A/N - Thank you so much for all the reviews last chapter! You all are amazing. Thanks also for all the new favorites and follows. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 17
Cracks
29 May 1998
They Flooed into the flat above the shop. Ron grabbed Hermione's hand as soon as she came through and pulled her towards the stairs to the shop, obviously wanting to spend as little time in the flat as possible. Hermione glanced behind her and saw Percy come through, his eyes never looking anywhere but in front of him as he followed behind Ron. As she turned back, she wondered if everyone else had reacted the same way to being in the flat that Fred and George had shared.
When they reached the shop, Ron let out a breath and Hermione squeezed his hand. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her towards him. Hermione let herself relax in his embrace. She hadn't told him about her most recent nightmares, nor had they discussed the one she'd had after the full moon again. But as things had been more comfortable between them, Hermione had decided not to rock the boat. They hadn't even argued in over a week. Hermione shoved away the voice in the back of her head that said that wasn't the healthiest of ways to handle a relationship. The nightmares wouldn't last forever and then it wouldn't be an issue at all.
"Everything looks wonderful, dear," Molly said to George as she looked around the shop. George looked a bit surprised before he smiled.
"Thanks, Mum." She hugged him and kissed his cheek. George looked around the room. "Looks like everyone's here." Besides the Weasleys and Harry and Hermione, most of George's friends from Hogwarts were at the shop as well. Everyone had pitched in with inventory and making products in the last weeks, which was why George was opening a week sooner than he'd expected.
"I just want to say thanks to all of you for helping out these past few weeks," George said. "I never would have been able to do it without you." He paused and took a breath and let it out.
"Fred and I, this place was our dream and," George swallowed thickly. "He likely would have found a way to come back and beat me about the head if I let it die." There was a smattering of light laughter and Hermione saw plenty of people swiping at their eyes or blinking rapidly to keep the tears at bay. "So, I guess the only thing left to do is open this place up again."
George moved toward the front door, his parents flanking him on either side. Arthur put a reassuring hand on his shoulder as George waved his wand to raise the blinds on the windows and open the door to the shop. He stepped outside as flashbulbs went off and reporters shouted questions. George ignored all of them and instead turned toward a group of children that stood waiting for the shop to open.
"Is your shop finally open?" a boy of about eight asked. "Because we've been waiting for ages."
"You've been out here for twenty minutes," George said with a smirk.
"Like I said, ages," the boy replied. George laughed.
"All right, mate, that is a pretty long time." He ruffled the boy's hair. "Go on in, find something you like." The children all rushed past him, even as their parents admonished them to be polite and gave George apologetic looks as they followed their sons and daughters inside.
"Mr. Weasley, don't you think it's a bit too soon to be reopening your shop after your brother's death?" a reporter called out. Molly opened her mouth to say something, but George put a hand on her arm and turned slowly towards the reporter.
"I think my brother would agree that we've all had more than our fair share of horror and heartbreak," George said quietly, but his voice seemed to carry over the crowd of reporters all the same. "He probably would have asked what took me so long." Many of the reporters chuckled.
"I'd love to have the lot of you as customers in my shop," George continued. "But I won't be answering any more questions. Neither will my family and friends and no cameras are allowed inside. If you think you can abide by that, by all means, come on in. Otherwise, meet my security team." Charlie and Bill came to stand on either side of the doorway, their arms crossed over their chests. Hermione covered her mouth to stifle a laugh at the menacing looks they tried to give the press.
Some of the reporters stowed their cameras and their quills and came inside, enjoying the shop as much as the regular customers were. Others scowled at Charlie and Bill and moved away from the door a bit and shouted questions at people as they left the shop. After about an hour, they started to leave, obviously realizing that no one that they really wanted to interview was going to come outside anytime soon.
Hermione, along with the rest of the family, helped customers and restocked shelves. When she went into the back room to get more Skiving Snackboxes, she realized it was a good thing George had had so much help making inventory in the last two weeks. They were selling things much faster than she had thought they would.
George seemed comfortable and completely in his element, but Hermione didn't fail the notice the wistful looks he wore throughout the day. And at one point, he had disappeared up into the flat. When he came back, his eyes looked redder than they had before, but he had a smile on his face and proceeded to show a few kids how some of the Muggle magic tricks worked.
"We need more WonderWitch stuff," Ron said later that afternoon.
"I thought Ginny was going to get that," Hermione replied with a frown.
"I thought so too, but she must have gotten distracted by a customer or something."
"I'll go get them," Hermione said and made her way to the stockroom. Pushing the curtain aside, she took a few steps into the room before she stopped with a gasp. Ginny had indeed gotten distracted, but it wasn't by a customer. Harry had her up against the wall, snogging her as if his life depended on it. Hermione cleared her throat.
"Don't mind me," she said as the two of them jumped apart, Harry going beet red. Hermione bit her lip to keep from laughing as she walked towards the shelves that held the WonderWitch line.
"Hermione, erm, this isn't, this isn't what it looks like," Harry said rubbing the back of his neck nervously. Ginny snorted.
"You mean you weren't snogging Ginny to within an inch of her life?" Hermione said innocently. Harry got redder if that were even possible. Hermione could see that Ginny was trying not to laugh.
"Okay, fine, it's what it looks like," Harry muttered. Hermione began to laugh and Ginny joined in moment later. They were still laughing a few minutes later when they were interrupted by Ron.
"Hermione, did you get the-" he stopped short at the scene in front of him. Harry, still red in the face, was glaring at the two witches who were doubled-over with laughter.
"What are you two doing back here?" he asked, indicating Harry and Ginny.
"I came back for more WonderWitch products," Ginny said, finally getting her laughter under control. "Harry on the other hand, had more nefarious ideas in mind."
"Ginny," Harry hissed.
"Poor Ginny, wanting to do nothing more than help her brother with his joke shop. Instead she gets accosted by Harry in the dark, deserted stockroom," Hermione said dramatically. Harry glared at Hermione as Ron glanced between the three of them, Hermione and Ginny still giggling every few seconds.
"Your girlfriend's a real smartarse," Harry said to Ron. Ron shrugged.
"Maybe you shouldn't defile my sister in the stockroom, then." Hermione and Ginny burst into laughter again. Harry gaped at Ron, who grinned.
"You're all mental," Harry muttered, shaking his head as he left the stockroom.
"Does this mean things are official again, then?" Hermione asked Ginny once Harry had gone.
"Yes," Ginny replied with a smile.
"Merlin, finally," Ron said. "I was about ready to give Harry a swift kick in the arse."
"Well, I'm glad he finally figured things out," Hermione said.
"Did you know the daft prat thought I would rather be 'free' my last year at Hogwarts?" Ginny asked in exasperation. Hermione hid a smile.
"I did have an inkling, yes," Hermione said. Ginny shook her head.
"Idiot," Ginny said, but with fondness in her tone. The two of them began pulling WonderWitch products from the shelf and handing them to Ron to carry out into the shop.
"Maybe I should give Harry the 'talk' again," Ron said as Hermione set another carton on the stack he already held. "Messing with my sister in the stockroom." Ginny spun around, her wand in hand.
"Go ahead," she warned. "I'm sure Hermione would still snog you if you had bat bogeys coming out your nose." Ron scowled.
"You're a right menace, you know," Ron said. Ginny smiled sweetly as she sheathed her wand back in her sleeve.
"Yes, I do, thank you." Ron rolled his eyes as he left to carry the boxes into the shop.
"Remus?" Andromeda said, her voice still tentative. Despite their shared celebration over Teddy's smile the day before, things still weren't back to normal between them. They had both been trying, but Remus suspected that it would still take a bit of time.
"Yes," he replied, looking at her expectantly.
"I need to go to the apothecary to get a few things for the Wolfsbane," she said. "I will be leaving in about ten minutes."
"All right," Remus said. She gave him a small smile and turned to the leave the room when Teddy began to cry.
"Did you want me to get him?" Andromeda asked.
"No, that's all right," Remus replied setting his book on the table next to him. He glanced out the window across the room. "In fact, it's rather a nice day today. Perhaps Teddy and I will go with you. Get a bit of fresh air."
"Oh," she said in surprise.
"Unless you'd rather go alone?"
"No, no, it is not that," Andromeda assured him. "It's just, after what happened at the trial with the reporters, I did not know if you were ready to be out in public just yet."
"Unfortunately, I cannot avoid the press forever," he said. "And there is a book I'm looking for. I'd like to check Flourish and Blotts."
"All right, then," Andromeda said with a smile. "I will get a bottle ready for Teddy if you want to pack his bag."
"Of course," Remus said, then climbed the stairs to his son's room.
Twenty minutes later, they were finally ready to Floo to the Leaky Cauldron. Remus pulled the pram he had Transfigured from one of the garden chairs from his pocket and enlarged it as Andromeda stepped out with Teddy.
"Perhaps we should look for a pram today as well," she said as she settled Teddy into it. The baby was awake and waved his arms as his hair shifted colors every few minutes. Remus smiled down at his son as Andromeda pushed the pram through the opening to Diagon Alley. He was rewarded with a return smile. Remus didn't think he'd ever tire of seeing it.
They made their way down the Alley, Andromeda stopping at the apothecary to get the necessary ingredients she needed for Remus' potion. Remus stayed outside with Teddy and the pram. There was a fair few people in the Alley this morning, but few of them paid Remus any mind, save to smile at Teddy as they walked past.
They strolled to Flourish and Blotts once Andromeda had made her purchases. Remus lifted Teddy from the pram and shrunk it again before they went inside. Andromeda took her grandson while Remus went to the counter to inquire about the book he was looking for.
"Yes, I believe we do have it," the clerk behind the counter said. "And if we don't, I can order it for you. Let's take a look." Remus followed the man through the rows of books, stopping when they reached the Defense section. The clerk scanned the stacks for a few seconds.
"Yes, here we are," he said, pulling the book Remus had been looking for from the shelf.
"Wonderful, I'll take it," Remus said and followed him back to the counter to pay.
"Teaching again then, Mr. Lupin?" the clerk asked. Remus had purchased quite a few Defense books before his year as Defense professor.
"Just tutoring, actually," Remus replied. "Hogwarts is offering O.W.L.S. and N.E.W.T.S. at the end of June."
"Ah yes, I had read about that," the clerk said. "Well, good luck to you."
"Thank you," Remus said taking his book with a smile. He wandered into the children's section to find Andromeda with Teddy on her lap, reading to him from a book of Wizarding fairy tales. Teddy looked to be staring at the book rather intently and Remus chuckled.
"It seems your son has inherited your love of books," Andromeda said, closing the book. "I think perhaps we should pick up a few things for him." Remus shrunk his book and tucked it in his pocket before taking his son from his grandmother's lap. "It is never too early to start bedtime stories."
Andromeda turned to the shelves and began to pull books from them. Teddy already had a small collection at home, books that had been Dora's as a child, but it looked as if Andromeda was intent on giving him an entire library.
"Are you sure we need all these right now?" Remus asked, concerned a bit with the cost. Besides, some of the books she was collecting were clearly meant for older children.
"Are grandmothers not supposed to spoil their grandchildren?" she asked.
"Well, I suppose, but I don't think Teddy necessarily needs chaptered books just yet," Remus said dryly. Andromeda looked down at the books in her arms and gave him a sheepish smile.
"I suppose you are right about that," she said, reshelving about the half the books she held. "These can wait until he is at least two." Remus chuckled and shook his head, following Andromeda to the counter so she could purchase Teddy's new books.
They stepped back out into the Alley, Remus electing to carry Teddy for a bit instead of enlarging the pram again. Teddy's attention seemed to be taken by all the sights and sounds around him and Remus smiled down at his son. After a stop in the nearby children's store, new pram and a few more toys in tow, Andromeda turned to Remus.
"Are you ready to go home?" she asked.
"I'd like to walk a bit, if you don't mind," Remus said. Andromeda nodded with a smile and they window shopped as they made their way down Diagon Alley.
"Isn't that Molly's boys' shop?" Andromeda asked a few minutes later.
"Yes," Remus said. "Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Harry said they would be opening again soon, but I hadn't realized it was today."
"Shall we stop in?" Andromeda questioned.
"I think we should." Remus had only been in the twins' shop once, but it had truly been a sight to behold. James and Sirius would have likely had fits of rapture, had they ever seen it. A bit of melancholy stole over Remus at the thought of his friends.
They stepped into the shop and Remus was a bit surprised to see the entirety of the Weasley family, as well as many of his former Hogwarts students.
"Oh my," Andromeda breathed looking around in awe.
"Impressive, isn't it?" Remus asked.
"Quite."
"Remus," a voice called out and Remus looked up to see Harry walking towards him. The younger man smiled widely at Teddy. "What are you doing here?"
"Andromeda and I were doing a bit of shopping and saw that George had reopened," Remus said. "We decided to stop in and say hello."
"Well, I think that means I need to give Teddy the grand tour," Harry said. "Do you mind?"
"Not at all," Remus replied, handing his son off to his godfather. Harry had become much more comfortable with the baby since the first time he'd held him at Hogwarts. He smiled as Harry walked towards Ginny, pointing things out to Teddy as he went.
"Andromeda, how lovely to see you," Molly said as she stepped up to the pair.
"You, as well," Andromeda returned.
"And Remus, I'm so glad you stopped by."
"How is George doing?" Remus asked. Molly glanced back at her son, who was explaining how the Extendable Ears worked to a customer.
"He seems to be holding up all right," she said. "There have been a few moments here and there, but that's to be expected."
"What about you?" Andromeda asked quietly. Molly gave her a small smile.
"I am enjoying seeing my son in his element," she said. "And I wish I had done the same with Fred." Andromeda put her hand on Molly's arm and gave it a slight squeeze. Molly smiled gratefully and patted Andromeda's hand with her own.
"And you, how are you doing?" Molly asked.
"I am surviving," Andromeda said. Molly nodded knowingly. "Teddy and Remus help immensely." Deciding that this was a conversation that the two women needed to have alone, Remus excused himself quietly and began to stroll through the shop.
"Remus," a voice behind him said. "I didn't know you would be here today." Remus turned to Hermione's wide smile.
"Andromeda and I decided to stop in after we finished our other shopping," Remus explained. "How have things been going here?"
"Very well," Hermione said. "It was quite busy this morning."
"I'm surprised the press hasn't camped out on George's doorstep," he said. Hermione laughed.
"Oh, they were here in force this morning, but George refused to answer any questions and told them they weren't welcome in the shop unless they were here as customers. Then he set Bill and Charlie as security guards." Remus chuckled. The two eldest Weasley brothers could definitely be intimidating when they wanted to. The scars they both bore likely helped.
"Did it work?" he asked.
"Mostly," Hermione said. "One reporter managed to sneak his camera out of his pocket and snapped a picture of Harry before Charlie escorted him out. Harry told Charlie not to worry about it, but I think Charlie might have 'accidentally' broken his camera." Remus smiled again.
"Where's Teddy?" Hermione asked.
"Harry took him the moment we walked in," Remus explained. "Said he wanted to give him the grand tour." Hermione shook her head fondly.
"How have you been doing?" Remus asked, his voice turning more serious. They hadn't spoken much since her nightmare at Grimmauld Place.
"I'm fine, why do you ask?"
"No more nightmares?"
"Oh, well, not so many," she said, dropping her eyes to the floor.
"Not so many?" Remus asked. "What does that mean?"
"Nothing," Hermione said quickly. Remus gave her a disbelieving look. Hermione glanced around the shop, seeming to be searching for someone before she sighed and looked back at Remus. "I haven't been having them every night anymore."
"Every night?" Remus repeated incredulously. "You've been having nightmares every night?"
"Only at the beginning," she said quickly. "It's only been every few nights these last couple of weeks."
"Hermione," Remus chastised gently. "Have you spoken to someone about this?"
"I'm talking to you," she said with a shrug.
"I meant a professional," he said.
"What is a Healer going to tell me, Remus?" she questioned. "They'll just give me Dreamless Sleep which will work while I'm taking it, but once I stop, the dreams will come back. And you can't take that forever."
"Still," Remus began, but she interrupted him with a shake of her head.
"They'll go away eventually," she said. "It hasn't been that long." She looked up at him. "I think most of us are having dreams, at least some of the time." Remus remained silent. He couldn't argue that point.
"Hey, Remus," Ron said as he walked up to the two of them. It was only then that Remus realized they were standing quite close together. He took a step backwards as Ron slung his arm around Hermione's waist.
"Ron," Remus greeted. Before any of them could say anything else, a loud cry came from across the shop. Remus looked up to see Harry trying to comfort a crying Teddy, who was likely hungry. "I suppose that's my cue. It was good to see the two of you." He turned and made his way toward Harry, pulling Teddy's bottle from his pocket and warming it as he went.
"What was that all about?" Ron asked once Remus had left.
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked in confusion.
"The two of you looked pretty intense there for a few minutes," Ron said.
"Oh." Ron continued to look at her expectantly. "We were just talking about how things are going."
"What things?"
"Just, you know, how Teddy's doing, how everyone is coping." Hermione shrugged her shoulders.
"It looked a bit more serious than that," Ron said.
"Well, Remus isn't exactly having an easy time of it, is he?" Ron studied her face for a few moments.
"I suppose not," he finally said. Hermione wasn't sure if Ron believed her or not. She turned back to the shelves they were standing in front of. With all the children that had been in the shop today, they had sold quite a few trick wands.
"I'm going to go get some more of these," Hermione said indicating the display with the wands. Ron simply nodded, although he was looking at her quite intently. She stood on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek and smiled. She was aware of his eyes on her back as she made her way to the stockroom.
30 May 1998
"Are you sure you can't stay for just a bit longer, Charlie?" Molly asked.
"Mum, you know I can't," he said. "We've got two nests about to hatch. Everyone has gotten called back." Molly sighed and nodded. Charlie wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. "I'll be back in a couple of weeks for a visit. I promise."
"Well, you can at least have supper before you go," Molly said turning to move into the kitchen. Charlie opened his mouth to protest, but a shake of Arthur's head caused the younger man's mouth to snap shut.
"Sure, Mum," he said instead, taking his seat at the table.
"Is George going to be here for supper?" Ron asked.
"No, he said he and Lee were working on a few things and they'd just grab a bite in Diagon Alley," Molly called from the kitchen.
"Is Lee going to keep working with him, then?" Harry asked.
"Just for now," Ron replied. "Angelina and Alicia said they'd help out too."
"So did I," Ginny said. Harry looked at her in surprise. "What, I've got to have something to keep myself occupied while you lot are out training. The work at Hogwarts should be done in a couple of weeks."
"What about Hermione?" Ron said.
"What about me?" Hermione returned.
"You and Gin are both going to be here all summer. Won't you be bored too?" Hermione bit her lip to keep from smiling. She had never been bored during the summer. Ginny snorted.
"Hermione with access to the library at Grimmauld Place?" Ginny said. "I don't think she's going to be bored, Ron." Ron wrinkled his nose.
"Why do you want to hang out in that creepy, old house anyway?" he asked.
"For said creepy, old library, I suppose," Hermione said wryly.
"Honestly, Ron, are you that thick?" Ginny demanded.
"Shut it," he snapped.
"All right, that's enough," Arthur said, turning from his conversation with Charlie and Percy. "Why don't you two set the table?" Ginny stuck her tongue out at Ron as they both got up from the table and moved to the cabinet that held the dishes.
"You can bring the books here you know," Harry said as Ron directed the plates to the table. "If you'd rather not stay there to read."
"Thanks, Harry," Hermione said. "But it's quieter at Grimmauld Place. I don't mind that it's a bit creepy."
"Please don't tell me you're going to waste your entire summer shut away in that dingy place, reading," Ron said as he sat back down.
"Of course not," Hermione shot back. "I've got plenty of other things to do."
"Like what?" Ron asked as Molly began to direct the platters and bowls of food to the table.
"Like finding my parents for one," Hermione said in a huff. Everyone around the table fell silent. Hermione's cheeks colored. She hadn't meant to blurt it out like that. She wasn't even sure if all the Weasleys knew about her parents. A glance at Molly's concerned face told her that Molly and Arthur knew, at the very least.
"What happened to your parents, Hermione?" Percy asked missing the look his mother shot him.
"They, erm, I, well," Hermione trailed off, unable to explain.
"That's enough of that, now," Molly said, her tone letting her son know he shouldn't ask any more questions.
"No, Molly, it's all right," Hermione said recovering herself. She took a deep breath and looked at Percy. "I modified their memories last summer and made them forget about me. They moved to Australia." Percy's mouth had dropped open. "I don't know where in Australia, but I want to start searching for them to see if I can reverse the spell." Percy had, thankfully, closed his mouth, but still looked shocked. Charlie did as well.
"Whatever we can do to help you, Hermione, don't hesitate to ask," Arthur said kindly.
"Thank you," Hermione managed. She blinked quickly to keep from bursting into tears. Ron took her hand under the table and gave it a squeeze. She smiled at him gratefully.
"Of course, we'll help in any way we can," Molly agreed. "And you know that you always have a home with us."
"Thank you, Molly," Hermione smiled tremulously.
"Now, everyone tuck in before it gets cold," Molly said. Hermione managed to eat a few bites of her dinner, then excused herself.
"Are you all right, dear?" Molly asked in concern.
"Fine, I'm just a bit tired," Hermione said as she left the table and made her way up to the room she shared with Ginny. She collapsed onto her camp bed and hugged her pillow to her chest.
It was only a few minutes before there was a light knock on the door.
"Come in, "Hermione called, wiping the tears from her cheeks.
"Hey," Ron said as he came into the room closing the door quietly behind him.
"You didn't have to leave your supper to come up here," Hermione said. Ron shrugged.
"Mum can reheat it for me if I'm hungry later." Hermione snorted. There was no doubt Ron would be hungry later. He smiled in response. "You okay?"
"Yeah," she said, sitting up cross-legged and putting the pillow on her lap. Ron sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Why didn't you tell me you were planning on looking for your parents?" She shrugged.
"I figured you would assume," she said. "I never intended for them to stay there forever."
"So, you can reverse the spell then?" he asked.
"Hopefully," Hermione replied. "I have to find them first, though." Ron nodded.
"I could help, if you want," he said. Hermione shook her head.
"You're going to be too busy," she said. "You start Auror training Monday."
"Yeah," he agreed.
"Besides," she told him. "Your parents said they would help and I'm sure I can recruit Ginny if I need to. And Remus told me he'd help, too."
"Remus?" Ron questioned. Hermione nodded. "When did you talk to Remus about this?"
"One of the days we were working together at Hogwarts." Ron frowned. "What's the matter?"
"Nothing," Ron said, a bit petulantly in Hermione's opinion.
"It doesn't seem like nothing." Ron sighed and raked a hand through his hair. He studied Hermione for a moment before casting a Muffliato around them.
"You're doing it again," Ron said.
"Doing what?" Hermione asked in confusion.
"I had no clue you wanted to find your parents, Hermione, but apparently, Remus knew all about it!" Ron said in exasperation.
"It's not like I set out to tell him," Hermione huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.
"How did he find out then?" Ron demanded.
"He asked about them and I, I got upset."
"You were crying, you mean."
"Yes," Hermione said, in confusion.
"And Remus comforted you, I bet," Ron said, jaw set.
"Of course, Ron." Ron nodded, his face reddening. "I don't understand why you're upset about this."
"You don't?" Ron asked incredulously.
"No," Hermione snapped. "I was upset and Remus is my friend, so he comforted me. What did you expect him to do?"
"That's not the point, Hermione."
"Then what is?"
"The fact that, yet again, you were upset about something and someone else consoled you!" Ron nearly shouted, throwing up his hands in frustration.
"Ron, this is so ridiculous," Hermione said. "What was I supposed to do, leave and run to find you?"
"Of course not!"
"Then, I don't understand why you're so angry!"
"Because you didn't tell me about it later!" Ron shouted. "You never do. You're upset about your parents and Remus comforts you. You have a nightmare and Harry comforts you or Remus does."
"I told you about that!" Hermione insisted.
"Yeah, you did, but I didn't miss the looks between you and Harry at breakfast that day. He told you to tell me, didn't he?"
"Yes, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't have anyway."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Yes!" Hermione exclaimed. Ron looked at her skeptically.
"How many nightmares have you had since the one on the full moon?" he asked. Hermione opened her mouth to reply, then closed it again. Ron shook his head. "How many, Hermione?"
"Not many," she mumbled.
"How many?" Ron demanded. Hermione sighed.
"I don't know for sure. Every three or four days, I guess." Ron laughed mirthlessly.
"Funny, you didn't mention any of those."
"Ron, it's just, they weren't that bad."
"Why does that matter?"
"Because I don't want to dwell on it, all right?" she said. She sighed. "I just want to forget about them." Ron shook his head. He didn't look angry, just sad or maybe a little disappointed.
"They're getting better," Hermione insisted. "If I talk about them all the time, they'll probably get worse, like they did after the trials." Ron said nothing. He was staring over her head, across the room, but Hermione didn't think he was actually seeing anything.
"I'm sorry," she continued. "I know that you want me to tell you about the nightmares, but I honestly just don't want to."
"It's not just about the nightmares, Hermione," Ron said.
"I'm sorry I didn't talk to you about my parents," she said. "I meant to; it just never came up."
"You could have brought it up."
"I know." They were silent for a few minutes. "Ron, I-" but Ron held up a hand to stop her.
"I can't talk about this anymore," he said. He cancelled the Muffliato.
"All right," Hermione said in a small voice.
"I'm going to say good-bye to Charlie." Ron turned abruptly and left the bedroom. Hermione stared after him before she sank down on the edge of her bed. She lay down on her side and pulled her pillow towards her, hugging it to her chest. She pretended to be asleep when Ginny came in to check on her a few minutes later. At the soft click of the door after Ginny left, Hermione buried her face in her pillow and cried.