Chapter 10
She's totally fucking gorgeous. Hermione knows that's what Ron's thinking, the way he keeps stealing glances at Gabrielle when he thinks Hermione isn't looking. Like she gives a rat's arse if he wants to make a fool of himself gaping at that bloody Veela.
Hermione likes Fleur well enough, but she's never been keen on Fleur's younger sister. She's tried to be friendly, but Gabrielle has always seemed standoffish. This was irrelevant when Gabrielle only came to Weasley family events once every four or five years. Now, however, she's newly divorced and staying with Fleur and Bill, apparently indefinitely, and has come to the last three dinners.
An only child who ruined her relationship with her parents, Hermione threw herself into the Weasley family joyfully and gratefully when she and Ron married. She thoroughly enjoyed the holidays, the Saturday barbecues, and even watching the pick-up Quidditch games. She loves the multitude of children from the six living Weasley siblings.
She still enjoys the holidays, when the children are there, but now that they're all at Hogwarts, or, with the eldest ones, off doing apprenticeships or at university, the adults-only dinners are something of a slog. She wanted so badly to be part of something larger than herself, but now that she is, she feels almost lost within it. Be careful what you wish for, Granger, she thinks grimly.
It's funny how she talks to herself as Granger, rather than Hermione, as she did when she was younger. Draco's the only one who still calls her Granger, mainly because it winds Ron up, she assumes.
She glances down the table, where Ron has stopped pretending he isn't staring at Gabrielle.
"Want me to kick his arse for you?" George murmurs in her ear.
"Not especially."
"If I wasn't a married man, I'd snog you senseless to make him jealous."
"If you weren't a married man, I'd have left him for you years ago."
George grins. Neither of them means it, and they both know it, but it relieves the tedium.
"How are my kids doing?" he asks.
"Felicity is grumbling about her detentions and torturing her teachers, as usual. Gwen is in raptures over the new Potions professor."
"So is Hugo," George says. "Can you tell me why your child owls me when my own children won't?"
"Because favorite uncles are much more interesting than one's own parents." Until you fuck things up the way she has, and realize you oughtn't to have taken them for granted.
"And the twins?" George asks. "Their cousins still giving the poor little snakes a rough go of it?"
"Proving themselves worthy of their House," she grins. "Revenge is a dish best served cold, according to Slytherin." First years Fabian and Gideon were being picked on mercilessly by their cousins until their sister Felicity—House traitor, her fellow Gryffindors accused—taught them how to get even.
"Good for them," George says. "Did you know the Hat offered Fred and me a choice between Gryffindor and Slytherin?"
"No! Did you consider it?"
"Oh, I'd have done it, absolutely, just to see the look on Mum's face," he says, "but Fred came first alphabetically, and he was always more afraid of Mum than I was. When it was my turn, I didn't want us to be in different Houses, so I took the road more traveled."
On her other side, Harry finishes his conversation with Percy's wife and finally notices Ron and Gabrielle. He glares at them, but Hermione puts her hand on his arm and says, "It's okay, Harry."
"It's bloody well not okay, Mione."
"I offered to kick his arse, but she said no," George says.
"All marriages have rough spots, Harry," Hermione says. "Except yours, of course," she adds, rolling her eyes. "But most do. It's normal. In pre-modern times, the average Muggle marriage only lasted eight to twelve years before one of them died in childbirth or battle or from a burst appendix or, I don't know, an infected hangnail, I suppose. Divorce became a necessary substitute for death once life expectancy increased to the point where people simply couldn't stand one another any longer."
"What about pre-modern witches and wizards?" Harry asks. "They lived a lot longer."
"They had…arrangements," George says.
Harry's eyes widen. "Merlin, Mione, don't tell me you and Ron have one of those?"
She glances down the table. "No, but perhaps we should."
"Do you…is there…?"
She shakes her head. "George is married, so no."
Harry nearly chokes on his wine.
"Calm down, Harry. I was teasing."
Harry looks at her and George. "The two of you scare me sometimes."
"Thank you," they reply in unison.
"Harry," she begins, then bites her lip and falls silent.
"What is it?"
She takes a deep breath and plunges in. "Did Ron stay with you and Ginny for a couple of days last week?"
Harry's tongue-tied, clearly panicked. He glances down the table at Ron and then back at Hermione. "He, erm, that is—"
"It's okay, Harry," she says. "Never mind. I don't want you caught in the middle of things."
Both Harry and George are looking at her with such pity she can hardly bear it. "Give my apologies to Molly and Arthur," she says, then stands and walks outside. She takes a few calming breaths before Apparating so she doesn't splinch herself.
Author's Note
Mel, thank you so much for your reviews! I couldn't reply by PM because you weren't logged in. I agree with you about the OOC-ness of some Snape in America fics. I'm so glad mine doesn't appear to fall into that trap. I love reviews that tell me specifically what readers did or didn't like about my stories. It helps me know what I'm getting right and wrong.
I just finished this story, made the final edits on the epilogue in response to turtlewexler's always spot-on feedback. Updates will start appearing faster now that all I have to do is one final once-over before posting.
During the past few days, I've started writing a new story, the kind I never thought I'd write, i.e., a HBP AU marriage law fic. All of my stories have been postwar Hermione is an adult ones, both because of the ick factor of her being in her teens in a SSHG story, and because I often find myself getting bored when reading stories where the events of the war are rehashed-camping in the forest...escaping on the dragon...torture at Malfoy Manor...yadda, yadda. All these things were exciting in the books, but in fanfics, when I know what's going to happen, sometimes I can't help but start skimming. So, I'm trying to figure out how to do a sixth year AU without the "Yeah, okay, here's the part where they _" stuff, and without the teen Hermione ick factor.
Will I succeed? A-plus beta turtlewexler said the early chapters made her LOL at a very canon Snape, so maybe. Suggestions welcome as I write. PM me and tell me what you love and what you hate about wartime AUs, and about ML fics. Or talk me out of it, because I'm really not sure I want to do this. At any rate, I won't post the first chapter until I know for sure how to end it, and am sure I'm going to finish. I am not going to let this story break my perfect track record of No Abandoned Stories, Ever.
Love you guys, and thanks so much for all your reviews and favorite ratings!
xoxo,
Vitellia