Hermione's New World

AN: I know I¡¦ve made a couple of little inconsistencies in the storyline¡Kbut I¡¦m sure there can still be a rational explanation for each of them ƒº For instance, Hermione seemed a bit surprised when Sev told her about an apprenticeship, yet I mentioned she knew of one at the beginning. I¡¦ll let you use your own imagination on that one.


From last time:

Immediately she was thrust into a chorus of ¡§Hermione!¡¨ as the twins engulfed her into another hug. It was only a split second later that she heard someone say:

¡§Hermione! You haven¡¦t met Charlie yet!¡¨

Suddenly the Weasley crowd opened to reveal the only Weasley she hadn¡¦t met. Her own honey-colored eyes froze as they met the eyes of Charlie Weasley.


Chapter 7: Surprise?

Charlie¡¦s eyes widened, as did the pair that was staring straight at him. His brothers had pushed him from the back to meet his youngest brother¡¦s best friend, Hermione Granger. To say he was shocked would be an understatement.

He watched as she finally blinked, seeming to regain some composure. She held out her hand. ¡§It¡¦s a pleasure to finally meet you, Charlie.¡¨

Only Ginny heard the slight wavering in her voice. She looked over to her brother, who also seemed nervous. Their hands met as if for the first time, but Ginny¡¦s eyes narrowed as she detected a slight familiarity in their touch. Something was off, here, but she would have to wait until she and Hermione were alone to find out. She didn¡¦t dare want to approach Charlie, he would never confide in her. She happened to glance at her other oldest brother, Bill ¡V the brother she was closest to. He, too, seemed to be noticing something about the way Hermione and Charlie briefly stared at each other.

All too quickly it was over. The others never had a chance to notice as the twins immediately pounced on Hermione.

¡§Hey, Hermione? Why is Professor Snape with you?¡¨ Fred asked, while George was quick to wonder ¡§How many books did you bring with you? We¡¦ve a bet here going¡K¡¨

It was then that the shrill voice of Fleur, who had been napping, came down the stairs. ¡§Eez dat you, HermionEE?¡¨ She asked as she pushed through the others to give Hermione two quick kisses on either cheek, but not actually touching. Hermione rolled her eyes as the veela woman lightly embraced her. (a/n: I will not attempt the French accent in writing anymore¡KI suck at eet. Please pretend from now on to hear Fleur¡¦s French accent through my words)

¡§Oh, Hermione¡Kwhat have you done to your hair? Tis not as bushy anymore. Did you use the charm I taught you last summer? Of course, looks like you still need some help but your hair ees not¡Knot so¡Ker, what is the English word? Oh, no matter. We shall make eet better in no time.¡¨

Ginny snorted, while Charlie scowled at the nerve of his sister-in-law.

It was Ron that spoke up next. ¡§Let me take your bags to Ginny¡¦s room, Mione.¡¨ He said affectionately. Hermione blushed as she allowed Ron to lead her upstairs, Ginny and Harry in tow. She was relieved to leave the scene immediately, especially since breathing had become more difficult ¡V if not impossible.

Meanwhile, the twins convinced Charlie and Bill to a game of Quiditch outside. ¡§Whoever wins can have the first pick when we get Harry, Ginny, and Ron to play.¡¨ Fred suggested.

¡§What about Hermione?¡¨ Charlie asked hesitantly. His mind was still whirling with the discovery that the woman he fell in love with is none-other than Hermione Granger, best friend and infatuation of his youngest brothers.

George laughed. ¡§Even if she got ambushed to play, she would still be last pick. The poor girl hates brooms ¡V and they don¡¦t seem to be fond of her, either.¡¨

¡§Yeah, luck is that she is quick with the wand.¡¨ Fred added. ¡§Otherwise we would have had to have mom stitch her up a half dozen times from nearly falling.¡¨

Charlie to block an image of Hermione falling off the broom. He hoped no one would force her to play. Perhaps he would skip the game later, then the teams would be even. Yes, that was it. Let her get settled in first, then try and talk to her. No one would get suspicious if he talked to her alone. They could always say they were just trying to get to know one another.

He felt an elbow nudge him. Looking up he realized they were already in the broom shed. Fred and George were already walking out to the pitch in the Weasley¡¦s backyard, still yacking with each other. He turned to face Bill.

Bill wasn¡¦t stupid, yet he was hesitant to bring up the idea that was spinning in his head. His brother met a girl at Cambridge. A girl who liked books. A recent conversation he had hardly paid attention to in his mind came back to him. His father had mentioned it, when telling of Hermione joining the Order, that her first assignment was research at a university. Had he said Cambridge?

¡§It¡¦s her, isn¡¦t it¡KHermione is the girl you met.¡¨

Charlie nodded. ¡§Bill, what am I going to do? Ron is crazy about her! And¡Kand she¡¦s still in school! She lied to me! She said she was of age!¡¨

Bill chuckled. ¡§I¡¦m sure you both lied about your identities¡Kyou were supposed to. But don¡¦t fault her on the age issue. She wouldn¡¦t falsely lead you on about something like that without a good explanation. Besides, she¡¦s very mature for her age¡Keven when I first met her I felt like she like she was a peer rather than a budding adolescent.¡¨

Charlie sighed, running his hand through his hair. ¡§Then I¡¦ll wait and talk to her later. I¡¦m sure Ron won¡¦t let me go near her until he¡¦s had time with her.¡¨

Bill smirked. ¡§And don¡¦t worry about that, either. Ginny told me she¡¦s never liked him that way¡Kmaybe they once shared a crush but that was back in their third or fourth year.¡¨

Charlie seemed relieved as the two made their way out onto the field. Yet his own mind was wondering what Professor Snape was doing at the Burrow¡Kand why had he come with Hermione?

Meanwhile, upstairs in the Burrow¡K

Ginny shooed the boys away as Hermione began unpacking for the next few days. After closing and locking the door, she went over to help Hermione. ¡§Any toiletries to put in the bathroom? Perhaps some anti-fleur¡¦s charm-shampoo?¡¨ The girls shared a bathroom with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, whereas the boys had a separate bathroom of their own. ¡§You know, she¡¦s still upset with me for making her share the bathroom with the boys. Theirs is an absolute nightmare!¡¨

Hermione smiled, then let out a giggle. ¡§I suppose that is the justice you have given to her for having flirted with the guys for the past several years.¡¨

Ginny gave her own Weasley smirk. ¡§Serves her right. Especially since she still treats me like a ten-year old. I don¡¦t even want to discuss the ghastly present she gave me during the holidays.¡¨

¡§What was it?¡¨

¡§Something muggle called a Barb doll.¡¨ Ginny replied as she took Hermione¡¦s toiletries to the bathroom.

¡§You mean a Barbie doll?¡¨

¡§I guess. It¡¦s supposed to be a collector¡¦s thing from the 1950¡¦s. Like that¡¦s ancient, or something!¡¨

Hermione laughed as she walked over to the closet to hang some of her clothes. ¡§Actually, you might want me to take a look at it. Some of them are worth hundreds¡Keven thousands of pounds.¡¨

Ginny¡¦s eyes brightened. ¡§Really? I guess I might have to start liking my one and only sister-in-law after all. But that can wait. Enough talk about her, though¡Kwhat about you and Charlie?¡¨

Hermione froze. She was not prepared for questions yet. Had she or Charlie been that obvious? As if detecting her fear, Ginny quickly added. ¡§Oh, don¡¦t worry about anybody else noticing.¡¨ She decided not to mention Bill for the moment. ¡§I just saw the way you briefly looked at each other. And when you shook his hand¡Kit was if you already felt comfortable touching each other.¡¨

A blush rose on Hermione¡¦s cheeks. She was glad she was turned away from Ginny and not facing her. Memories of Charlie¡¦s hands caressing her body made her aroused instantly. She closed her eyes for moment and, upon opening them, found Ginny now facing her. Her face turned more red, it that was even possible.

Ginny gave that smirk again. ¡§Talk, woman.¡¨ The last couple of years the two girls had become very close¡Kand would often share secrets they would never tell the boys!

Hermione sighed, stopping what she was doing to sit on the bed. She waited for Ginny to join her. ¡§I met someone while I was at Cambridge. I thought his name was Regan. We spent two whole weeks together¡KI mean¡Ktogether! When I arrived tonight I never expected him to be your brother Charlie! I mean, I thought Regan was a muggle.¡¨

Ginny took one of her friend¡¦s hands. ¡§You know, since Charlie arrived the other day he¡¦s seemed¡Kdifferent. I overheard mom telling dad she figured he must have met someone.¡¨

Hemrione suddenly looked worried. ¡§Oh, Ginny! What is he going to think of me now? For one, I¡¦m still in school! I told him I was of age¡Kwhich is partly true but he¡¦s bound to¡Kto¡K¡¨ She threw her hands around her head and sat down on the bed.
¡§Hermione,¡¨ Ginny said cutting her off. ¡§Look. You two just need to talk.¡¨

Hermione could only nod her head. She realized she was still in shock over the turn of events, and Ginny suggested that she take a nap.

¡§That way you¡¦ll be fresh later.¡¨ She suggested slyly.

Hermione rolled her eyes and lay down on the extra bed put in by Mrs. Weasley years ago during her first stay. She hadn¡¦t realized she was tired, but soon enough she was fast asleep, quickly forgetting about Regan/Charlie and her father/Professor Snape.

Outside the man of her heart was playing a furious game of Quidditch. He barely noticed that little time had passed before the Ron and Harry were watching, both of them eagerly awaiting to join the game. As soon as he did notice, they were already part of the teams. Harry with Bill and himself, Ron with the twins. They played a furious game before Ginny came out. Charlie, eager to see Hermione, declined the next match and invited Ginny to take his place, telling the others he had some business to attend to.

As he entered the Burrow¡¦s back door Charlie couldn¡¦t help but notice that the door to his father¡¦s small and private office was still closed. He took a step toward the door, then felt the wards and a silencing spell up. Not knowing what to make of it, he turned his attention back to what lay upstairs¡K

Somewhere in another part of England¡K

The woman huddled into a corner, as instructed by the strange men in her home. Of course, she had seen them once before¡Konce nearly eighteen years ago. And she now knew what they were called ¡V Deatheaters. She watched in horror, helpless as one brought his ¡V or her? She really couldn¡¦t tell - wand to her husband and uttered a curse. Her husband¡¦s lifeless body dropped to the floor before her eyes. He had already been tortured and god knows what else. At least he is in peace, now¡Kshe thought to herself.

The figures with black capes and white masks now turned to her. She knew what was next. Closing her eyes she prepared for the worse. Suddenly the door to her and her husband¡¦s bedroom opened.

¡§Aurors.¡¨ A man¡¦s voice said. ¡§Over a dozen.¡¨ The deatheaters suddenly forgot about her and quickly left.

She immediately went to her husband¡¦s body which was quickly becoming cold. Tears came at a rapid pace as she gently caressed his face.

¡§My darling¡K¡¨ She said before a woman with bright pink hair barged in followed by three others.

She heard others in the house, but didn¡¦t care. She could only weep for her husband.


To be continued¡K