Hermione spun faster and faster, elbows tucked tightly to her sides, blurred fireplaces flashing past her until she started to feel sick and closed her eyes. Then, when she felt herself slowing down, she threw out her hands and brought herself to a halt in time to prevent herself from falling face forwards out of the Weasleys' kitchen fire. Crookshanks, thankfully, landed on all four feet but made sure to hiss at Hermione before scattering off into the Burrow.
"You alright?" Ron asked with a gulp. By the look of his ashen face, he didn't have the greatest of travels either.
"Yes, just a tad dizzy," Hermione said.
"Here, I'll get your things," Ron said, gathering Hermione's bags and putting them on her school trunk to make it easier to drag out of the hearth.
"How was your day?" Mrs Weasley asked as she walked into the kitchen. With a flick of her wand, Hermione's trunk slid out of Ron's hands and across the floor easily. Ron stood up and smiled.
"Brilliant!" Ron said. "We went to a restaurant and then to this place called an arcade with all of these games! It was like magic!"
"You know your father will want to hear all about it when he gets home," Mrs Weasley said. "Hermione, dear, you can stay with Ginny in her room. I'll send your things up after I start dinner."
"Thank you!" Hermione said. She was sad that her day with Ron was over but excited to see Ginny and spend time with her as well.
Hermione and Ron looked awkwardly at each other, unsure of what to do next. Finally, Ron broke the silence. "Well, I'm sure you want to get up to see Ginny," he said.
"Yeah, and you wanted to give Fred and George some of those Altoids," Hermione said.
"Oh yeah!" Ron exclaimed. "That's right!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out the tin. A few tickets he had collected at the arcade fell out and fluttered to the worn wooden floor. Ron bent down and scooped them up before Hermione could. "I'll take care of these too," he said cryptically and took off towards the sitting room in search of his brothers.
Hermione watched him run out of the kitchen and sighed. She was about to turn and walk up the crooked staircase towards the youngest Weasley's bedroom when Mrs Weasley spoke up again. "Oh, and I picked up a few products to try tonight on your hair," she said with a wink.
"Thank you so much, Mrs Weasley!" Hermione said, the smile returning to her face.
"Don't you worry, dear," Mrs Weasley said. "We can have a girl's night of pampering. I'm sure Ginny will be thrilled - there's not much 'girl' time here with all of her brothers taking over the place."
Hermione beamed and ran up the stairs to tell Ginny the good news. Crookshanks was waiting impatiently outside the weathered door adorned with various cutouts from Witch Weekly and Seeker Weekly magazines. Hermione forced herself to stop and knock at the door instead of barging in.
"Sod off!" came an angry voice from inside the room.
"It's Hermione," she said.
The door flew open, and Ginny was standing there with a massive grin on her face. "Sorry, I thought you were Fred or George coming to bother me again."
"I think they're with Ron?" Hermione said, following Crookshanks into Ginny's room.
"Thank God," Ginny said, hugging Hermione and gesturing for her to sit on her bed. "They've been bothering me all day since Ron was with you."
"What were they doing?"
"They have it in their heads they are going to be the next Zonko or something," Ginny said. "They've been making all kinds of bewitched sweets and trying to get Ron and me to test them."
"What do you mean, 'bewitched sweets?'" Hermione asked, perplexed.
"Ton-Tongue Toffee, Puking Pastilles, and the like," Ginny said dismissively, changing the subject. "How has your summer been? Are you excited for the World Cup?"
"As much as a non-sports fan can be," Hermione laughed.
"It's going to be brilliant!" Ginny said. She sounded so much like Ron that Hermione almost did a double take. "Ireland versus Bulgaria. It's going to be such a great match. Plus, Bill and Charlie are coming in for it. You haven't met them yet. They're so much better than the rest of the lot," Ginny said. Bill and Charlie were her oldest brothers.
"When are they due to arrive?" Hermione asked.
"I think tomorrow?" Ginny said, giving Crookshanks a scratch behind his ears. "And then Harry should be coming later this week, I think. Oh! Word to the wise: Percy is insufferable with his new job at the Ministry. I'd avoid him at all costs."
"I'm sure he's just excited to share his new position," Hermione said.
"No, believe me. It passed 'excitement' level weeks ago," Ginny said, rolling her eyes. "So, what did you and Ron do today?" Ginny tried to keep her voice level, but there was a hint of amusement Hermione could hear.
"I just showed him around town," Hermione said, willing herself not to blush.
"Like a date?" Ginny said, the amusement rising.
"No, just a day around town."
"Uh huh," Ginny said sarcastically. "Just two best friends walking around town with absolutely no romantic feelings whatsoever."
"Exactly that," Hermione said pointedly.
"Sure, exactly that. Uh-huh. Whatever you say," Ginny said with a huge grin.
"Ron is my best friend. He's like a brother," Hermione persisted.
"You keep telling yourself that," Ginny said.
"I don't know what you mean," Hermione feigned ignorance.
"I had better be your maid of honour. That's all I'm going to say," Ginny said.
Hermione shook her head, though she didn't have any sort of comeback. All she did know was that she wanted to change the subject as soon as possible. "So, are you excited for the World Quidditch Cup?"
"Absolutely!" Ginny replied. "It's going to be so much fun!"
"Who is playing again?"
"It's Ireland versus Bulgaria," Ginny repeated and launched into an entire Quidditch monologue that could rival Ron's. Hermione just sat back and feigned interest as Ginny rambled on and on about the Bulgarian Seeker and the Irish beaters, happy for the change of subject. Nonetheless, hearing Ginny say it out loud made Hermione realise it was time to analyse her relationship with Ron.
Hermione and Ginny stuck around to help Mrs Weasley clean up from supper as the Weasley boys went to the yard to play Quidditch (with the exception of Percy, who went up to his room to work on Ministry things). She could tell Ginny was torn about which activity she wanted to do more, but Hermione was glad dishwashing eventually won out. While Hermione loved Mrs Weasley, she was still very uncomfortable around her. Hermione wasn't used to an affectionate mother figure and didn't know how to handle her.
"Thank you so much for supper, Mrs Weasley," Hermione said politely.
"Never you mind," Mrs Weasley said warmly, giving Hermione's shoulder an affectionate squeeze. "It's a pleasure!"
"I don't understand Ron's strategy," Ginny mumbled while watching her brothers through the lopsided window above the sink. "Keepers should be turned slightly sideways to create more space within the rings to block the Quaffle… Any Chaser worth their salt could get one past him like that."
"I understood maybe half of that," Mrs Weasley smiled at Hermione.
"Same," Hermione laughed, though because she had listened to Ron and Harry talk about Quidditch for literal hours, she knew much more about the sport than she cared to. "Ginny, you should try out for the team this year! Oliver Wood's graduated, hasn't he? That means there's a spot open?"
"I wouldn't really want to be Keeper," Ginny said. "But maybe. I know Ron wants to try out as well. I wouldn't want to embarrass him by getting it over him." Ginny grinned mischievously.
"You would absolutely want to do that," Mrs Weasley teased.
"You're right - maybe I will then," Ginny said.
"Hermione love, do you want to try some of the potions on your hair tonight or wait until another night?"
Hermione's heart skipped a beat. "Tonight!" she blurted hurriedly and then added, "If it's not too much trouble."
"No trouble at all!" Mrs Weasley said with a smile.
An hour or so after the dishes were all magicked away by Mrs Weasley, Hermione found herself with her shoulders draped with a tattered towel and an acrid smell surrounding her. Mrs Weasley and Ginny were looking intently at her scalp.
"Is it working?" Hermione asked, trying to gauge their faces.
"We'll just give it a few more minutes," Mrs Weasley said, averting her eyes from Hermione's stare.
Hermione's heart sank. Something was wrong.
"Maybe we didn't use enough?" Ginny said tentatively.
"What's going on?" Hermione said.
"Never you mind, dear," Mrs Weasley said. "Let me just put a bit more on this section over here."
Hermione felt more of the gel-like potion being worked into her scalp by Mrs Weasley's fingers. She shut her eyes, willing whatever potion it was to work.
"Anything?" she asked, her eyes still closed.
"Let's just give it another minute or two to work," Mrs Weasley said.
Hermione forced herself to count silently to 120 before asking again.
"Anything yet?" she asked.
"Erm-" Mrs Weasley struggled for words.
"It's not working at all," Ginny said. "I've never seen anything like it."
"Perhaps we didn't get the right mixture for your hair type," Mrs Weasley said. "I will send an owl to a few of my hairdresser friends and ask them for suggestions."
Hermione felt her eyes well up. Mrs Weasley gave her shoulders a calming squeeze. "We'll get it. I promise. And I don't break promises to my kids, related or not," she added with a wink.
Even though Hermione was near devastated about her hair, her heart soared with Mrs Weasley's kind words.
After cleaning up all of the goopy potion in her hair, Hermione and Ginny went outside to watch the boys play Quidditch and enjoy the last few minutes of sunshine for the day. She did her best not to get worked up over her hair but was reminded of the failure every time the wind blew her frizz in her line of vision. Ginny must have noticed her discomfort. "Here," she said, handing Hermione a hair bobble. Hermione pulled her hair back with a nod of thanks.
As with most instances, Hermione found the Quidditch scrimmage boring, and her mind started to drift. She looked down at the bracelet from Finn on her wrist, wondering whether or not there would be any issues. She made a mental note to map out any foreseeable scenarios and different code words she could use for each. Hermione looked over at Ginny, debating whether or not to tell her, but Ginny interrupted her thoughts.
"We should experiment with some makeup on you tonight," Ginny said with a grin,
"What?"
"Make-up. I think you'd look beautiful with a bit of blush and maybe some mascara."
"I don't think I-"
"And maybe some lipstick as well," Ginny continued. "I've been reading some of the Witch Weekly issues my mom gets, and they have a lot of tips in there.
"I've never worn makeup," Hermione said. "I honestly don't think it's worth it-"
"Oh, believe me," Ginny said. "It's worth it. You don't have to cake it on, but instead, use it to highlight all of your already great features. Your eyes, for one thing. Your eyes are beautiful, but they are hidden under your eyebrows."
"Thank you," Hermione said with a forced smile. "But I truly believe it's what's on the inside that counts."
"Is that why you want to straighten your hair, then?" Ginny said with a smirk.
Hermione stuttered a nonsensical retort.
"That's what I thought," Ginny said with a grin. "So that settles it: we'll be doing your make-up later tonight."
"Fine," Hermione huffed.
"See? Natural yet striking," Ginny said, standing back to admire her work.
"I'll believe it when I see it," Hermione said.
Ginny handed her the mirror, and Hermione nearly did a double take. The makeup was both completely noticeable and barely detectable at the same time.
"You're magic!" Hermione gasped.
"Thank you," Ginny said with a slight flourish and bow.
"Can you teach me?" Hermione asked.
"Of course!" Ginny said. "Any time! And when mum gets that potion right, I'll help you with your hair too."
"Thank you!" Hermione beamed.
A clatter at the door made them both turn their heads. "Have either of you seen my copy of Quidditch Weekly?" Ron asked, out of breath from running up the stairs.
"Why?" Ginny said curtly.
"Because it's mine," Ron quipped. "Give it here."
"I don't have it."
"Yes, you do!" Ron said.
"No, I don't," Ginny said.
"You said you did!"
"I did not," Ginny said. She turned to Hermione. "Did I say I had the magazine?"
"No," Hermione said, looking up at Ron.
"You said-" Ron started to yell at Ginny, but his attention was caught by Hermione. "You look different," he said simply, slightly tilting his head like a puppy. Hermione felt her cheeks burn and looked away. "No, not bad different. Good different," Ron quickly added.
"We've been up here all night," Ginny said. "I haven't seen your bloody magazine."
"Fine, I'll ask mum," Ron said, stealing one more glance at Hermione before ducking back out of the door.
"See?" Ginny said with a grin. "Makeup can be a very good thing."
The rest of the week flew faster than a Golden Snitch. Ron, Fred, George, and Mr Weasley were getting ready to collect Harry from his aunt and uncle's house. Hermione desperately wanted to see the Dursleys' house in Little Whinging. Still, she didn't want to waste any of the Weasley's floo powder just because she was curious to see how those dreadful people lived. She was surprised Mrs Weasley had agreed to let the twins go with them - the three of them had been bickering all week.
Ginny tried to play it cool, but Hermione could tell she was still nervous about being around Harry. She didn't think Ginny necessarily still had a crush on Harry, but there was still some awkwardness there. Luckily, according to Mr Weasley, the girls would have their own tents at the Quidditch World Cup, so there wouldn't be any weirdness when it came to the close quarters of a tent.
The older Weasley brothers had arrived as well. Bill, the oldest Weasley, had graduated from Hogwarts as Head Boy and went on to work at Gringotts Wizarding Bank as a code breaker. In fact, his profession had taken him to Egypt, where he worked in the tombs. The Weasleys had travelled there to visit him last year when they won a Daily Prophet contest. Hermione was, quite frankly, surprised with his appearance; he wore his hair long and in a ponytail, and he had an earring with a fang dangling from it. He wore clothes that, in Hermione's opinion, would not be out of place at a rock concert, and he favoured boots of dragon hide.
Charlie, Hermione could tell, was a bit more reserved even though he was the more sporty of the two. The second oldest Weasley, Charlie, moved to Romania after graduating from Hogwarts to work with Dragons. He was short and stocky but had muscled arms. His face was weather-beaten from working outdoors and was so freckled that he looked tanned. His hands were covered in calluses and blisters, and he had a sizeable shiny burn on one of his arms.
They were both quite lovely and were more than happy to answer all of Hermione's questions about life after Hogwarts in the professional Wizarding World. She was much more interested in Bill's code-breaking endeavours than Charlie's dragons, but she tried to ask intelligent questions of them both to be polite.
After their makeover session, Hermione sent in an owl order for some basic makeup and hoped it'd be delivered before they went to the Quidditch World Cup. She could always use Ginny's, but she didn't want to take advantage of what little Ginny had. If only Mrs Weasley hadn't insisted on going to Diagon Alley for everyone while they were at the match- Hermione loved back-to-school shopping and could have had a chance to browse the makeup departments as well.
The past few days spent with Mrs Weasley had been wonderful. Even though the Weasleys' excitement over the tournament was contagious, Hermione would prefer staying home with Mrs Weasley. A small part of her hoped someone would unexpectedly visit and ask to take her ticket to the match so she could go shopping with Mrs Weasley.
Fred and George had been experimenting all summer on what they dubbed Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, much to Hermione's annoyance. The twins were brilliant Wizards but insisted on using their talents to make such things as joke wands, charmed sweets, and other obnoxious items. Hermione had been the butt of quite a few of their experiments in the last week, and she was quite fed up with their antics. Apparently, right before Hermione had arrived, Mrs Weasley found a whole stash of order forms in their room and nearly kicked them out of the house, according to Ginny.
The twins seemed much too excited to go to the Dursleys, and Hermione guessed it was because they would torture them with one of their inventions. While Hermione knew the Dursleys probably deserved it, she was still disappointed in their waste of talent. Nonetheless, she soon forgot about their probable plan as she and Ginny started to pack for the match.
"I think you should definitely pack that," Ginny said, pointing to a soft pink jumper Hermione had put aside. "That would look brilliant with the undertones of your skin."
"How do you know so much about makeup and fashion?" Hermione asked, folding the jumper into her tiny travel bag.
Ginny shrugged. "Honestly, I think my mum was so excited to have a girl that she overcompensated."
"That makes sense," Hermione said.
"What about your mum?" Ginny asked.
"What about her?" Hermione asked, guarded.
"Didn't she help you with your makeup and the like?"
"No," Hermione said slowly. "We have a… complicated relationship."
"What do you mean?"
Hermione chose her words carefully. "We weren't close until recently, and even now, it's nothing like what you and your mum have," she said.
"What about your dad?"
"Pretty much the same," Hermione sighed. "Before I came here, I found out they lost a child before they had me. I guess that's why they were distant for so long."
"That's bloody stupid," Ginny said bluntly. "If anything, they should have doted even more on you."
"I honestly don't know what to think. It was all so overwhelming," Hermione said. She was relieved to be able to talk to someone about it finally. "I mean, I understand mourning a child, but they were quite-" Hermione searched for the right word. "-quite sterile with me growing up. They were just the ones who fed me and made sure I studied. There wasn't much love or compassion growing up."
"I'm sorry," Ginny said, and her genuineness truly touched Hermione's heart.
"I am, too," Hermione said. "My parents are great people. I wish I could experience what we have now my whole childhood."
"But you wouldn't be you without that experience," Ginny said. Hermione was taken aback at both the simplicity and depth of that statement.
"I never thought of it like that," Hermione said.
"Would you look at that? I'm smarter than Hermione Bloody Granger!" Ginny said with a lopsided grin.
About half an hour later, Hermione and Ginny heard a clatter from the kitchen. "They must be back," Ginny said. Hermione noticed Ginny's ears turn red.
The two threw the rest of their clothes back in their piles and made their way down the steps. They could hear Mr Weasley shouting, presumably at the twins, and threatening to tell Mrs Weasley something. Just as they got down the steps, they saw Mrs Weasley walk into the kitchen in front of them.
"Tell me what, Arthur?" Mrs Weasley repeated in a dangerous sort of voice.
"It's nothing, Molly," mumbled Mr Weasley, "Fred and George just – but I've had words with them –"
"What have they done this time?" said Mrs Weasley. "If it's got anything to do with Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes –"
"Why don't you show Harry where he's sleeping, Ron?" said Hermione from the doorway. She knew it was about to get ugly. She could see Bill and Charlie at the table, trying to hide their laughter from their mother. The twins looked absolutely exhilarated, but there was a hint of fear of their mother on their faces. Harry, while extremely thin, seemed in great spirits. On the other hand, Ron looked at her like she was daft.
"He knows where he's sleeping," said Ron. "In my room, he slept there last-"
"We can all go," said Hermione, pointedly.
"Oh," said Ron, catching on. "Right."
"Yeah, we'll come, too," said George.
"You stay where you are!" snarled Mrs Weasley.
Harry and Ron edged out of the kitchen. Hermione and Ginny set off along the narrow hallway and up the rickety staircase that zig-zagged through the house to the upper storeys.
"What are Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes?" Harry asked as they climbed.
Ron and Ginny both laughed, although Hermione didn't. She just rolled her eyes.
"Mum found this stack of order forms when she was cleaning Fred and George's room," said Ron quietly. "Great long price lists for stuff they've invented. Joke stuff, you know. Fake wands and trick sweets, loads of stuff. It was brilliant. I never knew they'd been inventing all that..." Hermione couldn't help but roll her eyes again.
"We've been hearing explosions out of their room for ages, but we never thought they were actually making things," said Ginny, "we thought they just liked the noise."
"Only, most of the stuff – well, all of it, really – was a bit dangerous," said Ron, "and, you know, they were planning to sell it at Hogwarts to make some money, and Mum went mad at them. Told them they weren't allowed to make any more of it and burnt all the order forms... she's furious at them anyway. They didn't get as many O. as she expected."
O. were Ordinary Wizarding Levels, the examinations Hogwarts students took at the age of fifteen. Hermione shook her head.
"And then there was this big row," Ginny said, "because Mum wants them to go into the Ministry of Magic like Dad, and they told her all they want to do is open a joke shop."
Just then, a door on the second landing opened, and Percy poked his head out with a very annoyed expression.
"Hi, Percy," said Harry.
"Oh, hello, Harry," said Percy. "I was wondering who was making all the noise. I'm trying to work in here, you know. I've got a report to finish for the office, and it's rather difficult to concentrate when people keep thundering up and down the stairs."
"We're not thundering," said Ron irritably. "We're walking. Sorry if we've disturbed the top-secret workings of the Ministry of Magic."
"What are you working on?" said Harry.
"A report for the Department of International Magical Co-operation," said Percy. "We're trying to standardise cauldron thickness. Some of these foreign imports are just a shade too thin – leakages have been increasing at a rate of almost three percent a year –"
"That'll change the world, that report will," said Ron. "Front page of the Daily Prophet, I expect, cauldron leaks."
Percy went slightly pink. Hermione felt terrible for him - proper cauldron thickness was undoubtedly something to pay attention to.
"You might sneer, Ron," he said heatedly, "but unless some sort of international law is imposed, we might well find the market flooded with flimsy, shallow-bottomed products which seriously endanger –"
"Yeah, yeah, all right," said Ron, and he started upstairs again. Percy slammed his bedroom door shut. As Hermione, Harry, and Ginny followed Ron up three more flights of stairs, shouts from the kitchen below echoed up to them. It sounded as though Mr Weasley had told Mrs Weasley about whatever the twins had done. Hermione winced. Whatever they had done must not have been good, judging by the volume of Mrs Weasley's screams.
They finally reached the top and Ron flung open his door. They were met with a screech of an owl.
"Shut up, Pig," said Ron, edging his way between two of the four beds squeezed into the room. "Fred and George are in here with us because Bill and Charlie are in their room," he told Harry. "Percy gets to keep his room all to himself because he's got to work."
"Er – why are you calling that owl Pig?" Harry asked Ron.
"Because he's being stupid," said Ginny with a scowl towards Ron. "Its proper name is Pigwidgeon."
"Yeah, and that's not a stupid name at all," said Ron sarcastically. "Ginny named him," he explained. "She reckons it's sweet. And I tried to change it, but it was too late. He won't answer to anything else. So now he's Pig. I've got to keep him up here because he annoys Errol and Hermes. He annoys me, too, come to that."
"Where's Crookshanks?" Harry asked Hermione.
"Out in the garden, I expect," she said with a smile. "He likes chasing gnomes, he's never seen any before." It was true - Crookshanks seemed to be having the time of his life.
"Percy's enjoying work, then?" said Harry, sitting on one of the beds.
"Enjoying it?" said Ron. "Don't reckon he'd come home if Dad didn't make him. He's obsessed. Just don't get him onto the subject of his boss. According to Mr Crouch... as I was saying to Mr Crouch... Mr Crouch is of the opinion... Mr Crouch was telling me... They'll be announcing their engagement any day now."
Hermione had nearly had enough of Ron making fun of poor Percy. "Have you had a good summer, Harry?" said Hermione, changing the subject and hoping that Ron got the hint. "Did you get our food parcels and everything?" He definitely looked thin now that he was closer to her.
"Yeah, thanks a lot," said Harry. "They saved my life, those cakes." Hermione didn't doubt it from the looks of him.
"And have you heard from –?" Ron began, but at a look from Hermione, he fell silent. She knew he was about to ask about Sirius. Discussing him in front of Ginny was a bad idea. Nobody but themselves and Professor Dumbledore knew about how Sirius had escaped or believed in his innocence. There was an awkward silence as Ginny looked curiously from Ron to Harry. Hermione knew she had to change the subject - and fast.
"I think they've stopped arguing," said Hermione. "Shall we go down and help your mum with dinner?"
"Yeah, all right," said Ron. The four of them left Ron's room and went back downstairs, to find Mrs Weasley alone in the kitchen, looking extremely bad-tempered.
"We're eating out in the garden," she said when they came in. 'There's just not room for eleven people in here. Could you take the plates outside, girls? Bill and Charlie are setting up the tables. Knives and forks, please, you two," she said to Ron and Harry, pointing her wand a little more vigorously than she had intended at a pile of potatoes in the sink, which shot out of their skins so fast they ricocheted off the walls and ceilings.
Hermione and Ginny each grabbed a stack of plates and hurried out of the kitchen. As much as she loved Mrs Weasley, Hermione knew not to be around her when she was that upset.
"Oh, not again!" came Mrs Weasley's voice bellowing out the open window, urging Hermione and Ginny a little faster towards the garden. Hermione barely just jumped out of the way of Crookshanks as he ran across her path in pursuit of a gnome and then jumped again when she heard a crash coming from the other side of the house.
"The twins definitely gave something to one of the Dursleys," Ginny commented. "I guarantee it."
"I hope they're ok," Hermione said.
"I don't," Ginny said crossly. "They're horrible people."
"I agree, but that doesn't mean they should be hurt or injured."
"Fred and George's stuff won't do much damage. They're annoying, not vicious," Ginny said.
"I suppose you're right," Hermione said as they rounded the corner towards the garden and stopped dead in their tracks.
Before them, Bill and Charlie were levitating two tables and making them bash into each other in the air, each attempting to knock the other's out of the air. Hermione ducked out of the way of a flying splinter from Charlie's table. To her disappointment, Fred and George were cheering them on, and Ginny joined in as well.
Just then, Ron and Harry rounded the same corner and saw the commotion. Their faces lit up at the debauchery. Then, Bill's table suddenly caught Charlie's with a huge bang and knocked one of its legs off. There was a clatter from overhead, and they all looked up to see Percy's head poking out of a window on the second floor.
"Will you keep it down?" he bellowed.
"Sorry, Perce," said Bill, grinning. "How're the cauldron bottoms coming on?"
"Very badly," said Percy peevishly, and he slammed the window shut again. Chuckling, Bill and Charlie directed the tables safely onto the grass, end to end, and then, with a flick of his wand, Bill reattached the table leg and conjured tablecloths from nowhere. Regardless of their antics, Hermione had to commend Bill and Charlie's magical abilities.
By seven o'clock, the two tables were groaning under dishes and dishes of Mrs Weasley's excellent cooking, and the nine Weasleys, Hermione, and Harry were settling themselves down to eat beneath a clear, deep-blue sky.
At the far end of the table, Percy was telling his father all about his report on cauldron bottoms. Hermione strained to listen in, still fascinated with what it would be like to work at the Ministry.
"I've told Mr Crouch that I'll have it ready by Tuesday," Percy was saying. "That's a bit sooner than he expected it, but I like to keep on top of things. I think he'll be grateful I've done it in good time. I mean, it's extremely busy in our department just now, what with all the arrangements for the World Cup. We're just not getting the support we need from the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Ludo Bagman –"
"I like Ludo," said Mr Weasley mildly. "He was the one who got us such good tickets for the Cup. I did him a bit of a favour: his brother, Otto, got into a spot of trouble – a lawn-mower with unnatural powers – I smoothed the whole thing over." Hermione couldn't help but smile at the mental image of a lawn-mower with unnatural powers and what that could possibly mean.
"Oh, Bagman's likeable enough, of course," said Percy dismissively, "but how he ever got to be Head of Department... when I compare him to Mr Crouch! I can't see Mr Crouch losing a member of our department and not trying to find out what's happened to them. You realise Bertha Jorkins has been missing for over a month now? Went on holiday to Albania and never came back?"
"Yes, I was asking Ludo about that," said Mr Weasley, frowning. "He says Bertha's got lost plenty of times before now – though I must say, if it were someone in my department, I'd be worried..."
"Oh, Bertha's hopeless, all right," said Percy. "I hear she's been shunted from department to department for years, much more trouble than she's worth... but all the same, Bagman ought to be trying to find her. Mr Crouch has been taking a personal interest – she worked in our department at one time, you know, and I think Mr Crouch was quite fond of her – but Bagman just keeps laughing and saying she probably misread the map and ended up in Australia instead of Albania. However, we've got quite enough on our plates at the Department of International Magical Co-operation without trying to find members of other departments too. As you know, we've got another big event to organise right after the World Cup."
He cleared his throat significantly and looked down towards the end of the table where Hermione, Ron, and Harry were sitting. Hermione tried to avert her eyes so he didn't know. "You know the one I'm talking about, Father." He raised his voice slightly. "The top-secret one." Hermione couldn't help but gasp. Top-secret?
Ron rolled his eyes and muttered to Hermione and Harry, "He's been trying to get us to ask what that event is ever since he started work. Probably an exhibition of thick-bottomed cauldrons."
Hermione sincerely doubted the top-secret event was a cauldron exhibit, but she couldn't think of any plausible situation that could possibly be "top-secret." She wondered if it had anything to do with Finn and Keelin. Hermione's thoughts were interrupted by Mrs Weasley arguing with Bill about his earring.
"...with a horrible great fang on it, really, Bill, what do they say at the bank?"
"Mum, no one at the bank gives a damn how I dress as long as I bring home plenty of treasure," said Bill patiently.
"And your hair's getting silly, dear," said Mrs Weasley, fingering her wand lovingly. "I wish you'd let me give it a trim…"
"I like it," said Ginny, sitting beside Bill. "You're so old-fashioned, Mum. Anyway, it's nowhere near as long as Professor Dumbledore's…"
Next to Mrs Weasley, Fred, George, and Charlie were all talking spiritedly about the World Cup. Hermione couldn't help but try to follow all of the different conversations like a tennis match.
"It's got to be Ireland," said Charlie thickly through a mouthful of potato. "They flattened Peru in the semi-finals."
"Bulgaria have got Viktor Krum, though," said Fred.
"Krum's one decent player, Ireland have got seven," said Charlie shortly. "I wish England had got through, though. That was embarrassing, that was."
"What happened?" said Harry eagerly.
"Went down to Transylvania, three hundred and ninety to ten," said Charlie gloomily. "Shocking performance. And Wales lost to Uganda, and Scotland were slaughtered by Luxembourg."
Mr Weasley conjured up candles to light the darkening garden before they had their pudding (home-made strawberry ice cream), and by the time they had finished, moths fluttered low over the table, and the warm air was perfumed with the smells of grass and honeysuckle. Hemione didn't want the night to end.
Ron looked carefully up the table to check that the rest of the family were all busy talking, then he said very quietly to Harry, "So – have you heard from Sirius lately?"
Hermione looked around, listening closely.
"Yeah," said Harry softly, "twice. He sounds OK. I wrote to him the day before yesterday. He might write back while I'm here."
"Look at the time," Mrs Weasley said suddenly, checking her wristwatch. "You really should be in bed, the whole lot of you. You'll be up at the crack of dawn to get to the Cup. Harry, if you leave your school list out, I'll get your things for you tomorrow in Diagon Alley. I'm getting everyone else's. There might not be time after the World Cup. The match went on for five days last time."
"Wow – hope it does this time!" said Harry enthusiastically. Hermione scowled.
"Well, I certainly don't," said Percy, beating Hermione to it. "I shudder to think what the state of my in-tray would be if I were away from work for five days."
"Yeah, someone might slip dragon dung in it again, eh, Perce?" said Fred.
"That was a sample of fertiliser from Norway!" said Percy, going very red in the face. "It was nothing personal!"
"It was," Fred whispered to Harry loud enough for Hermione to overhear as they got up from the table. "We sent it."
"That's just mean," Hermione hissed. Fred grinned and shrugged his shoulders. He clearly didn't care about what she thought. Poor Percy - all he wanted to do was do a good job.
Before long, Hermione and Ginny had changed into their pyjamas and settled into bed. Seeing Harry and his excitement for the match somewhat revived Hermione's excitement. At the very least, she knew it would be a very educational trip: International magic relations, professional sporting events, thousands of witches and wizards from all over… it could be a fascinating trip. Hermione fell asleep with thoughts of broomsticks in her head.