A/N: It's hard to follow a chapter like the last one, but I'm going to try! ;) It may seem like I'm being harsh on Ron… because I am! I'm not really a Ron fan at the moment, so that's why he is getting shat on. Not much romance in this chapter, only drama. Hopefully there will be more romance in the next chapter. This chapter rated PG-13 for language.
The sun glared harshly in my window, and I slammed my eyes shut as soon as I had opened them. My alarm yelled at me loudly. I was dazed for a few seconds before the whole previous night came flooding back to me, and I groaned as I realized that I had to go to work. I knew mum would floo me later in the day to scream at me for wrecking everyone's lives, but I tried to push that thought out of my head. Hermione was going to kill me. Ron was going to kill me. At least I knew that George wasn't going to try to kill me. I only hoped that I could stay alive to meet Harry for our lunch date at The Three Broomsticks.
Waiting for me on the kitchen window sill was a brown owl that was clutching an envelope. Sighing in relief, I saw that the envelope was not red, so I reached out to stroke the owl's feathers. It clicked its beak happily as I untied the letter. After giving it a bit of a left over muffin, I sat down at the table to quickly read through the letter. I frowned, recognizing Neville's chicken scratch handwriting. I scanned the letter, looking for anything of importance or any signs of anger; however, there were none. He seemed happy, and to sum it all up, his letter basically said that it was all for the best, because he had been cheating on me with Susan Bones. Laughing hysterically, I threw the letter down on my butcher block kitchen table and ran to the bathroom to take a record breaking shower. The water washed away my worries about the day, and I gathered steam from the good feelings that Neville's letter had brought to me.
Lavender was sitting in my office when I arrived to work fifteen minutes early. She smiled at me cheekily from my desk chair. "I heard what happened last night," she said, propping her feet up. I chuckled and said, "Good news travels fast, doesn't it?" She smiled sincerely this time and said, "Gin, I'm happy for you. You deserved a better life than the one you were going to have." My features softened into a genuine smile as I looked at her smiling face. "Thanks, Lav," I said, leaning over to give her a quick hug. Turning around to grab a file out of the filing cabinet, I added quickly, "He was cheating on me with Susan Bones anyway." I waited for her reaction, and as usual, she didn't let me down. "What?!" she screeched. I turned around, nodding and trying not to laugh. "Why?! I mean, ick! She was such a kiss up and she never was good at anything! Damn Hufflepuffs." Lavender said, scrunching her face into a disgusted look. I shrugged and said, "Oh well, not my problem anymore." Lavender smiled and took the file out of my hand, walking to her own office to contact Mrs. Diggle about her new sofa and loveseat.
Around 10:30, as I was browsing a book of paint spells, Lavender knocked on my office door. "Gin?" she said, in a soft and worried tone. I looked up instantly and saw the person that was standing next to Lavender. "Hermione…" I breathed. Her hair stuck out in bushy patches and her nose was red. She burst into tears the second I said her name, and Lavender ushered her inside the office and shut the door behind them. I motioned for Hermione to sit down in one of the squishy arm chairs as Lavender poured some tea for us and snuck some fire whiskey in Hermione's cup. "I- I just wanted to come to tell you that I am so sorry, Ginny. I am so sorry for all the things I let Ron do to you these past few years. I can't believe I did that to you and Harry… I feel horrible, Ginny," she blurted out between her sobs. Lavender's eyes widened as she and I shared a look. I remained silent as Hermione continued, "And to top it all off, you go off and do the one thing that I couldn't do for you." Tears filled my eyes and I sunk down into the chair next to Hermione's. Before I could even say anything, she said, "I love George so much, but I never thought that I could be with him. I was in agony, Ginny. I know how you must have felt all those years. I am so sorry." She covered her face with her hands and cried loudly. "Hermione, it's okay," I whispered, patting her shoulder and holding out the cup of tea. She sniffled, and looked up at me. "And Ginny, I'm even sorrier for losing you as a friend, because I really needed you these past few months and I should have been there for you when you needed me. I really hope that we can be friends again. I'll do anything," she said, her voice sounding a little stronger. "Hermione, I forgive you, but there is something that Harry and I need your help with. Can you go to lunch with me?" I said, looking at the clock. She nodded vigorously, and I smiled. "Alright, meet me at the Three Broomsticks at 11:45." She smiled and hugged me, turning to walk out of the office. As the door snapped shut, Lavender looked back at me. "Wow," she said, and shook her head. "I know," I agreed, laughing.
The Three Broomsticks looked busy from the outside and I found out why when I walked inside at 11:50. There, in the middle of the bar, stood Ron and George. Ron was screaming at George, who was being held back by Fred. Hermione was covering her face with her hands and Harry was sitting at the bar, watching the whole scene and drinking a butterbeer. "What in the fuck is going on here?!" I screamed at Ron and George, throwing my purse down on a table. The crowd that was watching instantly started to whisper about my identity. "Ronald Weasley! What in the hell is wrong with you?!" I yelled, getting in his face. "Stay out of this, it has nothing to do with you. Go over and sit with your worthless boyfriend!" he screamed back, little flecks of his spit hitting me in the face. "Shut your fucking mouth!" I yelled, drawing my right arm back and punching him the muggle way. Blood squirted from his mouth as he held the tooth that had popped out. Just as I was pulling out my wand to perform my signature hex, the Bat-Bogey Hex, another voice similar to mine filled the bar. "RONALD WEASLEY!" my mum screamed from the doorway. The bar was instantly silent. Like the parting of the sea, the crowd made a path for our mum as she made her way to Ron. "How could you embarrass your father and I by making a scene in a public place. You're not on some muggle picture box show, so stop acting like a first year. You ruined these folks' lunch. Now, let's go outside and let Hermione, Ginny, and Harry catch up on things. Fred? George?" she said, her hand gripping Ron's shoulder tightly. "I think we'll stay here and catch up with Harry too, mum," Fred said. "Very well, I'll see you two later. Nice seeing you again, Harry. You'll have to come over tomorrow so that we can catch up with you," Mum said, leading Ron to the door. Harry nodded and smiled, his arm around my shoulder.
We sat down, to the disappointment of the crowd. Rosmerta brought us a menu and took our drink orders. When she walked away from the table, I leaned in and whispered, "Alright, who owled for Mum?" Fred and George shrugged as did Hermione. "I did," Harry said softly, to my utter surprise. "George told me that your mum already knew about him and Hermione, so I thought the best way to end this fight would be to get your mum," he said, his eyes meeting mine. I sighed and then smiled, "This is all starting to be too much for me to handle. Everything is different." "But everyone is happy now…" George said, glancing down at Hermione, who was sitting next to him. "So what did you want to talk to us about, Harry?" Fred said, changing the subject. Harry looked around and then whispered to Hermione, "Can you put a silencing charm on this booth?" She nodded and flicked her wand, causing a glittering film to encase them. "It's Dumbledore… "
To Be Continued…
PS: Don't worry, the whole Ron/Hermione/George problem isn't resolved. As if Ron would let something drop! HA!