Love is hope: Life after sixth year

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The world of colours slowly dissipated. Hermione fell on her knees in the middle of the Headquarters’ kitchen. She knew Tonks was going to be in trouble for allowing this, and not only with the Order. Only Dumbledore and Harry had the authority to allow anyone new to the house. And the Ministry... Tonks wasn’t to harbour all the witnesses to a safe place... She was to bring them in to the Ministry for questioning...

Hermione didn’t want to waste energy worrying over how Tonks was going to solve this mess, and she didn’t even want to start thinking about how Dolohov had reached her house... There was another question pushing in her mind, a sensation of having forgotten something... Right now she pushed all those questions out of her head and concentrated on the present situation.

Looking around she didn’t see any changes in the kitchen since the last time she’d been here, apart from the fact that the Christmas decorations had been taken down. The kitchen was deserted, and Hermione started to worry about that. What was happening with Harry? Had Dolohov not lied about an attack on the ‘Boy-Who-Lived’?

“HELLO! Anyone still here?” Hermione had long stopped caring if she sounded desperate. “Winky! I know you have to be here somewhere! Please, Winky!”

A soft plop alerted Hermione of the arrival of the House-Elf.

“Oh, is you...” Winky had never really taken to Hermione, but Harry, as master of the house, had, despite Hermione’s pleas, ordered Winky to do as Hermione asked. Winky’s big eyes swivelled to her parents and then to Amélie: “More Muggles!!! Is not right! Missie has no right to bring impures in! No right at all!”

Hermione didn’t respond to the insults but put her principles of SPEW aside for a little moment.

“Listen to me, Winky! You’re going to tell me who else is still here, then you’re going to prepare the room for my parents, like at Christmas!”

Terribly put off, Winky answered: “Only Missies Red and Looney is here, all others has gone on busy-ness... Winky does not know where”

“Ginny’s here? Where is she?”

Winky frowned and turned up her nose: “In cellar”

Before Hermione could ask more questions the Elf disappeared, hopefully to arrange the room for her parents. Looking over, she saw her mother hunching over her father, cradling her own arm. Amélie was staring with huge eyes at the place where Winky had just disappeared. Hermione frantically thought of something to help her parents with; Ginny must know where all the apothecary tools were...

“Amélie? You ok? I’m just going to get Ginny, you, please stay here?”

Amélie just nodded her head vigorously, rooted on the spot she landed after the portkey trip... Hermione practically flew down the stairs, crept hurriedly through the secret passage, not caring she hurt her knees.

“Ginny!” Whatever Hermione had wanted to shout next, died on her lips. Ginny was in only her nightshirt, her robe discarded on the ground; tears and sweat were pouring down her face, because she was hitting Harry’s punchball like a maniac...

The redhead witch was startled; Ginny started wiping her tears quickly away: “Hermione?”

Hermione suppressed the urge to ask what was wrong; there would be time later... Right now she had to tend to her parents...

“Ginny, I don’t know what happened here, but we were attacked; my parents...”

Before Hermione could continue, she heard a scream from the kitchen... Amélie! Hermione ran up the stairs, only vaguely aware that Ginny was following. The sight that greeted her in the kitchen could have been hilarious if it would have happened at any other time. Snape had apparently just come in, and was threatening Amélie with his wand, and the Muggle girl was still clutching the umbrella she’d used to knock out Dolohov and pointing it back at the Potions Master.

“Professor Snape!”

“Stand back, Weasley, Granger! The house has been compromised!”

Hermione fought the urge to roll her eyes. Moving to stand in front of the French girl: “Professor! This is a relative of mine! She was staying at our house when we were attacked by Dolohov, my parents were hurt badly...” Hermione was looking around, realising something; panicking she demanded: “Where are my parents?”

A dreamy voice answered from the door: “Winky brought them upstairs. Gave me this to put away...” Luna entered carrying the bloody bandages Tonks had used to help her parents. As usual she was stoic, not caring about the total chaos around her... She, too was still wearing her sleep-attire: an orange pyjama from the Chudley Canons... Luna calmly walked up to the sink after putting the bandages into the bin, and rinsed her hands.

On the way she brushed past Amélie. A glassy look passed on the Muggle’s expression, and she gasped: “Hermione, your father!”

Hermione, not stopping to think about what Amélie meant exactly or how she knew, turned to her hated Professor: “Professor, please, I know you hate Muggles. But, please, you must help them...”

Snape curled his upper-lip in disgust: “I *must* certainly not. You already compromised all of our situations by bringing *that* in here (he pointed at Amélie) Now you want me to...”

He didn’t get to finish; something had snapped inside of Hermione. Whipping her wand under the crooked nose of the greasy git she hissed: “You are going to help my parents, or I’m going to inform Draco Malfoy personally that you’re having a secret affair with a Muggle woman and that you love her dearly... I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want to bet Voldemort will refrain from punishing you before he believes it untrue...”

Snape glared down at her after shivering violently at his Dark Lord’s name, then glanced around briefly. Hermione could only imagine even a cold bastard as Snape couldn’t stay indifferent with four sixteen-year-old girls in their nightclothes looking at him expectantly, but he managed to just growl and scowl before stomping out of the kitchen whirling his black robes... The girls all followed him. In any other situation it would be ‘odd’, to see an older man proceeding four younger girls up the stairs to a bedroom, but Hermione’s thoughts had come to a sort of an impasse. She only allowed herself to think about her parents for the moment, she’d have time to find out what had been happening here, and how she was going to tell Amélie about all that had been happening...

They’d arrived in the room. After Hermione quickly gave up the secret of her parents identity, they were all able to the two Muggles in severe pain. Snape refused to touch her parents and made the girls examine them. He told Hermione which potions to give them and advised her to give them a sleeping draught... Before Hermione could ask him where she had to find the potions, he’d already gone swirling from the room, yelling over his shoulder:

“You better come find me when you’re done and explain this situation to me, Granger!”

Perplexed at his ruthlessness she heard Ginny murmur she and Luna knew where the house-apothecary was and would get the needed potions for her... Vaguely she saw the two younger witches leave the room. Hurrying to the side of her mother, she asked shakily: “Are you all right?”

“I should be the one asking you, honey... I’m supposed to be the adult here, protecting you! Hermione, honey, you were so strong. I don’t know if I ever felt so proud of you, you can’t imagine...”

Emotions were high and she held her mother. Maybe it looked like Hermione’s parents were just defenceless Muggles, but they were the strong ones. They had supported her all the way, allowing her to go to Hogwarts, even when it broke their hearts to let their only daughter go to a boarding school. They had never complained about her weirdness, the long separations, the missed vacations abroad when Voldemort was back in the picture... And most of all, right now, her mother had all the reasons to blame Hermione for her husband’s condition, and her pain, but she just sat there apologizing of not being able to protect Hermione, telling Hermione she made her proud... Hermione had never realised so strongly that they weren’t just Muggles, unable to understand her completely, they were her parents, the ones who’d raised her, who’d stood by the sidelines encouraging her, no matter what... She didn’t know what she’d do if she lost them...

The hug was interrupted by Ginny and Luna coming back. They attended to Hermione’s father first. He seemed to have lost a lot of blood, but hopefully with the potions he would recover from that. Hermione knew that this wasn’t really allowed. They needed special Ministry permission forms for administrating magical healing methods to Muggles, but she had gone well past caring about *that*... Soon, both her parents had clean bandages, and had been given sleeping draught, though her father hadn’t regained consciousness yet, it would help him relax...

Hermione was grateful for the help of the two younger witches; they had known better then her how to work with the bandages and magical potions. Leaving the room of her parents she felt the dread come back to her tenfold. She didn’t give a Sickle about what Snape had ordered, and since Amélie didn’t seem in a hurry to demand explanations she turned to Ginny.

“What’s happening? You’re all alone here? Where’s everyone?”

Ginny’s eyes clouded over, but it was Luna who answered: “Ron had apparated to Harry’s, like he’s been doing all summer at least once a week. But this time it was for his birthday. He’d promised Mrs. Weasley he wouldn’t be back too late in the evening, with or without Harry... But then he never showed, and then there were Order members suddenly swarming the house, only to get to Harry’s all at once. Tonks stayed here, but she left, too. And now we have Snape checking in on us...”

Hermione felt a cold feeling creeping in her bones... This couldn’t be happening! How? What *was* happening? An absurd thought stuck with her: Ron had been visiting Harry regularly over the summer? She didn’t know how to feel about that. Why hadn’t either of them written her about that? And had it been so bad, that even the guards around *her* house had had to join?

Ginny brought her out of her reverie: “Hermione, what happened at your house? You were protected, weren’t you? And with the Fidelius? You couldn’t have betrayed your parents?”

Hermione started telling the story, trying to be as brief as possible, while they moved to the girls’ bedroom. Hermione was glad to see that there had been placed an extra bed for Luna, so that she’d still have hers. Of course, Amélie would have to crash somewhere too... Amélie!

Voicing her thoughts, Luna asked the French girl, eying her interestedly: “So who are you? Are you a Muggle?”

Hermione quickly introduced them all, and suggested they’d first take the time to explain Amélie about everything. Ginny and Luna were surprised to learn Amélie hadn’t even known about Hermione being a witch before tonight. Amélie, from her side, seemed to have forgotten her own shyness, and asked many questions. It seemed to work for all of them. It was clear to Hermione Ginny was using the explanations about the wizarding world for the same mind-occupying reason. She wasn’t sure about Luna, you never could tell with her, but Hermione expected her to be as worried as the rest of them...

“So it wasn’t the first time you were faced with that evil wizard, Dolohov? And there are more of them? And one of them was killed by his own son, Malfoy, did you say? How awful! That was last year at your school? Do you think I’d be able to see that castle Hogwarts, too, if I really believed it?”

Hermione answered: “It’s not that easy, Amélie. In fact I’m still surprised you got into the house in the first place... But I suppose with the Portkey, that helped transferring the magic interference to this place, and...”

Ginny interrupted Hermione’s developing theory: “Please, Hermione, she got here, that’s what’s important. But, well, do you think she’s going to get to stay? I mean, maybe she’ll have to get a Memory Charm performed?”

Amélie looked up startled: “A memory charm? What’s that?”

Hermione quickly explained the procedure but reassured her relative as soon, saying that if Amélie was going to keep secret what she’d seen of this world, that there shouldn’t be a problem...

Luna suddenly asked: “You’re a Sentireader, aren’t you?”

Hermione tried to snap convincingly: “Don’t be ridiculous!” but it came out a lot less strong then she intended... Hermione didn’t believe in legends and myths, even if she’d seen enough in her life to know to keep an open mind. But Sentireaders were on the same level as were Luna’s Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. By touch Sentireaders were said to absorb *something* from other persons, but what exactly was a question of debate.

“What’s a Sentireader?” Amélie asked confused.

Ginny answered, shrugging: “It’s supposed to be a myth about some kind of being that extracts life force, or magical energy, or whatever, from other people. But don’t mind those two. Hermione only believes what she can see, and what’s been proven; Luna just believes...”

Amélie pondered for a minute, while Hermione tried to form a solid case as to why there could be no such thing as Sentireaders. Amélie spoke up: “So it would be like Rogue of the X-men, except I get to know stuff and feel stuff of the ones I touched? Like when I shook Minerva’s hand, I felt she was still anxious about the man in that bistro. I’ve always felt like some things I just knew, or like I could’ve predicted some things. I just thought it was because I’m shy and I like to observe people, that I got to see some things more clearly then when you’re in the middle. Because it never works for *me*, you know, I completely suck at knowing the right thing to say in most situations...”

Ignoring her babblings, Hermione decided to extract at least one point from the list of possibilities of being a Sentireader: “Here Amélie, hold this!” Trusting her wand in the girl’s hands she took her other hand with the both of her own: “Feel up to try some spell?”

Hermione from her side didn’t feel any power flowing, and indeed Amélie didn’t succeed. Ginny and Luna tried with their wands, too. After a quarter of an hour neither of them had any success in even making a little spark form at the top of the wand when Amélie was holding it...

That’s when Hermione noticed it was already morning... Light started to creep from behind the heavy curtains, but she didn’t feel tired in the least... Exhausted, yes, but not tired... Interrupting the ‘cosy pyjama party’ in the girls’ bedroom, the door blasted open. Minerva McGonagall strode into the room, looking very uncharacteristically in disarray.

“Hermione! Amélie! Thank Goddess”

Hermione was surprised to get engulfed into a brief hug from her Head of House... She was mumbling something about apologising and her fault and knowing something like this could happen... Needless to say the three Hogwarts witches were numb from surprise at the otherwise very composed Deputy Mistress.

Hermione recovered quickly enough and demanded to know what had happened, soon Ginny and Luna were also badgering the older witch. McGonagall, however, only told them what they already knew: there had been an emergency call to all Order members, and they’d left Hermione’s house to be guarded by only one of their operatives. McGonagall had received the owl Amélie sent, just at the end of whatever was happening at Harry’s place. She’d rushed over to Hermione’s, just to find the guard dead and the house unwarded and empty, save for Muggle police men. She’d rushed to the Grimmauld Place to alert everyone, but had come upon Snape... He’d told her about Hermione bringing in another Muggle.

After the older witch’s brief explication and evasiveness about what had happened to the others, Hermione was made to tell what had happened at her place. When she was relating how Tonks had made them pack and leave, she remembered something.

“Crookshanks! I left him there! How could I have forgotten him!” Crookshanks had saved her life last year, and all she could do to repay him was leave him behind?

McGonagall made the swift promise to go look for the ginger cat; she was to go inspect how the wards had been brought down, anyway... Before the older witch left the room, she turned abruptly on her heels.

“How did you get in here, Amélie? You just concentrated on imagining something to be real?” At seeing the French girl nod, McGonagall frowned.

Luna piped up: “It’s ok, Professor. It’s because she’s a Sentireader!”

The Gryffindor Head of House shot a bewildered look at the Ravenclaw. Trying to conceal her blatant disbelief, she exited the room, ordering the girls to stay in the room until breakfast was called.

As soon as the door fell closed, Ginny muttered under her breath: “Like hell we’re going to stay into this room! It’s bad enough I have to stay cooped up in the house all summer...”

But moving to the door only revealed that the door had been locked magically. It wasn’t hard to unlock it with a charm, but the fact was that none of them were allowed to use magic... Amélie looked scared, and Ginny downright furious, Luna, well... She was just looking at the door dreamily.

Hermione tried to calm them down: “Well we can start with cleaning up, and getting dressed” In her mind she added: “And if the door hasn’t been unlocked by then, we’ll just have to use drastic measures...”

As it turned out, the door was still locked when they were all freshened up and fully clothed. Pacing like caged animals, they started to hear voices and clattering in the halls. The Order members were returning! Ginny and Hermione shared one look and Hermione took out her wand. The hell with a warning from the Ministry! “Alohamora!”

Sprinting into the hallway, they heard Harry’s voice. Hermione shivered at how tired he sounded, almost defeated...

“Just leave him alone, Bill, leave him alone...”

“Bill!” Ginny sprinted down the stairs to hug her eldest brother: “Where’s the rest? ... Harry?”

Harry was momentarily incapable of speech since he couldn’t take a deep enough breath with Hermione’s arms surrounding him tightly. Looking up in his eyes, she saw the familiar pain. She couldn’t understand why life (she didn’t believe in fates) would place such a constant burden on him. Moreover, this was not how she’d hoped of reuniting with him, though she was aware that he didn’t let go of her yet, even if no one knew of the turn of events that had taken place on the train ride a little more than a month ago.

Bill and Harry’s silence, while the two other girls were descending was unsettling, what had happened to the Weasley’s? And to the other members of the Order? Ginny’s posture stiffened, she looked caught in inner panic.

Hermione looked back at Harry, the comfort and extreme relief of having him in her arms safe and sound was ebbing away a little looking at his haunted stare. Luna voiced the question she was unable to get past her own throat.

“Where’s Ronald?”

The question was rendered moot when they heard a crash followed by a pain filled cry from inside the boys’ bedroom. Though the sound was so foreign and downright scaring, the voice from which it had originated was unmistakably Ron’s...

This time Hermione did speak up, demanding: “What happened? If no one’s going to tell me soon,...”

Both boys, no... men... looked tired and pained, but couldn’t deny the girls. Bill looked down, straight into his baby sister’s eyes: “It’s mum...”

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