Like A Star

"Hermione! Hurry up and finish cleaning your room!" Jo Granger called up the stairs to her only daughter.

"Mum, my friends won't be here until tomorrow! Why are you insisting on me cleaning my room today?" Hermione asked. She finished arranging the books on her bookshelf back into alphabetical order and scratched Crookshanks, her large orange-ginger cat, between his ears.

"Come down and talk to me when you're finished," Jo replied. Hermione surveyed her room and deemed it clean enough, so she jumped to her feet and smoothed the green bandana that covered her long reddish brown hair. She ran down stairs and found her mother sitting in an already spotless den with a large book spread across her knees.

"You needed to talk?" Hermione asked, flopping down onto the couch next to her mother in one of the least dignified ways possible. She tugged her white tank top down over her stomach as it slid up when she sat down.

"Yes. I just thought you'd like to know that your cousins will arrive in about thirty minutes. They will be staying for the next two weeks while their parents attend to some business in America," Jo said, not looking up from her book. Hermione's jaw dropped and she turned to look at her mother.

"Please Hermione, I'm quite proud of your dental work, after all, I did it myself, but I really don't need to see it."

"You let me invite my friends to my house while bane, bother, and bit- female dog are going to be here?"

"Hermione Granger, your cousins names are Ben, Braeden, and Brantley!" Jo reprimanded.

"Bane, bother and bitch suit them better," Hermione muttered under her breath. Needless to say, she wasn't fond of her cousins, at all. In fact, they quite reminded her of Draco Malfoy. At least, Ben, Braeden and Brantley Granger had about the same holier-than-thou attitude Malfoy possessed. They thought they were God's gift to earth because they went to a prestigious boarding school in France. They looked at Hermione like toenail fuzz because she didn't.

"HERMIONE LENORE GRANGER! DO YOU WANT ME TO CANCEL YOUR FRIENDS INVITATIONS HERE?" Jo asked.

"No mother. I'll be nice to Ben, Braeden and Brantley. But, um, you do realize that Ginny and Ron may be a little out of place, and we're probably going to have to do a lot of creative explaining to cover some of their actions. They've never exactly been in a non wizarding house before," Hermione explained.

"I'm sure they'll be just fine. The boys will probably stick to themselves, and you won't have to entertain them because you'll be busy with your little friends," Jo said.

"Are you sure you're ready for two teenage wizards, two teenage witches, and three dumb boys in this house at once?" Hermione asked.

"Hermione, stop worrying, I'm sure everything will be just fine," Jo reassured her daughter. She dropped an arm around Hermione's shoulders and squeezed her lightly. "And if things start going weird, you only have to deal with your cousins for 10 days."

"Why can't they just stay home? Isn't Ben 18 by now?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, Ben had his 18^th birthday in May, but you know how teenage boys can be. I'm sure your aunt and uncle didn't want to leave the two younger boys in Ben's care, and I can't say I necessarily blame them."

"When did you'd say they'd be here?" Hermione asked.

"In about 20 minutes now," Jo replied, looking at her watch.

"How early can Harry and Ron and Ginny come in the morning?" Hermione asked.

"Actually, the earlier the better. Your aunt said the boys usually sleep until about 10, so that way your friends can floo in un-noticed. In fact I sent Sebastian to them saying to try to be here around eight," Jo explained.

"Great, so I only have to spend a little while with just my cousins?" Hermione asked.

"Yes Hermione, only a little while," Jo reassured.

"So where will everyone sleep?" Hermione asked.

"Well, I figured Ginny could have the guest room right next to yours, and Harry and Ron can have the one across the hall. Your dad put up twin beds in there for them. Ben, Braeden and Brantley will sleep downstairs in the basement," Jo said.

"So they'll be far enough away from my friends," Hermione said.

"Yes honey." Jo never finished her sentence because the doorbell rang loudly, interrupting their conversation. Before Jo could even move, the doorbell rang again and by the time she was on her feet it had sounded a third time.

"I think they're here," Hermione muttered. She didn't sound excited at all.

"I think they are too," Jo said as the doorbell rang for the fifth time. Jo headed towards the front door and Hermione followed her mother. Jo threw open the front door just in time to see a Mercedes speed off down the road with a blonde woman waving from the passengers side window. Three boys stood in height order on the front porch in front of Jo and Hermione.

"Aunt Jo!" The tallest exclaimed. He was about 6'0" and built like a basketball center, tall and very lanky. His short blonde hair was gelled perfectly into place, with most of it laying flat to his head but the very front part sticking up.

"Braeden!" Jo exclaimed. Of all Hermione's cousins, Braeden was probably the easiest to tolerate, though he wasn't necessarily even nice.

"Hi Aunt Jo," the boy standing next to Braeden said. He waved at his aunt. Ben was only about two inches shorter than his younger brother, and he was built more like a football defender; tall and muscular but stockier than Braeden. He had the same blonde hairstyle as Braeden but his eyes were a lighter shade of brown.

"HERMIE!" Brantley squealed. At thirteen, he was the youngest and smallest of the three boys. He had messy blondish brown curls and bright blue eyes. His nose was peppered with freckles. He was about 5'2", as he hadn't really started growing, but was built more like Braeden than Ben. He smiled and waved at his cousin, while the two older boys looked down their noses and snarled at her.

"My name is Hermione," Hermione spat, glaring at her youngest cousin.

"Hermione," Jo warned, glaring at her daughter. "Right this way boys, I'll show you your room." Jo led the three boys into the house and towards the kitchen where the basement stairs were located. Ben, Braeden and Brantley all three left their suitcases on the front porch.

"Hermione, if you could grab those for us," Ben called over his shoulder as he disappeared around the corner with his aunt and brothers. Hermione glared at him, then looked at the suitcases. As the boys could no longer see her, she rolled her eyes and shut the front door, leaving their luggage where it was. Then she ran upstairs to her room to read until dinnertime. She pulled Advanced Transfiguration off of her bookshelf and sank into the cushions on her window seat with the large book.

*****

"Hermione, Ben, Braeden, Brantley! Dinner!" Weston Granger called from the kitchen. Hermione looked up from the theory of transfiguring inanimate objects in to animate ones and glanced at the clock on the wall. It read 5:30.

"My parents are the greatest," she thought. They had let her read for two and a half hours, undisturbed. She closed the book and returned it to its spot on the shelf before heading downstairs to the dining room where her mother and father were waiting. Brantley had already situated himself Jo's right at the end of the table. Hermione took the seat across from Brantley and prayed Braeden would sit next to her. If Braeden was slightly tolerable, Ben was the absolute worst of the three brothers. He had to be. With being the oldest, he had to set an example for his younger brothers. Braeden was the next brother into the room, and he did take the open seat next to Hermione. Ben straggled in a few moments later and sank down next to Brantley.

"So Ben, what do you plan to do now that you're out of school?" Weston asked after a few moments of silence while everyone filled their plates.

"Oh, I have a job at a store," came Ben's slightly vague reply.

"Really now? Which one?" Jo queried.

"Um, a book store," Ben replied. Hermione rolled her eyes and snorted in the general direction of her turkey and mashed potatoes.

"What about you, Braeden?" Weston turned to the middle boy, "how is school going for you?"

"Oh, it's going well." Braeden's reply was as vague as Ben's.

"And Brantley?" Weston asked. Hermione spooned some peas into her mouth.

"School is great!" piped up the youngest boy. "I'm top of my class in history of."

"Brant, shut up!" Ben and Braeden both exclaimed. Their sudden interruption of their little brother warranted suspicious glances from both Weston and Jo, and more attention to the mashed potatoes from Hermione.

"Well, Hermione's just been made a prefect at her school," Jo said, smiling at her daughter proudly.

"Where does she go to school again?" Ben asked, smiling sweetly at Hermione.

"The local public school," Hermione lied through a mouthful of peas.

"Braeden's going to be captain of the school team this year!" Brantley exclaimed. Braeden and Ben both glared at their younger brother. As Hermione was still looking directly into her food, she didn't notice how suspicious her cousins were acting.

"Captain of the school team at one of the most prestigious boarding schools in France," Ben added, shooting Hermione a smug glare.

"What sport do you play?" Weston queried, ignoring his nephews rude comment. Jo smiled through clenched teeth. Braeden and Ben exchange a panicked glance.

"Football," Braeden said finally.

"Really? I played Football back in school. What position?" Weston asked.

"Keeper," Braeden said smoothly. A loud hoot issued from somewhere upstairs. It sounded suspiciously like Pig.

"Mother, dinner was delicious. May I be excused?" Hermione asked quickly. Jo and Weston had both heard the owl, but Ben, Braeden and Brantley seemed quite oblivious.

"Sure dear, I'll get the dishes tonight. You need sleep for when your friends come tomorrow," Jo said. Hermione jumped up from the table and tore up the stairs before the owl could make any more noise. As she left, she heard her mother explaining to her cousins about Hermione's friends and their planned visit. Hermione reached her room just in time to intercept Pig flying out the door. She grabbed the little owl in her left hand and pulled the letter from his leg with her right.

Hermione

Hi, it's Harry, Ron and Ginny! Fred, George and Bill got me out of the Dursley's safely! It's quite a story though!

Just wait! And we've got a good one about Bill and Arabella Figg too!!

Ginny thinks its sweet. You might like it too!

It was quite amusing.

I think you had to be there

DID NOT!

At any rate. We'll be at your house at 8:00 in the morning, as we received Sebastian from your mother this afternoon instructing us to be there then.

Sebastian and Hedwig are in LOVE!

Sebastian didn't want to leave Hedwig, so we had to use Pig instead.

Don't worry; we'll bring the lovebirds with us tomorrow.

I don't know if Ron intended the pun with that or not.

Pun?

Ignore him. Fred and George want to add a message, and then we'll be going.

HERMIONE! WE MISS YOU EVER SO MUCH! INTELLIGENT CONVERSATION JUST ISN'T THE SAME WITHOUT SOMEONE, WELL, ACTUALLY INTELLIGENT!

With Love

Harry, Ginny, Ron

FRED AND GEORGE

Hermione had to laugh in spite of herself at the letter she had just received from her friends. Harry, Ron and Ginny were the greatest, and even Fred and George had their uses. She hoped the twins "rescue" hadn't been too traumatic for Harry. She figured it hadn't been too bad, as it had been Mrs. Weasley sanctioned and Bill had been in on it. She lay back on her bed and looked at the glow in the dark stars she had stuck to her ceiling when she was 10. She was still amused by them, but after the ceiling in the Great Hall, well, they just weren't very impressive. Pig squawked happily from Sebastian's cage on Hermione's vanity.

"What is that thing?" A male voice riddled with disgust asked from the doorway. Hermione looked up to see Braeden leaning against the doorframe.

"It's Pig," Hermione replied.

"Last time I checked pigs were great pink things that snorted and rolled in mud," Braeden quipped. Hermione decided against the reply forming in her brain and instead went with, "It's my friend Ron's pet owl Pigwidgeon. Pig for short."

"Oh, a pet owl? How did it get here?" Braeden looked mildly interested.

"He has it trained to fly between my house, his house, and our other best friend's house," Hermione replied.

"That's kind of... interesting. What use is it though?"

"It delivers letters for us, quite a bit faster than the regular post," Hermione explained. She sat up on her bed Indian style and looked warily at her cousin. He was being too nice.

"Isn't it a bit small to deliver letters?" Braeden asked.

"He does alright," Hermione replied. Braeden crept closer to the cage and stuck his fingers through the bars. He rubbed the little owl's head with two fingers. Pig hooted happily.

"I think he likes me," Braeden cooed.

"It's Pig. He likes anyone. He's a gigantic showoff," Hermione explained.

"Hermione, there is NOTHING gigantic about that owl," Braeden laughed. Hermione joined in his laugher, albeit nervously. Braeden was definitely acting quite out of character.

"He tries," Hermione replied.

"Ben is pissed at you for leaving the suitcases," Braeden said.

"Ben can kiss my ass," Hermione replied quickly.

"He can be a bit arrogant," Braeden admitted. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"What are you doing up here?" She asked.

"Can't I come visit my cousin after dinner?" Braeden asked.

"It's just a little odd, you've never gone out of your way to talk to me before," Hermione said. She looked suspiciously at Braeden, wondering his ulterior motives. Truth be told, he had none.

"I'm older and not under Ben's influence anymore. Does that count for anything?" Braeden asked. Hermione considered his statement. She hadn't seen her cousins in two years, since Ben was 16, Braeden was 14, she was 13 and Brantley was 9. Even when she went to France the summer before her fourth year, her family didn't bother visiting their relatives as Jo wasn't sure she could stand the boys' mother for more than a few minutes. The boys' family had moved to France when Hermione was eight, so she hadn't really spent any good amount of time with them since then.

"I suppose it does," Hermione replied.

"At any rate, I thought I would see what you were up to. Ben brought a couple of good videos with him and if you'd like to come watch them with us you can," Braeden offered.

"No thanks. I'd rather spend as little time with Ben and Brantley as possible," Hermione replied.

"Understandable, I think," Braeden said, smiling. He turned and walked from the room.

"That was certifiably odd," Hermione announced to no one in particular except for maybe Pig as soon as Braeden's footsteps signified that he was at the bottom of the stairs. Pig hooted happily from Sebastian's cage. Hermione got up and walked over to her bookcase. She took Advanced Transfiguration back down and read until she fell asleep.

*****

"Hermione, wake up, your friends will be here any minute!" Jo urged from Hermione's bedroom door. Hermione rolled over and glared at her mother.

"Five more minutes," she insisted.

"Hermione. Friends. Fireplace. Soon," Jo broke down her sentence for the benefit of her more than half-asleep daughter. Hermione sat straight up in bed.

"How soon?" she queried.

"Two or Three minutes," Jo replied.

"MOTHER! Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" Hermione demanded.

"I tried," Jo replied, "you flung your pillow at me and stuffed your head under the covers and generally wouldn't hear of the idea." Only then did Hermione realize the absence of her pillow. She immediately sprang out of her bed and grabbed a pair of jeans and a plum purple tank top from her closet. She changed into the clothes and pulled her hair into a messy bun. Her mother was already in the den expectantly watching the fireplace when Hermione finally made her way downstairs.

"They should be here in about a minute," Jo said, looking at her watch.

"It's Harry and Ron. Inevitably one of them will forget something and cause them all to be late," Hermione explained. Jo laughed at the almost boring ease Hermione used to explain her friends. Jo looked at her watch again. Almost on cue, the fireplace sprang to a Hagrid-accommodating size and a very familiar someone with long red hair came sprawling at Jo and Hermione's feet. She immediately rolled towards Hermione and narrowly escaped her trunk flying out right after her. Hermione pulled Ginny to her feet.

"HERMIONE!" the younger yet taller girl squealed and threw her arms around her friend.

"GINNY!" Hermione squealed. She wrapped her arms around Ginny.

"Harry and Ron will be along... shortly. Fred disappeared with Harry's invisibility cloak so as soon as they find him and the cloak, I suppose they'll be here," Ginny said when she pulled away from Hermione.

"Ginny, don't talk about invisibility cloaks. I'll explain as soon as the boys get here," Hermione said.

"How long do you think it'll take?" Jo asked warily, "The connection closes in another five minutes."

"Oh, Ginny, this is my mother, Jo Granger. Mum, this is Ginny Weasley," Hermione said. Jo and Ginny shook hands warmly.

"The boy's should be here shortly," Ginny said, "I can go check on them if you want."

"Check on them?" Jo asked.

"Just watch," Ginny instructed. She pulled a small amount of floo powder from her pocket and tossed it into the fire. She bent over, called "The Burrow," and stuck just her head in. Jo shot Hermione a quizzical glance.

"Her head is in the fireplace at her house. She can talk to them that way," Hermione explained.

"Does it hurt?" Jo asked.

"I wouldn't know, I've never actually tried it, but it is a fairly common way to communicate, so I suppose it doesn't," Hermione said. Ginny (and her head) emerged from the fire a moment later.

"The cloak and my brother have yet to be located. They'll be along," The rest of Ginny's statement was cut off as she was bowled over by two large figures rolling from the fireplace

"RON AND HARRY!" Hermione squealed before the boys could stand up.

"HERMIONE!" Harry yelled. He was the first to his feet. He enveloped her in a tight hug, then actually lifted her off the ground and spun her around several times.

"HERMIONE!" Ron cried. He threw his arms around both Harry and Hermione. Harry returned Hermione to standing. She turned and threw one arm around Ron too so the three were in a proper group hug.

"Could you be any louder in here?" a voice from the other side of the den demanded. Luckily for them, the fireplace had just shrunk back to normal, so Ben and Brantley didn't see anything very suspicious.

"There are people downstairs trying to sleep you know," Brantley exclaimed.

"Ben, Brantley, why don't you come over here?" Jo asked. Ben and Brantley slowly walked across the room to where their aunt, cousin, and three strange teenagers were standing.

"Oh, mom, these guys are Harry, and Ron," Hermione said quickly as her cousins walked over. She pointed to each boy as she said his name.

"Nice to meet you boys, I'm Jo Granger," Jo said, shaking hands with each boy.

"Now Ben and Brantley, I would like you to meet Hermione's friends from school, Harry, Ron and Ginny," Jo said. Brantley waved at them all, but Ben wore a general expression of disinterest.

"Guys, these are my nephews, Ben and Brantley Granger," Jo continued. Ron held out his hand to Ben, who shook it lightly, as though touching Ron would give him a disease of some sort.

"Malfoy!" thought Hermione. Harry pushed his hair off of his forehead before turning to shake hands with Brantley.

"OH MY GOSH HE HAS A SCAR JUST LIKE HARRY POTTER!" Brantley squealed as soon as he looked at Harry while shaking his hand. Harry, Ron and Ginny all turned to question Hermione, but she had turned on Brantley. She looked at him, eyes wide and jaw almost scraping the floor.

"Hermione! Why didn't you tell me your friend had a scar like Harry Potter?" Brantley asked, evidently oblivious to the looks flying about the room.

"How would you know about Harry Potter?" Harry asked, as he was the first to regain his voice.

"Doesn't every wizard?" Brantley replied, smiling at Harry.

"Alright, that's it. Brant, you've said too much," said Ben, stepping in front of his younger brother. Before anyone could say anything else, Ben pulled a wand from his pocket and pointed at Harry.

"Exactly WHAT do you think you're doing?" a deep male voice asked from over to Ben's left. Ben turned to see his younger cousin also holding a wand. The girl and boy behind her also held wands and all three were aimed at him,

"Er, right," Harry said, and fished his own wand out of his pocket.

"You're a wizard?" Hermione asked, disbelief dripping from her voice.

"We all are Hermione," Ben replied smugly, "Now if I could just get back to obliviating you guys since you found out."

"All?" Jo squeaked.

"Yeah! We go to Beauxbatons!" Brantley chirped from behind his brother.

"You mean I've got seven teenage wizards in this house for the next two weeks?" Jo asked, silently questioning her own sanity.

"Looks as though you do, Aunt Jo," Ben laughed.

"Hey wait, no obliviating me!" Harry insisted. Ben's words finally sunk in.

"Are you really Harry Potter?" Brantley squeaked from behind Ben.

"The one and only," Harry replied, smiling almost ruefully.

"I was wondering when you all were going to figure all this out," an unfamiliar voice issued from the doorway behind Ben and Brantley.

"You stand there like you knew all along," Ben spat, when he saw his younger brother leaning up against the doorframe.

"Maybe not necessarily knew, but suspected," Braeden corrected.

"That would be Braeden, cousin number three," Hermione said.

"Could you children put the wands away?" Jo asked. If she was still bothered by the revelation that her nephews were wizards, she certainly didn't show it. Harry, Hermione, Ginny and Ron immediately pocketed their wands. Ben just quit pointing his at Harry.

"How do you figure?" Ben asked.

"People don't have trained pet owls," Braeden smiled at Hermione. "I went up and actually talked to her last night. She has a trained pet owl. Plus I don't think Advanced Transfiguration is on the summer reading list at any local school." Hermione smiled back at her cousin.

"Well what remains to be seen is how Hermione managed to get Harry Potter to be her friend," Ben replied, glaring at Harry.

"RON!" Harry, Ginny, and Hermione all shouted, without even turning to look at the tall red head. Sure enough, Ron's face had turned as red as his hair with rage and both of his fists were clenched. Jo had to laugh at the way the four knew each other.

"Benjamin Granger, you take that back right now!" Braeden exclaimed. He started towards his brother, and no one called him off as they had Ron.

"Hermione, take your friends up to their rooms. Ben and Braeden take your fight downstairs!" Jo cried. Harry and Ron each grabbed an end of Ginny's trunk and the three friends followed Hermione out of the room. Ben, Braeden and Brantley made their way back down to the basement a little more slowly.

"Sorry about that you guys," Hermione said as soon as she had shown her friends to their rooms. Bill had put a charm on Harry and Ron's trunks to make them miniature and light. The charm ended when either boy said the word spork. The four friends gathered in Hermione's room to discuss the cousin situation.

"About what?" Ron asked. He lay across Hermione's bed sideways, flat on his back. Ginny curled on the window seat, with Harry sitting in the over stuffed chair in the corner and Hermione lounging at the top of the bed.

"About," Hermione paused for a moment, "about everything. This was supposed to be a just the four of us thing. Now we've got bane, bitch, and Braeden to deal with." Harry dropped his arm lazily around his friend's shoulders.

"I've dealt with Dudley all summer. I think your cousins will be nothing," Harry said.

"Yeah," chimed in Ron. "From what Fred and George say, the three of them aren't as large as one Dudley!" Ginny rolled her eyes and glared at the boys.

"At any rate, I didn't know they were going to be here until around the time they got here yesterday," Hermione said. "Mum kept it quite secret, and by that time, she had already sent Sebastian off, and the twins were in the process of breaking Harry out of the Dursley's. How did that go by the way?" Without further prompting, Harry launched into the tale of the muggle policemen and their daring arrest. By the time he reached the part where Vernon grabbed George, Hermione and Ginny were rolling in the floor with laughter. Harry had Ron in a headlock acting out exactly how the part went.

"And Mrs. Weasley sanctioned this?" Hermione asked once Harry was done with his tale and they had all begun breathing normally again.

"That's not the best part!" Ginny squealed. Hermione looked at her younger friend. "Bill and Arabella Figg!"

"Bill and Arabella Figg?" Hermione repeated.

"Yes, Bill and Arabella Figg," Harry replied, "they were friends in school and hadn't seen each other in a while before yesterday. They were VERY happy to see each other."

"Very, from what Fred and George say," Ron added, raising his eyebrows twice and grinning mischievously.

"At any rate, Percy had to rescue the twins from the roof when Bill finished with them for teasing him about her," Harry laughed.

"The roof?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, the roof. Full body bind and a levitating charm," Ginny said, smiling.

"Eventually Fred and George will learn not to screw with Bill," Ron laughed. Hermione had to laugh also. The thought of Fred and George, unable to move, on the rickety roof of the Burrow was too much to handle.

"So about your cousins?" Ginny prompted, her eyes sparkling mischievously.

"What about them?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know, you tell me," Ginny smiled.

"Ginny wants the juicy details on all of them," Harry lisped. He leaned in closer and smiled suggestively at Hermione.

"VIRGINIA! EIRENE! WEASLEY!" Ron shouted.

"Yes?" Ginny asked innocently.

"Ben and Brantley are morons," Hermione said quickly, to quell the storm that was Ron's fury.

"What about the other one?" Ginny asked.

"Braeden actually seems to be okay," Hermione admitted. She reached over to the stereo on her nightstand and turned it on. "Hey Jude" by the Beatles issued forth from the speakers.

"WOW! What's that?" Ron asked, eyeing the small box.

"It's a stereo," Hermione replied. Ron and Ginny both got on their knees in front of the small table as to examine the stereo more closely. Harry and Hermione both laughed that the Weasley's amazement. At that moment, Hermione knew the problem with her cousins would be perfectly okay as long as her friends were there.