Faded Pictures
Chapter 5: Lost Inside the Past
"Dear Hermione,
I will be arriving today at around 11:00 am. I trust that the
hotel reservations are in order. You can meet me at the hotel
at that time. I would have never thought there'd be a wizarding
hotel right there in the middle of Salem. It is honestly
amazing.
I have enclosed a letter from Draco. I think it's describing
the details of their arrival or something. Anyway, I can't wait
to see you, and Xan's best man had better be HOT.
Love, Ginny"
Hermione sighed as she set Ginny's letter down. She then picked up the second letter, the one from Draco. Xan had left the evening before to close some of his own affairs, so there was no need to hide this one. She sat alone on her couch, one of the last things not sent to the new house.
Only her clothes and a few pieces of furniture remained left in the apartment and those were going to be sent to the new house that very day. Hermione was going to be staying at the Potter Paradise Hotel along with all the visiting guests. Chuckling, she thought of the reaction Harry was going to have to the name of the hotel.
"Dear Hermione,
How are you, Sweetie? Are you holding up okay over there?
Never fear, Draco is on his way to deliver you from your lonely
existence. Harry and I will be arriving at the hotel tomorrow
at 10 am. He still doesn't know the name of the hotel. I think
I'll let him find out when we get there. I can't wait to see
the look of horror on his face, can you?
Harry has assured me that Ron is coming with us. We even went
over to 'help' him pack. I ended up packing for him, of course.
The tedious chore of unpacking his Hogwarts trunk was his
assignment. Can you believe he hadn't unpacked it yet?
It is actually quite strange, because there was something at the
bottom of his trunk that appeared to be missing. He had no clue
what happened to it and he is really freaking out. I almost
feel sorry for the Weasel. It was apparently quite valuable...
a family heirloom or something. Don't worry; I gave him a
thorough lecture about losing priceless things that mean a lot
to us.
Well, we three will be arriving at 10 am tomorrow, like I
previously stated. I can't wait to spend time with you. I have
missed you so very much. Seeing you once a year is not nearly
enough time, especially when we have to hide it from Ron. That
man is infuriatingly hard to get rid of. I don't know how you
managed to keep him away from you. I have to go help Ron look
for that missing thing now. Harry keeps eyeing me suspiciously
and asking what I'm writing, so I'm taking that as a cue to
finish up. We love you, honey.
Love, Draco (and Harry... and the Weasel)"
Hermione sighed and looked at the clock. It was 10:00 in the morning and Ginny wouldn't be arriving until 11. That meant she had a half an hour to herself before she'd have to leave for the hotel. Biting her lip, Hermione thought about what Draco had said about Ron losing something. She was almost positive that he was talking about the ring, but only fools are positive. If it was the ring that Draco spoke of, that would mean Ron didn't remember giving it to her. That meant, in turn, that he didn't remember proposing and that what he said to her later was probably just out of momentary anger.
"SHIT!" Hermione yelled. All these years later, and she had simply misconstrued the situation. Her mother had told her that she should talk to Ron, but her pride had been too damaged for that. "Damn it all to hell!" Cursing foully for the next half hour, she thought about all the difference talking to Ron would have made. Now it's too late, She thought bitterly, isn't it? Xan said he'd give me time to resolve things with Ron. What if I change my mind about marrying him? That wouldn't make him too happy. I don't know what to do!
Grabbing her keys, Hermione stormed out of the apartment to meet Ginny. Maybe Ginny will know what to do. I have the whole day with her until we have to meet Xan for dinner, I can talk to her. Her mood lightening considerably, she drove into the heart of Salem to the old abandoned warehouse.
Parking in front of the old decrepit building, Hermione muttered quietly under her breath about having to hide from Muggles. Sitting on a bench nearby, she waited until she saw a young red-haired woman pull up in a taxi. She jumped from her seat and threw her arms around her old friend, squealing in delight. "Ginny! You have no idea how much I've missed you!"
Ginny tightened her arms around Hermione, laughing merrily. "Oh, I think I have an idea. Sheesh, you're like a sister to me and I only get to see you once a year. Even then, we don't get to be alone to talk because everyone is always crowded around you. Mum misses you terribly, y'know." She pulled away from the hug slightly to wipe away the tears running down Hermione's face.
"Oh, Ginny, I've ruined everything!" Hermione sobbed, finally breaking down. "I shouldn't have left you all. I was so stupid... and Ron..." Her chest heaving, she shook her head. "What did I do to poor Ron?"
Ginny's eyes went wide as she listened to her friend's ranting. She quickly paid the bewildered taxi driver and led her friend, luggage in tow, back to the bench. "Hermione, what's wrong? Did something happen with Xan? You aren't making any sense."
Sniffling quietly, Hermione looked up. Her beautiful brown eyes were bloodshot and her nose was red from crying. "Everything is fine with Xan. He is absolutely perfect. It's just that Draco said in his letter that Ron can't find some valuable thing in his trunk from Hogwarts. Well, there wasn't anything valuable in there except for this." Reaching in her pocket, she withdrew a small black box.
"'Mione, is that what I think it is?" Ginny reached out to touch the black box, but pulled her hand away at the last second. As Hermione nodded, she sighed and patted the woman's back gently. "You poor thing, now I know what's wrong. Let me guess, Ron actually did propose?" Another nod from her friend encouraged her to go on. "Then something happened and Ron said something stupid that broke off the engagement that he didn't even remember?"
Hermione burst into tears, nodding her head frantically. "And instead of talking to him, like my mum said, I ran away. I'm so stupid, Gin. Xan said that we could postpone the wedding so that I could resolve some issues with Ron, but I'm afraid to do that. I don't even know if Ron still loves me and I don't want to hurt Xan. He has been nothing but wonderful and I don't deserve him." When Ginny opened her arms, she fell into them, sobbing into her shoulder. "I need your advice. I need you to help me figure out what to do."
"Well then, dry your eyes and we'll talk once we've checked into this fabulous hotel." Ginny gestured to the now magnificent building behind them, complete with marble stairs, large cherry wood doors and gold handles shaped like lightning bolts. "You know Harry is going to kill you when he finds out what hotel you got us." She smiled as her friend giggled.
"I know." Hermione wiped her eyes and reached for one of Ginny's many bags. She then managed to crack a sly smile. "That's why I chose it." Ginny laughed heartily as Hermione led the way to check into the hotel.
The hotel lobby was huge and done all in black and white marble with gold fixings everywhere. In the center was a huge white marble fountain with a statue of Harry standing triumphantly in the center. The statue was complete with Emerald eyes, Obsidian Glasses and a gold lightning bolt scar. Ginny giggled as she saw it and exclaimed that Harry was going to pass out when he saw it.
"I think the staff is going to pass out when they see him." Hermione commented. She accepted the keys to the room and led the way to the rooms. Hers and Ginny's rooms were adjoining for easy wedding preparation. Across the hall were Pansy and Lavender's rooms and on an adjacent hallway were Xan, Draco and Harry, Ron, Dean, and Seamus' rooms. Hermione wasn't quite sure when the other guests' rooms were.
Pushing the door open to Ginny's room, both women gasped. The room was magnificently decorated in Gryffindor colors. There was a large bed covered in a scarlet satin blanket with gold and scarlet pillows everywhere. The bed reminded Ginny and Hermione of their beds at Hogwarts except bigger and with better fixings. There was a plush couch and a huge fireplace. Ginny held her breath as she opened the door to the bathroom and let out a squeal. It was decorated like a Greek temple with Pillars against the wall, a long shallow bath that looked like a pool, a shower in the corner, and a beautiful sink of Artemis holding out a bowl.
"This is magnificent... simply amazing!" Ginny squealed. "I'm surprised they don't have Harry holding out the bowl though."
"Look at this!" Hermione called from back in the main room. "Look at the paintings!"
As Ginny stepped back into the room, the color theme shifted to a deep forest green and silver. "Whoa, I wonder if it does that every time." She stepped back between the rooms until she realized that they changed to suit each of the four Hogwarts' houses. "That is so cool. Now, what am I supposed to be looking at?" Turning to see where Hermione was looking, she gasped.
Ginny stood staring at an amazingly accurate portrait of herself. Portrait Ginny waved at her and flashed a stunning smile as she pointed to a plaque under the portrait.
"It says 'Virginia 'Ginny' Weasley, dear friend of Harry Potter.'" Hermione said quietly. "I wonder..." She muttered, heading toward the door that separated her and Ginny's rooms.
Ginny followed and stopped short as Hermione halted in the middle of her room, gazing distantly at a portrait of none other than Hermione Granger. "What does the plaque say?" Ginny asked.
"It says 'Hermione Granger, muggle-born best friend of Harry Potter.' No, wait. It's changing. Now it says, 'Hermione Granger, head girl of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, class of Harry Potter.' Sheesh, now we're known as the class of Harry Potter. Go check yours." She waved Ginny away as she continued to read facts about herself from beneath her portrait.
"Mine now says 'Virginia 'Ginny' Weasley, esteemed member of Dumbledore's Army, formed by Harry Potter and peers.' Harry is going to die staying here." Ginny called to her friend. "This is amazing, but really creepy. I wonder if they gave everyone a room with their own portrait in it."
"Probably..." Hermione said, returning to Ginny's room. "I shudder to think what Harry and Draco's room will look like."
An evil smile gleamed across Ginny's face. "I have to be there when they see it."
"Yeah, well, they won't be here until tomorrow morning. So, we have the entire day to be together. By the way, my bathroom has Athena holding the bowl. I think they chose the Greek gods that best suit our personalities."
"Cool. Where are we going to go?" Ginny asked, heading toward the door.
"Let's go see Leslie. She is going to be one of the bridesmaids and is one of my best friends. I really want you to meet her. You can both help me figure out what to do about Ron and Xan." Hermione's eyes shadowed as she began to think about Ron.
"C'mon, 'Mione. Let's go see Leslie." Ginny smiled encouragingly at her friend. It's amazing how simple it was for Draco to get her to realize what happened. He is definitely a Slytherin, Ginny thought, remembering their plan. She was supposed to help Hermione realize exactly what went on and that the whole thing was a misunderstanding. Hermione had obviously done so already, which made Ginny's job a hell of a lot easier. She still had to send an owl to Draco, however, to keep him updated. "Wait a second while I go to the Owlery though. I have to let some people know that I've arrived safely."
"Sure, Gin. Let's go."
"Dear Draco,
Things are going according to plan over here. They are actually
moving ahead of schedule. Your letter worked wonders on
Hermione. I guess instead of just putting the thought in her
head, it put the whole thing in perspective. We must've
forgotten how smart she is.
Anyway, here is what I found out: 1) Yes, she has the ring.
She had it with her when we met up, 2) She acknowledges that it
is not Ron's fault. In fact, she blames herself, 3) She wants
my advice on what to do. She isn't sure if Ron still loves her
and she doesn't want to hurt Xan, 4) She is thinking about
postponing the wedding. Xan offered that option to her so that
she could resolve some issues with Ron.
I have come to the conclusion that things are looking good for
Ron. Xan does seem awfully sweet though. I'd hate to see him
get hurt. Well, hurry up and get here. She and I are on our
way to see her friend Leslie and talk about this. I'm going to
try to get her to postpone the wedding. Wish me luck.
Love, Ginny"
Draco grinned as he finished reading Ginny's letter aloud. "I told you I was good." He said smugly, turning his gaze on Harry.
"Hey," Harry raised his hands defensively, "I never doubted you. That was Ron over there and I think he doubted the whole situation, not you."
"Well, Weasel, now that I've proved myself, we need to plan the rest of this out." Draco turned his smug gaze toward Ron. "Are you going to propose to her while we're there or anything like that? Are you just going to convince her not to marry Xan? Do you want to be dramatic and stop the wedding in progress? I need details, man."
Ron had paled considerably since the reading of Ginny's letter. He looked as though he were going to faint. "I..." It seemed as though Ron's brain was temporarily out of order as he stared unseeingly into the room. "I don't know," he finally managed to spit out.
Harry groaned at the complete lack of help Ron was providing. "Honestly, Ron, you are no help at all. Think, man!" Completely aggravated, he stepped forward and shook his best friend by the shoulders. "Can you think of one helpful little thing that we can use in a plan? This is for you, remember?"
"I know, Harry. I'm sorry I'm not being more helpful, but I'm in a bit of shock and I'm not sure what I want to do." Ron knocked Harry's hands away from him and turned his back. Running a hand through his flaming hair, he sighed heavily. "I want to marry her, I know that much. I'm not sure proposing right away is the right thing to do though. She'll probably need time to think about things and I don't want to rush her."
Draco smiled sympathetically and walked over to put his arm around Ron's shoulders. "I'm glad you'd like to give Hermione the proper time. Listen to me though, because this is important. You need to do something drastic. She is already thinking things over. If you don't sweep her up and away from that man, she's going to marry him. Hell, I'd marry him. From the way Hermione described him, the man is perfect. He's gorgeous, smart, funny, and sweeter than sugar. If she is thinking about postponing being attached to that, then you must be really special to her. I think you can do this, Ron." Squeezing Ron's shoulders lightly, Draco released him and walked back over to where Harry stood. "So what about it, Ron?"
"I say, we need to have Ginny get that ring so I can propose." Ron turned around with a huge grin plastered to his face.
"Now that's what I'm talking about." Harry whooped enthusiastically. Wrapping his arms around Draco's waist, he kissed his husband soundly. "Draco, it looks like you have a plan to conceive."
"Leslie, this is one of my best friends, Ginny Weasley. We went to school together back in England." Hermione smiled broadly at her two friends and hoped that they'd hit things off.
Ginny eyed the petite woman, taking in her long, brown hair and sparkling, green eyes. She stood unfazed as the woman eyed her in return. Finally nodding her approval, Ginny extended her hand and grinned. "It's nice to meet you, Leslie."
Smiling in return, Leslie took Ginny's hand firmly in her own. "It's more than nice to meet you, Ginny. It is fabulous that I finally get to meet you. I've heard some wonderful things about you. You're one of the few things Hermione here would talk about from England." She glared good- naturedly at Hermione.
Hermione blushed furiously as she took a seat on Leslie's couch. Looking around the living room of her friend's apartment, she saw pictures of herself and Xan waving back. The sight bringing her firmly back to the problem she was encountering. "Leslie," she began cautiously, inspecting her fingernails, "I'm thinking about postponing the wedding."
"What are you talking about? Are you flipping serious?" Leslie's green eyes were wide with shock and what appeared to be horror. "What could that gorgeous man possibly have done to give you second thoughts?"
Hermione groaned, knowing that she'd have to explain everything from the beginning. Otherwise, Leslie would never understand the emotional stress she was going through. So, making sure Ginny and Leslie were both settled in, she told her story from the beginning.
"So, you're telling me that not only do you have a mind-numbingly sexy fiancé, but you also have another man that you've been completely in love with since childhood?" Leslie asked mouth agape. "You are wicked lucky, y'know. I would kill to be in your shoes along with ten thousand other women."
Ginny smiled, appreciating Leslie's personality more and more by the second. "She has a point, but that doesn't make your decision any easier. I personally don't envy the stress you must be going through. Choosing between one of the most perfect men on the planet and my brother whom you adore and have a longer history with must be extremely difficult." Ginny watched the two other women nod silently and decided it was time to go in for the kill. "That is a big decision to make in such a short period of time. Personally, I would postpone the wedding and take some time to talk things over with Ron. He obviously still loves you."
"I agree." Leslie stated firmly. "Postpone the wedding. Xan has already offered." She shrugged and smiled slyly at Hermione. "Besides, that will give you more time to bask in the love of two gorgeous men."
"Gorgeous?" Ginny choked out suddenly. "My brother is gorgeous?" Ginny had pulled out a picture of Ron sometime during Hermione's story to show Leslie.
"Well, I love a redhead. So, yeah, I think your brother is wicked sexy. Do you have any single brothers coming into town for the wedding that might or might not be?" Leslie smiled sweetly at Ginny who was currently gagging.
Hermione rolled her eyes at Ginny and decided to answer for her. "Bill is most definitely single and sexy. I don't think he's looking to settle down though. That's more of a one-nighter than anything. I'll see what I can do about that one, Les." She smirked at her childhood friend who had rolled from her seat on the couch to lie writhing on the floor.
"Oh, stop it, you drama queen." Leslie playfully smacked Ginny's shoulder. "We'll see about this Bill when he gets here. In the meantime we need to send an owl to Xan, postponing the wedding."
"No." Hermione stated decisively, setting her jaw.
"You mean you're going through with the original date?!" Ginny squeaked, frightened that the plan was failing.
"No, I mean I'm going to tell him in person when we meet him for dinner tonight, Ginny. Are you quite alright?" Hermione sent Ginny a suspicious glare and watched carefully as the woman squirmed.
"Yeah, I'm fine, 'Mione. I'm just fine."
"What do you mean the wedding is off?" Xan spouted testily. He glared at Ginny as though she must have had something to do with it.
"The wedding is not off, sweetheart. I just need more time to resolve the issues I have with Ron, like you said." Hermione looked at Xan as if he'd grown another head. She had no idea he was going to react in that manner. After all, he was the one who suggested it as an option.
"I didn't actually think you were going to do it. I was just trying to be supportive, damn it! How was I supposed to know you were going to actually go through with it? You're supposed to love me and we're supposed to get married in three days!" Xan apparently wasn't watching his fiancée very closely. Ginny was, however, and he was pissing Hermione off. If there was one thing anyone from their years at Hogwarts knew, it was not to get on Hermione Granger's bad side. She looked mad enough to spit fire and Ginny half expected her hair to spontaneously combust at any second.
"Alexander Illias Diego, how dare you be such a... man about this?!" Hermione leapt from the table in outrage. Pointing her finger in his face, she went on a tirade to top all others. "If you didn't think I'd agree, you shouldn't have suggested it. What a despicable thing to do, you vile fiend! You are a loathsome, sordid, vindictive little bastard! I thought of you so highly when you suggested it. 'Xan is the greatest', I said. 'Xan is the perfect man'. Well, buddy, you certainly proved me wrong." Tears were streaming down her face as she backed away from her two companions. "I don't know if I can still marry you. I don't even know who you are. The wedding is on hold indefinitely."
Hermione turned slowly and paused before hightailing it from the restaurant. People who had been staring since Xan's outburst returned to their food, whispering about what had just happened. Ginny turned to Xan, irritably waving a finger in his face. "Now look what you did," she spat before bounding from her seat in pursuit of her friend.
Author's Note: Can we say Drama Queen?! I thoroughly enjoyed Hermione's outburst. I was trying hard to make her seem like a prissy know-it-all finally snapping on someone but trying to censor herself because she was in public. Did I succeed? What about Xan? I mean c'mon could anyone really have been that perfect? HELL NO! Nobody is perfect... As for the overreaction on Hermione's part, which it was, let's just say there is a theme here with her. I know better than anyone how I'd like to portray her. So, please no angry reviews about how Hermione keeps overreacting... I KNOW! Instead of flaming me, find something you do like and write about that. That way everyone is happy. I know I'll be happy if you push that purple button down there. Now REVIEW!!!
P.S. I'd like to thank my beta reader/roommate/most loyal fan, N.C. PsyChick, and my little sister, Heidi, who thinks I'm totally nuts. You are so frickin' supportive.
Responses to Reviews: Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I appreciate it greatly... Next chapter I will respond to everyone possible who review the chapter, but right now I have to address a few specifics.
Sophie – I'm truly sorry that you feel that the whole Harry saying he was going home to Draco thing kinda ruined the moment in that first chapter. I'm just a serious Harry/Draco shipper, and I couldn't help but put it in there. Could you let me know whether you meant just him saying it ruined the moment or whether the concept ruined it? I'd really appreciate that and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story.
(N.C. PsyChick's official beta response: People really need to start being more specific with their thinly- disguised-as-constructive-critcism type flames... seriously! For Merlin's sake, people, my girl Tygrress SAID that there was gonna be SLASH references in the story! If you don't like it, DON'T READ IT!!! That's why there's a back button conveniently located at the top of your computer screens, you moronic FUCKWITS!!!)
LilCc – I tried very hard not to let your reviews get to me... I really did. I don't really want to chew you out or anything, but that hurt. I know what my characters are doing. This story is not about feeling sorry for anybody, except maybe Harry and the whole hotel thing. Ron didn't really do anything too bad, true enough, but it seemed bad to Hermione. The point is that Hermione and Ron didn't communicate well... mostly Hermione. Ron did NOT have a right to say what he did, however, impulse or not. Being impulsive is not an excuse for saying downright hurtful things. AND, on top of all this, the whole point was to set it up to be WAY worse than that. HERMIONE OVERREACTED!!!!! Sheesh, I hate flames... they really burn.
(N.C. PsyChick's official beta response: Okay, so since Tygrress doesn't feel like chewing you out, I think I'll do it FOR her. First of all, nothing pisses me off more than people who flame anonymously. That only proves that you don't have the balls to show who you are, AND that you have now been reduced to a spineless punk bitch. Congratulations, buddy! You win the award for Pansy-Ass of the Year! Second of all, this is the absolute LAST time I'm gonna say this. If you don't like slash and there's a WARNING about slash references in the beginning of the story, what do we do, class? kindergarten teacher voice That's right! Very good, we HIT THE FUCKING BACK BUTTON so we don't have to leave unnecessary and hurtful flames that are going to be disregarded anyway!!! I'm sorry, but as an author, that is my number one pet peeve about this whole fanfic-writing thing...)