Hermione's Plan
Joy and Sorrow
By Chem Prof
A/N Quite a bit longer chapter than normal. I think you’ll see why I couldn’t end it before I did.
-xox-XOX-XOX-xox-
Chapter 10, Joy and Sorrow
The time before the wedding – Thursday afternoon, Friday, and Saturday morning – afforded an interesting study in human interactions. Gabrielle was constantly hanging around Harry, much to Ginny’s irritation. She clearly wanted to get Harry alone, but was continually frustrated in her attempts. Ron was with Harry most of the time, too, in a permanent daze, for Gabrielle was using her Veela powers to their fullest extent. Hermione lost track of the number of times she had to hiss at her tall friend, “Ron, she’s only twelve!”
The result was that Gabrielle was effectively running interference for Hermione, and she didn’t need to stay by Harry’s side the whole time like they had expected. This worked to lessen any suspicion that anyone might have had about their closeness, and she could get away with a few hugs when she did ‘happen’ to encounter him. It also resulted in Hermione spending more time with Fleur.
She came more and more to regret not getting to know Fleur earlier, as well as her former negative attitude toward the distractingly beautiful witch. She was turning into the older sister Hermione had never had. During this period she took the time to show Hermione around the chateau and explain its history, which fascinated the studious witch. She also introduced Hermione to the Delacours’ house elf. Hermione managed to keep her negative feelings about that subject under control, although she noted with some relief that Fleur and Mrs. Delacour treated the elf courteously. She was addressed like a member of the family, a long-time trusted servant rather than a slave, and they made requests of her rather than demands.
Ginny had resumed her disdainful attitude toward her sister-in-law to be, which Hermione now no longer found humorous. She was ashamed that she had once laughed when Ginny called her ‘Phlegm’, and she cringed at Ginny’s catty comments questioning whether Fleur should be wearing white for her wedding, suggesting that scarlet might be a more appropriate color. The frosty relationship between the former good friends turned even cooler when Hermione attempted to rebuke her for those comments. It made her feel yet more guilty to realize that prior to getting to know the part-Veela better, and hearing her confession the night of their arrival, she might have agreed with the nasty remark.
Upon reflection, Hermione realized that Ginny’s sense of humor, which was considered to be one of her attractive features, largely involved making fun of others, sarcastic putdowns, and mean-spirited pranks. Somehow, perhaps because she had matured so much lately, and was nearly two years older than the petite redhead to begin with, she didn’t find that brand of humor to be particularly funny any more. Now she could see how destructive it was, and realized how similar it was to the nasty taunting and teasing she and Harry had each been subjected to when they were younger.
During one of the times she and Fleur were together, standing off to the side and watching yet another attempt by Ginny to get Harry’s attention, Fleur made the observation that she had been surprised that Harry had gotten together with Ginny in the first place, since he didn’t seem at all interested in her the previous summer. Hermione revealed that Harry had told her that it was just something that hit him all of a sudden. Fleur gave her an odd look and said it sounded like an attraction that might have been magically enhanced. Hermione responded with the rationalization that she had always used during her times of self-doubt regarding Harry. Ginny was, after all, very pretty, funny, and athletic – the type of girl Harry was attracted to – and maybe he just finally noticed her.
Fleur then made another point. While that was possible, why would it not have happened during the month before they went back to Hogwarts, when he was spending all day every day with her? Hermione then allowed that he did say that he first noticed her after the first Potions class, when he was exposed to Amortentia, and the conversation took a more serious turn.
“Do you zink eet’s somezing she might ’ave done?” asked Fleur in concern.
“But the timing doesn’t make sense,” Hermione pointed out. “She was going out with Dean then. I think her plan was to have him view her differently, not just as the kid sister of his best friend, by seeing her in romantic situations with his dormmate. And I think she wanted to win him on her own merits.”
By this point Ron had joined the discussion. “Yeah she’s so competitive, having to use a love potion would have been admitting defeat – but it does sound like something Mum would do.” Hermione and Fleur were both shocked into silence at this casual declaration. “Mum really wanted them together,” Ron explained. “I could see her trying to help it along. And she certainly had plenty of opportunity to slip him something before he left for Hogwarts.”
“I do remember her telling Ginny and me one time about using a love potion when she was a girl,” Hermione added, having found her voice again.
“Are you going to tell ’Arry?” Fleur questioned.
“I would never hide anything from him,” Hermione replied thoughtfully. “We’re completely open with each other, and if he asks me what I think I’ll tell him. But this is just speculation; I don’t want to strain his relationship with your family with no evidence. And it’s in the past now, and really doesn’t make any difference anymore. It’s not worth ruining Harry’s opinion of someone who has been the only mother he’s known from the time he started Hogwarts until just recently.”
“Just recently?” Fleur asked with a smile.
“Well, my mum has become quite taken with him,” Hermione smiled back.
“You are very lucky,” Fleur replied wistfully. “Eet ees much nicer to ’ave ze support of your mate’s family.” Hermione nodded and put her arm around her new friend to give her a quick hug. It was the first crack in the blissfully happy persona Fleur had maintained all week. She was obviously aware of the snide comments being made behind her back, but chose to take the high road. Fleur continued in a sad voice. “I know you are ’appy to ’ave me become a Weasley, Ronald.” She managed a smile for him. “But not everyone een your family ees quite so enzzusiastic.” The three lapsed into silence at that point, then decided to move on to more pleasant topics.
-ooOoo-
The wedding the next day was the most beautiful one Hermione had ever seen (not to mention the only one Harry had ever seen). It was like a fairy tale – Beauty and the Beast this time, she decided. Ginny and Gabrielle were in strapless gowns of a deep blue color, that accentuated their pale skin and complimented both Ginny’s flaming red hair and Gabrielle’s brilliant silver mane. Fleur wore a strapless gown that conformed perfectly to her body down to her hips, then flowed out into a long train. It glistened and sparkled with hundreds of tiny gems, which added to the happy glow already emanating from the part Veela.
Hermione studied her effect on the men in the crowd as she glided past on her way to the platform where Bill awaited. While most, like Ron, were in a daze, a few were able to act normally. From what she had learned from Fleur, the men best able to resist her charms were those who were deeply in love, or had a lot of willpower, or were more inclined to favor men than women. She amused herself trying to identify which category each male in the crowd fell into. Harry, she knew, was in both of the first two categories. Mr. Weasley was obvious. Alastor Moody had a will of iron, and Remus Lupin was like Harry, doubly immune. Kingsley Shacklebolt was more of a puzzle.
It was the best time she had had since coming to France, because she had Harry all to herself nearly the entire afternoon and evening. Since all of the Weasleys and Gabrielle were part of the festivities, Harry would naturally be expected to escort her. They discreetly held hands all during the ceremony, and he even managed to put his arm around her for the occasional hug.
She also noted the differences between the magical ceremony and the church weddings with which she was familiar. There was no mention of God, and of course no scripture readings. She found herself thinking ahead to her own wedding, and decided that she wanted some sort of combination for her and Harry. In particular, she had long ago picked out the two selections from scripture she wanted read. The first spoke of how a man and a women left their fathers and mothers and joined together to become one flesh. It reminded her very much of the sharing of magic that Fleur had described. The second, probably the most often used passage at Christian weddings, was her favorite description of love. To her mind, it described her and Harry’s relationship perfectly. ‘Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful. It is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way. It is not irritable or resentful. It does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.’
She was brought back from her musings when she felt Harry squeeze her hand, and she looked up to see him smiling at her. She realized that she must have had a dreamy expression on her face so she leaned over and explained, “I was just thinking of what our wedding will be like.”
His eyes danced and he whispered back, “me too.” She thought her heart would burst through her chest, and she closed her eyes and leaned her head on his shoulder, wondering if she could possibly ever be happier than she was right then.
After the ceremony they mingled with the other guests, including some of their friends who had made the trip to France. Luna looked at them oddly while they were talking, but didn’t say anything. Hermione wondered if the dreamy witch with the protuberant grey eyes could tell that she and Harry were together. The younger girl often seemed able to see things that others could not. She also had a nice conversation with Viktor Krum, which Harry joined in enthusiastically. After having seen her memories of her relationship with the serious Bulgarian, he had no reason for any jealousy, even when Viktor graciously kissed her hand. The two seekers even managed to avoid discussing quidditch, at least while they were with her. She was glad that Ron wasn’t around at that point.
Some time later Harry burst out laughing and motioned for her to turn around. She chuckled herself when she spotted Viktor talking with Luna. He clearly didn’t know what to make of her, and just stood there with a perplexed look on his face while listening to her fantastic tales that flowed effortlessly from one to the next. On the other hand, she thought Viktor might also be noticing something else about the blonde Ravenclaw. Hermione thought she looked quite stunning in her long filmy dress robes. They had a very pretty floral pattern, and fit snugly in all the right places. Here was another girl who had seemingly developed an attractive figure without anyone noticing.
For the rest of the reception, Hermione watched her Bulgarian friend as his eyes constantly seemed drawn back in the direction of the almost ethereal looking young woman who was so different from the short, solid, somber looking quidditch star. What an interesting couple that would make, she thought. Shortly after that Viktor came back to Hermione and asked her for a dance. It was all she could do to keep a straight face when he casually asked her about Luna.
While she was dancing with Viktor, she noticed that Gabrielle had snagged Harry, frustrating Ginny to no end. Her eyes danced with mirth at the sight of the young part-Veela using all her powers to get Harry to notice her, only to enthrall a half dozen men dancing nearby. The unfortunate males were quickly brought back to their senses by sharp pokes and jabs from their dance partners.
Ginny finally got her chance to be with Harry a bit later when she and Colin came over during the dancing and she innocently asked if they wanted to switch partners. Hermione wasn’t at all concerned with what Ginny could accomplish, although she refrained from looking in their direction too obviously. It was just as well, because she was sure the younger witch was using every flirtatious move she knew on him, and that the strapless top on her bridesmaid gown was sliding lower and lower.
The most annoying part of the situation was dancing with Colin. He was the only boy near her age who was shorter than she was, and he took the opportunity to stare at her chest the entire time they were together. She mused that the rumors of his sexual preference were apparently incorrect. Given the amount of time she had just spent on topless beaches, she wasn’t overly embarrassed by his scrutiny, mostly just annoyed at the crudeness of his behavior and its lack of subtlety. Now if it were Harry … She smiled as her mind wandered back to the reaction he had had to her new gown.
“Either I’ve gotten taller or you’ve gotten shorter,” he teased as they were being remeasured at Madame Malkins upon their return from their year abroad.
Hermione stuck her tongue out at him and retorted saucily, “well, I may not be taller but I’ve grown in other areas.”
“Trust me, I’ve noticed,” he responded in a low voice as he allowed his eyes to run up and down her figure.” Hermione had been amazed and delighted at her new measurements. Her waist had not changed, but all the exercise had reduced her hips by an inch. Incredibly, her bust had increased by an inch and a half. Although much of that was due to her more developed chest and back muscles, the effect was eye-opening. She had previously picked out a light green floor length halter style gown that was bare halfway down her back but relatively conservative in front. For fall and winter it had a matching long sleeved jacket of the same soft material, which tied at the waist, so that it followed the same lines in front as the halter top.
But when Madam Malkin had taken the gown in at the hips and let out the back to adjust to her new measurements, Hermione had daringly decided to have her leave the halter top the same. The result was that there was a lot more of Hermione to be covered by the same amount of fabric, giving her a noticeable amount of cleavage, her first ever in formal dress robes. The entire gown clung to her like a second skin, and the pale green color looked fantastic with her dark tan. Harry had been delighted with the result.
Finally her dance with Colin was over and she was happily back in Harry’s arms. She couldn’t resist giggling when she saw the disappointment on Colin’s face as a disgruntled Ginny tugged her top back up to its proper location.
“Have I told you how lovely your hair looks tonight?” Harry asked, interrupting her thoughts on her comparative advantage over the pretty (but relatively small-breasted) redhead. She just had to hug him for that comment. She had indeed used the potion Fleur had given her to tame her hair somewhat, and it warmed her heart that he had noticed.
“Harry, you continue to amaze me,” she declared. “Colin just spent the last ten minutes ogling my chest and you manage to notice how nice my hair looks.” She leaned close and whispered, “I love you so much!”
Harry leaned in and whispered back. “I love you too. And just for the record, I’m enjoying very much how you fill out the top of that gown. Lavender would be so jealous.” Hermione blushed furiously but was inwardly thrilled. Harry always seemed to know just what to say to make her feel good about herself. She laid her head against his chest and sighed. If only the happiness she felt today could last forever.
Near the end of the reception she found herself dancing with Bill while Fleur danced with Harry. “Fleur’s been looking forward to this all evening,” Bill commented, motioning to his bride smiling as she twirled away with Harry.” At Hermione’s questioning look he explained. “She figured that Harry was one of the only ones here who could actually manage to talk to her while they danced.” Hermione nodded in understanding. Harry had taken one look at the cleavage that was revealed by the top of Fleur’s strapless gown, which was considerably more impressive than Ginny’s or Gabrielle’s, and laughed at some teasing remark she made, then kept his eyes focused on her face for the rest of the dance.
“You and Harry seem to have developed quite an interest in curse-breaking,” Bill said in a low voice as the conversation took a serious turn. “I want you to know that we plan to drop everything else and get to work on whatever this project of yours is as soon as we get back.” Hermione expressed how grateful they were that the new couple would do this for them and let him know they would be looking forward to working with them.
-ooOoo-
It was a tradition in the Delacour family for the newlywed couple to return to the house the following day to open gifts with the family and close friends. When the happy pair arrived Hermione observed that Fleur was positively glowing and couldn’t stop smiling the entire time. Bill’s brothers, of course, immediately took him aside and began ribbing him mercilessly about his prowess the previous night, but nothing could wipe the grin off his face. Hermione would have liked a chance to ask Fleur how it had been, but she couldn’t get her alone. And the answer was rather obvious at any rate.
After a few hours the newlyweds had gone and Hermione decided to try to get Harry alone for a private word. This seemed like as good a time as any for their announcement. But another couple beat them to it. Tonks pulled Remus into the center of the room and fired off a spray of multicolored sparks from her wand to get everyone’s attention. With a bit of prompting at the critical moments, the shy werewolf proclaimed to loud cheers that the two of them had decided to get married, and hoped that everyone there would join them in the celebration. He further revealed that they planned to have the ceremony prior to the new school year, because they would be joining the staff at Hogwarts and jointly teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. This caused even louder cheers from the students present who remembered him as the best Defense teacher they had ever had.
As the excitement was dying down to a steady chatter, after everyone had finished congratulating the couple, Harry caught Hermione’s eye and the pair silently came to an agreement. In seconds they were side by side and Hermione’s hand had slipped into Harry’s. Harry cleared his throat to get the attention of the boisterous crowd.
“Um, excuse me, we have another announcement to make. I … er we … that is, Hermione and I, we also have some news for you. We’ve decided to get married too. We’re engaged.”
It was the loudest silence Hermione had ever heard. Her eyes roamed the room, taking in the wide variety of reactions. Remus was surprised, but not shocked. Next to him Tonks had a gleam in her eye, her head turned towards him with the message ‘I told you so’ clearly etched on her face. Fred and George were caught off balance, trying to figure out if it was some colossal prank or if it was for real, but nonetheless amused in either case. Across the way Ron was grinning from ear to ear, while Arthur and Charlie were clearly puzzled. Gabrielle was disappointed, but not overly so, since like Fleur she had sensed the connection between the pair. Molly was stonefaced, while Ginny … Ginny’s face was darkening rapidly; an explosion clearly imminent.
Tonks was the first to react, breaking away from Remus with a squeal and rushing across the room to smother Hermione in a hug. This tipped the balance for the twins, who each began a smart remark. “Harry, you sly dog …” from Fred and “Oh, you two are …” from George. Neither tease was to be completed, however, as they were both silenced by Ginny’s eruption.
“WHAT!! What about me! You’re supposed to be with me!”
Colin, somewhat puzzled by this declaration, unfortunately chose this instant to seek clarification. “Uh, Ginny?”
“Stuff it Colin! I was only dating you to make Harry jealous.” This revelation, while surprising no one who knew Ginny well, caused Colin to quickly shrink away, and would ordinarily have earned a reprimand from Molly. But right now the older woman was preoccupied with mentally kicking herself for letting Harry out of her sight long enough for Hermione to snag him.
Ginny was far from finished, and having dispatched that annoyance, turned her sights on Hermione. “You traitor! You were after him all along! You only pretended to help me get him. And all that business with Ron this year. That was all fake too! You were just using him to get to Harry. You unspeakable bitch!!
Hermione braced herself against the onslaught, keeping her face impassive, unwilling to let the fiery tempered witch shake her. Besides, there was a grain of truth in some of the accusations. Harry’s left arm had found its way around her waist, and he pulled her closer against his side. His right hand was ready to retrieve the wand strapped to his forearm with a slight flick of his wrist, in an instant if necessary, and a shield charm was in his mind, ready to be cast with a silent command if the curses started flying from his former girlfriend. The fact that Tonks was standing in between the two girls reduced the likelihood of that being necessary though.
The last line from Ginny finally shook Molly from her internal recrimination. “Ginevra Weasley! That kind of language is uncalled for!”
Ginny turned and stormed away before her mother had a chance to make her apologize for her outburst. At this point everyone’s attention shifted to the other redheaded female in the room. Still clearly displeased, she now addressed the couple in an icy voice.
“Are you sure about this? After all, just a few weeks ago …” she gestured in the direction that Ginny had just disappeared.
Hermione was relieved that Harry stepped up to respond, as she didn’t trust her voice at the moment. Pulling her even closer to his side, he replied evenly. “Yes, Mrs. Weasley, we’re sure. We’ve been spending a lot of time together for the last … well ever since we got back from Hogwarts. The time alone together on our trip made us realize how we really feel about each other. I guess the strong feelings we’ve had for each other for years finally grew into something more. There’s not a doubt about it in either of our minds. He turned to Hermione as he said this and their eyes met, and for a few seconds the rest of the room didn’t exist.
“As for the other thing,” he resumed, turning back to address the Weasley family. “Nothing happened between Hermione and me until after I broke up with Ginny. She was completely supportive of us while we were together. Which was only for a couple of weeks,” he added. Except for Molly, he got nods from the rest of the Weasley family indicating that they believed him, that he had not cheated on their sister.
Next Ron spoke up, and Hermione could have kissed him for what he said. “As far as me and Hermione, there was never any dating relationship between us. We had a talk on the last day at Hogwarts and we both agreed that we were just friends. In fact, when we found out that Harry and Ginny weren’t together any more, I encouraged her to see if there could be anything more between her and him. They’re my best friends and I’ve supported them all the way on this. And in the time I’ve spent with them since they got back, I’ve never seen two people more in love. Except maybe for Mum and Dad,” he added, trying to lighten the mood.
It worked. Harry and Hermione were suddenly swarmed with well-wishers just as Remus and Tonks had been, and Tonks and Gabrielle squealed appropriately when they saw Hermione’s ring. The twins made it very clear that they were going to have fun teasing the new couple and even Molly, after everyone else was finished, finally made her way over to them. “I’m glad that you’ve found some happiness, Harry,” she said, avoiding looking at Hermione. “If anyone deserves it, you do.”
It was as much as, maybe more than, Hermione had hoped for from the domineering woman. Shortly thereafter Remus and Tonks took their leave, since it was a full moon that night. The rest of the afternoon and evening went smoothly enough, although there were suspicious looks from Molly as they all headed up to bed. It was very fortunate that Harry and Hermione went up into separate towers for the night.
-ooOoo-
A commotion outside her bedroom door interrupted Hermione’s nice dream of being held in Harry’s arms. As it turned out, she was in fact being held in Harry’s arms, but those thoughts quickly evaporated as Harry leapt from the bed in a flash, his hand out to summon his wand from the nightstand. Hermione sat up quickly as the sheets fell away from her bare chest, and a brief wave of desire shot over her as she beheld his nude body in the dim light, crouched in an alert stance facing the door, clearly ready to protect her from any intruder.
The pounding on the door that had awakened them was repeated, then Charlie’s voice called out. “Hermione! The Burrow’s under attack! Everyone’s gathering in the great room downstairs.” Hermione managed to call out an acknowledgement and there was a brief pause before Charlie continued in a lower voice. “Is Harry there?” Hermione repeated her acknowledgement. “Ron will be down in a minute,” Charlie suggested. “You should probably come down with him.”
Harry turned to her. “Put on your dragonhide armor.” Hermione nodded in agreement and quickly grabbed the thin camisole top from the floor that matched the knickers she was wearing and pulled it over her head, then found the lightweight but nearly indestructible dragonskin garment. Meanwhile Harry had donned a pair of briefs and was tugging his own dragonskin over his legs, followed by the top. The two pieces together strongly resembled the muggle style exercise outfit of leotard and tights that dancers wore. While she finished adjusting her own top Hermione couldn’t help gaze at how the tight protective gear set off every muscle in Harry’s body and wished for a moment that they were still entwined together in bed. Harry apparently had similar thoughts as he looked back at her.
“You look so good in that. If I were a male dragon I’d have you stretched across that bed in an instant.” Hermione blushed furiously and smacked him on the arm as he gave her a quick hug while they hurried toward the door. Slipping quietly down the winding stairs, they came upon Ron descending from his own tower where the stairs joined on the second floor landing. At that point they could hear shouting down below.
The trio emerged into the great room just as Arthur, Molly, and Charlie disappeared into the floo, while Fred, George, and Ginny were loudly protesting being left behind. Evidently Molly had won this argument. When the others spotted them, all three sets of eyes went wide as they saw the pair in the body hugging armor, and Fred immediately made a crude, but complimentary comment about Hermione’s bum while George gave a thumbs up. For her part Ginny alternated lustful looks at Harry with vicious glares at Hermione. Harry was all business however.
“Fred and George, do you have those shield hats?” The shield hats were one of the reasons they had made a stop in Diagon Alley before coming to France. The twins had fashioned a dual use hat that could either disillusion the wearer or project a full body shield. It wouldn’t stop the strongest curses but it would help. Harry and Hermione threw their cloaks over their shoulders, ending the free show, while the twins hurried to find the hats and pass them out to everyone.
“What’s a nike?” Ron asked (pronouncing it to rhyme with ‘like’) as he peered at the logo on the front of the cap and the name along the headband. “And this doesn’t look much like a lightning bolt on the front, if that’s even what you were trying for.”
“It’s a muggle sporting goods company, Ron,” Hermione snapped with her usual exasperation for her friend’s cluelessness regarding all things muggle, as she pulled her hair into a pony tail. Next she went to Ginny and demonstrated to her how to get her long hair through the opening at the back of the cap. Ginny initially stiffened and drew away from the older girl’s assistance, but then reluctantly accepted it, since she had no intention of being left behind.
Meanwhile Harry was discussing transportation options with Fred and George. “We can’t floo directly from here to the Burrow, we have to go through the international floo connection,” Fred was saying. “It will take some time and they probably won’t let us through if Mum and Dad told them not to.”
“What about apparating?” Harry asked next.
“Are you kidding?” came the reply. “Hardly anyone could apparate that far.” Hermione thought that she and Harry probably could, and could see that Harry was considering the idea.
“Even if we could, Harry, I don’t think we could each side-along two people,” she pointed out. Harry nodded while four jaws dropped at the thought that the pair would even consider that possibility.
“It’ll have to be a portkey then,” Harry decided. At that moment the floo flashed and Bill and Fleur tumbled out. Hermione caught a glimpse of bare thigh from Fleur before she righted herself and finished fastening her robes. ‘I bet she’s wearing even less under those robes than I am,’ Hermione found herself thinking with an inner smile.
“What have we got,” inquired Bill, as he rushed over to Harry.
“We just decided to take a portkey back,” Harry responded.
“But creation of a portkey is illegal,” protested Ron, looking at Hermione. She could see his bewilderment at why his rule-abiding friend hadn’t already pointed this out. Bill quickly brushed this objection aside.
“We’re in France, not in Britain. The British can’t do anything to us and the French won’t know about it until after we’re gone. But where should we make it go to? We don’t want to just fall into the middle of an attack.”
“How about Stoatshead Hill?” suggested Harry. That’s where we portkeyed to and from for the Quidditch World Cup.”
“Sounds good,” Bill agreed. “Then we can apparate from there. Everybody ready?” he called out. Hermione had just finished helping Fleur with the shield hat and signaled that they were ready to go as they hurried over to join the others. Fred produced a poker from the fireplace. “Portus!” Bill intoned, as his wand flashed over the implement and it glowed briefly.
“What’s going on?” Gabrielle stumbled bleary-eyed into the room.
“Gabrielle! The Burrow is under attack and we are going there now! Tell Mama and Papa!” Fleur shouted in a flurry of French just before the eight of them grabbed the poker and vanished in a swirl of color.
After landing on Stoatshead Hill in varying degrees of gracefulness, with Bill and Fleur managing it best, they conferred briefly. They would apparate to behind the shed where Harry, Hermione, and Ron had visited just four days previously, while disillusioned. Once they got a better feel for what was going on, they would switch the hats over to shield mode. They quickly agreed to stay in pairs. Bill and Fleur, and Fred and George, were logical choices. Harry glanced briefly at Hermione. Much as she wanted to stay with him, she knew Ron and Ginny would be vulnerable together and she nodded toward them.
“Okay,” Harry finished. “Ron you’re with me … no wait, Ron, stay with Hermione. Stay behind her and watch her back.” Harry saw the look of surprise, and wounded pride. “She’s a lot more advanced than you right now. Ginny, same with me,” Harry continued, undoubtedly realizing that Ginny wasn’t the best person to cover Hermione’s back right now. Ron immediately realized that both of his friend’s thoughts were correct, and nodded his understanding.
“What? I don’t need to hide behind you,” Ginny snapped. “I can fight just as well as she can. She wasn’t even in the battle the night …”
“Ginny, we don’t have time for your tantrums right now,” Harry retorted. “You either do as you’re told or stay behind.” Ginny fumed, but said nothing, realizing that no one on the hilltop was taking her side.
“Bill, it’s a full moon,” Hermione noted, changing the subject. “Are you all right?”
“Just fine. But that means they’ll probably have werewolves in the attack.” At this George reached into his pack and handed everyone a knife.
“Silver,” was his only comment and everyone nodded grimly.
Bill took Ginny’s arm to side-along her, and seconds later they were huddled behind the shed, viewing a horrifying sight. The Burrow was in flames, what was left of it. There were shouts from a group of twenty or so clustered outside, silhouetted by the burning house, and in the pale moonlight they watched three figures fall to the ground. Harry reached out to grab Ron, and Bill restrained the twins from rushing madly into the fight.
“Fred and George, I need you over on the right. Stay behind the garden wall. Got it?” Harry hissed. The twins pulled themselves together and nodded. “Bill and Fleur, come in from the left. The rest of us will charge into them from here. Once we have their attention, you guys open up in a crossfire. Okay?” From their conversations of the previous three days, Bill and Fleur had become aware that Harry and Hermione were much more powerful and skilled fighters than they had been a month previously. Reluctantly, they agreed. Ginny was too startled to say anything, and Ron knew very well just how much his friends had changed. The twins and the newlyweds disappeared, leaving the other four teens behind.
Harry and Hermione dropped their cloaks to give themselves maximum freedom of movement. Next they stood up and made side by side figure 8’s with their wands, creating a wide area anti-disapparation ward, before Harry caught her up in a quick hug.
“You be careful,” she whispered.
“You too. Don’t worry, unless Voldemort himself is here, they probably don’t have anyone who can stand against us.”
“Don’t get cocky kid,” she replied, trying to lighten the moment by quoting dialog from one of his favorite movies at him.
“I love you,” he responded, giving her a quick kiss for luck.
“I know.”
Switching their hats to shield mode, the four suddenly became visible and ran toward the crowd of attackers, leading with a salvo of blasting hexes. Six Death Eaters went down before they even knew what had hit them, and the rest belatedly turned to confront the threat. Just as they launched their own curses, more streaks of light blasted into them from each side, and another four tumbled to the ground.
Harry and Hermione, now about ten yards apart, stopped and pointed their wands at the ground. A huge stone slab erupted in front of each of them, just before a flurry of killing curses reached them, and the green streaks of light impacted harmlessly on the impenetrable walls. Harry motioned Ginny and Ron to stay behind the rocky barriers and provide covering fire, while he and Hermione moved forward once more.
The Death Eaters were in a panic. What had started as an enjoyable exercise of destroying the dwelling of a family of blood traitors had turned into a nightmare. While they had easily dispatched the four Weasleys who had arrived too late to save their home, they had lost five of their own before the last one fell. Now they were taking fire from three sides, their ranks were crumbling at an alarming rate, and they had just watched in disbelief as their killing curses were turned aside by two rocky walls that had appeared from nowhere. Several turned to run, but were cut down by a new barrage of hexes from behind the garden wall. Now two teens clad in a scaly coating were again racing toward them, cutting down everyone in their paths as the nearest Death Eaters collapsed, screaming in agony, their legs shattered. In a minute it would be over.
But not quite yet. With a snarl a pack of werewolves appeared from the woods to the left, catching the attackers by surprise. As Bill and Fleur turned to meet this new threat, Harry and Hermione unveiled a different spell.
“Projectilius Argentium!” A flight of a dozen silver arrows sliced through the pack, felling four immediately. The remaining two leapt at Bill and Fleur, pushing them back. Twin bolts of crimson light blasted one of them apart, but the other one knocked Fleur to the ground. In an instant Bill was on him, dragging him off of his new spouse, and the two of them fell to the ground, the werewolf twisting away from Bill’s hold around his neck.
Harry and Hermione were helpless to intervene. The two combatants were too close to each other to risk another projectile curse without hitting Bill. Plus, there were more Death Eaters coming around the house from the other side. A volley of explosion hexes crumbled the garden wall and hurled the rubble onto Fred and George, putting them out of the fight for the time being. Ron was doing a good job of picking them off with occasional well-aimed shots from behind his slab of rock, but he had to duck back when a powerful curse shattered the top of his stone barricade, showering him with shards of rock. Fortunately, all three Weasley boys were protected from serious injury by their shield hats.
Suddenly Hermione saw that Ginny had darted from behind her stone shelter, and was racing to the aid of her oldest brother. Screaming at the top of her lungs she halted, braced herself, and hurled her silver knife with deadly accuracy, embedding it in the back of the remaining werewolf just as he was about to overpower Bill. Moving to cover her, Hermione launched a trio of magical spears at another cluster of attackers who were drawing a bead on the small redhead, impaling two of them, then threw up a golden shield just in time to block a nasty purple flame from the third just before it could slice into the younger witch.
“Potter!” From the other side of the yard, Hermione saw Harry turn to confront one of the two men he hated more than any other. Temporarily by himself, he paused to take stock of the wizard who had killed Dumbledore, glowering back at him with his trademark sneer.
Snape expected to see a hotheaded, reckless young wizard who couldn’t keep himself under control. He expected to see a flurry of wildly aimed hexes hurled haphazardly with little thought or plan. He expected to see another of the nasty slicing hexes of his own design, and prepared to block it. He would bring the arrogant young fool to his knees and capture him for the dark lord. Once he did that, this disastrous raid would turn into a stunning success.
Snape did not expect to confront an impenetrable mind, totally closed off to his strongest probes. He did not expect to be suddenly hurled back with the slightest gesture. He did not expect to have the tree he was thrown into suddenly entangle his wand arm. He did not expect a wordless curse to suddenly shatter the bones in his legs and arms, rendering him helpless. He did not expect to be hit by a disarming jinx, an incarcerous hex, and a stunning spell in rapid succession. But he was unconscious before he had the opportunity to compare his expectations with reality.
And just like that, it was over. There were bodies strewn across the grounds of the Burrow. The place where Harry had once spent what Hermione knew to be some of the happiest times of his life was a bloody battleground, the house a smoking pile of rubble. As Fred and George dragged themselves to their feet by the demolished garden wall, and Bill tenderly helped Fleur limp toward the small group of survivors, Hermione saw Harry look around to find where she had got off to. They had become separated during the battle and she saw his eyes light up as he spotted her making her way toward him, Ron still at her side. Still some distance away, she suddenly heard a movement behind her and saw Harry tense up.
“Mine! Behind you!”
Draco Malfoy had hidden himself as soon as the shooting started, and watched while his comrades were cut down by the pair who had been his hated rivals since he had first met them. Now, when everyone’s attention was drawn away, he saw his chance.
“Die, you filthy Mudblood! Avada Kedavra!”
In the time it took him to shout the insult, several things happened. Hermione whirled, only to find that Ron had jumped in front of her, propelled by his ingrained protective instinct towards her. But all that accomplished was to put him in her way, hindering her retaliatory strike. She put both of her hands on his back and shoved him to the side as hard as she could, simultaneously throwing her body in the opposite direction, just before Malfoy’s poorly aimed killing curse sailed by overhead. In one motion she rolled, sprang into a crouch, and reached out to summon her wand from where it had landed when she pushed Ron. The instant it slapped into her hand she flicked it three times and three different colored jets streaked at her foe.
In the meantime, from across the yard, Harry had fired off a spread of four explosive hexes with all his might, knowing that they could never arrive in time to stop Malfoy’s first attack, but determined that it would be the last one he would ever make. He knew that Hermione should be able to block or duck the cowardly sneak attack, but his heart stopped while he awaited the result.
Malfoy stood dumbfounded, unable to believe that both Granger and Weasley had somehow evaded his killing curse, and astounded at how fast she had recovered, but he managed to put up a shield before her counterattack could reach him. A fraction of a second later, Harry’s powerful curses arrived. The first missed to the right. Malfoy leaned away from the second just in time. The fourth sailed past on the left but the third blew apart his shield in a spray of red and gold shards of light, just before Hermione’s three hexes hit the now defenseless wizard. Before he knew what had happened he was disarmed and knocked to the ground, locked in a body bind, and tied up. Hermione walked calmly towards him, not restraining her more enthusiastic red-haired friend, who wasted no time rushing up to confront the student he most despised. She waited while Ron relieved some of his accumulated stress by kicking the blonde Slytherin until his face was a bloody pulp, then she offered a simple summary before turning away in disdain.
“You always did talk bigger than you could perform, you disgusting little ferret.”
Looking back at the Burrow, Hermione’s heart broke as she paused to take in the scene before her. Bill and Fleur were wandering through the bodies, trying to find his parents and brother. Fred and George were just standing there, staring at the ruins of their home. Behind her she heard a sob, and reached back to pull Ron into her arms, sharing his pain as he buried his head on her shoulder. Then she spotted Ginny.
The diminutive redhead had dropped to her knees next to the body of her brother Charlie, weeping uncontrollably. In a few short hours her life had been shattered, having lost both her home and her dream for her future. Harry knelt behind her and tenderly pulled her onto his lap, holding her close as she burrowed her face into his chest and her small body shook with grief.
“Harry!” came a plaintive wail. “What happened? How could this happen?” But Harry had no magical solution that could make everything better, and could only rub her back while muttering vague words of comfort. Right now this was not a jilted girlfriend, but one of his dearest friends suffering a tragic loss.
Soon Ron and Hermione joined them and combined with them in a four-way hug, all of them sharing their grief and offering each other comfort as best as they could. Eventually Ron took Ginny and with his arm around her, guided her into the wreckage to see if they could salvage anything from the devastation. Harry and Hermione, noticing that Bill, Fred, and George were engaged in a heated discussion near another red-haired body, hurried over to join them.
It was Percy, and Bill quickly filled them in. “There’s no way they should have been able to break through the wards that easily. They must have had help from a family member, or someone who was intimately familiar with the house and its protections. Fred and George think it had to be Percy, but I just can’t accept it.” Hermione wracked her brain for anyone else who might have been in position to betray the Weasleys, when it hit her.
“Harry!” she whispered urgently. “Scabbers!” Harry’s eyes grew wide in the dim light, and he rapidly whispered back to her. Straightening up and standing back to back, they waved their wands in 180 degree arcs while chanting the incantation in unison, “Animagus Reverto!”
They were rewarded with a crashing sound in the far part of the garden, and a dark figure scrambled for the shadows of the wood. Five jets of red light streaked out while Hermione disappeared and a brown owl took flight, her keen night vision tracking the fleeing man. But it was unnecessary, as the second volley of spells connected, and the traitor Peter Pettigrew fell to the ground.
Continuing on, she swooped over the rest of the Weasley property for several minutes, searching for any other hidden foes. Once she was satisfied that the area was secure, she soared in for a landing behind the shed, transformed back, and picked up their discarded cloaks before heading back to the house. Harry had dispelled the anti-disapparation ward and Alistor Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Hestia Jones were arriving on the scene as Hermione returned to see Malfoy, Snape, and Pettigrew laid out on the ground, each unconscious and securely bound.
But just as she was about to relax for a bit, Harry grabbed her and pulled her aside. “Hermione, what about your house? We need to go check on it.” Hurriedly they informed the others of their plans, and Harry promised to be right back. In an instant they were in the Granger back yard by the tool shed. Everything appeared to be quiet, but the pair cautiously explored the area until they were satisfied that all was well. Then they discussed their next move.
Hermione agreed that she should stay there while Harry returned to help out at the Burrow. They spent a few minutes discussing wards that they could erect, and Harry created a portkey that would take Dan and Emma to Grimmauld Place in an emergency. They took a few moments to create another wide area anti-apparation ward, with a designated apparation point next to the tool shed. Hermione determined that she would place a restriction barrier around the tool shed so that anyone apparating in would be unable to approach the house without the password.
“What’s the password going to be?” Harry asked as he prepared to apparate away.
“Seeker,” Hermione responded, and the pair managed to share a small grin. Harry removed his shield hat and handed it to Hermione. She would give it and her own to her parents, so that they could use them if necessary.
Then he was gone. Hermione slowly made her way to the house, her exhaustion starting to catch up to her as the adrenaline wore off. It had been a long night. And it wasn’t over yet.
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