The Confectionary Chronicles || HP/SPN

Lollies and Loki- CH39

A/N: Surprise, I'm not dead! Just... hating on life right now. Still, hope you enjoy xx

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE:

For Hermione, re-familiarising herself with Fraserburgh was like slipping back into her old favourite woollen jumper; it was comfy, it was cosy, the wool sometimes a bit itchy against her bare skin, but it was still more comfortable than any other jumper in her closet.

Really, the main 'itchiness' was having to share a room with Ina, Jeanie and Leana, as she'd gotten quite used to having her own space, and it was odd adjusting to the decrease in places to put her things, but it was such a small price to pay. Hermione loved Fraserburgh; she loved how small and out of the way it was, without all the hustle and bustle of London, all the concrete and cars replaced by boats and the ocean, she loved the self-directed style of learning of her home-schooling without the stressors of other older students feeling threatened by her intellect and academic superiority, and most of all she loved her aunt, uncle and cousins, all of whom she knew thought she was a bit strange but loved her because of it, not despite it.

The first night back, Angus snuck into the room she shared with Ina, Jeanie and Leana, and the five of them piled together on Leana's bottom bunk, catching up in hushed, excited whispers. Writing letters and talking over the landline just wasn't the same as talking to her cousins in person, and Hermione's heart swelled with warmth and affection as Jeanie gently brushed out the wild curls of her hair that they both shared, her cousin admiring the little braids with their woven bells and pleading that Hermione teach her how to do the same with her own curls.

In the quiet, safe place they'd created on the bunk, Hermione found herself sharing with her cousins for the first time a heavily abridged version of what had happened in London, first with Charlotte the bully and then later with "Hugo" and "Muriel", who had befriended her and then gone on to hurt and betray her. The four of them piled onto her to wrap their arms around her as the (highly edited) story unfolded, her cousins clearly horrified and distraught by what they were hearing– and considering their family's particularly dark history with bullying, the torment caused by bullies having been a major contributing factor to Ness deciding to take her own life, Hermione wasn't surprised her cousins were taking it so personally.

She also told them about Helena and Sylvianne, two girls she'd quickly grown close to who'd then 'moved away'. She even admitted, feeling the tears well up in her eyes as she did so, how pressured she felt by her parents, and how the moment she stopped being their 'genius' daughter, bound for Oxford or Cambridge or one of the UK's other highest ranking medical schools, they'd disapproved of her choices and sent her away. Angus scowled furiously at hearing this, while Leana's hands balled into fists at her sides and Ina and Jeanie exchanged grim looks before Ina pulled Hermione into another tight hug.

"It doesn't matter why you're here," her oldest female cousin stated in a firm voice that left no room for argument, the warmth of her tight embrace holding Hermione together as she trembled so hard it felt a bit like her body was threatening to fall apart in the aftermath of the emotional roller-coaster the conversation had been. "All that matters, Hermione, is that you are here and you're going to stay here, with us."

"Welcome back home," Angus added, and Hermione didn't even try to hold back her tears, the combination of grief and relief she was experiencing positively cathartic. Home. She was home.

::

After taking a few days to adjust to her abrupt change of scenery, Hermione settled into her new routine for the foreseeable future with a fervour that surprised exactly nobody who knew her, herself included. She was smart and she knew it, but she was still only human and she was fully aware that most of her foreseeable was going to be occupied with studying. She'd already arranged to be scheduled to sit her A-Levels in the May to June examination period, the same time that Ina would be sitting hers actually, and considering it was already October, she had a little over seven months to be as prepared as possible– it was a challenge, but one she was ready and willing to face and to conquer. It just meant she was, unfortunately, 'disgustingly busy', to quote a horrified Angus.