The Mage Knights

Chapter 7: The House of Weasley

The Return to Hogwarts was very uneventful. Since they were journeying across lands they had already traveled across, they were able to make it back to the castle in a matter of days. As soon as they arrived, the mirror was taken by Dumbledore and a number of other people. They seemed interested in examining the mirror in search of something. That was what was on Ron's mind as he was walking down the halls with Hermione one day.

"They've examining that thing for a long time now. What is it that they're searching for?"

"A hint to the location of the remaining two talismans," said Hermione. "Usually, the Mirror of Erised simply shows your heart's desire. But if you look into it with the desire to find something, in this case the remaining two talismans, the mirror will show you where to find and what they are. I'm willing to bet that nobody, not even Dumbledore, actually knows what the remaining two talismans are. In fact, I'm sure that we only needed the mirror as one of the three talismans for the sole purpose of finding the other two. Its those two that are the real key to the outcome of this war." She said all this very quickly.

Ron stared at her, his mouth hanging open. "Why is it that you always know about this kind of stuff when you've only been here for a few months?!"

"Honestly, don't you ever read?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and walked away from the grumbling Ron. She had different things on her mind: namely, her feelings for Harry. 'There is no way that a knight would ever fall in love with a lowly farm girl' she thought sadly. She decided that she was not going to act on her feelings; she would simply stand back and watch him find happiness in the arms of some deserving noble lady, no matter how heart breaking it would be for her.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

The following day, Hermione was wandering around the Hogwarts ground when a beautiful, snowy white owl flew down to her bearing a letter. Hermione smiled at the owl as it landed on her shoulder.

"Hello Hedwig, do you have a message from Harry?"

Hedwig nipped Hermione's ear affectionately as she took the letter and started reading it.

Dear Miss Hermione Granger,

You have been invited to the celebration of the 16th birthday of Lady Virginia Weasley. The celebration shall take place in three days at Weasley castle, also known as "the Burrow". We look forward to your attendance. Please come.


Hermione had heard of Lady Virginia: she was Ron's younger sister. She had never met her, or any of the Weasleys besides Ron for that matter, and wondered why she would be invited. However, Hermione knew how important birthdays were (she herself had turned 17 only a few weeks ago) and decided to accept the invitation. After all, she was positive that Harry would be there as well since it was Harry's owl that had carried the invitation.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

"Just you wait till you meet my family," said Ron on the day of the celebration. "They're a weird bunch, especially my brothers."

"What do your brothers do for a living?" asked Hermione.

"Well lets see now...Bill works for Gringotts bank, Charlie travels around the Hufflepuff lands studying dragons, and Percy recently became Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Ravenclaw: thank God he's out of the Burrow. Oh, and Fred and George, they're twins by the way, became court jesters, much to my mum's horror, stupid gits. You may want to be careful around them. And of course, I'm a Mage Knight." At this point they had stepped in front of a fireplace. Harry pulled out a jar filled with glittering powder.

"Is that Floo Powder?" asked Hermione.

"Nope, its a potion for beauty rest," said Ron with a grin on his face. Hermione sent him a death glare as Harry threw the powder onto the fire. He then shouted "The Burrow!" as he stepped into the flames. He instantly disappeared and was followed by Ron. Hermione shouted "The Burrow!" as she stepped into the flames. After a whole lot of spinning, she tumbled out of another fireplace.

"Well, how was your first experience with Floo Powder?" asked Harry as he offered her his hand.

"Just fantastic," she said dryly. Her insides did a couple of flips as Harry helped her up. As soon as she was on her feet, Hermione looked around to observe her surroundings. Weasley Castle and it's surrounding lands were one of the few areas within the Kingdom of Gryffindor that was not under Slytherin control. She was standing in a great hall of a rather run down but cozy castle. There were two long tables that ran along the sides of the hall. The center of the room had been cleared out to make a dance floor that would be used at the celebration that night. The walls were decorated with scarlet tapestries, all with golden lions drawn on them: the symbol of Gryffindor. Hermione looked to her side and saw a number of people with the same red hair as Ron.

"Welcome Hermione," said a tall, slightly balding man whom could only have been Lord Arthur. "We've really been looking forward to meeting you." Lord Arthur Weasley was none to have a fascination with muggles and immediately took a liking of Hermione. He turned to Harry and said, "Thank you for lending us Hedwig to deliver the invitations. Errol would have collapsed if he were given the job."

"My pleasure," said Harry.

"Oh its so nice to finally meet you," said a plump woman next to Arthur: Lady Molly. "Ron and Harry have written so much about you that I feel like I know you well." She then did something completely unexpected by throwing her arms around Hermione! Needless to say, Hermione was completely startled by this sudden display of motherly affection from a noble woman she had just met. She finally managed to stutter out a "Thank you."

She was then approached by another red head whom seemed to be carrying himself around with high nobility and aristocracy: Percy. "Miss Granger, how absolutely delightful to meet your acquaintance," he said with much posh as he took a bow and stuck out his hand. Before she could shake it however, Percy was pushed aside by one of the twins: Fred.

"Miss Granger, how stupendously wonderful to meet you," he said in a mocking tone as he shook her hand. He was then pushed aside by George who said "Absolutely smashing to meet you," as he shook her hand. Hermione stifled a laugh as Percy scowled at Fred and George.

"Do you two always mock your brother like that?" she asked.

The twins made a serious face as Fred said, "Oh, only when he gets all posh and snobby."

George continued, "Which happens to be..."

"Once..."

"Or twice..."

"Every minute..."

"All day..."

"Shut up!" shouted a very irritated Percy. Lady Molly was scowling, but Harry and Ron were snickering.

"Anyway," said Fred with an innocent look on his face. "Would you like a piece of bread?" He offered her a small piece of bread.

"Why, thank you very much," said Hermione. Before she could eat it, however, Harry grabbed Hermione's wrist, took the piece of bread, and popped it into Fred's mouth. Ron and George started howling with laughter as Fred's hair turned blue! After a few moments silence, Fred also started laughing.

'Oh, so that's what Ron meant by being careful around these two,' thought Hermione as she too laughed. She immediately stopped laughing when she saw a beautiful young red headed girl around the same age as her. Hermione suddenly became very aware of how plain she looked when she saw the noble girl who was none other than Lady Virginia. She was wearing a beautiful golden dress that brought out the full color of her hair. Her brilliant red hair was tied back in an elegant bun, leaving a few locks cascading around her face. She had a few, light freckles around her small nose and her chocolate brown eyes shone with life. What struck Hermione the most however, was the affection those eyes showed when they saw Harry. Hermione, all of a sudden felt miserable.

"Does she fancy him?" she whispered to Ron.

"Fancy him?" said Ron. "She's absolutely crazy about him. Back when we were children, she always turned bright red and couldn't utter a single sentence right whenever Harry was around."

"Does he fancy her back?"

"I don't know. I never asked."

Hermione looked down sadly. If anybody were to be with a Knight like Harry, it would have to be a noble lady such as Lady Virginia. She was a farm girl. There was no competition whatsoever.

"It is good to see you again, Sir Harry," said Lady Virginia as she kissed his cheek.

Harry smiled and kissed her hand. "It is good to see you too, milady."

Virginia then turned to Ron and gave him a hug. "I missed you, Ron."

Ron grinned as he hugged her back. "Really?" he said. "I thought you were hoping that I would be banished from this castle in a matchbox."

"Ron, shut up!" said Virginia as she pulled away. She then noticed Hermione and gave her smile, "You must be Hermione."

Hermione curtsied and said, "I'm am very honored, Lady Virginia, that you wish for a mere muggle-born as myself to attend your celebration of your sixteenth year. I am..."

"Please, call me Ginny," cut off Lady Virginia (or rather, Ginny). "And I don't want you to use such ridiculous formalities with me. You were invited because you're Ron and Harry's friend. Besides, I really wanted to get to know you and I hope we could really be friends." She then looked at Hermione's blue and white robes. "Do you have anything to wear to the celebration?"

Hermione was suddenly interested in her shoes. "No, these robes are all I own," she said sadly.

"We'll take care of that," said Ginny. She took Hermione's hand and pulled her out into the corridor. "I'll show you to your room," she said with a smile. "I'll dress you up in one of my dresses. You're going to look absolutely beautiful tonight."

As Ginny led her to her room, Hermione wondered if a lowly farm girl like herself could ever look as beautiful as the elegant Lady Virginia.

Chapter 8: The Birthday Celebration

The Weasleys went all out for their only daughter's birthday celebration. The guest list itself was impressive with members of the nobility from the Kingdoms of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, and a fair number of Mage Knights, A good number of Hogwarts trainers, and a number of other names well known to the inhabitants of Magiterran. Although the House of Weasley was one of the less fortunate of the nobility, due to the fall of the Kingdom of Gryffindor, they were still able to throw one of the biggest feasts ever to be served by house elves. They had also hired a large orchestra to play many of the songs that people were to dance to. They mostly played waltzes, but Fred and George managed to pass out some of their music that they were determined to have played: they called it "Latin" and "Swing".

In her room, Hermione was examining herself in the mirror. "You look lovely, dear," said the mirror. Hermione had to agree. She was dressed in an elegant sky blue dress that fit her form perfectly. The skirt flared out below the sash and the straps went around her upper arms, leaving her shoulders bare. Her normally bushy hair cascaded around her face in small ringlets. Her face had just the slightest hint of make up that highlighted her lips and eyes.

"Just perfect," said Ginny from across the room. "You really look gorgeous, Hermione."

Hermione looked towards Ginny who was wearing a similar dress, only hers was gold. "Thank you so much for lending me this dress," she said. "I promise, I'll try not to spoil it."

Ginny waved a hand. "Don't bother," she replied. "Well it is my birthday after all, so I'll go on ahead. You just relax and have fun. I'll see you later." With that, she took off to the feast.

Hermione admired herself in the mirror for a little while longer before heading out. In the corridor, she ran into Harry and Ron. Hermione turned red when she saw their mouths drop at the sight of her.

"You look beautiful," said Harry, a radiant smile on his face that made Hermione's insides melt.

Ron grinned. "Shall we escort you down to the hall, milady?" he said as both he and Harry offered her their arms. Hermione smiled and laced each of her arms through theirs. They proceeded to make their way to the Great Hall where the celebration was taking place. As soon as they got there, Hermione looked around for a number of familiar faces she knew would be attending. She recognized a number of Mage Knights who greeted the trio as they entered. To her surprise, she even saw Sir Draco Malfoy amongst the guests. It was well known that all of the Weasleys disliked Draco Malfoy and that he looked down on them. It was therefore surprising that he had been invited, as well as the fact that he had accepted. Draco did nothing more but simply stare at Hermione, making her a little uncomfortable. Hermione also recognized a number of Hogwarts trainers.

"All righ' there, yeh three?" called Hagrid as they made their way into the Great Hall. Hermione, Harry, and Ron beamed at him as they took their seats: Ron sat with his family at the high table while Harry and Hermione sat with the guests. As they ate, Hermione decided to observe the behavior of the many noble guests whom had attended: she was still a little uncomfortable about being the only common muggle-born at the celebration. She noticed Ron's brothers, Bill and Charlie, whom had arrived shortly after they had, chatting amicably with the Mage Knights. She also spotted Fred and George who were testing some of their inventions on various people, causing spontaneous bursts of laughter as people started to change into canaries or grow five-foot long tongues. One of their favorite targets was Percy, whom seemed really irritated as he was trying to impress various nobles.

Hermione picked up her goblet and took a sip. The drink tasted good and seemed to warm up her insides as it went down her throat. "What is this?"

"Butterbeer, one of the best drinks that exists," answered Harry.

After everyone had eaten their fill, Lord Arthur stood up and called for everyone's attention. "I wish to thank all of you for attending my daughter's sixteenth birthday celebration. I am pleased to see so many faces willing to turn up, despite the ongoing war against the Death Eaters. Now, the dance is about to start and I believe that it shall be opened by the lady of honor herself."

Upon hearing her father's speech, Ginny stood up and made her way towards Harry. "May I have this dance?" she asked him.

"It would be my pleasure, milady." Harry took Ginny's hand as the two made their way to the center of the dance floor. The orchestra started playing a slow tune and Harry and Ginny started to waltz around the dance floor. Hermione looked at them with a sad look on her face.

'They look so perfect with each other,' she thought sadly. 'A person like Harry deserves the best like Ginny. I am only the lowly farm girl who has to see her knight in shining armor find happiness in the arms of another woman, knowing that we can never be together.' Hermione's eyes started to get misty.

"Is something wrong, Miss Granger?" asked a voice right next to her, causing Hermione to jump. She turned around and looked into the face of Professor Minerva McGonagall, one of her Hogwarts trainers. She was a stern looking woman with green robes, oval shaped glasses, and black hair, which she never let out of her bun.

"Professor McGonagall, you surprised me," said Hermione, putting her hand on her chest.

McGonagall looked at Harry and Ginny, whom had now been joined by a number of other dancing couples. "And to imagine, he once told me he didn't dance," she muttered. She looked at Hermione and said "You seem to be miserable, Miss Granger. Whatever is the matter?"

"Oh, it's nothing important."

"I see. Well, if you ever wish to talk about it, I would be more than willing to listen and to help."

Hermione gave McGonagall a small smile. "Thank you, Professor." She looked back toward the dance floor. Ginny had switched partners and was now dancing with a different Mage Knight. Ron was dancing with a noble lady. Fred and George were also swinging around the dance floor, purposely disrupting many of the couples. Suddenly, Hermione noticed that Harry was standing right in front of her, with a small smile on his face.

"May I have this dance?"

"Wh...what?" stammered Hermione. "Y...you want t...to dance w...with me?"

Harry grinned. "Come on, Hermione. It'll be fun!"

"B...but, I can't dance!"

"Its easy. Just follow my lead and leave everything up to me."

Harry dragged a reluctant Hermione on to the dance floor and proceeded to waltz with her as the orchestra struck up another slow piece. After a few moments, Hermione found that dancing was indeed easy and was soon managing the steps without trouble. It was absolute bliss to be in Harry's arms, but at the same time, she felt very sad.

"Harry," she said trying to make conversation. "Do you ever think about...love?"

Harry looked surprised by her question. "What brought this up?"

"I'm just...curious."

Harry was silent for a while as they continued to waltz around the floor. Finally, he spoke up, "I grew up without parents, denied of any form of affection what so ever. Sometimes I wonder whether some one would ever love me. But what I do know is that if there is someone who actually falls in love with me. I will try to love her back every bit as much as so great a woman deserves. Then, we could raise a family, and I will be able to provide my children and my wife the love that I was always denied."

Hermione closed her eyes as she thought sadly 'Oh, Harry. I love you so much. And yet, we can never ever be together.' Tears started to roll down her cheeks.

Harry noticed the tears and frowned. "Hermione, what's wrong?"

Hermione couldn't hold it within herself anymore. She leaned forward and kissed Harry on the lips, completely shocking him. Then, before he could react, she tore away from the dance hall and ran straight to her room. She locked the door and cast a number of spells to make sure that no one disturbed her. After that, she flopped onto her bed, buried her face in her pillow, and burst into tears.