A fire was crackling merrily in the fireplace. Hermione Granger was sitting on her couch with her feet propped up on her coffee table. She had a large book in her lap and was reading with ferocity. She loved Hogwarts, A History, and every time she reread it, she learned something new. She leaned over and picked up a cup of tea. When someone knocked on her door, she almost dropped her cup. She set her tea down and marked her place in her book. She walked over to the door and opened it.
"Ginny!" the girl exclaimed, "Come in! It's freezing out there. I'll get you some tea."
"Thanks, Hermione." Ginny walked in and took off her coat. She hung it up on a coat rack. She walked over to the fire and warmed her hands. She couldn't believe how cold it was getting.
Ginny pondered a minute about how to ask Hermione for her help. She thought about how hard it was going to be to spend a whole week with Harry, and tears came to her eyes. 'Why do I have to have feelings like this for him still? Why can't I just move on?'
Hermione returned to the room with a tray of tea and some biscuits. She set the tray down and looked at her friend. She was surprised to see her blinking back tears.
"What's wrong, Ginny?" She walked over to the couch and sat down. She patted the seat beside her and said, "Come on, sit. Tell me what's wrong."
Ginny was furious with herself for tearing up. She declared, "My idiot brother is what's wrong. You won't believe what he did to me."
Hermione felt her face flush thinking of Ron, but was also angry that he could make her best friend so upset. "What did he do?"
Ginny went on to explain that he bought the Garwood cabin in Mount Brighton. She told Hermione how he asked her to come up with him for a week to redecorate it.
Hermione was confused. "Why is that a bad thing? You love redecorating. Also, Mount Brighton is beautiful. It's so peaceful up there. Or, so I've heard."
Ginny sighed, "Yes, that's all fine, but he's bringing someone with him."
Hermione fought down something that rose in her chest. That something felt ridiculously like jealousy. Taking a deep breath, she asked, "Who?"
"Harry."
"Harry?" Something that felt equally as ridiculous as jealousy poured through her. Surely that wasn't relief. "Why is he bringing Harry?"
"Hermione, he needs someone up there with him in case he has an episode. We all know I'm not the greatest at potions and healing has never been my strong point. Harry has lived with Ron since his attack, and he knows what to do in case of one. He hasn't had an episode in five months. But better to be safe than sorry, I guess."
Hermione looked at her friend, "Oh, Ginny, is there anything I can do." She knew how much Ginny still loved Harry, and could only imagine how hard it would be to have to spend a week with someone you loved but didn't have.
Ginny looked at Hermione with relief in her face. "I knew you would. Oh, Hermione, thank you thank you thank you!"
"Wait, what are you thanking me for?"
Grinning like mad, Ginny said, "You can come with me. You can practice your newly found decorating skills, and keep me company and away from--,I mean…"
Her friend must have lost her mind. Hermione sputtered, "Go with you? Are you mad? I can't. Look who's going to be up there? Does that ring a bell at all?" She crossed her arms and looked at her friend with a glare on her face.
Ginny's face dropped. "But Hermione, I need you. Ron said this house is huge. We won't even see them if we don't want. I just don't want to go up there by myself. Ron doesn't understand my feelings and I need you. Please?" She pouted in a way that made Hermione sit back and think.
She sighed, "Ginny, about five months ago, he finally got the nerve to ask me out. After almost ten years of friendship! Do you remember that?"
"Yes, of course," Ginny replied.
"We went to that muggle club off of Diagon Alley. We danced and drank and had a great time. Then when I woke up the next morning, I was in bed. With. Your. Brother. Do you remember THAT?"
"Yes, Hermione, I remember that. You came to my house crying and carrying on. You never would tell me why you left his house so fast, and why you still wont' talk to him."
Hermione pushed back her anger, it was no good to take her anger out for Ronald Weasley on his sister. "When he woke up that morning, I had already gotten up. I was bringing some coffee to his room, when I saw him writing a letter. He gave it to Pig, and I heard him say, "Take this to Sophia. I mean, what kind of person takes you home, spends an amazing night..", she cut off, "I mean, and then the next morning writes a letter to another woman." She sat back and looked at Ginny.
Ginny didn't know what to say. She knew something had happened between her brother and Hermione, but she didn't know what. Now that she did know, she wanted to hex her brother. "Oh, Hermione, I'm so sorry. I didn't know that. You don't have to come with me. I completely understand. But I do need a favor from you."
"What is it?" asked Hermione.
"I need an excuse not to go now, because if you aren't going, then I'm not going."
Hermione sighed. Ginny had done so well for herself in her decorating business. She proved to everyone that she was a talented witch, and a talented decorator. Ginny lived for this thrill and Hermione didn't want to hurt her friend for anything. She closed her eyes and rubbed her head. Thinking ahead, she realized that she had only two more days of class before holiday break. Hermione worked at Flourish and Blotts while going to school to become a professor. She could take time off from work, she had the vacation saved. She loved helping Ginny decorate. It was becoming one of her favorite hobbies. She looked at her friend and said, "No excuse. I'll go with you."
Ginny's jaw dropped. "Are you sure? I mean, you seriously don't have to. I understand completely…"
"Ginny, shut it. I said I'd go. Promise me you'll try to keep Ronald away from me, and I'll help with Harry. Ok?"
"Ok." Ginny threw her arms around her best friend in the whole world.
"Now, when are we leaving?"
"Friday," said Ginny. We'll be back the following weekend.
"That sounds good. Ok, well, let's go. Come help me pack."
Giggling, the two girls went upstairs and into Hermione's room. Ginny looked around at the changes. Her room used to be white, with a few pictures on the walls. A desk covered with books, and a bed with a white cover on it. It was completely changed. Hermione must have been practicing her decorating. She had painted the walls a deep sage. The desk was cleared off and a massive oak bookshelf was added in. Books filled the shelves. The bed had been moved out of the corner and put in under the window. A new cream colored bedspread with black and sage plaid had been added. The pictures that once were put up on the walls now were in beautiful frames matching the bookshelf. They were organized on another new shelf and some were hung up symmetrically on the walls. Ginny was impressed.
"Oh, Hermione, this is beautiful!"
"Do you think so?" Hermione bit her lip. She really liked the colors together, and the way she redid her room, but was unsure of herself.
"Yes, it's fantastic. You are definitely going to be a big help this next week!" Ginny giggled.
She sat down on Hermione's bed as her friend brought out her old school trunk. She opened it up. Waving her wand, several jumpers flew out of Hermione's dresser and some jeans and wool pants flew out of her closet. They folded themselves neatly and were packed in the trunk. Socks, underclothes, and night clothes followed the outerwear. A pair of fluffy bunny slippers sat on top of the pile. Ginny giggled at the thought of prim and proper Hermione Granger wearing pink bunny slippers.
Hermione turned and mock glared at her friend. "What? They're comfortable."
As more of Hermione's belongings, including several books and a wooden box with various vials of potions settled themselves in her trunk, Ginny realized that Friday was the day after tomorrow. She needed to pack her own trunk. She talked with Hermione a few more minutes watching her trunk fill completely. After it was shut with a quite a bit of help from Ginny, they went back downstairs.
They sat for several hours working on ideas for Ron's cabin. When Hermione suggested making one of the rooms Cannon orange, Ginny grinned. They figured out a color scheme for the kitchen, living area, and two of the bedrooms. When the clock chimed, it shocked Ginny to see that it was six o'clock.
"Oh, no, I've got to go!" She jumped up from the table and threw her coat on. "I've got a floo call at eight with Colin!"
Hermione looked at Ginny. Was she seeing Colin? She opened her mouth to ask when Ginny continued.
"He and Sam are planning a Christmas party for some rich couple a few towns over. He let me borrow some samples last week to look at and I have to arrange to get them back to him."
"Who's Sam?" Hermione asked.
"Sam is Colin's fiance," said Ginny.
Confused, she asked, "Fiance?" She thought about Colin. They all thought he might be, but weren't sure.
Ginny grinned, "Yeah. Hey, Sam is short for Samantha, by the way."
"Oh!" Hermione exclaimed. She flushed, trying not to be embarrassed.
"It's ok. Colin knows that his line of work doesn't profess the most masculine lifestyle. But trust me, Samantha is all girl!"
Hermione laughed and hugged her friend. "Be careful going home. This weather is getting worse."
"Ok, I'll be fine. I'm going to have my floo call with Colin, then go pack. I'll see you tomorrow, ok?"
"Ok, girl. Bye" She shut the door behind Ginny and picked up her book off the coffee table. She relaxed back into the world of Hogwarts history.
Ginny slipped twice going up the steps to her flat. Holding on to rail tight, she made it inside. Seeing that she an hour and half before Colin would call, she went upstairs to pack. After packing, she sat on her bed facing the fire, wondering what she was dong. She walked downstairs into the kitchen where she put some water on to boil. She pulled a mug out of the cabinet and brought some instant hot chocolate out of the pantry. She was just adding the water to her mug when her doorbell rang.
'Who in the world?' Ginny thought as she went to the door. It had really started coming down with snow and it was impossible to see more than a few feet in front of you. The wind was terrible too. Opening it up, the figure stepped in before she could say anything. Instinctively, she pulled her wand out of her pocket and backed up a few feet. The person, seeing her wand, chuckled. He raised his hands in mock defeat.
"Come on, Gin, put that away. I'd hate for you to accidentally Bat Bogey me."
She froze. She knew that voice. The figure took off his hat, cloak and scarf. She stared at the man in her house. "Harry?"
Ron sat at his desk with his hands in his head. He couldn't believe he agreed with Ginny to let Hemione come with them. He didn't understand what happened five months ago.
Ron, Harry, and Hermione had been best friends through school. Ron started having feelings for her around third year, but never got the nerve to do anything about it. After his attack eighteen months ago, he realized what could have happened. He could have died. He decided then to put aside his fears and ask her out. It still took him a year, but he did it. To his surprise, she agreed.
They had gone to a muggle dining restaurant. It felt completely normal to sit and talk to Hermione over a bottle of wine. After dinner, they walked outside. Hermione noticed a muggle club across the street and they went over to it. After several shots of firewhisky, she talked Ron into dancing with her. They danced some fast songs, laughing and having a great time.
A slow song came on. He felt bolder, maybe from the alcohol. He put one of his hands on Hermione's back and pulled her flush to him. He took her other hand and held it. Hermione put her free hand on Ron's chest and they swayed slowly, barely hearing the music. Her eyes hypnotized him and he was scared. She looked up at him with complete trust and love. He leaned down and brushed his lips to hers. It was brief, and full of question. She looked back at him and slowly smiled. She stood on tip toe and kissed him again. This kiss was full of passion. They broke apart again. Ron grabbed her hand and led her out of the club. He apparated them back to his place.
Waking up the next morning, he realized he had just spent the most amazing night with the most amazing woman in the world. He turned over on his side, to see an empty place in bed. Frowning, he got up. Then he heard noises from his kitchen and the smell of coffee reached his room. Smiling, he looked at the calendar. His smile dropped instantly.
Today was the day. He was so excited about his date with Hermione, he totally forgot all about it. It was the anniversary of his attack and he was going to have an episode at exactly ten in the morning. It happened every month at the same time and he was always prepared. He was frustrated with himself. He had to get Hermione out before he made a fool of himself in front of her. He looked over at his clock, then he blinked. The clock read after noon.
Confused, he thought of Sophia. He was still somewhat embarrassed to have to go see a psychiatrist, even though she was as nice as she was. Ron was supposed to write down everything that happened to him during his episodes and send them to her. The next week they met up and discussed what happened. It was really helping him cope with everything. He knew that if he didn't have his episode already, he wasn't going to. He sat down and wrote a note to Sophia, explaining what happened. After giving Pig the letter and telling him where to go, he got up and stretched. He put on a dressing gown and made his way downstairs. He stepped out of his door and almost tripped over the tray of coffee in the floor. He picked it up, confused, and walked downstairs. Hermione was gone.
He didn't hear anything from her for three days. Well, even then, it wasn't her he heard from. Ginny came over and told him in no uncertain terms that Hermione refused to talk about him, and didn't want to see him anymore. She was mad at her brother for hurting her friend, even though she didn't know what he had done.
Ron stood up suddenly. Thinking back at that night and the next morning wouldn't do him any good. He thought about what to bring with him to the cabin, and walked upstairs to pack. Harry had brought his trunk over earlier and told Ron he had to see Ginny before they went up into the cabin. Ron warned him not to say or do anything stupid, so Ginny wouldn't change her mind. He wondered what he had to say to his sister that was so important.
"Harry? What are you doing here?" Ginny stumbled back and tripped over her briefcase. Righting herself, she realized her wand was still pointed at him. She lowered it.
"Hey, Ginny, I wanted to come over and talk to you. It's been awhile."
'Three years is more than awhile', she thought. She said, "Yeah, it has. So what is it that you have to say?"
"Can I sit down?" Harry gestured around him. Ginny noticed they were still in her foyer. She quickly led them into her living room. She sat in the middle of the couch, hoping he would take the hint and sit in the armchair across the room. No such luck. He plopped down beside her, brushing her thigh with his leg as he did. She jumped up like she'd been burned.
"I'll go get us some tea. I'll be right back." Ginny walked into the kitchen muttering to herself. "Get a hold of yourself. He probably just wants to know how we're going to avoid each other while we are out at Ron's. He doesn't want to be anywhere near me, he made that clear when he left me." Anger coursed through Ginny, and she slammed some things down on a tray. She reached in her pantry and found a box of peanut butter cookies. She set them on the tray, remembering they were his favorite.
Setting the tray down on the coffee table, she hesitantly lowered herself back on the couch, this time near the arm of it.
Just as he opened his mouth to speak, her fireplace came to life and the flames turned green. She looked over and saw Colin's head poking out.
"Colin!" she jumped up and ran to the fireplace.
"Hi Ginny!" He looked over at Harry and asked, "Is this a bad time? I can call back later."
"Um. No, that's ok."
Colin shook his head. "No, how about I just call you tomorrow. Same time, ok? Night then, Ginny." His head disappeared and the flames turned back to yellow.
She turned around and looked at Harry. His eyes were sad. He stood up and asked, "How long have you been seeing Colin?"
Ginny couldn't help it. She laughed. "Seeing Colin? Colin's my business partner. He and his fiancé own his decorating company. I was just supposed to give him some ideas tonight about a party next month."
"Oh," Harry said sheepishly. He looked down at his feet.
Ginny didn't want to let the hope she felt get too big. She could have sworn he was jealous. Jealous. Of Colin!
"Ginny?" she looked up at Harry and realized he was closer than the last time she checked. "Can we be friends again? I really miss that. I know we've had our problems, but before all that, we were friends. Really good friends. Please let's move past this and be friends again."
Ginny couldn't begin to think what she was feeling. She missed Harry's friendship so much, and was excited at the thought of being friends with him again. They got along so well, usually. At the same time, she was disappointed that he wanted to be only friends. She pushed those feelings aside, and looked into Harry's eyes. She smiled and stepped over to him.
"Friends." She stuck her hand out to shake his. He took it and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her in a Harry hug. She missed these. She felt herself melting and wrapped her arms around his waist, just standing there. They broke apart after a minute and sat down on the couch. Enjoying their coffee, and Harry especially enjoying the peanut butter cookies, they sat and talked for the rest of the evening until it was after eleven.
He stood up reluctantly and said, "I better go. I have to go to work early in the morning. I'll see you on Friday, ok?"
Ginny nodded. "Okay. I'm glad you came by. Hey, Harry, don't tell Ron we made up, ok? He'll pitch a fit about me bringing Hermione and she won't come either. I think they need to talk and get things straight and the only way to do that is to be in the same room. Ok?"
Harry grinned, "You do have a deceptive mind. I miss that. I won't say a word." He leaned down and paused. Ginny looked back at him and he kissed her cheek. "Bye, Ginny."