(Part 4)
I knocked on the door to Ginny's place and to my surprise, Ron answered the door. I took a half step back in shock and spit out as polite a hello as I could get to, "Oh! Ronald! Hi!"
"Hermione!" He seemed just as surprised.
We went in for a hug, and it was nice, but still a bit awkward. It occurred to me that this was the first time we'd been even quasi-alone together in a long time. It ended as fast as it began and I pushed past into the infinitely more comfortable room beyond.
The scene in their clean modern living room was delightful. All my closest friends together. Ginny was sitting on the floor by the coffee table, clearly in the middle of a shot for shot drink off with Seamus. Harry was over in the corner, talking to Luna who, to his amusement, was flapping her arms like wings in an animated fashion. Neville and Hannah were again together, sitting on the couch and chatting away, drinks in hand. Ron stepped up to my side to join me.
"It's great to see everyone in one room again, huh?" He said with a friendly smile.
"Yes. It is," I smiled back.
"Drink?" He offered.
"Sure. Whatever you have's fine!" I responded stepping in to join the display before me.
"Great!" He pushed past me now and crossed to the kitchen.
Just then, Harry noticed I'd arrived, and his face split with a huge smile, "Hermione!"
"Harry!" I crossed over to he and Luna and he stood and threw his arms around me.
"Great to see you! Ginny said you'd called. Tough week, she said?" He asked, pulling away but still holding me by the shoulders.
"Tiberius is giving me loads of pushback on my Equality Initiative," I sighed.
"Ah then you'll be in plenty need of that drink," He ushered Ron to move faster to us, grabbed the drink from his hands, and thrust it into mine. "But honestly, if anything I'm proud spew has made it this far."
"Harry, it was S.P.E.W.!" I corrected him with a smile. "You're right, you're right. Perspective."
Just then, Ginny cut in from across the room, "Did Cormac give you much trouble?"
"Cormac?" Harry and Ron exclaimed.
"You mean Cormac McLaggen?" Harry clarified, still in shock.
I turned to find Seamus now had his face firmly planted on the coffee table. To his defense, he'd had quite the headstart on Ginny, but he was clearly down for the count.
"Shockingly, Gin, he was actually quite helpful. He offered to help me restructure the Initiative and get it through Wizengamot," I responded.
"Are we talking about the same slick git who followed you around all of sixth year?" Ron demanded.
I turned back to him, "Yes. Astoundingly so."
"That Cormac offered to help you? And you agreed?" Ron still seemed to be wrapping his head around the idea, eyebrows twisted in such tight confusion I thought they might begin to braid themselves.
"Of course, she agreed," Neville jumped in from his place on the couch.
Ron, Harry, and Ginny, all looked surprised at this suggestion, but Luna chimed in in support, "Well of course she's going to take his help. She's only working for his uncle isn't she?"
"And he's doing quite well at the ministry so I hear," Another, less familiar, voice was added to the throng from the doorway.
I turned around to see a petite almond-eyed brunette witch standing in the threshold. Fay. Fay Dunbar. A Gryffindor in our year that I'd never really gotten to know.
Ron crossed immediately to meet her and greeted her with a hug and a quick kiss.
Oh yes, and Ronald's new girlfriend.
They'd met at the ministry. She was an auror, too, and nice by all accounts. But, rather predictably, I'd never gotten used to her presence.
"She's right," Hannah added in support. "My grandmother says he's set to be minister eventually. Who wouldn't want his support?"
"I guess," Harry shrugged with a joking laugh. "If you can bear his personality."
"He really has gotten a lot better," Fay added.
"They were friends at school, you know," Ron explained. "But honestly, Fay, I don't know how you dealt with him. He was intolerable."
"Oh I don't know about that. Cocky, sure, but he had his good points," she put forth in his defense. "Didn't he have a bit of a thing for you Hermione?"
"Don't remind me," I groaned and rolled my eyes, taking a big swig of my drink, and plopping down next to Hannah on the couch.
"Glad to see he's sorting out his priorities, too," Ginny laughed, playfully jabbing at me.
"So Ron and Harry, how was all that business at work that kept you late?" I said, turning back to the pair of them.
Harry's eyes lit up and he and Ron started to go back and forth about this dark wizard they were working on catching and how they'd made a big chocolate-frog related break in the case. I finally started to relax and as much as I tried to listen, I kept falling into thinking about my Equality Initiative and how I was going to be able to work Cormac in according to the new plan.
"Isn't that insane?" Harry exclaimed, and I was awoken from my daydreams, and pulled my hands back into my lap from where they were tracing the edge of the sofa.
"Brilliant Harry!" Ginny chimed in.
"Yes!" I added, slapping an interested smile on my face. "Brilliant."
After a moment's silence, I stood, clapped my hands together and said, "Well. It's probably time I get home. I really am exhausted."
"Us too!" Ron agreed, throwing his arm over Fay.
Goodie. Discomfort is the closest word to describe how that made me feel, but I distracted myself by making my goodbye rounds. The tightest hugs came from Luna, who gave me a knowing glance before and after because I swear she can read minds and knew exactly what had just transpired for me, Harry, who always hugged me tight, and Ginny, from some mixture of love, drunkenness, and appreciation of the fact I was ready to curse someone for her. I hugged Fay too because I felt I should but it sent my heart pounding in weird ways.
Finally, done, I waved one last goodbye with a smile and apparated home.
