In the Shadows
I have always gazed at her from a safe distance. She would never notice me…ever…
Ginny woke up to the sound of her dorm mates waking up and preparing for the day. Moaning Ginny turned over in her bed, only to be greeted by the blazing sun light. She winced at the pain in her eyes. Hiding under the blankets she fell asleep again.
'It doesn't matter, its Saturday anyways…' with that last thought she fell into a deep sleep.
Many years had past since the day she had come to Hogwarts. She had come across many adventures as well…Ginny Weasly wasn't the popular girls at school, but was well known for being "Harry's x-girlfriend". It had been a year since they broke up and the end of the School year was coming…That meant that Hermione Grainger was leaving as well…
For sometime Ginny had watched Hermione from a distance. Even though the two of them shared the same dorm room they didn't talk so much any more. She had started to be involved in the end of the year exams. Ginny had tried to see if they could spend time together but it was always the same thing… "I'm busy!" There seemed to be no hope left of trying to get Hermione to be hers…
"Ginny!...Ginny!...GINNY!" screamed a voice in her ear.
Screaming at the top of her lungs Ginny jumped out of bed. Hermione stared at her suspiciously. Gasping for air Ginny tried to ask what she wanted, but Hermione cut her off.
"What are you doing?" she asked. "You already missed lunch."
"WHAT!" Ginny screamed. "Why didn't anyone wake me up?"
"Well, I was in the library studying…I thought we could study together," Hermione explained. "I guess I've been working a little too hard…I'm just nervous about the exam is all."
"I thought you and Ron were going to study together?" Ginny asked as she tried to find some clothes on the floor.
"Well yes, but it turned out he had Quiditch practice today."
"Oh…"
Ginny stuffed her books into her book bag, while Hermione waited for her at the door. She packed slowly, wanting to savor the moment she had with her one true love…Hermione was the one who comforted her when she and Harry broke up…
"Why Hermione! Why?" Ginny sobbed into to her arms. She rocked me back and forth like a little baby in a cradle. She was warm, soft and I could smell perfume on her, Jasmine. "Why did he break up with me!"
"He was concerned about your safety…" she said in a soft voice "He would never try to break your heart purposely…Harry loves you…same with Ron and so do I…We want you to be safe. People are after him Ginny. They'll stop at nothing to kill him and if you are in the way…you shall die too…"
"What if I want to die?" Ginny yelled as she looked up into Hermione's face. "I love him Hermione! I love him! I don't care what happens to me!"
"But he cares about what happens to you…"said Hermione gently. "Have you thought about Harry's feelings? He wants you to be at his side and he knew this would hurt you, but this is better than having you be six feet under. Voldemort will stop at nothing to destroy Harry…He wants to save you…"
"I want to protect him too! Why can't I protect him as well?" she sobbed. "It's not fair!"
"Your right…It's not fair, but Ginny… Life isn't fair," Hermione looked her straight in the eyes, "So deal with it!"
Ginny hadn't forgotten her words. Ever since that night Ginny couldn't stop thinking about Hermione. All the time it was Hermione, Hermione, and HERMIONE! The name wouldn't get out of her head or her face! It seemed to haunt Ginny in her sleep. That beautiful face and her smile…Nothing seemed to compare to her beauty or her beautiful grace…
When Christmas came Ginny made sure to give Hermione a beautiful present. She hadn't gone home for the holidays, so I decided to stay as well. We had the girl's dorm room all to ourselves, of course Ron and Harry stayed behind, but it didn't matter. On Christmas Eve we all stayed up till way past hours. Ron had bought us some beer and we all ended up wasted. It had to be the funniest time we all ever had. In the morning a rented owl delivered a beautifully wrapped Christmas gift; it was of course from me. Hermione marveled at the book her "secret" admirer gave her.
On Valentines Day I worked up the courage to write a love letter to her and asked that she meet me in the garden. I was hoping that she would meet me there, but she stood me up. It's not that she knew it was me. I never told her that I was the girl that she left in garden past hours. I stayed outside till the sun came up; I was frozen to the bone. My heart was broken into millions of pieces. At class the next day she seemed fine. As if nothing had happed at all.
Now it was the end of the school year and Hermione would be leaving her…Life isn't fair at all…
Ginny and Hermione walked quietly down the empty hallways together. How Ginny had longed to hold Hermione in her arms…to hold her tight and never let go. Now it seemed she would be slipping away forever.
"What are you studying Ginny?" asked Hermione, trying to break the silence.
"What? Oh…well I'm taking a lot of potions and Defense against the dark arts right now. I'm hoping to improve my skills in those classes."
"Oh, I never thought you would take an interest in potions," said Hermione.
"Why do you say that?"
"Well, you just always seemed to be interested in Herbology is all," Hermione explained. "I guess I just assumed. You used to adore plants."
They fell silent as they entered the library. As usual the Librarian sat her desk marking books and putting them into piles. She would occasionally move around and make sure no one was talking to one another. Strangely, Ginny never knew her name; she had never cared to ask. She stood for a while as she watched the woman do her work. It wasn't till Hermione poked her in the back that she realized that she was staring at the woman.
"Are you ok?" she asked.
"Yah, I'm fine," she said. "It's just that…I just realized that after all these years of being here at Hogwarts…I never knew that woman's name and now that I think back on it…I don't think I ever even cared."
"Oh…"
At that moment Ron poked his head behind one of the bookshelves. Hermione didn't seem to notice, because he started to slowly walk up behind her. I rolled my eyes as I watched him, in his childish act, sneak slowly up to her and then pouncing on her, making her let out a loud screech. He laughed as she started to smack him repeatedly on the head with one of her books.
'Some things…never change,' thought Ginny to herself.
Ron would also being leaving that year as well. The same would happen to Harry as well. They would all move on and leave her; just like all those times on their adventures.
'I guess I should be happy that I even went with them…'
"I thought you had practice?" Hermione asked after cooling down from being attacked.
"I did, but we finished early," Ron explained. "I came here to study. That was, I was studying until I saw you two walk in."
Hermione glared at him.
"What?" he asked innocently.
Ginny could feel her head begin to ache. Finally she was able to spend sometime with Hermione and now her Ron had to show up and be his usual annoying self. At that moment, Ginny had the urge to kill her brother at that moment. Her prefect evening with her one and only lover was ruined.
"Since when do you ever study Ron?" Ginny asked in annoyance.
"Since now, I do want to get a good job yah no," he responded. "What's wrong with you? Are you pmsing or something?"
"Ron!" Hermione yelled at him. "I came here study with Ginny. Where do you get off being so rude to her?"
Ginny felt her heart slowly grow warm, Hermione actually stood up for her. It seemed like a dream come true! She couldn't help but smile at the thought that Hermione, indeed, still cared for her…
"Well, I also came here to tell you something, but I guess it could wait," Ron smiled.
"What is it?" Hermione asked.
"Oh, well if you don't want me to say anything…"he grinned at her as he said this.
Hermione smacked him on the head, "Just tell me!"
"Ow, that hurt yah no?" he said as he rubbed his head. "Harry was looking for you after practice; after a while he gave up. I came to the library to look for you."
"So you didn't come here to study?" Ginny snarled.
Ginny knew it was childish to act so immature, but she couldn't help herself. How many days had she waited to at least talk to Hermione? It was a surprise if you even saw her at meal times. Ginny always had the need to pull her away from all of her books and set her free, but she couldn't do that. She had to respect Hermione and her dreams of wanting a better future.
"It's an emergency Hermione," Ron said under his breath.
Hermione held her glare at him, but nodded. She shifted her gaze as she turned back to speak with Ginny. Ron made progress to join in on their talk, but Hermione glared at him again. He backed off and waited at the door for her. Hermione turned back to Ginny and gave a weak smile.
"I'm sorry Ginny…" she said gently. "I was really hoping to study with you today. We haven't been able to talk much at all and I feel terrible for it, but I have to go, okay?"
Ginny's body stiffened at the realization of her rejection. Her heart sank like an anchor. Already she could feel the weight pulling her down into the darkened sea. She had to fight to hold back the tears. Hermione looked at her with a worried face.
"Are you okay Ginny?" she asked.
Ginny forced herself to smile, "Yes, I'm fine!"
"You sure?" she asked, stepping closer to her.
Ginny's heart began to race; she had never been so close to Hermione before. Sure they had when she was crying about Harry and when they were just friends, but never so close that their noses were touching. Ginny blushed, she couldn't hide her embarrassment. This didn't help her situation.
"Are you sick, Ginny?" she asked.
Hermione stepped closer to her and placed her head on Ginny's forehead. Ginny's body began to shake uncontrollably. This touch…being this close…it gave her too many ideas…She had to get away form Hermione. God knows what might happen next if Hermione kept on touching her.
"You are sick!" Hermione called out. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I'm fine!" Ginny shouted out defensively. "I'm not sick!"
"Yes you are," Hermione said. "Come on, let me take you to-"
Hermione was cut off by Ginny, "Look, I'm fine, ok?"
There was a long pause after that. Hermione stared at her intently, trying to make sure she wasn't lying. Ginny began to sweat. She was nervous. This was the first time that Ginny had ever told a lie to her.
"I'm fine," Ginny stated. "You better go catch up to Ron. I'll go back to the dorm room. Meet you at dinner."
With that said, Ginny walked away. She stood tall so that Hermione wouldn't question her on if she really was sick, but when Ginny walked around the corner she slumped against the wall and started coughing. Her body trembled as she tried to make her way down the hallway. It's been a couple of days since she's had this cold and of course she wouldn't go to know the nurse for it.
Back inside her shared dorm room, she collapsed on the bed. The soft warmth made her fall asleep instantly. She hadn't even bothered to take off her clothes. A couple of hours later, Hermione found Ginny in this way, laid out on the bed, fast asleep, no pj's on, and a high fever. Hermione touched her delicate forehead.
"You idiot…" Hermione whispered. "You did have a fever…"
Sighing, she picked Ginny up and placed her under the covers of her bed. Ginny did not wake up. Hermione found a wet cloth and placed it on her forehead. After awhile of taking care of her, she returned to her studies downstairs with the rest of the Gryffindors.
Ginny woke up to the usual loud, annoying alarm clock in the morning. Turning it off, she made her way out of bed and to the bathroom with her set of fresh clothes. She felt her forehead and found that her fever had gone down a little. That was a good thing. She was starting to worry how much longer she would have to keep up this act of "not being sick".
The week went by like all the other ones and again she found herself doing nothing on a Saturday morning. By then her fever had already passed and now she was just bored out of her mind. Then next day she found a note on her bed, she picked up the letter and read it.
"Dear Ginny,
Meet me at the Three Broom Sticks at noon…I have something to tell you.
Hermione"
Ginny had completely forgotten that the school was going to Hogsmead that day. She quickly ran to the shower, turned the hot water on, and started scrubbing her herself till her skin turned pink. After that, she frantically searched for the right outfit and started fitting her hair at the same time. After at least a decent hour of "getting ready", she found the "perfect outfit".
At breakfast, she couldn't stop moving in her seat. She wanted the professor to shut up and dismiss them from the hall, but he didn't seem likely to do that anytime soon. To help take her mind off of the pressing matters, she started fidgeting with one of the napkins at her table. When he was done giving his long speech, Ginny dashed to the horses that waited to take them to there destination. Ginny looked down the line to see if she could see Hermione, but couldn't. Once she was inside one of the Carriages, it took off and on its way to the Three Broom Sticks.
Ginny sat at one of the tables at the Three Broom Sticks with a couple of Butter Beers. Noon drew near and she couldn't stop thinking about why Hermione would want to see her. They are friends… That was one thing, but how she longed for something more than that! What if she had the same feelings? No, Hermione's as straight as a board, with no warps.
Noon came and five minutes passed. Ginny began to tense up. What if she was going to be stood up by Hermione again? No, Hermione's not like that. But she did the same thing on Valentines Day… Who says she couldn't do it now… But last time she didn't know it was Ginny. What would she have done if she had known it was her? Would she do the same thing?
The door opened again to the already crowded store, but this time it was Hermione! Ginny began to fidget with her clothes under the table again. Hermione spotted her and rushed over to her. The look on her face told Ginny that she was in a good mood, which was a good sign. She gave a sigh of relief.
"Sorry about that Ginny," said Hermione. "I was held up."
"It's ok," Ginny smiled. "I bought you a butter beer"
"Thanks."
Hermione took a sip from it and sat it down again. Hermione seemed to be wearing the same clothes that she wore everyday, but there was something different about her. Ginny smiled.
"What did you bring me here for?" she asked.
"We never spend anytime together and I really felt bad about last weekend," she explained. "Ron can be a jerk sometimes I guess."
The two of them laughed. It seemed just like the old days. The two sat and laughed together. They talked about their grades and how much they hated Snape and what was the newest trend. Hours passed by without them knowing it!
Ginny started to think that their conversation would never end, and she wanted it to stay that way…
"Ginny?" asked Hermione.
"What?" she responded, snapping out of her fantasies.
"You seemed to… Be staring off into space… Am I boring you?" she asked.
"Oh no!" Ginny quickly responded. "Not at all, I was just thinking about something is all! I didn't mean to be rude!"
"Good…" sighed Hermione. "I had something to tell you today Ginny, and I'm not sure how you're going to respond, but I'm going to say it anyways…"
Ginny's heart began to race. She couldn't be confessing her feelings! This seemed like a dream come true! Was she dreaming again? She pinched herself and found that she was awake.
"Before I say anything, I would first like to say how sorry I am for saying this now. Harry and Ron already knew about this and I would like for you to know as well…" she said.
"What did you want to tell me?" Ginny choked.
Hermione smiled, "Ron and I are getting married!"
There was silence around the two friends. Ginny couldn't hear, and at the moment, couldn't think. She tried to make sense of what Hermione just said, but none came. Hermione waited patiently for her to respond.
"What?" was all Ginny was able to say.
"Ron and I are getting married!" Hermione repeated. "Isn't it lovely? We were going to wait to tell everyone after we graduated, but I couldn't keep it in any longer! What do you think?"
Silence only answered Hermione's question.
"I know you're shocked," Hermione sighed. "Harry was as well… It took him five minutes to finally figure out that it wasn't April Fools Day."
Ginny felt her body tremble. She clenched her fist under the table to hide her anger. Looking up at Hermione she smiled.
'It was never meant to be…'
"I'm happy for you Hermione!" Ginny smiled. "I had no idea!"
'I was chasing a lost hope…'
"When is the wedding going to be?" She asked in a cheerful voice.
"It's going to be in July!" Hermione answered gleefully. "It was Ron's idea to have the wedding in the summer! We have no idea how we're going to pay for it!"
'I was just…another person in the shadows…'
"Can I be one of your bride's maids?"
End
i have to thank my editor for this story, he helped me out on editing the story; so thank you thief(aka. that's his nickname). i hope those of you who have read this story were at least amused by it.