Chapter Twenty One
by Solstice Muse
Well I'm having a brilliant day!
Hermione wants me...Hermione's sickened by me...Hermione's pissed off with me. Now some random nut case wants to lock me in a cupboard. I suppose I shouldn't have turned her down so quickly. Sex slave to a war-damaged witch could be a step up from pathetic virgin reject. I shoved the doors open and stomped into Harry' private ward, doing my best not to engage Hermione in any form of argument with something as simple as a glance. I tried to shake off the strange encounter in the corridor and gave Harry a smile that didn't seem to do anything other than cause Harry to frown at me. He always said he could see a fake smile from me with his eyes closed. Apparently when I smile you can feel it as well as see it. I thought he'd hit his head when he said it that time after Quidditch but Hermione had agreed with him and there had been a very long conversation about all my different smiles. I had to get up and go somewhere else for a few minutes before my intense blush set my hair alight. Neville never discusses my illumionus smile...he just says stuff like, 'Oh you seem happy', I can deal with that!
I pulled up a chair beside Hermione and nodded to Harry, attempting to illuminate my mile with genuine happiness.
"What's wrong?" Hermione asked me immediately.
I really am shit at hiding my emotions aren't I?
I squirmed in my seat and felt the Prophet digging into my side.
"You alright mate?" I asked Harry as I wrenched the paper out of my robes and flattened it out.
"Answer Hermione's question,' Harry said, pulling his stern face.
"Nothing really," I shrugged before realising that my open book face wasn't going to hide my bad day, "just…some witch from the…not-quite-right-in-the-head ward escaped and was wandering around out in the stairwell." I tried to make it sound like an inconvenience rather than the latest in a string of crap events I had to wade through so far today, "She was upset and…she somehow knew my name. Just…weird…bit unnerving.'
"Where is she now?" Hermione asked with a soft tone as she lowered her head to look into my averted eyes.
"She ran away after a few minutes. Not sure where she went. I hope she's alright, maybe I should have gone after her."
Just as I tried to muster up enough bravery to look her in the eye I felt a soft hand settle on top of mine. I looked at it and my breath caught in my throat. Hermione had reached out for me, she was practically holding my hand, she thought I was a great thoughtless prat and yet she was being nice to me and showing concern. My first thought was that she was just putting on a show of friendliness for Harry. Then I worried that she could tell I was having...problems and was doing her best not to push the madman over the edge. I thought about going back to the Burrow and having another dose of my potion to get rid of the nerves. Then I thought that maybe I'd gone a bit heavy on my dose this morning, making more paranoid than usual. Then I wondered if maybe...
"If you'd gone after her, she probably would have panicked more. She won't have gone far, and she can't leave the hospital, they have sensors for that." Hermione said tenderly.
I looked her in they eyes and could see that she meant it. I must have looked really upset for her to be speaking to me so softly and kindly.
"Yeah I know." I mumbled, squeezing her hand and trying to smile properly at her without giving the impression that I thought her holding my hand meant anything more than sisterly concern.
She seemed to realise what she was doing and looked down at our hands in my lap. Her eyes widened and she pulled her hand back and leant forward in her chair. She rested her head in her hands and her jaw looked as if it was clenched.. I ran my hand through my hair, having blown it with her for good.
I had seen the type of bloke she liked. She wanted a Viktor Krum and I was never going to be that kind of a man. I'd never be impressive like that. I didn't have a presence when I entered a room. I couldn't sweep a girl off her feet with a nod and a grunt.
More importantly of all, I would never ever be the strong silent type.
Viktor Krum wouldn't have Post traumatic stress do-dah-wotsit. Viktor Krum was a man and I was a mouse. Shit, I was less than a mouse, at least mice didn't cower from spiders.
"To be fair, I think Dobby'd be a better Minister for Magic than he would!" Harry was saying with a chuckle after we'd gone over the latest stupidity in the paper for the day.
I remembered the huge embarrassing scene I caused with a House Elf after Hermione had rejected me at talk of Dobby and glanced Hermione's way to see if she was still okay with me. She was looking back and as soon as our eyes met she turned away and her whole body stiffened. Harry noticed immediately, the observant git!
"You still haven't told me what happened this morning," I mumbled as I tried to get the focus back off me.
"I know I haven't." Hermione lifted her chin and looked back at Harry in a business-like fashion, " I thought it would be better to tell the both of you at the same time and in private. If you remember Ron, I told you that this morning after you'd publicly embarrassed me, and yourself for that matter."
"What happened this morning?" Harry asked.
'Nothing," I said under my breath, head bowed to hide the blush of humiliation, "Its not important."
Harry seemed pissed off at being kept in the dark but resigned to the bumpy road of mine and Hermione's friendship and let it go. I looked at the side of Hermione's head and tried to find out just how out of her league I was about to become.
"So are you going to tell us what happened at Gringotts then?" I ventured.
"Yes I will. But before I do I have to give you this Harry." Hermione pulled an envelope out and handed it to Harry as she spoke.
"What is it?" he asked.
"I think it's a letter telling you the time when they would like you to go and collect the things Dumbledore left you. There's only a few things, trinkets really. They were declared in the meeting this morning and as you nominated me as your representative I was given that to give to you."
"Oh right. What…er…what did he leave me."
I bit my lip and waited for Hermione to say Harry had been left everything apart from the several thousand Galleons that had been left to her.
"As I said, just a few things. A few books, his pensieve – I know you've had it for a while, but it's officially yours now. Er…I can't remember what else, I think it tells you in there."
"Okay, I'll have a look at it later." Harry put the letter away, unopened.
Hermione was leaving an agonisingly long pause before telling us how much she'd been given. I wondered if she was waiting for the pauper to get up and leave the room. Malfoy had one sneered at me that he felt it vulgar to discuss money in the presence of 'unfortunates' as he led his lackeys out of the Great hall one evening. Was the fact was wasn't offering to go and fetch the young masters some tea while they discussed their finances guilt-free just showing me up for the ill-bred commoner I was?
"He left most of his stuff to Hogwarts, to be used in lessons and such, his books are to be added to the library apart from the few he gave Harry and a few other people. He lived at Hogwarts so there was no estate as such to leave to anyone, that was everything."
"What about his-" I blurted, the impetuous side of me suddenly coming to life and stomping all over my self-pity in readiness to defend myself against the look of pity I'd get when Hermione became worth more than my whole family combined.
"What about his what?" Hermione huffed at me and looked at me as if I was preparing to start gold-digging.
"What about his gold?" I muttered as I shuffled in my seat and looked at the floor to keep my temper in check.
I shouldn't snap at her just because she doesn't want me. She'd offered to have me before the money and I messed it up. She would have my number now, she'd think Dumbledore's inheritance was the only attraction. Merlin if I was only competent enough to express to her what the bloody attraction was.
"I'm not sure to be honest. I was still reeling slightly from what I'd been told…and given."
"What was it Hermione?" Harry asked kindly.
"He…he left me- She stammered, glancing at me, her hands, Harry, her hands,and then the approaching Mediwitch.
"Sorry to interrupt Mister Potter, but it's time for your daily medication."
We all heaved a frustrated sight at out interruption and Hermione avoided my eyes while I watched her hands fussing with her robes for several minutes as Harry and the Mediwitch went about their daily dance, the potion tango!
"Sorry about that," Harry said as he winked at me.
"You all right there mate? You're eye's making me think you've taken a fancy to me." I joked, trying to get Hermione to lift her head, maybe look at me, maybe smile.
"Ha bloody ha! It's a side-effect of the first potion, whichever one it is. Taking the rest with it doesn't help. Carry on Hermione."
"Well…as I was trying to say, Dumbledore left me one thing. It was a huge surprise he'd left me anything at all, but to leave me something like that…'"
"Hermione, are you doing this on purpose?" Harry huffed.
Thank Merlin for Harry and his impatience.
My fragile ego would have died a thousand deaths before Hermione got around to putting it out of its misery once and for all.
"No, sorry. Well, Dumbledore left me…the one and only remaining Time Turner."
Well bugger me with a broom handle...I was NOT expecting that.