Weasley and Granger

Chapter 22

A/N: Finally, I'm reintroducing Harry into the story. Yay. This chapter's a bit short, but hey, it's here. 

Letting in the new information sink in, Hermione stood slowly a step back from the railing, and from Fred's grasp. Her eyes were still fixated on the door, a few floors down.

Fred turned back to look at her, his head tilted in confusion. While the other three were still listening to the ear, they didn't seem to notice Hermione who had backed right into the wall.

Taking a couple of steps towards her, Fred asked quietly, with concern etched in his words, "What's wrong?". He put his forefinger under her chin, tilting it up towards him.

She had to force herself to look at him, but she did. "Something ... something seems very.... off."

"How?"

Hermione turned her eyes to back down the few levels of stairs. "I don't know. But, it's something to do with Snape. Why would he suddenly show up? I mean, if he's here, something has to be very off. Well, besides Harry getting attacked" With a grim look on her face, she started to find it difficult to keep a constant pattern of breathing.

Her words became more rapid, " .... and possibly expelled... having his wand snapped ... then He Who Must Not be Named ... come after him." Hermione looked up at Fred with frightened eyes. He pulled her quickly into a hug.

He wrapped his arms around her body, with one on her back, and the other gently stroking her hair. She let her head rest on Fred's quidditch torso. Leaning his head down to near her ear, he whispered, "Hold on." The frizzy brunette lifted her head off of his chest and looked up at him with a confused face.

It happened within seconds before she could react at all. He winked at her with his mischevious and famous grin. Then she felt her feet being whisked off of the ground, for a few seconds, then she touched back on solid ground. To be precise, the floor of Fred and George's temporary bedroom.

As soon as she did, she pulled away from Fred. Covering her mouth and hunching over, the familiar but sickening rush catch up with her. With her insides all over the place like every other time that she had apparated with Fred.

"Geez. I don't think that I will ever get used to that." Mumbled Hermione as she tried to look up at Fred. He grinned back at her.

"Yeah, I think that you might want to get used to it. Just so that you are doubled over from sickness every time." He said, folding his arms in front of his chest while looking at her.

Straightening back up, Hermione tilted her head right up to the ceiling and closed her eyes. Rolling her head around, trying to calm her mind after apparating.

Turning back to Fred, she asked, "Why did you apparate us anyway?"

"I thought that you might need a minute. You know, without so many people around. You were starting to freak out before, it was almost scary." He said, looking at her seriously now.

George burst through the door. "Hermione, no time to explain." He rushed to say and grabbed her arm, apparating away.

They landed in another bedroom, which she assumed was Ron's since he stood with his ear to the door. Before she could even question George about what he done, he apparated away again. "RON! What is going on?" Hermione asked him.

"Shuuuuuussssshhh!" He whispered swatting at the air roughly.

"Why did you just shush me?"

"Keep your voice down!" He whispered angrily turning away from the door for a minute then turned his attention back to it again. "Someone came in the front door and the painting was about to start going off. We knew there would be others coming back into the hall, so we had to get out of there."

"That still doesn't answer my obvious question." She said quietly, walking over to Ron with her arms crossed. She raised an eyebrow at him, expectantly.

"Alright well... of someone were to come and check on everyone... and they found Fred and um... you.. together... alone.. weeelllll..." Ron stuttered, his face becoming a vibrant shade of red.

"Seriously Ron?"

"It's not my thoughts that matter when someone walks in on you two getting affectionate okay." Not long before he had finished his sentence, the door started to open.

In poked the head of a slightly confused, but very familiar face. His glasses were still the same, his messy haired still looked not well kept and his wand was in his right hand.

"HARRY!" Hermione squealed as she practically launched herself at him. For the next hour or so the three friends caught up with Harry and learned of what he endured in another painful holidays with the Dursleys.

"Harry mate, I'm sorry you'd have to understand though that we couldn't tell you about here. It was just too dangerous to send you a letter by owl, explaining all this" Ron apologised to him.

But Harry went onto a rant about how he hated being kept out of things that INVOLVED HIM. He kept saying that his whole life he had been left out of things that he needed to know.

Hermione understood where he was coming from but, it still hurt her that he was yelling at her and Ron. Part way through Harry's overly loud rant Fred and George apparated into the room, right next to Harry.

He almost jumped out of his skin, but to Hermione it was pretty funny. Still, she was surprised by there entrance too. After a quick few words from the twins saying there was more to be heard in the hall, they rushed out of the door to the edge of the stairs again. Ginny was waiting next to the rail, with the extendable ear in her hand, listening intently.

Again, Fred and Hermione stood next to each other. Ginny passed the extendable ear as he held it so everyone could hear it. Below were voices from the kitchen.