Of Days and Ends
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Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female › Snape/Hermione
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
43
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Category:
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female › Snape/Hermione
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
43
Views:
35,961
Reviews:
333
Recommended:
1
Currently Reading:
3
Disclaimer:
I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters, plot, etc. from the books or movies. I also do not own the AdultFanFiction.net site. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Mortuus Vita
A/N: Happy, Happy Christmas, Everyone, and a Happy New Year!
~~~~~~~~
Chapter 28—Mortuus Vita
“Reenervate!”
Hermione’s head was throbbing with an incredible pain.
“Reenervate!”
Who the hell was screaming like that?
“C’mon, Hermione! Reenervate!”
She was too exhausted to really care at the moment. She allowed sleep to overtake her again.
“—he’s dead. They won’t look for him.”
“Somehow or another the news will get back to him.”
“I know. Do you really think we have a spy?”
“It’s likely.”
“They’ve been trying to discuss it in Order meetings.”
“What?”
“I know, it’s stupid, isn’t it?”
Hermione didn’t know why Harry and Ginny were talking while she was sleeping, but she decided to keep her eyes closed in the hopes that they would leave.
“Do you think she’ll pass out again?”
“No.”
“You have to admit, it was kinda funny, all scariness of hitting her head aside.”
“Oh, I know! Fred and George just wouldn’t stop laughing, would they!
“What do you think she drew her wand for?”
“I was wondering the same thing.”
“Oh well, love, I’ll see you at dinner. M’mum’s gonna want my help soon.”
“I’ll help you set up.”
She waited for the door to click closed before sitting up and looking around the tiny room. A small calendar on the wall told her it was the twentieth of April. It was very relieving to know that she had only slept through the night. The previous night had been hectic, and they had lost several Order members. As though cued by that thought, the door opened and a tall slim redhead entered.
“Fred!… or… uh, Geor--” Hermione gasped.
“Fred. No worries.”
“Oh! For a second I thought…”
“Didn’t want you to pass out again, so Madam Pomfrey sent me to tell you what happened.” He paused for just a moment before continuing, “Ron’s alive.”
“I did see him then?” She asked cautiously.
“Yeah.”
She furrowed her brows in confusion, “But....” Her chest felt tight with the memory she was reviewing, “I saw him fall. We all saw the green light.”
“Ah… but we didn’t. None of us saw a green light. All of us saw a light that looked green because it was what we expected, given the outcome, or at least Madam Pomfrey says something like that. Harry’s aunt says the light was yellow.”
Hermione didn’t bother answering; she just waited for him to continue.
“When Madam Pomfrey arrived for the injured, she noticed that Ron hadn’t gone rigid after she was through with the others. She thinks it’s called Mortuus Vitae. The—”
“Living Death. Yes. I’ve heard of it. It’s a charm replacement f—”
“Yeah, whatever.” He interrupted, “Anyway, Harry reckons that Snape wanted Ron to die a horrible slow death of starvation or burning on the pyre or somethin’.”
Hermione merely hummed with thought, refusing to say any more.
“Are you ready to see him?”
“Of course!” She started toward the door, but Fred stopped her.
“There won’t be any more feinting, will there, ‘cause you nearly cramped my stomach last time. I can’t be laughin’ like that again.”
“You’re mad!” She laughed and rushed to the door, behind which Ron stood. For just a second they stared at each other until Herrmione lunged forward and threw her arms around his neck. Warm tears cascaded down her cheeks and wet his shoulder through the woolly sweater he wore. That emotion was entirely unexpected, but she let the tears fall freely.
“Geroff, Hermione.” He murmured and she backed away just enough to see his face, and jumped with surprise when his lips covered hers.
The kiss was not quite as wonderful as she had once thought it would be, but it still felt welcome somehow. A significant part of her still mourned the separation from Snape, and it was that part of her that pushed him gently away. She immediately put on a brave face and chipper voice for his benefit and cleared her throat. “Where is this?”
Ron paused, obviously wanting to take her back into his arms, but refrained. Instead, he turned and said, “Tonks House.” Ron answered, “You haven’t met Mr. and Mrs. Tonks yet. They’ve been a part of the Order for ages, but apparently they were on some sort of reserve status. Just in case.”
Hermione furrowed her brows in thought and began to walk down the hall. Ron followed closely, and she asked, “When is the next order meeting?”
“We’ve been having meetings almost every day.”
“I see.” She said thoughtfully. As she entered the dining room, the large number of people milling around caught her by surprise and she quickly closed her mouth.
“Hermione!” Mrs. Weasley cried out and rushed to hug her tightly. “We were a bit worried about you.”
“Thank you for taking such good care of us, Mrs. Weasley.” Harry said softly
“Of course, my dears. We will always be there for you.” By the tight squeeze that Mrs. Weasley gave Hermione, it was quite obvious that she had no intention of letting the three of them leave again.
Ron and Harry too had noticed signs of watchfulness. His mother and McGonagall had taken to whispering fervently, only to stop when he and Harry entered the room. Fred and George, who used to be only interested in their own dangerous pursuits, now followed Harry and Ron from room to room. Then Ginny had often come to be encouraged by her mother to pull Harry away when the two spoke in conspiratorial undertones at the kitchen table. Ginny was obviously much too happy to do so, and used the opportunity to push her mother’s request to its limits. Already, the young couple had been caught snogging in almost every room of the house, and Ginny had gotten a pretty stern talking to when she had been caught with one shoe off and Harry choked on his food across the table after making a series of faces that poorly disguised their interaction. Now that Hermione had woken, they both doubted that any of them would receive any peace.
The meal was not unlike every meal that Mrs. Weasley had cooked for them in the past, but the trio moaned over their plates with true appreciation. Hermione’s cooking just couldn’t compare, and Ron made that fact very clear over a full mouth of food. “This is delicious, isn’t it, Hermione!”
“Very.” She answered happily.
Ron cleared his throat and slid a quill and parchment to Harry. Opening and reading Ron’s untidy scrawl, Harry smiled and added something to the page. Hermione looked up as Ron read and wrote a response before passing the note back to Harry once more. They were being completely obvious and she wondered what they were up to.
Suddenly, Mrs. Weasley’s hand reached down and snatched the paper from them.
“Mom!” Ron complained.
“What is this?” She asked as she held it up to read. Mrs. Weasley’s eyes moved across the few lines they had written, and Hermione tried to decipher their facial expressions. Surely they weren’t writing anything secret! She mumbled the words as she read over it a second time before finally turning back to the boys, “What is this?” she repeated.
“It’s just a game, Mum!”
“I was telling Ron about the muggle psychologists… how they do word association things.” Harry explained.
“Word associations?” she asked.
“Yeah, we were just trying it out.” Harry replied.
She narrowed her eyes again. “It’s a muggle thing?”
“Yes, Mum.” Ron said with exasperation.
She placed the paper down as though she still didn’t quite believe them. “Language, Ronald.” She warned. As soon as her hands were lifted, Ron snatched the paper up and drew a line to start from.
“Hey, Hermione! Get in on this round!” He demanded and slid the parchment and quill across the table to her.
“Just add a similar word?” She asked as she unfolded the page with one hand, but before they could even answer, she understood what they were doing. Harry had begun, and alternated with Ron:
Harry: Professor
Ron: Classroom?
Harry: Dungeon
Ron: Potions
Harry: Evil
Ron: Bastard
~~~~~~~
“Hmm…” she tapped her chin in thought before writing:
Hermione: Artefacts?
When the paper crossed the table to Ron, he took it and furrowed his brows for a brief moment before scrawling his response and passing it to Harry. Harry in turn, brushed the quill across his chin in thought. Until then, Hermione hadn’t noticed that he was beginning to sprout little black hairs along his jaw. Then he turned the quill and scratched his response into the surface before returning it to her.
Ron: Safe
Harry: Hidden
Hermione quickly added her response and the trio continued their circuit until over an hour later, they realized that they had hardly gleaned any informatio from each other. The paper now read:
Harry: Professor
Ron: Classroom?
Harry: Dungeon
Ron: Potions
Harry: Evil
Ron: Bastard
~~~~~~~
Hermione: Artefacts?
Ron: Secret
Harry: Hidden
Hermione: Spy?
Ron: Unknown
Harry: Suspect
Hermione: Careful
Ron: Safe
Harry: Plan?
Hermione: Game?
Ron: Unfun
Harry: Word?
Hermione: No
R-Man: Bored
Master H: Me too
Hermione: Focus!… Dopplegangers
R-Man: Huh?
Master H: Cheater!
Hermione: Doubles!!!!!
R You Kidding Me: !
My Harry Chest: ?
Hermione: Murder!
R You Serious: Okay, Hermione, I really don’t want to play anymore
A Harry Situation: Yeah, I’m through too
Hermione: I’m not the one who started it
I Think U Should Ron: I never thought you’d find a way to suck all the fun out of it!
Harry Up Already: We’ll find another way.
Then with a flick of his wand, Harry burned the paper. As the ashes floated to the table, Mrs. Weasley, the last remaining person at the table with them, looked up from her copy of Witch Weekly to look at the cinders as they fell to the tabletop. Hermione glanced at Mrs. Weasley’s face and began to scold Harry when the matron interrupted, “Oh, now, don’t you worry about it!” The magazine fell to her lap and she waved with false nonchalance, “You three just go meet up with Ginny. She needs some Defense against the Dark Arts practice.”
Hermione followed Mrs. Weasley’s gaze to the pile of ash on the table and nodded acquiescently. Then, as she stood to leave she knocked her cup of milk across the tabletop so that it would wet the ashes. “Sorry, Mrs. Weasley.”
Mrs. Weasley flinched as though she wished she could have stopped the liquid from falling, and sighed, “No, that’s all right. I’ll get it. You kids go on upstairs.”
Without hesitation, Hermione, Harry, and Ron took the stairs two and three at a time. It looked like they would get an opportunity to be alone as they opened Hermione’s bedroom door and found her room empty. Ron took a seat on Hermione’s vanity bench, Harry sat on her bed, and Hermione began to pace restlessly. “Okay, so, how are we going to g—” she began, but Ginny bounded into the room, stopping her mid-sentence.
“Hermione, you haven’t seen Crookshank’s kitten’s yet, have you?”
“Crookshanks has kittens?” She turned to Harry and Ron with a shocked expression.
Ron answered, “Oh yeah, forgot to tell you.”
“Forgot to tell me!” She jumped up and quickly followed Ginny out of the room. Ron and Harry trailed the girls with a knowing look. Ginny had been sent.
An hour later, Hermione returned to the room, leading the other three. “What are we supposed to do with 22 quarter-kneazles?”
“Eat them.” Ron mumbled, making Harry snicker.
“Shut up, Ronald.”
“Uhm. We were thinking about letting them out into the wild actually…” Ginny admitted.
Hermione’s glare stopped her from continuing, but it was Ron who interrupted, “Who is ‘we’?”
Ginny looked at the three pairs of eyes that were focused on her face, “Uhm… the Order of the Phoenix.”
“You’re underage. You can’t be in the Order.” Harry reminded her.
“Yeah, so it’s not a ‘we’.” Ron added.
With a defiant rising of her chin Ginny protested, “I can, and I am! I was inducted as soon as you three got back.”
Ron shouted, “WHAT?”
Hermione grabbed Ron’s arm, “Ginny can you give us a moment please?”
She shook her head, “I am supposed to stay here.”
Harry looked hurt, “Ginny…”
“What?” She asked calmly, her face didn’t look concerned about Harry’s feelings in the least. “You don’t expect me to let you get away again, do you? You don’t expect me to sit here and wonder whether today is the day that the Prophet reports the deaths of Harry James Potter, Hermione Jean Granger, and Ronald Weasley, do you? While you three are running all over the kingdom, I am stuck here. I have to stand by and wait for the deaths of my closest friend, my boyfriend, and my favourite brother! Nobody has as much to lose as I do!”
There was silence so complete filling the room, that Hermione was sure she was not the only one that stopped breathing during Ginny’s confession.
Ron was the first to break that silence. “I’m your favourite brother?”
Ginny and Hermione exchanged a look, and Ginny’s eyes began to tear. Moving closer to her, Hermione took Ginny into her arms. Harry followed suit, and Ron too stepped closer. “Ginny, I’m touched and I don’t think that anyone considered just how effected you would be by our deaths.” Hermione began. “It was almost callous of us.”
“I love you so much, Ginny.” Harry added.
“But you have to understand,” Ron began, “we can’t just sit here, and even if we did, there would be a battle eventually and we could die there. We have the greater advantage outside of these walls. Besides, if there is a spy, this is absolutely the most dangerous place we could be.”
Ginny seemed to stiffen, “So, what are you saying? You know what this does to me—” she turned to Ron, “—to Mum! —And you still want to leave?”
Ron took her wand hand gently in his, “Yes, and, Ginny, have no doubt, whether we leave now or in the future, we will find a way.”
Ginny had always been a powerful witch. Her innate capabilities made most spells and curses stronger, but it was both a surprise and painful when Ginny shouted, “NO!” And the trio was blasted away from her. Harry hit the far wall and fell onto the bed, Hermione slammed into the door hard enough to knock the wind out of her and make brilliant stars pop up in her vision, and Ron flew threw the window, sending shards of glass everywhere.
Harry was the one with the softest landing and gathered his wits quick enough to deflect Ginny’s binding charm. Hermione raised her head only in time to see a bright red light beginning to erupt from Ginny’s wand and cringed out of the way. Harry immediately engaged Ginny with a shower of brilliant sparks erupting between them as she blocked his attack. Hermione, on the other hand, ran to the window, peered down into the garden, and saw Ron staggering from the bushes and pulling brambles from his hair.
“Ron, are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah… I’m fine!”
“Go to the first location! We’ll meet you there.”
Ron merely nodded and disapparated.
Hermione turned back to the fight, and surveyed the situation. Harry was taking it easy on her, but by the sounds of the door handle turning, and hurried voices on the other side of the door, Hermione knew that reinforcements were coming and that the only thing stopping them was the destruction of the closing mechanism that bent when she had been blasted into the door. Hermione raised her wand at Ginny’s back and whispered, “Stupefy.”
Ginny slumped to the ground in a silent heap.
“Harry!”
He ran to her without hesitation and she pointed outside, “The anti-apparition spell ends in the garden. We have to jump.”
“Okay.” He quickly stepped into the windowsill and dropped without hesitation.
She heard his soft thud in the bushes and climbed into the sill to follow. “Okay, I can do this, I can do this, I can do this…”
“Hermione!” Harry whispered urgently.
“I know! I will, just give me some time!”
Moody’s growl could be heard on the other side of the door, “Do you have a particular affinity for this door Andromeda?”
Andromeda Tonks? Hermione realized that she hadn’t yet met their hostess. What poor behaviour as house guests.
“Hermione, we don’t have any—”
The door flew off its hinges and blasted against the wall right next to her left arm. She turned in surprise and her eyes met those of Moody, Mrs. Weasley, McGonagall, and Andromeda Tonks, and before she could consciously make the decision, she was falling.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: I would like to welcome Lady Disdain and d to our reviewers’ clan! Thank you very much everyone, BUT THAT’S NOT ALL! I would also like to draw attention to the presence of lilmisblack among our reviewers. Those of you who have read all of the Author’s Notes will know that lilmisblack is one of my favourite authors on this site. You must all go and read and review her story, uh… Saving Your Life. It is a fantastic fic! And thank you, lilmisblack! I hope I haven’t embarrassed you.
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~~~~~~~~
Chapter 28—Mortuus Vita
“Reenervate!”
Hermione’s head was throbbing with an incredible pain.
“Reenervate!”
Who the hell was screaming like that?
“C’mon, Hermione! Reenervate!”
She was too exhausted to really care at the moment. She allowed sleep to overtake her again.
“—he’s dead. They won’t look for him.”
“Somehow or another the news will get back to him.”
“I know. Do you really think we have a spy?”
“It’s likely.”
“They’ve been trying to discuss it in Order meetings.”
“What?”
“I know, it’s stupid, isn’t it?”
Hermione didn’t know why Harry and Ginny were talking while she was sleeping, but she decided to keep her eyes closed in the hopes that they would leave.
“Do you think she’ll pass out again?”
“No.”
“You have to admit, it was kinda funny, all scariness of hitting her head aside.”
“Oh, I know! Fred and George just wouldn’t stop laughing, would they!
“What do you think she drew her wand for?”
“I was wondering the same thing.”
“Oh well, love, I’ll see you at dinner. M’mum’s gonna want my help soon.”
“I’ll help you set up.”
She waited for the door to click closed before sitting up and looking around the tiny room. A small calendar on the wall told her it was the twentieth of April. It was very relieving to know that she had only slept through the night. The previous night had been hectic, and they had lost several Order members. As though cued by that thought, the door opened and a tall slim redhead entered.
“Fred!… or… uh, Geor--” Hermione gasped.
“Fred. No worries.”
“Oh! For a second I thought…”
“Didn’t want you to pass out again, so Madam Pomfrey sent me to tell you what happened.” He paused for just a moment before continuing, “Ron’s alive.”
“I did see him then?” She asked cautiously.
“Yeah.”
She furrowed her brows in confusion, “But....” Her chest felt tight with the memory she was reviewing, “I saw him fall. We all saw the green light.”
“Ah… but we didn’t. None of us saw a green light. All of us saw a light that looked green because it was what we expected, given the outcome, or at least Madam Pomfrey says something like that. Harry’s aunt says the light was yellow.”
Hermione didn’t bother answering; she just waited for him to continue.
“When Madam Pomfrey arrived for the injured, she noticed that Ron hadn’t gone rigid after she was through with the others. She thinks it’s called Mortuus Vitae. The—”
“Living Death. Yes. I’ve heard of it. It’s a charm replacement f—”
“Yeah, whatever.” He interrupted, “Anyway, Harry reckons that Snape wanted Ron to die a horrible slow death of starvation or burning on the pyre or somethin’.”
Hermione merely hummed with thought, refusing to say any more.
“Are you ready to see him?”
“Of course!” She started toward the door, but Fred stopped her.
“There won’t be any more feinting, will there, ‘cause you nearly cramped my stomach last time. I can’t be laughin’ like that again.”
“You’re mad!” She laughed and rushed to the door, behind which Ron stood. For just a second they stared at each other until Herrmione lunged forward and threw her arms around his neck. Warm tears cascaded down her cheeks and wet his shoulder through the woolly sweater he wore. That emotion was entirely unexpected, but she let the tears fall freely.
“Geroff, Hermione.” He murmured and she backed away just enough to see his face, and jumped with surprise when his lips covered hers.
The kiss was not quite as wonderful as she had once thought it would be, but it still felt welcome somehow. A significant part of her still mourned the separation from Snape, and it was that part of her that pushed him gently away. She immediately put on a brave face and chipper voice for his benefit and cleared her throat. “Where is this?”
Ron paused, obviously wanting to take her back into his arms, but refrained. Instead, he turned and said, “Tonks House.” Ron answered, “You haven’t met Mr. and Mrs. Tonks yet. They’ve been a part of the Order for ages, but apparently they were on some sort of reserve status. Just in case.”
Hermione furrowed her brows in thought and began to walk down the hall. Ron followed closely, and she asked, “When is the next order meeting?”
“We’ve been having meetings almost every day.”
“I see.” She said thoughtfully. As she entered the dining room, the large number of people milling around caught her by surprise and she quickly closed her mouth.
“Hermione!” Mrs. Weasley cried out and rushed to hug her tightly. “We were a bit worried about you.”
“Thank you for taking such good care of us, Mrs. Weasley.” Harry said softly
“Of course, my dears. We will always be there for you.” By the tight squeeze that Mrs. Weasley gave Hermione, it was quite obvious that she had no intention of letting the three of them leave again.
Ron and Harry too had noticed signs of watchfulness. His mother and McGonagall had taken to whispering fervently, only to stop when he and Harry entered the room. Fred and George, who used to be only interested in their own dangerous pursuits, now followed Harry and Ron from room to room. Then Ginny had often come to be encouraged by her mother to pull Harry away when the two spoke in conspiratorial undertones at the kitchen table. Ginny was obviously much too happy to do so, and used the opportunity to push her mother’s request to its limits. Already, the young couple had been caught snogging in almost every room of the house, and Ginny had gotten a pretty stern talking to when she had been caught with one shoe off and Harry choked on his food across the table after making a series of faces that poorly disguised their interaction. Now that Hermione had woken, they both doubted that any of them would receive any peace.
The meal was not unlike every meal that Mrs. Weasley had cooked for them in the past, but the trio moaned over their plates with true appreciation. Hermione’s cooking just couldn’t compare, and Ron made that fact very clear over a full mouth of food. “This is delicious, isn’t it, Hermione!”
“Very.” She answered happily.
Ron cleared his throat and slid a quill and parchment to Harry. Opening and reading Ron’s untidy scrawl, Harry smiled and added something to the page. Hermione looked up as Ron read and wrote a response before passing the note back to Harry once more. They were being completely obvious and she wondered what they were up to.
Suddenly, Mrs. Weasley’s hand reached down and snatched the paper from them.
“Mom!” Ron complained.
“What is this?” She asked as she held it up to read. Mrs. Weasley’s eyes moved across the few lines they had written, and Hermione tried to decipher their facial expressions. Surely they weren’t writing anything secret! She mumbled the words as she read over it a second time before finally turning back to the boys, “What is this?” she repeated.
“It’s just a game, Mum!”
“I was telling Ron about the muggle psychologists… how they do word association things.” Harry explained.
“Word associations?” she asked.
“Yeah, we were just trying it out.” Harry replied.
She narrowed her eyes again. “It’s a muggle thing?”
“Yes, Mum.” Ron said with exasperation.
She placed the paper down as though she still didn’t quite believe them. “Language, Ronald.” She warned. As soon as her hands were lifted, Ron snatched the paper up and drew a line to start from.
“Hey, Hermione! Get in on this round!” He demanded and slid the parchment and quill across the table to her.
“Just add a similar word?” She asked as she unfolded the page with one hand, but before they could even answer, she understood what they were doing. Harry had begun, and alternated with Ron:
Harry: Professor
Ron: Classroom?
Harry: Dungeon
Ron: Potions
Harry: Evil
Ron: Bastard
~~~~~~~
“Hmm…” she tapped her chin in thought before writing:
Hermione: Artefacts?
When the paper crossed the table to Ron, he took it and furrowed his brows for a brief moment before scrawling his response and passing it to Harry. Harry in turn, brushed the quill across his chin in thought. Until then, Hermione hadn’t noticed that he was beginning to sprout little black hairs along his jaw. Then he turned the quill and scratched his response into the surface before returning it to her.
Ron: Safe
Harry: Hidden
Hermione quickly added her response and the trio continued their circuit until over an hour later, they realized that they had hardly gleaned any informatio from each other. The paper now read:
Harry: Professor
Ron: Classroom?
Harry: Dungeon
Ron: Potions
Harry: Evil
Ron: Bastard
~~~~~~~
Hermione: Artefacts?
Ron: Secret
Harry: Hidden
Hermione: Spy?
Ron: Unknown
Harry: Suspect
Hermione: Careful
Ron: Safe
Harry: Plan?
Hermione: Game?
Ron: Unfun
Harry: Word?
Hermione: No
R-Man: Bored
Master H: Me too
Hermione: Focus!… Dopplegangers
R-Man: Huh?
Master H: Cheater!
Hermione: Doubles!!!!!
R You Kidding Me: !
My Harry Chest: ?
Hermione: Murder!
R You Serious: Okay, Hermione, I really don’t want to play anymore
A Harry Situation: Yeah, I’m through too
Hermione: I’m not the one who started it
I Think U Should Ron: I never thought you’d find a way to suck all the fun out of it!
Harry Up Already: We’ll find another way.
Then with a flick of his wand, Harry burned the paper. As the ashes floated to the table, Mrs. Weasley, the last remaining person at the table with them, looked up from her copy of Witch Weekly to look at the cinders as they fell to the tabletop. Hermione glanced at Mrs. Weasley’s face and began to scold Harry when the matron interrupted, “Oh, now, don’t you worry about it!” The magazine fell to her lap and she waved with false nonchalance, “You three just go meet up with Ginny. She needs some Defense against the Dark Arts practice.”
Hermione followed Mrs. Weasley’s gaze to the pile of ash on the table and nodded acquiescently. Then, as she stood to leave she knocked her cup of milk across the tabletop so that it would wet the ashes. “Sorry, Mrs. Weasley.”
Mrs. Weasley flinched as though she wished she could have stopped the liquid from falling, and sighed, “No, that’s all right. I’ll get it. You kids go on upstairs.”
Without hesitation, Hermione, Harry, and Ron took the stairs two and three at a time. It looked like they would get an opportunity to be alone as they opened Hermione’s bedroom door and found her room empty. Ron took a seat on Hermione’s vanity bench, Harry sat on her bed, and Hermione began to pace restlessly. “Okay, so, how are we going to g—” she began, but Ginny bounded into the room, stopping her mid-sentence.
“Hermione, you haven’t seen Crookshank’s kitten’s yet, have you?”
“Crookshanks has kittens?” She turned to Harry and Ron with a shocked expression.
Ron answered, “Oh yeah, forgot to tell you.”
“Forgot to tell me!” She jumped up and quickly followed Ginny out of the room. Ron and Harry trailed the girls with a knowing look. Ginny had been sent.
An hour later, Hermione returned to the room, leading the other three. “What are we supposed to do with 22 quarter-kneazles?”
“Eat them.” Ron mumbled, making Harry snicker.
“Shut up, Ronald.”
“Uhm. We were thinking about letting them out into the wild actually…” Ginny admitted.
Hermione’s glare stopped her from continuing, but it was Ron who interrupted, “Who is ‘we’?”
Ginny looked at the three pairs of eyes that were focused on her face, “Uhm… the Order of the Phoenix.”
“You’re underage. You can’t be in the Order.” Harry reminded her.
“Yeah, so it’s not a ‘we’.” Ron added.
With a defiant rising of her chin Ginny protested, “I can, and I am! I was inducted as soon as you three got back.”
Ron shouted, “WHAT?”
Hermione grabbed Ron’s arm, “Ginny can you give us a moment please?”
She shook her head, “I am supposed to stay here.”
Harry looked hurt, “Ginny…”
“What?” She asked calmly, her face didn’t look concerned about Harry’s feelings in the least. “You don’t expect me to let you get away again, do you? You don’t expect me to sit here and wonder whether today is the day that the Prophet reports the deaths of Harry James Potter, Hermione Jean Granger, and Ronald Weasley, do you? While you three are running all over the kingdom, I am stuck here. I have to stand by and wait for the deaths of my closest friend, my boyfriend, and my favourite brother! Nobody has as much to lose as I do!”
There was silence so complete filling the room, that Hermione was sure she was not the only one that stopped breathing during Ginny’s confession.
Ron was the first to break that silence. “I’m your favourite brother?”
Ginny and Hermione exchanged a look, and Ginny’s eyes began to tear. Moving closer to her, Hermione took Ginny into her arms. Harry followed suit, and Ron too stepped closer. “Ginny, I’m touched and I don’t think that anyone considered just how effected you would be by our deaths.” Hermione began. “It was almost callous of us.”
“I love you so much, Ginny.” Harry added.
“But you have to understand,” Ron began, “we can’t just sit here, and even if we did, there would be a battle eventually and we could die there. We have the greater advantage outside of these walls. Besides, if there is a spy, this is absolutely the most dangerous place we could be.”
Ginny seemed to stiffen, “So, what are you saying? You know what this does to me—” she turned to Ron, “—to Mum! —And you still want to leave?”
Ron took her wand hand gently in his, “Yes, and, Ginny, have no doubt, whether we leave now or in the future, we will find a way.”
Ginny had always been a powerful witch. Her innate capabilities made most spells and curses stronger, but it was both a surprise and painful when Ginny shouted, “NO!” And the trio was blasted away from her. Harry hit the far wall and fell onto the bed, Hermione slammed into the door hard enough to knock the wind out of her and make brilliant stars pop up in her vision, and Ron flew threw the window, sending shards of glass everywhere.
Harry was the one with the softest landing and gathered his wits quick enough to deflect Ginny’s binding charm. Hermione raised her head only in time to see a bright red light beginning to erupt from Ginny’s wand and cringed out of the way. Harry immediately engaged Ginny with a shower of brilliant sparks erupting between them as she blocked his attack. Hermione, on the other hand, ran to the window, peered down into the garden, and saw Ron staggering from the bushes and pulling brambles from his hair.
“Ron, are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah… I’m fine!”
“Go to the first location! We’ll meet you there.”
Ron merely nodded and disapparated.
Hermione turned back to the fight, and surveyed the situation. Harry was taking it easy on her, but by the sounds of the door handle turning, and hurried voices on the other side of the door, Hermione knew that reinforcements were coming and that the only thing stopping them was the destruction of the closing mechanism that bent when she had been blasted into the door. Hermione raised her wand at Ginny’s back and whispered, “Stupefy.”
Ginny slumped to the ground in a silent heap.
“Harry!”
He ran to her without hesitation and she pointed outside, “The anti-apparition spell ends in the garden. We have to jump.”
“Okay.” He quickly stepped into the windowsill and dropped without hesitation.
She heard his soft thud in the bushes and climbed into the sill to follow. “Okay, I can do this, I can do this, I can do this…”
“Hermione!” Harry whispered urgently.
“I know! I will, just give me some time!”
Moody’s growl could be heard on the other side of the door, “Do you have a particular affinity for this door Andromeda?”
Andromeda Tonks? Hermione realized that she hadn’t yet met their hostess. What poor behaviour as house guests.
“Hermione, we don’t have any—”
The door flew off its hinges and blasted against the wall right next to her left arm. She turned in surprise and her eyes met those of Moody, Mrs. Weasley, McGonagall, and Andromeda Tonks, and before she could consciously make the decision, she was falling.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: I would like to welcome Lady Disdain and d to our reviewers’ clan! Thank you very much everyone, BUT THAT’S NOT ALL! I would also like to draw attention to the presence of lilmisblack among our reviewers. Those of you who have read all of the Author’s Notes will know that lilmisblack is one of my favourite authors on this site. You must all go and read and review her story, uh… Saving Your Life. It is a fantastic fic! And thank you, lilmisblack! I hope I haven’t embarrassed you.
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