The Healing

Why was letter writing so hard? There was so much she wanted to say but she wasn't sure what would be appropriate. Crookshanks seemed to approve, anyway, when she told him she was writing a letter to Severus. The cat padded over to her writing desk and draped himself over half the desk, barely leaving her room for the letter. He purred like a small engine, his tail lazily flicking against her wrist.

Dear Severus

I hope this letter finds you well. I just returned from the beach in Cornwall where Bill and Fleur live. Bill's scars are almost completely healed! He sends his thanks and I also got his notes in case you want to write another article.

I'm better, I think. I'll head to St Mungo's tomorrow to talk to Healer Trout although I am nervous about it.

What are your plans for the summer?

Thinking of you,

Hermione

~o~o~o~o~o~

"I'm so sorry, Healer Trout. I've been awful these past months."

She had beelined for his office the next morning. He had taken one look at her and quickly cleared his desk by sweeping most of the paperwork down on the floor, put on the kettle and closed the door.

"It's Desmond, as you well know. Don't worry about it. I know that life sometimes gets in the way." He poured a cup of tea for her, prepared the way she wanted it, milk no sugar.

Still, she wanted to tell him. Taking a deep breath to brace herself she managed to continue. "I … I found out that I was pregnant, rather unexpectedly. My relationship crumbled and then I miscarried, quite late."

He reached for her over the desk and grasped her hand. "I'm sorry to hear that, Hermione." His eyes were full of sympathy. "You know, miscarriages are very common in our world and there has been little research done on why. My wife lost three, one before we had our eldest and two after that. It was hard for both of us."

"Thank you, Desmond," she managed. "I can't shake the thought that I could have done something to stop it from happening, you know? If I'd eaten better or… or something like that."

He shook his head. "No, don't ever go there. I did plenty of research on it back when we went through it. It seems that in addition to the usual causes which also happen to Muggles, us magical folks also have the issue of the baby's magic sometimes not developing properly. You do trust my research, don't you? I don't want you obsessing about this."

She nodded, hesitantly. But it was true. If he had looked into it, she could trust his conclusions.

His foot started to tap an uneven rhythm against his desk as his brain kicked into gear. "I should get some funding for that research, set up an Apprentice to look at it further. Or are you interested after your thesis? What do you think? Looking into squib births, stillbirths and miscarriages would be very beneficial to the magical community as a whole."

She shook her head. "It's way too soon for me, I'm afraid."

"Yes… Yes of course, dear."

They finished their tea. Hermione told him about Shell Cottage and Bill's scar healing, which he found very interesting.

"Now, let us make a new plan for your thesis defence. You only need one more article in print and then you can finish the thesis, right?"

Hermione nodded. She hadn't even started to write up results from the Longbottom trial but she could probably get that done quickly with Healer Strout's notes.

From nowhere he produced a Muggle monthly calendar, a dog-eared and well used one with pictures of cute dogs, fluffy bunnies and kittens with large bows on their heads sitting in baskets. He quickly flipped towards the end of the year where lots of meetings were already noted.

"Hmm… well I think you may be able to graduate in December. There's no better time slot available unless you want to go up in four weeks, and that's way too soon. I shall contact the Arithmancers, the Potioneers, the Charms Masters and the Healers and you will start writing. How far are you on the article?"

Rather unexpectedly, a certain amount of enthusiasm was rising as she felt her brain starting to work again. "I have notes from all the preparatory work but need to interview Healer Strout and check her notes. I think I could have it written up within two weeks."

He smiled at her. "Excellent, dear. Will you be able to get on with that, then? I'll check up on you next week?"

"Thank you, Desmond. I will."

Dear Hermione

Thank you for Mr Weasley's notes. One of these days I'll get that written up together with the most recent modifications.

The summer has been surprisingly busy with the final reviews of the last few books for Years 5, 6 and 7. I also have several other projects in a critical stage.

Good to hear you are returning to St Mungo's.

Be well,

Severus

~o~o~o~o~o~

She still had the most difficult ones left. Harry and Ginny, especially. And she needed to have a talk with Ron. Last time she saw him was at the Burrow, so they were a bit overdue for a chat anyway. Somehow she felt both jittery and heavy with dread, what if she lost them all over this? When the next Saturday rolled around she'd argued herself into a nervous frizzy ball of worry already right after breakfast, so she took a deep breath, threw some Floo powder into the hearth and called out the address.

Ginny answered. "Hello? Hermione?"

"Ginny? I need to talk to you and Harry but I'm not sure…"

"Come on through, it's just us here now."

Well, that was good at least. No house guests who would interfere. She stepped through the Floo before she could talk herself out of it, and landed with a hard thump in Ginny's drawing room. She'd made a lot of changes to the house since moving in, making it much more airy and inviting than previously. Kreacher had apparently grumbled at first but once Harry had given him permission to save whatever he wanted for the attic which was his to decorate, he had mellowed.

"Tea?" Ginny asked. She was still in lounge wear, with her hair in a messy bun and wearing one of Harry's t-shirts.

Hermione took a deep breath. Her heart was pounding. "Not yet, I really need to talk to you and Harry and am not sure if you'll want me to stay afterwards."

Ginny gave her an odd look but went to call for Harry who soon entered, clad in a t-shirt and jeans, his hair wet from a shower.

He went over to hug her. "Hi, Hermione, what's up?"

Her heart ached, would she lose him too now? He was her oldest friend, her almost-brother.

The couple went to sit down on the couch opposite the stuffy armchair Hermione sat in, perched stiffly on the edge. She felt jittery with nerves but at the same time she just wanted to get on with it, no matter what the outcome might be.

She took a deep breath. "I recently had a miscarriage… and it wasn't Ron's."

"What?!" Harry burst out. "Are you serious?"

"Oh no, I'm so sorry," Ginny said and put a hand on Harry's arm to keep him calm.

Hermione trudged on. "A girl… she'd have been due in the beginning of January. The father was also no longer in the picture."

Harry was silent, glaring at her.

She looked down on the floor. "I met this guy and we just… sparked. Somehow, with him, everything was right and easy. But he didn't want a real relationship and I was so afraid to lose all of you so I just kept putting off telling Ron that it was over."

"Hermione, you know, sometimes you're quite stupid for someone that smart. Of course we wouldn't abandon you, and then you would have avoided this whole mess." Ginny sighed and banged her forehead against Harry's shoulder.

"You… you were actually sleeping with someone else? I can't believe it!" Harry burst out. "How could you do that to us?"

"I'm sorry," Hermione tried again. "I also never planned to get pregnant, and when I told this guy about Ron proposing he left before I could say I turned Ron down."

Ginny glared pointedly at her boyfriend at that. "I told you it wasn't a good idea, Harry."

"Yeah but you didn't expect Hermione to go off and shag someone else, did you?" Harry snapped back.

Ginny sighed but at least she sat up straight again. "So when you discovered you were pregnant you were alone?"

Hermione nodded and tried to blink away the tears. It hurt. Thoughts of the baby that wouldn't come to pass mingled with flashbacks to that horrible day, and the overwhelming ache for Severus and the utter loneliness she'd found herself in.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry," Ginny said again. "That's horrible, especially in our world. And then miscarrying all alone?"

"Luna helped me a bit. She knew… somehow she knew everything even before I did." Hermione attempted a smile but it didn't quite work.

"Luna?" Harry said, having calmed down a little. "I didn't know you were that close."

Hermione nodded. "You know she knows Lucy, we've had lunch together quite regularly. When I went to talk to her once I discovered I was pregnant, Kingsley was there."

"What do you mean, Kingsley was there? Was he there on business?" Harry asked, frowning.

Ginny caught on faster. "You mean…" She waggled her eyebrows wildly.

Hermione nodded again, smirking. "Yes, exactly that. It was around ten in the morning on a Saturday."

"No way!"

"What?" Harry asked again, looking completely confused.

"Let's just say, the man's got great calves."

Ginny broke down in giggles before another thought struck her. "So Luna's shagging the Minister of Magic and hasn't said a word? I need to have a serious talk with her!"

"You didn't see them at the Ball," Hermione commented. "It was electric. Sorry, magic."

"What? She is what?" Harry asked again. "Don't tell me Luna and Kingsley are a couple now? That doesn't make sense!"

"Right, I won't tell you," Hermione said.

Ginny was still laughing, but Harry soon brought the conversation back to topic.

"When did it start?" he asked quietly. "This whole… you seeing someone else?"

Hermione closed her eyes. "At the conference in Prague."

"A year?" Harry burst out and rose from the couch. He started pacing back and forth in the room. "You cheated on Ron for a year and couldn't just, you know, tell him it was over?"

"I know," she whispered. There was nothing else to say.

He raked a hand through his messy black hair. "What the… Hermione, I thought I knew you! How could you do such a thing! Why didn't you tell us?"

"I'm sorry, Harry."

Ginny put her hand on Harry's arm which caused him to visibly deflate. "I thought you were good, that we'd always be together, like a family," he admitted. "You and Ron, like Ginny and I. That's why I told Ron he should propose when he asked me for advice."

Ginny shook her head. "No, Harry. She's still our sis, even if we're mad at her right now. Besides it's none of your business, alright? It's not you who got stuck in the middle. Hermione you'll always be family, no matter what. Just don't do something this stupid ever again, OK?"

Hermione nodded. "I won't. Promise. And Harry, promise me to never interfere in my relationships like that again. OK?"

Harry smiled somewhat sheepishly. "Yeah. Alright."

Ginny appeared to be thinking about something. "You know, Hermione. I was one of those who didn't think you and Ron were right together. You deserve someone who shares your weird interests and he needs someone who… who likes Quidditch. You already know where you went wrong. I hope you learn from it. Now I think we should have that tea."

Ginny rose to put on the kettle, and Harry went to check what else they had at home. Hermione tagged along and they moved into the dining room instead, and settled down with tea and some breakfast for Harry and Ginny.

Harry looked at her again. "Who was it?"

Hermione shook her head. "That I won't say, not now."

Harry grumbled something but accepted her answer, probably realising that there was no point trying to get her to say something she didn't want to divulge.

"What about the pregnancy?" Ginny asked again. "What were you planning to do about it?"

She closed her eyes, trying to stave off the tears. "I was terrified when I noticed, I don't know a single thing about babies. I just… I couldn't abort it so there wasn't much to do other than trying to face it alone. I would have told you maybe a few weeks later but then the miscarriage happened instead."

"I'm sorry," Ginny said again. "It must have been awful, going through that alone."

"It was… it was bad," Hermione admitted.

They fell silent for a while, sipping their tea and eating crumpets Kreacher had made earlier.

"You haven't talked to Ron yet, have you?" Ginny asked.

Hermione shook her head.

"Right. You do that and I'll forgive you for everything, OK? Did you hear of my latest Quidditch game?"

Gradually the tension lifted and the three of them slipped back into other discussions, about the Ministry, the Quibbler and Ginny's Quidditch career.

~o~o~o~o~o~

With the end in sight she dove back into her work. Healer Strout had kept detailed notes from the Longbottom trials, and was glad to go over them with Hermione one afternoon. Frank Longbottom had fallen into a deep depression when he realised he had lost twenty years of his life, that his wife was also affected and that his child was all grown up, but Healer Strout thought he would be able to pull through with intensive therapy and antidepressant potions. He was still plagued by nightmares but the frequency seemed to have lessened somewhat. Alice Longbottom, however, had not yet recovered properly. They hadn't been able to lift the stasis without her screaming as if she was still being tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange, and so instead they had Obliviated her memories of the torture. That had at least caused her to stop screaming, but instead she was unable to recognise her husband, mother-in-law and son, mistaking Frank for his father and Neville for Frank as in her mind her husband should have been in his twenties.

Hermione had interviewed all of the Longbottoms for her article. Neville was still grateful to her for the attempt, saying that he now had a father and nearly his mother back, and Augusta Longbottom had clasped Hermione's hands tight in hers, thanking her for bringing her son back. Still, seeing the Longbottoms together left a bitter taste in her mouth. Was this what medical research was like? Messing with people's lives, heedless of the consequences? She wasn't sure she could stomach it, in that case. Healer Strout was happy with the progress and said she thought Alice could improve with time and treatment, and that Frank would get better, but Hermione couldn't quite share the older Healer's optimism. Was this all her research was good for, making people depressed and confused? Perhaps it was lucky that she hadn't tried it on her parents?

Still, the article was written and sent off to the journal, and she got a response from the editors within a few days of sending it off, saying that the article would be in print as soon as possible.

Severus —

I managed to get the article published, I mentioned your essential contributions. I've enclosed a copy and my notes from the Longbottom trial. Did you know them, you know, before? It was hard to see them this way, I hope I haven't made things worse.

Healer Trout insists I should graduate in December. There's no time!

I was watching Time Team again the other day and it felt so odd not to have you there to argue theories with. I sincerely hope we can meet again to discuss the latest harebrained articles in Potions Monthly or Hippocratic Corpus. Crookshanks doesn't come up with as many good arguments.

All the best

Hermione

Muninn flew in later that same evening. Hermione handed him a peach, still boggling at the fruit-eating owl but the bird seemed happy enough with his unconventional diet.

Hermione —

Don't sell yourself short. You have done excellent work here. If Miriam thinks they will improve with time you should listen to her, she has extensive experience in the field. December is reasonable.

Yes, I did know them although not well. They were a few years ahead of me at Hogwarts, after all, but I used to run into Alice in the library and Frank was unusually kind to a solitary sullen Slytherin boy several years his junior.

Did you read the article in the latest Potions Monthly on Hinkypunk Lamp Essence? How in the world did someone come up with the thought that it would cure gout, without even once taking bioluminescence into consideration? I doubt the test subject had asked to be turned into a human lamp, bright enough to read the paper by at night. Nevermind, I have seen the answers to those questions in too many years' worth of Potions essays.

I would not be averse to discussing Time Team theories with you again some day.

Until later —

SS

~o~o~o~o~o~

Grief sometimes struck when she least expected. It was as if she was grieving not just the loss of a baby, but also the loss of her whole life. In a way, maybe that was true. Still, somehow she felt refreshed, as if coming clean to one person gave her the energy needed for the next one. Nonetheless, she dreaded the one who was left but sent an owl asking to meet up after work in a private booth at the Three Broomsticks the following Thursday. September was already upon them but the summer heat still lingered.

Ron was only fifteen minutes late. Hermione had already ordered a Butterbeer for herself, and he brought a Dragon Scale beer from the bar. He looked well, in new business robes and had let his hair grow out longer. He noticed her after receiving his beer and walked over to her booth, looking slightly sheepish but also somehow proud of himself.

"Hi, Ron," she managed.

He settled opposite her in the booth. "Hi. Umm, how are you?"

She took a deep breath. "Look, I need to tell you something. I… I wasn't honest with you that last year."

Ron held up a hand to stop her. "Look, Hermione, I think it's better for both of us that you don't say it. I don't wanna know, alright? Besides, I'm happy with Lavender now and I don't really want to tell you when I started seeing her. Both of us made mistakes, alright? I let myself be led by Mum and Harry into thinking I should marry you and we'd be one happy family and all but it wasn't true, was it?"

Hermione bit her lip and frowned. "Oh… Oh. Yes. You're seeing Lavender?"

Ron still looked guilty about it. "Yeah… we're doing good. Are you seeing someone now?"

At least that one had an easy answer. Somewhat easy, at least. "No. No, I'm not. And Lavender… yes, that makes sense, actually."

Ron grimaced. "It's part of why I left the Aurors. Might as well tell you, I don't want to lose you as a friend by going behind your back, again. She's… We're expecting. She's pregnant, she's due in March. She put her foot down on moving to Ottery St Catchpole so we're probably moving to Hogsmeade so I can run the WWW branch there."

Hermione stared sightlessly ahead as her field of vision shrank to a tunnel. Memories of spring and summer assaulted her. Severus, Ron, the whole mess, coming to grips with the pregnancy, almost bleeding out in her own bathroom.

"Congratulations, Ron," she managed faintly. "Honestly, I'm happy for you two. I just… maybe we need a bit of distance for a little while?"

Ron frowned. "Alright? You sure you're okay, 'Mione?"

She even managed a wobbly smile. "Yeah… Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks." She took a deep sip of her drink, trying to hide behind the foamy pint in order to gather her thoughts. "So, how's work?"

Ron grinned. "It's much better than being an Auror, that's for sure. I've helped with the store layout and some supplier contracts and stuff. I like it, no one's bossing me around like the Aurors did. It'll be fun to be store manager, then I can be the one to tell others what to do."

"Great… That's great, Ron."

She managed to stay until they'd both finished their drinks. He asked if she wanted to follow her to another pub or to the twins' apartment but she merely shook her head and excused herself as quickly as possible.

When she made it to her flat she realised he hadn't asked a single thing about her research, or anything else. She sank down on her couch, hugging a pillow for comfort. Crooks came padding over to her as if to check up on her, and Iris hooted from her perch.

"Thanks, Crooks. I'm alright… I am."

~o~o~o~o~o~

Dear Severus

I came clean to Harry, Ginny and Ron but haven't said it was you. Still, it feels better to have it out there.

Ron and Lavender are moving to Hogsmeade and are expecting a baby in March. Apparently they've been seeing each other for a while, he didn't exactly say. Odd that we were both in the same boat without just realising we should end it. But that was hard. Why should he get to have all that when I lost everything?

I'm sorry, I shouldn't offload it all on you. The books are all published? I saw several of them in Flourish and Blotts.

Thinking of you

Hermione

~o~o~o~o~o~

Hermione —

Other peoples' choices are not yours to control. I'm relieved to be out of Hogwarts, then. Having to teach such a spawn would be headache-inducing.

Please refrain from mentioning any further details concerning the youngest Mr Weasley to me.

Yes, the books are already in use at Hogwarts, for years 1-5 now, the NEWT levels were not approved in time but will be used from next year. So far, Professor Bulstrode seems to be able to manage the little rascals without too many accidents.

December is not far off. Get the thesis out of the way, then we can see what happens.

— Severus

~o~o~o~o~o~

Most of the time work kept her busy. She dove into writing her thesis, burying herself in stacks of notes and reference material. Sometimes grief and longing struck, when she least expected. She missed Severus so much it hurt, both for his sharpness of mind when it came to research, and for his presence, in her home, in her bed.

One lonely night she brought out the box she had received from the Twins for Christmas. With some trepidation she opened the box and took out the vibrating egg. The Daydream Charm was in a small, square box with pictures around the sides. As she lifted it, the pictures blurred and became rather suggestive examples with a dark-haired pirate kissing a brunette, another scene depicted a young woman being taken from behind by a tall and dark figure who wasn't really in focus, and yet another side showed a couple in bed, the girl riding her wizard with great enthusiasm. She relocated to her bedroom and hesitantly lifted the vibrator. It started humming, somewhat ominously, when she held it. She shoved it down her panties, the small instruction leaflet had said it was hands-off after all.

"Oh!" The vibrations intensified and it was as if it changed shape. A lump started protruding from it, filling her, making her groan.

She turned to the box and opened it which caused green smoke to billow out, surrounding her. Before long the smoke solidified into the shape of a man, with black hair, piercing black eyes and a hooked nose.

"Severus…" she whispered before the spectre kissed her, almost as if it was him. He coaxed her backwards until the back of her knees hit the bed. Somehow her clothes had disappeared and when she closed her eyes it was as if he was there for real, kissing her breasts, inserting a long finger into her. It was just… slightly wrong, somehow. The charm didn't have any solidity after all so the feeling of his weight on her was missing. The spectre moved up her body and settled over her. It felt almost real when it entered her and started moving, almost like he would have, but still wrong.

She cried when she came.

~o~o~o~o~o~

She had missed Marit's thesis presentation when she was busy wallowing in misery despite receiving an invitation back in May, but as soon as she'd managed to kick her brain into gear again she sent Iris off with apologies and a brief explanation. After some planning they were able to meet up for a weekend in London in the beginning of October, and Lise-Mari joined them as well. Hermione invited Luna and Lucy as well, and together they toured both Muggle and Magical London before ending up in a bar where they stayed until way too early in the morning. It was nice to see them again, to feel that she had some friends that weren't Weasleys, even if she didn't meet them very often.

~o~o~o~o~o~

Luna and Lucy were a solid support system. Luna was happy with Kingsley. They were still keeping things quiet and hadn't been seen in public yet but as far as Hermione could tell they seemed to be pretty serious about their relationship. Lucy was getting busier with her own research but still had time for an occasional lunch or just a quick chat when things got overwhelming.

"Hermione, I'm saying this as a friend, remember?" Lucy began when they were seated at the Leaky Cauldron for a lunch with Luna. "It's just that I still can't wrap my head around how you could juggle two people like that, two relationships? The excuse that the other guy didn't want a relationship doesn't quite hold, because it was?"

Hermione frowned but Luna nodded. "It's easy sometimes to start treating people as things when you forget the fact that they have their own plans."

Somehow that statement made something click for her. Was that what she had done?

"Gods," she whispered, half to herself. She looked up at Lucy. "I guess I was too wrapped up in the fact that he said he didn't want a relationship to even realise it. I… I love him? How could I ever do that to him?"

Luna nodded again and speared a broccoli stalk. "Of course you do."

~o~o~o~o~o~

Dear Severus

I've been talking to Luna and Lucy quite a bit and come to realise exactly how awful I was to treat you like that. I basically treated you like a belonging, something to take out when I wanted to request an orgasm and put away in a box when it didn't suit. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. You deserve way better. I'm not sure how to make it up to you but I wish there was a way to redo all this.

Hermione

Muninn flew in the next morning. She had a fruit bowl always stocked with fresh fruit, and he accepted a plum and a kiwi while she read the note he had brought.

Hermione —

Sometimes we do things we know are wrong and struggle to justify them to ourselves. I had my own boundaries in place and should have communicated better when everything started to get out of hand.

Forgive yourself, that is what is most important here.

I will be unavailable for some time, probably two to three weeks, due to business-related travel. Don't send Iris, the trip would be too much for her. I will contact you once I'm back.

— S.

~o~o~o~o~o~

She still hadn't talked to the twins but an opportunity arose the next weekend when she happened to visit Diagon Alley again and decided to swing by their store.

Fred saw her first. "Oho! I spy with my little eye…"

George turned towards her and smiled. "Someone who has been gone for way too long!"

They pounced on her in their traditional twin greeting and steered her to the back of the store, working in tandem to open doors, put a kettle on, clear the table of prototypes and parchment, before settling down expectantly opposite her with identical grins on their faces. The kettle flew over to the table where Fred had Summoned three mugs and poured tea for them.

"Hi?" she began.

Fred was the first to speak, his words at odds with his grin. "Hermione, we want to apologise profusely for last spring."

"We heard Ickle Ronniekins had plans to propose…" George continued.

"And we didn't do anything to stop him or Mum who had basically planned the whole wedding already."

George again. "And then we've been horribly bad…"

"Horri-bad?" Fred asked his twin.

George nodded, solemnly, and dabbed at his eyes theatrically with a handkerchief.

"At keeping in touch with you," Fred concluded.

"We're so sorry," they chorused.

She had to smile at them. "Thanks, guys."

George cleared his throat. "How are you, Hermione?"

She bit her lip, suddenly uncertain. "I'm alright, now. I might as well tell you."

She told them much of what she'd told the others, her seeing someone, the pregnancy, the miscarriage. The heartbreak, the healing and tiny hope she had that perhaps one day things would be alright again.

Fred smirked at her. "Snape should have caught you properly when he had the chance. He was a fool to let you go to our little brother."

George looked surprised at first but soon nodded at his twin, sporting an identical expression. "Indeed."

Hermione blushed. "I didn't say…"

"You didn't have to," Fred said with an exaggerated leer and much eyebrow waggling. "You and the Bat of the Dungeons? Yes, yes indeed."

George hit his twin on the shoulder. "Don't worry, we won't blab. I guess you haven't told the others who it is?"

She shook her head. "Luna knows… and Millicent, actually. I haven't told Harry, or Ginny, or Ron, so please don't ruin everything for me."

Fred nodded, suddenly serious again. "We won't talk, Hermione. We like you, you know that? Even if you shag dungeon bats."

"Better you than us," George concluded.

~o~o~o~o~o~

As she left the shop, someone she hadn't expected to meet showed up. Lavender Brown walked in, clad in elegant light blue robes and with her hair in a crisp bun. Hermione hadn't seen her since the Battle of Hogwarts and was surprised to see the red welts on her cheek and down her chin, reminders of Greyback's horrific attack during the Battle of Hogwarts. For some reason, seeing that made her even more annoyed at Ronald who had demanded she hide her own scars while he apparently accepted Lavender's.

The blonde witch started when she saw Hermione and blushed fiercely as she stammered out a greeting. Apparently she was on the way to see the twins, discussing future business plans for the beauty product line she sold via them.

"Congratulations," Hermione offered, gesturing at her stomach.

"Hermione, I'm sorry —" Lavender started to say.

Hermione shook her head. "No, look, the only thing I'm annoyed with the two of you over is why Ron didn't just call it quits with me, although I wasn't much better myself. I'm glad you're happy with him, okay? You seem like a much better match for him than I was."

Lavender smiled, more genuine than before. "Thank you. It's been a bit hard sometimes, you know, with Molly Weasley? But I think he's starting to think for himself a bit more and I'm helping him cut the apron strings. I won't accept sharing him with her."

"Good, she can be a handful," Hermione admitted. Another thought struck her. "Look, I see you still carry some reminders of the war. I hope you don't mind me commenting but I had the same issue until I could try a scar healing salve created by Professor Snape. You can probably find it at the apothecaries, the brand is Septimius Solutions. I know J. Pippins carry the brand, haven't looked for the salve but it should be available there. Bill Weasley was also helped by it, he was badly injured by Greyback, you know?"

Lavender's eyes widened but she seemed to listen. "Thanks for the tip, I've seen that brand but didn't know it was Snape's. He knows his stuff even if he was a nasty teacher, I'll check it out."

Hermione managed a tight smile. "I have to go, good luck with it all."