A/N: This chapter just lifts the 'awkward' factor a bit further. ;) The kind of thing where half of you wants to close one eye and be somewhere else to escape the situation, but the other half almost enjoys it.
36: Potions
Hermione looked at Ginny and the redhead looked back, both of them surprised by Dumbledore's answer, which had provoked them to have a thousand thoughts racing through their minds.
"1945?" asked Hermione. "Where? Why?"
"I can answer 'where'," said Dumbledore in a measured tone. "You will start again from the churchyard in the village, here. I can not, however, tell you why you're moving on a couple of years."
"Will we have something else to find? Can you tell us that?" asked Hermione.
"You will have another task. I can not tell you here and now, however," said Dumbledore, and seeing the frowns on both of the women's faces. "I can not tell you, because the me here doesn't precisely know. The me in 1945 will know."
The room fell quiet again for a few moments. Hermione had lots of questions in her mind and was trying to process what she wanted to know or what she thought she might get an answer to.
"Why can't we just use the Time-Turner now and be sitting here in 1945, straight away, instead of going from the churchyard again?" asked Ginny.
"My house, as you know, has wardings on it, and it would likely be dangerous to just appear here," said Dumbledore patiently. "As so few people have the ability to do what you two can, I can not know how you might be affected in crossing a warding through time. It is much safer for you to make your way through the village again. It will be at night, once more, so you are less likely to be seen."
"So we meet with you again in 1945?" asked Ginny. Dumbledore nodded. "Will the you then, remember us from now?"
"That's an interesting question," smiled Dumbledore. "Yes, I will remember and know you."
Hermione resigned herself to the fact, that the questions she had, probably couldn't be answered by the Dumbledore before her now, so she decided to be practical. "What date do we need to move to? What day or month of 1945?" she asked.
"It was decided that if you got this far we would like you to go to 1st May," replied Dumbledore, as though he was discussing potion ingredients, and not time travel. "That's a Monday."
"So we arrive at night on 1st May?" said Hermione, making sure they had the exact timing correct.
"Yes, that's right," said Dumbledore. "Perhaps around eleven o'clock at night, would be best."
"Then we make our way to this house again, and contact you?" asked Ginny.
"Yes," nodded the Professor. "I will be able to tell you more, then."
"We won't see you again, once you leave today?" wondered Hermione. "I mean, not here in 1943?"
"Unless you have an emergency, or need my help urgently in some way, you won't see me again until you...well, move on," he gave a small smile. "Which is what I must do now," he said, making to stand up.
"We move on in two days, then?" asked Ginny.
"Or when Hermione feels well enough," he said. "There's really no great rush, your arrival day isn't going anywhere."
"Do we keep the uniforms? Or become something else?" Hermione asked.
"You will keep your WAAF identities, and the uniforms for now. It's simpler for the moment," replied the wizard.
Hermione and Ginny weren't sure how they felt about continuing to be WAAFs. They couldn't go anywhere near Great or Little Hangleton anymore with those identities, that was for sure.
Dumbledore walked through to the kitchen with Hermione and Ginny following. He extended a hand to each of them, and after shaking hands he smiled at them both warmly. "I'm so very proud of your both," he said. "You will see me sooner than I will see you. Until then, farewell."
With a wave back at them, Dumbledore walked out of the kitchen, through the scullery and Disapparated from the garden, back to Hogwarts. Hermione sat on a chair in the kitchen and Ginny sat on another, both a little unsure of themselves and about everything and anything.
"1945 eh?" said Ginny.
"I wasn't expecting that," said Hermione.
"What happens in 1945?"
"The only thing off the top of my head, is that Dumbledore fought Grindlewald that year," said Hermione, rubbing her forehead in thought. "Which is when he won himself the Elder Wand, the Hallow."
"What can we be involved with, regarding that?"
"Nothing, as far as I can see," said Hermione wearily. "That was a huge event, even with no one knowing the exact connotations to come from it with the Wand. I don't see how we could be involved with that at all. Besides the fact Grindlewald was as powerful as Dumbledore."
"I suppose it's another case of finding out when we get there," said Ginny, sounding rather down.
"Well, we'll have a couple of days before all that," said Hermione brightly, sensing the tiredness of her friend. "We don't have to think about it until then. There's nothing we can think about, because we don't know anything about it. Let's just try to relax a little."
"When are you going to take the potion?" Ginny asked.
"I think I'll take it this evening. I'll have an early night...I might...I...," Hermione stopped saying what she was going to say.
"What?" asked Ginny. "You might what?"
"I...I might need some help," said Hermione.
"All you have to do is ask, I'll try to help if I can."
"I might need some help with the...using the dittany," said Hermione, trying hard to stop the blush which was threatening to creep to her cheeks. "As I won't really be able to see properly looking down at myself."
Ginny nodded. "No problem." Oh Merlin! she thought, that means Hermione's chest again, Hermione's naked chest...shit!
"I just feel a bit awkward about it," said Hermione, who could feel her cheeks warming and thought she had better try to explain it. "It's not something you normally ask a friend to do. It's a bit embarrassing for both of us."
Embarrassing? yes, thought Ginny, but not necessarily for the reasons Hermione thinks. "There's nothing normal in our lives lately," said Ginny with a grin. "But, it's going to help you...so I think embarrassment should be bottom of our list."
"Thanks Gin," said Hermione. I wonder how she'd feel if she realizes I'd like to have her hands and eyes on my body for other reasons? she thought, even if I'm just curious about it all.
So you admit, you want her to look at you and touch you? her conscience asked. Did I think that? I didn't think that!
You sort of did. Bollocks!
"I'll get some dinner on the go now," said Ginny, getting up and walking towards the pantry. Lifting the lids on a couple of dishes, she called back through. "What would you like? There's one of those lovely shepherd's pies or what looks to be hotpot."
"Shepherd's pie," said Hermione.
In a short time, with dinner heated up on the range and the table laid ready, the two young women enjoyed their meal.
"We'll have to look through all of our things again, before we go," said Hermione, taking a sip from a glass of pumpkin juice.
"We'll have to transfigure you some more 'work uniform' clothes too," answered Ginny. "As I'm sure you don't want to be fiddling with stockings."
"Yes, that's a priority!" laughed Hermione. "Anyway, we don't have to worry about that now, or even tomorrow. I have a feeling I'll be fairly tired once I take the potion, and it might be this time tomorrow before I start to feel better."
"That's no problem," said Ginny. "I can keep an eye on you. If you have to stay in bed I can bring you food and drink so you won't starve."
"I don't like you having to look after me like that," said Hermione.
"Why? I won't be doing anything. It will give me something to do, something to think about," said Ginny truthfully.
Hermione just nodded, once again grateful for the person who had come with her on this evermore mysterious quest.
XXXXXXXXXX
It wasn't just Hermione who felt tired by early evening, Ginny was feeling very weary too. The redhead washed up the items used at dinner, glad of the time to ready herself for helping Hermione later. She found herself taking the occasional deep breath and even stretching her neck out. Then she caught herself doing that and was annoyed. Honestly! she thought, anyone would think I had a huge quidditch match coming up! Or an exam. Well, you will be examining Hermione, won't you? her conscience suggested. Great! I really needed to think about it in that way!
"Do you need any help?" called Hermione, who was sitting in the study looking at a couple of books, after Ginny insisted she would take care of clearing up the dinner things.
"No. I'm nearly done," the red-haired woman called back.
Hermione walked through to the kitchen a few minutes later, as Ginny was putting the plates back into a cupboard. "I'm going to head upstairs now," said the brunette. "I'm going to take a bath."
"You'll be okay?" asked Ginny; she could almost feel her conscience burning to add some thought to the situation, but she flatly ignored it.
"Yeah, I think so. I'll be careful," replied Hermione. "I just think it will do me good and everywhere will be clean ready to try the dittany later."
"I'll be up in a few minutes," said Ginny, as she put away the cutlery they had used.
After Hermione had departed and was upstairs, Ginny let out a big breath she hadn't realized she was holding in. Stop having stupid thoughts, she admonished herself. I'm going to be doing...what I'm doing, to help Hermione, nothing more. Her conscience had more to say on it, however:
You'd love for her to call out to you for help in the bathroom wouldn't you? What? I wasn't even thinking that!
You must have been! I told myself I don't care about my messed up feelings and should just go ahead and not think about anything too much.
If that's so, you might end up kissing her! Oh shut up!
Ginny was about to go upstairs when she wondered if Hermione had taken up a glass of water for her potion. She decided to fill a couple of glasses and take a tablespoon and a teaspoon with her too, so they didn't have to summon one later.
As she reached the landing, she could hear the bath filling up behind the closed door. Ginny walked into the bedroom and set the glasses down; one on Hermione's bedside cabinet with the tablespoon and one glass on her own side with the teaspoon. She saw that Hermione had brought up both potion bottles with her.
Despite what Ginny had told herself she still felt she needed to use up some time thinking of other things, so went back to her book on Muggle Seaside Towns again. Having read an interesting chapter on Scarborough in North Yorkshire, she was surprised to see Hermione walk back into the bedroom.
"That was quick?" asked Ginny.
"Magic is amazing!" smiled Hermione, referring to the fact she had used a drying-off spell.
"If it's okay with you," said Ginny. "I think I'll take a quick bath too, before we see to your potions."
"There's no rush," said Hermione. "Make sure you enjoy your bath, I'm not going anywhere."
Ginny got her night clothes ready and went off to the bathroom. Hermione had been having some thoughts about the impending situation too. She had removed her two dressings in the bath, and had hoped that maybe she could see enough to do the dittany part herself after all. Alas she couldn't see the abdomen one and couldn't see her chest wound site properly either.
She picked up the book that Ginny had been reading and perused the pages, but it wasn't long before little thoughts still came through loud and clear.
Admit it, you're not that sad that Ginny still has to help you? asked her conscience. It's going to be awkward.
Have you noticed that Ginny has acted a little strange about it too? She's probably just a bit embarrassed as well.
What's the worst thing that can happen? I don't even want to think on it!
Afraid you can't control yourself? No!
"Don't be ridiculous!" said Hermione outloud and to herself.
"Are you talking to me?" asked a concerned Ginny, as she walked through into the bedroom.
Hermione's head whipped up from the book. "Sorry Ginny," she said. "I was talking to myself."
"What's ridiculous?"
"Err...oh, like you considered, the idea witches and wizards haven't looked for King John's treasure long before now, because it would seem most likely many have looked," Hermione said, thinking very quickly and thankful she had that book in her hand. "So, did you enjoy your bath?"
"Yes, it's freshened me up a lot," said Ginny, as she folded up her clothes. Come on, let's get on with it, thought Ginny, get it over with. "Are you ready to do the potion thing, now?"
"As ready as I'll ever be," Hermione almost sighed. Get it over with now, she thought. "I thought I'd try the dittany first, then swallow the other potion."
"Do I drop drips of dittany over the areas or dab it on a tissue first?" asked Ginny.
"I hadn't thought about that," said Hermione. "I wonder if it would be better to put it onto a tissue and then we can get it more accurately to where I need it." Oh yes, and that way Ginny gets to touch you more, said her conscience. Shut up! Oh god, I hadn't thought of that? No, but you have now!
Ut-oh! thought Ginny, I have to touch her chest with a tissue? Bloody hell! Enjoy it! said her conscience. I can't...it's all crazy.
Trying hard not to think on the new thoughts her mind had given her, Hermione looked into her beaded bag and pulled out a pack of tissues, freeing a couple from the packaging.
Ginny was trying hard not to dwell on the recent thoughts that had passed through her mind, and decided to think in a practical way to distract herself. "How am I going to do this? Sit by the side of the bed? Are you going to be lying down?"
"I think it's best if I'm almost lying down," said Hermione, also trying to think practical thoughts. "I think you should be able to manage if you sit or kneel next to me on the bed.
"Right," said Ginny. "Well...er...pass me the dittany bottle, and get yourself comfortable," she said to Hermione, trying to sound sure of herself as she kneeled to face Hermione.
Aware that Hermione was pulling off her T'Shirt, Ginny made a deliberate decision to be extra careful opening the bottle of dittany and upending it onto the tissue. This made it easier not to watch Hermione undressing her top half.
Hermione herself could sense what Ginny was doing and had to smile at how silly they were both being. "Okay," she said simply.
Ginny instinctually looked to her friend and was greeted by Hermione laying back, only slightly propped up on her pillows, and bare to the waist. The redhead had to try hard not to let her tongue loll out of her mouth.
She's beautiful, Ginny thought, as she quickly took in the sight of her friend's firm breasts. Stop it! Why? She's beautiful, it's a fact! her conscience chimed in. Yes, but I'm supposed to be her friend.
And friends can't be more? And can't think their friends are beautiful? Please concentrate...I need to concentrate.
Hermione had watched as Ginny had quickly roamed her eyes over her and had noticed a slight change in her friend's expression. It's not revulsion or particular embarrassment, Hermione thought, interested. Her conscience was more to the point:
Wouldn't you say it was a look that showed she liked what she saw? Not necessarily.
Ron has looked at you like that, hasn't he? He was always undressing me with his eyes, where as I'm already undressed. Ginny isn't looking at me like that, exactly.
But it's a different look to how a nurse would look at you. Maybe...
Ginny moved her eyes to the wounds Hermione had sustained, seeing them for the first time in the proverbial flesh. Each was around three inches long and the skin was all rucked up where it was stitched together with what looked like black thread.
"Oh my god!" Ginny exclaimed, almost frozen from further movement.
"What?" asked Hermione, worried for a moment.
"Those...those, whatever they are. You look like a sewing project gone wrong!"
"My stitches, you mean?" Hermione replied. "You can see why I wanted to try dittany as soon as I could."
"What the hell have they done to you?" said a still shocked Ginny. "Even I can sew neater than that. You're a human being! Not a...not a sack!"
"I don't think World War Two army surgeons are used to worrying about how something looks," said Hermione, smiling. "They're usually just worried about saving a life, not how the results look later."
For the moment, Ginny was mesmerized by the stitches and disbelieving of it all at the same time.
"Are you all right, Ginny?"
"Sorry," replied the redhead, realizing she had been staring and had temporarily tuned out from what she was supposed to be doing. "I've never seen anything like it. It threw me a little."
"Don't worry," said Hermione. "Hopefully, with your help, they'll disappear. They might even be gone altogether by tomorrow."
"What will happen to the thread?"
"I'm not sure. I assume it will be left on the surface or will be easy to pull away. We'll find out, won't we?" smiled Hermione, trying to give confidence to her friend.
Ginny had folded the tissue around her fingers in such a way which made it easier to hold. Here goes, she thought. Her hand hovered over the chest wound for a few moments, still in a little shock over the look of the stitches, hoping she wouldn't hurt her friend and all too aware of Hermione's breasts looking at her. The chest wound was only a little above the breast, below shoulder level.
Gently Ginny dabbed the tissue onto the scarred area. Hermione winced. "Sorry, did I hurt you?"
"No, the dittany stings."
"I should have remembered that from the first night we were here," said Ginny, remembering Hermione looking after their cuts and bruises in the church porch.
Tipping the bottle up over the tissue again and reapplying to Hermione's wound, Ginny looked for a moment to see if any progress had been made. Already the puckering of the skin looked smoother and two of the stitches had come to the surface as knots of thread.
"It's working," said Ginny with a smile, pleased to see the dittany doing what they hoped it would. "How much more do you think we'll need?"
"Until it all looks like it's healing," said Hermione.
The red-haired woman had been distracted by her genuine interest in the dittany doing its work and in Hermione's comfort, but after a few minutes of repeating the movements and being accustomed to how much pressure to use, her mind wandered; her eyes wandered too. I could just reach out and hold her breasts, she thought. Not those thoughts again? At least you're able to enjoy the view a bit longer, said her conscience.
Ginny hadn't realized that Hermione was frequently studying her face and she had noticed a quirk of a smile touch the corners of Ginny's mouth, as her eyes occasionally moved away from the area she was using the tissue on.
She's getting an eyeful! said Hermione's conscience suddenly. Perhaps she's just pleased the dittany is working?
So why does she keep looking at the other side of your chest too? That side isn't injured. How should I know?
She likes what she sees. Whatever...
Hermione tried to push away her suggestive and confusing thoughts, but they had affected her. As Ginny leaned over her, she could smell the bubblebath Ginny had used. She smells wonderful, thought Hermione. Smelling? I've started noticing how she smells? Merlin's pants!
Her thoughts moved on from how good her friend smelled, but they only moved on to something just as flustering. She was back to thinking about Ginny possibly looking at her in a sexual way, and however mild or innocent it might have been it made her feel a blush rise to her cheeks. She also became more aware of Ginny touching her. Watching her friend get another clean tissue, put dittany onto it and then touch her gently with it, made her feel...oh bugger! Hermione could feel her nipples harden under Ginny's latest touch. Crap! Crap! Triple crap!
Ginny had noticed too. Shit! Her nipples have...shit! she thought, as she tried to avoid blushing or breathing differently. What's to stop you, seizing the moment? Showing her you've noticed her? To touch her more? her conscience burned through her flustered mind. That is such a wrong thought to be having at this very moment. It's human...as both of you are. NO!
"It's a bit...a bit chilly," said Hermione, nearly spluttering and realizing that she was only making her body's reaction more obvious than if she'd said nothing.
"It looks like we're nearly done on this place," said Ginny, struggling with speech thoughts herself, while thinking. Don't think about her nipples, do NOT think about her nipples! "Then you can put your T'Shirt back on and we can roll it up for your other scar."
After a few more applications, the scar on Hermione's chest was nearly gone. It was a faint red line, but the skin was smooth and almost normal.
Strangely, although Ginny had been having lusty thoughts flitting through her mind for most of the duration of her task, she didn't think about reaching out with her hand and gently dragging a finger along the scar, and finding to her relief and amazement the black thread easily brushed away. Hermione, however, couldn't stop a slight hitch in her breathing, when she felt Ginny's finger on her chest.
"Sorry, did that hurt?" asked Ginny, having noticed the slight movement from Hermione.
"No. Not really, I just wasn't expecting it."
"Look, all those stitches have just come away," said Ginny, as she brushed a finger across the threads again. She put one hand to the side of Hermione and gently brushed the threads over and caught them in that hand. "All done there," she said.
The brunette had had to try hard to keep her breathing steady, feeling Ginny brushing her fingers across her chest had felt weirdly wonderful. She didn't think her friend realized that she had accidentally brushed her nipple with the underside of her wrist as she brushed across. It sent a little jolt of sensations through Hermione, like she had butterflies fluttering all over and inside her body.
Maybe with everything that has happened, I'm just desperate to be touched by someone? Hermione considered. You've been over this. If that were true, then why didn't you go for more contact with Matt or Joe? her conscience answered. I don't know.
Yes you do. You're attracted to Ginny. Am I?
Yes. Shit!
"Right, you can put your T'Shirt back on now," said Ginny, as she dropped the threads she had collected onto one of the used tissues. "Now for the other place."
You're disappointed now she's covered up, aren't you? Ginny's conscience butted in on her thoughts. Well...I...she..., she had no answers to herself.
Rolling up the material of Hermione's T'Shirt, so she could access the other wound, Ginny repeated the process with the dittany. After several minutes, that place also nearly disappeared, with only a very faint red line visible, and the threads of the stitches brushed away.
"All done," said Ginny, who pulled Hermione's T'Shirt back down.
"Thanks Ginny," said Hermione. "I really appreciate everything you've done for me."
"You'd do the same for me."
"True. But I still want to thank you."
Ginny blushed a little but was determined not to allow herself to get more flustered than she was already. "I brought up spoons and glasses of water for us," she said.
"Brilliant. Thanks," said Hermione, as she reached for the other potion bottle and leaned over the glass of water as she measured out two tablespoons of the liquid, dropping it into the glass. She passed the bottle over to Ginny, who measured out a shallow teaspoon which she thought would be equal to a half-teaspoon. The potion Dumbledore had given them was a strange dark green colour, and didn't look appealing whatsoever.
Hermione gave the glass of water several stirs with the spoon, before picking up the glass and bracing herself to drink it; she assumed it would taste awful. "I had better stop looking at it and just drink it," she said a few moments later, Ginny watching her.
The first mouthful surprised Hermione, as it tasted better than she thought. She would have described it as minty in flavour, mixed with something akin to cloves. It reminded her of muggle boiled sweets in a selection known as 'Winter Mix'. Despite the surprisingly pleasant flavour, Hermione still decided to drink the concoction all down on the second go.
"It didn't look like it tasted too bad?" noted Ginny, as Hermione set down her empty glass.
"It was all right, almost pleasant," replied Hermione.
Ginny drank from her own glass, but could only taste a very faint herbal minty flavour, and was glad she could hardly taste it at all. "I was thinking of settling down for the night now," said Ginny. "Is that all right with you?"
"Absolutely," said Hermione, who immediately yawned. "Good grief! It's either the very thought of sleep making me yawn or that potion is already working."
"Can you feel anything?"
"Not much. I can feel a sort of warmth spreading through me," said Hermione, settling back and pulling the bedcovers up.
I had a warmth spreading through me a few minutes ago too, thought an amused Ginny. It wasn't from potion though! Oops! Stop it!
Dimming the lamps in the bedroom, getting into bed next to Hermione and pulling the bedcovers up on her side of the bed, Ginny nestled her head back into her pillows and for the first time in days, despite her task that evening, she felt more relaxed. She had Hermione back and she was going to get better fairly fast. And you had a free feel-up and look at her boobs! said her conscience, Shut up...please! I suppose that means more stupid dreams...bugger! But no matter what her thoughts had been, she couldn't help but smile.
"Sleep well, Hermione," said Ginny.
"I think I will, after that potion," answered Hermione, through another yawn. "Forgive me if I'm dopey or sleep too much tomorrow."
"Nothing to forgive," said Ginny. "Night!"
"Night Gin."