Of Days and Ends

A/N: Chapter 33—Return to Order



Hermione prepared to apparate back to the Tonks Family home with dread. She was extremely worried that they would lock her away in the highest room on the property. They could even turn her away, she reminded herself. Then what would they do. Hermione needed to get information for Snape, and she also needed to make the separating potion for Ron and Harry.



She made sure to apparate onto the front porch and took a slow, steadying breath before knocking. There was a faint murmur of voices on the other side. She had obviously taken them by surprise.



Moments later, a man’s voice called, “Oo’s there?”



“Hermione.” She returned, “Hermione Granger.”



There was a moment of silence before the voice asked, “Alone?”



“Yes.”



“Ye’ll answer this question if y’be our ‘Ermione. What birthmark do our ‘Ermione got?”



“That’s a stupid question.” She responded. “Were I attacked by Death Eaters they may have already seen any marks on me.”



There was a brief scuffle at the door, and then McGonagall’s distinctive voice called, “In what year did you have the time-turner I gave you?”



“Third year, and… I never gave it back.”



McGonagall opened the door, and Hermione entered. “I’m sorry, Professor. I knew you likely wouldn’t check to see if the one I gave you was real or not. I just thought that maybe it would come in handy to Harry, Ron, and me.”



“Don’t trouble yourself about it dear.” She embraced Hermione tightly. “Welcome home.”



Mrs. Weasley had bustled to the door and was looking out at the empty front yard. “Where’s Ronald and Harry?”



“I—” Hermione hesitated only briefly, “I left them behind. I came back, because they sent me.”



“With news?” Lupin asked, joining the small welcoming party in the tiny entrance hall. Just over his shoulder, Tonks stood watching from the first step.



“No, I…uhm… I don’t know any other way to go about this other than directly.” She took a deep breath and felt her insides clench in anticipation. “I am pregnant.”



Every jaw dropped, excluding McGonagall’s, though her eyes did widen in surprise. She stammered for a moment in surprise before getting a grip on her faculties and asking, “How far along?”



“Nine weeks.” Hermione whispered.



“Who’s the father?” Mrs. Weasley blurted, and though Hermione squirmed, everyone else’s curiosity was too intense to trouble with propriety.



“I can’t say.” She declared in a very finalizing manner, glaring at the gathered Order members one by one. She wanted it to be very clear that she would not discuss it. As her eyes moved, however, they caught Ginny’s pained expression, and Hermione didn’t have the heart to keep her wondering. As pronounced as she dared, she gave her friend a minute shake of the head. Unfortunately, Mrs. Weasley didn’t miss it.



“My grandchild!” She exclaimed breathlessly, and Hermione exhaled with exasperation.



“I didn’t say that!”



“But who else…? You were alone with two boys.”



“We came across others.” She lied.



“Who?”



“I said I wouldn’t—”



“Even so,” interrupted Tonks, “We all know you were involved with Ron.”



“I—” she began then hesitated, “I won’t tell you who the father was, sorry.”



“I think we have a right to know wh—”



“She needs to see Madame Pomfrey.” An unfamiliar voice rang out.



“Petunia…” Mr. Dursley warned his wife, but she ignored him.



“Have you been seen by a doctor yet?”



“No, Madame Dursley, I haven’t had that luxury.”



Dudley sat nearby. His torso twisted to look over his shoulder and his piggy eyes swivelling nervously back and forth between his mother and Hermione.



“Dudders, do be a good boy and help her to Madame Pomfrey’s office.”



“Thank you Madame Dursley, but I don’t need—”



“Dudders.” She ignored Hermione’s protests.



Dudley stood and waddled over to Hermione, “Are you okay?”



“I’m just fine.” She confirmed, and Professor McGonagall stepped out of the way to let them pass.



“We will hold an Order meeting in two hours, Hermione. You will have to answer questions then.”



She ignored them and entered Madame Pomfrey’s new office where she stood aside at the door to let them enter. It was apparently a spare bedroom turned hospital, and Hermione crossed to the bed and sat. Dudley courteously closed the door.



Two hours later, having completed the exam, Madame Pomfrey was growing tired of a very extensive discussion about pregnancy. Hermione had never been a student of hers, so she wasn’t used to the young witch’s inquisitive nature. At one point, the matronly medi-witch actually stopped her mid-question. “Hermione, you have to tell somebody who the father is.”



“No, I don’t.”



Madame Pomfrey sighed. She was going to have to be very cunning about this. “What were the circumstances surrounding your child’s conception?”



“I wasn’t raped, if that’s what you want to know.”



“That isn’t what I want to know.”



Hermione contemplated her for a very long moment. “I have known my child’s father since I was 12 years old.”



“You met him at Hogwarts?”



Hermione stood, feeling exhausted. Sleep seemed to be an excellent idea right about now. Out in the hallway the thump of Crookshanks and three of his kittens playing against the wall made her jump. Turning back to Madame Pomfrey, Hermione politely reminded the medi-witch about the Order meeting and excused herself. She opened the door and turned the corner, nearly bumping into Ginny.



“Hermione!”



“Sent to get me?”



“Uh, yeah. Yeah, pretty much.”



The two girls walked down the hallway, and Ginny paused at the closed door. “Thanks for telling me.”



“Telling you what?”



“That it wasn’t Harry. I felt like my heart had been ripped from my chest for a second.”



Hermione surveyed her good friend and turned to the door to open it. Ginny’s pale hand covered hers on the door handle for a moment. “You were telling the truth, right?”



“Yes.” She said and disappeared into the meeting room.



The meeting had been long and tedious as the Order questioned her in every possible way. It wasn’t the best tactic, but they had tried. She gave them credit for the significant impromptu effort that went into her interrogation.



When their questions began to wind down, her ring began to warm, and quickly became hot. She carefully removed the ring from her finger under the guise of massaging her neck with both hands, but found herself unable to find an opportunity to read it. The minutes ticked by, and Kingsley repeated an earlier question. She didn’t know how to extricate herself.



Eventually, Madame Petunia, who had not been admitted to the Order and was not needed for these meetings, knocked softly on the door as the sun began to set outside the small cottage windows. Hermione had been moved to the centre of the room where the meeting was taking place and brightened at the sound of the knock.



Hermione stood and used her wand to open the door. “Hermione,” Ms. Dursley said softly. “I believe there is someone here for you.”



Hermione’s eyebrows raised and as she rose and went to the door, the Order followed close behind. Ms. Dursley held out a note for Hermione’s perusal.



Hermione,



Come outside and find me.



H.B.P



Hermione recognized the spiky scrawl immediately, and burned the letter before anyone else had the chance to see it. Turning back to the Order, Hermione said, “I’ll be right back.” And walked out the door.



“Where are you going?” Headmistress McGonagall interrupted.



“I’ve been summoned.”



“By who?” Ted Tonks asked.



Hermione sighed, “Listen, there will be a lot of secrets that I must keep from you. For Harry and Ron’s sake, please…” She continued down the steps.



Moody interrupted the silence of the cool night. “Hermione! Constant Vigilance!”



She didn’t respond, but simply continued down the stairs. She continued onto the lawn and looked around the garden when she heard something stir in the bushes by the side of their shed. “Muffliato!” She whispered to the night.



As she rounded the corner, the gleaming reflection of the moonlight on shiny black scales made her shiver. Snape’s long, reptilian, animagus form was curled in the bushes.



After staring at him for a few seconds, she whispered, “Transform.”



The large snake raised its head and shook it first left then right.



Hermione stared for a couple more seconds before having a sudden stroke of genius. Muttering several long, complicated words, she began sweeping her wand around them in a wide circle that began to pour forth a thick fog. Snape rose up as though into a striking pose, his vast silver and black hood fully opened as he hissed at the cloud that began to surround them whipping his tail smoothly out of the way. Hermione smiled at the visual barricade she had created. “You can transform now. Anyone that tries to come through will simply walk out the other side without so much as crossing through the… eye of this circle.”



Snape’s beady, lidless eyes bore into hers for a moment before he transformed. His vast teaching robes fluttered in the bit of wind that was trapped within the circle and continued to swoosh gently by. Hermione beamed with pride, but Snape rolled his eyes. “Did you test that spell before you used it?”



“No, but I suspect that it’ll be a simple breeze charm to blow the smoke away.”



“Uh-huh…” He replied with a shake of his head, feeling the breeze under his cloak that was unable to escape. He didn’t want to argue with her. “Any news?”



“Everyone’s a suspect, Severus. You expected me to come up with the spy in less than half a day?”



“Of course not.” He looked her over with an expression that was unreadable until he let slip a face of relief. Just as quickly as she recognized it, it was gone.



She refrained from commenting on it. “So, er… You, er…” She reached into her pocket and pulled out the ring, which was hot enough to make her juggle it back and forth. “What did you write?”



“Oh, I just… wanted to know if they were trying to poison you yet.”



“No, no… they know better than to risk it, especially considering the pregnancy.” She read his familiar spiky script on the scales of the snake: “Are you well?”



Snape’s eyebrows rose. “You mean, you’ve told them already?”



“Er… yeah. Thanks by the way, I never would have gotten out of that Order interrogation any other way.”



“Interrogation?”



“That’s what it seemed like.”



Snape hummed, and pulled her into his arms in a sort of absent-minded, comforting hug. She knew better than to tell him how good it felt, though she wanted so badly to do much more. He kissed her temple, and whispered, “Visit soon.”



“I’ll visit often.”



“Thank you.” He stepped away from her. “Now, figure this spell out.” He crossed his arms and set his face in a very characteristic professorial scowl.



She tried the breeze charm and only succeeded in creating a wind-tunnel. Snape tried to give her advice, but his words were swallowed by the rushing wind. He watched her gesturing, and rolled his eyes before simply apparating away.



Hermione watched with interest as the tunnel shrunk to fit her and compensate for Severus’ absence. She apparated just outside of the smoky tunnel and watched with a rapt, academic interest as it collapsed in upon itself. A final bright burst of light sealed its disappearance.



Turning back to the house, Hermione was surprised to see that no one from the Order followed her out onto the lawn. Instead, they waited for her to approach.



“Thank you for that moment. The father of my child wanted to be sure I was… well, settled in.”



The Order seemed to accept the explanation she gave without any immediate questions before beginning to disburse and Hermione watched as they parted one by one, and Ginny led her to the room they would share.



“Thanks, Gin.” Hermione said as she flopped onto the stiff mattress.



“Yeah, just be careful, Hermione. You’ve changed a lot and—”



“I know, I know. People are going to have a hard time coming to grips with the way I am now, but it’s hard to have experienced what I have and not change.”



“I know that.” Ginny said with a large, open-mouthed yawn.



“Thank you.” Hermione replied. “Goodnight, Ginny.”



“Goodnight.”



When a wave of Ginny’s wand snuffed out the lights in the room, Hermione tapped her wand to her ring and thought, Home?



Snape’s reply came a moment later. Spinner’s End.



Her heart began to race with anxiety, because he was very near the mercurial Voldemort. She wanted to know if he was alright or if he would need her at his ancestral home to mend wounds, but she couldn’t risk it. If Voldemort found out… She expected to be awake all night with worry, but instead, she dropped off to sleep within seconds. She had a long, exhausting day.



Her last thought was about the nine weeks she had already accrued and the 33 weeks left in her sentence. She shook her head. It wasn’t a punishment. It wasn’t a sentence. Yet, 33 weeks was still a long time. 33 weeks is eight and a quarter months and that’s 231 days, or even …5,544 hours which is about… approximately… four, carry the two… six, carry the two… 32, carry the three… 30 plus the three, that’s 33, so that’s… that’s …that’s…



~~~~~~~~~~~

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