Chapter 11

Hermione awoke the next morning much earlier than her body with have liked. She was certainly hungover and somewhat sore from her sexual escapades with Ron, a painful reminder that she was in fact 40 and she could no longer bounce back from a late night out. She rolled over to look at the clock and it indicated it was 7am; she and Ginny had agreed to meet at the Potter's at 8 to head to Nice together. Ron was still passed out snoring loudly as Hermione tiptoed into the bathroom to take a shower. As the water was heating up she pulled out a small bottle of 'hangover potion' from the medicine cabinet and took a generous dose. She hopped into the shower reveling in how the hot water felt pouring over her sore body. She washed her bushy brown hair with a mint shampoo that made her scalp tingle and perked her up slightly. She lingered in the shower for a few extra minutes but then knowing she needed to get moving she stepped out wrapping a towel around her torso. She walked back out into her bedroom and pulled out a small black purse from her nightstand. This purse was very much like the old beaded handbag she had during her and boys hunt for horcruxes 22 years earlier, it was bewitched to hold much more than one would think and ever since that trip, it was how she chose to pack. She began quietly summoning clothes from her closet and dresser, shrinking them down to size and placing them in the bag. They were only going for three days and it was a spa so she didn't really need much. She packed a swimsuit, some light pajamas and a few outfits in case they decided to go out to dinner or into town. She also packed a couple of books to read on the beach. She picked out a casual pair of knee length khaki shorts and a white button down shirt to wear for the day. She got dressed and moved into the kitchen to make some dry toast, the hangover potion hadn't had its full effect yet. Hermione quickly brewed a pot of strong black coffee knowing Ron would need some when he got up too, and poured herself a generous cup and choked it down. How am I going to do this, she thought to herself, how am I going to spend a whole three days with a woman I am head over heels and love with and contain myself? It was 7:50am. Hermione checked all her belongings, walked back into the bedroom and stood over her husband. She bent down to kiss him on the forehead, "I love you Ron, and I will miss you while I'm away." He grumbled in response. She went back out into the kitchen and had another few sips of coffee. Hermione then took a deep breath thinking to herself, I guess this is it, before apparating over to the Potter house.

Hermione arrived on the doorstep, thinking it was rude to apparate directly into the house, and knocked quietly on the door. Before her third rap on the door, it was opened by Ginny. There she stood looking as bright eyed and happy as ever. Hermione felt as though she looked like hell after acting like a teenager the night before.

"Morning Herm!" Ginny said brightly ushering her into the house. "That was quite a party last night, eh? Harry and I had such a wonderful time. But I am definitely looking forward to this weekend." Ginny's cheery attitude was hurting Hermione's brain and she just looked at the red head with a nod and quick smile.

"Yes Gin, it was a lovely party but not all of us fared so well as you it seems," Hermione said as Ginny led her towards the couch and took a seat. "Honestly Ginny, you seemed to have just as much to drink as I did and you're so, so perky! I feel like I've been run down by the Knight Bus, and I'm sure I look that way too!"
"Well Herm, you are a lightweight. Always have been." Ginny said with a smile, "Plus, I am just so excited about our trip that I suppose I am on a bit of a high. Would you like me to tone down the cheeriness to better suit your hangover?" She had said this last bit with more of an edge in her voice confusing Hermione.

"Uh, no, of course not Gin. I am excited too. I just need this damn hangover potion to kick in and I'll be all set for girl's weekend." Hermione added reaching for the younger witch's hand and giving it a small squeeze.

"Oh Hermione!" Ginny said leaning forward quickly embracing her sister-in-law, "I'm sorry if my mood keeps shifting and I sound like I'm pulling an attitude with you. I am just going all sorts of crazy in this house all alone all day. I miss the kids. I even miss Harry more now. And I don't know, I guess I had this grand idea in my head that with you quitting your job and the kids gone you and I would be spending more time together and that just doesn't seem to be the case. I am beginning to feel like you don't want that. That you don't really want to reconnect with me and rebuild our friendship, tell me I'm just being paranoid."

Hermione did not know exactly how to respond to this. So it had been obvious she was avoiding Ginny but she certainly couldn't admit as much to the younger woman who was now on the verge of tears it seemed. "You're right Ginny." Hermione finally said causing Ginny to look up at her with so much pain in her eyes that the brunette witch felt like crying too. This was too much to get into this early in the morning right before going out of town but she continued, "I have been avoiding spending time with you. But let me explain why. It's because of Ron. Well, the truth is, I have been having doubts about our marriage and I thought that if I were around you I'd blurt out all our problems to you and you'd tell Harry or your Mom and it'd get back to Ron and just, I don' know. He's your brother and it'd be natural for you to look out for him. And I didn't want you to hate me for thinking about breaking your brother's heart and tearing apart the family. So I have been trying these last few weeks alone with Ron to really make it work. But he's not the problem, I am." The words just started pouring out of her mouth before she could stop them. It wasn't at all untrue either. She really didn't want to share with Ginny her problems with Ron for exactly all the reasons she had just said. But she couldn't take anything back now. Ginny just stared at her, searching her face to see if she was telling the truth.

"I see," Ginny sniffed, "so you don't trust me, is that it?"

Hermione shook her head, "what? I trust you Gin, I just" but Ginny cut her off.

"Obviously you don't. You thought that if you came to me with a problem I would immediately blab to the rest of my family! How long have to known me Hermione? Have I ever betrayed you?" Yes, Hermione thought, yes you did, but she didn't say anything and let red haired woman continue. "It hurts me that you would think so low of me Hermione. Yes, I love my brother dearly but I love you too! And I desperately want to be there for you, why won't you let me? If you are having problems with Ron, you can talk to me! We've all been there Herm! It's not like Harry and I have had the perfect marriage like everyone seems to think. You're my best friend, my sister. Your happiness means the world to me, and I thought I made that fairly clear over the years. Obviously not. I mean, do you even want to go on this trip with me or did you just say yes to spare my feelings?"

Hermione was processing what Ginny had said about her and Harry having problems. What would they have problems about? They are the perfect couple. They are made for each other. She snapped herself out of her train of thought so she could respond to Ginny. But before she control it she was angrily snipping back at the younger red head "Excuse me Ginny for once in my life thinking about myself instead of you!" Where was this coming from, why did she suddenly feel so spiteful towards Ginny? "Yes I've been having issues with Ron and I didn't want to talk to you about it. I needed to fully process everything before sharing it with anyone. How I was feeling about it all. I need time for me. I've never had time for me. I always think about how everyone else will feel first. Ron, the kids, my parents, the rest of our family and most frustratingly, you! Ugh I am tired of it! Why do you think I 'escaped to Australia for the summer? For the beaches! Please! I need a break from all of you." Hermione was immediately regretting everything that she was yelling but could not stop it from coming out. "I am done not caring about myself. I'm burnt out. And I am sorry if that hurts your feelings Ginny that I don't want to spend every second of my new found freedom with you but I have a lot that I need to figure out about myself still. I'm 40 years old for Merlin's sake and I am just as lost as ever, so yeah I wasn't really thinking about your feelings why I decided not to share my marital problems with you. I'm just a bitch like that I guess." Who they hell just possessed me and spoke to Ginny, the woman I love beyond anything who I would do anything for, like that, Hermione thought to herself.

"Are you finished? Or do you still need to yell at me more?" Ginny said very calmly which was surprising and when Hermione said nothing continued, "good. Now, you didn't answer my question. Do you still want to go away with me for the weekend? Spa trips are all about cleansing ourselves right? Perhaps we just started the process a little prematurely and in a less traditional way."
Despite herself, Hermione laughed at Ginny's comment and her sister-in-law was soon laughing with her.

"What the hell. Yes. I do want to go. I always wanted to go. I guess I just have a lot of unsettled emotions bubbling under my skin and I needed to let some out. I am sorry you had to be the target. I wasn't trying to be hurtful. I do feel somewhat 'cleansed' though as you put it."

"We all need to let it out sometimes. Now, I think I've proved that I can handle what you can dish out. Let's put this behind us for now, I'm not going to forget what you said but we can talk about it more later. If we're going to go we should leave soon." All the pain and hurt that had been on Ginny's face only moments before had melted away into a sincere smile.

Hermione just smiled back knowing there weren't many people who could be screaming at each other one minute then laughing and hugging the next. Ginny truly was her best friend and despite everything she had just yelled at the woman, she would always put Ginny's feeling before her own. "Right, let's get a move on. On the plus side, I think I screamed the hangover right out of my body." The two women laughed as they gathered up their belongings and headed to the International Floo Station.