Chapter 4
Hermione was trapped in a dream she had absolutely no desire to be in. She was watching, for the 100th time, Harry's lifeless body fall to the floor after Macnair's killing curse hit him square in the back. The great hall swayed around her, in the fluid, distorted way dreams do, and near her were the stretched and haunting faces of Order members waxing and waning in and out of view. In her dream, Voldemort's scream of rage rocked the Great Hall to its very foundation, just as had happened so long ago. His own Killing curse was shot instantly and landed in Macnair's chest, killing him with little regard to the chaos unfolding around it. There were Death Eaters shouting all around her, Hagrid howling from the main entrance, a flash of two blonde heads in her peripheral. Hermione could feel Aurthur Weasleys hands on her shoulders, pulling her backwards, away from the menacing rage unleashing itself in front of her.
"Dad, go!" She heard Ron scream from her left, as he scooped a stunned Hermione into his arms and took off running.
Just then Hermione's eyes fluttered open with a start as she felt a hand close on her shoulder and give it a shake, pulling her from her haunted self-conscious and causing her to sit straight up.
"I'm sorry Hermione, I didn't mean to frighten you," Luna said serenely, putting her hand back down to her side. Her cheeks were flushed, and her blonde hair lay around her head prettily.
"You're fine, Luna, really. Is everything ok?" Hermione asked, anxious to know why she was woken up, and instinctively reaching for her wand. I have turned into such a paranoid person. Goodness, Hermione mused grimly.
"Yes- Bill and Fleur are here. It's so hard to travel these days, and we see them so rarely that I thought you might want to see them before they must leave again," Luna said, gesturing with her hand towards the door. Hermione noticed she still had one of radish earrings, as it dangled from her ear.
"Oh, erm, yes, thank you for waking me. I would very much like to see them." Hermione answered, beginning to rise from the musty bed she had slept on. "Let me just..." She trailed off realizing she had no clothes to change into, save her dirty ruined jumper and ratty jeans she had arrived in.
"I have some spare robes, if you would like something fresh to where," Luna offered, eyeing Hermione's discarded jumper on the floor.
After Hermione had dawned Luna's robes, which were a soft, fuzzy gray color, she headed downstairs towards the sound of a warm conversation drifting up from the kitchen. A mouthwatering smell drifted up with it, and Hermione's stomach seemed to flip. She hadn't realized how utterly hungry she was. What was the last thing she had eaten? The small, stale piece of bread in the Americas.
" 'Ermione!" Fleur said, rising to her feet elegantly as Hermione entered the cozy kitchen. " 'Ow good to see you!" She said, hugging her tightly. Hermione noticed a bulge in Fleurs stomach as she did so.
"And you, Fleur, I have missed you and Bill," Hermione answered, breaking away to meet Bill with a one-armed hug as he made his way over.
"We 'aven't seen you in so long..'Ermione, please tell us how you are...and anyzing else you can share wiz us," Fleur said, French accent as pronounced as ever, meeting Bill's eyes quickly as she sat back down at the scrubbed would table.
"I think we should all eat first, I, myself am famished, and imagine everyone else is, too," Percy said from his own seat at the scrubbed wood table, already spooning some mashed potatoes onto his plate. "And thank you again, Bill, for bringing us supplies. We were running on canned beans before this," Percy finished, bowing his head toward his brother.
"Please, Percy, It's nothing. We wish we could find real meat to bring to you guys," Bill answered, taking a seat next to Fluer.
"You brought real coffee with you, and for that I could die happy," Neville called happily from his place next to the fire, sipping contently from a chipped mug.
"Oh, is there really coffee?" Hermione asked, awestruck. Coffee was an amenity she hadn't thought about in so long that she forgot it existed.
Neville passed a mug down the table to her, and she sipped it slowly, allowing the rich taste to fill her senses. This is heaven, Hermione thought gladly. Trying once again to pull herself away from that waterlogged girl and live in the goodness of the moment at hand.
"Fleur, have you heard from Penelope?" Percy asked quickly, between bites of food.
"I have received no news, unfortunately," Fleur said, sighing.
Hermione felt puzzled. Why wouldn't Penelope contact Percy herself? Actually, why is Penelope there, and not Fluer? Surely, she would blend in better than Penelope, already knowing the school and the culture.
Bill must have picked up on her confused expression, because he cleared his voice and said "Penelope has been undercover at Beauxbatons, taking Polyjuice potion to look like a young witch named Aloisia Boucher, who no longer wishes to continue her magical education at Beauxbatons, and is living with a Muggle man somewhere in Italy, choosing to live as a muggle and give up the magical world. Aloisia Boucher's mother, Margaux Boucher is distantly related to Fleur's Mother, Apolline, from her non-veela side. We have put together a well crypted code that Penelope uses, when 'writing to her mother' that Margaux uses to update Apolline on her distant cousins progress at Beauxbatons, which Apolline decodes, and then recodes again in letters to Fluer that we use to keep up to date on what you-know-who is up to at the school. Fleur couldn't do it herself because...well, because she's pregnant." Bill finished with a flush, reaching a hand to Fleur and clasping her shoulder.
"I'm so happy for you both!" Hermione said, almost sincerely. Not a great time for a pregnancy, really, Hermione thought, but any chance for love and happiness in this world shouldn't be shunned or frowned upon. It should be embraced while the opportunity is here. Another feeling started to spread inside Hermione, one she was having trouble deciphering. Am I jealous? Do I wish to be a mum, too?
"Thank you, 'Ermione," Fluer smiled at her warmly.
"It's going to be a girl," Luna said, nodding towards Fluer.
"I don't zink so,' Fluer responded, rubbing her belly. "I have dreams et will be a boy."
"And she will not have the Weasley's red hair," Luna finished, turning back to her own plate, despite Fleurs grimace.
"Percy told me Ron was taken," Bill said, turning his face towards Hermione.
"Yes." She answered, not sure how to go on. Although Luna seemed ok with her need for secrecy, Neville and Percy didn't. She couldn't guess how Bill and Fleur would feel. "By a death eater, perhaps 5'10" in height. He was hooded, and I panicked so I couldn't see any features. I am not sure if I can even trust my own assessment of his height, honestly," Hermione spoke softly, hating that she had to picture the scene again.
"Where were you when this happened?" Bill asked, brushing some of his flaming red hair off his face.
Hermione chewed her bottom lip and moved her fork around on her plate. If they knew she had sought out Herbert Beery's home, just to steal a mandrake leaf, how much could they deduce from that. How lethal could that information be? Herbert Beery had been the Herbology professor at Hogwarts until He retired, and Professor Sprout took over. He had been living a quiet life, ignoring the warring world around him, outside of Bangor, in Wales. When the Mandrakes had started to scream, he had come doddling out into his green house, with earmuffs on and wand lifted at the ready. He looked ancient, and Hermione guessed he had to be about 100 years old. She remembered being so afraid Death Eaters would find out they were there and kill all three of them. She felt Terrible to stun him, but she had felt it necessary at the time. Little had her and Ron known, all retired Hogwarts professors were being watched very closely by the Death Eaters, and one had appeared behind Beery almost instantly.
"I don't know that I can tell you," Hermione finally said. "But-please- before you get concerned..or..or riled up, it's a necessary you all know as little as possible, becua-"
"Oh, I 'ave 'eard that before," Fleur cut her off, coldly. "And all the secrets kept in the Order did more damage than good," Fleur finished strongly, straightening her back. "Wiz so many of us gone, we need to unite togezer strongly. We must all fight this together," Fleur said, her face softening slightly as she rubbed her belly.
"Fleur, I get that. But, erm, this is something that really mustn't get out. If they get wind, we are putting a retaliation plan together, they will kill for leads. " Hermione said, trying not to sound cold, herself.
"They are already killing us, if they catch us," Neville piped up from the end of the table. "With..with Harry gone, they don't need to torture us for information or leads."
Hermiones heart sank. Ron isn't dead, she told the noose around her heart. Like Percy said, they will want to lure me out. They will want me in custody.
"I do not believe Ron is dead,' Percy said, reassuringly, to Hermione, as if he could read her mind.
"I hope so. I'm so tired of all the death," Luna said, still sounding as serene as earlier.
"Let me break this down for you. This plan will not work if they even think we have a plan," Hermione said, trying to sound strong, trying to pull from her soul the strong, confident girl she had been before. She remembered a time when she spoke self-assuredly. "As close to their guards being down as they can, is the only way this will work. If they tighten security even just slightly more, this opportunity will be gone, and we will have nothing." Hermione said, taking another sip of her coffee.
"Ok." Bill said, simply.
"Ok? ok? Bill?" Fleur responded, swiveling in her chair to look at him.
"Fleur, she feels like she can't tell us. Then ok. I won't spend my limited time here bickering. I trust Hermione," Bill said, stroking Fleurs bright, silky hair. Fleur seemed to calm down under his ministrations.
Just then, Bill pulled a small coin out of his pocket, that Hermione recognized immediately.
"I can't believe those are still around!" Hermione marveled, looking at the galleon Bill had in his hand, the same ones she had bewitched for DA meetings, so long ago in her Hogwarts days.
"Yes, and it is changing which must mean Hagrid is trying to reach us," Bill said, starting to rise from his seat. "We must return home anyways. Hermione, great to see you, and we will be back as soon as we can." Bill and Fleur quickly hugged everyone in the room, and made for the back entrance, where they could apparate safely off the back stoop before anyone could see them. After they had gone, Hermione smiled to herself, thinking of Hagrid, staying in Bill and Fleur's tiny cottage. She wished she could travel over to see him, hug him, share a cup of tea. Perhaps when the daunting task at hand was over, she could reclaim some of her past pleasantries...perhaps.