AN: I OWN NOTHING. Harry Potter is not mine. Never has been, never will be. Just putting that out there.
So...long time no see, eh? I can't begin to apologize enough for being gone so long, guys, really. Life has just been so fucked up and crazy lately, and my writing had to take a backseat for a while. I am truly sorry.
I didn't forget this story, though, or any of my others. I've been writing little by little for a few months now, trying to get back into things while I got life settled back down.
In the meantime, I have read every review I've gotten, and I promise I appreciate every single one of them.
I hope you enjoy this. I'm still working on getting back into the swing of things, so I'm sorry in advance for any mistakes.
It's good to be back!
"So, that's it, then?" Ginny asked, looking back and forth from Hermione to Ron, frown on her face. "It's over before it even began? And...nicely? No arguing, no hexing, no name calling?"
"Nope," Ron answered, shaking his head as he dove into his pancakes slathered in butter and syrup.
"After all we've been through, Gin, a failed potential romance is nothing to lose it over," Hermione shrugged, pouring herself a glass of milk. "Our friendship's more important to us than that. Always will be."
"But...I was hoping you'd be my sister," Ginny pouted, genuinely feeling sad at the thought that Hermione wouldn't be an official Weasley someday.
"I already am, Ginny," Hermione smiled. "Family isn't just blood or name, you know. It's heart, too. You're my sister, just as much as Harry's my brother."
"'Sides, Gin,' Ron said through a mouthful of sausage, 'you've got a sister. Fleur?"
Ginny didn't say anything, just huffed and rolled her eyes before diving into her own breakfast.
"Oh, Hermione, dear, you're here. Good," Mrs. Weasley said, walking up to the three teens. "Here's your nutrition potion," she said, handing Hermione a vial containing a slightly glittery purple potion.
"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley," Hermione smiled, swallowing it in one go. Unlike most potions, this one had a pleasant flavor, leaving a taste of tangerine lingering on her tongue.
"No trouble, dear," Mrs. Weasley said, vanishing the vial. "Now, you three finish your breakfasts, and I'll see you at lunch," she said, patting Ginny lightly on the head, making her giggle slightly.
"Bye, mum," Ron said, finishing off his sausages, the rest of his breakfast having been demolished in just minutes. "Alright, girls, I'm off."
"Oh?" Hermione asked, raising her eyebrows at him. "And where are you off to?" she asked curiously. It wasn't like Ron to only have one serving of a meal, least of all breakfast. He always proclaimed the early morning meal as his favorite because not as many people tended to eat breakfast, meaning more food for him.
Ron's ears turned a bright pink, and he got a shy look on his face. "I uh...I promised Lav I'd stop by after breakfast," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"When did you talk to her?" Ginny asked.
"I stopped by the infirmary this morning before I came here," he answered, his ears and face turning a brighter shade of pink.
Hermione smiled at her friend, chuckling a bit at his embarrassment. "Tell her I said hello," she said.
Ron just nodded, smiling as he walked out of the Great Hall with a little pep in his step.
"How about this?" Ginny asked, holding up an old Puddlemere shirt that, in Hermione's opinion, had definitely seen better days.
"I dunno, but let me try it," Hermione said, reaching for it despite her inner objections to it.
"It should fit. Especially now that you've lost weight," the younger girl replied, turning back to her wardrobe. "Can I ask something, though?"
"Sure," Hermione answered, pulling her shirt over her head.
"How did you lose so much weight? I mean, you're thinner than Finley Perkins when she was going through her problem," Ginny said.
"Stress, for one," Hermione said, trying to readjust the borrowed shirt, but having no luck. "Expecting death at every turn will put you off your dinner, I tell you. Plus, what little food we did have, I would give to the boys. They needed it more than I did." She finally gave up on the shirt, and pulled it off. "We might have to shrink this a bit, Ginny. It's a little too big for me, I think."
Ginny turned to face the older girl, intending to tell her that she was completely wrong thinking that the boys were more important, but stopped at the sight before her. Hermione was standing by Ginny's bed, wearing just a bra, with her bruises and other abrasions on display.
"Sweet Merlin, Hermione!" Ginny gasped, walking over to her friend. "What...why haven't you seen Pomfrey?"
Hermione sighed, dropping her hands to her sides. "I have. I saw her last night," she explained. "It looks worse than it is, trust me. I just need some bruise paste and some dittany and I'll be right as rain again," she said, giving Ginny a little smile over her shoulder.
"There's some dittany in the loo. Come on," Ginny said, grabbing Hermione's hand and dragging her to the bathroom. "We have plenty in one of the cupboards in here, and I'll help you," she said, guiding Hermione to one of the benches. "Sit down while I get it."
"Thanks, Gin," Hermione smiled. She had missed this bossy, pushy witch so much while they were away. If she focused hard enough, Hermione could swear she was looking at Mrs. Weasley in her Hogwarts years. She didn't dare tell Ginny this, though, but it made her smile. "If you would, could you get the ones on my back? I know I have a cut back there near my shoulder, and it's hurting a little bit."
"Sure," the redhead answered, straddling the bench behind the brunette. "I'm curious, though. How did you get all these, yet the boys look fine?" she asked, dabbing a cloth covered in the potion on Hermione's back. She was right about that cut. It was long, and looked fairly deep, running from just below Hermione's left shoulder to just about the middle of her back.
Hermione chuckled a little before letting out a hiss at the stinging of the dittany. "Trust me, the boys probably look just as bad. You just haven't seen it."
"I hate to say this, but I hope to Merlin you're right," Ginny said. "What was it like out there?" she asked in a quiet voice after a moment.
"It was...cold, cramped, dangerous, terrifying. I could go on, but..." she said, trailing off. "The feeling that we could die at any moment never went away. We didn't laugh like we used to. If anything, we argued more than we spoke. There wasn't much food, except for the occasional rabbit, or fish we caught. We mostly lived on wild mushrooms, and even those were hard to come by."
"Sounds horrible," Ginny commented, dabbing more dittany on the cloth. "But, at least you didn't run into any Snatchers. I heard about them from daddy. They sound like a group worse than the Carrows."
"Right," Hermione whispered, deciding against telling Ginny the truth. It would all come out eventually, but she didn't want that to be right now. Right now, she just needed to just be with Ginny. She just needed to be a normal girl for a little while.
Hermione spent a few hours with Ginny before taking pity on the girl and sending her off to find Harry while she went to see where she could be of use. Ginny was in a mood to be smothering someone with love, and if anyone could appreciate that right about now, it was Harry.
Entering the infirmary, Hermione smiled seeing Ron sitting by Lavender's bedside, holding her hand and talking quietly to her, making her laugh at whatever story he was telling. Hermione was relieved to feel absolutely no jealousy toward the two, only happiness that her best friend was happy. Watching them for a moment longer, Lavender caught her eye over Ron's shoulder, nodding to her. Hermione gave her a wink before turning and entering Madam Pomfrey's office.
"Good morning, Poppy," Hermione said quietly, stepping up to the desk.
"Hello, dear," Poppy smiled. "You're looking a bit better. Like you've had a restful night, at least."
"I did," Hermione nodded. "After dinner, which you'll be glad to know I had at least a Ron sized serving of, I think I was in bed by nine. I slept better and longer than I think I ever have."
"Good, good," Poppy chuckled. "I am glad to hear that. Now, what can I do for you, dear?" she asked.
"I just came to see if you needed any help around here," Hermione said.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Hermione, but everything here is pretty well under control," Poppy said, shrugging.
"Oh."
"You may want to check with Minerva, and see if she needs you for anything," Poppy suggested. "I know she's been planning on asking for volunteers to get the castle cleaned up."
Hermione nodded, agreeing with the elder witch. "I think I'll do that. Thanks, Poppy," she smiled, heading out of the infirmary in search of the new Headmistress.
Finding the Headmistress, however, was a whole other problem unto itself. It seemed like everywhere Hermione checked, she had 'just missed her'. First, the Great Hall, followed by the library, then even in the corridors, Hermione was always coming up a few minutes shy of catching her.
"Hermione, come check it out!" Harry exclaimed, out of breath as he skidded to a halt in front of her in the Entrance Hall.
"What?" she asked, frowning.
"There's something happening in the Black Lake!" Ginny yelled, rushing past them.
"Like what? Mermaid uprising?" Hermione chuckled.
"No! Why would...wait. Could that happen?" Harry asked, frowning.
Hermione shrugged. "Probably. It's Hogwarts. Who knows?"
"Well...I mean...that's just...oh! Just come on!" Harry exclaimed, grabbing her arm and dragging her with him and the ever-growing crowd to the edge of the lake.
Hermione pushed her way through the silent crowd already gathered with Harry and Ginny, watching the lake in fascination. It was almost like a vortex had been created, sending the murky waters into an ever-spinning swirl.
"It's been swirling like that for about fifteen minutes," Neville whispered as she stepped up beside him. "No one seems to know why."
"Creepy," she whispered, not taking her eyes off the water.
Not more than five minutes later, the vortex seemed to speed up. Still mostly silent, the crowd broke out in hushed whispers, collectively taking a few steps away from the shore. Hermione got more creeped out as the water sped up still, bringing with it a heavy wind that blew in every direction at once.
"What the hell is that?" she yelled, trying to be heard over the wind. In the center of the vortex, a dark shape was beginning to form.
"I don't know, but don't get closer!" Neville yelled, pulling her back.
Suddenly, a very familiar ship burst forth from the vortex, stopping both the swirling, and the wind as it came to rest on the surface, bobbing slightly.
"Oh, my god..." she whispered, eyes taking in the sight.
"Hermione? Isn't that..." Harry asked, a slight smile forming on his face.
"Yeah. It is," she nodded, biting her bottom lip in an attempt to keep a smile off her own face.
"What? Who is it?" Ginny asked, clueless.
Before Hermione could answer, however, the large plank came down, landing with a very loud crash on the shore. A few moments later, several people were seen emerging from below deck, one of them in particular catching her eye.
"Viktor," she said, letting the full blown smile take over.
Please review.
I feel like the ending got a bit more dramatic than I wanted, but...it works, right? What better way for Viktor and the others to make their entry to Hogwarts? I don't know why, but I pictured that one scene in Pirates of the Caribbean (I think it was 3) when the two ships were swirling around each other when I wrote this, so...I might re-edit it later if too many of you don't think it's alright. Let me know.
XOXO - Onyx
PS - I'm finally on Twitter. (I know - I'm a little late, but I'm there). Onyx Colton if you wanna follow me.