Hp: Hermione and Darkness

Hermione almost signed the letter, "Yours, Hermione," but decided against it at the last moment. Instead, she folded the letter and gave it to the light-grey owl (without any pecks from the brown one). "Take this to Ronald Weasley at the Burrow in Ottery St Catchpole, Devon, West Country, please."

The grey owl gave a soft hoot, its wings beating silently as it disappeared into the inky sky. The brown owl quickly followed, their silhouettes blending into the night. Hermione watched the magical letter carriers until they vanished from sight, feeling a pang of longing as she returned to her dreadfully unmagical room. The stark white walls and mundane furniture seemed to close in on her, a sharp reminder of how different her life here was from the one she cherished at Hogwarts.

The Granger household felt like a pressure cooker, ready to explode for the next few days. Bert and Mary tried to smooth things over, but Hermione immediately realised that they fell short of apologising. She remained polite and respectful, but a cold distance had settled in her heart. She couldn't quite articulate it, but she knew her relationship with her parents had fractured in a way that couldn't be mended.

A few days later, Hermione finally had a chance to visit Mildred, the Librarian, and catch up. She always felt a pang of guilt lying to her about school, but she had become adept at answering Mildred's questions honestly while using a few white lies to protect her magical secret. The warmth and familiarity of the library offered a brief solace, a world away from the tension at home.

Hermione meandered slowly home from the library, savouring the brief respite from her stifling house. The air felt lighter, and the simple act of walking gave her a sense of freedom she missed. Absorbed in kicking a pebble down the road, she didn't notice Finnegan and Keelin standing at her front door until she was nearly upon them.

"Oh!" Hermione exclaimed, her eyes widening in surprise. "Hello!"

"Quite the pebble you 'ave there, eh?" Finn said with a wink.

"Hermione! It's so nice to see you again," Keelin said, ignoring her twin brother as she pulled Hermione into a warm hug.

"And you!" Hermione responded with a smile. "This is such a nice surprise."

"Dumbledore didn't tell you we were coming?" Finn asked, furrowing his brow.

"Shocking," mumbled Keelin with a cheeky grin.

It took a moment for Hermione to make the connection. "Oh!" she said. "You're the 'associates' he said would come."

"At your service! Ready to go?" Finnegan said.

Keelin saw the look of confusion flash on Hermione's face. "Did you even know you are supposed to come with us today?" Keelin asked.

Hermione shook her head. "No," she said simply.

"Leave it to Dumbledore to be forthcoming," Keelin said. "Sorry, I know you probably admire him. He's just been a bit scattered lately."

"I agree with all of your assessments," Hermione whispered with a smile, "though I have to warn you—I think he has my room bugged."

"Nah, it just seems that way," Keelin said. "He truly is brilliant, and his intuition is terrifyingly good. There's a reason he is called the best Wizard of our time. No wonder Fudge is scared Dumbledore will take his job."

"Fudge is mental," Hermione said, shaking her head. "And Dumbledore's crazy, but not crazy enough to want to be Minister of Magic."

"Precisely," agreed Finn. "But Fudge is a paranoid little man." He made a motion with his arm to indicate Fudge's short and round stature before changing the subject. "So, what are we to do about you leaving, eh?"

"I can pack pretty quickly," Hermione said, mentally cataloguing where all her school things had dispersed.

"What about your parents?" Keelin asked.

Hermione's heart sank. As annoyed as she was with them, leaving without saying goodbye crossed some sort of line. "I suppose I could call them at work?"

"How about we wait until tomorrow?" Keelin suggested gently. "We can let the Order know—"

"The Order?" Hermione asked.

"Of the Phoenix," Finnegan finished. "It's an underground group of witches and wizards who fought against He Who Must Not Be Named during the Wizarding War, and they're rallying again now that he's back."

"Who's in the Order? Where does it meet? What—"

"You'll learn much more when you get there," Keelin said, gently interrupting Hermione's stream of questions. "Back to the issue of your parents. I think we should leave tomorrow instead, giving you some time to say goodbye."

"What about later tonight?" Hermione suggested, even though she realised it wouldn't be much better.

"Dr. and Dr. Granger would be crushed if they didn't get to say goodbye," Finnegan said. "I wouldn't hear the end of it during my appointment."

"Do they know about you?" Hermione asked.

"They will soon," Finnegan said with a wink.

"So tomorrow at lunchtime, yeah?" Keelin said.

"I'll be ready!" Hermione said, her heart skipping a beat with a sudden excitement. She was going home; she just had to muster the courage to tell her parents and get through one more night in her unmagical reality.

Unsurprisingly, Bert and Mary's faces darkened with disappointment.

"You've only been home a week!"

"This is our time with you!"

"You're making it increasingly hard to be supportive when you consistently choose magic over your family."

That last comment stung like a bee, but Hermione remained resolute in her decision. She hoped her parents would eventually understand her reasoning, but she wasn't going to hold her breath any time soon.