled her eyes.
Hermione set to work making extra helpings of breakfast with Oliver sitting at the table, fondly watching as she pottered about. When Hermione had finished and the smell of the food wafted through the apartment, everyone began to stir from their drunken slumber.
Hermione Accio'd a vial of Hangover Potion for each of them before moving to wake the twins for the day whilst Oliver let Quaffle out onto the balcony to do his morning business. They groaned and complained that they felt like 'they'd gone ten rounds with the Whomping Willow and then been trampled on by a giant'. She chuckled and handed them a vial of the potion each and they took it gratefully, feeling the effects of the alcohol beginning to fade.
"Breakfast's done and I thought I should let you know, I pranked Malloy and Kings last night."
They grinned. "What did you do?" They asked excitedly.
"Oliver levitated them into a room and put them in bed, he covered them with the blanket and then used a Vanishing Spell on their clothes"
"That's brilliant," They exclaimed and they quickly made their way to the kitchen and the twins enlarged the table for Hermione and conjured more chairs to accommodate the larger party.
One by one, everyone began to stir and was met by Hermione and a Hangover Potion, which they took from her with a thankful expression before they tiredly crossed to the kitchen, taking seats at the table, glaring at Oliver's amused smile as he happily sipped at his tea.
There were only two people missing, Malloy and Kings.
"Where are Malloy and Kings?" Thompson asked and they looked to each other for answers. He then noticed the twins, Hermione and Oliver smirking. "What did you do?" He asked knowingly.
As if on cue, two loud girly shrieks sounded, the team startling in surprise whilst Oliver summoned his wizarding camera and he darted from his chair, quickly being followed by the others.
"I SLEPT WITH YOU?" Kings yelled as Oliver pushed the door open.
"WHERE THE FUCK ARE MY CLOTHES?" Malloy shouted.
They were both a mixture of bright red and sickly green as they held the blankets up to cover themselves, something Hermione thought ridiculous as they shared a locker room and they'd no doubt seen each other naked countless times. When everyone saw the situation they were in, they burst out laughing and Oliver snapped photos of their horrified expressions.
"WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED?" They both demanded with a squeak and it did nothing to quell their laughter.
Hermione couldn't take it anymore, and she said, "Don't worry, nothing happened. We just played a prank on you when you passed out. However, if there was any midnight snuggling it had nothing to do with us," she held her hands up, setting off another round of guffaws and Hermione ducked the pillow that was sent her way.
They left them to get dressed and Hermione made a start of placing tea, coffee and glasses of orange juice in front of everyone before she put plates on the table with their food. Hermione had plenty of food including extra bacon, hash browns, toast and she decided to make some sweet waffles with maple syrup, too. When Malloy and Kings made an appearance, she put extra helpings on their plates as an apology. Not only was there food on their plates, but Hermione set plates in the middle of the table that sat extra food should they want it.
Everyone but the twins, Thompson and Oliver stared at her in surprise, their eyes darting between her and the mountain of food before them.
"What?" She asked, after noticing the looks of disbelief on their faces.
"Are you trying to kill us?" Pallie said, shocked at the amount of food on the table and on his own plate.
"No, why?" She frowned.
"She always makes more food than is necessary," Thompson explained.
"She used to live with us," the twins shrugged.
"You're living with them for free, you get to stay in this apartment and use anything you want to and you get your meals cooked for you as well?" Bishop said to Thompson.
"Yeah," he grinned and they shook their heads before they tucked into their breakfast.
Fifteen minutes later, as conversation was flowing comfortably, an owl flew into the kitchen through the open balcony, dropped a letter in front of Thompson and then left without so much as a hoot.
"It's a Ministry owl," Hermione said and the table fell quiet as Thompson picked the letter up, darted a glance around the table before slowly opening the letter.
They all watched expectantly as they waited for answers. His eyes scanned the first piece of parchment before he sighed once more and then looked at the second piece. And everyone held their breaths.
Hermione looked for a look of recognition but one never came. He didn't know who it was.
"I don't know who it is," he confirmed her suspicions, reaching out and handing the parchment over to her across the table. She damn nearly tore the thing in half in her excitement to take it from him and they sniggered at her.
When her eyes landed on the name in the middle of the parchment, she let out a relieved laugh.
"Who is it?" Oliver asked and she handed him the parchment. When he saw the name, he laughed, too, before he handed it the twins, who also started laughing.
"Why are you laughing?" Thompson asked quickly, alarmed by their response. Was it good or bad?
"Sorry," she apologised, "We know who she is."
Thompson looked like he wanted to stab her with his fork.
"But the poor boy out of his misery," Pallie rolled his eyes, reaching over to remove the fork from Thompson's tight grip.
"Katie Bell," she said with a smile, something Thompson took as a good sign. She wouldn't smile if it was bad, right? "She was in the year below the twins; at Hogwarts, which would make her around twenty-years-old. She was a fellow Gryffindor. We didn't have much interaction in school, but she comes to the shop a lot and we'd chat. She's really nice and very beautiful. She was on the Quidditch team when Oliver was captain."
Thompson looked both relieved and pleased. Already she was the opposite of his ex-girlfriend and he hadn't even met her yet. But he trusted Hermione.
"She loves Quidditch," Oliver nodded. Thomson's face split into a wide grin and Hermione and the twins laughed. "She was quite good, tae, from what a remember, she played Chaser an' could give ye lot a run fer yer galleons," he gestured to the Chasers around the table and they were amused by Thompson's reaction.
"We saw her a few weeks ago, actually," said Fred. "She works for the Ministry in the Magical Games and Sports Department."
"She's pretty smart, too, not as smart as us or Mia, of course, but she got five NEWTs," added George.
"We talked about the law and she told us that she'd received a letter telling her that she was eligible but they hadn't found her a match yet and she'd have to wait until they did," Fred told Thompson.
"Guess those charms and spells were waiting for you to dump that troll of a girlfriend," George shrugged and everyone laughed or snorted. Thompson looked at Hermione hopefully.
"She'll be good for you, the exact opposite of Jenny," she promised.
She conjured some pens and parchment and gave some to Thompson so he could write to Katie and she and Oliver penned a quick note explaining that Thompson was a good man and he would treat her well. When they'd finished, she called for Ali and sent her on her way with a bit of bacon in her mouth.
"You think it'll work? Like you and Wood?" He asked hopefully.
Hermione, the twins and Oliver shared a look. Hermione and Oliver were different from other matches and the golden band around their wrists proved it. She was surprised no one had mentioned them yet and it'd been two weeks since her wedding. Katie and Thompson wouldn't be like her and Oliver, but that didn't mean they couldn't work it out be happy.
"I think it could work if you put the effort in, the both of you. Oliver and I weren't kidding with what we said during the conference. Being forced to marry really was a blessing in disguise. It pushed us out of our comfort zones and forced us to get to know each other quickly. I suggest you date first to ease you both into it, but you only have about a week before the Ministry will pester you for a wedding date. You have three months, so up until December. You're lucky; you won't be in the middle of game season like we were. You can have a honeymoon," she said.
"What does she look like?" He asked curiously.
"Brown hair, brown eyes, about Hermione's height," Fred shrugged.
"George, you went to the Yule Ball with Katie didn't you?" Hermione's brow furrowed.
"Oh, yeah, forgotten about that," he scratched at his chin thoughtfully.
"I think I saw some old photos when I was redoing the flat. Did you turn off the floo?"
"Ah, I knew we forgot to do something," Fred said sheepishly. Hermione glared and the twins laughed nervously.
"You said you'd be fine when I moved out".
"We are," they protested.
"You didn't turn the floo off! Anyone could've gotten into the apartment," she snapped.
"Don't be so dramatic," George rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, only those keyed into the floo can get in," Fred added.
"Wards can be broken," she growled, standing from her seat and storming to the floo.
"Yer playing with fire," Oliver told him.
"But she's so cute when she's all huffy," Fred pouted and Oliver snorted.
"Yer life yer putting on the line," Oliver held his hands up.
Hermione returned a few minutes later and sat down at the table, handing the photo she'd found to Thompson with everyone leaning closer to get a look in.
A smile tugged at Thompson's mouth, seeing her brown hair being styled into waves and falling to her shoulders, her dark eyes lined with mascara and eyeliner, red staining her lips, her features soft and kind much like Hermione's and her tanned skin working against the cotton candy pink ball gown.
"Bearing in mind, that photo was taken four years ago, and she's changed a bit. I told you not to worry about it," she smiled at him, her attention turning to everyone else. "Anyone else need my help?"
~000~000~000~
Puddlemere United Stadium - Saturday 15th August 1998
As the lunch hour arrived, Hermione and the team were perched on the stands, comfortably eating their lunch for the day when they were interrupted by the arrival of an unexpected visitor.
Lifting their eyes, Rita Skeeter came to a stop before them all, her eyes spitting hate and her wand drawn, directed Hermione's way. And despite the current circumstances, laughter bubbled from each other. She had received Hermione's gift.
Her hair had been dyed a hideous neon green and it held patches of orange, she was covered in custard and whipped cream –courtesy of a Self-Propelling Custard Pie- and, she had red skin, all from a new product Hermione had tested on her.
She'd created a potion that detected someone's mood, turning their skin to the colour that associated to that mood. Red was anger, yellow was happy, pink was in love, purple was lustful, blue was peaceful, green was jealous, dark blue was fearful, orange was stressed, and dark pink was hungry.
"Can I help you?" Hermione arched an eyebrow.
"You can reverse what you did to me!" Skeeter spat.
"Well, I'm afraid I can't help you. Maybe you should be looking for someone else you pissed off. I imagine you have a list bigger than the Great Wall of China."
"You will pay for this, you bitch!" She snarled.
Before a spell left her mouth, Hermione raised her hand. Skeeter was propelled backwards until she hit the ground, skidding to a stop. Not noticing of Oliver's proud expression and the teams' surprised expressions, Hermione rose to her feet, drew her wand and calmly conjured her Patronus before she sent it off to the Ministry.
Skeeter climbed back to her feet, brushed down her robes and stalked towards Hermione with Quaffle barking madly, preparing to lunge for Skeeter.
"Quaffle, sit," Hermione instructed softly, her eyes remaining focused on the furious reporter at his barks quieted. "You're in enough trouble as it is, Skeeter, don't go digging yourself a deeper hole," she warned.
Skeeter snarled before throwing a hex, something Hermione sidestepped before she ducked the next one.
"I'm getting annoyed," Hermione warned. Thankfully, the Aurors arrived, one hitting Skeeter with a Stunner.
"Mrs. Wood, I am Auror Hills, the Deputy Head of the Law Enforcement Department."
"It's nice to officially meet you," Hermione greeted.
"I can say the same about you," Auror Hills replied. He was quite handsome with striking green eyes, shaggy blonde hair and a blinding white smile. "Minister Shacklebolt has informed me that you wish to share some information regarding Miss. Skeeter."
"Oh, yes, I know how she gathers information on her victims." The team chuckled at the choice of word. "Miss. Skeeter is an unregistered Animagus."
Auror Hill arched an eyebrow. "Do you happen to know what form she takes?"
"A beetle with markings around the eyes where her glasses would be," Hermione answered. "You can add it to the list of criminal offences she has already committed."
"Along with attempted assault," Oliver added, coming to stand beside her.
"Miss. Skeeter will stand trial, but given her transgressions, it is likely she will be sentenced to prison time," Auror Hills told them.
"I suggest you put Anti-Animagi wards around Azkaban to stop her from escaping," she said. He nodded in agreement.
"I have proof the bitch is an unregistered Animagus," Skeeter said, having been released from the Stunner so she might be transported to a holding cell.
"Is that true, Mrs. Wood? That is a serious offence," Auror Hills' brow furrowed. Oliver held his breath.
"No, I am an Animagus but I am a registered one, you may check with Minister Shacklebolt," Hermione replied. The team looked to her in surprise, as did Oliver, though for an entirely different reason.
"One last thing, Miss. Skeeter has made several reports against you, claiming that you have been terrorising her."
"It wasn't me," she denied. "Given my profession, I don't have the time to waste on something so insignificant. It could've been anyone, I imagine there are plenty of people that would want to get revenge for her articles."
"She is adamant that it is you, Mrs. Wood."
"She has no proof," she stated.
He snorted before taking his leave, ensuring that Skeeter was properly detained as she was escorted through the building and to the floo network. He had no doubt that she was the one terrorising Skeeter, but he also knew he wouldn't find any evidence that it was her, the case would be filed as unsolved.
"You're an Animagus?" Thompson questioned in surprise.
"Yes, I have been since my fifth year."
"Ye told mae ye weren't registered," Oliver quirked an eyebrow.
"At the time I wasn't, but I had a feeling Skeeter had been watching us for a while and I knew that it was likely she'd discover my secret, so I wrote to Kingsley and got myself registered, however, less than a handful of people will be privy to the information."
"What's your form?" Pallie asked curiously.
Hermione stepped back from Oliver, leaned down slowly and where Hermione once stood, now stood a lioness. Their eyes widened.
"Whoa!"
"Fitting," Thompson said with a laugh once she'd changed back to human form.
"Ye told mae twa weeks ago tha' ye'd stop terrorising Skeeter," Oliver said amusedly.
"I thought about it and then I changed my mind," she shrugged.
"How'd you know she was an unregistered Animagus?" Bishop asked.
"I figured it out my fourth year. I set a trap for her once I learned her secret. I kept her in Animagus form and trapped in a glass jar for a few weeks."
"You scare me sometimes," Thompson admitted with a mutter. Hermione grinned at their horrified expressions.
Let's see them defy my orders now, she thought.