Hermione awoke feeling refreshed and ready for the evening to begin. She took a short shower in the adjacent bathroom to her room. She loved that Harry had a custom tub built, a replica of the tub in the Prefect's bathroom at Hogwarts. She played around with the taps, reminiscent of the many nights spent in the Prefect's bathroom, enjoying herself. She leaned back against the tub wall and minutes later immersed herself into the water completely, taking in the warmth. Baths were one of Hermione's favourite past-times, especially when she could take long baths while reading a good book. Unfortunately the only things to read in the bathroom were Ginny's magazines, so she didn't spend so long in there.
Twenty minutes later she was scrounging through her suitcase, towel wrapped around her body and thick, wet hair cascading her shoulders. She sniffed, feeling cold. After she found what she'd been looking for, she hurried back into the walk-in closet to change. She cast a quick and simple spell to dry her hair, also trying and failing to tame it. One of Hermione's worst nuisances was her hair. It was just as unruly as Harry's, but ten times thicker. Most days when she tried hard enough, she could get it to flatten out a bit, but it was usually a lost cause. The hair overwhelmed her small face, sometimes making her look like a lion. She wished she had the time to use Sleekeazy's Hair Potion, but alas, between her Arithmancy training and her home life in Edinburgh and London, that kind of time was a rare luxury.
Instead she pulled it back into a messy pony-tail, having to use three ties to keep it in place. She slipped into a silky blue skirt that fell short just below the knee and a white cardigan, with pearls for buttons. She clipped in some simple barrettes and headed down the stairs, excited to see everyone.
She went into the same parlor area where Cho had received her earlier, and was pleasantly surprised to see the older Weasley twins demonstrating their new tricks to Ginny.
"Hermione!" George called, "Good to see you, woman!"
"George, Fred, it's been ages!" Hermione grinned, embracing them both in a fond hug.
Fred kissed her hair and replied, "Too right you are. Come, come, we've got lots to show you!"
"And lots of free products, might I add," George put in, ushering Hermione to sit beside Ginny on the black sofa.
"Oooh, free? No need to tell me more than once," Hermione smiled, eyeing the different pink products spread over the tables. "Didn't Angelina come, Fred?"
Fred rolled his eyes, "That woman's sick again. Been moaning 'bout it all morning, matter of fact. She said I'd better be home before midnight, and I said I'd get home on my own time."
Hermione gave him a look to which Fred replied, "And my own time is well before midnight, thank you very much. No one has ever accused me of neglecting my wife."
"I should hope not! Angelina was feared on the Quidditch pitch for a reason, you know," Ginny said, winking at Fred.
Hermione flopped down on the sofa next to Ginny, leaning her head on Ginny's shoulder.
"Portkeying still got you down, love?" Ginny asked.
"No, I took a nap and took care of that," Hermione said, "But why didn't you tell me that Cho was Harry's girlfriend?"
Ginny's eyes darkened, "I didn't want to dampen the happy mood by mentioning that hose-pipe."
George sat on the floor by Hermione's feet, "You lot don't agree with this relationship either, then? Fred and I had to stop ourselves from sighing dramatically when we saw Cho. Can you imagine going through our 7th year again! Well, 5th for you. But anyways, Cho broke Harry's heart on more than one occasion. I trust you haven't forgotten what happened after we left."
"How could we?" Ginny said, "Cho's a slut, born and bred."
"Oh Gin, don't say that," Hermione admonished, "But I'll admit, manipulating a man just to get in his bed is devious beyond words. Ron was right horrified after Harry told him."
"Speaking of Ron, does anyone know if he's coming tonight?" Fred asked.
"I spoke with him last night, he owled me. He's back in England and said he'd be here by 10 at the latest," said Ginny.
Just then Harry walked in through the parlor doors, followed by a tall, blond haired man and Cho.
"I've got champagne," the man said, raising his hands.
"Goodness Jon, I'd wondered where you got to," Ginny said, moving over on the sofa to make room for him.
The man dipped his head down and gave Ginny a passionate kiss on the mouth. Harry, Fred and George pointedly looked away.
"Hermione, this is Jonathon, the guy I told you about earlier," Ginny explained, giving Jonathon a pat on the back of his hand.
"It's a pleasure," said Jonathon, shaking Hermione's hand, "Ginny's told me so much about you."
"I'm sorry I can't say the same," Hermione said, openly glaring at Ginny, though there was no real venom in her eyes. Jonathon just looked confused. "Ginny told me you work at Gringotts, Jon?"
"Oh yeah," Jon said, "Not doing mathematical stuff, though; haven't got the brain for that sort of thing. I did some curse-breaking for the Gringotts down in Scotland before I moved up here. I'm a Scottish boy, through and through."
"Is that so? I'm currently living in Edinburgh," said Hermione, "Whereabouts are you from?"
"Not Edinburgh, no. I was born in Glasgow, moved to Aberdeen when I was a young thing," Jon said.
"Oh!" Hermione exclaimed, "I have a joke for you! I've been wanting to meet someone from Aberdeen to try it out on. Okay, what do you call an Aberdeen fan with five sheep?"
Jon's face was blank, "Um…I'm sorry, and I don't know quite what you're referring to."
Hermione frowned and said, "Well, that's okay, maybe you need to be a fan of football to get it."
"What is football?" Jon asked.
"You lived in Scotland and you never heard about football? Even if you're a pureblood, that's shocking," Hermione said, eyebrows raised.
"I'm going to the restroom, excuse me," said Jon, a bit frightened of Hermione.
Once Jon was safely out of the room, Hermione whispered in Ginny's ear, "Darling, he's not very…well, he's not the brightest bloke in the world."
Ginny sighed, "I know, I know. It took me a while to get used to him. I had to remember not to talk quite so much. But really, once you get over the lack of conversation, he's great in bed. Sometimes I think that's the only reason I keep him around."
Hermione was shocked, "Ginevra! That's so scandalous!"
Ginny giggled, "Oh, that's right, I've forgotten – you've yet to be plucked."
Before Hermione could process what Ginny had said and reply scathingly, Ron Apparated into the center of the room, unfortunately toppling over Cho. Cho shrieked, trying to get Ron off of her.
"Good to see your Apparating skills are just as horrible as they were the last time we saw you, Ron," said Fred sarcastically.
Ron was too busy staring at Cho, no doubt wondering what the hell she was doing in the middle of Harry's parlor.
"What are you -" Ron started, still looking at Cho, before Hermione cut him off.
"Ron, I need to speak with you in the kitchen please, it will only take a minute," Hermione said, already dragging a confused Ron out of the room.
"What the hell is Cho Chang doing here!" Ron burst, once safely inside the kitchen with the doors closed.
"Can I at least get a proper hello?" said an exasperated Hermione, pointedly turning her face for Ron to kiss. Ron kissed her cheek and quickly embraced her before interrogating her again.
"Honestly Ronald, your attention span sometimes… Anyhow, Cho's dating Harry again," said Hermione, knowing Ron was about to interrupt her again, "Don't say anything yet, I'm not finished. Harry didn't tell either of us because he knew we'd disapprove, which we both do, don't say otherwise. I sure as hell know I wasn't pleased to see Cho Chang sitting in Harry's parlor sipping on a martini like she owned the place. But don't tell Harry you don't approve of it, because he might just be happy with Cho, and who are we to take happiness away from Harry? If anyone deserves to be happy, it's him."
Ron was silent for a few minutes, obviously thinking over this new and surprising information. "I just always thought he'd go back to Ginny. Everyone knows she still loves him, except for maybe Harry, of course."
Hermione nodded sadly, "I'm not sure how Ginny's taking this. She seems a bit angry, which is to be expected, but you know she's got to be feeling more than that. Harry's not a casual dater; if he's dating someone it's serious."
"Maybe I should talk to Gi-" Ron started, only to be interrupted by Hermione again.
"Don't, Ron. Give her some space. She'll talk to us if she wants to, but I really don't think pushing her to talk to us will accomplish anything. Come on, let's go back in there and properly greet everyone, and remember – don't upset Cho or Harry. We're walking on thin ice here."
The night was certainly an eventful one. Everyone was jolly and having a wonderful time, except for maybe Ginny. Hermione couldn't help noticing that Ginny didn't have her trademark toothy grin on throughout the night and that her eyes had lost some of its luster. Unless looked at closely, Hermione doubted anyone would notice the small change in Ginny's behavior, because she had tried hard to smile all night. Hermione glanced occasionally at Harry as well, hoping to see similar signs which would mean he still had feelings for Ginny, but there were none. Harry was jovial and talkative the whole night, entertaining his guests like the perfect gentleman he was, and still managing to give Cho individual attention.
After Hermione had changed into her nightgown, she wandered downstairs, hoping to catch Harry so they could have that "talk."
Unfortunately what Hermione found was much worse. She heard shouts coming from the kitchen; the door looked as though it were meant to be shut, but it was slightly ajar, so Hermione could hear everything perfectly. Never one to feel guilty about eavesdropping, she stepped into the shadow of the armoire beside her, and listened. She recognized the two voices as Ginny's and Harry's.
"I don't know what you're so upset about!" Harry yelled, obviously irritated.
Ginny laughed, though it was more a bark of laughter. A bark of cruel, cold, lifeless laughter. "Typical Harry, you can never see what's right in front of you."
"What is that supposed to mean, Ginny? I'm not a Legilimens, so don't expect me to know what you're talking about. Just come out and say what you're trying to say, because this is getting old," Harry said, the venom apparent in his voice.
"What is Cho doing here, Harry!" Ginny cried, her voice pained, "Why was the first person I saw when I walked into your home Cho Chang?"
"She's my girlfriend, Ginny," Harry said, "And she's living with me. You have no right to be upset, and frankly, you're just being plain childish."
"How am I being childish!" Ginny raged.
"You've dated only about 100 guys in the past two years," said Harry, his words biting, "It's no wonder you can't settle down with one guy; you're only after one thing, and it's purely physical."
Hermione sucked in a breath, surprised to hear Harry be so brutally honest, especially towards Ginny.
"What are you implying? Are you saying I'm a slut?" roared Ginny.
"Look at your life Ginny! Look at what's become of you! Your life revolves around partying, getting drunk, and sleeping with a new guy every week," shouted Harry, "You have the mindset of a 16-year-old, and it's time you grew up. Get a real job and a real life, because everyone's sick of cleaning up your mess."
Ginny choked back a sob and spluttered, "We're through, Harry. I don't know what we were before, friends or friends with benefits, I don't know. I just know it ends right here."
With that, Ginny Apparated out of the kitchen to God knows where, leaving an indifferent Harry in the kitchen, and a very stunned Hermione outside.