You Call This A Holiday?

    As soon as they got inside the house, it was apparent that there was something wrong. They saw Molly Weasley rushing past them in the hall, and it took her a few seconds to realize they were there.

    'Oh thank goodness you're here!' she exclaimed, embracing Hermione like a long-lost daughter. 'Arthur and Bill left about an hour ago; we had an urgent warning from Dumbledore and I was so afraid it was about one of the children.' Hermione looked slightly embarrassed as she saw Ron and Ginny coming down the stairs, shaking their heads and rolling their eyes.

    'Mum, please! We're not children anymore,' Ron exclaimed loudly, causing his mother to spin around sharply.

    'Of course you are, Ron, don't be silly,' she replied, paying no attention to the pained expression on his face. 'Anyhow, I haven't heard anything since they left, so I was hoping you would show up soon. It's just so hard to keep track of everything that's been going on. Would anyone like a cup of tea?' Kingsley accepted, and so all the adults moved on to the kitchen. Ron, Ginny and Hermione didn't even bother trying to follow them.

    'Let's go back upstairs. You can unpack your stuff, Hermione,' suggested Ginny.

    Ron, shaking his head in disbelief at Hermione's knapsack asked 'Are you only staying for the weekend, or what?'

    'Of course not,' she replied, 'Lupin transfigured my trunk before we left so we wouldn't attract attention on the Muggle Underground.' Ron still looked dubious as he followed the girls to their room.

    Sitting on Hermione's bed was a large ginger lump of a car. 'Crookshanks!' she cried. 'Oh no, I knew I had forgotten something.'

    'Dumbledore dropped by with him early this morning,' Ginny explained, 'I guess he figured he wouldn't be accepted on the Underground, either.'

    'No wonder I forgot him,' Hermione sighed, stroking the cat's thick orange fur, 'he was probably already gone before I even got up.'

    'Who would have ever thought that you'd forget anything, Hermione,' Ron joked. 'Speaking of forgetting, weren't you going to unpack that?' he gestured to her knapsack.

    'Oh, I'll do that later. I'd much rather hear about what's been going on here,' she changed the subject, not wanting to explain to Ron that she'd rather not unpack all her clothes in front of him.

    'Hmph. Where to begin?' Ginny started darkly. 'How about when Mum went frantic at the thought of Fred and George getting an apartment in London.'

    'What's so wrong with that? Percy's got a place, too, hasn't he?'

    'Yeah, that's just what she's afraid of: having two more Percys,' Ron cut in. 'Even if he wasn't... Well, whatever he is now, Mum would still have a problem with it. Ever since the Burrow was attacked, she's been in a right flap.'

    Her eyes wide with horror, Hermione asked 'The Burrow was attacked? Was anyone hurt? Was it...' Her voice trailed off, but the two Weasleys understood her meaning.

    'Yeah, they think it was a group of Death Eaters. Nobody was home, though, so nobody got hurt. Bill figures it was just a warning though, so naturally Mum's been in a state.'

    Hurriedly, Hermione relayed the story about how her home had been attacked, and how she had been staying at the Leaky Cauldron with her parents.

    'So that's why you couldn't come straight here, I guess,' Ron said as the realization dawned on him.

    He looked at his sister, whose face had been drained of colour. 'If both of our houses have been attacked, where have Dad and Bill gone?' Ginny asked. 'Did the same thing happen to someone else? Someone we know? Is it Harry?' The last part she said under her voice, because she didn't want it to be true. The possibility couldn't be ruled out; if Dementors could show up in Little Winging and attack Harry and his cousin Dudley, who's to say that his aunt and uncle's house couldn't also be attacked?

    'Did Dumbledore go with your dad and Bill?' Hermione asked, trying to puzzle out what the answer could be.

    'I don't think so. I hears Dad mention someone else's name, though. Maybe they were meeting with whoever that was,' Ginny replied.

    'I get the feeling that if it was Harry, Dumbledore would be there,' Hermione said, not quite sure of herself nonetheless.

    'Maybe it wasn't an attack at all,' offered Ron, his voice only half-hopeful.

    'Argh! I wish they'd stop trying to hide everything from us!' exclaimed Ginny suddenly. 'Don't they know that we're worried, too?'

    The conversation continued on this course for some time until they heard the loud sounds of feet and excited voices downstairs. They clamoured to the stairs to see what had happened.

    'What happened to Mrs Black?' Hermione asked, immediately noticing the absence of her usual shrill condemnations from her portrait.

    Ron grinned devilishly, not unlike his twin brothers. 'Mum got fed up with her and made her put a sock in it. Literally.'

    Nothing could have prepared them for what awaited them downstairs. They were so used to seeing various members of the Order of the Phoenix that otherwise would seem out of place, like Mundungus Fletcher and Moody, that they hardly recognized who had come in. Arthur and Bill Weasley had returned, and with them was a pale boy about their age, clutching the remains of a Honeydukes chocolate bar. Ginny was the first to recognize who it was. 'Neville!' she cried, rushing forward. 'What happened?'

    Arthur held up his hand, asking her to wait. 'Let's go into the kitchen, shall we? I expect Neville would like something to drink.' The boy nodded weakly, and they all moved to the kitchen.

    Bill passed around Butterbeers for everyone as they all settled around the table. Although the colour was now returning to his face, Neville clearly did not want to talk, so Mr Weasley explained what had happened. Apparently several Death Eaters showed up at Neville's grandmother's house with a Dementor. They didn't do much damage, but Mrs Longbottom was in a state of shock and had to be taken to St Mungo's as a precaution due to her old age. The most amazing thing about the incident was that Neville had been the one to first notice the Dementor approaching the house, and had produced a magnificent Patronous to drive the Death Eaters and the Dementor away. Mr Weasley figured they would have done more damage it weren't for Neville's quick thinking.

    'Way to go, Neville!' praised Ron, suitably impressed, while Hermione and Ginny sat in wide-eyed disbelief.

    Neville allowed himself a small smile. 'I'm just glad Harry taught us the charm; I needed to help Gran.'

    'So where are Remus and the others?' Molly asked, looking around. 'Didn't they meet up with you, Arthur?'

    'Well, when they realized the situation was under control, they left. There wasn't much to do by the time we got there; Neville had seen to that!'

    Molly was visibly worried as she wrung her hands, wondering 'Oh where on earth could they have gone?'

    They didn't have to wait long to find out. Less than an hour later, the door opened again, this time admitting Lupin, Kingsley, Tonks and Luna Lovegood. They came straight into the kitchen, Luna looking around the room with the indifferent gaze of a real-estate appraiser.

    'Just checking out your story, Hermione,' Lupin said with a small smile. 'This was more of a pre-emptive rescue mission. The was things seemed to be going, we figured they were targeting whichever DA members were at the Department of Mysteries. Miss Lovegood would be the next likely target, so we asked her father if we could 'rescue' her.'

    'What about Harry?' Ginny asked quickly.

    'Dumbledore has him well protected, Ginny. He'll come here with us in a few weeks.'

    Hermione was dumbstruck. They really were marked now, there was no doubt about it. And as nice as it was to see Neville and Luna again, she felt a pang of jealously that they were cutting into her time with Ron and Ginny. And that will be nothing compared to the jealousy Harry will feel when he finds out that they're all there together, while he's stuck with the Dursleys.

    Sure enough, later that night Hedwig arrived with a letter. Ginny and Luna were talking in the girls room - Mrs Weasley had conjured a third bed for Luna - and Neville was already fast asleep in Ron's room. Hermione was leaving the loo when Ron came thundering up the stairs.

    'Harry knows something's going on,' he said quietly so they couldn't be overheard. 'Hedwig's downstairs. He said old Mrs Figg showed up earlier just to make sure everything was okay. Dumbledore must have alerted her about Neville. What should be tell him?'

    Hermione thought for a minute, then said 'Well, we can't tell him much, can we? Just in case Hedwig gets intercepted.' Ron could practically see the gears turning in her mind.

    'Okay! I've got it!' She dashed down the stairs on her light feet, while Ron lumbered behind her. The response she wrote was very short, and she could tell Ron wasn't overly impressed with it.

            News coming soon

            not by usual channel.

            Watch for it.

                    XO

                    H+R

    'What's that all about?'

    'I can't tell you now, Ron; I have to talk to Tonks tomorrow. I'll tell you then.'

    'You have a plan?'

    'I have a plan, but I hope it works.'

    Hermione didn't even realize how silent the house was. They were in the study where Hermione had found the parchment and quill, and the only light in the room was coming from a candle in the hallway. Hermione vaguely thought that everybody else must be down in the kitchen or else already asleep. There was a strained silence between Hermione and Ron as they stood close together, each regarding the other in the shadowy darkness. Before either could say or do anything, Hedwig flapped into the room, breaking their reverie. Hermione fastened the letter to the owl's leg, offered a quick 'good night' to Ron, and hurried off to her bedroom.    

    Ginny and Luna were awake when Hermione returned upstairs. The door was shut and no ribbon of light peeked out from under the door, so a prying Molly Weasley could assume the girls were already asleep. Hermione knew better, and sure enough when she quietly inched the door open the silence was littered with recently whispered words. The stillness was too absolute to be mistaken for a natural sleepy silence.

    'It's only me,' whispered Hermione into the dark.

    'Oh I thought it was Mum coming to check on us. Luna and I were just discussing some things.'

    'That sounds mildly suspicious, Ginny,' Hermione responded, stepping carefully in the dark towards her bed. Crookshanks immediately jumped up into her lap as she settled in, wrapping a quilt around her shoulders like a shawl.

    'No more suspicious than you!' she countered. 'You left to pee and came back half an hour later.'

    'I was with Ron.'

    'I knew that,' said Luna wearily, entering the conversation.

    'So what exactly were you doing with my brother, anyway?' Ginny asked in a mock-interrogation-style.

    'Honestly!' Hermione defended herself, while pulling the edges of the quilt tighter around her shoulders in the dark. 'Hedwig showed up and we had to write a note to Harry. What are you trying to insinuate, anyhow?'

    Ginny giggled from her bed while Luna said 'Well it is dark. And quiet...'

    'Don't worry, Hermione,' Ginny interrupted, 'we know nothing happened between you and Ron; the walls here are so thin, we would have heard everything!' The two younger girls snorted with laughter as Hermione sat in what she hoped was indignance. Even she was still thinking about that weird, awkward moment downstairs with Ron, but refused to mention it to the other two.

    'Well I'm sure you weren't talking about me for a full half-hour,' Hermione said when the peals of laughter subsided.

    'Actually, we were,' replied Luna matter-of-factly. 'And Viktor Krum, too.'

    'Oh. That.'

    'Do you really think You-Know-Who could be controlling him, Hermione?' asked Ginny.

    'Yes, I do. It's really the only thing that makes sense. You don't believe anything about me in the tabloids, either, do you?'

    'Oh of course not!' her friend squealed. 'I know you're not out to break his heart,' she said, giggling once more.

    'Oh for goodness sake!' cried Hermione, frustrated. 'I hardly even want to know what you're talking about!' Then sh crawled under the covers and tried to sleep.

    She had a fitful sleep, tossing and turning all night despite being quite tired, so before the morning sun had risen, Hermione was up to greet the day. Number twelve Grimmauld Place was still silent due to the early hour, and so Hermione expected all the inhabitants were still in bed. This was not the case. When she entered the kitchen, she discovered Tonks sitting alone at the table, uncharacteristically quiet and seemingly coordinated. She was reading the Daily Prophet when she noticed Hermione standing in the doorway.

    Tonks appeared surprised briefly, but covered her expression quickly. 'Wotcher,' she grinned brightly. 'Busy day today? It's pretty early.'

    Hermione thought for a moment, and pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. 'It may be busy. Depending on certain resources...'

    Tonks looked interested. 'What kind of plan do you have up your sleeve, Hermione?'

    'Well, we need a way to contact Harry and let him know that Neville and Luna are here, and why. Assuming owl post is being monitored, of course, so we need an alternate method. He'll never forgive Ron or I if we keep more information from him like we had to last summer.'

    The other young woman pondered that for a moment. 'It did make him a bit cross, didn't it?' They both shared an indulgent smirk, then Tonks asked 'You drink coffee?'

    'Not usually; I think I'm more of a tea person, actually.'

    'Can't argue with that, but really, early mornings like this are made for strong coffee.'

    The younger woman agreed on coffee and Tonks conjured two large mugs with a wave of her wand. She tapped the inside of her own mug with her wand, and a thin stream of milk trickled out of the end.

    'Milk or sugar?'

    Hermione said yes to the milk, but declined the sugar, accustomed as she was to the dental habits of her parents. The two sipped the steaming hot liquid in the early morning silence, before Hermione realized that this was an unusually early hour for Tonks to be at Headquarters. She mentioned this, and Tonks only shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. 'I stayed over last night. Remus officially commandeered Fred and George's room, so we stayed up talking til all hours last night.' As much as she tried to restrain it, Hermione pictured Tonks and Lupin together in his room. A very un-Hermione-like smirk spread impulsively across her face. Tonks noticed, and her face blushed faintly pink.

    'I slept in Buckbeak's room!' she whispered shrilly, eyes bulging slightly. Then they both laughed, for there wasn't anything actually suggestive in her admission.

    Finally, Tonks said in a would-be casual voice 'It's not as if we were the only ones up talking last night, when everyone else was supposed to be asleep.'

    Hermione dispelled her wicked grin with a wry shake of her head. 'I'm beginning to think that nobody slept last night. For the record, Ron and I were sending a message to Harry. Hedwig showed up last night, but we couldn't actually tell him anything.' She took a sip of coffee. 'Which reminds me - what do you know about Muggle technology?'

    'Probably not as much as you, since you're from a Muggle family. Dad was a Muggle, but we always lived in wizarding homes and towns. Why do you ask?'

    'Well, I've been hearing about this thing called 'the Internet'. It works with computers and telephone lines, and you can send messages to people around the world. I don't know any more than that, since I'm at Hogwarts for most of the year.'

    'Okay,' Tonks nodded, 'so are you planning on contacting Harry by the Internet? Does he even have a computer?'

    'Probably not, actually,' Hermione admitted, 'but his cousin Dudley does, and he's so spoiled I'm sure his parents have some way for him to use the Internet. My plan is to somehow get a message to Harry through his cousin.'

    'You'd need to have his email address first,' a third voice interjected. Tonks and Hermione were so absorbed in their conversation that they didn't hear Luna come down the stairs.

    'You know about this stuff?' Tonks questioned the blonde girl in amazement.

    'Of course. My father's paper has printed some articles about Muggle things like that, but most people don't believe in it. But I don't blame them; I'd rather read about Crumple-Horned Snorkacks, too.' Her face bore a pleased expression as she joined them at the table.

    'Have you ever used it, Luna?' asked Hermione. 'Would we be able to find out Dudley's email address or whatever it is?'

    'Oh sure. It can't be that difficult. Except we'd have to have access to a computer that uses the Internet.'

    Somehow Hermione had failed to see that fatal flaw in her plan. Where were they able to find a computer?

    Others in the house were waking up now, and Molly Weasley soon joined the others in the kitchen.

    'My, my! Are we having a party this morning? Have you all eaten?'

    Suddenly aware of their hunger, the three young women got up from the table to help Mrs Weasley prepare breakfast. As the smell of bacon, toast, eggs and ham filled the air, the conversation was forgotten until Arthur joined them for breakfast.

    'The boys and Ginny are having a bit of a lie-in, Molly,' Arthur addressed his wife. 'We might as well save some of this delicious breakfast for them when they drag themselves out of bed.'

    'Oh Arthur!' Tonks cried suddenly. 'You know a lot about Muggle technology; do you know if there's anywhere nearby to use an 'Internet computer'?'

    He thought it over momentarily. 'I suppose the London library might. They do have computers, I know. We dealt with some a few months that were diseased.'

    Hermione screwed up her nose. 'Diseased?'

    'Well they said it was a virus, but really they had been cursed badly. It wasn't contagious, thank goodness. I don't know about this 'Internet', though. Did you know it move written words through the fellytone lines?' His face positively glowed with excitement.

    'Hermione wanted to do an experiment of sorts, Arthur,' Tonks explained to him. 'Do you think a few of us could trek down to the library later?'

    'Surely not everybody is going, are they?' Mrs Weasley asked in a tone of concern. 'No offense to you of course, Tonks dear, but I'd feel a lot better about it if Remus went with you.'

    Tonks agreed. Now that Luna and Neville were under their care as well, they certainly weren't going to take any unnecessary risks.