Chapter Thirty-eight
Back in the castle they went to go find McGonagall to tell her about the progress of the Magical Gazette and the new staff for it. She said that she would also try and get the word about the open jobs. They didn't have time to start looking at furniture because it was dinnertime but they decided to look after.
After dinner Hermione and Ginny were already talking about what they were going to do with their apartments and Harry and Ron were talking about TV shows when Susan Bones came up to Ron.
"Hi Ron." She started. "Zacharis told me about the Magical Gazette and I think it's really amazing for you and he also told me you had a secretarial job open. He explained everything to me and I'd like to apply. I am a very organized person." Susan finished. Ron knew she was organized because he constantly heard Smith talking about how his new girlfriend organized his desk so he had a "system" and how she organized a study program for the both of them. He actually thought it was sickening but it was probably pretty serious if he was telling her about a job that would mean working in the same place as him.
"Come to the Herald office on Friday during your free class and I'll interview you for it." Ron decided.
"Thank you!" Susan exclaimed. She rushed off to tell Zacharis Smith.
"Another one down." Ron said, "Now I only have a few more jobs to fill." Ron said.
"So, what's the plan for tonight?" Harry asked. "Furniture shopping through catalogs?" Before Ginny or Hermione could respond Dean and a bunch of other Gryffindor guys came up to them.
"Ron, Harry, we're going to play some Quidditch. Do you guys want to join?" Dean asked. Ron and Harry looked at Hermione and Ginny, who nodded to let them know that they were off the hook.
"Yeah, sure." They agreed. Hermione and Ginny started up for the Head common room.
"We should stop down at the kitchen and get some food and drinks." Ginny suggested. "We could have a girls' night and talk about boys while we look through catalogs and eat junk food." Ginny suggested.
"Sounds like a plan." Hermione agreed. The girls went down to the kitchen, getting food, mostly junk food that the house elves cooked up. Hermione left them a few sickles and brought the food back up to the Head Common Room while Ginny went to go get more furniture magazines and change. Hermione changed into a pair of gray shorts and a white t-shirt. She laid all of the food out and then sat on the couch, flipping through one of the magazines that was already there. She circled a nice white couch and matching armchair, then flipped the page and circled another one. By the time Ginny got up, Hermione had decided on all of the furniture that would go in her flat. She then took over a dishware magazine that Ginny had just brought up.
"I honestly didn't think that you would want to go see the places today and leave Hogsmede." Ginny said, starting the conversation.
"Neither did I but I wanted to see the place in person before I picked out the furniture and I wanted to pick out the furniture before we moved in." Hermione admitted.
"I know what you mean." Ginny said. "What do you think of this?" She showed Hermione a furniture set.
"I love it." Hermione said; it wouldn't work in her apartment because the color was a dark red but it would be nice for Ginny and Harry's flat. Soon all of the furniture was decided. Hermione decided on the white couch and chair, a big square coffee table, an assortment of different colored pillows for the window seat, some different comfy chairs to go by the window seat, a circular table for the kitchen with four chairs, a set of multicolored plates, some chairs for the porch outside of the window seat, a queen sized bed for her and Ron, a side table, two dressers for their room, a desk for the office/library, two big bookshelves, two chairs for reading in, and a comfortable desk chair for Ron. She decided on getting the TV after they moved in because they wouldn't find one of those in a wizard magazine.
Ginny decided on a dark blue couch and armchair, a rectangle shaped coffee table, a bookshelf to put in the living room for all of their books, two wooden barstools for the counter, a square table for the kitchen, a queen sized bed for her and Harry, dressers, a desk for the living room and she decided to use the other room for a walk in closet and for Harry's Quidditch stuff. Order forms were filled out and put to the side as the junk food came forward.
"It's nice, just us for a change." Ginny said. "I love Harry but it's nice to take a break from him for a bit."
"I know what you mean." Hermione agreed. "But now we get to talk about them." She chuckled.
"Exactly." Ginny agreed. "So what does Ron do that annoys you?" Ginny asked, trying to get some dirt. Hermione thought for a second.
"Nothing really. He tries to take my feelings into consideration when he does things so he won't annoy me and besides sometimes talking with his mouthful I've just gotten used to his annoying traits so they don't annoy me anymore." Hermione said. Ginny pouted, she wanted dirt. "What about Harry." Ginny opened her mouth to say something but no words came out, she couldn't think of a single thing that bugged her about Harry. She supposed that she had gotten used to them too.
"Nothing." She finally admitted. "I guess we've just grown on each other." It was silent. The boy talk seemed to be over and nothing was coming to mind quite so soon. Ginny finally thought of a topic. "So been bothered by Lavender lately?" She asked. Hermione chuckled.
"No but I did see her wearing her hair curly the other day. I suppose curls are back in." Hermione laughed. "I think it's better if they just leave us alone anyways. I never intended to punch her or hurt her, I just wanted to get in her face and scare her a bit but I reckon that if she had pushed me any farther and Ron wasn't holding me back. I just might have." Hermione said.
"I heard that they're opening a beauty salon on Diagon Alley. It's supposed to be called Patil and Brown's Beauty Salon. How original eh?" Ginny chuckled. Hermione laughed too.
"Oh well, that's one place I won't be going." Hermione said. "It's a shame though because I was thinking about cutting my hair."
"Oh I can do that!" Ginny said excitedly. "I've been reading this book so I can try and give myself a haircut, using magic. I can try it on you." Hermione looked hesitant, she wasn't sure how she felt about having Ginny mess with her hair. "I can do it Hermione, I promise."
"Alright." Hermione sighed; she sat down and shut her eyes tight, praying that she wouldn't end up bald.
"Done!" Ginny finally exclaimed, admiring her work. Hermione cautiously opened her eyes and peered into the mirror Ginny was holding out. She gasped when she saw that it looked good. "What do you think?" Ginny asked.
"Gin, I love it!" Hermione said. Her hair was now just above her shoulders (it had grown to past her shoulders from over the summer) and she had long side swept bangs. The color was even a shade browner and elegant curls hung loosely around her face. "It looks amazing!"
"Well you weren't my first volunteer." Ginny admitted. "I had finished with my letters two Fridays ago and Hannah Abbott was done too so I asked her if I could try it out then Vanessa Simpson wanted her hair done too."
"You did that?" Hermione asked. "I loved how their hair came out. I wanted to ask them who did it too. You're really good Gin."
"I know." Ginny admitted with no modesty. "Here, hold the mirror and I'll try mine." Hermione held up the mirror as some of Ginny's hair disappeared from her head. In the end she ended up with layered hair that just hit her back. It looked nice on her. Hermione admired the work. "What do you think?" Ginny asked.
"Love it." Hermione said. The girls pulled their hair up into messy buns and sat back on the couch with the junk food. They talked until the topic of weddings came up.
"When Harry and I get married, I want it in the winter and I want a winter theme, like icicles everywhere and I want it to feel like I'm walking in an ice palace." She mused about it.
"I want mine to be outside on a beach during the summer." Hermione said. "I want to walk down an isle of sand, barefooted and Ron's family and my family there, I want it simple but then the reception will be traditional and pretty big." Hermione said. She had given it a lot of thought. Ginny smiled Hermione's wedding sounded good – for Hermione. They had their own opinions of how their weddings would go. "And I'd only have a maid of honor and of course that would be you Gin because you're my best friend." Hermione smiled at Ginny, who smiled back.
"Aw, Hermione and you know you're my maid of honor too." Ginny said. Hermione smiled.
"Well it's settled then, we'll be each other's maid of honor." Hermione said. The girls discussed their weddings more and then they got to the topic of children.
"I think we'll wait about a year after we're married before we have kids." Ginny decided.
"I want to have kids right away." Hermione said. "Can you imagine us having kids and then them coming here, it'll be weird you know having all of the teachers that we had and then Snape giving them hell because he gave us hell."
"Well you and Ron would be right in Hogsmede to take care of him." Ginny laughed. "Hey maybe we'll have kids at the same so they'll be in the same year. That'd be good because they'd always have a friend."
"Yeah it would be but can you imagine Harry and Ron both going through hell at the same time if we were both pregnant at the same time?" Hermione asked with a laugh. Ginny laughed too.
"I can imagine that." Ginny said. They discussed that for a bit until it was starting to get late and the guys weren't back yet. Hermione used the spell on the other couch so that Ginny and Harry could sleep in the Head Common room as well. Ginny fell asleep but Hermione wanted to stay up and make sure Ron got in. She sat at the desk, starting to make study schedules for her and Ron and Harry since they had N.E.W.T.s coming up. She even made one for Ginny because by the time she finished with theirs Ron and Harry were not back yet. As she finished Ginny's she yawned and before she could get to the bed her head slowly fell into her arms and she fell asleep at the desk.
Sometime later she was half asleep as she was lifted into Ron's arms and brought to the bed. His arms closed around her and she fell asleep in the comfort of Ron's arms.
The next morning Hermione woke up to here pages of a magazine. She looked up to see Ron looking at all the furniture she picked out.
"Looks comfortable." Ron said, giving her a kiss. Hermione smiled and yawned.
"Where were you that you got in so late last night?" She asked.
"Well after we played Quidditch we went to the Gryffindor common room to talk and we drank a couple butterbers and kind of lost track of time." Ron said. "Did you do something to your hair?"
"Ginny did." Hermione said. "Do you like it?"
"Yeah, it looks nice." Ron said. "I noticed you made study schedules for us. Did you leave time for us?"
"Ron," Hermione started. "These are our final exams ever, and they're important do you honestly think – that I wouldn't put time for us on there?" His frown turned into a smile.
"You really had me going there." He said. Hermione laughed.
"Well we have the rest of today and then we're on a strict study schedule." Hermione said. "Right after dinner we're in here studying until we have to patrol, then the time after is for us. But during all of our free classes we have to study to make up for Quidditch practices. Sunday's will be our break but Saturdays that there are no matches or Hogsmede trips we have to study." Hermione said.
"Hermione we already have jobs, why do we need to pass these?" Harry's voice asked from the other bed.
"I have to agree with him on this one Mione." Ron said. Ron and Hermione sat up so they could see Harry.
"Alright first, Harry, since you don't need it much to play Quidditch but what happens when you can't play or you retire, there's going to be another job out there for you and your going to need your N.E.W.T scores to get it. And plus when people look for you have your own chocolate frog card they'll be on there. And Ron people aren't going to want to work for someone who failed his N.E.W.T.s that's going to be important. And as for me, I need to do this to prove to myself that I can pass the N.E.W.T.s after all of these years." Hermione finished and waited to see what Ron and Harry thought. They grudgingly agreed with her knowing that they would be devoting a lot of their time to studying.
"Speaking of people working for you, who are you going to get to work at the bookshop?" Ron asked Hermione.
"Well McGonagall told me that Anthony Goldstein was interested and then there's Ellen Montgomery who stopped me in the hall the other day to find out when it's opening. She seemed pretty interested and I think that starting out with those two would be ok." Hermione said. They discussed N.E.W.T.s and their jobs until Ginny was awake, then they went down to breakfast.
