Part 2
"Hermione?! Hermione?!" His deep voice was practically making the walls of her modest flat vibrate.
She groaned and rolled around in her bed, picking up her pillow, she laid her head on the cool sheet of her mattress and placed the pillow over her head. She didn't want to face Ron this morning. It was a dreaded Saturday, the weekend, a day off, free time, all things that meant she should be doing something sociable. She hated weekends. Usually she could get away unnoticed at weekends, harry would pop in to see Ginny and they would normally go on a date somewhere. Ron would be working or helping out at the joke shop and she would only see him in the evenings at The Burrow where Molly often invited her to at weekends.
This weekend seemed to be starting differently, her sudden disappearance from the club last night had caused her friends some concern and now they wanted to talk. Hermione was not averse to talking, but there was no way she could look at Ron and squirm under his scrutiny this morning, not after last night.
She was happily ignoring him until her door banged open and Ginny came marching in. "Is there a reason why you're ignoring my brothers floo call?" She asked her voice softening as she saw Hermione's discomfort. "Hermione? I won't let him in; I'm just worried about you."
Hermione sighed and lift the pillow off of her head and turned her head and peered up at Ginny. Ginny just smiled at her, Ron's persistent calls had stopped and Hermione assumed he had simply gotten fed up or getting no response.
"Morning sunshine?" She asked her disgruntled friend, receiving no response, she continued. "Is this about last night?"
"Last night? Did something special last night?" Hermione asked, feigning ignorance with squinted eyes and an expression that was unlike any Ginny had seen Hermione make before. Hermione moved to get out of bed.
Ginny sighed, raking one hard through her sheet of red hair. "Don't play stupid Hermione, it really doesn't suit you"
Hermione didn't flinch at these words, she simply continued about her room, putting on her short blue robe and making her way to her dressing table. She stared at herself in the mirror trying to avoid looking at her waiting friends' reflection. Her shoulders slumped as she realised Ginny wasn't going to leave until she had explained. "Nothing happened last night, I just felt like going home, you know clubbing isn't exactly my thing and...I was bored"
Ginny rolled her eyes and responded simply with "Harry told me what happened".
Hermione's eyes widened a fraction and then she clenched her fists and let out a frustrated shriek "Why must you two discuss me like that?! I left a night club early, it's hardly a crime. Fine...so I left after watching Ron entertains a gaggle of girls...so what?"
"Firstly Harry told me because he was worried, and I live with you so I was the obvious person to tell...secondly give us some credit, it's not leaving the club early that we're worried about, it's the thinking Ron's too good for you or that Ron's gona cop off with some random blonde! Thirdly, from what I've been told Ron wasn't entertaining a 'gaggle' of girls as you so delicately put it, he was saying hi because you told him he could!"
Hermione held her hands up in surrender, "Ok ok fine that's fine, well you don't need to worry ok? I'm fine"
"Really? So what are your plans this weekend?"
Hermione sighed and pretended to be thinking over her extensive plans for the weekend. "Well my parents have invited me to lunch so I'll probably be there for most of the day and into the evening and then I'll come back here and have a glass of wine and go to sleep!"
"Wrong! You're parents are away this weekend on that dentist convention thing? You told me last week, it's on your calendar." She was tapping her foot now waiting to hear what else Hermione would come up with.
Hermione was impressive in that she did not flinch or made any indication of being caught out by Ginny. "Oh of course! Lunch with my parents is next week, well that's fabulous then because I have loads of work to be catching up on so I'll probably just spend my day at the Ministry!"
"Well that's good, because Ron'll be at the Ministry all day doing some extra training, I'll go floo him and tell him to meet you for lunch!" She said brightly, and Hermione found it impossible to tell whether or not she was bluffing. She couldn't risk it either way and stood up and followed her out to the living room.
Ginny was reaching into the floo powder pot and getting ready to throw it and call Ron.
"Ginny wait!"
Ginny stopped, her arm frozen in mid throw action. The smirk on her face was clearly visible.
"You need to stop this craziness Hermione"
Hermione lowered her head in shame; she could feel her cheeks heating up. "I know" she muttered.
She did know, she knew she couldn't spend every free minute at work, she knew that normal people didn't dread weekends and look for ways to avoid seeing their friends. Her own behaviour was baffling to her but she didn't know how to change. The thought of spending time watching Harry and Ginny be the perfect couple and being near Ron but only as a friend, filled her with dread. What filled her with more dread was the thought of Ron talking about some girl he'd met or an owl from said girl being delivered to him in her presence. A vision of rolled up pink parchment, wrapped in shiny silver ribbon, with wafts of some sweet perfume being dropped into Ron's lap frightened her.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Ginny's arm wrapping around her shoulders, guiding her to the soft cream sofa. "Let's say you and I go shopping? Come on a big girly day shopping for clothes and eating lunch, it's been ages since we did anything together. I've missed you" Ginny's eyes twinkled with an enthusiasm which was infectious and Hermione found herself nodding in agreement.
Suddenly Hermione felt very touched, happy and guilty at the same time. Just because she wanted to avoid Ron she had ended up avoiding Ginny too and really she hadn't meant to do that. "I'd love to Ginny"
Ginny stood up "Great let's get dressed and go, oh by the way Mum invited us all to the burrow for dinner" She began making her way to her room.
Hermione look up from her seat on the sofa "Us? Who do you mean by us?"
Ginny ignored her, walking to her bedroom, humming.
Hermione had forgotten how to have so much fun, at the beginning she had badgered Ginny about who would be attended the Burrow in the evening but she soon found herself laughing and getting excited by all the shops and clothes. Lunch was great and all serious topics were avoided.
By evening time, Hermione had spent hundreds of galleons and felt thoroughly relaxed and calm. They had just dropped into their flat and put their bags away. "Gin, you know I'm absolutely exhausted after that, in fact I feel a headache coming on...I think I'll just stay..."
"- Oh no you don't" Ginny explained and held onto Hermione's arms and before she could utter a word Ginny had apparated them both to The Burrow.
As soon as their feet hit the wooden floors of the Burrow, Hermione wrenched her arm free and crossly stomped away from Ginny who was being greeted by Harry. She made her way to the kitchen to find Molly, Arthur and George all in the middle of various tasks preparing dinner. She breathed a sigh of relief, she'd been in the living room and kitchen and Ron wasn't there, she also couldn't hear him. Sweet relief flooded through her, she wouldn't have to face Ron, wouldn't have to have him look at her and wonder why she had left that night. Maybe he would feel sorry for her and her pathetic life and her complete social ineptness. Either way she didn't want to deal with.
"Hermione" Her heart froze for second on hearing the deep voice, thinking for a split second that it was Ron. She relaxed when her brain registered that it was Harry. She turned to face him and moved out of the kitchen so that they were relatively distanced from the others.
"Hey" She greeted him softly.
"Ginny said you had fun today, heard you made a serious dent in your Gringrotts account" He said with a smile and Hermione was relieved that he didn't immediately reprimand her for leaving last night.
She giggled "yeah it was fun, you were right, I've been neglecting you guys" she stopped noticing her was staring at her expectantly. "What?"
"...And? You also realised something...about Ron?" he asked dragging his words out thinking she would interrupt him with realisation.
"Oh right, that, well no actually harry, I need to sort out my priorities but nothing about the Ron thing has changed ok? I still think he's better off with some gorgeous model type!"
"Oh Ronnie you're finally here! Why are you so late dear? Was it work? I'm going to have to talk to Kingsley about keeping you at the Ministry until such ridiculous hours!" Molly's gushing voice was heard by Hermione and her words struck her like a bullet.
Her eyes widened in horror as Harry watched her amused. "Oh no" she muttered, he was here, oh great.
"Hermione! Glad you're here you know I really would like to know where you ran off the other night, I mean I turned around and you were gone? Harry said you had been feeling sick, is everything alright?" His blue eyes bore into hers imploringly and she felt herself melt.
She felt stupid, all day she had been panicking about seeing Ron, thinking he would have sensed her jealously but here he was the concern for her evident in his eyes. It was after this thought that she realised she still hadn't answered his question and was simply gazing at him like a love sick puppy. Oh God why was she always reduced to an illiterate puddle of goo whenever he was around.
Harry, God love him, must have sensed her discomfort or had watched her acting like a love sick fool and decided to save her. "Yeah well Hermione's still feeling a bit dodgy aren't you?" He was looking at her, urging her to speak.
She only nodded dumbly. Ron smiled, and then lifted a hand to rest on her forehead, "Well you do feel a bit warm"
"Who's warm dear?" Molly's voice trilled as she came into the room, looking over to Hermione she tilted her head sympathetically and held her arm walking her to the kitchen. "Oh Hermione dear you're not ill are you? Honestly, with all those hours your putting in at the Ministry I'm not surprised dear, I mean I know you practically run Magical law but you need to take a break. I'm going to talk to Kingsley..." She rambled on the way she often did and Hermione couldn't help love her for it but felt the same alarming helplessness she always did when Molly fawned over her like this.
She could practically see Harry and Ron grinning at the sense as they watched her walking with Molly. "Honestly Mrs Weasley that really isn't necessary..."
"Hush dear! Don't say another word!"
Hermione felt too helpless to say anything and simply sat at the table as the others began to gather around.
"Ron's the same, always at the Ministry but at least with him dear it's because he's always following some girl around!" Hermione felt her body tense.
Ron glared at his mother angrily "No I don't!"
"Oh of course you don't Ronald! They follow you around! I have to say, after that 'Playwitch' cover....-"
"Mum" His tone had a deadly hint of warning in it, but Molly paid it no attention as she began piling food onto everyone's plates.
"Oh Ron don't be so modest! The amount of fan mail he's been getting! Bags of it! It's all in his old room" She seemed positively thrilled at this, and sat down beaming at him, the pride evident on her face. Her expression then transformed into a frown, "but I don't want all this attention to get to your head Ronald I mean that woman that we caught sneaking out of here this morning, you know I can't condone that sort of behaviour" She continued to speak but Hermione couldn't hear what she was saying.
Molly continued on and did not notice Harry's awkward posture, Ginny's concerned looks towards Hermione, Ron's intense discomfort, or Hermione's heart breaking.