A Time to Love

Chapter 2. A Surprise Visit

"There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered." ont>

_Nelson Mandela

As Hermione had expected, the journey home had been filled with idle chat and long silences. Hermione felt so uncomfortable around her own parents. Even with her sharp mind, she didn't know any way to make her situation better. And the summer had barely began! She always had a solution for everyone else's problems, but when it came to her own, she was hopeless.

When they finally reached home, Hermione was relieved. Maybe once they were settled in the house, things would be more or less back to normal. In fact, all she probably needed was some food and a good night's rest.

Mr. Granger lifted her trunk out of the car and for that, Hermione was very grateful. Her ribs were completely healed, but still very sore. And she didn't to let on to her condition because that would raise some very complicated questions.

Hermione carried in Crookshanks while Mrs. Granger took in the cage. Hermione had a look around her neighborhood and saw that it hadn't changed in the least. Everything was exactly how it had been in previous summers. She was glad that some things always stayed the same, even if it was something as minor as the place where she grew up.

As she walked into the house, she noticed that it, too, screamed familiarity. The same look, feel... even the smells of her home were the same. Mrs. Granger's passion was baking. There were always good smells of fresh baking radiating throughout the house. Speaking of food...

Hermione's stomach made a loud grumble and Mrs. Granger turned around in surprise.

"Are you hungry?"

"I'm famished. Is dinner ready?"

"Actually, your dad and I thought it would be nice to go to a restaurant and eat tonight," she said.

Hermione's eyes lit up. When they went out to eat, they always went to Ma Chez Pauvre, which was a favorite of Hermione's. They served the best French food. And the ironic thing about its location is that it's a couple of shops away from The Leaky Cauldron. Hermione had been going to Ma Chez Pauvre for years and hadn't even known that the magical world was only a couple of steps away.

"We wouldn't happen to be going to Ma Chez Pauvre, would we?" Hermione asked in mock nonchalance.

"Maybe..." Mrs. Granger said, adopting Hermione's tone.

***

When they arrived at the restaurant, Hermione was very relieved. They had gotten home around 4:00 and their reservation wasn't until seven. She had to restrain herself from doing any nibbling before they left; though it had been very hard with a kitchen full of delectable pastries. So to keep herself out of the kitchen, she put away all her school things, made sure everything was in place, and started some of her summer homework.

Somewhere in the middle of her Potion's essay (Explain the uses of moontide and identify in which potion it is most effective.), Hermione had fallen asleep. It was really no wonder, considering all the physical and emotional stress she was going through. However, when she woke up, the ink marks on her face weren't all that appealing.

She went to the bathroom that was connected to her bedroom to wash her face. She had a look around and she didn't feel connected to it in the least. When she went back to her room, the same feelings stayed with her. What was wrong with her? This had been her room for almost sixteen years, and for eleven of those sixteen years, she was in it almost everyday. Surely, she hadn't changed that drastically since she left for Hogwarts, right? Right...?

On the ride over to the restaurant, she gave herself a mental pep talk. Sure, she was feeling a bit out of sorts now, but she was sure that would change. She would spend a nice evening with her parents, spending some quality time catching up. Maybe for the first time this year, she would have a perfectly normal night, devoid of excessive studying, practicing spells in the D.A., or fighting evil.

Hermione was at last seated comfortably at the table with her menu. However, she didn't need it because she always ordered the same thing: ratatouille. Her parents both ordered pissaladière, their usual as well. Now, it was conversation time, a time of the evening that Hermione wasn't especially looking forward to.

"So, Hermione, how were the O.W.L.'s that you were telling us about?" Mr. Granger asked.

'Well, that's an easy enough question,' Hermione thought. "I think I did rather well, actually. Although in Ancient Runes, I know that I got one wrong. I mistranslated a word and I felt so stupid afterwards, when I realized my mistake. Ron says it's only one mistake and that I'll still pass, but I don't know. What if I messed up more without realizing it? Or what if it's that one mistake that makes a pass into a fail? What if..."

"Hermione, I'm sure you did fine, as usual," Mr. Granger said.

"I hope so."

"We have faith in you," Mrs. Granger said. Just then, the waiter came withheir food and Hermione was glad to turn her attention away from the O.W.L.'s and onto her food.

Her ratatouille was delicious and she hardly took a break in between bites. Knowing she was showing bad manners, though, she lay her fork down on her plate and reached for her water glass. When she put her glass back down, she noticed that her napkin had fell out of her lap. Without thinking, she bent down to pick it up and instantly regretted it. She had forgotten about her sore ribs and tears of pain welled up in her eyes.

"Ow!"

Mrs. Granger looked alarmed. "Hermione, what's wrong?"

Without thinking she replied, "My ribs still hurt, especially when I make sudden movements. But I'm fine now." The pain had already subsided, back to its dull ache and the color was returning back to her face.

"Yes, I'm sure. It was just a quick flash. I'm fine, really."

"We had no idea you had been hurt," Mrs. Granger said. "Why didn't the school notify us?"

Uh-oh. "Well..." she racked her brain for a quick excuse. "It happened just a few days ago, so they really didn't have time to tell you since I was coming home."

"Were you going to tell us?"

"Yes, of course I was," Hermione lied. Of course she wasn't. "It's just not something you bring up at dinner. Besides, it's not that big of a deal."

"Tell us," Mr. Granger demanded. "And then let us decide if it's a big deal or not."

Hermione was running out of ideas now. She had to do some quick talking. "Well... some friends and I were practicing some spells and a spell came my way that wasn't done properly, and it injured my ribs. Madam Pomfrey - that's the nurse at my school, you know - healed my ribs right away. All that's left is a little soreness that she said would leave in a couple of days." There. That wasn't so far from the truth, was it? Her friends - Harry, Ron, Ginny, Luna, and Neville - were doing spells at the Department of Mysteries, and plenty of them. And wasn't the spell that Antonin Dolohov hit her with not done correctly because he couldn't speak?

"Hermione, that was very irresponsible of you, playing with magic that way!" Mrs. Granger exclaimed.

Playing? Not even close. "We weren't playing, Mum. We were... dueling. It's good practice for the N.E.W.T.'s that we take in seventh year, which is double the amount more grueling and important than the O.W.L.'s."

"Wasn't this supervised by a teacher? I don't know why it wouldn't be, if it's exams you're preparing for," Mrs. Granger asked, eyeing her closely. Hermione could tell that she knew something about her story wasn't quite right.

"We decided to do it on our own."

"It's not like you to do something that may get you in trouble," her father said.

Hermione's palms were starting to sweat. "Well, we didn't get in trouble," she said, not answering the question.

"And why not? You practiced magic unsupervised and consequently you got hurt. What kind of school is this that doesn't punish its students properly when they've clearly done something wrong?" he asked.

"It's not exactly against the rules. At least, it's not written down anywhere, so they couldn't punish us. Why are you pushing this?"

"Because," Mrs. Granger said. "We want to know why you're lying to us. It makes me wonder, have you been lying to us this whole time?"

"Of course not! And I'm not lyin you! Why don't you believe me?"

"Well, first of all, the N.E.W.T.'s are two years away and I imagine that not all students are not as ambitious as you to start practicing right after exams are over. Second of all, if this were really no big deal, then you wouldn't have a problem with telling us. I'm you mother - I know when you're not telling the truth."

Hermione felt trapped. If she managed to come up with a good lie, then what? Would she always have to lie to them? And if she told them the truth, would the even believe her? So far, Hermione had managed to skirt the truth all these years. She only stretched the truth slightly and tied it up in a nice little bow. But now, her parents were starting to see through her, and she didn't know what else to do.

"Were you in danger?" her mother asked her.

Her face flushed slightly at being asked that, shing she definitely couldn't get around. Apparently, her parents noticed. "Thought so," her mum muttered.

"Is Hogwarts a dangerous place? I remember you telling us that it was the safest place in the world. If that's so, then why were you in danger?" her dad asked.

Oh, I may as well tell them, she thought. Besides, what could I tell them that they'd possibly believe?

"Hogwarts is the safest place in the world. It's everywhere else that the danger is."

"Are you saying," her mum said, "that you weren't in Hogwarts?"

"We left Hogwarts because we thought Harry's godfather was in danger. We thought that Voldemort - he's a really evil wizard and he's out to kill Harry - had Sirius so we flew from Hogwarts on these animals called thestrals that you can't see unless you've seen death - which I haven't, of course - so I had to fly there on something invisible, which wasn't really pleasant. But we got there, which is the important thing. So we had to go through a lot of stuff once we got there, and it wasn't easy. I guess that part you're waiting to hear is when I got injured?"

"Yes, that would be nice," Mrs. Granger said faintly, clearly confused.

"Right, well, it was Harry, Neville and I. We were fighting this Death Eater - one of Voldemort's supporters - and then he did this weird slashing with his wand that I never got to read up on, so I don't know exactly what he did. The t thing I remember is waking up in a hospital bed."

To say that they were dumbstruck is a bit of an understatement.

Mr. Granger closed his mouth and shook his head slightly. "So you're telling me that there is somebody out to kill your best friend, for no apparent reason?" Mrs. Granger seemed to have lost the ability completely to speak.

"Well, there's a reason, I just don't know what it is."

"I'm almost afraid to ask, but, is this the first time during your whole stay at Hogwarts, that you've been in danger?"

She was on a roll now. , she thought. I don't think I could even stop if I wanted to. It's like someone put a truth potion in my water.

"No. In my first year, Harry, Ron, and I had to go by a huge three-headed dog, as well as other various tasks, to save this stone that gives a person immortality. Voldemort wanted it and we had to stop him. We did it, too. And in my second year, I was petrified - kind of like being unconscious - for weeks because of this monster that was roaming the school that my other friend let out. Not because she wanted to, but because Voldemort had possessed her and made her do it. And we tried to figure out who was doing the attacks and in the process, I turned into a human cat. Let' see, in third year, we confronted Sirius Black, who we thought was a murderer but he really wasn't. Then I almost got my soul sucked out by these things called dementors. And then Harry and I had to go back in time to help Sirius escape, because they were going to let a dementor suck his soul out."

She took a big breath before continuing. Thankfully, her parents didn't interrupt her. Quite the contrary, actually. They seemed to stunned to think.

"Fourth year was actually pretty tame, for me at least. There was a Death Eater at the school, disguised as someone else and he held him locked in his own trunk. And Harry had to watch Voldemort come to life again. It's an even longer story, so don't ask. And I already told you what happened this year. Oh, and Sirius died and I know Harry feels guilty for it, even though it's not his fault."

They just stared at her as if she were crazy. "I'm done."

"This is too much to take in," Mrs. Granger muttered.

"I know one thing," Mr. Granger said. "There's no way you're going back there. Ever."

Hermione's jaw dropped. "What? You can't be serious!" <>

"I've never been more serious in my life," he said.

"But I have to go back! Hogwarts is my home! You don't understand at all! All my friends are there and - oh, I just can't leave!"

"You can and you will," he said angrily.

"But my studies! I've been there for five years now. I can't just let all of that go to waste! N.E.W.T.'s are in two years and if I quit school now, I'll never get a decent job, no matter how good my O.W.L.'s are!" Hermione had never been more upset in her life. Sure, she had just dropped a huge bomb on them tonight, but they were being unreasonable. Unreasonable! Hermione was now close to tears.

"And what have you got to show for all your training? What decent job could you ever get with seven years of magic school and only five years of real school? I don't know what we were thinking, letting you go off to this place where it seems like madmen are lurking behind every corner." Her dad was furious, she could see that. But Hermione was the one that should be furious. There was no way they were going to stop her from going back to Hogwarts. No way!

"It's not like that at all! We learn loads of stuff. Our education is just as rigorous as a regular education, maybe even more so. And I won't get a regular job. I'll get a job in the Wizarding World."

"The thing is, Hermione," he said, "is that I don't know if you'll even make it to that point, with the way your years seem to be going. A normal day for you is filled with death and destruction." He shuddered. "No, it's decided. You've been to Hogwarts for the last time."

"Aren't you going to say anything, Mum? Tell him he's wrong, please! You've got to understand!" nt>

Mrs. Granger seemed to finally have regained the ability to talk. "I'm sorry, Hermione, but I agree with your father. And what's more, I don't think you should be seeing those friends of yours anymore, either. It's obvious that they're having a bad effect on you. That's why you're going to summer camp this year. You're going to be a counselor. I've been toying with this idea for a while now, and now I've made my decision. You need to be re-installed back in this world, starting with a normal summer. Then, you'll be going to Ridgeway's, where you should have been going ages ago."

Hermione could take this no longer. Couldn't they see what they were doing to her? Short of death, not being able to go back to school would be the worst possible thing that could ever happen to her! No way could she live without Ginny when they were becoming fast friends, her only female friend. No way could she live without Harry, when he needed her the most. No way could she live without Ron, for reasons even she couldn't quite understand. No way.

"We'll see about that!" she spat as she got up fm the table. She ran in the direction of the loo then abruptly stopped. Her mum would surely come looking for her in about 10 minutes, giving her enough time to calm down so they could talk rationally. They would give her no choice but to obey them, because she couldn't do magic outside of Hogwarts except for emergencies. Would the Ministry count this as an emergency? Maybe... but probably not. But what if...

She knew she had not a second to spare. Instead of heading toward to loo, she made a detour out of the sight of her parents and ducked down, just in case. She made a quick dash for the door, hoping against hope that she wouldn't be stopped.

When she finally made it out the door, she took a quick sigh of relief. Quick, indeed, because her time was still limited. She sprinted the few steps towards The Leaky Cauldron. She smiled mischievously to herself. When her parents realized she was gone, they would probably come here looking for her. Only they wouldn't be able to find it because they were muggles and they could only be lead in there with the help of Hermione.

She stepped inside and breathen the familiar smells of the pub. She probably stood out like a sore thumb in her muggle, black spaghetti strap dress, and high heels. Since they were going out to dinner, her parents had required her to dress up. Now she wished they had gone to McDonalds.

She quickly ducked into a corner booth, out of sight of all the customers and the bartender. Now that she had made it this far, it was time to proceed. But how? What way could she possibly get to... wherever she was going? And where was she going?

Well, the Weasley's, of course! Came a thought from the back of her mind. Hermione shrugged. Sounded good to her. Now, how was she going to get there? She racked her heavily informational brain for the random facts that she had acquired during the years and came up dreadfully short. In moments of crisis (or even near crisis), Hermione couldn't really think straight. An image of herself with the Devil's Snare saying "but there's no wood!" popped unwanted into her mind, proving the point.

Hermi thought of all the different ways she had traveled in the Wizarding World before. There was Floo Powder, which would definitely get her there. The only thing was, Hermione didn't want to risk being seen in public. That would probably, eventually, lead back to Harry. Voldemort knew that Hermione was one of Harry's best friends, and he proved that he would use any way possible to get to Harry. He most likely had allies that worked in the Ministry that would be watching the Floo Network. They would definitely watch her, and see that she went to the Weasleys. What if they followed her because they thought Harry might be there? She could never live with herself if she put the Weasleys in danger.

This also ruled out the Knight Bus, because anyone could ride that and Voldemort is clever enough to put spies everywhere. And she couldn't apparate, because that could go horribly wrong, and she would get a warning from the Misuse of Magic. But what did that leave her with? She thought hard and long, but the only other way she had traveled was through portkeys.

A Portkey! Of course, that was it! Why didn't she think of it before? Sure, they weren't quite legal to do, but nobody would know, right? They would think a member of the Ministry did it. And she had read all about them, so she knew how to do it.

She was very lucky that she had her wand on her. If there was one thing she learned, it was always be prepared, no matter what.

All she had to do was think of the place she wanted to be and then say the spell. Of course, she needed an object first. She searched the table. Her eyes lay on a set of silverware. She shrugged. It'll do, she thought.

She picked up the spoon and thought of the Weasley's house. She always loved going there because it was obvious that they all cared for each other, despite the fighting, teasing, and prank playing (mostly the twins). But really, there was one Weasley she thought of in particular. She wasn't quite sure what she felt for him but she knew this: It wasn't normal.

She chastised herself for thinking about Ron when she was supposed to be getting the heck out of here. She made sure that the area around her was clear before proceeding. Once again, she thought of the Weasley house. She muttered '<> under her breath and tapped the spoon with her wand.

She looked at her watch and counted down until the time. Thirty-three... thirty-two... If Hermione had taken the time to rationalize, she would've realized just how bizarre she was acting. This was so un-Hermione-like. Nineteen... eighteen... But this was an emergency. And she was sure that nobody would ever find out. Ten... nine... Hermione frowned. The Weasley family would know, of course, because she was going to land in their house, after all. Five... four... Hermione looked at her watch and gasped. Another couple of seconds more and she would've missed it. She got ready to grab hold of the spoon. Three... two... one... Hermione grasped the spoon tightly in her hand and promptly felt that familiar pull from her navel. She was flying in a whirlwind of color and sound and before she knew it, she landed in an ungraceful heap on the floor.

Where was she? It took her a minute to take in her surroundings, and then she immediately knew where she was, mostly because of the orange room andhe shirtless form standing above her, an astonished expression on his face.

Hermione took a moment to look him over. She had never seen him shirtless before and it was quite a sight. Hermione felt bad for anytime she ever criticized Quidditch before. It obviously agreed with him. His chest was slightly muscled and it had a thin patch of hair on it. And what a peculiar shape! Almost as if it was an arrow pointing down into his trousers where...

What was she doing? Hermione mentally slapped herself. She couldn't believe she was staring at her best friend in such a way. It just wasn't right. It wasn't right at all! Hermione liked to think herself a rational person (with a few exceptions, tonight being one of them) and her thoughts definitely weren't those of a sane person.

She wanted to go back to the person she used to be - the person who thought things out thoroughly and didn't stare at her friends as if they were a piece of prime meat - before she completely lost her sanity.

She closed her mouth from its "o" shape, stood up from the ground, and smiled sheepishly. "Surprise."