Hermione successfully snuck back into her house. Her parents were snuggled in front of the television and with a flick of her wand, she muffled her footsteps, the front door and her bedroom door.
She couldn't bear it, questions about how her date , said teasingly of course, was with Viktor. Both her parents were fond of him, and it had nothing to do with his title as a world class Seeker or blood status. Once she had stripped off her clothes and piled it into a corner, afraid to look at it, she ran a bath and cast a charm to keep it so hot, it pinkened her skin.
The scent of lavender wasn't enough to calm her and she sobbed until her eyes hurt as much as her skin seared. Eventually, the spell wore off, and the water cooled to a warm hug, like tea forgotten on the table top as she studied hard for her exams.
Her tear ducts were finally dry and she stared at the ceiling.
"Ok, Hermione. Sort the feelings out." She told herself. First, contraception. She had to finnick with the spell before it sounded right. She hadn't had use for the spell, so it never occurred to her to memorise it properly. When she was confident, she pointed her wand, slippery in her wet palm, at her pelvis. She muttered the spell, flinched at the sensation of an internal wipe feeling, and then breathed a sigh of relief.
And with that, she inhaled through her nose and then out through her mouth. She had studied the theory of Occlumency from a book in the library and thought it resembled compartmentalizing. She had gotten good at it after the war.
Viktor Krum was put in a box and she visualized locking it shut. Out through her mouth. The insane pleasure she craved that had lain dormant, unnoticed until tonight and the fact that she wanted it again, she put in a bigger box, with a smaller, flimsier lock, her resolve not as strong. In through her nose.
Viktor Krum was getting married. To someone she knew. Out through her mouth, small box, big lock. He lied about it, the lock clicked open before she shut it again. In through her nose.
She would hear about who it was in the Prophet soon enough. She bit her lip and moved on.
Hermione took her embarrassment and mortification and locked it away into drawers of boxes that held her unnecessary emotions. She wasn't at fault. The only thing she could have done differently was take things slower, but Viktor said nothing. And ultimately, if he had, she would never have slept with him. Out through her mouth.
Finally, Draco Malfoy. His eyes, the way they pierced through her, saw all the emotion, her embarrassment, her horror. Her tears. Her breath caught and she started her breathing again.
She locked Draco Malfoy and his judgement, plus her pride, into a big box, with a big lock, and pushed it far back into what she called her junk drawer of thoughts. Things that shouldn't have happened, but she can't change.
When the water had lost every trace of warmth, she climbed out of the bath and sunk into bed, mentally exhausted.
Tapping on her window woke her the next morning. It was the Weasleys owl. Ginny had invited her to go to Diagon Alley with her. She wanted to do some shopping and needed Hermione's eyes. Hermione knew that that meant Zabini wasn't going to be present as the shopping was intended for him. She agreed, partly for Ginny, mostly because the library might have updated their collection anyway.
Plus, she needed to verify that she got her spell right, and that it was 100% foolproof.
She apparated to the fields around the Burrow at noon. The sun was high in the sky, casting no shadows and Hermione trekked to the lopsided house that always filled Hermione with warmth and good memories. She tried not to think about dancing with Viktor in the tall tents that were here for Bill and Fleur's wedding.
Ginny rushed out to greet her before she could walk up to the front door. Hermione suspected maybe because Ron was home but she didn't ask.
"Wow, Granger, you look fucked." Ginny said. Hermione blushed. That's not what she means, Hermione said to herself.
"I don't know what you mean." she said.
"Did you pull an all-nighter? We don't have school! What is going on?" Ginny said with a tease. "Use the magic we've been gifted with and make yourself feel less bed head." Ginny said, gesturing at her.
It was true, Hermione took less effort this morning in pulling her hair back into a tameable mass but she imagined there were bags under her eyes and they were very possibly puffy. She stood still as Ginny flicked her wand at her and tidied her up.
"Thankfully you have the best girlfriend ever. Thanks for coming with me!" Ginny said.
"Is there a reason I need to look nice to be out?" Hermione asked as Ginny linked her elbow with hers and they walked to the spot where Hermione had arrived. Her red hair looked especially copper in the warm sunlight and it whipped in slow motion around her face, Hermione couldn't help but feel jealousy twinge.
Ginny wore a white t-shirt with a sunset printed in a square on the front, and blue jeans. Her trainers were white and she looked like a model in a muggle magazine, the "dress easy but look elegant" kind.
Hermione glanced down at her own t-shirt that rode up in the wrong places, and groaned because she didn't choose her favourite jeans. The ones she wore last night but left in a heap on the floor and forgot to wash.
She had the sense to wear her comfortable sneakers though, knowing Ginny, they were about to walk a whole lot.
They apparated off the top of a hill and to Diagon Alley's apparition point. They appeared in the center of a circular stone courtyard, bordered with benches so people could wait for their friends and family. It reminded Hermione curiously, of an airport.
Ginny pulled her along slightly to the tall archway that led into Diagon Alley. They walked past the cauldron shops and apothecaries, past Flourish and Blott's and Florean's. Hermione had to swallow the urge to disappear into them all just to touch the things she couldn't buy.
She was strong armed instead to Madam Malkin's, which Hermione had suspected was the intention. Ginny kept her eyes forward as Hermione tried to catch her eye to ask her silently if she was reverting to Wizarding robes.
"Oh, stop it, Granger. She doesn't just do robes anymore." Ginny said without looking at her. Hermione exercised her patience and waited. Lining the walls and hanging from shelves were indeed some muggle clothes, but she didn't have time to study them as they walked by.
Apparently, Madam Malkin wasn't in today, she did house calls now for the rich. And there was a ball happening, so the rumour went, and everyone who was invited now had her added to their schedule to be measured and clothed. Hermione thought it must cost them extra, and longed for enough money to have people come to her on a whim.
"Blaise is paying for this, in case you were wondering." Ginny said. A young witch had come forward and was now guiding them into a side room.
"I wasn't." Hermione said. She had assumed as much. A gift for Zabini, paid for by Zabini. The witch instructed Ginny to strip and Ginny pulled off her t-shirt, kicked off her trainers and slid out of her jeans with ease. She showed no trace of embarrassment being so exposed to a stranger.
Ginny was attractive, athletic even. Hermione admired her flat stomach and the muscles of her thighs and calves. She made a mental note to do something about herself because she was beginning to feel like a tub of butter sat between her muscles and skin. She was soft everywhere.
The witch fitted her, tape rolling and unrolling from her wand as a quill took note of her measurements.
When they were done and Ginny was once again clothed, the witch looked over the measurements then looked at Ginny as though asking a question telepathically.
"The Vie's Ball is an all white affair?" she asked, finally. Hermione blanched. It was confirmed then, there was a ball, and she hadn't gotten an invitation yet. She felt simultaneous relief and then her pride stung.
Ginny nodded. "The invitations aren't even out yet, how many people have hired you guys to get robes and dresses done?"
Hermione felt relief wash over her and stupidity take its place.
"That is confidential information." the witch said in a bored tone. Hermione noted that though she was in a fashion house, so to speak, the witch herself wore the plainest of robes, as though afraid to steal attention away from the displayed dresses and robes. Hermione also realised there were more Muggle dresses in their fitting room, but clearly imbued with magic as they sparkled or floated or glistened like someone was emerging from a crystal lake.
"Well, so was the Ball, but you know about it." Ginny said snarkily. The witch pursed her lips. "The other thing, make it emerald green, why don't you. Put an emerald right here." Ginny said and she pressed her fingertip to her sternum just between her breasts. Hermione knew Ginny didn't say the words, but she also knew it had to be lingerie.
Zabini was buying her a dress for the ball and lingerie. Lingerie was meant to be seen and then peeled away. Ginny was going to sleep with him. Hermione groaned internally and mentally filed away on her to-do list, 'ways to break news to best friend that the love of his life might be lost forever, and I'm here for you'.
They left Madam Milkin's and Ginny's determined silence finally broke Hermione's own resolve and she tugged on her arm.
"Hey." she said. Ginny paused and someone bumped into them, so they shuffled to the side and people streamed past them. Ginny's brown eyes looked around, feigning innocent curiosity. "You asked me to come with you, didn't ask my opinion on anything, and then you're pretending like now I don't know you're planning on sleeping with him."
Ginny smiled. "I've slept with him already, Hermione. You're so innocent."
The words stung. She wished she were innocent.
"So, this was your way of breaking the news to me?" Hermione asked.
"And to please, please don't tell Harry." Ginny said. Her eyes opened wide with the plea. She didn't want to hurt Harry.
"You have to tell him something soon Gin. Is he coming to the Ball?" Hermione asked.
"I don't know if Blaise is inviting him, though he should." Ginny said, she bit on her lip as her nerves finally took hold of her. "I want to tell him, but I'm afraid if I do I'd-."
"Lose him forever." Hermione finished. "You're being incredibly selfish, you know."
Ginny flinched at the words. Hermione knew Ginny wasn't selfish often, and she knew how Ginny and Harry felt about each other. She knew Harry was selfish when it came to Ginny too, and truly, it wasn't her place to meddle. But she had to say it, if it would lead to less pain for Harry. He was her best friend.
"I know I am." Ginny admitted. "But I'm not ready to let him go."
Hermione sighed.
"Do you want to go to the library, before we grab some food?" Ginny said after Hermione fell into contemplative silence.
Hermione smiled at her, linked her elbow through hers and they walked to the top of Diagon Alley to the place that was now Diagon Alley Library. It was small on the outside, but the establishment had gotten approval for expansion charms and inside was walls of books, most too far out of reach to get with your hands.
Hermione noticed that it had grown since she last visited. She smiled at the comfort of being surrounded by her favourite things and inhaled deeply, the smells of leather, parchment, ink, magic, and an earthiness that you could only find deep in the forest. Ginny made herself scarce as she sunk away to romance novels and Hermione roamed freely. Then she remembered the contraception spell.
She found the classification system book, saw it under 600 and walked to the shelves that were labelled as such. She found the catalogue system stuck to the shelves there and touched her wand to the word contraception and felt warmth touch her fingertips through her wand. She waited a moment and a book slid off a shelf near the ceiling. Twenty feet up. She sighed and called for a ladder.
One slid out from its place between the tall shelves and unfolded. Hermione began her climb. She would have called the book down if she knew she would be satisfied with just the one, but she needed to make sure it was the right one. This was a different kind of privacy anyway. When she got to the top, she cast a cushioning charm on herself in case she fell and she balanced on the steps of the ladder, half sitting.
It was the book. This library remembered the patrons and books they've selected before. That had to be the only reason it was selected from the shelf of books on contraception. She had to look up how libraries worked in the magical world, because that was intriguing and sounded like complicated magic.
She flipped through the pages to the morning after section and found the spell she had muttered on herself last night. She had cast it correctly. It was 99% effective, with the 1% being if you didn't cast it within hours of the act. She was safe. She shut the book and inhaled again the scent of her comfort, and made her way down.
"Hermione!" Ginny called. Hermione wobbled and caught her balance, then looked down. Ginny was standing with someone familiar, but someone she didn't think she knew.
Ginny helped her down and then turned to the man who was tall, he felt taller than Viktor or Malfoy, but he was not. He was just skinnier so his frame stretched. He wore expensive looking clothes and his eyes were intelligent. And he looked incredibly familiar.
"I'm Teddy. Theordore Nott. We went to school together." he said warmly, with a small inclination of his head. Hermione felt annoyance trickle in, because it smelled like Ginny was trying to set her up.
"I remember you!" Hermione said politely. "What brings you to the Library?"
"My family are investors in it. We like the idea of accessible knowledge, especially in times like these." Teddy said. Hermione hated that that's the name that stuck, but Theodore felt way too formal, let alone Mr Nott. He owns the library , Hermione thought.
"That's very kind of you. You might want to expand on the collections though, they've become quite limited." Hermione said. She knew they had expanded, she saw it as she had walked in. But she couldn't help but jab.
"I plan to! If you have any suggestions Ms Granger, I'm happy to pass them along to my family." Teddy said. Hermione felt herself recalculating how she felt about him. He was kind, hadn't brought up marriage, and he helped the community. He would make a good acquaintance going forward. He smiled at her and turned a little. "Do you want to walk me through the library, show me where things can be improved?"
Hermione opened her eyes in surprise and she could feel Ginny grinning beside her. Ginny nudged her forward, ever so slightly.
"Yes?" Hermione said, the word sounding like a question. "Do you know if the library has a memory on it's patrons?" she asked before she could stop the words.
"I can find out, I don't know. I'm quite new to this." Teddy said. Ginny had somehow disappeared again, but Hermione could see her red hair through the shelves. She was notoriously bad at eavesdropping, at least on Hermione.
And as they rounded to the circulation desk, the doorbell rang as a patron walked in. Hermione's eyes glanced up momentarily to see who it was and she froze.
It was Zabini and Malfoy. His slate grey eyes never met hers and she felt relief wash over her. Maybe he hadn't seen anything and read into it at all. Then Hermione turned to glare at Ginny who had emerged from behind a shelf.
"You invited him to the library ?" Hermione asked her out of the corner of her mouth.
"He's an investor." Ginny said. Hermione groaned. How many rich wizards had invested into her favourite place. She felt the familiarity of it being leeched by the second.
When Hermione looked back up, she felt the tension in the air that far surpassed the affection that Ginny and Zabini radiated toward each other. Malfoy had pursed his lips, almost as though biting back words. Teddy met his eyes and they glared. Until Zabini cleared his throat.
"Hey, Blaise, can Teddy come?" Ginny said as she approached him and leaned into him for a hug that wasn't a hug. Zabini cast a glance at Malfoy before he grinned unconvincingly.
"Sure, Theodore is welcome!" he said. Ginny beamed and Malfoy's jaw clenched. Hermione recognised it as the expression from last night. "Let's go, Malfoy. We've got some dress robes to collect." Ginny glanced at Hermione, as though asking permission and Hermione smiled her approval.
She had decided to be happy for Ginny, and cautious with Harry. She was going to be there for him. She would find Ginny later and meet for lunch. She knew Blaise must want her opinion on his dress robes, even if he couldn't see hers yet.
When the bell stopped tinkling upon their exit, Hermione smiled at Teddy.
"Did you and Malfoy remain friends?" Hermione asked. She knew it was tactless, but she didn't understand the animosity. "After the war."
"He named my father and uncle as Death Eaters." Teddy said. Hermione knew they were but held her tongue. "So after saving his own skin and not naming his own father, it felt like a stab in the back."
"That's awful." Hermione said. She couldn't imagine Malfoy not naming his father knowing his involvement, she thought he was a logical man. But she didn't know him.
"I didn't even name his father, so the fact that he did that, it was like a big fuck you to the rest of us. Excuse my language." Teddy said. Hermione felt sympathy gush forward and she almost reached out to touch him. To comfort him.
"Well, the ball is happening, are you going to go?" Hermione asked. She felt the urge to see him again. She didn't dislike it but treated it with caution.
"I will come. If he wants to avoid me, he should stay away. It won't be me avoiding him." Teddy said. Hermione smiled. She admired his courage. Standing up to Malfoy was something she was familiar with. She glanced down at the circulation desk, and a picture caught her eye.
It was Viktor. And on his arm, was Cho Chang.
The headline read: Did Viktor Krum catch the Golden Snitch? Exclusive interview with Quidditch's new Power Couple!
Hermione felt sick.