Chapter 3: The Hero's Journey
Hermione noticed the pained expression on her counterpart's face as she saw Harry and Ginny share a 'moment' and her heart twisted a little. It seemed this world's Hermione was still hung up on Harry after all. Determined to see what she could do to help her, Hermione thought furiously while they walked. It seemed there was only one thing for it; she would have to talk to this world's Hermione and Ron and make them see what was going on between them. If she couldn't get her Ron to wake up and see what was in front of him, she could at least help this pair. But how to do that? After a little while the answer came to her and she smiled to herself.
The other Hermione had taken control of the group and herded them carefully into a seldom used classroom. It was the perfect spot, and Hermione approved wholeheartedly of her counterpart's reasoning. With classes cancelled no-one was likely to come here and with the addition of caterwauling charms on the door to let them know if someone approached and Hermione's new ability to cast disillusionment charms they shouldn't be 'found out.'
'Now, Ginny,' said this world's Hermione, causing some confusion until she added, 'my Ginny! You need to meet Harry outside his detention and let him know what's going on. He'll be pleased to see these guys again, I'm sure.'
This world's Ginny checked the time. 'Oh, I'd better go now' she said. 'He's due to finish soon. We'll be right back. Do you want us to find Ron while we're at it?' she asked as she got to the door.
'Yes please,' said the other Hermione.
Hermione was confused. Her other self wasn't talking about Harry in a depressed way at all, and it seemed he had come to his senses and found happiness with Ginny here too. So what was with the strange look of longing in the Room of Requirement? Either way, this world's Ron and Harry were going to be here soon so she could make an observation on the state of play and move on from there. In the mean time she quizzed this world's Hermione on everything to do with their lives, trying to see where they converged and diverged. Apart from the Harry thing it seemed their experiences had been quite similar. Dumbledore was also dead in this world and it looked sure that You-know, er Voldemort was attempting a take over in both places. The future looked gloomy for both worlds and it seemed Harry was key to success in both. She had to talk in code because she knew Harry hadn't told Ginny about the horcruxes or the horcrux hunt since Dumbledore told him not to, but it soon became obvious that the other Hermione also knew and understood why she was keeping it quiet around Ginny. Harry was sitting at the other side of the classroom, deep in thought, so it wasn't long before the girls forgot he was there and he seemed to prefer it that way.
They soon moved on to less depressing subjects, however, and Hermione was able to ask the one thing that intrigued her the most.
'You and Harry? Seriously, how did that even happen?'
This world's Hermione laughed and said, 'well it was Ron wasn't it. Stupid git started snogging Lavender and Harry … well, he was very kind to me. And we had a great friendship so I guess we both thought 'why not?' Plus, he's not bad looking.' She giggled at the look on Ginny's face. 'Oh, don't worry. It wasn't long after he came back that it became blindingly obvious that we weren't meant to be.'
All three girls were startled when a new voice broke into the conversation.
'I'm pleased' said Harry. 'No offense to either of you lovely Hermiones but … really, you're like a sister to me.' He moved back towards the group and slipped his arms around Ginny. 'Whereas, someone else I know …'
She laughed and twisted up to kiss him, and once again Hermione caught her counterpart looking at them with longing. She was definitely puzzled. The other Hermione's words and tone made it abundantly clear that she didn't like Harry that way at all anymore, and yet …
Her thoughts were broken into as the caterwauling charms went off. She quickly cast disillusionment on herself and her world's Harry and Ginny, but it was unnecessary. The people who entered the classroom were Harry, Ginny and Ron who all looked confused for a moment before she lifted the charm to reveal them all. This world's Harry looked far better than he had the last time she saw him, and it was plain that he and Ginny were finding their feet together nicely. She clutched his hand as if it was a lifeline, and Hermione saw the knowledge in her eyes that often clouded her world's Ginny's: Harry was bound to do some noble saving-people thing to protect her, so she was making the most of the time she had with him.
But it was at Ron that she took the longest look, trying to figure out his thoughts and feelings. Looking at him from an outsider's perspective Hermione could see that he was smitten with this world's Hermione. And it was clear that this world's Hermione felt the same way and yet they were also clearly not happy. All of a sudden the meaning of those looks of longing at Harry and Ginny became clear. This world's Hermione didn't want Harry, she wanted the type of relationship he and Ginny had. Hermione couldn't blame her; she herself often looked on Harry and Ginny with envy, wishing that Ron would stop being quite so ridiculously insecure and just realise how she felt. Unfair? Maybe; but Hermione had been so badly hurt by Ron's actions over Lavender that she didn't feel like she could reach out to him again. After all, she was the one who had originally invited him to Slughorn's party, and he was the one who had rejected her by going off with Lavender. Still, Hermione was rational enough to know that regardless of her own thoughts this other Hermione might be talked out of making the same mistakes she did.
So, she just had to talk to the two of them and make them see reason. It wouldn't be that hard, would it? She snorted to herself, causing them all to look at her quizzically but she waved them off. Of course it would be hard; if they were anything like her and her world's Ron then both of them were stubborn and set in their own ways but when did Hermione ever let 'hard' stop her achieving what she wanted? First things first: she would find the opportunity to talk to the other Hermione as soon as possible.
While she had been musing the others had all been discussing what they were going to do. Harry and Ginny, being slightly reckless, were keen to explore this world and see how it compared with their own. The other Harry and Ginny agreed to stay in this disused classroom so as not to confuse people who may run into 2 sets of them. Hermione smirked as she looked at them because it was obvious that they were quite eager for some time alone together. She took the opportunity to ask the other Hermione if she would go to the library with her to see if the books could shed some more light on some of the portal questions they had. Since the library would likely be deserted, the other Hermione agreed so long as one of them was under a disillusionment charm so the 2 girls were soon making their way to the library where Hermione would undertake step one of what she had decided to call 'operation lovebirds.'