4 - Retail Therapy
Hermione was sitting at the table in the dining room. The others were sitting with her, and for once, there was silence. Hermione sensed the tension between Cho and Harry, and also between Lee and Ginny. For the hundredth time, she wondered how they had got together in the first place. They were so unsuited. Lee, three years older, was interested in quite different things to Ginny. She was only fourteen - he was seventeen.
The waiter came round and served them, Hermione sipped her strong Italian coffee, and buttered her croissant. She had forgotten they would of course have continental breakfast in Italy. But everyone missed cereal and toast, or egg and bacon for breakfast.
All of the trip members assembled in the hotel's lounge. Ms. Peacock stood on a chair, and told them the coach was waiting at the bottom of the slope. Everyone rushed down the slope, trying to get the best seats on the coach.
For a reason that she could not explain, Hermione was dreading sitting next to Ron - so when she saw him try to catch her eye, she pretended not to notice, and went over to Ginny to ask her instead.
The coach driver was the same one that they had been driven from Rome by, and Hermione shuddered inwardly at the carelessness of European drivers. As the coach rumbled down the tiny streets, Hermione craned out of the window, and could see the blue silhouette of Mount Vesuvius rising majestically in the horizon. It was huge, even from so many miles away. Hermione could not wait for Tuesday when they would actually climb it.
Everyone had a great time at Pompeii. It was the biggest attraction of the area, and so the Classics group spent the whole day there. Hermione was the person who enjoyed it the most - having so much scholastic aptitude, she benefited more than anyone. There was no guided tour to most people's relief, and Ms. Peacock let them wander off on their own, or with friends. They could explore each ruined room, every bedroom, hall and bathroom of each house. There were many side streets, and Hermione and Ginny got lost many times. For the most part, Hermione stayed with Ginny all day. Ron tagged along with the twins and Lee, while Harry explored by himself. Once Hermione caught sight of him, his dark head bowed, sitting on an ancient wall running the length of that street. She turned away, and cursed herself for being a coward, for being too embarrassed to go and ask him if he was alright.
Ms. Peacock arranged for everyone to meet at one o' clock in the main courtyard, to have lunch. She distributed the packed lunches that their hotel - the Conca Park - had made for them.
Hermione and Ginny sat down on a dusty, chalky wall, and pulled from the crumpled white paper bags; two huge crusty rolls filled with slabs of cheese, a home-grown orange, and a buttery banana flavoured sugar cake. Hermione thought to herself, it may not be a gourmet meal, but when you're this hungry, it tastes delicious.
By the end of the day, everyone was exhausted, even Hermione was bored of looking at the ruins. Ginny had left her a while ago, to go round with a friend from her year called Xania, and so Hermione bought herself a coke, and sat down under the shade of a lone tree to drink it. So was at the outskirts of Pompeii, and was starting to worry that could not see anyone else from the group. She heard a giggle from behind her, and twisted round. There was a boy and girl sitting a few metres away- the girl was sitting on top of the boy's lap, and they were kissing passionately.
Hermione sighed, and turned back. But something was letting off alarm bells in her mind. That girl looked very familiar from the back view…
Hermione looked around again. The girl had stopped kissing the boy, and was turning to talk to him. Hermione saw a quick flash of her face as she turned, but it was enough.
She sat back, her eyes wide with shock. She did know that girl. That was Cho Chang. And the boy she was kissing was not Harry.
*
Hermione got off the coach, and ran into the hotel on her own. Unlocking the door to the room, she fell onto her bed, and let the door slam behind her.
Deep in thought, she jumped as she heard Cho's voice shouting through the door.
"Hermione! Let us in - you've got the key."
Wordlessly, Hermione walked to the door, and wrenched open the stiff clasp. She pulled the door open enough for Cho to come through, and then turned silently away.
"What's up with you? Grouchy old cow," said Cho, but Hermione did not rise to the insult. Ron and Harry followed her into the room.
Harry said, "Hermione, Cho, we're just going down to the shops to buy some more chocolate, coming?"
Hermione shook her head, and Cho told them she was having a shower.
When Cho had locked the bathroom door, Hermione breathed deeply, and allowed her thoughts to wander. She thought about Ginny, who had admitted to her in Pompeii today that she was terrified she was losing Lee. Hermione thought of the dress Ginny had been wearing today. It was unusually warm weather for March, by English standards anyway, and all the girls had been wearing shorts or summer dresses. Ginny had worn a knee-length, flared dress in pale pink material, with baby-blue ruffles and collar. It was the sort of thing a ten-year-old would feel babyish wearing, but Ginny did not seem to notice. Hermione felt desperately sorry for her friend. Ginny had no idea that she was so frumpy.
Then a very un-Hermione-ish idea hit her. Looking surreptitiously towards the bathroom door, where she could hear Cho singing a pop song whilst running a bath, she stole over to where Cho had flung her expensive leather bag onto the bed.
Hit her where it hurts, the bitch, thought Hermione, and pulled out Cho's purse.
*
Ginny was sitting alone it her room, leafing through a book she wasn't really reading. The twins and Lee had gone down to the shops with Ron and Harry. Never asked me, did they, she thought angrily to herself, and flung the book
She flopped onto her bed, and pummeled the pillow in frustration. What's wrong with me? she thought desperately. I am really so ugly that Lee is going off me?
She felt her eyes prickle with tears, and her mouth contorted with self-pity.
She heard a soft knock at the door, and nearly ignored it. Then she thought it might be Ms. Peacock, and get into great trouble if she did not answer.
"Coming," she called listlessly, and walked over to the door to open it. "Oh! Hi Hermione," she said slowly.
In contrast, Hermione spoke a mile a minute.
"Ginny, come on, get your shoes on, I've found a lot of money, lets go shopping, get a move on, now!"
"What?"
"Just come, now!" Ginny watched as Hermione almost fearfully looked behind her, she grabbed Ginny's hand and pulled her down the marble staircase.
"Here's my key, thanks, bye!" called Hermione as they raced past the reception desk of the hotel, flinging the room key to a bemused porter behind the desk.
"Grazie!" he called after her.
"Hermione, what are you on?" cried Ginny, struggling to keep up with Hermione fast walk as they skidded down the slope.
"We're hitting the shops, big time," called Hermione back to her, as she marched purposefully ahead.
They walked quickly past the first end of the main Sorrento shopping street, where invariably all the boys would be, and carried on past the forbidden Square. On the other side of the square were all the designer clothes shops.
"Hermione…Ms. Peacock said we weren't to go past the Square…"
"In here," said Hermione, ignoring Ginny's pleas, stopping short at Max Mara, a Muggle designer shop that was the essence of Italy.
"Max Mara??" shrieked Ginny.
Hermione walked with elegance up to the counter, and asked in her best Italian (being Hermione, she had picked up the dialect already), "Mi puo raccomandare un abito per ma amica?"
Ginny hissed in Hermione's ear, "What did you say?"
But Hermione did not answer. The two shop assistants were looking doubtful, so Hermione sighed dramatically, and pulled out Cho's purse. She waved the thick wad of Lire (the Italian currency) under the shop assistants' noses.
Their manner changed instantly. One put a reassuring hand around Ginny's shoulders, and steered her towards a selection of beautifully tailored dresses.
Soon she was in a changing room, with different outfits being passed back and forth by the admiring shop assistants. Every time Ginny stepped out of the changing room, one of them would cry, "Si, si, bella!"
Hermione stood outside, making critical decisions.
"Lets take that one," she said to Ginny, who was wearing a deep midnight blue dress that came to her mid thighs, and showed off her figure, with a matching tailored jacket. Hermione marveled at how much older she looked, just in a different outfit. "I'll just ask how much it is," she said to Ginny, and then to the shop assistants, "Quanto costa?"
"300,000 lire," replied on of the women, and Hermione nearly blanched, but calmly peeled off six fifty thousand lire notes.
"Grazie," said Hermione as they left the shop, having also bought a trouser suit and a silk skirt for Ginny, and a dress for Hermione.
Ginny attempted to imitate her, and the shop assistants laughed.
"What?" said Ginny, bemused.
"You don't say it how it's spelt," explained Hermione, "you say it Gratzy, with a short 'a'."
They also bought Ginny a top and some jeans from a teen shop called Phard, and Hermione announced they only had a little money left.
They entered Delizia, a shop devoted to make-up and accessories, and bought some jewellery and make-up for both girls.
"It's getting late," said Hermione, checking her watch. "We've got enough money for an ice-cream each. Coming?"
The ice cream was everyone's favourite thing about Italy. It was reasonably priced, and the most delicious thing anyone had ever tasted. More like sorbet than creamy ice cream, it came in more flavours than you could imagine. Today Hermione chose green apple and Ginny had a double cone, with one scoop of melon, and one of coconut.
They walked out of the ice-cream restaurant, licking their cones, and felling happy. Both girls swung glitzy bags emblazoned with designed names from their free hand, felt tired but happy.
Hermione and Ginny walked slowly up the slope to the hotel, finished off their ice creams, and chatting about the latest gossip.
Hermione picked up her key from reception, and wearily they climbed the stairs to the rooms on the third floor.
Ginny went off to her room, and Hermione walked across the hallway to her own. Unlocking the door with her key, she jumped at the scene before her.
Ms. Peacock was sitting on one of the beds, trying to comfort a distraught Cho, whose face was ugly and crumpled from crying.
Hermione felt a very large wave of panic come over her. What had she done? She was a thief, how could she…
Her thoughts tailed off as Ms. Peacock turned towards her. "I believe Cho's purse has gone missing-"
"STOLEN!" roared Cho, interrupting her. "It was one of those good-for-nothing maids who come and clean the rooms, I know it was, I could get my father to shut this place down…"
Ms. Peacock sighed, and Hermione intuitively knew she had had a hard time calming Cho down. "How much was in your purse?" the teacher asked Cho lightly.
Cho looked up at her, and a glint of embarrassment flushed over her face. "One million lire," she said very quietly.
Ms. Peacock's face turned very white. "One million lire! You stupid girl. Deliberately disobeying the rules! I said the very greatest amount was to be one hundred and fifty thousand!"
Hermione looked over at Ron and Harry, who were skulking at the other end of the room, Ron looking fed up with Cho, and Harry extremely embarrassed.
Hermione quickly calculated in her head. One million Lire was almost seven hundred Muggle pounds, so that was three hundred and fifty Galleons! More than the trip itself had cost! She had not realised quite how much she and Ginny had spent. Cho's parents must be so rich, she thought to herself.
Ms. Peacock eventually got away, promising Cho she would ask the hotel manager in the morning.
Hermione got into bed, but could not sleep. A choking, suffocating feeling made her feel stiff to her stomach, and terrified of being caught.