The Sound Of Silence

Steph opened her eyes and looked around. She was home, in her bed! She jumped up and ran to Mommy\'s room. She jumped on the bed and grinned widely when Hermione threw back the covers, \"You\'re back!\" Steph nodded and crawled under the covers with her.

Hermione hugged her tightly and kissed her head, \"I was a little worried when I first found you missing. Then, the memories started and I knew you were just fine. To answer the question I know you\'re going to ask, no. The boy in Ravenclaw that I had a crush on then is not your Father.\" Steph leaned up and signed.

Hermione shook her head, \"Honey, listen. There are tny pny problems for me in the Wizarding World. That\'s why I left. To many people have hurt feelings and I just can\'t go back.\" Steph frowned, her eyes plead with Mommy. \"Honey, the people you met aren\'t going to be the same. That was before the war. Remember me telling you about Voldemort?\" Steph nodded. \"Professor Snape used to work for him. He did it to help the Order of the Phoenix. He was a spy. He was hurt badly during the war. It took him almost a year to recover. Things like that change people. He\'s not going to be the same man you met.\"

Steph frowned and signed \"I don\'t care. I want to go visit. I want to go to school at Hogwarts.\" Hermione sighed, \"Honey, Hogwarts tuition is very expensive. I don\'t know if I can afford it.\" Steph\'s face fell and tears threatened to fall. She lay back against the pillows and then signed \"Can we at least visit? Please?\"

Hermione frowned, \"You\'re not going to give up on this are you?\" Steph shook her head and signed \"Gryffinor stubbornness.\" Hermione chuckled, \"Fine. Fine. We\'ll go visit on your next holiday.\" Steph grinned and hugged her Mommy tightly.

***

Holiday couldn\'t come soon enough for Steph. Her calendar counted down the days. Finally, the break came. Hermione was true to her word. She arranged to take time off work to visit. Steph had her bags packed and waited while Hermione shrunk them to fit her pockets. She had transfigured one of her cloaks to fit Steph. When everything was ready, Hermione took Steph\'s hand, \"This is going to disorient you. Just hold on tight.\" Steph nodded and hugged her. They disapperated.

Steph held onto Mom tightly. When the world stopped spinning, she opened her eyes. She couldn\'t believe it! There were people everywhere. She looked at her Mom and then ran to the closest window. There were books, thousands of books. She watched as the authors and pictures on the covers moved around. She motioned for Mommy to come look.

Hermione laughed as she walked up, \"I see honey, I see. Let\'s get going. We need to find a room for our stay. We\'ll come back. I promise.\" Steph took one last look and then followed her down the street. Her eyes didn\'t stop moving as they walked, amazed with everything. They passed Weasley\'s Wizard Wheezes. Hermione slowed. She looked at the shop door and worried her bottom lip with her teeth. She shook her head and kept walking.

***

Inside the shop, George stopped stocking the shelf and stared out the window, \"Fred. Come here a second.\"

Fred came out of the back room, \"Yeah mate?\"

George walked over anenedened the door and looked out, \"You make think I\'m losing my marbles, but I\'d swear I saw Hermione walk by.\"

Fred rolled his eyes, \"Honestly, you must be losing it mate. \'Mione wouldn\'t come to Hogsmeade without stopping in. She might not be fond of our git of a brother Ron, but we\'re still friends.\"

George shrugged, \"You\'re right mate.\" They went back to work.

***

Steph sat looking out the window of their room. She could see Hogwarts across the lake. She looked at Mommy and signed. Hermione smiled, \"We\'ll try to go for a visit tomorrow. Promise.\" Steph nodded and turned back to the window.

Hermione kept unpacking and glancing at Steph. She knew her baby girl was excited but she really didn\'t know the whole story. Hermione bit her lip and thought back. It was a stupid fight with the boys. It shouldn\'t have caused a rift between them. She sighed. It had been eleven years since that night. Not one letter or anything. They didn\'t even know about Steph. She turned away from the closet, \"All right. I\'m ready.\"

***

Steph drug Hermione all along the street. They visited every shop at least once. The closer they go to the Weasley\'s shop, the more nervous Hermione got. Finally they came to the door. She stopped and looked at the front. Steph pulled her hand and frowned at her. With a pasted on smile, Hermione followed her into the shop.

Fred heard the door open and came out of the storeroom. He smiled at the young girl who was looking at the jokes. She could be a first year at Hogwarts. He stepped around the counter, \"Can I help you?\" Steph looked at him and shook her head. He smiled, \"Are you a student at Hogwarts?\" She shook her head. Fred nodded, \"All right. If you need anything just come find me or my brother. You\'ll know him when you see him. He looks just like me.\" Steph smiled.

Hermione was hiding in the corner of the shop. She hated to hide from Fred and George but she didn\'t want to explain everything to them. She hoped Steph would hurry. It was bad enough she had to visit Hogwarts tomorrow. She shook her head at the questions she knew she would be asked. Her old professors would be bad enough. She didn\'t want to be questioned by the brothers Weasley.

As she was looking out the window, George walked up behind her, \"Hello. Can I help you Miss?\"

Hermione started and then turned around. \"No thank you George. I\'m just waiting on someone.\"

George blinked a few times and then wiped at his eyes. He reached out and lightly touched her shoulder, \"Hermione? Is that really you?\"

She grinned, \"As far as I know, yeah, it\'s me.\"

He grinned and hugged her tightly. \"Fred! Fred, mate. Come here!\" Fred walked around the corner. George pulled away from the hug, \"I told you I wasn\'t losing my marbles. It was Hermione I saw this morning.\"

Fred looked shocked and then pulled her into a hug. \"What are you doing here? When did you get here? What haven\'t you been to visit or at least sent an owl? Mum\'s been asking about you forever!\"

Hermione grinned. \"Well, I\'ve been a little busy guys.\" She motioned Steph to join the. She put her arm around her and smiled. \"Stephanie, this is Fred and George Weasley. Fred, George, I\'d like you to meet Stephanie Jade. Guys, say hello to my daughter.\"

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Sorry for the cliffhanger. Hope you\'re still enjoying it. More next week!