Well, here you guys go! Sorry it me so long again. My computer broke down and my net is malfunctioning! Which sucks big time! I LOVE my computer, and being without it is so…ugh…anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah. Don't own it. I know.
You're going places, Hermione
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Chapter Eighteen: The answer
The candle Hermione had placed beside her on the old, wooden table was flickering out, making it difficult for her to read. She sighed and rubbed her red eyes vigorously, glancing up at the grandfather clock in a nearby corner. It was nearly midnight.
"Don't you have somewhere to be, Miss Granger?" said a voice, casting a shadow over her.
Too tired to jump in surprise, Hermione merely looked up and frowned. Then, as she realised who she was looking at, she scrambled to her feet.
"Professor McGonagall! What on earth are you doing here?"
Time had not been very kind to Minerva McGonagall, who looked many years older than the ten that had passed. But nevertheless, her character remained as strong as ever. She gave Hermione a stern look and waved her hand in front of the young woman's face. She was holding a scrunched up piece of parchment.
"I was enjoying a quiet meal at the school, when an owl flew in through my window and landed on top of my turkey dinner."
Hermione flushed, "Sorry, I know it's Christmas Eve-"
"It's Christmas now," McGonagall nodded at the clock.
"Oh, yes, I see that. I'm very sorry, Professor. I didn't expect the owl to reach you so soon…you didn't have to come, it could have waited."
McGonagall sniffed and placed the parchment on the desk, looking irritated.
"By the way things were described in the letter Miss Granger, I assumed it was a matter of life and death. Such theatrics I would not have expected from you."
Hermione flushed even more so. It was clear that her old teacher was thoroughly annoyed at having been disturbed very late on Christmas Eve.
"I'm truly sorry Professor, but-"
McGonagall held up her hand to silence her, "Let me speak first Miss Granger, I have a few questions myself."
"Um…okay."
"I would like to express my extreme disappointment about the discovery that you…" Her eyes briefly travelled down to the letter she had received, "Cast a Disattachment spell on yourself. It is highly dangerous, and, might I add, strictly forbidden."
Hours of research in the local Wizarding library had informed Hermione of all the dangers and rules surrounding the spell she had used on herself when she was seventeen, and some of it was quite disconcerting. Such as the knowledge that she could have ended up splitting herself in two or permanently obliviating her own memory. But she didn't know this at the time, and was quick to explain it to McGonagall.
"I didn't know it was forbidden. I was just worried when I found out I was pregnant, I wasn't even thinking properly-"
"Clearly," McGonagall's lips thinned, "You are full of surprises, Miss Granger. The day of your final exam when I discovered you were pregnant, and had concealed it for nearly nine months was very shocking indeed. It was then that I realised you were not the suitable candidate for the scholarship at Sister Salem, and that if you completed it, you would inevitably return to England, with the time you had spend in America wasted."
Hermione's brow furrowed thoughtfully.
"Then why did you let me-"
"I have watched you since the first day you arrived at Hogwarts, Hermione," the old teacher interrupted. "I could see you were going to go places, for never had I encountered such a bright and promising student. I hoped that your ambition and a little pushing from me would perhaps blind you from your true feelings, prolonging your stay in America. Apparently not."
A buzzing anger began to fill Hermione as she looked at the Professor, losing all respect she had ever had for her. The entire mess with Ron, her friends, and family could have been sorted if McGonagall hadn't pressured her!
"Don't be so quick to blame me," McGonagall told her, as though knowing what she was thinking, "For while I am partially to blame, you were willing throughout it all."
Hermione paused. "Tell me why the Disattachment spell didn't seem to work. You owe me that much."
McGonagall nodded.
"It is a theory, and a very good one at that, for I was not the only one who strongly agreed with it." She smiled grimly, "Fortunately, for your situation, the spell faltered somewhat. The spell was created to remove all amount of feeling from one person and another. Not from one person and two others."
"So, because I had twins…it only half worked?"
"That could be the case. It did work slightly, for you felt no sort of feeling for sometime. Perhaps not until the moment you saw your children did you realise you felt for them. For it would have worn off by them."
Hermione sat back down, thinking things over carefully. It made sense, it all made sense. If she had only had Morgan, or Paige, then the spell would have worked and she wouldn't have felt anything when she first laid eyes on them. But because there had been two, and the spell had divided, it had been less effective and eventually worn off. It would certainly explain Hermione's sudden surge of feelings, and how she had wanted to return to England to see them.
"Now your mind is at ease, I shall return back to the school. Perhaps even see if I can get myself another meal," McGonagall said softly, her own mind looking slightly at ease.
"Yes. All right. Thank you for helping me, Professor."
"As you said, Miss Granger, I owed it to you. Merry Christmas."
"Yes," Hermione looked up, "Merry…"
She trailed off; the old woman had already disappeared. Hermione closed the book before her with a smile and blew out the still flickering candle.
When Ginny had arranged to meet Hermione for lunch, she hadn't expected to find not only her, but her children and Harry as well. Raising an eyebrow, and looking unquestionably suspicious, Hermione made her way over to the small group.
"Mum, hey." Paige grinned, her eyes shining excitedly.
"Hello Mother, would you care for a drink?" Morgan wondered. "Harry was going to order them about half an hour ago but I argued with him that he should wait. It is, of course, very rude to-"
"Shut it, dung breath," Paige snapped, quickly irritated. Morgan scowled and inconspicuously cupped his hand over his mouth, testing the actual state of his breath.
"Paige," Hermione said automatically, "Don't call your brother names. Ginny, what is everyone else doing here?"
Three days after Christmas, and two days after she had owled Ginny and Harry about the details of the no longer existing Disattachment spell, the young redhead had demanded that Hermione meet her for lunch.
"The more the merrier," Harry piped up. Ginny shot him a look before turning to her friend.
"It was Harry's idea, but I agree with it."
"What was his idea? He has an idea?" Hermione questioned.
"I may not be a genius, but when a light bulb alights over this beautiful head," Harry patted his mess of black hair, "Watch out."
Ginny rolled her eyes, "While Harry's brain should come with several warnings, such as 'keep away from alcohol', I'll admit that this is a good one."
"Let's hear it then," Hermione prompted, sitting down between her children who were surprisingly interested in the adult conversation.
"Well," Ginny lowered her voice; "I've called you here because fate seems to be temporarily out of order and Cupid's on a holiday."
"What?"
"You and my brother." Ginny smiled. "It's taking forever, and Harry thinks we should speed things up."
Hermione was going to protest her feelings, but her reddening face would have given her away within seconds, so instead she held her head up and narrowed her eyes.
"Firstly, Ron doesn't love me. If he did, then he wouldn't be with Caddie. Secondly, Caddie herself, if you are thinking of breaking them up and Ron, by chance, happens to be all for it, she'll get hurt! Thirdly-"
"Blah blah blah, they're all minor details, Hermione," Harry told her.
"Don't be tactless, Harry," Ginny sighed and lowered her voice, "I realise the risks, Hermione. But sometimes, they're worth taking. Don't you love my brother enough?"
"I…I love him more than anything, Gin." Hermione shook her head, "I don't understand. The other night you were all against Harry and myself conspiring about getting Ron-"
"I know, I know. And I still don't want anyone getting hurt." Ginny smiled slightly. "But you didn't see Ron after you left. He thought - does think - that you and Harry are together. He was furious. Ranting and raving like a lunatic."
Morgan made a funny noise. "Honestly! I don't know where I get my personality traits-"
Paige reached around behind Hermione and punched his arm, silencing him immediately. Hermione gave her a stern look, and she smiled innocently in return.
"Don't punch your brother," she scolded, looking back at Ginny. "I still don't understand."
Ginny sighed, closing her eyes. She suddenly looked much younger and when she opened her eyes again, there was a sadness in them that Hermione couldn't place.
"When Voldemort was alive, and we got the news about Percy," her voice seemed to waver, "It seemed like the world had stopped. People weren't still dying; places weren't still being attacked, not to us."
Hermione knew that by 'us', Ginny was referring to her family. She reached across the table and placed her hands on top of one of her friend's.
Ginny didn't notice as she continued on. "We all felt horrible. You'd think it would have been easier because we weren't on good terms with Percy up until when he…he died. But, it wasn't like that for us. It was worse, because we'd never sorted it out, and we had still loved him dearly."
Morgan and Paige shifted in their seats uncomfortably. They had never met their Uncle Percy, because when he had died, it had been over a year before they were born. Yet, they loved their Aunt Ginny, and seeing her so distraught had an effect on them.
"But slowly, time started moving again, and there was hope for each of us to be happy," Ginny smiled now. "Dean and I became closer, Fred and George opened up several joke shops, Bill got married, Charlie's career took off and even Mum and Dad moved on. We slowly started to, breathe again, you know?"
Hermione nodded, even though she wasn't able to comprehend exactly how the young girl had felt.
"And this is where it comes to Ron," Ginny was sad again, "He's still holding back. Not because he's upset about Percy, although it probably has something to do with it, but because he's afraid to be happy. I'll tell you Hermione, he loves you, and you could make him so happy. You could help him breathe."
Harry looked at Ginny. "I thought he was fine."
"Yes Harry, he looks fine. But he isn't. He has to be brave, he has children." Now Ginny smiled at her niece and nephew. "And you guys are great; you've helped your dad in ways you probably can't even imagine."
"I think we're really too young to comprehend this and-" Morgan said slowly.
"-you haven't even mentioned the plan," finished Paige, knowing what her brother was going to say.
"I know that. I'm getting to it!" Ginny looked back at Hermione so intensely that she retracted her hands. "I've known Ron wasn't truly happy for a while now, and I kept expecting him to move on. I mean he had a girlfriend, he was promoted to a well-paying job, and he had two great kids that were growing up into great people. But the things that had been enough for the rest of us to be happy weren't enough for Ron. I didn't know what it would take until I saw his reaction after you left the Christmas party."
"This bit I know." Harry grinned. "You're the solution, Hermione."
"What about Caddie?" Hermione said urgently. "You keep overlooking her."
"He likes her, but he doesn't love her. And she's nice, she's really, really nice but…" Ginny trailed off, shrugging.
"It's like, me and Morgan like her," Paige added, "But we can't ever see it being anything more. Like, I know she'll never be my step-mom or anything like that."
"She won't get hurt," Morgan decided to comment too. "Aunt Ginny promised that no one will get hurt."
Hermione, knowing better, breathed deeply.
"Someone always gets hurt," she whispered.
Ginny was beginning to sound desperate. "Listen, it will be better for Caddie in the end!"
"When you think about it, we'd be doing her a favour. Saving her from being stuck in a relationship that won't go anywhere," Harry pointed out. "Sure she'll probably be upset, really upset, she'll probably cry for a few days in a row and-"
"And," Ginny glared at Harry, "I think he's trying to say that, it's all for the best."
It was an excuse to try, Hermione thought, if it doesn't work out, at least she won't spend the rest of her life thinking about what might have been.
Still unsure, she said, "What's this genius plan then?"
Ginny smiled in relief, her eyes shining.
"Well," she said. "It's pretty much what Harry's plan was at the Christmas party. You and him will pretend to be madly in love, and myself and my two accomplices-" She nodded at Morgan and Paige, "-will aid you whenever you need, hinting to Ron, most subtlety, about what he must do."
"Which is to dump Caddie and go after you," Harry finished.
"Don't be so tactless!" Morgan said angrily, before Ginny had a chance to open her mouth. "And I am not an accomplice; I'm simply in it to help keep Paige and Aunt Ginny under control. Merlin knows their plan will involve burying Caddie ten feet underground in a wooden box as a means of disposing of her."
"Whatever, dung brains." Paige rolled her eyes, grinning mischievously. "Although, that is a good idea!"
"I was joking!" Morgan said, alarmed.
"Well, so was I," his sister shot back. "I was being sarcastic!"
"I did not detect a single hint of sarcasm!" Morgan sniffed, crossing his arms over his chest. Paige merely rolled her eyes again.
"Right," Ginny looked between them. "You two ready to act ten instead of three?"
They nodded.
"Ready to implement the plan?" Harry asked Hermione. She bit her bottom lip.
"I'm still not…I don't think it will work…but, I'm willing to try."
"Great," Ginny clapped her hands and rubbed them together. "We've already got a date planned."
And with that, the rest of the lunch was spent covering all aspects of the 'plan'. It was exciting for Hermione, and she couldn't help feeling jubilation about the prospect of herself and Ron being united, but at the same time, she was filled with dread. For something such as the 'plan' could not produce anything but a bad result and trouble.
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A/N: Well, sorry it took so long to update again. Please don't be frustrated with me!
Thanks again to my terrific beta reader, The Mad Gremlin!
Okay, next chapter, Ron and Hermione date! Or, go on a date. Same thing. And…well, you'll just have to wait!
Thanks heaps for the rockin' reviews! As always!
Axisha: Lol, I'm really glad you like it. Don't worry, it will all come out in the end.
Amy: Ugh! You totally guessed it! I've had that explanation since the first chapter…and you guessed it! Hmph! Lol, thanks for the grammar note. I'll try and be more careful! And since I have a beta reader now, it'll stop!
mini veela: Harry's a bit all over the place. I intend to have him sorted out by the end of the story. Should only take a few more chapters!
Lady Phedre: Harry will come around…although he'll always be a fool…as you can probably tell…
Lupin'sLuver: You always have something nice to say! But, really, I think the last chapter sucked…but if you liked it…well, I'm not complaining! :)
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pattiweasley: Sorry the chapter took so long. The twins are going to be coming up quite a bit more…
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orli-enthusiast: Lol, thanks. Ron and Hermione fluff is a bit further on…but there's goodness in the next chapter…hope you can wait…
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