Chapter 12
Marlene watched Hermione check and recheck her trunk for the hundredth time that evening. She smiled fondly, remembering doing the same in her school days the night before boarding the train, though her trunk contained less books and more snacks.
Hermione counted through her robes before tracing the spines of the books with one hand, wordlessly mumbling the titles as she mentally checked them off. With her other hand, though, she rubbed at her head, a telltale sign if Marlene ever saw one.
“Hermione,” she called, once the girl finally finished her checklist and closed her trunk, “how bad is your head hurting?”
“It’s not,” Hermione mumbled, even as she pinched between her eyes.
“Don’t lie,” Marlene chastised, grabbing one of Hermione’s hands and leading her to sit together on the sofa. “You haven’t dropped since our meeting with McGonagall, and that was a few days ago. I can tell it’s building up.”
“They took my Prefect badge,” Hermione whined. “If I’m too Little then they were right.”
“They aren’t right, love,” Marlene said gently, “but unfortunately we’re going to have to prove that to them. But you can’t prove it by fighting your drops, and I think you know that.”
Hermione grunted in response, biting her lip and fidgeting with her shirt.
“We’re going to prove them wrong,” Marlene said firmly. “And we’ll look into ideas to start advocating for Littles more, so they can’t do this again to others in the future. But, darling, you can’t do any of that if you make yourself sick by fighting your drops.”
“I didn’t mean to,” Hermione whined again. “I was just mad, and I can’t be too Little-“
“You can be exactly as Little as your brain and body need you to be,” Marlene said firmly. “The governors and the Ministry are still a bunch of fools, even if we took out the Death Eaters, and we will fight them about it. But not until you take care of yourself, no matter how big or Little you’re feeling.”
Hermione took in these words, staring at her hands in her lap as she fidgeted with the hem of her shirt.
“Feelin’ really Little,” she finally admitted, and when she looked up at Marlene she had tears in her eyes.
“That’s alright, love,” Marlene said, pulling the girl into her lap and summoning her dummy. “You might drop harder since you fought it.”
“I didn’t mean to.”
“I know,” Marlene soothed. “And it will be alright. We’ll have some cuddles and downtime this evening, and then tomorrow we’ll have you ready for the train.”
“Big?”
“You can be big on the train,” Marlene promised. “And Ginny and Harry will be on there with you as well, if you need them.”
“Jammies?”
“How about a bath first?” Marlene said, standing and lifting Hermione onto her hip. The girl nodded before laying her head down on Marlene’s shoulder, melting as she was carried into the bathroom. Marlene waved her wand to start the water and bubbles while she got Hermione undressed, grateful the girl was no longer shy about baths.
“Otter?” Hermione asked as she spit out her dummy, and Marlene summoned the toys in question. A pair of otters, which swam around and played in the water, even occasionally holding hands to float by, much to Hermione’s delight. She clapped as the otters raced around her, which allowed Marlene to wash her hair without much fuss.
“Head back, little one,” she said as she rinsed, Hermione whining for a moment at having to take her eyes off the otters before looking down in delight at them once more. Marlene let the girl play after she finished her bath, until her squeals of delight kept being interrupted by yawns.
“Time to get out, hm?” Marlene asked, reaching for the towel. Hermione just yawned in response, raising her arms to be lifted and dried. She leaned against Marlene heavily while being dried off, but her head snapped up when she reached to start dressing her.
“Mar…not a baby?” Hermione asked, slurring around the dummy she’d picked up.
“No darling.”
“Even…even if…help?”
Marlene stared at the girl for a moment before it clicked what she was asking. The conversation between Hermione and Ginny over the bottle replayed in her mind, and she suddenly understood.
“Even if you need some help, little love, it’s alright,” Marlene promised. “Did you want some help for tonight? Are you worried you dropped too far?”
Hermione nodded, looking away, covering her eyes with one arm.
“None of that, now,” Marlene said, summoning a nappy wordlessly. “It’s okay to want a little help, love. And no one needs to know but you and me, I promise.” She quickly fastened the nappy on, grateful to Dorcas for the practice on getting it fast, and dressed the girl. With a quick wave of her wand, she also cast a concealment charm, hiding some of the bulkiness of the nappy in hopes that it would help Hermione feel less shy about it.
“How’s that, little one?”
Hermione glanced down, blinking sleepily as she nodded her approval. Marlene scooped her up, cuddling her close.
“Do you want to snuggle in my bed or yours?” Marlene asked.
“Yours,” Hermione mumbled, burying her face. Marlene smiled as she carried the girl into her room. Hermione had indeed dropped further than usual, which was fine by her. A very Little Hermione was always a very cuddly Hermione.
She got them into her room, situating them so that Marlene was sitting up at the head, Hermione draped across her lap with her head on Marlene’s chest.
“Ba?” Hermione asked, once Marlene had tucked her blanket around her. Marlene summoned a bottle, having gotten into the habit of keeping a few ready with stasis charms after Harry’s birthday. Hermione spit her dummy out to accept the bottle eagerly.
Marlene held Hermione close, humming a song softly as the girl drank her bottle. By the time she finished, her eyes were drooping heavily, body going totally limp as she got sleepy. Marlene kissed her forehead as she took the bottle, summoning Hermione’s bunny for her before readjusting to lay down with her, snuggled close.
“Mar?”
“Yes, love?”
“Sleep with you?”
“Yes love, you’re going to sleep with me tonight.”
“No…at school?”
Marlene paused, surprised at the question, but she pressed another kiss to the top of the girl’s head.
“You can sleep with me at school if that’s what you want to do, little one.”
Hermione yawned in response, burrowing closer in satisfaction at the answer, rubbing the bunny ear over her cheek. Marlene hummed once more, and in no time at all she was rewarded with quiet snores.
Hermione sat next to Ginny on the train, listening as Neville explained the botanical garden his gran took him to the previous week. She’d woken up between headspaces, but Marlene managed to help her up before dropping her off at the station. Now she was enjoying a Cauldron Cake, a treat as Harry once again bought them entirely too many snacks off the trolley.
“Anyway, Gran promised to let me get a few plants after this year,” Neville finished. “She just didn’t want to care for them while I was at school, and she wasn’t sure I’d be allowed to have them in the greenhouses.”
“I’m sure Professor Sprout wouldn’t mind,” Harry said.
“Though waiting will give you time to decide what to start with,” Ginny added. “It’s nice of your gran to agree to help you start a personal greenhouse, though.”
“I thought so,” Neville agreed, “though I can’t tell if she’s excited I’m going back to redo my last year, she’s proud of the battle, or if she’s happy I’m a Caregiver.”
“No reason it can’t be all of them, mate,” Harry said, idly flipping through his Chocolate Frog cards. “Imagine if you’d gotten Head Boy, though, she’d really lose it.”
“True,” Neville laughed, then he paused and looked over at Hermione. “Wait, aren’t you supposed to be in the Prefect compartment?”
Hermione sighed, biting her lip as she looked out the window. It wasn’t Neville’s fault, he didn’t know yet. She felt Ginny reach to place a hand on her shoulder, and took a deep breath, deciding to get the next person over with.
“I’m a Little,” Hermione said slowly, willing her voice to not shake. “And the board of governors and the Ministry has decided that Littles cannot be Prefects, so…they took my badge.”
“That’s rubbish,” Neville said. “They can’t just decide that! I mean, some Littles are still teenagers, so what difference would it make?”
“That argument doesn’t really help me. I drop pretty young,” Hermione mumbled.
“Still rubbish. I doubt they knew that before they made their decision, and it’s not like it would be hard to excuse you from Prefect duties if you had to drop,” Neville said stubbornly.
“The school board and the Ministry have always been rubbish,” Harry said. “Look at Umbridge. They gave us her before Voldemort took over.”
“We got rid of Death Eaters but that doesn’t mean we got rid of the stupid people,” Ginny sighed. “I’m really sorry, Hermione.”
“Me too.”
“And me.”
“Thanks, everyone,” Hermione sighed. “On the upside I’ll have more time to prepare for NEWTs, so that’s a relief, at least.”
“We’re getting close,” Ginny said, gesturing out the window. “Time to get dressed.”
The four moved to grab their robes, pulling them on in anticipation of arriving. Conversation turned to lighter topics as they climbed into the carriages, except for a brief observation when Harry pointed out that most students seemed able to see thestrals for the first time this year. Hermione had shivered at the sight, grateful that Ginny discreetly held her hand for the carriage ride.
By the time they were seated in the Great Hall for dinner, Hermione had started to feel that fuzzy pull. It lurched in her stomach when she looked up at the staff table and Marlene greeted her with a wave, a small voice in the back of her mind begging her to go sit with Marlene for dinner. She shrugged it off, focusing on the table in front of her instead of looking at anyone else at the head table, unable to even pay attention to the Sorting Hat’s song.
Ginny tapped her on the shoulder when McGonagall stood in front of the hall, commanding absolute silence with one hand.
“Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts,” she called. “Before we begin our feast, we want to take a moment to acknowledge those that lost their lives at this very school defeating Voldemort this past May.”
The Hall fell into an unearthly silence as McGonagall read off the names of everyone who was killed during the Battle of Hogwarts. Ginny reached and held Hermione’s hand again, both squeezing at mentions of those like Lupin and Tonks, Colin Creevey, even Lavender Brown.
Once she finished the lengthy list, McGonagall paused to bow her head for a moment, before lifting her goblet in a toast, clearly fighting tears as she did so.
“To those we lost, may they have not died in vain!”
The entire hall lifted a glass, drinking along to the toast.
“Now, we have a few more announcements, but first, let us feast!”
Food appeared across the table, and the hall erupted into noise as students reached to fill their plates, chatting and talking. Hermione picked at her food idly, taking little bites of chicken and potatoes as she went. Hearing the list of names took the pull in her stomach that was threatening for the night and made it that much stronger.
“Hermione,” Ginny said, leaning in close, “are you close to a drop?”
“A bit,” Hermione admitted. “Dropped hard last night and it’s coming back. I can wait until after we’re done here though.”
“Do you need me to do anything?”
“No. My head doesn’t hurt yet, I can wait,” Hermione insisted, though it didn’t stop Ginny from discreetly stealing her plate to cut up her chicken for her when no one was looking. Hermione thanked her and ate her fill instead of playing with it.
After the feast, McGonagall stood once more to make announcements, including the usual reminders to stay out of the Forbidden Forest or mind student curfew.
“A few changes this year,” she continued, “include our staffing. Our very own Hagrid has decided to step down from teaching this year, so taking over Care of Magical Creatures is Professor Charlie Weasley, who will also be stepping up as Head of Gryffindor House.”
Cheers erupted around the hall, loudest of course from the Gryffindors, including Ginny whooping loudly.
“That git,” Ginny said, as the cheers died down, “he told me he was teaching, he never said anything about being Head.”
“Taking over Defense Against the Dark Arts is retired Auror, Professor Marlene McKinnon.”
Applause resumed, though more muted than that for Charlie, with the exception of Harry, Hermione, and Ginny who all clapped the loudest.
“Taking over Transfiguration, since I have become Headmistress, will be Professor Sirius Black, whose innocence has been proven and he has been cleared of all charges.”
Applause again, though far more muted, and a murmur spread throughout the hall. Harry grumbled under his breath, but Hermione understood; only members of the Order had known the full truth of his story before this summer, after all.
“In regards to Professor Black, I want to make it clear that I have begun more stringent requirements for professors, ensuring that only safe and competent individuals take a post here at Hogwarts,” McGonagall continued. “I ask you to also remember that as I announce our new Potions mistress, and Head of Slytherin House, Narcissa Malfoy, who unfortunately could not be with us this evening.”
This time the hall erupted, some cheers, some boos, and much discussion. McGonagall raised her hand once more, commanding silence over the Hall.
“Professor Malfoy has undergone thorough interrogation and has been cleared of all charges, including with testimony under our very own Harry Potter,” McGonagall stated firmly. Hermione bit her lip, remembering Harry telling how she’d lied about him being dead to Voldemort.
It didn’t make the knot in her stomach lessen at all as she remembered her torture in Malfoy Manor, the way Narcissa stood in the background as Bellatrix pinned her down—
“Breathe,” Ginny cooed, taking her hand firmly. “Just a moment longer and I’ll get you to Marlene, but you need to calm down Mione, just breathe.”
Hermione nodded, not realizing how her eyes had filled with tears. She looked at her lap, pretending to not notice how Harry and Neville both watched her with concern. Ginny was rubbing soothing circles over her hand with her thumb, and had shifted subtly closer, almost close enough to embrace her fully.
“Finally, one more new change,” McGonagall announced, “to our Classification testing. The Ministry, under the guidance of St. Mungo’s, has decided to begin classifying students at the end of 5th year, instead of 7th. Therefore, all 6th and 7th year students who have not yet been classified will be called to my office for testing over the next few weeks.”
A rumble fell over the hall as students reacted, the older students suddenly looking much more nervous than before. Hermione barely noticed, the fuzzy feeling filling her head stronger than ever. Ginny threw an arm over her shoulder and held her close, whispering affirmations as they waited.
“In light of the new policy, I want you all to be aware that any bullying or discrimination of any student on the basis of their Classification will not by tolerated, and any such actions will have the harshest of consequences.”
McGonagall stared out over the hall, as if giving a warning glare to each student individually, before continuing.
“With that in mind, classes will begin early tomorrow, so it’s time for us all to be off to bed. Prefects, lead your Houses to your dormitories, please.”
Hermione went to stand , Ginny joining her and automatically taking her arm.
“Come on, I’ll take you up to Marlene before I go to the dorms, alright?”
Hermione nodded. A mild throb was beginning to pound behind her eyes, and everything in her wanted to let go. Thankfully, Marlene had met them at the end of the table and pulled them into a side room by the Hall.
“Come here, little one,” Marlene said, lifting Hermione up once they were alone. “I know a way to get back to my quarters where no one will see us, so you just relax and let go, alright?”
Hermione nodded, laying her head on Marlene’s shoulder as her thumb found its way into her mouth.
“Ginny, the password for Gryffindor is ‘Audi Me Rugiet’, so you can get in the dorm,” Marlene said softly. “Thank you for looking after her.”
“Of course,” Ginny said. “Good night Hermione, I’ll see you for breakfast tomorrow,” she called, as she turned and left, half running to catch up with everyone else.
“A lot just happened, hm?” Marlene asked, being careful to take back hallways back to her quarters so Hermione could have some privacy. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“No.”
“That’s alright, little love. We’ll go get ready for bed, and tomorrow will be a good day, hm?”
“Bottle?”
“Did you eat dinner, darling?” Marlene asked.
“A little,” Hermione mumbled. “Gin helped.”
“That was nice of her,” Marlene said softly. “But of course, love, we’ll get you a bottle, after a quick bath, and then we’ll head to bed.”
Hermione cooed in response, going fully limp in Marlene’s arms as she was taken upstairs, finally allowing herself to fully let go.