Chapter 3: Full house
By the time Hermione returned home there was an owl perched on both of the urns that sat on either side of her front doorstep. They watched her carefully as she stepped inside and followed closely behind.
"Hello Hedwig, Ermine," She greeted them as she sat her overnight bag on the table in the foyer.
The house was really quite grand, but you never would have guessed by the outside. It was spelled to look small and worn, although very neat. The paint was fresh but the roof over the porch sagged slightly in the middle. It was an olive green with pale blue shutters. Twin cherry wood doors were spaced equally apart on the front of the house. They were covered with cast iron storm doors in which the glass panes were covered in intricate patterns of twisted cast iron. Not at all the house you would expect the captain of the Bombers national quidditch team and his wife to inhabit.
The simple exterior was no preparation for the grand interior. The Foyer was a complete circle with marble floors on which the emblem of the Bombers was engraved on top of the National Quidditch Cup. A spiral staircase hugged the walls leading up to the second, third and fourth floors. Doors easily twelve feet high lead into various rooms from the entrance.
But Hermione, was too preoccupied to appreciate the architecture. She opened Ermine's note first.
Hermione,
I'm so glad you've decided to come! Feel free to come as soon as you like. I live at 23 Westchester Lane in Hogsmeade now. Everyone will be very delighted to see you.
Love,
Ginny
She then went to Hedwig's letter.
Hermione,
Ron tells me that you'll be joining us next week, I'm very glad. I realize that we haven't been on the best of terms these last years and I hope that we can put everything behind us. I wish that I had the opportunity to do the same with Oliver. I'm very sorry for your loss and I'm sorry I didn't send word before now. I'm looking forward to seeing you and hope that you can find it in your heart to move on and let bygones be bygones.
Harry
Harry was always so dramatic about things, Hermione thought. It wasn't as if they had had some big falling out, just went separate ways. Alright, so it was a little more complex, but nothing that Harry had specifically done that he needed to be apologetic about.
Hermione had planned to wait another day or so before visiting Ginny so that she did not wear her welcome out, but after sitting and watching Crookshanks torment and consume a mole out the kitchen window for 45 minutes she decided she couldn't stand to be alone any more. She was afraid to do anything because it would remind her of something she didn't want to remember.
Hermione ran down the basement steps to go and fetch some things from the laundry room she planned to take with her, but stopped suddenly.
&&&&&&&&&&&&
Oliver lead her down the steps holding her hand, "...and look how much space there is in the basement!"
To their left there was a large gray space which held a water heater and several very large cobwebs.
"We can change this into a study for you and you can work on all that stuff you like, and there's a laundry room over there."
She smiled at him and elbowed him in the ribs. He caught her arm and pulled her close to him.
&&&&&&&&&&&
Tears sprang to her eyes, not because she missed him, but because of the broken promises and how selfish she was being about them.
"So what if I didn't get a study! So what if all he ever worried about was quidditch and was gone half the time. So what if he was jealous of my friends and wanted me to himself. He loved me! I thought when people died you were supposed to only remember the good times, what happened to that? Then at least I wouldn't be beating myself up over everything," Hermione thought as she slumped against the wall and sat down on the bottom step.
"That's it, I have to get out of here. I have to talk to someone who understands remotely what I've been through. This house is so full of the past that there isn't any room left for me."
By the time Hermione returned home there was an owl perched on both of the urns that sat on either side of her front doorstep. They watched her carefully as she stepped inside and followed closely behind.
"Hello Hedwig, Ermine," She greeted them as she sat her overnight bag on the table in the foyer.
The house was really quite grand, but you never would have guessed by the outside. It was spelled to look small and worn, although very neat. The paint was fresh but the roof over the porch sagged slightly in the middle. It was an olive green with pale blue shutters. Twin cherry wood doors were spaced equally apart on the front of the house. They were covered with cast iron storm doors in which the glass panes were covered in intricate patterns of twisted cast iron. Not at all the house you would expect the captain of the Bombers national quidditch team and his wife to inhabit.
The simple exterior was no preparation for the grand interior. The Foyer was a complete circle with marble floors on which the emblem of the Bombers was engraved on top of the National Quidditch Cup. A spiral staircase hugged the walls leading up to the second, third and fourth floors. Doors easily twelve feet high lead into various rooms from the entrance.
But Hermione, was too preoccupied to appreciate the architecture. She opened Ermine's note first.
Hermione,
I'm so glad you've decided to come! Feel free to come as soon as you like. I live at 23 Westchester Lane in Hogsmeade now. Everyone will be very delighted to see you.
Love,
Ginny
She then went to Hedwig's letter.
Hermione,
Ron tells me that you'll be joining us next week, I'm very glad. I realize that we haven't been on the best of terms these last years and I hope that we can put everything behind us. I wish that I had the opportunity to do the same with Oliver. I'm very sorry for your loss and I'm sorry I didn't send word before now. I'm looking forward to seeing you and hope that you can find it in your heart to move on and let bygones be bygones.
Harry
Harry was always so dramatic about things, Hermione thought. It wasn't as if they had had some big falling out, just went separate ways. Alright, so it was a little more complex, but nothing that Harry had specifically done that he needed to be apologetic about.
Hermione had planned to wait another day or so before visiting Ginny so that she did not wear her welcome out, but after sitting and watching Crookshanks torment and consume a mole out the kitchen window for 45 minutes she decided she couldn't stand to be alone any more. She was afraid to do anything because it would remind her of something she didn't want to remember.
Hermione ran down the basement steps to go and fetch some things from the laundry room she planned to take with her, but stopped suddenly.
&&&&&&&&&&&&
Oliver lead her down the steps holding her hand, "...and look how much space there is in the basement!"
To their left there was a large gray space which held a water heater and several very large cobwebs.
"We can change this into a study for you and you can work on all that stuff you like, and there's a laundry room over there."
She smiled at him and elbowed him in the ribs. He caught her arm and pulled her close to him.
&&&&&&&&&&&
Tears sprang to her eyes, not because she missed him, but because of the broken promises and how selfish she was being about them.
"So what if I didn't get a study! So what if all he ever worried about was quidditch and was gone half the time. So what if he was jealous of my friends and wanted me to himself. He loved me! I thought when people died you were supposed to only remember the good times, what happened to that? Then at least I wouldn't be beating myself up over everything," Hermione thought as she slumped against the wall and sat down on the bottom step.
"That's it, I have to get out of here. I have to talk to someone who understands remotely what I've been through. This house is so full of the past that there isn't any room left for me."