Climate Change

A Grim Welcome

The place looked dark and old. That was the first thing to pop into Hermione's head. The night had been hard and she just wanted to be in a warm place with friends. Don't forget that she'd be receiving information about her parents vanishing. The troubled girl stood in front of numbers eleven and thirteen. This couldn't be right. Where was twelve? Hermione tried to remember anything from the letter about the address. Number 12 Grimmauld Place was correct. Out of nowhere, numbers eleven and thirteen began scraping apart to reveal another house. Hermione closed her mouth because she had dropped it. After she got over this new magic she stepped forward to the door decorated with snakes. Speaking of snakes reminded her of the time she punched Draco Malfoy in her third year. Why was she thinking about that slimy ferret? She was about to reach for the door knocker when it opened abruptly. Standing there in all his glory was Alastor Moody. He looked as he always did. He had scars all over his face along with chunks taken out of it. His crazy eye staring into the souls of every witch or wizard to cross his path. One could never forget all the criminals he'd thrown in Azkaban for unspeakable crimes. "What are you waiting for? Come in," he said gruffly. Hermione nodded and walked inside. "The rest of the order is in the kitchen. Just down the hall." Hermione just nodded and walked further in. He limped off into another room to the left. The interior was worse than the exterior. Old fashioned gas lamps and cobwebs. Peeling wallpaper that had to be well over a hundred years old. Voices could be heard talking in the distance. They were loud but Hermione couldn't make out what they were saying. She came to the door and opened it a bit. Standing and sitting in the room were people she recognized and didn't recognize. To her surprise, Professor Snape was there in a corner. Molly, Arthur, Sirius, Lupin, and some unrecognizable one were there as well. Molly saw her and said, "Hermione dear! We were worried sick. Please come sit down. Tonks, could you please get the kids down so they can see her?" the room quieted down when she spoke. "Sure Molly," said a girl sitting next to Lupin with bubblegum pink hair. Hermione went over to a chair across from Molly and sat down. "Are You okay? We heard about your parents from a friend who lives on your street. They flooed here and told us everything they heard and saw. I sent you a letter the second they left. We haven't heard anything about any activity at St. Mungo's so your parents aren't there. Can we help you in my way dear?" she talked for a while longer about what they think happened and Hermione listened to every bit of it. "Molly unless you can bring my parents to me right now you can't do anything for me. I'm not sure if all of you are right about your suspicions but I just want to be with friends. You have no idea how much you all mean to me. The world could come crashing down but it would only seem like some wind if I had you guys." she gave a small smile. Honestly all Hermione wanted was to go to bed but she had to see Ginny and Ron. As she thought about that all the children came through the door. "Hermione!" Ginny rushed to hug her best friend. "Hello, Ginny. I know it hasn't been long since we've seen each other but how has your summer been so far?" Ginny was about to answer but Snape spoke out. "This is all very...sweet but I must be going. I have things to attend to." he sneered. Why was he even here? Hermione knew he was apart of the order but it came as a surprise to see him when she walked in. He apparated to who knows where and Ron groaned. "It's beyond me why he holds himself on such a high pedestal," he said sounding annoyed. "Hello to you too Ronald," Hermione said after her best friend didn't even greet her. "I think I'll be going to bed now. Can we talk more about this tomorrow Molly?" she said tiredly. "Of course dear. Get some rest." with that said Hermione stood up and brushed passed Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George. Tomorrow was going to be a hard day.

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡
(A/N: Hey guys I'm sorry for not updating but I started school a week or two ago and it's not working out so well. The picture above is the dining room/kitchen that Hermione and everyone were in. Thank you to whoever is reading this story. I really appreciate all of that stuff. Please vote and don't be a ghost reader!)