A/N: That's right, 3 chapters in 3 days! Do you guys love me or what?! Thank you all for the reviews, please, keep them coming! They're how I know I'm on the right track. I've got a vague outline for this thing, but I'm mostly making it up on the fly. Reviews tell me where you want me to take it, whether you think I'm doing a good job, or if I need to change something. Well, enough begging for reviews, on to the..
Disclaimer: You know the drill. JK Rowling owns it all; I am but a humble fan! Now on with the show!
Worth Waiting For
Chapter 3 – The Best Laid Plans
An Hp fanfiction by Vira Xyn
Morning came slowly to the Burrow. Molly was usually the first up, though on a rare occasion Arthur would beat her, if he had a meeting or some other business at the Ministry. As that was a fairly common occurrence these days, she wasn't at all surprised to see him getting ready to leave when she entered the kitchen.
"Hullo dear," he said, giving his wife a quick peck. He grabbed a biscuit from the night before and his briefcase. After checking that all was in order, he smiled at Molly again. "Have fun with the kids today. I should make it home in time for dinner tonight."
"Be careful Arthur, have a good day!" she said quickly, just as he apperated away. She sighed and went to work in the kitchen. Some eggs and bacon, maybe fresh biscuits, or waffles for breakfast, that sounded like something the kids would enjoy. She hummed a bit as she worked, waving her want at the stove and the ice chest. Eggs cracked themselves over a skillet; some bacon laid itself out on the griddle. She just hoped the children would get along. She was ever so worried about poor Ginny and Harry. She'd tried to be mad at Harry for breaking her little girl's heart, but she knew why he did it and the look in his eyes when he'd seen her this afternoon.. She just couldn't do it. The poor boy just wasn't allowed a moment's happiness. Molly sighed again, and went back to work on the food.
Ginny woke with a start. Harry was here! She'd hardly seen him last night, as had been her plan, but there would be no avoiding him today. Well, there would be some. She and Hermione were going to kick the boys out and have a bit of a girl's day, or at least morning. She needed time to explain the plan to her bushy haired friend. Originally Ginny had wanted to tell her last night, but they hadn't been allowed time alone until very late. By then they were both too tired to keep their eyes open, let alone plot and scheme. So today was the day that operation Win Back the Prat would commence.
The redhead whistled to herself as she hopped out of bed, grabbing a towel and some underwear (baby blue boyshorts, and a matching lacy bra. Very cute!) then headed for the shower. Living her whole life with six brothers had taught Ginny to be an early riser, so she beat the others easily. Once when she was eight, Fred and George had beaten her to the shower. Why they were in there together was anyone's guess, but that wasn't the point. They'd loaded the showerhead with this muggle drink called Warm-Ade, or something like that. It was this colored powder, so when she'd turned the water on, it had poured down and turned her blue. She'd screamed and run out of the bathroom, forgetting that she was also bare-ass nekkid. The twins had laughed so hard that even her mum grounding them for a month hadn't wiped the grins from their faces.
"Bloody gits," came a mutter from the shower as Ginny recalled the incident. She'd been in there for a good half-hour or so, and was now just enjoying the warm water beating down on her. She sighed, it was about time she got out and faced the day. She got dressed, realizing with a string of profanity that she'd forgotten to grab a clean shirt. "Shit, shit, shit! Well, I don't want to put on my dirty nightshirt.."
She wrapped the towel around her waist, trying to at least cover her knickers, and prepared to bolt for her room. Taking a deep breath, the flinging open the bathroom door, Ginny shot out of the bathroom. She was a blur going into her room and closing the door quickly. She'd been so intent on making it to her room, that she hadn't even noticed a very sleepy looking Harry Potter standing, and gaping suddenly not so sleepy, in his doorway. Leaning against the inside of her door, Ginny smiled, pleased that no one had seen her mistake. Okay, she might not have minded if Harry had seen her, but that would only be if they were a couple. Otherwise he was just some voyeuristic pervert, in other words, a boy. Dropping the towel from her waist, she pulled on an old comfy pair of jeans, and a light green t-shirt. The shirt was just a little tight, but not so bad as to make her look trashy. It just hugged her curves, and there was nothing wrong with that, after all.
Pulling her hair back into a loose ponytail, she opened her door and headed for Hermione's room. Once in the hall, she noticed that the shower was on.
"Whew, close call," she muttered, then knocked on Hermione's door. There was no answer, so she slipped the door open, creeping into the room. Sure enough, her friend was still sound asleep with a small smile on her face. As the red terror crept closer, she noticed that the sleeping girl was muttering softly. She stopped to listen for a moment.
"But.. Gotta study.." Ginny smiled, that was so typically Hermione. "Oh, okay.. Mmm, Ron."
"Oh Merlin, ew," she muttered, that was not so typically Hermione. Ginny shook off her revulsion. It didn't matter how gross she thought it was, if her git of a brother made her happy, then that was all that mattered. Smiling once again, she crouched at the foot of Hermione's bed. An evil grin crossed her face as she whispered her name. "Hermione.. Hermione. C'mon 'Mione, time to wake up."
"Don't wanna.." came the muttered reply. Who knew that the always-perfect Hermione Granger would be so difficult to wake up? Oh well, it played that much better into Ginny's plans. Still grinning evilly, the youngest Weasley let out a cry, and leapt onto the bed, pouncing on her sleeping girl. "Eeeee! Wha? Who? Damnit to bloody hell, Ginny! What are you doing?"
"Such language young lady! Just think of my poor virgin ears," she said, giggling as her friend blushed furiously. She rolled from on top of her, lying down beside the still sleepy girl. She looked right into her brown eyes and grinned. "I came to wake you up, we're going to have a girl's day! Only problem is, you wouldn't wake up. I think you were having a good dream, or at least as good a dream as one can have muttering my idiot brother's name.."
"What? I wasn't.. That's ridiculous Ginny, you must have been hearing things," the brown haired girl stammered, her face turning as red as Ginny's hair. "I was actually dreaming of.. Homework! Yes, that's right."
"Sure you were," she said, rolling her eyes before hopping off the bed. She pulled the blankets off her friend, ignoring her shriek of protest. "Now c'mon, you've got to get cleaned up and dressed, then its breakfast, and gossip, and maybe we'll do our nails, and I'll tell you my plan to get Harry to stop being a stupid prat and get back together with me, and we'll do our hair, and compare clothes.."
"Wait, your plan to what?!" Hermione interrupted, stopping her friend in mid breath. Ginny just grinned, she was having too much fun with her still sleep addled friend. "Is this what you were talking about yesterday?"
"Sure is. If Harry thinks he can just break my heart and make me forget that I ever loved him, he's got another thing coming," she said, not paying close attention to her choice of words.
"You love him?" Hermione said softly, all anger at her friend's rude wake-up call forgotten. She'd never heard Ginny say that before. She'd guessed sure, but to hear her say it was something else.
"Yeah, I do. More than anything in this world," came an equally soft reply. Ginny's face had gone soft thinking about it, and she had a far off look in her big brown eyes. Suddenly she remembered that she was trying to get Hermione out of bed, and grabbed her pillow, batting at her with it. "I'll tell you all about it later. Right now, you get your arse into the shower!"
"Alright, alright I'm going," her friend said, giggling as Ginny smacker her across the butt with the pillow.
"Damn right you are."
Sometime later, Ginny and Hermione tromped downstairs, drawn by the delicious aroma of Mrs. Weasley's cooking. Harry had gotten out of the shower while Ginny had been getting Hermione up, and he was already at the table when they sat down.
"Morning mum, morning Harry," she said pleasantly, taking some bacon and eggs for her plate.
"Good morning dears!" Mrs. Weasley's voice called from the kitchen.
"Good morning Mrs. Weasley," called Hermione as she too shoveled eggs and bacon onto her plate. She would swear that she'd never left the Burrow without having put on weight. She'd actually been on a diet since school got out, just to prepare for her stay! "Good morning Harry, sleep well?"
"Sure did 'Mione, I always sleep better here," the dark haired boy replied. He smiled at her, and then at Ginny, though a bit awkwardly it seemed. "Morning Ginny."
"So what are you girls going to do today?" asked Mrs. Weasley as she set two glasses of juice in front of the newcomers.
"Well, Hermione and I were thinking of having a bit of a girl's day, you know, to catch up with each other," she replied once she'd cleared her mouth of bacon.
"That sounds lovely dear. I'll tell you what, don't tell Ron and Harry, but I'll make sure to keep them busy with chores today," said her mum, winking at them. She turned and smiled sheepishly at Harry. "Sorry Harry dear."
"Its okay Mrs. Weasley, you know I like to help out. Just don't tell Ron," he said with a smile. He really didn't mind helping. It was so much better than slaving for his aunt and uncle, or avoiding his idiot cousin. Just then a voice came from the steps.
"Don't tell Ron what?" came the sleepy question, followed shortly by the youngest Weasley male. Ginny groaned inwardly, leave it to Ron to have the perfect worst timing.
"Oh, well.. They didn't want me to tell you that Ginny and Hermione would be getting to stay inside and clean, while you and I had to do chores outside," Harry said quickly, looking to Mrs. Weasley for support. Ginny just looked on in amazement as he lied to his best mate so that she and Hermione could have a day to themselves.
"Well.. I suppose we can let it go this time mate," said Ron, giving Harry a conspiratorial wink when he thought that they weren't looking. Everyone knew he hated to clean indoors when he could be outside instead. Only he didn't know that everyone knew that. "What all do you need us to do mum?"
"Well, I need you to degnome the garden, the broom shed needs to be painted, and if you have time there are some Horsnaps in the western patty. I could really use two or three, I'm nearly out," she said. Horsnap added a great kick to food when it was dried and ground. They were notoriously difficult to catch though.
"Guess you'll get to put those Seeker skills to work this summer," the red headed boy said to Harry, who was looking amused. "What's so blood funny?"
"Ronald, language!" his mother snapped, before getting up and heading for the kitchen. She couldn't believe Harry was sticking up for Hermione and Ginny. She was grinning by the time she got to the counter and started cleaning up.
"Well, I suppose we should get started," Harry and Ron left the table and headed outside. Hermione looked at Ginny, and they both grinned.
"They'll be out there all day! I can't believe Harry did that, it was so sweet of him," cried Ginny, before she caught herself.
"You've got it bad for him, don' you?" her friend asked, smiling to herself.
"Always have, always will. Now if I could just make him see that," she said softly, looking up at Hermione. "I miss him so much 'Mione. I know he thinks he's doing what's best, but why does it have to hurt so much?"
"Come on, let's head upstairs to continue this. We wouldn't want tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum to walk in and hear us," Hermione said, taking her friend's hand. They ran up to Ginny's room, locking the door after them. Hermione winked and added silencing and privacy spells to the room. "Now, tell me all about this plan of yours. What are you going to do about Harry?"
"Well, the first thing is.. And I'm not supposed to know this, but I was kind of near by listening in on you guys one day," Ginny started before Hermione cut her off.
"You were eavesdropping, you little sneak!" Hermione yelled, hitting her with a pillow. Ginny retaliated, and soon a miniature pillow fight broke out. After a few minutes the duo lay on the floor, panting and laughing. "I can't believe you were spying on us!"
"I wasn't really spying, I mean, I didn't mean to. I was just walking, and I heard Harry.. This was after he broke up with me, so I didn't want to see him. I just stayed behind you guys. It's not my fault you were whispering so loud," she said, finally sitting up but still smiling. "Anyway, I heard about your plan next year. I know you're thinking about not going back to Hogwarts."
Hermione felt like a bomb had gone off in her stomach. Ginny knew? But if Ginny knew, then Mrs. Weasley probably knew, and if she knew, then her mum probably knew.. And her mum would kill her!
"Hermione, relax! You're hyperventilating. I didn't tell anyone. To be honest, I think it's a stupid idea, but I understand why you want to do it. You just want to get this whole thing over with, and I can understand that, really! I just don't get why you have to go away to do it," she said, her voice serious. She hadn't really wanted to get into this with her friend, but she had to make Hermione understand. She wasn't even really mad at them, that famous Weasley temper hadn't really flared at all. Well except for that one part. "What I don't get, and this is the part that makes me mad, is why you can't tell anyone. Why you couldn't tell me! Why the big secret, okay yeah, so old Dark Lord Arse-face doesn't find out, sure. But what about the people we know we can trust? What about the Order?"
"They'd try to stop us Gin," her friend said softly, unable to look her in the eyes. "They'd say we're too young, even though some of them were barely older than us when they fought him the first time. You'd try to stop Harry. Don't deny it, I'm not the brightest girl in my year for nothing. You'd tell him not to go, and damnit Ginny, he'd listen. He'd do anything for you, and he'd do anything not to see you get hurt."
"But that's just it Hermione, I'm already a target!" she said, exasperated. "I've been a target since my first year, when I got possessed by that sodding diary. Tom knows I'm against him, and he has a connection to me, just like he does Harry. He probably knows about my relationship, if you can call it that as short as it was, with Harry. The Greasy Git probably told him everything by now, probably been reporting on us all along!"
"We don't know that, and Harry just wants you safe!" Hermione had a point, but she was also beginning to crack. She could see Harry's point of view, but she could understand Ginny's. How would she feel if Ron told her that he didn't want to be with her (Well.. Hypothetically, since they weren't together anyway. Much to her growing disappointment.) or that she had to stay home while he and Harry went off to defeat V-Vol-Voldemort by themselves?
"I've never been safe Hermione! Never!" she cried, before calming down and continuing. "Anyway, it doesn't matter, because I know I can win that one. It's the part about you all leaving, and leaving me behind that puts a stop in my path. Why do you have to go?"
"Because we need to end it. The longer we wait, the more chances there are that V-Voldemort will notice something's wrong. We have to destroy these things, these.. Well, I can't tell you about them. Don't give me that look Ginerva Weasley! I can't tell you. It's too dangerous! But there are these things, and there are seven of them. We've destroyed two already, and we have a good lead on two more. But the longer we wait, the more likely it is that Voldemort will find out that they're gone, and move the remaining ones. And he can't be defeated until they're all gone," she said, hoping it was enough, but not too much. Ginny didn't need to know that one had cost Dumbledore his hand, and the last one was the Dark Git himself. Unfortunately for Hermione, the little fireball in front of her was pretty quick herself.
"The diary!" she whispered excitedly. "That was one of them, wasn't it?"
"Yes," Hermione said softly.
"Well then I don't think you have to worry about old Moldemort finding out about them," she said confidently. Hermione was giving her a confused look. Honestly for someone so smart, she could be extremely daft sometimes. "It's been five years 'Mione! I think he would have caught on by now! Besides, you said you'd destroyed another as well? So that had to have happened well over a month ago, plenty of time for even a twat like Voldemort to have gotten into gear and moved them."
Hermione was dumbstruck. All this time she'd been trying to think of a way to talk Ron and Harry out of leaving. A way to stay in school, which every fiber of her being insisted on, but still finish the battle. What did a bit of time matter, if he hadn't caught on in five years! It had been staring her in the face all this time.
"I must have flobberworm for brains Gin," she whispered, still in shock.
"No, you just forget how much of a genius I am," the little red wonder replied, grinning at her. Now it was time to drop the bomb. "So if you don't need to leave school, and I'm already in danger just because of who I am, and who my family and friends are, why can't Harry and I be happy together?"
The situation was finally sinking in for Hermione, and as her friend finished, dawn seemed to spread across her face.
"There isn't any reason Gin. No bloody reason at all," she whispered. Ginny smirked at her.
"I think my brother is rubbing off on you, such language," she said, taking her friend's hand. Something had just dawned on her, why was she the only one who got to be happy? "Maybe my plan needs a bit of a modification though."
"What? No Ginny, you're right. We were wrong, its that simple," her friend started to argue, but Ginny cut her off.
"Oh, I know that. What I mean is, why should I be the only one to get the guy?" she said cryptically, then waited. Any moment now, and.. There it was! Realization blossomed on Hermione's face, and Ginny let out a giggle. "There's my smart girl! Instead of me driving Harry crazy all summer, then asking him to the Halloween Ball, by the way did you get the letter about that? The one telling us to bring dress robes again, something about 'bringing up student moral'? Brilliant if you ask me, anyway. Now, we'll drive our boys crazy, together!"
"Ginny, you're the best friend I've ever had," Hermione said, her voice soft and serious. Ginny looked at her, as an evil grin worthy of the redheaded devil herself spread over her friend's face. "Lets make sure they can't take their bloody eyes off of us!"
"That's my girl!" Cried Ginny, grabbing Hermione's hands as they both giggled and bounced up and down. Then she broke away, pulling a box from beneath her bed. She opened it to reveal all manner of enchanted nail polishes, charmed make up, and various other magical beauty products. "Now, I believe we have a girl's day to attend to!"
A/N: Wow, so here's another one down! After some positive reviews, I've decided that I'm going to try and keep the alternating style. It's a really fun way to write, because I can have some little thing happen from one's perspective, and then tell it from the other, and have it be a big deal! Hee hee! Anyway, keep those reviews coming, and I'll keep the chapters coming!
Thank you so much to those of you who've reviewed already, I love you all! I've already got a bit of Chapter 4 started, so hopefully it won't be too long until I have it up. So far I've been sitting down and writing these in marathon sessions. I'm going to try to have chapter 4 up before the weekend, and then I might take a break before picking it back up on Monday.
Lots of love,
Vira Xyn
PS- To the person who pointed out that Ginny's hair was already long.. Its an AU, so its just.. uh.. Creative license! Yeah that's it! blush sorry.. I just wanted her hair to be longer than it was, but since it was already long in the books, I took a bit of liberty with it. Please forgive me!
