Hermione and Ginny were holed up in Ginny's childhood bedroom, getting ready for the New Years Eve party they planned.
"Ow!" Hermione flinched, as Ginny brushed through her unruly curls.
"Sorry!" Ginny apologized. "I'm so excited for tonight. You're going to look perfect! I've been practicing my glamour charms and everything!"
Hermione laughed at her friend, "It's just a party Gin! Nothing too crazy… it will be fun though."
"It's more than just a party-" Ginny cut herself off.
"What do you mean 'It's more than just a party'" Hermione asked as Ginny internally cursed herself for almost letting the cat out of the bag.
"I mean it's our first real party, well since the wedding almost a year and a half ago! And our first one since the war." Ginny sighed in relief.
The girls kept chatting as Ginny worked her magic on Hermione's hair. After trying a few different styles, the pair settled on a spell giving Hermione a middle part and loose waves.
"Gin, it looks perfect! Now what should I do about makeup?"
"Well, let's have a look at what you're wearing first." Ginny said. Hermione went up to Ron's room and brought back a bag with a smile.
Unzipping the garment bag, Ginny gasped as she laid eyes on the gorgeous dress - a dark turquoise blue velvet, mid-length cocktail dress with a slit up the thigh. The corset had boning that led up to the bust of the dress and a scoop neckline with thick straps. Hermione flicked her wand and little embroidered stars almost twinkled across the dress, appearing then disappearing.
"It's STUNNING!" Ginny exclaimed. "Where in the world did you find this!"
Hermione blushed, "You should see it on, it's incredible! I had been saving it for graduation parties. I got it before the wedding... But the best part is you can't really see the bump! So our friends won't know... well not yet anyways."
The girls kept giggling as they got ready. Ginny opted for pin straight hair with a maroon dark lipstick and Hermione with her wavy curls, bronzy eye makeup and a nude lip.
As the two got ready, Hermione paused for a moment. "How crazy is it that last year we were in absolute hell… I can't even imagine what it must've been like at Hogwarts."
Ginny looked down, "You have no idea… but at times it almost felt like a game? Like we just had to outsmart the bad guys and maybe we had a chance. Granted what we experienced was so tiny compared to having the entire ministry after you…" she trailed off, both girls looking at each other uncomfortably. "I know we never talked about this, but can I ask what happened at the Malfoy's? I know it's bad and caused all of the, erm, issues…"
Hermione just blinked. Reminding herself of the night she'd fought so hard to erase from her memory.
"Uh. Yeah." she took a breath. "Well we'd been caught by snatchers when we were changing locations… They dragged us to that manor, thinking that we were maybe worth something. They didn't know who we were... I'd cast a spell on Harry's face so he wasn't recognizable… but when we got to the house, everyone there knew who Ron and I were obviously. Once they found out we had the Sword of Gryffendor, everything just went to shit…"
Ginny sat on her bed with her friend, just watching the brave Gryffindor almost crumble telling the story.
"Well Bellatrix thought we stole the sword from her vault at Gringotts. But It appeared to the boys at the bottom of a lake… she decided she needed to get what she thought was the truth out of me. Ron and Harry were locked in some dungeon, and well. Um..." Hermione's eyes filled with tears as she did her best to make it through the story.
"She used magic to paralyze me as she tortured me. Cruceatous curse. over and over again… It was fucking awful. Like every cell of my body was being electrocuted and melting. And there wasn't even a corner of my brain I could escape to... I just screamed and screamed and screamed… It may have nearly killed me, but it absolutely destroyed Harry and Ron."
"And the scar?" Ginny asked softly.
"She took a break in the middle to carve that in… you know she almost handed me off to Greybeck. Thank god they escaped when they did. I don't even want to think about what could have come next." Tears finally escaped Hermione's eyes, as she looked up to see tears streaming down Ginny's cheeks.
"And then we went to Bill and Fleur's," Hermione smiled as she patted her made-up face. "I was a bloody mess… Fleur, that poor woman, had to change my clothes for me, the boys had to feed me... it was like my mind finally escaped somewhere else."
"We stayed there about two weeks? It took a week to finally be able to put words together again… But we all just pushed past it I guess? Didn't talk about it. Not about me, not about Dobby. None of it. I mean we had a bloody world to save!" Hermione accidentally shouted, suddenly aware of her volume. Back to her soft, broken sounding voice she finished, "We never had time to process it… you know I think that's why I'm having trouble with this baby now. The three of us never dealt with it.."
Without knowing what to say, Ginny wrapped her arms around the girl who was basically a sister.
Ginny finally found her footing in the conversation. "It is bloody crazy all of the shit that happened in the past year… I can't even understand how any of us are alive, especially you. But maybe this new year is a new beginning? Like a chance for the universe to make up for some of the bad we all went through."
Hermione smiled at the idea, just hoping 1999 was a chance for everyone to recover.
"Would you mind if we stopped talking about this for now? I just… can't handle any more of that tonight." Hermione asked, clearly doing her best to put everything attached to Malfoy Manor back in the little box in her mind she stored it in.
"Yeah! Um… we should get dressed anyways!" Both girls slid on their dresses, clearly feeling better in their new outfits.
"Can you help me with the zipper?" Hermione asked, struggling to secure her stunning dress.
As Ginny zipped it up, she looked in amazement at Hermione. "You look brilliant!"
"You think he'll like it?" Hermione questioned, looking down at herself self consciously.
"I swear his heart will stop! Put the shoes on and look."
Slipping on the nude open-toe heels, Hermione turned around to look in the mirror. "It's perfect! Oh Ginny, you look incredible…"
The athletic redhead had slipped on a short black dress with tights and black heels, turning around to show Hermione the dangerously low back. "Taking advantage of a night without a school uniform!"
The two girls laughed as they headed out the door, ready to see the finishing touches the boys had been working on at the Leaky Cauldron.
"Quick!" Harry exclaimed, "Show it to me before everyone arrives!"
Ron grinned, clearly more excited than ever before. Pulling the little satin box out of his pocket, he opened it, revealing the gorgeous ring. "Did I tell you who used to own it?"
Harry shook his head, still impressed with Ron's taste.
"Well it was in Bathilda Bagshot's family-"
"Wait isn't that?"
"-The author of Hogwarts: A History? Yes it is!" Ron said, ready to pat himself on the back.
"It's bloody perfect mate… You know how proud of you we all are right?" Harry started, clearly not exactly good with emotions.
"Er, yeah mate. Thanks." The two friends patted each other on the backs, both slightly uncomfortable in their dress robes.
For once, Ron wasn't wearing any hand-me-downs. Instead he wore a well fitting dark black jacket and slacks with a light grey button up, clearly doing his best to impress Hermione. Harry on the other hand, wore his same robes from the wedding the previous year- a dark grey coat and matching slacks with a black button up and a purple tie.
Soon enough it was 10 o'clock and their friends started pouring into the Leaky Cauldron. First it was Neville and Luna who helped plan the party, then Seamus, Lee and Dean followed. Within minutes the room was full of their friends, but Ron's eyes darted around the room looking for the only guest that really mattered to him.
Then the world stopped spinning for a beat, well at least Ron thought so, as his eyes landed on Hermione looking like he hadn't seen her before. Or at least he hadn't seen her in quite a long time.
Four years ago she took his breath away at the Yule Ball and tonight she did it again. But this time looking not like a young girl playing dress-up, but like… a woman. Her hair was neat but still maintained a wildness to its waves. Her eyes sparkled and lips glossy, clearly the work of Ginny. Then the dress… Ron was convinced that dress would be the death of him. The velvet with glistening stars hugged her every curve, showing off more cleavage than he thought he could handle. And when she walked towards him through the small crowd, he saw the slit… That did him in.
"You… look…" Ron could barely get the words out.
"Is it too much? Ugh I knew i-"
"You look fantastic," Ron finally got the words out, pulling his girlfriend in for a quick but passionate kiss.
Hermione blushed profusely, clearly not used to this type of attention.
"Seriously Mione, I swear if this wasn't a room of guys who knew I could pummel them, everyone would be all over you right now." He whispered in her ear.
Gently swatting him, she whispered back, "You stop it right now Ronald Weasley… I was thinking we could finish what we started the other day tonight? But only if you behave!" She finished with a laugh. "You look incredible too, you know."
Ron somehow flushed a darker color pink than Hermione was moments before, "It's the robes…"
Before Ron knew it, he had a firewhisky in his hand and Hermione had a butterbeer, avoiding the group's drink of choice for an obvious reason. While he nervously waited for the next hour and a half to pass before he popped the question, someone walked in the door he never thought he would see again, especially not that night.
"Is that...?" Ron started, looking at the unexpected guest.
"Yeah it's Lavender… She got out of St. Mungo's just a few weeks ago." Harry answered, coming up behind him and taking a big sip of his firewhisky. "Don't worry, Hermione knows she's here. Actually, she's the one who invited her."
Ron was now more confused than ever, suddenly feeling the urge to go hide in the cellar until the night was over. Right before he made his escape, he felt a familiar hand on his back.
"It's okay… I asked her here. It didn't feel right leaving her off the list. She fought with us, after all." Hermione soothed his anxieties just a bit,
Ron just nodded his head, unable to speak. He headed outside to catch his breath and take a moment to himself.
Out in the cold, his thoughts finally started to string together.
He felt almost cruel asking the love of his life who was carrying his child to marry him in front of the girl who once fancied him. His first kiss should have been with Hermione, but instead if was with her… Shaking his head in his hands, he tried to force the thoughts out of his head, until he felt a small hand on his shoulder.
"Hi." Lavender said softly, with her hair down covering most of her scarred face.
"Lavender! Hi!" Ron's voice suddenly felt three octaves higher. "Erm, we're all happy you're alright…"
"Yeah… Me too…" she started feeling the uncomfortable tension between the two. "I really just wanted to say it doesn't need to be weird. Both of us being here. I knew even then that she was your soulmate."
"Can we just... act like none of it happened? I'm happy forgetting it all if you are."
Ron looked at the ground for a moment, unsure of his next move. "She is my soulmate, Hermione… Um yeah I think just clearing the air here. We all need to be there for eachother after everything… It's easier without the awkwardness."
Lavender grinned. "Well good. Um, I'll just head back inside then."
"Wait!" Ron stopped her from walking away, "I'm happy you're okay. Really truly. And I'm sorry… I can't imagine what it was like."
"It's okay Ron… It's okay." Lavender finished, letting herself back into the party, relieved to be back with her friends.
Before heading back into the party, Ron looked around Diagon Alley, just catching his breath.
And we are almost there! So excited for this next chapter! I hope you're enjoying where the story is going and would love more reviews on this fanfic.
Thank you all for reading, Chapter 10 will be up soon!
xo,
J