Hp: Hermione and Darkness

Fred and George eventually came down, attempting unsuccessfully to sneak a few shortbread biscuits from the cooling rack. Just as Mrs Weasley shooed them away with her dishrag, they heard footsteps coming down the stairs. They all held their breath as Harry crossed the threshold with Mr Weasley and Sirius right behind him.

"Cleared," Harry said with a grin.

"I knew it!" yelled Ron, punching the air. "You always get away with stuff!"

"They were bound to clear you," Hermione added, though her hands were still shaking. "There was no case against you, none at all."

"Everyone seems quite relieved, though, considering you all knew I'd get off," Harry said, smiling.

Mrs Weasley was wiping her face on her apron, and Fred, George, and Ginny were doing a kind of war dance to a chant: "He got off, he got off, he got off…"

"That's enough! Settle down!" shouted Mr Weasley, though he too was smiling. "Listen, Sirius, Lucius Malfoy was at the Ministry-"

"What?" said Sirius sharply.

"He got off, he got off, he got off…"

"Be quiet, you three! Yes, we saw him talking to Fudge on Level Nine, then they went up to Fudge's office together. Dumbledore ought to know."

"Absolutely," said Sirius. "We'll tell him, don't worry."

"Well, I'd better get going. There's a vomiting toilet waiting for me in Bethnal Green. Molly, I'll be late. I'm covering for Tonks, but Kingsley might be dropping in for dinner-"

"He got off, he got off, he got off…"

"That's enough – Fred – George – Ginny!" said Mrs Weasley as Mr Weasley left the kitchen. "Harry, dear, come and sit down, have some lunch; you hardly ate breakfast."

Hermione and Ron sat themselves down opposite Harry, positively beaming. Hermione noticed Harry looked almost like himself for the first time since before the last Triwizard Task.

"Course, once Dumbledore turned up on your side, there was no way they were going to convict you," said Ron happily, now dishing great mounds of mashed potatoes onto everyone's plates.

"Yeah, he swung it for me," said Harry, then suddenly clapped his forehead with his hand.

"What's up?" said Hermione, her eyes wide with concern.

"Scar," Harry mumbled. "But it's nothing... it happens all the time now."

The happiness Hermione felt immediately ceased. Her mind raced with questions. What did it mean that Harry's scar was hurting again? Could things possibly get worse?

Before she could dwell on it, Ron interrupted her thoughts. "I bet Dumbledore turns up this evening to celebrate with us, you know."

"I don't think he'll be able to, Ron," said Mrs Weasley, setting a massive plate of roast chicken down in front of Harry. "He's really very busy at the moment."

"HE GOT OFF, HE GOT OFF, HE GOT OFF…"

"SHUT UP!" roared Mrs Weasley.

After lunch, Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Ginny escaped to the drawing room.

"Okay, spill it," Ron demanded eagerly.

"Tell us everything," Hermione urged.

"Don't leave a single thing out," Ginny added.

"Okay, okay, okay," Harry said, adjusting his glasses. "When we got to the Ministry—"

"Did you take the Floo Network or the Visitors' Entrance?" Ron interrupted.

"Visitors' Entrance," answered Harry. "So once we got inside—"

"What was that like? Where is it? We've never gone that way," Ron interrupted again.

"Bloody hell, Ron! Let Harry talk!" Hermione snapped, her anxiety spiking along with her voice. Everyone stared at her, slack-jawed.

"Blimey, Hermione," Ron said, wide-eyed.

"Sorry," Hermione mumbled. "I'm just a little on edge."

"A little?" Ron whistled.

"Ron, leave her alone!" Ginny said. "Don't make me hex you."

"Can I just tell you what happened?" Harry interjected, stopping the siblings' fight before it started.

"Yeah, mate," Ron said, glaring at Ginny and Hermione. "Go ahead."

"If you must know, we took the Underground," Harry said with a grin. "And then we entered through a phone booth. But yeah, when we got inside, we took the lifts to your dad's office because we were early. We saw Kingsley there, but he pretended like he utterly hated your dad."

"Why?" Ginny asked.

....

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