[A/N: Thank you to Calamity Owl for beta-reading this chapter!]
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When Hermione awoke the next morning, sun was pouring through the windows, her skin was slick with a cold sweat, and someone was screaming. Strong arms wrapped around her upper body and tangled sheets around her legs held her in place when she tried to flee the screams, and struggling harder only caused them to constrict her more tightly. Only when consciousness fully returned did she realise the screaming woman was her.
"You're OK," he repeated in a soft, soothing voice. "You're OK. You're safe."
"She just walked right in..." Hermione tried to curl up as far into Harry as she could. "I feel so violated. I was a tiny little girl and she smiled while she was hurting me. What kind of monster does that?"
"Dolores Umbridge does that," Harry said. "She's a vicious bigot rumoured to have blackmail on a number of high-level Ministry employees, which is why she seems to live so well on what should have been a modest pension after Amelia Bones fired her. We're going to ensure she never hurts anyone again."
"Thank you." Hermione shuddered. "I keep worrying she's going to come through that door just like she came through my parents'."
"Don't worry," Harry said. "She literally can't find this house."
Hermione blinked. "Oh! We're at Grimmauld Place. I didn't even notice."
"It's OK," Harry said. "Even back home, I have excellent wards that alert a number of dangerous people if they're damaged. By the time anyone could get in, help would be there."
"I know, I know," Hermione said. "I just...don't feel safe anymore."
"We're going to make you safe," Harry said. "I promise."
"Be careful." Hermione's arms tightened enough that Harry had to take shallower breaths.
"I will," he said. "I promise that, too. Do you think you're ready to get up now? It's almost 10:00 and we should eat something."
"You're right, though I was so full last night that I'm still not too hungry." Hermione took a deep breath and released her hold on Harry, allowing him to take a deep breath once again, too.
"I understand," Harry said. "Would you like to use the loo now? I can wait."
"Yes, please." Hermione started to get up, then froze. "Has anyone checked it for spiders lately?"
Harry frowned. "Probably not. It hasn't been that long, but you never know. I'll be right back." He grabbed his wand and hurried out of the room. A moment later, the bathroom door creaked open.
"Bloody hell!" Harry shouted, followed by, "Flipendo! I said Flipendo, you hairy arsehole! Now stay down! Pugio. Damn it, stay put! Pes Aufero, Pes Aufero, Pes Aufero. Yeah, it's harder to run without legs, isn't it? Pugio."
"Is everything alright, Pup?" Sirius shouted up the stairs.
"I'm going to burn this whole house down, Sirius!" Harry shouted back. Then, more quietly, he said, "Reparo. Reparo. Impervius. Oh, right, Evanesco."
"Start with Walburga's portrait and I'll help," Sirius replied.
Harry walked back into the room a moment later and Hermione promptly wrapped him in a tight hug. "My hero," she said.
"It was just one spider," Harry said sheepishly.
"How big was it?" Hermione asked.
"I'd rather not talk about it," he replied.
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Hermione Granger and the Theft of Magic
Fanfiction(AU) Hermione's biggest worries in life are her dissertation and her rent, at least until she drunkenly takes a stick from a green-eyed stranger and breaks what she thought were the laws of physics. Now she's facing a high-stakes, impossible test, b...
