Disclaimer: I, in no way own Harry Potter or any of the characters in this story. I have just borrowed them. This story also contains adult situations, language, and themes. Read at your own risk.
Make Me Stronger
With the puppies sniffing round, Ginny changed back into her shorts and tank, and then started to make the puppies at home in her and Hermione's cottage. First order of business, Ginny transfigured four bowels into dog dishes and set them next to the refrigerator. Next, she closed the doors to her room, Hermione's room, and Hermione's office. Lastly Ginny walked around the house, with the puppies following her heels, and looked for anything that might hurt her new family members, or anything that they might chew on. Once she was satisfied with that, Ginny turned on the stereo and turned up of the oven.
Ginny loved to cook. As long as it wasn't rushed, she loved making food and enjoyed it over a glass of wine. Since her trials during the war, Ginny had learned to love the simple things in life. With flamingo guitars in the background and a nice Merlot in her glass, Ginny pulled out the steak from the fridge and started to get to work on dinner.
Hermione, on the other hand, had decided to call this a bad day. Not only was she ridiculed at her meeting, and then forced to work with Blaise Zabini, now she was listening to a young group of witches, in the lift with her, talk about their evenings out, their boyfriends, and their much more exciting lives. If there was one thing that Hermione hated more than talk about Quidditch, it was the aimless talk of young females. More than anything, Hermione just wanted to turn around and tell these women that they should spend more time on their jobs and less on their dates.
Cursing all life forms in her head, Hermione really wasn't paying attention when the lift stopped on the way down and opened to Blaise Zabini.
Looking right at him, Hermione, not really thinking, cursed. "Fuck."
Eyebrows raised and smirk fully in place, "Wow, darling. I didn't know you had it in you. If you wanted me that badly, why didn't you say anything earlier." Blaise said as he stepped into the lift.
Trying to relax, Hermione replied through gritted teeth; "One, you know that's not what I meant and two, we both know that you would never lower yourself to my standard," Hermione said sarcastically.
"Oh love, as long as you're good in bed what does it really matter?"
Hermione blushed. Not only did he mention sex between them, he also effectively shut her up as well as embarrassed her in front of a bunch of giggling witches. Finally having enough, Hermione stormed out of the lift and headed straight toward the front entrance leaving Blaise watching her walk away.
Ginny knew something was wrong the minute Hermione apparited home. Not only could she feel Hermione's entrance into the wards, she could also feel the frustration rolling off of the witch. Deciding to leave it alone Ginny listened as Hermione entered the house, dropped her stuff in her office and then slam the door of her bedroom. Standing against the counter Ginny could make out the sounds of Hermione slamming things in her room and then running water for a bath.
"Most of been a bad day huh Sol?" Ginny said as she squatted down to pet the golden puppy. She had decided when she got home, that she would leave the puppies names alone. Then really did seem to fit them.
Staring down at her steaks, which were grilling on her stove, Ginny changed the music to a softer Norah Jones and then started to set the table for dinner.
After the table was set, Ginny called the pups outside to wait for Hermione to come out and smoke a cigarette.
At the moment, Hermione was tying her hair up on top of her head and waiting for the water to fill the tub. Naked and angry, Hermione wrapped up her hair quickly and then stalked over to the tub.
This wasn't a romantic soak. There were no candle lit or and soft music playing, well except what Ginny was playing that she could hear through the door. There were no bubbles and no scented oils. This was just warm water and Hermione. Sitting back, she tried to remind herself that life was tough and that she was tougher.
After a good soak, Hermione exited the bath feeling calmer and definitely redder. While the water drained, Hermione dried herself off and then, falling prey to a basic woman instinct, she stood up straight and examined herself in the long mirror on the back of her bathroom door.
What she saw pissed her off as usual. Not because she thought her breast were too small, or her butt too flat, but mostly because she always wondered what a man would think when they saw her. And Hermione hated that thought. She was an intelligent, powerful, and some times funny woman and witch, what did it matter what a man thought. But it did. Especially when she's never been with one.
'What would Zabini think if he saw her?' Hermione though suddenly. Although she was embarrassed to admit she thought such a thing, she wondered what a man like Zabini, who had obviously been with quite a few women, would think when he saw her. Would he think her bed tousled hair was sex or a rat nest? Would he considered her shoulders graceful, or her breast youthful and high? Or would he only see a plain woman with no experience in men.
'Hell, he'd probably close his eyes and shriek at seeing a mud blood naked.' Hermione thought as she grabbed the burgundy cotton robe from the hook on the wall beside the door. Opening the bathroom door, Hermione could smell the sweet scent of dinner and hear the sounds of Mozart in the air. Smiling for the first time in hours, Hermione went to find Ginny.
"Out here I see."
Ginny looked up and smiled as Hermione stepped out the back door and onto the deck.
"Yeah, you know me and my bad habits."
"Uh, huh."
"Oh yeah, Hermione?"
"Hmm?," Hermione said as she sat down beside Ginny and leaned back to breathe in the fresh evening air.
"I really hope you don't mind but I invited some one else to live with us." Ginny said sheepishly.
"What?"
"Well…" Ginny said while avoiding Hermione's eyes.
Whimper. Shocked Hermione turned her attention from Ginny to the sound at her feet. And sitting there was a silver wolfhound puppy. Looking into its eyes, Hermione instantly fell in love.
"Oh Gin," Hermione said happily as she reached down to and picked up the little pup. "She's adorable. Is this who you meant?"
"Well, some what." Ginny answered as she watched Hermione cuddle noses with Luna.
"What do you mean some what?"
"Well, that's Luna, and this," Ginny said as she reached down for Sol, "is her brother Sol."
Hermione stopped gushing over the puppy for a moment to take in Ginny's words. There, sitting in Ginny's lap was another pup of gold. Of course Hermione's initial thoughts were that two puppies were a lot of responsibility and that neither Ginny nor she had much time to spend with the pups but when Hermione looked at Ginny's face and then from one pup to the other, Hermione just couldn't resist.
"Sure Gin."
"Really?" Ginny asked with her face full of smiles.
"Of course. This is your house too and I'm not your mother. And any way, who could refuse such cute pups."
"Great! Now, let's go eat and you can tell me why you were so pissed when you came home."
Following Ginny inside, with Luna at her heels, "You don't want to know."
"Let me guess, Jonathan was all over you until he saw Melissa, and Mordara was an old-fashioned bastard."
"Gosh, when you say it like that, I feel like such a smuck." Hermione said as she poured her and Ginny a fresh glass of crisp Lambrisco.
"You know I didn't mean anything like that." Making her and Hermione's plates, "I just know how big of pricks the people with you work with are."
"Again, your right. I don't know why I let them get to me."
Bringing the plates to the table, "Because you're human and a woman. Oh yeah," Ginny said when she sat down, "would you mind feeding the pups? I figured if we feed them at the same time we eat, they might not beg at the table."
"Sure hun. Where's the food?"
"It's the cans sitting on the counter; just mix it with the dry food next to their bowls."
"So anyway, yeah, typical Monday morning but that's not was got me going." Hermione stated as she fixed the pups dinner. "Today, before I even got to calm down from having to deal with my Monday morning madness, I walked into my office and standing there, behind my desk I might add, was Blaise Zabini."
Almost choking on her wine, Ginny gaped at Hermione. "Blaise Zabini? Like the Blaise Zabini that dated Elza, the model?"
"I forgot that he dated her… but yeah, that Blaise Zabini."
"What'd he want?" Ginny asked when Hermione sat across the table from her.
"It seems that he needs my expertise."
"About what?"
Sitting down, "A case. Some one is kidnapping, killing, and mutilating witches."
"Why do they need you?"
"Because it seems that they're doing it with muggle techniques."
Pausing, Ginny studied Hermione and collected her thoughts. Not that Hermione wasn't a brilliant investigator, but she was never really good with dead bodies, especially mutilated ones. "Are you going to be alright?"
"Yes. I've already made notes on what to look for and I'm not worried about the pressure because I'm already the laughing stock of the Auror department."
"That's not what I meant Hermione?" Ginny said sternly.
Though a little put out by Ginny's tone, Hermione understood that she was worried about her. Smiling, "I'll be fine. I'll have to be won't I? Anyway, the promise of research and the prospect of finding the bastard whose doing this is worth a little queasiness."
"Well if you say so. You still didn't say what made you so made though."
"Just Mr. Zabini. He catches me at a bad moment, looking extremely good-looking, and calls me a mud blood and then embarrasses me by showing me a letter from Mordara saying how I've always wanted to use muggle techniques-here was my chance. Then, on my way home, I got stuck in the lift with his insulting ass and a couple of brainless witches. What makes it worse though is the fact that I was enjoying talking with him. And of course he's gorgeous. But as usual, he was an ass and I ran away."
"Sorry darling."
"Yeah. I really have to get over it. I have to really suck it up."
"Or you could just suck him."
Laughing, Hermione grasped her wine glass and drank. "Ginny, that's why I love you. No matter what's wrong you can always make me laugh."
"I guess I get it from Fred and George. You know those two laugh at everything."
"I guess your right. So what about you? Where'd you find the pups?"
"Oh, I tried to finish the 'Helpless Sea' painting but I couldn't even begin. So, I got pissed, grabbed my camera and headed to London."
"Take any good pictures?"
"I think so. I'm gonna go down into the lab after dinner and develop them. Anyway, I was on my way home when I heard them yipping. Not only were they too cute to pass up, they were being sold by this cute little girl who swore that the brother and sister just couldn't be separated. So I feel in love with them and hoped you'd love them too."
"Anything else happen?"
"Not really, just tried to enjoy my day."
"Well I'm glad you did."
"Sorry you had a bad day love."
"No, it's ok. Thank for dinner Gin."
After cleaning up and settling the pups down in front of the fire, Ginny headed downstairs into the lab. The lab itself was an organized potions lab that Hermione was in whenever she got a chance. In the back right corner though, Ginny had made a little dark room for her photography. It was another sanctuary for the woman.
Hermione on the other hand, curled up on the couch with a new glass of wine and the case files that Zabini had sent over. She really didn't want to look at the files but she took a deep breath, set down her glass and got to work. Her glasses were perched on the end of her nose and she held her laptop on her lap; with her hair around her face and her new puppies sleeping by the fire, Hermione got to work.