Chapter Twenty-Six

Hermione spent most of the train journey to Hogwarts staring out of the window. In some ways it was good to return to school – after all these years, she felt slightly out of place in the Muggle world, though it was easier now that she could do magic at home. And she'd missed Harry – it felt truly strange not to speak to him every day. He had sent her a letter with her Christmas present, but as much as she loved him, expressing himself in writing was not one of Harry's strengths.

Ginny had included a short (very short) note with Harry's present, and it had only served to remind Hermione of all the reasons she didn't want to go back. She'd done her utmost over Christmas not to mope – she'd read a dozen books, and gone bowling with her Dad, and shopping with her Mum, and watched films on the telly – but try as she might, it was hard to forget that she was fighting with Ginny and Ron, that Lavender was bond to keep lording it over her, and that she wasn't doing as well as she should in Potions.

Even hours after she'd returned to Hogwarts, when she was tramping back up the hill from Hagrid's and getting her feet wet in the snow, Hermione still didn't know what to do. She didn't want to keep fighting with Ginny – aside from everything else, she'd been horribly lonely without her – but she was afraid…perhaps too much had happened.

Ginny hadn't meant to let it slip about Viktor, Hermione believed that, and truthfully, it wasn't as though Hermione had never done anything similar. Ron was the person who'd chosen to run off with another girl – for no good reason – and it wasn't fair to blame Ginny, or even Lavender, for that.

Not fair, but satisfying. If Hermione blamed Ginny, blamed Lavender, blamed herself even, it meant that Ron was still the wonderful, flawed but wonderful, boy she'd fallen in love with. The boy who would never, ever hurt her. It was an incredibly comforting idea, except for the part where it clearly wasn't true.

Ron might still be that wonderful boy – as unlikely as it might seem at present – but he had chosen Lavender. Whatever his reasons had been – however stung he'd been by learning about Viktor, or her comments on his Quidditch playing, Ron had still made the choice, and the sooner Hermione accepted it, the happier she'd be.

Her resolution to be sensible and stiff upper lippish almost broke when she saw Ron again, saw him being mauled by Lavender, but she tossed her head and ignored him. It was all his fault, and there was no way Hermione could ever forgive him, no matter how much he tried to pretend nothing had happened, or what Harry said.

She was so preoccupied with stifling her anger at Ron that she scarcely noticed Ginny's reunion with Dean – she wanted to talk to Ginny on her own in any case. It was only when Harry described his meeting with the Minister, and Percy, that Hermione realised why she might seem slightly downcast.

It was after ten by the time Hermione went up to the girls' dormitories and she knocked on Ginny's door uncertainly. It was Jules who answered, and Hermione quailed a little at the look on her face.

"Oh," Jules said, "It's you." She looked at Hermione sternly. "I'm going down to meet Seamus, but Louise is asleep, and she better not be woken up by anyone fighting."

"All right," Hermione said, inwardly both amused and slightly horrified. She had a suspicion that people – Parvati for instance – thought she and Jules were rather similar, and it was a sobering mirror to look into.

"Ginny's unpacking," Jules added, and Hermione took that as her cue to enter. Ginny's unpacking, it had to be said, was not entirely dissimilar in effect from a small tornado. There were faded Hogwarts robes all over the floor and Hermione stepped over them carefully. When Ginny saw her, she looked surprised and sat down on her bed heavily. "Hi," she said.

"Hi," Hermione said, sitting on the other end of the bed. "I know…"

"I'm a bit surprised to see you," Ginny said, setting her jaw in an…unpromising way.

"I'm sorry, all right," Hermione said. "I know I got angry, and …but could we just forget it ever happened? I miss you."

Ginny sighed and said seriously. "I don't know Hermione – I mean, things were said, and I'm not sure…of course we can."

A moment later Ginny hugged her and said, "I'm so glad things are back to normal."

"Yeah," Hermione said, though for some reason she still felt slightly awkward.

"So," Ginny said, "How was your Christmas?"

"Oh not too bad. Kind of quiet – which was good, actually. Good to have a break."

"Yeah; I know what you mean."

Ginny looked momentarily sad, and Hermione said, "Yeah, Harry mentioned…Percy showed up on Christmas Day. Was it bad?"

"I threw food at him," Ginny said, looking shamefaced. "I shouldn't have – Mum got all upset. I was just so angry…" She put her head to one side contemplatively. "At least Harry said the right thing – he's great with her."

Hermione noticed a stuffed animal – a tiger – sitting on Ginny's pillow. "Did Dean give you that?"

"Oh," Ginny said, startled. "No. Harry gave it to me, for Christmas. A stuffed Kneazle and broom compass – I think he thinks I've a split personality. Rupert is sweet though."

"You called a tiger – Kneazle, I mean, sweet?" Hermione said.

"Yeah. Why not?"

From experience with Hagrid, Hermione chose not to pursue this and said, "So, what did Dean get you?"

Ginny cringed and slowly lifted a chain out from under her blouse. She was wearing a locket – a heavy silver locket, with a large pink jewel on it.

"Oh," Hermione said, struggling for words. "That's…pretty."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "You haven't seen the worst yet. Listen." She pried the locket open with a fingernail – there was a picture of Dean inside, and when she opened it all the way, Celestina Warbeck's latest hit, a cover version of 'You Are My Sunshine' started playing.

"Wow," Hermione said flatly. "To be honest – I expected better. I thought Dean had taste."

"I know," Ginny said, stroking Rupert's head absently, "And I thought you couldn't go wrong with jewellery, but…I suppose you win some, you lose some, right?"

"Yeah," Hermione said. "And besides – Harry learned to get you a decent present – no hair ribbons this year. Dean will too." Somehow it didn't sound as comforting as she'd intended.

"Yeah," Ginny said, "Look, can I tell you something, and you won't tell me I'm completely crazy?"

"Sure." Hermione said, wondering what was coming, though if Ginny stuck to her usual habits it'd be at least half an hour before she found out.

"Okay," Ginny said. "Well…before I start, I should be…honest."

"That's a first," Hermione cracked.

Ginny smiled, but continued regardless. "Look," she said, "I know this sounds…awful, but…the truth is…I didn't really miss Dean over Christmas. I mean, I do like him – and I really like kissing him – but…I didn't miss him. In fact – it was kind of a relief not to have to play the doting girlfriend all the time."

"Okay," Hermione said. "That's not hard to understand; sometimes the people you like the most are the hardest to be around."

"Maybe," Ginny said, "And I know I have something really good with Dean – it is fun – so…try to keep the 'Ginny I have to tell yous' to a minimum."

"Of course," Hermione said, honestly intrigued now.

"Right – look, I know how this sounds, but…Harry was with us this year, for Christmas, and…he was really great, right, I mean, he was actually wonderful, and you know the weirdest thing? He talked to me all the time – like the day I decorated the sitting room, he was just….there, helping me make the paper chains and holding the ladder when I was pinning them up and…telling really stupid jokes. He even…on New Year's Eve Ron and Bill were playing chess and we were watching and then, next thing I know, Harry's waking me up, cause it's almost midnight, and I was after falling asleep on his shoulder."

She paused, and looked at Hermione for the first time in several minutes. Trying to sound neutral, Hermione said, "So what do you think?"

"I know it's astonishingly unlikely and all that, and will probably never, ever happen, and…who knows, maybe he does fancy Luna – it's not impossible – but, do you think…Harrymightlikeme?"

Hermione opened her mouth, and then swallowed, trying to choose her words carefully. "Listen Ginny," she said, "I'm not saying – look, I'm hardly an authority on this stuff, but…you and Harry are friends now, so…"

"Yeah," Ginny said determinedly, and speaking quite fast. "You're right. I was just being silly. It was just…Fred was saying something to me, and I thought…maybe it wasn't completely impossible, but…it doesn't matter, anyway."

"Ginny, I didn't mean it like that," Hermione said, but Ginny interrupted her.

"I'm just worried that…that it could make things difficult with Dean, since they sleep in the same room and everything."

"I know," Hermione said, not believing her for an instant, "And you're probably right that it could make things awkward, but…I wouldn't want you to…get your hopes up because…Harry has an awful lot to think about at the moment – I think he's got enough to do to keep his head above water."

"Yeah, I know." Ginny shrugged, looking away from Hermione. "Lots of important stuff that I know nothing about – I get it. I shouldn't have let myself…can we pretend I didn't mention it?"

"Ginny-"

"It's fine – really. Dean's looking forward to his next Quidditch match you know – and I'm doing better at Transfiguration now. I figured out Vanishing just before Christmas."

"Well, what do you know," Hermione said, "Hard work paid off."

Ginny glared at her, and hit her gently in the face with a pillow. Hermione lay back on the bed. She sighed and said, "I wish I could sleep in here."

Ginny looked sympathetic, and lay down beside her. "Is it really that bad?" she said.

Hermione felt an actual tear slip out. "Parvati tries," she said, "And she's not actually all that bad, it's just…I feel like tearing my ears off every time her and Lavender get going."

Ginny held Hermione's hand and said, "I wish you could sleep in here, but… McGonagall wouldn't approve. And you'd have to share with Jules and…I have this feeling you and Jules would clash."

"All you have to do to clash with Jules is breathe," Hermione said tartly.

"Yeah, but she does have some redeeming features – you fight with her enough, you find them out."

"I hope so," Hermione said. "For your sake."

After a moment or two of silence Ginny asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," Hermione said, almost crying. "It's nice to have a break from thinking about it every single second so…maybe later."

"Okay," Ginny said understandingly, "But you know you can, right? Anytime you want."

"Yeah," Hermione said, "I know."

She almost started to cry at this point, and Ginny hugged her before saying something suitably distracting. "So…is Harry still driving you mad with Potions?"

Though she hadn't 'unburdened her soul', or even mentioned Ron's name, somehow Hermione felt a lot better when she went to bed that night.