Warnings: Graphic injury; discussions of death

~o0o~

Shell Cottage was probably in worse shape than Mrs. Weasley realized when she gifted it. Hermione knew if the Weasley siblings saw this place all jealousy would dissipate. Frankly, it looked like it had been sinking in the sand for a decade. How rude to give a house that was in such disarray and disgusting condition. It took her and Cedric a few days at it, but she was happy for the distraction. Cedric was helpful, repairing sinks and pipes and things.

He always did have a knack for home repair. It made sense to him like magic did for her.

They put all-in-one white primer on the walls so Bill and Fleur would just have to put the color they wanted or wallpaper up, they repainted the cabinets a lovely mint green, and fixed up doors.

The bed in the main bedroom was bedbugs and termites holding hands, so she got rid of it, and once the pests were removed from the house, she put in her own bed so guests to Rosehill wouldn't have to go without one. She would be alright with one of the Japanese futons they ordered in. She wasn't much of a sleeper anyway, why keep something she barely used? And if they didn't like it, they could buy their own and send this one back.

Cedric helped her put the sheets on.

"I think they'll be glad the place is all nice," he said.

She nodded.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

She avoided eye contact. Working in close proximity with him, she caught herself falling into old habits. She had more important things to worry about.

"No," she said. "But I don't think I'll be alright until we finish the fight."

"Fair enough," he said and straightened out his side of the bed. "Mimi…"

"Hm?"

He hesitated and shook his head. "Never mind. It's not important."

"If you say so," she said and turned to head back downstairs.

She wanted to set out the essentials before they headed back to Rosehill. Toilet paper, soap, towels. Some of the wedding presents arrived, so she stacked them in the middle of the living room. Only thing she put away was the wedding china, which were safe in a hutch she found in the original basement of Rosehill and Cedric had given permission to give to Bill and Fleur.

She almost forgot about her curse.

Suddenly, she could feel it activate. When had that happened? That sting of dread and a whisper of an unseen force. This one grabbed hold of her ankle and pulled her through a suddenly weak step in the staircase. She yelped in surprise, which turned into a cry of pain as the splintered wood scraped her leg and her foot collided with something hard, sending her ankle at an awkward angle. Her other leg was forced up too quickly into her chin and she thought she might have pulled something.

"Mimi!" Cedric hurried to her side. "I'm so sorry. I thought I checked the stairs. They were just fine a bit ago."

"Curse," she said through gritted teeth. "I'll be alright. Just get me out of here."

"Right." He moved so he was on the steps below her. He wrapped his arms around her middle and she put hers around his neck. He braced his foot on the step and carefully lifted her up until he could lean her back on a sturdy step.

She waited patiently for Cedric to mend the broken one with a spell and mark it with tape for a proper patch job later. He carried her downstairs. She saw his perspiration and strain, yet he said nothing. No doubt to avoid hurting her feelings. To her, weight was just what she personally could carry.

"Use your knees," she said. "And your core."

"Right. Where's my core?" he puffed. "Oh! Found it!"

She huffed a laugh.

He sat her down on the kitchen counter so her legs were supported in front of her.

"I used to be able to do this," he said and looked into her eyes. "Right, right. Baby kitten."

"Exactly." She hissed softly and looked down at her leg. "I think my ankle is broken."

"Probably," he agreed and carefully removed her shoe and sock and rolled her jean leg up to her knee to take a look at the damage.

Her ankle was swollen and already turning purple. She couldn't wiggle her toes. Cedric frowned and slid his backpack off so he could take out the emergency kit and tend to her. He cleaned up the blood and pulled out the splinters with tweezers.

The sun was setting by the time he bandaged her up, mended her ankle, and wrapped it in a splint. Hermione didn't cry, though she did wince here and there.

"Knowing how your curse works, you should be right as rain in a couple days," he said, turning his attention to her face.

"Thank you," she said, feeling shy. "We should probably go home."

He nodded in agreement and supported her down from the counter. They left the cottage and apparated home, The place was good enough. Bill and Fleur would probably want to fill it up and decorate it themselves. Hermione would send her a message.

"I'll cook tonight," said Cedric upon entering the kitchen. "You rest that ankle." He paused. "Er… what were you making?"

"I have a recipe," she said. "Not in my head, I wrote them all down. It should be in the binder on the counter." They stopped by it and she flipped to the correct page. "Here we are. We're having beef stew. I already have the meat marinating, so it's more of a dump and leave it. You just need to chop the veggies."

He supported her to the living room and grabbed several couch cushions to prop her foot up with. She thanked him for that and again when he brought her some ice and the book she left on the counter that morning.

Draco came downstairs and furrowed his brow. "What happened to you?"

"Curse," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "I'll be alright."

He rolled his eyes. For someone who was honor-bound to help her, he really didn't care about her one twig, did he? Guess that hug he gave her when she saved him from Greyback was a lapse in sanity.

Whatever.

Lee stopped by a few moments later.

"Hey," he said. "Glad you're home. I wanted to go over some things for the upcoming broadcast."

"Yeah, sure," she said. "Got the signal all set up?"

"Yep, it's out front."

Hermione looked out the window and saw that there was indeed a radio tower. It wasn't very tall, but it was boosted by magic. She imagined their signal would reach across the canal. Maybe farther.

"Brill," she said. "I don't think I should send the signal. I worry it's too close to telling people where we are. I can speak on the show, but broadcasting is your department. I don't even want to know how it's done."

"Yeah, good move," he agreed. "I was thinking of working up to a 24-hour broadcast. Thanks to Ced, we can pre-record things. Radio dramas, you know? And we can put news reports on a loop so that everyone has a chance to hear them."

"I like it."

"Will you be a part of them?"

"Sure," she said.

"Cool. I am still attached to you and Diggory playing Beauty and the Beast. I don't think I'll rest easy until I see it come to fruition."

She smiled blandly. "Who's playing who?"

He snorted then looked contemplative.

"A twist… that might be interesting."

Hermione shrugged.

There wasn't much fuss about her ankle. Though Fred did seem to make it his mission to cheer her up. Cracking jokes and showing her what W.W.W. had planned for new releases. She couldn't manage more than an amused smile. He had to see that they wouldn't mesh well, didn't he? They weren't enough alike or enough different to balance each other well, even if their core values overlapped.

Maybe if she ignored his feelings he'd move on. She could only reject him so many times before it got weird.

Thankfully, she was better in a couple days. It was time to get the garden sorted out anyway.

After her morning workout and shower, she bundled up and moved outside to take down the old fence, clear away the dead garden, and remove rocks and hibernating bugs so they could turn out the fresh soil they bought.

"Need a hand?"

She looked over at Cedric. "Yeah, I'm sure you've got one to spare."

He snorted and grinned, picking up a hoe to help her turn the earth up. It was a bit more difficult in the winter, but it was better to get it started without the help of spells. Otherwise, who knew what they might accidentally grow and have to rip up. It would just create more work in the end.

"Save the stones," she said. "I want to make an herb spiral."

"Herb spiral?"

"Yes," she said. "The way it's set up you have it facing a certain way and it gives the proper amount of sunlight, wind, and moisture to the herbs depending on their place of origin," she explained. "I thought we could set it up closer to the steps so it's easier to get to. It doesn't get terribly shady on this side of the house, does it?"

"This is the east side," he said. "Plenty of morning sun, but we don't have to worry about the afternoon sun burning the leaves."

"Oh, good. The vet was just here, right? How are the cows?"

"Better than expected." He tossed a large stone aside and kept working up the soil. "Seemed like they had been picked up by a farmer last winter, but after getting pregnant they escaped and tried to find their way home, but could only make it to the burrow. Besides, the overgrown garden was probably a good source of food for a while."

The back door opened and Draco poked his head out.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked.

"Duckie," said Hermione. "Just in time. Put on some work gloves and help us out here."

He groaned and rolled his eyes. "Of course."

Still, he did as she asked. She wasn't sure if he just didn't want to argue or if he was compelled to do what she asked. She chose to believe it was the former. With the three of them, it went a bit faster. Cedric had already gotten the fence prepped to be installed. A wood frame with chicken wire to keep the animals out. It was a much bigger garden than before, but they would be sharing everything across their bases, so they needed enough to go around.

They buried the chicken wire to make sure gnomes would have a harder time getting in. Only way through was a small gap beneath the door Cedric installed, but they could put a couple charms on that without interfering with the greenhouse spells.

"I have the seeds and soil in the barn," said Cedric, leading them there. "Let's get the seedlings going."

"You mean we don't put them straight in the ground?" Draco asked.

"No. I mean, you can, but it's easier to have them in seedling planters and then transfer them," he explained. "Keep an eye on what's growing and isn't."

"Besides, we're tossing the sunflower seeds in first and letting them grow to get the toxins out of the soil," said Hermione, thinking of what Viktor told her. "Everything will taste better. How are the trees doing?"

"They're growing," he said, pushing open the barn doors. "Should be ready to plant about the same time as everything else."

"Oh, you found a van!" said Hermione, happily.

It was still in pretty poor condition, but it was definitely in the process of being fixed up.

"Yeah." Cedric looked pleased that she was pleased. "I found it at the Burrow. I think Mr. Weasley was going to try and fix it up like the Anglia."

"Mm… I think he'd be happy you're continuing his work," she said.

"That's what I was hoping."

Hermione picked up one of the bags of soil and carried it over to the egg cartons they were using as planters.

"Viktor sent me a chart on the best way to organize a garden," she said. "I figure we could mark the area with flags when we're ready to start planting."

When they had the planters filled and set up in a warm, damp space to sprout, the trio headed inside to clean up and get lunch sorted.

She sensed the floo activate across the house and heard a shout of agony. Tensing, she ran towards it, Cedric close behind her. She flung open the door to the floo room and gasped.

Fred supported George into the room. The latter's head was covered with blood, with more dribbling from his ear. Fred had burn marks on his arms and a scrape across his head caked with dried blood and still smoldering, likely cauterized as the spell had swept through.

"Oh, God!" Hermione gasped, rushing over.

"I can't…" Fred croaked.

Hermione caught George and Cedric supported Fred.

"Get them to the kitchen," she said. "Draco."

"On it."

She carried George there and laid him down on the island. Draco rushed in with the emergency kit, Lee close behind.

George was very still, Hermione quickly dried her now clean hands and went to his side. Draco removed all debris and Hermione cleaned the injury before sealing it with dittany. If she sealed it before cleaning it out, it could get infected.

"Lee, Ced, hold him down," she said. "This is going to hurt a lot. Draco, tend to Fred."

"Right."

Hermione waited until George was held down before applying the dittany. He screamed and struggled in an attempt to remove what was causing him this new pain. Thankfully, Cedric had thought to pin his arms down while laying over him.

"It's okay, love," said Lee, holding his shoulders. "You're going to be alright."

"Just a couple more," said Hermione.

When the wound was mostly closed, Hermione cleaned the blood away. It was completely caked into his hair and skin. She refrained from cursing or vomiting when a bit of his ear came away. She needed Cedric and Lee to hold him until he was bandaged.

"Ceci, Tonks. Set up two spare cots in the music room," she ordered, glancing over her shoulder.

"On it!" said Ceci.

"What happened here?" Mad-Eye demanded.

"Not now," said Hermione. "Go to my room, there's a bookcase full of pills and potions, get me one calming draught and a bottle labeled for extra strength pain reliever."

Hermione turned her attention back to George, bandaging his head and ear. Moody returned with what she asked.

"Opening an apothecary are we?" he asked.

She ignored him, giving Fred and George two spoonfuls of the draught before getting Fred to swallow his pill and grinding George's into a powder, mixing it with applesauce, and spoon-fed it to him. He ate it; most people chewed on instinct.

"There we go," she said. "Tonks, Ceci, those beds ready?"

"Yes," said Tonks. She was pale, looking at Fred and George.

Cedric helped Hermione get them to the cots, both were the same that hospitals had, though the sheets were just some clean ones from a closet. At least they could adjust them for the patient's comfort. She put George's at a slight incline and Fred's at a full incline.

Lee kissed George's forehead and sat by his bed.

"Okay," said Hermione. "Okay. Fred, can you tell me what happened?"

Fred stared blankly, trembling slightly. He had gauze taped to his head and a salve on his arms.

"If you can't bring yourself to speak, with your consent, Cedric could speak for you," she suggested.

He blinked and looked up at her.

"The shop was attacked," he said hoarsely. "There were a lot of them. They… they destroyed everything. Attacked our customers. We fought. Verity. Sh-She helped a mum and her kid escape upstairs. They followed… er… they heard us speak the name but…"

"Don't worry," said Hermione. "They won't remember. Even if both Cedric and I die, they would have to hear from a true Secret Keeper. We won't see them around here."

He nodded and looked at his brother. "Is he…?"

"He'll be alright," she said, looking through her medical binder. "When he wakes up, Draco can run further diagnostics, but he's not dying and he's reactive to external stimuli. It may keep him asleep, but it'll just dull your pain. Physical pain."

"Right." Fred exhaled sharply and looked at the ceiling. His face tightened and he slumped over, breaking down into sobs.

He just lost a good friend and the shop he and his brother dreamed of all their lives. Hermione went to his side and hugged him, minding his injuries. He didn't mind them at all, burying his face into her shoulder as he wept. She rubbed slow circles in the middle of his back.

"We couldn't take her with us," he croaked. "There wasn't… we didn't…"

"I know," she said. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"If we had closed down… We thought we could stay open and—and—"

"That was a foolish thing," said Mad-Eye. "Your mother asked you to close up, as did Kingsley and I."

Fred's weight dropped with his guilt.

Hermione glared at Mad-Eye. "Now is not the time for guilt trips. He just lost a friend, have some compassion."

"Back to your knitting," said Cedric. "Lee, you good?"

"Yeah," he said. "I'll be alright."

Hermione sat with Fred until his tears subsided.

"Rest," she said. "Lee, get me or Draco if either needs medical attention. I'll be in the kitchen."

"Yeah, okay," he said, stroking his thumb along George's knuckles.

Hermione stepped into the kitchen and cleaned the tears and snot off her neck. She didn't want to point it out to Fred and embarrass him. Cedric had gone back outside to the barn. She wanted to go out there too, but Draco was in the library, so she was closest for any medical emergency.

Instead, she went over to the chore chart and erased Fred and George's names, replacing them with other household members. She wasn't about to make them work while they were grieving.

"Cookies," she said when she was done cleaning and sterilizing the kitchen. "We need cookies."

That's what her fathers always did. She went over to her binders and plucked out the one for desserts. She skimmed through it and found Papí's oatmeal cookie recipe. This made a batch of eighteen, better double it. No. Quadruple it. She liked biscuits since they tended to have a uniformity in texture, but she doubted after that scuffle the twins would want to work their jaws. They needed something easy.

With the oven preheating, she got out everything she needed and got to baking. She still hadn't eaten lunch yet and was sure nobody else really had either. So when the cookies were in the oven, she fixed a tray of sandwiches of various types. She spun her finger, casting a simple patronus. The white orb split into several smaller ones.

"There's sandwiches and cookies in the kitchen if anyone needs to eat," she said softly and sent them off around the house.

Maybe Cedric could install an intercom so she wouldn't have to expend magic on this. She'd ask him about it later. Draco came in and glanced at the chore chart. Hermione almost dared him to say something, but he didn't, instead looking through the sandwiches for one he wanted.

"Can you do me a favor and hang out in the parlor?" Hermione asked. "I want to work outside a bit more, but I worry about something happening and Lee not being able to find either of us."

He nodded. "Yeah, fine."

Hermione picked up the tray loaded with food and carried it to the music room. They oughta make a permanent medical area if this was on the table, It was better to have a set aside sterilized environment.

"Food," she said, wiggling her foot to make the low table slide over so she could set the tray down. "Tea. Sandwiches. Cookies."

"Cookies?" said Lee.

"Cookies make everything better," she said. "They're oatmeal. I added chocolate chips and toffee chunks in the first batch and the second batch has dried cranberries, pistachios, and white chocolate."

"Thanks, Nia. I'll make sure these two eat something."

She nodded. "Draco is in the parlor and I'll be outside."

"Thanks."

In the kitchen, Hermione put together another tray for Cedric. She'd already had her sandwich and taste-tested several cookies, so she was full. The house was warm with the scent of baked goods, so she had done all she could on that front for the time being.

She put on her coat and brought the food and hot mug of tea to the barn.

Cedric was working on the van. He had books, manuals, and handwritten notes spread out on his work bench to aid him in this venture. He sniffed the air and turned around, pushing his headphones back.

"Mimi."

"Thought you might need something to eat," she said, setting it down on the last bit of free space.

"Thanks," he said. "I could smell you baking from here. Nearly broke through the window, but I didn't think you'd appreciate that."

The corner of her mouth twitched. "Well, I fed my patients. How's yours doing?"

"Well, it'll take a bit more than cookies." He glanced back at the van. "Not in as bad shape as it looks. I'll probably spend a lot on rust remover and a paint job, but I think we can budget for that."

"Right," she agreed. "There's lots of things we can use a van as a cover for, especially with the right paint job, maintenance people, film crew, band, college kids on a road trip."

"I like the band idea," he said.

"Right? It'd give us the best excuse to be in different places, plus to wear our more identity concealing disguises. Lee and his sister probably got some songs we can use and you can already play the guitar. I'd… I haven't played the drums since that day in Hogsmeade, but I'm sure it's like riding a bike."

"I've never ridden a bike," Cedric mused and took a bite of a cookie. His eyes fluttered and he groaned, "God, I love you."

"I'm going to assume you're talking to the cookie," she said, willing her heart to slow down.

He flushed and sat down to eat his late lunch. Hermione put her work gloves back on and continued prepping the seedlings. It was slow work, but she didn't mind it. Tonks and Cecilia were managing dinner. A combination that usually ended in disaster, but worst case scenario they had sandwiches again.

Cedric got back to working on the van and Hermione found herself watching him. He hadn't even been back a month. She wasn't going to throw herself back into anything. Especially not when she had other things to worry about. If he was okay with being a lovesick puppy while she pretended she wanted nothing more than a tentative friendship, that was his choice.

And things were going to get much more difficult and way more dangerous as time passed. She needed to give him a chance to change his mind and she needed to keep her distance so that if he did it wouldn't hurt as much.

It would probably hurt the same regardless.

"Nia?"

She looked over at Lee. His face was drawn and she couldn't tell if he had a sense of urgency or not.

"What's wrong?" she asked, jumping to her feet.

"Nothing," he said. "George is still sleeping, Draco and Fred are keeping an eye on him. I wanted to run the first broadcast before dinner."

"Oh. Yeah, alright." She dusted herself off and followed him inside.

Tonks and Cecilia were already chopping up vegetables for a salad while a radio played a wizard station on the counter. They acknowledged the pair, but didn't say anything.

Lee poked his head into the music room to check on George before continuing on to the broadcast room.

"So, for this first show, we're overriding every wizard broadcast and telling them what airwave they can listen in on," said Lee. "It might be open to Muggles, too, but they'll probably think it's all performance."

"Right," Hermione agreed, "And those that say it's real will not be believed."

"Just have a seat and touch nothing," said Lee. "You'd know if the wards change, right?"

"Yes. They shimmer whenever I add someone else," she said.

"Broadcasting in three… two… one…"

Hermione did not watch what Lee did. She only saw the light go red to signal they were live. Lee looked at her and nodded.

"Check one, two, three," she said, deepening her voice. "We're coming to you live."

Lee looked through the window of the door. Ceci was standing there, she held up her radio and nodded. They were broadcasting and the wards hadn't changed. Lee ran to the booth and sat by Hermione, putting on his own headset.

"Welcome to the Weather," he said, opening up the script he wrote for them to follow. "I'm your host: Rain, and with me is Aurora."

"The Weather is here for all your need-to-knows during this time of war," said Hermione. "We'll be broadcasting updates every day. Don't worry if you hear this message again. Your radio isn't broken and you aren't experiencing déjà vu, we're just replaying the news so everyone has a chance to hear."

"Don't worry about your current station," said Lee. "We'll have our own separate signal 102.9 TWN. Thought you should know now in case you've got Death Eater bosses who don't want you to hear the truth of what they're doing or ways to protect yourselves. Which brings us to our first piece of news of the evening. Aurora? You know the most about this."

"We will repeat this announcement throughout the show for those just tuning in," she said. "You-Know-Who has placed a Taboo on his name. Not his true name: Tom Riddle, as far as we know, but the name you and I all know him by. The one that starts with a 'V.' It is unknown if other words are Taboo as well, but as we learn them we will notify you. The Taboo will break down all protective charms, it may even be enough to penetrate the Fidelius Charm. We don't know and we won't test it.

"There are other alternatives to You-Know-Who if it becomes too confusing. Such alternatives are: Morty preceded by 'Our Good Friend,' Moldy Shorts, Little Tommy Tims, The Riddler, Junior, Admiral Anagram, and That Asshole." She smirked. "I mean really. Who takes their name: Tom Marvolo Riddle and then jumbles it up to I Am Lord [REDACTED]"—She pressed the buzzer button in lieu of saying his name.—"What a square."

"You said it, Aurora," said Lee. "Weasley Wizard Wheezes was attacked today. The pranksters we know and love made it out alive, but will be shutting the physical location down until further notice. We are uncertain if they will stop catalogue orders, but if you are waiting on a WWW product, please expect delays. In sadder news, an employee at the shop was murdered during the raid: Verity Grant. Our condolences go out to family and friends of Verity. She was incredibly brave, standing between the Death Eaters and customers of the shop allowing them a chance to escape. She will be missed."

"We'd like to take this moment to name others who have been murdered by Death Eaters in the past year," said Hermione. "We will follow this with a moment of silence."

The list was long. Too long, but Hermione listed each name and they were silent for a full minute.

"War is uncertain," said Hermione. "We here at the Weather promise to do all we can to finish this war and make it so another Tom Riddle can't happen within living memory. And just know, you can help. Helping may not be battling Death Eaters. Sometime it's losing a piece of paper. Or giving your muggle-born neighbor a safe place to stay. Don't let this war change you. Don't look away. The second you give up, is the second they win."

"We'll be back again tomorrow with another broadcast," said Lee. "Rain and Aurora, signing off."

He flicked a switch and stopped a recorder.

"Let's get this to the proper station," he said. "Can you get some music on a loop?"

"Sure."

Once that was set up, with the news report playing every two hours, they left to go to the kitchen.

"Lee?" said Draco. "George is awake."

"Oh, thank God!" he breathed and ran into the room. "George, baby? How you feeling?"

"Saint-like," he mumbled.

"Babe?"

George got a slight grin and pointed to his ear. "Get it? Cause I'm hole-y."

"I would have gone for a Van Gogh joke," said Hermione. "You'll never be wanting for a Purim or Halloween costume again."

He rolled his eyes. "Everyone's a critic."

Lee huffed a laugh and pressed his forehead to George's.

"Don't worry," said Fred. "I'm sure you've got a barrage of ear-related humor coming our way."

"Hey, dinner is ready," Cecilia called.

"Got anymore of those cookies, Nia?" Fred asked hopefully.

"I don't know," she said. "But I can make more tomorrow if we run out. Or if you're feeling up to it you can help me make those lemon cookies. You know, the ones filled with blueberry jam. Lee, want to hang out here? I can bring you and George plates."

"That'd be great," he said.

"Fred. Need to lie down a bit more or are you up to sitting at the table?"

"I can sit up," he said. "How's my hair?"

She studied it. His hair line was going to be messed up for the rest of his life.

"Chaotic."

"Brilliant."

They were having baked chicken, salad, and macaroni and cheese for dinner. Plus dinner rolls. Hermione put together the plates for George and Lee when Kingsley came home.

"I heard your radio show," he said. "How did you manage to take over all radio frequencies?"

"All of them?" said Hermione, perplexed. "We only meant to take over the magical ones. Are we in trouble?"

"No, it was written off by Muggle authorities as a hoax," said Kingsley. "I helped the Prime Minister draft and issue a statement about it. I think you and Mr. Jordan are wise to have a true news source that cannot be silenced. I will check with the police tomorrow to be sure it cannot be traced."

"Great. Thank you." She opened the cookie tin and slid it over. "Here. Have one before they're gone."

"Why thank you." He selected a cranberry one and took a bite, then added two more to his plate.

Hermione was happy she decided to bake. It was making everyone else feel better, even briefly. Kingsley moved on to talk to Fred while she brought the food to Lee and George.

When she sat down at the table, Fred tapped her arm.

"What's up?" she asked.

"Can we watch a movie after dinner?" he asked quietly. "Please? Something with a happy ending."

She smiled sympathetically and patted his shoulder. "Of course. I've got lots of happy endings."