And So it Begins....

Chapter 2: Apperations, Portkeys, and Goodbyes

Crack! Crack!

My eyelids fluttered open as the noise brought me out of my darkness. I was mildly disoriented, as was the usual case after my, now frequent, headaches. I looked up at the window, expecting to see Pig with Ron's reply. It was dark outside already, 'I wonder how long I've been out."

"Pig," I muttered rubbing my head.

"What did you call us?" a familiar voice joked from behind me.

I gently turned my stiff neck and looked directly at the twin lopsided grins of Fred and George Weasley. I couldn't help but think of Ron as I looked at them, that lopsided smile was a Weasley trademark, and I loved that grin. I suddenly realized I hadn't said anything and I was just staring at them.

"Oh," I muttered, snapping out of my trance, "You apparated."

"You always were a smart cookie, Hermione," Fred remarked with a chuckle.

"Sorry, I'm just a little out of it," I mumbled, rubbing my temples to relieve the last of the pain, "What are you two doing here?"

"Ron got your letter and when Mum found out," Fred started.

"She flipped," George finished, "Something about dangerous times.....muggle transportation....smarter than that...."

"Mum's getting better at blocking out our extendable ears!" Fred added, "Then she contacted Dumbledore...."

"Right good fit she was having by then," interrupted George.

"And she practically ordered Dumbledore to authorize a portkey for you," Fred finished.

My head was beginning to spin. I was used to the twins finishing each other's sentences, but after the last headache, I was still a trifle groggy. I looked back and forth between Fred and George, trying to make sense of why they were here, before just flat out asking them, "Is that why you are here?" I asked slowly, "to make me a portkey?"

"Yeah," George said reaching into his pocket and extracting something that looked like a button, "this, my dear, is your very own, authorized portkey!"

"We are under orders to tell you to pack everything you will need for school and the entire next year," Fred said, continuing on with business.

"Why for the entire next year?" I asked, starting to sit up. I winced a little in doing this and I hoped that the twins didn't notice. I supposed they didn't because Fred continued his orders without as much as a glance in my direction.

"Well, Hermione, the world is getting very dangerous," Fred dictated as though I was a small child.

"Yes, Fred, I know that just as well as you do, if not better," I snapped, "Just get on with it."

Fred and George looked at me with wide eyes for a moment before continuing.

"Dumbledore and the rest of the order do not believe you or your parents are safe here anymore," George said.

"They are moving your parents to a safe house and you are going to stay at Grimmuald Place this summer and at Hogwarts the rest of the year," Fred stated, running his fingers through his hair. I could tell he knew this would be rough on me, Ron, Harry and Ginny.

"When do my parents leave?" I asked sadly. I hate to have them do this, but I know it's the only way.

"Lupin and Tonks are downstairs with them now," George told me, "why don't we leave you alone to pack and then you can talk to your parents."

"Alright," I sighed, getting up slowly. As they began to leave the room something caught my mind, "Wait!"

"Yeah?"

"When did you guys get so grown up?" I asked bewildered.

They looked at each other and shrugged before Fred said, "War makes people grow up too fast for their own good. Look at you, Harry, Ron and Ginny."

"I suppose you have a point," I thought out loud as they left me to pack. Wars do make us grow up. 'Perhaps we have grown up too fast,' I thought as I stuffed things into my trunk as fast as my body would allow me. 'It's not fair,' I thought for the hundredth time. Maybe it wasn't fair, but it was the hand we were dealt and we must play it through to the end. Card analogies, 'Come on Granger! That's just as bad as Ron's chess analogies.' Ron....somehow my thoughts always drift back to him. "SNAP OUT OF IT," I whispered harshly to myself as I exited my room, not even bothering with the trunk. It was time to say goodbye to my parents.

Goodbye....somehow it seemed so final, I couldn't really explain it, but somehow saying goodbye seemed permanent. I sniffed and wiped a tear away from my face as I descended the stairs to the living room.

I entered our beautiful living room, a sense of dread coming over me. My parents, my lovely, muggle, dentist parents were sitting on the sofa across from Tonks and Lupin. My mum and dad looked up at me with tears in their eyes. I knew they were thinking the same thing I was.

I walked to them as fast as my legs would carry me and collapsed into their arms, letting the tears flow out of me like a waterfall. My parents, I loved them so much that I didn't want to let go. It wasn't until my father decided that it would be best if we didn't waste too much time.

"Hermy, we love you dearly, but the longer we stay here, the easier of a target we all are," my father explained, pushing my bushy hair behind one ear.

"How much do you know?" I asked them, surprised at their understanding looks.

"Enough to know that this war you have been fighting.." my mother paused to catch her breath, "for so many years, will affect everyone if you, Harry, and Ron don't put a stop to it."

I gasped at what my mother had said. She understood, after so long she finally understood. I had to help Harry, Ron had to help Harry, Harry needed our love and strength to defeat Voldemort, and she finally understood that no one would stop us from giving that to him.

Tears poured down my face as I hugged my parents one last time, stood and walked over to Fred and George. They stood there with caring looks in their eyes, grasped my trunk, muttered the portkey charm, and counted to three.

"1, 2.....3"

I grabbed the button and felt the familiar tug on my belly button and was gone.