Hermione walked briskly down the Hall, and sat down heavily, across from Ginny. Ron and Harry were discussing possible predictions for Divination, and since she really wasn't in the mood to hear about Trelawney, she'd decided to find her other friend. Her inability to find anything helpful for the Second Task was frustrating enough without having to listen to Ron evade his homework for the umpteenth time.
She'd expected Ginny to look pleased to see her, perhaps even crack a joke about the amount of time she'd been spending in the library lately, but Ginny just nodded at her. In fact, looking closer, Hermione thought she looked rather dejected, her shoulders uncharacteristically slumped. It was most unusual to see Ginny alone – usually she was surrounded by a crowd of girls, or at least Jules and Louise, two Gryffindors in third year, yet today she sat by herself.
She sighed disconsolately and Hermione plucked up the courage to say, "What's the matter?"
Ginny shrugged. "Oh… nothing. It's just…. We had a test on boggarts today – he wanted to make sure we still remembered."
Her face was oddly tight, as though she was holding it set against any expression, and Hermione venture to say, "And did you?"
Ginny laughed, the sound harsh, "As if I could forget."
Hermione stared at her, at a loss for words. She hated it when this side of Ginny came out, partly because she honestly had no idea how to deal with it, but also because it made her so sad. She liked that Ginny was usually so cheerful and funny, and on those occasions when an old sorrow flashed to the surface it always seemed profoundly wrong – Ginny, Hermione had always felt, not without a touch of resentment, was made for happiness.
Leaning over her soup bowl, Hermione said urgently, "Ginny, what do you see?"
The noise of the great hall seemed to fade away as Ginny said slowly, "I see… him. Every time. And…" she took a deep breath, and said, "And he says I'm his, and I always will be, and that no one is coming for me, because I belong to him, forever, and it's all my fault."
She looked near tears, and Hermione stared at her. She didn't know what to say, what to do – it was all too deep for her. Finding her voice, Hermione said, "But, Ginny, Harry did come for you; he was wrong."
Ginny choked on a sob as she said, "It's just, I thought I was doing better."
Hermione stared. "Aren't you?"
And it was true – as far as she could tell, Ginny was doing fine. She wasn't nearly as jumpy or as unsure as she'd been the year before, and she seemed to have come out of her shell a lot – except when she was around Harry. Hermione felt rather dull in comparison.
Struggling for words, she added, "It's just, you usually seem fine to me."
Ginny sighed. "Seem – I don't know. Maybe I am. I just hate Boggarts."
Hermione nodded, she hoped wisely. Everything this year was so confusing she thought as she looked down to where Ron sat, and felt that now familiar, and dizzying rush of… affection, or perhaps it was something else. He really needed to cut his hair.
Ginny picked at her food, and said, "Hermione? Do you think I'm pretty?"
Something in her softened at this, though a wicked imp prompted her to say, "Do I need to hit you with a pillow?"
Ginny looked sad and said, "No, I mean it. Look at Cho Chang – her hair is always so perfect, and she has nice robes, and I'm just…"
Hermione was about to scoff, when she saw Fleur swinging her hair around as she walked to the Ravenclaw table, and remembered how unhappy she'd felt that no matter how nice she was to Ron, or how much time she spent with him, or how much help she graciously gave him, none of it would matter if Fleur so much as blinked at him, and all because she was beautiful. Because beautiful it seemed, was all that mattered in the longer run, not kindness or brains or a sense of humour, but stupid looks which you couldn't even control.
Still, Ginny was being stupid, and as there was no pillow to hand, Hermione would have to settle for the next best thing. She'd been eating a roll, and the hard, crusty end was still left on her plate – taking careful aim, she flung it at Ginny's head.
Unfortunately, Ginny chose that moment to lean over and pour herself a cup of pumpkin juice, and the bread, most unluckily, went down her top. Her eyes bugged in surprise, and she stared at Hermione, clearly horrified.
"Sorry," Hermione said, slightly ashamed, "But…you're being stupid."
"Am I now."
"Yeah – you are. First of all, your robes are fine. Second, you have great hair, and I don't where you got the idea that you didn't, and thirdly, just shut up."
Silence fell between them for a moment, and then Ginny said, "You're a bit scary – do you know that?"
Hermione shrugged. "Does it work?"
Ginny nodded. "Yeah – it kind of does. Well, that and knowing that you're never wrong. It's not really fair."
At that moment, a girl with dreamy looking eyes and far more hair-ribbons than seemed necessary joined them. She handed a note to Ginny, saying, "Professor Sinistra asked me to give you this."
Ginny smiled, and said, "Thanks Luna – do you want to join us?"
The blonde girl shook her head and said, "No, thank you Ginny. I've to finish my necklace."
Ginny nodded, and said, "Well, good luck Luna. I'll see you later."
After she had left Ginny bent to read the note, and Hermione said, "Who was that?"
Ginny flicked her hair over her shoulder and said, "Haven't you ever heard of Loony Lovegood?"
Hermione nodded – the name did sound familiar. Ginny continued, "I feel a bit sorry for her to be honest. I mean, she's a bit cracked and all, but the others, they say horrible things to her… And she's quite nice really."
Hermione wasn't particularly interested in this and said, "What's the note about?"
"Oh," Ginny flushed, "Well, you know I like astronomy?"
"Yeah."
"Well, my telescope… it isn't very good you see, and I've been saving up for a new one, only they're really expensive, and …the school's getting a refit, and Professor Sinistra just got permission for me to buy one second-hand."
Ginny looked a little flushed, but also very excited, and Hermione understood it all too well. There was a certain thrill or spurt that came when she got the chance to pursue knowledge that fascinated her, and she could see a reflection of it in Ginny's eyes, though Ginny was hardly academic.
Checking her watch, Hermione realised that more than half of the lunch hour had elapsed, and she had yet to get to the library. Standing up quickly, she said, "Look, I've got to go – it's for Harry, otherwise … but I'll see you later, okay?"
Ginny nodded, and Hermione thought she looked rather more cheerful than she had earlier on.
"Good luck."
Hermione practically ran for the library – she really shouldn't have been dallying with only a week to go till the Second Task, but she spared a moment to look back and see Ginny talking animatedly to Michael Corner, who had just joined her. This could only be good.