Here we go and I hope you are ready for that! Next chapter be up tomorrow morning (my time zone) xoxo :)
Shoutout to SheridanSuzie, you really keep me going
After a while, Hermione asked if they could look for Luna and Neville. Though Ginny felt uncomfortable to meet them, she couldn't deny looking for them- their fight was nobody's business but theirs.
"Yeah... I think they are in Neville's dorm or something…" she said and went towards the door "I'm going to look for them-"
"I'm coming with you" Hermione announced and left the room with Ginny without paying attention to Ron who was obviously not really happy about staying in the room with Ginny's boyfriend.
Ginny felt uncomfortable, knowing that Hermione would see the awkward scene when they would be meet Luna and Neville. They walked silently for a while, before Hermione stopped her.
"Will we talk about this?" she simply asked.
"About what…?" Ginny really didn't know what she meant. She started to walk down the corridor, with her friend following her.
"What is wrong with you?" Hermione looked at her friend really worried. "Why are you behaving like this?"
"Like what? I am fine, don't you see?" Ginny asked smiling. Things were hard the last couple of… well honestly she couldn't remember when things were easy. But she was doing just fine.
"Stop it. I know you, okay, you can't pretend with me…" she stopped for a moment "Do you really think I wouldn't find out what happened between Harry and you?"
"He told you?" Ginny shouted "He promised he wouldn't… Why would he tell you that we kissed?"
"So it did happen?!" Hermione squeaked happily "Oh my god"
Ginny looked around to see if somebody did hear them. Then she walked ahead of her friend and couldn't believe that she fell for Hermione's tricks.
"Wait up" Hermione shouted after her friend, trying to keep pace.
"You are the worst" Ginny said, but didn't slow down.
"Ah come on, Harry wouldn't tell me so I had to make you tell me… And you are behaving weird around us"
"Oh yeah? Well tell me how exactly I'm behaving differently" Ginny said angrily.
"Since when are you the loving girlfriend without any contradiction" she said. Ginny didn't expect that. How was she supposed to understand this?
"What do you mean?" she said, trying to stay calm.
"You were sitting there in your room, looking "up" to your boyfriend and patting him as if he was some kind of god…" Hermione said carefully. "I don't say that this is something bad… Just… You kind of lost your self-reliance…"
Ginny stopped immediately. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. But was it the truth? How was trying to make things work with Chris make her lose her self-reliance?
"I am just trying to make things work" Ginny said, her voice shaking with anger "How is that making me weak?"
"I didn't say it makes you weak, I didn't even say it was something bad…" Hermione touched Ginny's arm to prevent her from going away from her. "Look, it's just that… thing that happened between Harry and you… don't try to run from it"
Ginny looked at her friend. How could she be mad at her, when she was telling the truth? She wanted this relationship with Chris to work so badly, and not to forget get rid feeling guilty for "betraying" him. But was this really everything that was going on?
"Harry and I… That was a dream… Hermione, you know more than anyone else how much I loved him" Ginny said resignedly. She knew that this kisses at the Burrow were more than just the heat of the moment. Never before had she felt like she wanted more, like she wanted to go a step further.
"But we could never be together"
"Why not? What stands in the way of you two?" Hermione asked. She, like nobody else, rooted for them to be together. And she was the only one who knew both their feelings. Ginny knew that her friend would never say something if she wouldn't be certain that it was the truth.
"Because…" Ginny started but suddenly recognized something. It was the same feeling she had at that party. She looked around as if she could see someone.
"What?" Hermione asked while she tried to see what Ginny was looking for.
"Did you bring Harry along?" Ginny asked and snapped her head to her friend. How could she make her talk about him when he was listening? But that was not like Hermione, she could never do something like that.
"Who is there?" Ginny shouted through the corridor. Nobody answered.
"There is nobody there" Hermione said and looked at her friend with concern. Had she gone mad?
"Sshh" was all she got for an answer. "I know you are there! Answer me!"
Ginny ran down the corridor. She knew someone was there. There was no real explanation, but since the Chamber of Secrets a lot of things had changed. Her senses were somehow sharpened and she felt like something evil was standing close by. Or someone. Ginny grabbed her wand.
"I'm not kiding!" she looked around, then she lowered her voice "Hermione, do you know any spell to detect magic?"
It was their last hope to know if her senses weren't playing a prank on her. Hermione looked at her friend with terror. She was not kidding and Hermione decided to believe her.
"Homenum Revelio" Hermione said as she grabbed her wans faster than Ginny could've blinked.
Ginny looked around and spotted a boot disappearing around the corner.
"THERE" she shouted and ran after it. When she got around the corner, she saw a tall figure making it way towards the door. Hermione was close by.
"Mother of-" she said, but Ginny interrupted her "CATCH HIM"
They ran after the figure across the university campus, reducing the space between them, but the figure didn't let them catch him. Students who were standing around looked at the group in confusion as they ran into them and almost lost their target.
They came to a field behind the university, when Ginny was out of air and knew they would lose him. Hermione ran in front of her but the lead of the man increased.
"Oh, for god's sake" Hermione stopped. In the exact same moment she pointed her wand at his back and shouted "IMPEDIMENTA"
The figure stopped in his action and the two girls ran towards him.
"Expelliarmus" Ginny said as the man tried to discharm himself. Hermione caught the wand while Ginny tied the man up with a spell.
Hermione looked at the main front of her, while Ginny sat down on the field and tried to catch her breath.
"What. The. Hell." she managed to say between breaths.
"Who are you?" Hermione asked seriously. She was suddenly looking very intimidating and Ginny couldn't help but figuring that the fight against Voldemort had not laid off of her yet. But had it really no impact on anybody yet?
The figure did not answer, so Hermione pointed her wand at him.
"I'm giving you one last shot to answer my questions" she threatened. What would she do if he didn't speak?
"Look, if you don't know who I am, I'm going to tell you" she said as the figure still refused to talk "I am Hermione Granger, friend of Harry Potter… You may have heard some things about me"
Ginny had never heard her friend talking in this manner. This must've been a really serious thing because Hermione was not one to show off.
The man's eyes widened and he looked from Ginny to Hermione as if he was trying to see which one of them was more dangerous.
"I…" he said in a familiar voice. Where had she heard this voice before? Ginny looked at Hermione, but her friend seemed to have no clue either. "I was going to visit someone"
Hermione laughed.
"Seriously? I mean, I'm sorry but someone who is about to visit someone else does not disguise, listen to other people's conversations or run away in terror when discovered" Ginny said and shook his head.
"Should we call for someone? I could send a Patronus to Kingsley Shacklebolt, he'll be here any moment" Hermione said.
"No, please… I… I was send here by… someone" the man answered. "Look, I can't tell you more… HE told me to spy on you"
He pointed his chin to Ginny who took a step back in shock. Who would want to spy on her?
"Was this Harry's idea?" she asked totally angry. How low did he have to sink?
Hermione looked at Ginny in disbelief. It was as if she tried to tell her friend, that if she really did believe Harry would do something like that, she was more naive than this one time she believed she could trust a diary which happened to be between her books.
And Ginny knew her friend was right. He wouldn't do something like that. Well he wouldn't let a stranger spy on her that was as much as she could know for sure.
"Whose?" the man asked
"Never mind, give us some answers. Who sent you here?" Hermione was back to being serious.
"I can't tell you" he said in terror "please, I promise I won't come back here, but please, don't make me tell you"
Hermione thought for a moment. It seemed like she was going to believe that this man was more or less innocent.
"Then tell us, what did you spy on her for?" Hermione asked after a moment.
The man sighed. He knew he would not get out of this without giving some answers.
"I am a wizard… No one of importance and I am not the one you and your friends are looking for"
"That's not an answer" Hermione said impatient. She grabbed him by his collar and got really close to his face "That answered the who you are… somehow, but not the WHAT WERE YOU SPYING ON HER FOR"
"Someone told me to" he said. Hermione was even scarring Ginny now. "He told me, you were after him and that I had to find out what you were planning… I can't tell you more, please…"
"Lucky for you I don't have any Veritaserum with me" Hermione said and let go of him. He felt back on the ground and it wasn't until then when Ginny realized how much force Hermione had used. She patted her friend's back. Those times had been dark not only for Harry and her but for Hermione and maybe Ginny should've appreciated Ron or her parents more. Suddenly she thought about George, too. He hadn't just lost a brother but his best friend. How could he keep it all together?
Ginny shook her head. She had to focus.
"Who sent you?" she asked. "WHO?"
Hermione tried to stop Ginny, but she couldn't do much. Ginny was almost at him.
"And where do I know you from?!"
There was a sudden PLOP behind them the girls knew someone had apparated to the field. The man looked at the figure with terror.
"I have not said anything… Please, I didn't…"
"Silencio" the man said and silence filled the room.
Hermione was the first to turn around and by the look from what Ginny could see of her, she was shocked and as she herself turned around to face the intruder she knew why.
"Oh my god" she said with a voice filled with anger and horror "Not you…"