A/N- I know, I know, I'm being a horrible updater with this story. I've just lost all inspiration and I feel as though I've written myself into a corner. I rewrote this chapter a few times. I'm still not happy with it, but I realized I've kept you waiting for a month. At the end of last chapter, Hermione had just found out that Lavender told Mrs. Granger about the engagement. That being said, here's chapter 8...
I'm not JK Rowling. I'm thinking that's already pretty clearly established though.
Hermione was furious. Her hands trembled as a sudden surge of adrenaline shot through her system. Lavander. She should have known from the moment Mrs. Granger mentioned that a 'friend' had sent that damn magazine. Lavander fucking Brown.
"Bitch," was all Hermione managed to mutter at seeing the note.
"What did you just call me?" Mrs. Granger asked incredulously.
"Not you," Hermione said, her frustration with her mother disappearing and transferring to Lavander Brown, "the girl who sent this note. She use to be my roommate at Hogwarts and she's a bitch. She is also unfortunately dating one of my best friends."
"Oh, I see," Mrs. Granger said, trying to take some of the edge off her voice, since Hermione had clearly made the same effort, "so it's true then, this engagement story?"
Hermione put the note down and slid it away as though it were a dish she would prefer not taste before smiling and responding. She decided to put her anger at Lavander aside for the time being and deal with her mother first. Even if being accosted by her mother at Lavander's prompting put her in a bad mood, thought of her engagement still put smile on Hermione's face.
"Yes," she said, "well, it's not a publicity stunt like this rag says. We are very in love, and do not in the least want or need any publicity."
Mrs. Granger felt torn between being happy at seeing her daughter satisfied and hesitation at hearing the news that her daughter was, it appeared, a lesbian for good. Jean Granger didn't consider herself homophobic. She just had very little exposure to the concept, both in her childhood, and in most of her adult life.
Mrs. Granger was uncomfortable around homosexuality, plain and simple. It was not to the point that she would stop loving or disown her daughter for having a lesbian relationship, but it wasn't something that she could accept without batting an eyelash, as her husband seemed to have done. Jean Granger was just getting use to the thought of her daughter having a lesbian relationship, and now this apparent permanence bothered her more than she cared to admit to herself or her daughter.
"Why though?" Mrs. Granger asked, in attempt to sound reasonable, "I mean, think about it Hermione. You don't get much benefit from the legal attatchment, if they even have those in your world. All you're really getting out of this is unwanted attention, from what you just said."
While Hermione didn't appreciate her mother's reaction in the slightest, it wasn't a surprise. She certainly wasn't wrong either, at least about all of the unwanted attention that she and Ginny were receiving. Instead of acknowledging that though, Hermione attacked the very obvious holes in her mother's statement.
"We are allowed to have a bonding ceremony with the full rights and benefits of anyone else. The magic involved is gender neutral," Hermione said. She continued to explain exactly what those right were and the benefits she and Ginny would receive as a married couple with the detail of a magical law professor. It got to the point that Mrs. Granger finally cut her off.
"I get the idea," Mrs. Granger said, "it's just a lot of unnecessary attention that you two are drawing to yourself."
"It's not about them," Hermione said, gesturing to the magazine, "This is suppose to be about us, me and Ginny. If I worried about getting my picture on the front page of a magazine, I would never leave my house. I'm not in the least worried about appearances at this point in my life. Life is not about appearances."
"Life is all about appearances," Mrs. Granger snapped, "I know that you don't like that, but it's true. Every second of every day someone is judging you. In your case in just happens to be public criticism."
Hermione had hoped that the civility would have lasted a little longer than it had, but knew that this point would come, because her mother was very much all about appearance. Hermione had been to an extent in her childhood as well, but quickly shed that attitude out of necessity when she became the center of attention at Hogwarts. She rather resented that her mother couldn't understand that, so she lashed out.
"What a miserable world you must live in," Hermione said bitterly, "to think every move that you make is criticized."
"Oh, please stop with the melodrama, Hermione," Mrs. Granger said, "I'm simply being realistic. You know deep down that it's true. People are judgmental whether you like it or not."
"This whole conversation is besides the point of your letter," Hermione said. The self-consciousness from her childhood had started to creep back, and she had no reasonable response to her mother.
Mrs. Granger sat across from Hermione at the table and put her face in her hands as if suddenly exhausted by the conversation.
"Yes, that is something I ought to address," Mrs. Granger said, though she appeared in no rush to say much more. "Were you ever going to tell me?"
"Of course, mum," Hermione said, a pang of remorse at at not having told her mother sooner, or on her own terms, about the engagement. When Hermione made an instinctive motion to take her mother's hand, Mrs. Granger flinched away, just enough for Hermione to notice.
"Come on, mum," Hermione said, "it's not as though someone's dying."
"I know," Mrs. Granger said with an attempt at a smile that looked more like a grimace, "it's not easy for me, that's all. Especially knowing that it's not easy on you with these horrible articles."
Hermione looked down at her own hands. She knew well enough how her mother felt about her dating Ginny. Mrs. Granger had come to an uneasy acceptance of the partnership, but it took a good deal of time and effort on Mrs. Granger's part. Hermione knew that all along; a part of her had just been hoping that Mrs. Granger would take the wedding news in stride.
"I know, " Hermione said, then swallowed and added, "will you at least be there at the ceremony? I want you and dad to be there."
"Of course," Mrs. Granger said, her voice wavering as she made another valiant attempt at a smile, "I'll be there. I, just, a part of me is reacting this way because of how I found out. I really wish you wouldn't wait several weeks to tell me things like this."
"I understand," Hermione said. For the first time in the conversation, she did understand completely where her mother was coming from. Even if there was no way to have predicted this invasion of privacy, she had put this conversation off. That delay inevitably raised the chances, however small, that the Grangers would catch wind of their daughter's engagement.
Mrs. Granger managed a smile and took Hermione's hand.
"I really am happy to see you happy," she said, "and thank you for understanding. It's hard for anyone to let go of their little girl."
Hermione allowed herself a small chuckle as she recalled her first time boarding the Hogwarts Express. She remembered how Mrs. Granger had said almost the exact same thing while fussing over Hermione's attire.
When Mrs. Granger asked what it was that Hermione was laughing about, Hermione preceded to describe the event in great detail right down to the color of her shoes. They spent the next hour reminiscing about Hermione's childhood. When a pleasant silence fell, Hermione decided that she ought to get back to Ginny, so that she wouldn't worry too much about the 'dire' news.
Hermione was in put into such a good mood by the unusually relaxed conversation she'd had with Mrs. Granger that she almost forgot entirely about Lavender Brown's role in the whole incident. That was of course until she apperated home and began telling Ginny what had transpired.
"Hey, love, you're back soon," Ginny said. She was sitting on the sofa fully dressed, an unusual occurance considering it was still rather early in the morning for her to even be out of bed. "What did your mother write about?"
When Hermione related the essential details of the conversation, particularly when Hermione mentioned Lavender's involvement, Ginny's face clouded over and she paled a bit. It was an unusual reaction for Ginny, since she usually blushed furiously when she was angry.
"What, why did you just go pale?" Hermione demanded, then noticed that Ginny was glaring over Hermione's shoulder in the direction of the kitchen, "and what the hell are you looking at?"
She spun around to see one of the last people she wanted to see at that moment.
Lavender Brown stood in the doorway and smiled as innocent as ever at Hermione and Ginny.
"Hi, Hermione," Lavender said as she strode across the room to sit on the comfy chair by the fireplace. She curled her feet under her and took a sip of tea before continuing, "I just popped over for Molly to see if you both want to come to dinner tonight. She is just so busy with fixing the house up for the wedding in case you decide to have it there. Oh, Hermione, Ginny was just saying that you were visiting your parents. How did that go?"
Hermione had a hard time believing that someone like Lavender was even real. How could she seem so sincerely innocent when Hermione knew otherwise? She held back an intense urge to smack that smirk off of Lavender's face. Ginny had a similarly violent urge, which she only avoided by mumbling something about doing the dishes and leaving for the kitchen.
"I think you know damn well how it went," Hermione spat.
"Oh, so, your mother got that fascinating magazine," Lavender said, seemingly unfazed by the dangerous edge in Hermione's voice.
"Why?" Hermione said. She didn't trust herself to say anything more to Lavender for fear that she might utter a hex.
Lavender shrugged nonchalantly. "I suppose I wanted to be honest."
"Honest!" Hermione said in disbelief, "save that bullshit for someone who might believe you. I want the truth. I know you don't believe in homosexuality, and you know that I disagree. I can deal with that. What I can't fathom is why you would want to try to damage a family relationship when you have absolutely nothing to gain."
"So mother doesn't approve then?" Lavender asked. Her tone was becoming increasingly aggressive as Hermione mounted her attack.
"It wasn't your news to tell," Hermione said.
She was trying to rein in her emotions enough to maintain at least a semblance of civility until she got the answers she wanted. Hermione knew from her time with Lavender as a roommate that the girl must have a reason. She may be annoying and bratty, but Lavender was never arbitrarily mean. There was always a reason for her cattiness, and Hermione was going to get to the bottom of it.
"How does it feel," Lavender said with a sudden, unexpected surge of genuine emotion, "how does it fail to be a failure in your mother's eyes? Because that's exactly what I am to my mother. Always second best to Hermione Granger in everything. I'm fucking sick of it. You need to learn that you're a failure too."
Failure. That word, Hermione hated that word; it had been her biggest fear growing up, and it lingered with her into adulthood. Whether or not Lavender was aware of that was something Hermione couldn't be sure of. Regardless, it had become a trigger word for Hermione. She jumped off the sofa and put an arm on either side of the chair that the blonde sat in to prevent her from escaping and got right in Lavender's face.
"I am not a failure," Hermione said through gritted teeth.
Lavender, though initially was taken aback by Hermione's aggression, now appeared pleased that she had rattled Hermione.
"If you wanted to get close to me you could have just asked," Lavender said smuggly, "you had plenty of opportunities in school."
Hermione stepped back and glared as best she could at the girl sitting so implacably in Hermione's personal chair, her personal space. She'd finally had enough. Hermione got what she needed out of the girl, so she released all of the emotions she'd been so carefully concealing. She fired a warning spell that shot to the left of Lavender's head.
"What the fuck is your problem?" Lavender asked with honest surprise and shock for the first time in the conversation.
When Ginny heard the shouting coming from the living room, she thought it best to intervene. Ginny was well aware that Hermione could have an incredible temper when provoked the way that she was provoked by what Lavender did with Mrs. Granger. So she rushed into the living room in time to see Lavender, hair in disarray pointing her wand at Hermione and Hermione pointing hers back.
"Get out," Ginny said loudly, but with an evenness to her voice that surprised even Ginny. When Lavender turned to her, she continued, "You heard me. Get out of my house. Now."
"Gladly," Lavender said as she snatched up her jacket and stormed out of the house, slamming the front door behind her.
A/N-I just can't seem to get away from Lavender as hard as I try. I want to get some more Hermione/Ginny interaction worked in, so hopefully that will come next chapter.
What do you think about the longer chapter? Do you prefer this length or shorter?
One of my dogs just died, and reviews will make me feel better. (I know, I know, it sounds a lot like a guilt trip, but that's not what I'm aiming for:))