When Hermione Fights

"Rose Cottage" Here I come!

"Rose Cottage" Here I Come!

When Harry and I entered the kitchen again, everyone was sitting around the table with gloomy faces and steaming cups in front of them. Ron remained silent, worried, and everyone else was too, looking up at us expectantly. Only Sirius kept giving me a curious, sad and uncertain look.

"Harry, what happened there?" Ron asked in a strange, hoarse voice. We sat down quickly, Harry next to Sirius and I next to Harry, the Twins were magically sending us two hot cups of pleasant-smelling tea.

Sirius watched it all with a frown, but said nothing more, just watched us patiently. When Harry grabbed my hand and held it in a vise-like grip after Ron's question, Sirius opened his eyes wide and air blew out of his nose. It didn't seem to please him, the kind of closeness between me and Harry. He reminded me a bit of Draco, an observation I would find truly amusing if the situation hadn't been so sad. I gave Harry an encouraging smile. Harry cleared his throat noisily and evidently took up his courage and started.

"Well, I was dreaming. All of a sudden I was in a long, dark, windowless corridor and there was your father and the snake, digging it's huge fangs into his skin three times. It wasn't nice and I don't know why I dreamed that. I wished I knew, it was so real and apparently it really happened, because the Headmaster's portraits said the same thing." He looked away from his teacup and looked up. "Ginny, George, Fred I'm so sorry, but Arthur was brought to St. Mungos quite badly injured...," he explained and looked concerned around the room. Ron hadn't said anything for a long time, he was just resting his head on one hand.

Desperate tears ran over Ginny's pale cheeks and she stared with red eyes around the room. Even the Twins were positively white around their noses, and their freckles could be seen even stronger than usual. They were very serious and calm, but also very controlled. I think they knew, since the Order had been established again, how much danger the members were in, and they weren't naive about it, it was life-threatening for any member. Sirius looked stunned and dismayed at Harry when he had finished his story.

"We have to go to St. Mungos!" exclaimed Ron, suddenly agitated, and he almost jumped up from his chair.

"Ron, calm down, I don't think so..." Sirius got interrupted by Ginny.

"Yes, Ron, I want to go to Dad!" she said with a strangled but demanding tone.

"No, that's not possible. I can't go with you and you can't go alone!" Sirius tried to say it sternly. He was looking a little pale as well, but otherwise quite good, in his dark blue shirt that matched well with his pale grey eyes but also underlined his authority, which he now applied for the very first time to make a decisive appearance. I agreed with him. It was pointless, we couldn't do anything, and so I stayed silent. Harry didn't get involved in the altercation. It was better that way, as he sat there, oblivious to his surroundings. The Twins looked at me questioningly, eyebrows raised, and I understood their glances. They wanted my assessment, possessing the knowledge that I knew more about the circumstances than Harry had openly told everyone else, hence I shook my head. I thought the idea of storming St. Mungo's was wrong. They accepted my verdict and drank synchronously out of their cups. Thus they didn't make any kind of claim and Sirius only had to deal with two Weasleys.

But he had noticed our interaction and looked at us piercingly. He knew from the past that the Twins and I were much more connected than everyone generally thought. Sirius was also privy to their great secret which he had kept to himself.

"I'm really sorry, but you stay here. Stop it now!" It was getting louder and Sirius hit the table with the palm of his hand, and thus gained the attention of Harry, who had dived into his own thoughts up until now.