"George! What happened to your hand?" Mrs. Weasley grabbed George's wrist and asked anxiously, "Why is it so black? Have you been cursed?"
George's eyes darted around, and he deliberately grunted as if in pain. "Ow! Yeah! Mum! It hurts so much right now!"
Mrs. Weasley grew even more nervous. "Merlin's beard! We're going back right now, to St..."
Fred put on an agonized expression and clutched his head as he groaned, "Mum, me too! We're both really..."
"Mum, don't listen to Fred and George!" Ginny exposed her brothers' trick bluntly. "Their hands turned black because they set off too many Magical Fireworks."
"Hm?" Mrs. Weasley's eyebrows shot up. She seized George's wrist as he tried to pull it back and sniffed it, then immediately snapped, "George! Fred!"
"Mum! Let us explain!" Fred and George raised both hands with awkward grins. "We were dealing with the bad guys!"
Harry was laughing happily off to the side, but Hermione felt as if she could not quite blend into the atmosphere.
She looked expectantly toward the doorway, but unfortunately, after Lupin came in, the door was blocked tightly by Rita Skeeter and that photographer.
They were only concerned with taking pictures like mad. The Flashbulb crackled and popped, and it seemed no one else was going to come in.
Just as Hermione turned her head aside and let out a long sigh, a voice she could not have known better came from the doorway, her parents' voices. "Ms. Skeeter, could you move aside?"
"Thank goodness... thank goodness you're all right! Thank goodness you're all right!" The Granger family hurried forward, panting, cupped Hermione's cheeks, and began looking her over from left to right as well.
A happy smile spread across Hermione's face, and her eyes grew wet. "Dad! Mum! Why are you