Chapter Twenty Eight
Hermione was odd during breakfast, pouring herself both a cup of tea and a cup of coffee but she neither ate or drank anything at all. Ginny communicated to Cho by means of a tight shake of the head, signalling her girlfriend not to raise attention to her behaviour, nor to crack a joke. Hermione, pale and clammy, stared at the front page of The Daily Prophet for twenty minutes, whilst Ginny and Cho talked quietly between themselves.
By the time they were on the Hogwarts Express, Hermione was beside herself. She looked like she hadn't slept a wint, plae, red ringed eyes, lips pursed, she was breathing rapidly, as though she was about to hyperventilate and then suddenly she barked, Ginny and Cho jumped visibly.
"Okay, I've got to tell you," it was bursting out of Hermione, she could no longer restrain herself.
"Should I…?" Cho thumbed the door and began extricating her hand from Ginny's possession.
"No, you should hear this, too."
"Okay, " said Ginny, preparing herself.
Hermione took several deep breaths, she ran her hands down the front of her muggle pants, ironing out non existent wrinkles, "Hmm Hmm" she cleared her throat, looked from one to the other of her friends, flushed bright red.
Ginny and Cho flicked each other the most fleeting of looks, and then looked at the floor, hoping to give Hermione the space she seemed to need.
"Ha, it's just occurred to me that I am the only one, of the three of us, not to have kissed Harry Potter," Hermione finally said. Ginny and Cho stared at Hermione, was this notion related to what was on her mind?
"I love him. Harry." Hermione blurted out. And then she burst into tears, her hands covered her face.
"Oh, I knew it!" reacted Ginny, throwing her arms in the air.
"Really?" asked Hermione, between her fingers.
"Of course!" said Ginny, wondering what could be preventing celebration of such a proclamation.
"You're not upset?" Hermione looked very unsure.
"Hermione, why would I be upset? I am thrilled for you."
Hermione's eyes flicked between Ginny and Cho, her tongue darted across her lips, a new wave of nervousness taking hold now,
"I just couldn't be sure, you both… I just…"
"You think I still have feelings for Harry?" Ginny asked, trying to refrain from laughter.
Hermione nodded, and looked at Cho again.
"And me?" asked Cho, incredulously.
Hermione nodded again, feeling as though her happiness was on the brink, balanced precariously between blossoming in the sunshine of possibility and withering in the likelihood of devastation.
"Well, first of all, you're asking me in front of my girlfriend if I still have feelings for someone else, but I will let that slide, because I can see how important this is to you," said Ginny on the verge of expressing her humour,
"The answer is no, Hermione, I have no feelings for anyone at all. Except Cho, of course."
"And you, Cho?"
"Um, what she said," said Cho, pointing at Ginny, "my answer is also no, unequivocally. And you and Harry are perfectly suited," she looked at her girlfriend, "don't you think?"
"Perfectly." Ginny agreed, "But, Hermione, why has it been so difficult for you to tell me?"
"Well, you did have feelings for him for such a long time. And… Well, I told Harry that I had feelings for him at the start of the school year. Ron and Harry had no plans, they didn't know what to do, I was always coming back to school, Ron ended up working with George and Harry decided to go travelling. So, at the last moment, I told him I loved him. I told him to have a great time and if he thought he might have feelings for me that he might meet me off the Hogwarts Express at the end of the school year, and… Well, that's now. In an hour."
"And you don't know if he will be there?" asked Cho.
"No," said Hermione, shortly, wiping away her tears and shaking her head a little.
"But you had to tell us, in case he is there, and we have a huge cat fight on the platform challenging you to a duel for our right to be with Harry?" said Ginny, repressing a grin, "Imagine that?" she asked Cho, who shrugged and shook her head.
"Ginny, please. I just didn't want you to be hurt, either of you," said Hermione.
"Ok, well thank you, I won't be. And he hasn't sent an Owl, a coded message, not a hint?"
"No," she said with another shake of her head.
"Well, what does your gut tell you? Your instinct?" asked Cho.
"I just want so much to see him there that I can't make sense of any other feelings."
"I feel sure he will be, Hermione, and if he isn't, don't give up hope, I promise, you two are meant to be together," said Ginny, feeling that it was true, independently of them all wanting it to be true.
Hermione looked ill, pale, stressed, this was beyond exam-stressed Hermione, Ginny wrapped her arms around her friend, "Thank you for telling us, Hermione. Harry would be very lucky to have you, beyond fortunate, because you are the best person I know."
The compartment door slid open, "Anything off the trolley dears?" asked the elderly Trolley Lady, Ginny looked at Cho and Cho understood her unspoken request. Cho stretched out her right leg across the compartment and snaked a hand into the pocket for some coins,
"Three coffees please, three cauldron cakes, three pumpkin pasties and three packets of Roasted Chimera Potato Crisps, thank you."
The Trolley Lady smiled, with a wave of her wand the order assembled itself onto a cardboard tray and it hovered over to Cho who took it in one hand and offered the lady some coins with the other. When Cho turned back to her companions, Ginny had released Hermione, Hermione was looking a little more like her old self, she was wiping the tears from her face and attempting to collect herself.
Cho offered her a coffee, which she took gratefully, "Thank you," she breathed.
"What we need is a plan," said Ginny, taking a coffee from Cho's hand, "Thanks,"
"A plan?" whispered Hermione.
"If Harry is there, well your question is answered, but if he is not, that does not necessarily answer the question."
"You think so?" asked Hermione, torn between hopeful and hopeless.
"Absolutely," siad Cho, offering the tray around, "He could be running late, caught in an airport anywhere in the world - "
"He could also just be dumb," said Ginny.
"Dumb?"
"Yes, dumb. You saw how long it took for him to ask Cho out, nearly two years. And how long did it take him to realise he liked me? Also there are complications - he won't want to upset Ron and he won't want to risk upsetting the friendship, the valuable friendship between the two of you."
"He isn't speaking to Ronald, either," said Hermione.
"Okay, so less dumb that I gave him credit for," laighed Ginny, "My point is, he can be a bit backward in coming forward, so… you know."
"I can vouch for that," nodded Cho, "It's going to be alright, Hermione, honestly."
They fell into silence as they sipped their hot coffees and munched on their morning tea, Hermione had eaten no breakfast, she took both comfort and nourishment from the food and drink. She also took comfort in the support of her friends, who believed in her, who valued and loved her.
She hoped fervently that Harry would be there, waiting for her, that he would take her in his arms and tell her that he loved her. She turned and looked out of the window, at the English countryside, trying to settle her thoughts, her shoulders squared in light of her thoughts, she would meet conditions as she found them, as she always had, as she always would.
The old words ofThe Sorting Hat came back to her, Gryffindor - where dwell the brave at heart, their daring, nerve, and chivalry. If Harry wasn't there today, she would be brave. She would go home and see her parents, she would rest and prepare for the next stage of her life. No longer a student, no longer a girl, now a young woman preparing for employment at the Ministry for Magic.
Hermione was passionate, absolutely committed to the seeking of ways to improve and secure the rights of underprivileged non-humans such as house-elves and other creatures as well as the eradication of oppressive, pro-pureblood laws. Hermione would be following her calling whether Harry was at a Platform Nine ¾ or not, it just would be nice if he was. Nice? It would be the difference of moving through life nursing a broken heart and skipping through life in the sunshine!
Ginny had given Hermione ten minutes to collect herself, then she tucked her legs underneath her body, "Are you parents meeting you at Kings Cross" she asked Hermione.
"Yes, they will be there. They also miss me whilst I am away, but it's sort of worse just now, because they anticipate my moving out with my new job."
"And will you?"
"I don't think so. I should be able to move from home to the Ministry fairly easily. I have put them through so much, having wiped their memories and sent them to Australia, then chasing them down and bringing them home. I want to stay home with them as much as they want me to stay, I hope to be able to give them a year of the best I can give them, my company, dinners out, the theatre all the things they love. I owe them that much. You are staying at home as well, Cho?"
"Yes, for much the same reason, actually. I just want to show them that all their hard work, all the worry was worth it. That I am a good person, that I have turned out alright and that they don't need to worry. Frosty has told me how a lot of Quidditch players go a bit wild with the earning of so much money, I've asked my parents to help me organise my finances so that I just live on a small budget and the rest gets put away. I have no need for fancy cars, I don't want that for my own mental health but also to reassure my parents."
"And as for me, I don't know how I will survive another year at Hogwarts without either of you!" said Ginny, looking from one to the other, "So I expect plenty of juicy Owls, and you," she poked Cho, "had better try to come and see me on Hogsmeade Weekends."
"I will, of course I will, if I can."
"And you can buy me lunch, money bags!"
They all laughed and settled back to enjoy the final hour of their journey.