Hermes' Secret

Chapter 1 -Settling in

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters 

Happy reading! :)

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'Dumbledore...you know that it is best' the man spoke in a French accent through the fireplace. 'We don't know whether the prophecy is true or not and this will keep her safe. We need to hide her identity from any Death Eaters left.'

'I understand, Xavier' Dumbledore nodded his head. 'Send her over as soon as possible. We will do anything to keep her safe.'

Flames spat out of the grate and the man vanished. Dumbledore sat down behind his desk and waited for the newcomer.

Soon, a girl stepped out of the fireplace. She had fulsome, chocolate brown curls that ran slightly past her shoulders and her eyes glistened with excitement and nerves as she talked.

'Hello professor, it is a pleasure to meet you' she held out her hand to Dumbledore who took it and smiled genuinely at the girl. She had a sweet and pleasant aura around her.

'It's a pleasure to meet you too, Miss Granger. Your books are, after all, a legend and so are you around here' The girl smiled humbly.

'Thank you'

'I trust that you understand your predicament, Miss Granger?' Dumbledore asked. Hermione nodded. 'Well then, this is Miss Ginevra Weasley'

The girl, who'd been looked over until that point smiled. 'Ginny'

'Miss Weasley will be the only one to know your true identity, apart from me within these walls. I figured that you might want a friendly face to talk to who knew who you were other than me'

Hermione smiled her thanks weakly, her nerves getting the better of her. If Dumbledore noticed it, he did not press upon the fact.

'Now, we need to settle the matter of your disguise' Dumbledore said, drawing his wand and pointing it at Hermione, muttering a few incoherent words. 'Now, say the name of your new identity'

'Hermes Orion' Hermione said carefully, trying not to move too much, as she felt an airiness overtake her.

'Oh my god!' Ginny exclaimed, clapping her hands to her mouth. 'You're a boy!'

Hermione nodded carefully, peering at her distorted reflection in one of Dumbledore's glass cabinets. She didn't feel that different, but her reflection told a different story.

'Is this all making sense, Miss Granger?' Dumbledore asked.

'Yes, sir' Hermione breathed. This was going to be a difficult few months.

'Well then, I believe that Miss Weasley can answer any of your questions about Hogwarts and I'm sure the Room Of Requirement can adjust to your liking for tonight. I bid you farewell for now'

Hermione followed Ginny, as if in a daze, down the winding staircase until she realized something that'd been nagging at the back of her mind for a while.

'Are you the sister of Ron Weasley?' Hermione asked, unsure whether she even wanted to know the answer. Ron Weasley had been one of Hermione's few boyfriends. He seemed nice at first but then started acting aggressively possessive and eventually Hermione had decided to break up with him. He still sent her love letters and roses, though.

'Yes, I am. It was the reason Dumbledore asked me to be your friend through these times, as he knew that we'd met before'

'That hardly counted as meeting you' Hermione chuckled, as she remembered the time she had first seen Ginny. 'I didn't even catch your name'

'I know' Ginny admitted, nodding sadly before piping up 'At least Dumbledore didn't make Ron be your confidant'

'Yeah, oh my god. I would rather stay in France and be in danger than have him know who I am, no offence. I was anyway apprehensive about even coming here knowing that he'd be here.' Hermione paused 'Sorry, I forget he's your brother'

'You can rant all about Ronald Weasley in front of me' Ginny said, waving away the apology. 'He never really was a proper brother to me. All he cared about was himself. He was growing distant from our whole family gradually and then when he became an adult and left school, he didn't visit again. I only see him at school, when he deems it fit to show up since he's an international quidditch player. He has been saying that any day he is going to propose to you, but he is probably lying'

'Oh my god! I am so happy that I didn't continue dating him, believing it to be a faze or something. He acts so sweet at times, though. I feel so sorry for you'

'He is a good actor. You might have to see him around here, bragging about random stuff.' At this point, they reached a patch of the wall at which Ginny stopped and started pacing in front of before-

'A wall just appeared! A wall appeared out of absolutely nowhere' Hermione exclaimed. Ginny smiled at her reaction.

'This is the Room of Requirement. If you want something, it gives it to you. It doesn't provide food, though, much to the annoyance of Ronald.' Ginny explained, waving her hands around at the entire room before collapsing onto one of the two double beds in the middle of the room and laying down on her side. Hermione did the same, sighing with fatigue and closing her eyes.

'School starts tomorrow' Ginny said, staring at the ceiling.

'It does' Hermione agreed, smiling at Ginny with anxious excitement. Her stomach seemed to be doing a series of backflips and somersaults, while at the same time her hands were fidgeting like crazy. Tomorrow would be the start of a whole new adventure.

Well, hopefully, whatever happened tomorrow, at least she'd have one friend.

~*~

Hi,

My first chapter on Wattpad! This is so exciting! *squeals like an overexcited schoolgirl* 

I'm realising that many readers are leaving after the first chapter and I simply want to give you hope that this story will get better as time goes on and that my first chapters aren't always the best. Please give my other chapters a chance 🥺

As a heads-up, in case it isn't clear in later chapters:
- Voldemort is dead
- Hermione grew up in France and studied in Beaxbatons, so she hasn't actually met Harry before and you will find out more about her past with Ron in due time
- Hermione published well-known books on many different subjects so is well known across Europe but has evaded the press so very well that there are hardly any public photos of her

Anyway, what do y'all think of the story so far?