Hermione was laying the dishes on the table , her thoughts still wandering around her would-be husband when her mother called out to her.
"Herm could you come receive the telephone? It is from one of your friends from school ."
To say that Hermione was surprised would be an understatement . While she walked to the telephone, she started crossing off names of her schoolmates in her mind. Most of them did not have her number and even the ones who had ( Harry and Ginny ) were unlikely to call her and that is why she picked up the phone a little wearily.
"Hello, who is this?"
"Hermione ? Hey listen, Draco dropped by and he told me that you two were getting married tomorrow and you will be happy to see me there. So is it true? Will you really like your ex-bestfriend to be present on your big day?"- the voice on the other side had an eagerness in them.
"Ginny, I would love to have you here. All though I have already asked Julliana to be my bridesmaid. "-Hermione hoped that her answer was friendly enough, she really wanted Ginny to come.
"Great! I shall be there. Umm.. Hermione, who else will be there? "- Hermione thought that Ginny seemed a little worried.
"My parents, some cousins, neighbours and some of Draco's colleagues. Can't say if he has invited anyone else though. I didn't even know that he had invited you"
"Harry won't be there right?"- This time Hermione was sure that Ginny sounded worried (which was no surprise if what she had heard few weeks ago were true).
"No Ginny, he won't be there. I have heard of that incident concerning you and Harry and I won't have him at my wedding if you will be there"-she replied.
A sigh came from the other end and then came Ginny's voice. It shook a bit, making it obvious that Ginny was crying.
"What happened between us is known to all , huh? Figures, it was between me and the 'Boy Who Lived'. Must have made the headlines in the Daily Prophet. I guess they had even dedicated an entire page for that? People! You were lucky you had not been in touch with the Wizarding community, Hermione or you would have felt disgusted. It changed me . All those lines in the papers, all those horrible comments, those crude remarks, all of that changed me and I had no one for support. You are very lucky Hermione, very lucky to have Draco, everyone's not that lucky."-with that Ginny hung up, leaving Hermione teary eyed. She still had tears in her eyes when she dialed Draco's number.
As usual Draco picked up on the first ring.
"Hey Herm, what made you call me?"- came his drawling voice from the other side.
"Ginny had just called me."
"How did it go?"
"Fine. She seemed miserable, Draco."
"I thought so too . That is why I thought about inviting her. Thought she might be in need of a friend. You didn't mind, right?"
"How could I? By the way, why did you go to her?"
"I had found some Galleons inside an old trunk, so I went to the Shell Cottage to give them to Bill for exchange. He is the new officer in charge of money exchange, you know that don't you? Never mind , when I saw Ginny I felt bad for her and I knew you missed her, so I invited her and gave her your number."
"Ginny is living in the Shell Cottage? Why is not she living in the Burrow? "
" Bill told me that the Weasly family had a tough time staying together , with everything that has happened with Percy. "
" I can't believe it. Never mind, I just called you to thank you for inviting Ginny. Good night!"
"Good night Herm."
Hermione put down the phone and went off to the dining room . Her mother was tossing the salad. When she saw Hermione, she invited her to help her with dinner.
"Who was it? "- asked her mother, noticing the sadness on her face.
"Ginny. She sounded unhappy and then Draco told me about the Weasly family living apart , it is not easy , hearing about their state. There was a time I thought of them as family."
"Don't you still think of them as family? "
"I...I can't. Not after what they said about you and dad, and I can't forget what they did to Draco. "
" Both your father and I had forgiven them a long time ago and Draco has gotten over it too . It is you who can't forgive them. It is your choice."
"Is it really? No it is not. "
"Get your head out of the books and come into the real world . Things are simple . Don't complicate things that are supposed to be simple. "
"You two forgave them and Draco got over all that too but I couldn't. I didn't expect this from them . They have disappointed me."
"Everyone has faults. No-one is faultless, that does not mean that they are horrible people. "
"I was proud of them, I can't accept this."
"Herm..." The phone had started to ring . Hermione went off to pick it up.
"Hello? "
"Forgive them like you had forgiven me."
"Draco! "
"Good night Herm . "He had cut the call. Hermione put down the phone and went off to the dining room, thinking back to those days after the war had been over and how she had discovered this jewel of a person named Draco Malfoy.