A/N: I know I have too many "in process" stories out at once but I can't help it. My little inspiration bug has hit me since I no longer have any college classes to worry about for the next couple months. I'll be updating them all frequently (hopefully), so stick with me!
"I'm going back to school and that is the end of this discussion."
They were rounding on a half hour of fighting by that point and she could feel herself growing increasingly annoyed with the boy in front of her. Hermione ran her hand through her thick brown hair frustrated with the fact that they were less than two weeks away from the beginning of school and she was still having this argument with him.
"You don't even NEED to go back! Kingsley practically spelled it out that you can get any job at the Ministry without going back to school!" Ron protested, pacing near the door as he yelled. When he received an eye roll in return he felt his face grow hot again. He tried to breathe slowly and patiently but the idea of his girlfriend going back to school after they had hardly had anytime together was beyond his realm of thought.
"Ron, I told you. I may not need to finish my education but I WANT to. I want my certificate of completion. I want the class ceremony. I want to take time to still be a kid in school before I spend the rest of my life working. I want to get a job because I'm worthy of it, not because people feel they owe it to me." She was growing tired of their argument, turning away from him and placing the shrunken suitcase onto the bed. Tapping her wand on the aged trunk carefully, it unfolded magically back to its original size.
"I'll have you know I earned my spot in the Auror program, same as Harry!" He growled, pounding his fist against the table. Hermione shot him a glare, annoyed with his physical outburst and continued to fold her clothes via magic. He threw out the chair from under Ginny's small desk and sat down, running his hands over his face.
"I never said you didn't. I just don't know what I want to do with my life, Ron. I don't know if I even want to work for the Ministry, it's another reason I need to go back to school. Besides, don't you think it's unfair that you're refusing to see my side yet you'll be off at Auror training for three months? I'm not asking you to stop your dreams." Hermione told him, the anger slipping out of her voice, replaced with a sort of disappointment. She had known that he wasn't going to let her go without some sort of fight but she didn't think that he would completely fail to see reason. The unpleasant arguing felt just as it had before he left during their hunt for the horcruxes.
There was a silence between them, the only sounds being Hermione's clothes folding and her rummaging through her things to find the red beaded bag.
"I'm asking you to wait three months for me, you're asking me to wait an entire year. It's just – wait a second, what are you doing?" He asked, suddenly alarmed as if he'd finally noticed the trunk atop the bed and the belongings that zipped around her and into it. Hermione sighed, the feeling of annoyance filling her veins once more.
"I told you last week that my parents asked me to stay for the remaining of the holiday now that they've settled into a new home here."
"Yes, but you never discussed actually going." Ron told her, his voice getting louder as he grew angry once more. Hermione stopped what she was doing and turned to gape at him, the look on her eyes one of incredible annoyance she wondered how on earth he could be so blind to anyone else's needs.
"They're my parents! I erased their memories and sent them off to a foreign country for over a year. I want to spend time with them! Two weeks at home is practically an insult to them and I already feel guilty for not being with them since they arrived back from Australia. Honestly, Ronald!" She shook her head, telling herself that this was just a rough patch and that they would get over it once he saw that she wasn't trying to hurt him.
"Honestly, Ronald? Honestly, Ronald?" He repeated, the vein in his neck looked ready to explode and he stood up so quickly that the chair clattered beneath him. He punched the wall next to him, glaring at her for what he felt was treating him like a child rather than an equal. Hermione put her hands on her hips, not afraid in the least but growing impatient and less understanding of his outbursts as the seconds ticked by.
The door to room was torn open and they both whipped around to see an annoyed Harry standing at the door, glaring at his two best friends. Everyone in the house had been dreadfully quiet downstairs as they listened to the volatile couple argue and it was becoming horribly clear that people were starting to grow annoyed with noises from Ron's lack of restraint. Ron glared at him while Hermione almost instantly hung her head shamefully. Now that the door was open she could hear everyone talking about the argument going on between the still new couple.
"That's enough, don't you think?" While his comment was meant for both of them, he was staring down Ron and the already purplish spotting on his hand. Hermione nodded, turning back to her trunk and folding her clothes once more. The heat of embarrassment was reddening her face as she did so.
"Quite. I'm sorry Harry." She apologized although not looking at him. His face softened a bit and he looked over at Ron who was looking out the window whos hands were balled in fists. He walked over to Hermione and placed a hand on her wrist stopping her for a second. She paused and raised her head to look at him and saw the silent question in his eyes asking her if she was alright. She gave him a tight lipped smile, shrugging her shoulders before returning to her task.
"I want you to stay, Hermione." Ron said finally, his voice sounding less firm and more like that of a petulant child. She sighed frustratingly but said nothing, quite aware now of the spectacle that they'd already made of themselves. Her brown eyes looked over at Harry to see that he was looking away from both of them, solidifying his place as the impartial party. She finished packing all of her things, glaring at Crookshanks as he hissed at Ron on his way out.
"I'm sorry Ron, but my mind is made up." Her voice was quiet, no longer laced with annoyance as it was now horribly sad. Ron had yet to move from his spot by the window, his back facing them both and responded to her statement by tensing his shoulders silently.
Harry watched them both a bit awkwardly. He always tried his hardest not to take sides when it came to them but after the events of the past year, he found it harder to do so.
On one hand, Ron had just lost Percy in the war and was trying to settle into the idea of having lost someone; Harry knew how difficult it was to deal with things changing after death of someone you love and he understood (to some extent) Ron's anger. He even understood Ron being afraid or angry at the thought of doing something without Hermione there as he himself wished that Hermione had decided to join the Auror program alongside them.
However, he silently sided with the woman standing next to him. She had hopes and dreams and nothing was going to change that about her. She'd given up so much for everyone during the previous year: her education, her parents, her safety, her freedom. Other than friends at Hogwarts, Hermione had no real ties to the wizarding world of England and could have easily up and left alongside her parents to study safely away in Australia (something that he had pushed for after Dumbledore's death). He knew that this was her chance to finish what she started and he supported her wholeheartedly, even if he would miss the constant company he'd grown accustomed to.
After a long silence, Hermione's shoulders dropped and she sighed for what felt like the millionth time that day.
"Harry, will you help me take my things downstairs. My parents are expecting me home before dark and I haven't said goodbye to anyone yet." She told him sadly, looking over at Ron to see if he'd relent in his sour mood. Harry nodded quietly and watched as she grasped the handle of the trunk. She lifted the trunk carefully, the weight surprising her and causing her to nearly drop it onto both their feet. Harry's hand shot out over hers, helping her lift it. Just as his hand touched hers Ron had turned around, absently rolling his wand between his fingers.
"Epoximise maxima!" He said over and over again in his head, wishing that he could get her to stay with him just a little longer. A silver strand of light escaped his wand, causing Harry and Hermione to fly backwards with the trunk atop of them.
His face burned red and he ran over to them. He had been thinking of casting a sticking charm on Hermione's suitcase in order to get her to stay a bit longer. It didn't occur to him until after they flew backwards that he had actually done it.
"I'm sorry! I was just thinking about it, I didn't mean to actually cast it. I swear!" He told them, hoping to Merlin that Hermione didn't hex body parts off. Footsteps could be heard running upstairs as the sound of them slamming into the wall had been rather loud. He could only imagine the screaming he'd be enduring from his mother and sister as they realized that not only did he accidentally attack his best friend and girlfriend but that he blasted them into their great-grandmother's armoire. He pulled the suitcase off of them, earning a groan of appreciation from the both of them as it hadn't been charmed with a feather light charm. He pulled the clothes and pieces of wood off of their faces, finding that he broke Harry's glasses.
"What did you do?" Ginny yelled as she saw her boyfriend's current state; rushing over, she helped Ron sit them both up. Hermione's hand held the back of her head with a groan while Harry found himself doing the same, feeling as if his head had been cut in half with an axe. They were both vaguely aware of the snickering from the twins at the door and the slapping Ron was earning from his distraught mother.
"Defeats the darkest wizard of all time…" George started.
"…only to nearly be killed by ickle Ronniekins." Fred finished.
Hermione lifted her head to glare at the two wizards which she currently saw four of and raised a heavy hand in order to massage her temples. She groaned as she felt her hand dropped to her side and lifted it once more to her face. She looked up when she heard a gasp from the two female Weasleys in the room and blinked blankly.
"What?" The duo on the floor asked, looking up at three heads of red hair. They received no answer as both Molly and Ginny turned on Ron angrily; Ginny had begun hitting him once more, Molly berating him for being so foolish. They sat in a daze for a while longer until Hermione finally shook off the haziness in her head and raised her head once more.
"Can you all stop for a moment?" Harry said, beating her to the punch, his green eyes flashing annoyance as he looked at them through two cracked lenses. Hermione moved to grasp her wand in order to fix them when she stopped herself short. Harry eyes widened as she moved her hand, finally understanding why they all were so upset with Ron. Carefully, he looked down and lifted his left hand to find that…
It was firmly attached to the top of Hermione's right. There was a morbid silence as the two best friends stared at their glued limbs before they both turned to glare at the guilty party in front of them.
"What did you do?"
Ron tried not to look at the accusing eyes on him but his family and friends seemed determined to show him their unhappiness with him. His mother busied herself with fixing dinner while they waited for Bill and Fleur to come over. Harry and Hermione were forbidden by Molly to try reversing the spell themselves as she feared that with both being hit rather roughly to the head would mess with having the proper concentration. It was the odd moments such as these where it helped to have Gringotts top curse breaker in the family.
Hermione tried to find the irony in the fact that her boyfriend had spelled her to another man and failed horribly. She could barely look at Ginny as Harry's hand rested atop hers on the table. It felt terribly awkward holding hands in front of your boyfriend and the other person's girlfriend. One look at Harry and Hermione knew he felt the same as he refused to look at his girlfriend or his female best friend, content to glare at Ron angrily.
"Would it help if I said-" Ron started cautiously.
"No." Harry snapped.
"It really wouldn't help at all." Hermione finished curtly, feeling inadequate as this would usually be the part where she crossed her arms in a huff. If it weren't for the fact that she was stuck to Harry, she would have already forgone magic to strangle her boyfriend with her bare hands. The idea of perhaps pinning him to the wall with just one seemed too strenuous and she quickly dismissed it.
Hermione looked at the time and groaned loudly. Her parents were probably wondering where she was by now and the idea of explaining to them that she'd been glued to a person (especially a male person) was not something she fancied doing.
"Has anyone seen Cosette?" She asked grouchily. Before anyone could say another word the Australian masked owl that her parents gave her during their retrieval swooped down and perched atop the kitchen windowsill. The owl made a soft noise to announce her presence and Hermione smiled thankfully. She summoned a piece of paper and Harry snorted as he watched her pulled a pen out of her hair. Quickly writing an excuse for her tardiness, she rolled it up and lifted it up to show the smart bird that she was ready. The owl flew towards them, perching carefully on Harry's shoulder as she waited for her task.
"Can you send that to my parents? They'll probably be wondering where I am." She told the bird as she stroked its feathers affectionately. The owl stuck out a leg and Hermione attached it, touching her feathers once more. The bird left with a low hoot before swooping out of the room and threateningly raised her claws near Ron's face as she swept past him. Ron jolted back a bit, glaring at the animal as it gathered distance between them.
"You always pick the worst animals." He grumbled to her, earning a dark glare from his girlfriend. Just as she was about to argue with him for saying anything Ginny spoke first.
"I happen to think Cosette is charming. Besides, it's not Hermione's fault that her animals can detect the smell of an idiot." Ginny told him. The brother and sister began arguing almost immediately after that and the two connected friends could only watch with mild impatience.
"What time do you think Bill will get here?" Hermione asked Harry quietly, her voice unnoticeable by the screaming match between the two youngest Weasleys. His shoulders sagged a little in response and he shook his head.
"Not soon enough." He told her, earning an unladylike snort from the girl next to him. Thinking that he'd offended her somehow he turned towards her and squeezed the hand that was attached to his gently.
"Not that I don't care for you or anything. I'd just rather be stuck WITH you than stuck TO you." He told her jokingly. Hermione smiled at him and gave a pat to his hand with her free one, nodding in agreement.
"I knew what you meant, Harry. Don't worry, I don't want to be stuck to you either." She assured him playfully, getting a grin in return. There was a soft roar from the fire place and everyone in the room went quiet for a moment and they all let out a sound of relief as they heard Fleur talking to Bill.
"Thank God." Hermione murmured. Bill opened the door, stopping short when he saw that five pairs of expectant eyes looking at him. He gave them all a sheepish grin, running a hand through his hair. Fleur stood behind him an eyebrow raised and looking strangely pale as she stood before them.
"Heard you got yourselves a sticky situation." Bill said finally, his sheepish grin turning quickly into a teasing one. The four Gryffindors at the table groaned while outside a sarcastic "funny Billy boy" could be heard from the twins. Fleur rolled her eyes and shook her head, walking over to Molly to give her a hug.
"Bonjour Molly." She told her, giving her a kiss on either cheek. Molly smiled, stepping back to look at her questioningly.
"Are you alright dear? You look a bit peaky." She told her concernedly. Their relationship had slowly grown comfortable after their experiences during the war as everyone in the Weasley household learned that there was much more to Fleur than a pretty face and Veela charm. The blonde smiled at her as she let go and shook her head.
"There's a stomach bug being passed around her floor at Gringott's." Bill assured her, leaning down to give his mother a kiss on the cheek. Although she wasn't completely satisfied, the Weasley matriarch nodded and quickly turned to the matter at hand. She raised herself to her full height, a hand on her hip while the other holding a cooking spoon as she glared down at her youngest son.
"Ronald Weasley, explain to your brother what you did so that he might be able to fix this." She told him. The wooden spoon in her hand flicked towards his face threateningly with every annoyed word that came out of her mouth. Ron slumped in his chair, especially as Harry and Hermione glared at him once more.
"Well, I was just thinking-"
"Please, don't use that word, your head might explode-" Ginny began to interrupt. She was silenced as Molly waved her spoon at her instead and motioned towards the door.
"Ginny, round up the twins and make sure they put everything away so that we can have supper when your father gets home." Molly told her curtly. Ginny opened her mouth as to protest and thought the better of it as her mother's glare narrowed at even the slightest movement of her lips. She gave a reluctant nod and turned her head to glare at Ron before stomping out of the room. Bill shook his head smiling as they all watched her leave. Ron sat up, a sort of triumphant smile on his lips.
"Mental, that one-" He started, only to cut himself off at the look of warning that Harry and Hermione were giving him.
"Well as I was saying. Hermione was getting ready to leave and all I was thinking was that I wanted to use a sticking charm on her suitcase to make her stay. I had my wand in my hand and when I turned around, well, next thing I knew they were flying into that old dresser." Ron told them, his face turning red as he did so. Hermione's face softened a bit as he had honestly not meant to do what he did. While she was still angry at him for doing it, she stopped glaring at him so harshly.
Bill nodded as he took in the information while Fleur leaned over the table and lifted their connected hands. She tugged gently at Harry's hand and scrunched her face in thought as she looked over their predicament.
"Were you just thinking about wanting her to stay? Or were you going over a specific spell in your head?" Bill asked. Ron ducked his head as Harry and Hermione turned their attention back to him to hear his answer.
"It might've been a spell." Ron admitted begrudgingly, his words mumbled.
"You did wandless magic then. Even though you haven't studied the spell wandlessly, well, it almost works like accidental magic does when you're a kid where your emotions lead your magic to do something."
"So it's like if a kid wanted to get rid of a bad haircut and suddenly his hair grows back." Harry mused, grinning as he thought of the accidental magic he'd performed when he was younger and how they annoyed his aunt and uncle. Fleur looked up at him from her investigation of their hands and raised an eyebrow for a second before continuing her task.
"Correct. Now, as you go to school and control your magical abilities, accidental magic pretty much stops occurring."
"Unless you're Harry Potter and you blow up your uncle's sister during your third year." Ron added in, happy to earn a grin from his best friend after being glared at for so long. The occupants in the room chuckled a little and the mood lightened for a little as Bill continued.
"There is that. With wandless magic, it's sort of a hit and miss with wizards. Some are able to apply it to arduous tasks with ease but most will only be able to do simple things like summoning a book from a shelf. However, there's been cases where wizards who are trapped without a wand have summoned enough emotion and strength to blast through a wall; then when they try to do it consciously on a separate occasion, it doesn't take." He explained, chuckling as he saw Hermione's eager and interested stare as she sucked in the information he was giving her.
"But Ron had his wand in his hand when he was thinking it so it's not exactly 'wandless' magic is it?" Hermione asked him, looking down curiously as a purple strand came out of Fleur's wand and began wrapping around their joined hands. Bill nodded in agreement.
"Not exactly, but the idea is the same. Accidental magic is when there's absolutely no spell work. He was actively thinking the spell in his mind under emotional strain. So, I guess you could say it was a bit of accidental magic as well." He conceded, looking to Fleur as she stood up with her hands on her hips, glaring at the connected hands.
"It is a very strong spell." She told him, looking slightly annoyed. Bill clicked his tongue in response and looked back at Ron.
"What spell were you thinking of?" He asked, once again causing all of the attention to go in his younger brother's direction.
"Expsmitemamima." Ron mumbled almost pathetically. He wasn't even sure of what sort of sticking charm it was, only that he had heard the twins talking about it once when they were brainstorming out loud during one of their work sessions. Hermione raised an eyebrow and her hand twitched as she had to stop herself once more from crossing her arms or something of the sort.
"Speak up!" Molly chastised, taking her attention away from the unfinished dinner as she was curious to know what he'd be thinking of as well. He sighed in defeat.
"Epoximise maxima." He announced clearly, wincing at the gasps from the women in the room and the low whistle from his older brother. Harry looked around worriedly, wishing he had paid better attention during class. The green eye wizard could feel the Hermione' hand clench into a fist under his and before he could say anything, his attention was turned to Molly Weasley who was sputtering angrily at her son.
"RONALD WEASLEY!" She yelled angrily, causing the three younger students to jump at the sudden shrill of her voice. Bill shook his head and Fleur motioned for the four of them to leave the room so that Ron could be yelled at without being watched. Hermione shook her head, too angry to speak as Harry led the way to the living room. The muffled sounds of Molly's voice could be heard all throughout the house at that point.
"Mind telling me what spell that is?" Harry asked, feeling the accidental jerk of his hand as Hermione reached up to pull back her hair, mumbling to herself angrily. Bill placed a hand on the war hero's shoulder.
"It's a permanent sticking charm. Same kind they used on Madame Black's portrait at Grimmauld." Hermione grumbled angrily. Harry blinked blankly at the information, looking at Hermione, then Bill and the Fleur carefully before he said anything.
"You don't mean the screaming painting that no one knows how to remove, right?" He asked slowly, his hands clenching around Hermione's small one as the annoyance building up in him rapidly grew to anger. Hermione shot him a pointed look and nodded her head; Harry narrowed his eyes towards the kitchen door (or more accurately at what was behind the kitchen door).
"RON!"
The conclusion they both came to was simple: It was a miracle they won the war.
The connected duo stood apart just outside of the Burrow, arms outstretched so that they were as far away from one another as they could get without being unbalanced. Though the summer nights were still long and it wasn't dark yet outside, it was getting late. The dark cloud didn't seem too far away as the idea that they might be stuck for a while seemed possible. Their predicament seemed, however, to be a bit of a novelty distraction for everyone as all of the Weasleys and both Lupins stood around them trying to figure out how they might unglue their comrades.
"Imagine if we came up with a product that really did this…" Fred wondered aloud, tapping his wand against his chin pensively.
"You could stick your teacher to her desk or to the U-bend." George told him cheerily. They both turned to one another with a grin and Harry wondered if twin telepathy was real as it looked like they were mentally communicating ideas for possible torture in the name of hilarity. Hermione opened her mouth to chastise them and closed it, shaking her head and closing her eyes. He could tell that she was trying her best to contain a cool head in front of everyone. He squeezed her hand gently and when she turned to look at him he gave her a tip of the head and she returned it with a nod and a small smile.
"I think we might have to go to St. Mungo's already." Tonks sighed, defeated. They had been shooting spells at their hands for the past hour, trying carefully not to hurt either and were coming up short. Bill grew frustrated the most as he saw it as a personal challenge towards his curse breaking skills and still couldn't detach them. Harry and Hermione groaned at the idea of going back to St. Mungo's after their already lengthy stay after the war. They knew from personal experience that someone from the 's staff would send the whisper of their names and their predicament would be first page news in a gossip rag the next morning.
"Isn't there anything you can do?" Harry asked, pulling his arm down frustratingly and accidently yanking Hermione down. He shot her a look of apology while she mumbled under her breath something he figured to be unpleasant.
"I don't think so." Remus answered, looking as defeated as his wife. "There are spells we've tried on the Black portrait but that's a painting so it's no harm no foul if something chips off or gets scratched. We have no idea how those spells would react on joined humans and I certainly don't want test it as I'm sure it would only result in a lot of unnecessary pain on both your parts."
"Can someone floo Madam Pomfrey instead? Anything but St. Mungo's." Hermione said finally, her voice sounding tired rather than upset. Ron stepped up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her stepping back in surprise as she shrugged him off with a jerk of her shoulder. Harry opened his mouth to say something but thought the better of it. On one hand, he understood it was an accident but on the other he wanted to strangle his best friend. He knew, however, if he came to Ron's defense that the person he was currently attached to would attack him instead.
He let Hermione pull him back into the house while everyone else trailed behind.
"Ginny, you and Ronald get the table sorted." Molly instructed, shooing her two youngest children into the kitchen. The older woman busied herself in insisting everyone stay to eat, putting up a hard fight against Remus and Tonks before letting them go with a sad smile. She had gotten used to the bustling noises that was her home throughout the war, back when there were always mouths to feed and people to tend to. Though she had an already large family, the house seemed quiet and while Percy hadn't come to his family until the day of the final battle, it seemed as if the house ached for its missing resident. There were times where she would stare at her clock, almost as if searching for the face of her third child. Harry figured that was why she insisted he live with them at least until his Auror training finished and he was happy to oblige.
Hermione pulled Harry to the couch, sitting down in a frustrated huff as they watched everyone else get ready for dinner.
"Are you sure you don't know any spells for this?" He asked, lifting their hands and shaking it a bit.
"If I did, I'd have tried it by now. Every spell, charm and hex I know to undo something like this usually ends in a hole being blasted. Besides, I've had a busy year trying to figure out how to destroy soul fragments of an evil wizard…sticking charms were the least of my worries." She told him, putting a hand to her face and groaning. He snorted in response, leaning back onto the couch.
"And I thought I was busy, you know, saving the world. Not to mention the fact that I died." He told her sarcastically, a wiry smile on his face as she shot up and glared at him. He laughed as she turned and punched him in the shoulder with her free hand. She made a face at how ineffective a punch seemed to be from her left hand.
"Don't joke about that Harry." She chastised, turning away from him completely her arm awkwardly pulled behind her back. His face softened and pulled at her arm gently, watching as she turned around with a look on her face that was clearly annoyed with him.
"I didn't mean to make you upset. Think of it this way, we could have been at war when Ron did this or he could've glued our heads and feet together." He told her, earning a small smile in return. She pushed his shoulder lightly, showing him that she was no longer angry. They sat quietly for a while, listening to the faint arguing going on in the room between the Weasleys when Harry spoke once more.
"I think you're doing the right thing going back to school." He told her, leaning back as she quickly turned to face him.
"Harry, you have no idea what that means to me. Everyone else thinks I'm crazy for wanting to go back, especially Ron." She told him, her voice cracking a bit as she said it. He squeezed their connect hands and gave her a small smile, feeling bad that she was so shocked over him supporting her. He felt the back of his neck grow hot under her grateful stare and he nodded, shrugging his shoulders.
"I guess he's just going to miss you. He doesn't want to lose you." Harry told her, suddenly feeling the common awkwardness that was always associated with talking about their relationship. He watched as she sighed and turned away from him.
"He's going to lose me if he doesn't stop trying to dictate my life." She said it so softly that Harry had to wonder if she even said it at all. He wanted to ask her if she truly meant it, only to be sidetracked when they heard Molly calling them to the table for dinner. Hermione stood, squaring her shoulders and pulled at his arm, tugging him along. Harry smiled once again as it seemed whether they were physically connected or not, Hermione always seemed to be leading the way.
The good mood from their earlier chat diminished after a few minutes of dinner. As Hermione was right handed, she found herself awkwardly trying to cut into her food with her left. They had already successfully knocked over their drinks as one of them tried to grab the cup while the other decided to lean across the table for the rolls. Harry shot her an annoyed glance as she jerked her hand under his in order to grab the salt and she returned it when he pulled it back too quickly and effectively shook the salt onto the tablecloth rather than her food.
The rest of the table, however, seemed to find their inability to function rather amusing. Although the twins where mostly silenced by their mother's glare they grinned at the spectacle silently, making both Harry and Hermione feel even more like freak show performers. Bill snorted as they jerked their connected hands back and forth and grinned a bit as his father tried to look disapproving of him when really he looked just as amused as he. Ginny continued patting Harry on the shoulder in pity and even Ron could tell that his best mate was beginning to grow tired of it while Ron continued staring at Hermione apologetically, only to be ignored.
Just as Hermione pushed away her plate and was ready to state that she'd lost her appetite, a call came through the floo.
"Ms. Granger? Mr. Potter?" They both stood up quickly, this time Harry leading the way towards the fireplace. The sound of chairs dragging across the floor could be heard as the dinner table rushed along with them to see what Madam Pomfrey would say. The duo stopped at the fireplace as stern looking school nurse was sticking her head into the floo, waiting for them.
"We're here, Madam Pomfrey!" Hermione informed her, the two standing awkwardly in front of the fiery head.
"I just got word from Nymphadora about your situation. I'll need to see you both immediately as I can't do much from here. Since there aren't any students here yet, Minerva has given you both permission to stay in the infirmary until we can remedy this. If the two younger Weasley's are there, you'd best inform them that unless THEY are stuck together, they have no business coming along. This is an infirmary, not a playroom. Now, pack up for the next few days and hurry along. Don't dawdle as we have much to look over."
The older woman disappeared with a soft roar of the fireplace without leaving either of them any time to say anything back. The two stared slightly agape at the fireplace, silent as they mulled over their instructions.
"I don't care what that old bat says. I'm going with-" Ron stopped himself short as he received a silencing glare from his mother. Ginny tugged at a long red strand of hair, her brows furrowed at the fact that Harry would be leaving. She and Hermione were both going back to school in two weeks which meant she also had two weeks left to spend with her war hero of a boyfriend. She looked over at Harry who seemed conflicted on whether to scream or sigh in defeat and then looked down at their hands. She began tearing up as she realized that they might not see each other until Christmas and turned to run upstairs.
"Ginny dear, it's alright." Molly called after her.
Harry watched as she left unsure if he wanted to comfort her or yell at her for being selfish. Afterall, he thought, it wasn't like she was the one that was stuck to another person or getting their own summer cut short because of it. He looked over at Hermione who seemed to be nursing her forehead for the millionth time of the day.
"We need to go upstairs. I need to get my things." Harry told her, his voice a bit more sharper than he intended. Hermione raised an eyebrow at him but said nothing as he turned to lead the way. Ron opened his mouth to say something to them as they passed but thought the better of it as they walked by without so much as a glare in his direction.
Harry grabbed Hermione's shrunken and lightened trunk and placed it atop his clothes in his rucksack, sighing tiredly. They both knew that Madam Pomfrey was most likely waiting impatiently for the both of them but neither made any move to pick up their pace. As they passed Ginny's room, Hermione stopped, feeling awkward as Harry stared at the door for a few moments. While Ginny was no longer crying, she could still be heard complaining to her mother about how unfair the entire situation was and that she demanded Ron be punished somehow. He pushed open the door and both women in the room turned to look at them.
"We're off." Harry announced, earning a frown from them both. Molly stood and pulled the two of them to her for one of her famous bone crushing hugs.
"I'm so sorry, dears. I'm sure Poppy will have you fixed up by tomorrow. Keep us posted on how you're doing." Her voice was soft as she spoke to them. It was as if she was still speaking to their eleven year old selves rather than as adults. She smiled at both of them, turning past them towards the door where she shouted out "RONALD" at the top of her lungs.
Hermione took in the room with a heavy feeling of shame. The armoire stood dilapidated and Ginny's clothes were covered in wood chips.
"We're off." Harry announced once more, this time with fake sarcasm. He threw their arms up in the air in mock excitement. Ginny scoffed, a small but genuine smile on her lips.
"Sorry for running out like that." She told him, standing up and walking towards him. "It's just that-"
She was about to explain further when both heads turned and looked to see Hermione standing as far away as she possibly could, trying desperately to look elsewhere. Their conversation seemed so personal that she felt out of line just being there. They stood there in a sort of thick silence before Ginny continued once more but with a more whispered tone.
"It's just that if it takes a while to fix this, I won't see you til Christmas."
Harry nodded silently and gave her a small smile as she gave him a peck on the cheek.
The three walked down the stairs quietly and stopped just in front of the fireplace. Molly bustled through the room, thrusting a bag in Hermione's arms.
"I don't want you two to go hungry tonight. You barely ate your dinner, not that I blame you. I just want it said that I don't like you two being alone in that big castle so soon after the war. You'd think that Poppy could come here-" She continued grumbling as she hugged both of them, taking a moment to hold each of their face in her hands before letting them go. Arthur pulled her away, a smile on his face. Harry gave Ginny a kiss on the cheek and Hermione looked over to see Ron in the corner, staring at the ground. Harry watched as Hermione stared at him, waiting for him to come over and when it sunk in that he wasn't going to, he pulled her into the fireplace.
"Let's go, Hermione." He told her gently, shooting an angry look over at Ron.
He threw the floo powder on the grow, shouting "HOGWARTS INFIRMARY!"
With a burst of green flame, they were gone.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it.
