Ginger Hope
A/N: I have been an avid fan of fan fiction for years, a firm Severus Snape/Hermione Granger shipper yet I read a story one day with another pairing and felt like I had to make up my own story to give the two characters justice. I am still new to writing and apologise if the grammar and tense is a little off, I'm working on it. This story is non-compliant DH, I also lack the imagination to think of how to defeat The Dark Lord so just imagine he was vanquished after the trio's seventh year and Severus Snape managed to survive and his loyalty to the order was revealed. My Snape has a softer side but I'd like him to still be a little snarky. On with the story, feedback and suggestions welcomed. I advise it will be of an adult nature, hence the rating. Title will change but I am stumped trying to come up with anything original.
Disclaimer: Characters belong to the amazing J.K. Rowling.
Chapter One
Ginny shifted in the uncomfortable plastic chair, the sudden movement knocking her drink on its side. The drink had long since cooled, tea seeping through the sleeve of her coat. Without thinking she went to brandish her wand to mutter a cleaning spell but as soon as she touched the wood she hesitated. She was sitting in a muggle coffee shop that while not crowded the background noise was filled with the clinking of cups on counters and quiet conversations. A waiter appeared at her side with an armful of napkins.
'Here you go Miss' The handsome waiter began moping the drink off the table.
'Thank you' Ginny murmured on instinct, shyly smiling at the man glad she had remembered in time where she was. Confounding muggles always gave her a slight headache. She realised it was time to move on, Harry was not here and nor was he going to turn up. It had been their favourite shop to escape the cloying attentions from the magical world they lived in. She remembered the last post card he had sent her, it had a picture of beaches and Islands featuring glittery writing spelling out Aloha, Hawaii. She had held onto the card for most of the day, heartbroken as usual there was no writing on the card just his name signed in his haphazard handwriting. She glanced outside the window where storm clouds were brewing, leaves blowing down the street and she witnessed ladies struggling with hairdos being ravished by the ever present wind. Hawaii was the polar opposite to England. His last few postcards had being similar, places depicting sun and sandy locations.
Ginny gathered her bag, her sleeve feeling heavy and uncomfortable but then again it was nice to feel something other than numbness. It was going on eighteen months since they had farewelled Harry on his quest to find himself. She felt her eyes begin to water, determined not to cry today, it was hard not to feel anger at his abandonment. She wondered if the postcards made it worse, combined with his returning ever letter she sent unopened. It was not the way one should treat their fiancé. Ginny looked down at her left hand, the ring sparkled in the glaring lights of the shop. The waiter saw her gaze and smiled, thinking to himself all the gorgeous ones are already taken.
Leaving the warmth of the shop Ginny surged forward into the gusty wind, looking for the quiet alley she liked to use when she dissaparated. Walking she decided was good for the soul. The rhythmic effort of left than right, helping her to distract from thinking more on Harry. Bypassing her usual spot Ginny walked until her feet began to show discomfort, her coat sleeve now dry. Steady rain drops began falling than heavy unrelenting drops followed forcing Ginny to seek shelter under an awning on the side of a building. In the distance a tall figure was walking in the rain with a large shaggy haired dog. They seemed undisturbed by the rain, Ginny mused they were probably a wizard. The rain provided good cover, no one appeared to be looking out the windows, Ginny decided it was a good time to remember that she was indeed a witch and with a crack she was gone, her sojourn into the muggle world over.
Apparating to her her rented house she repaired her coat in seconds. Household charms had always come easy to her. She made her way to the spare room which was being used as an office to put in a few hours of work. While she loved working at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes she often needed her own space away from the experiments and the frivolity of the other employees. People had been free of the Dark Lords presence and influence for two years now and the business had boomed. Fred had sadly passed away during the final battle and George had asked Ginny to join him at the shop when she had eventually finished her schooling. She had taken a correspondence NEWT course at the age of nineteen as Hogwarts had been too damaged to operate from the final battle and was only now up and running. Her main duties involved the daily running of the shop and managing their employees, she did not seem to have the imagination like George to invent any exciting products and he did not have the patience for the practical and financial aspects of the business.
Which lead to her current predicament, she was having trouble finishing the formula on a drink that would change ones hair colour for an hour. It seemed simple, and it was yet for some reason red hair would not respond to any of the colours. It was the first time she had tried creating something on her own and she wanted it for a gift to give George for his upcoming nuptials. The line of products targeted for woman had really taking off and this seemed like the perfect addition. It wouldn't upset any parents either with such a short effect. Ginny was also curious to see how she would look as a brunette or even a blonde, smiling as it would probably be terrible what with her pale colouring and endless freckles. Fred had kept a notebook filled with scribbles and drawings of potential products to create and this had been one of the first she had found and was able to comprehend. As she understood it the boys had overlooked it in favour of making something more exciting and potentially explosive. She sat down and stared at the formula and began making notes of different things to try referring to a chemistry book she had borrowed off Hermione.
Two hours flew by, Ginny no closer to a solution when she decided it was time to stop for the day and think about making a nice dinner. She rented the picturesque little house with a medi-witch from St Mungo's named Charlotte who also happened to be George's fiancé. They had met through Ginny and a slow courtship had followed, leading to them now happily planning a wedding to take place in three short months. Packing away her papers, Ginny felt determined to finish her project by the end of the month, wondering if maybe it was time to turn to Hermione for assistance.
Cooking was a great distraction and she soon dedicated herself to the task, deciding to make a roast with all the trimmings. The leftovers would be great for lunch the next day and it was a favourite of both Charlotte and George, they tended to have a group dinner once a week. George had admitted to her that being the closest of of her three remaining brothers he had made a promise to look out for her and worried about her since Harry had left and the resulting loneliness and heartache she felt. However it was a bit tiring pretending to be cheery in Georges presence, if he sensed her melancholy he would pop around more often trying to engage her in activities and projects. She smiled it was lovely to have brothers who cared so much about her. Just last week he had mentioned her getting another familiar stating that an owl whilst practical didn't provide much companionship when it was so busy with mail. A toad was of course out of the question, but maybe a small fluffy kitten? She remembered the imposing figure she had seen walking earlier today with a large dog, maybe a puppy would be better company since she rather enjoyed a long walk. Sue's laughter as she entered the front door distracted Ginny from her brooding as she forced a big smile on her face ready to face the couple.
'Oh that smells divine, you aren't spoiling George with another roast are you? I've told him he has to watch his waist line as the tailor already measured his wedding robes and they won't have much give' Charlotte teased knowing full well that George could eat whatever he liked without gaining any weight.
'Hello love, of course you had to spoil me and cook a roast' George enveloped Ginny in a big hug. Ginny shushed them out of the kitchen to the living room ready to apply the finishing touches to the meal, in the background she could hear them chatting and laughing. Setting the table with a few spells, she realised that once they were married she would be alone in the house with only silence for company. The thought was a little unsettling, she was lucky enough to be in the position where she could afford the rent on her own but she would certainly miss Charlotte's company.
Shaking off the depressing thoughts, Ginny bought the food to the table and called to the others to let them know it was time to sit down. They sat as a group chatting about nonsensical things, a little about wedding plans and finally ended with some shop talk. George seemed satisfied that she was keeping busy and did not bring up any talk of Harry or his latest thought that she should try dating again. Only last week he had mentioned maybe it was time to remove her engagement ring and start looking for a new companion, Ginny had quickly changed the topic but it had stayed with her all week. She was simply not ready to move on, what if Harry soon finished his journey and wanted to return, although she was beginning to realise that this might never happen and her love for him was beginning to change. Two years of no contact was bound to do that. Hadn't he too seen that she was struggling to cope from the aftermath of the war, but he had not taken her with him stating he had go on his quest alone. He had tried to end their engagement but Ginny had refused believing at that time he would only be gone for a few days, as they turned into months than over a year her hope was crumbling. Some of Georges comments were too truthful, how long was she willing to wait at the cost of her own happiness?
They retired to the living room, insisting that Ginny relax in one of the comfortable chairs as George made quick spell work of putting away the leftovers and cleaning the kitchen. Charlotte who was not domestically minded was happy to put together a tea set feeling rather smug that she was marrying a well trained man as George too had inherited a flair for household charm work. Soon the delicate aroma of tea was wafting from the cosy, Ginny had to admit to herself that it would be nice to have someone to share dinners and teatime with staring wistfully at the ease of which Charlotte and George worked together. Finishing her cup of tea Ginny murmured good night to the pair as she suddenly felt exhausted from the emotional day at the coffee shop to her failures at perfecting her prototype and her own admission that waiting for Harry to return was not enough for her.
Walking around her room she searched for an errant quill and some parchment paper, writing a quick letter to Hermione asking for her assistance. She detailed her problems and thanked her for her lend of the chemistry text finishing with a few questions about how she had enjoyed her holiday. They tended to meet once a month however they had missed last month due to Hermione's travelling. She had recently published her first book and had gone to Egypt to celebrate. Ginny gave the letter to her owl Topaz, stoking her soft feathers and with a soft hoot she was gone. She retired to bed and soon fell into a deep sleep and dreamt of a tall dark man walking towards her.