Hermione's POV
"What do you mean she ran off?" Blaise yelled furiously as she quickly retold him the story of how Ginny had come to disappear. He flung his arms up in the air in fury before resting his hands on his very well tended hair. "She can't do that!" He dropped his arms. It looked as if steam was being released out of his ears. "What the hell is wrong with her? Fucking bitch- Why would she fucking leave Gary behind with you two? YOU TWO OUT OF ALL THE FUCKING PEOPLE IN THIS FUCKING WORLD! Where is he? What the fuck-"
Hermione shut him up with a spell that caused soap to spill out of his mouth. He stared at her wide eyed as he gurgled and realised what was happening to himself. "Please do be careful with what comes out of your mouth. I don't like listening to acrimonious language. Wash your mouth before you ever think about coming over to my place again."
"I- gurgle- your the- gurle- one who in- gurgle- vited me- gurgle- what the- gurgle- stop- gurgle- fucking- gurgle- bitch-"
Blaise wasn't able to finish whatever he was saying as Viktor's fists had made contact with his cheeks. Blaise fell to the floor with a thud before Hermione reversed the spell so that he would stop gurgling soap. She rolled her eyes as he glared at her with blood running from his nose. Soap dribbled from the corner of his lips as he crossed his arms in a manner that made him akin to a petulant child, the child being Gary.
Back at Hogwarts, Blaise had never behaved like this. It had always been Draco playing the baby although he would never admit it. Seeing Blaise in such a light was a curious sight. Had he always behaved like this around people he was close to or something? It probably explained why Gary would cross his arms at such situations. Hermione chuckled. There was definitely some sort of resemblance.
"What the hell." Blaise groaned as he tried to find something to wipe his bleeding nose with. He had probably forgotten that he had a wand.
"That's what you get for swearing." she said.
"So fighting's all right for you then?" He asked as he stood up, apparently given up searching for something to wipe his nose with. He glared at Viktor who gave him a forced smile.
"Of course not."
"But you just let your husband punch me."
"Dat is for svearing at vife." Viktor said with a scowl.
Hermione pointed her wand at Blaise before walking up to him. His eyes widened as before.
"W-what are you doing?" he asked, reaching for his own wand.
"Stay still already, I'm going to heal you," she muttered before mumbling an 'episkey'. She then mumbled a 'scourgify' to wipe away the blood.
There was a loud crack as Viktor had broken Blaise's nose. He groaned and almost fell back. The pain Blaise had been feeling abated after a while and his hands dropped to his sides.
"Vell, anyvay ve vere hoping you know da anser of vhere she is." Viktor suddenly said. "She seems like she like you."
Blaise glared at him. "Since when were you concerned about her? You can't get all the girls you want just because you're a Quidditch Star."
"I haff my vife and dat is enuff." Viktor said with a growl.
"Quit it you two." Hermione interrupted with a frown. Men. "We're all worried about Ginny so I plead that we not argue." She turned to look at Blaise. "Do you know where your brother is?"
"Why would I? We hardly talk to each other." Blaise muttered. "And besides, he's apparently been gone for some time. Can't find him around on his bloody island." He looked her in the eyes sombre and deadly serious way. "Did you send him the same note?"
"I did." Hermione said, rather offended at his suggestion that she hadn't done so already. "He apparently hasn't received it yet." she added.
"Where are your kids?" Blaise suddenly asked.
"Dat is none off your business." Viktor growled.
"Well, you're nosing your way into my situation aren't you? You might as well tell me," Blaise said.
"Dat is because a good friend is missing." Viktor scowled.
Blaise laughed. "Is Krum always like this?"
Hermione grinned. "Just when he feels threatened."
Blaise raised an eyebrow. "Does he think you'll fall for my amazing charms? I obviously have better looks than him, yeah? Probably better in bed too. When you have time, give me a call, we'll have a great time shagging each other." He winked at her.
"You talk like a silly little boy." Viktor growled.
Hermione grinned as the two men glared at each other. They could be so silly sometimes. Blaise had obviously been joking but her husband being protective as he was took it seriously not that she didn't like it. She liked being cared for to a certain extent and so was perfectly fine with it. "We're going off track and with you two glaring at each other like helplessly constipated personages will only further deteriorate our chances of getting anywhere. We'll end up potentially obfuscated if we carry on like this and then we'll have to start from scratch." she said, before pausing for breath. "And anyway, we're supposed to be focusing on Ginny. We're all worried for her so please do try to abstain from talking about other various topics. Also, we'll all be hapless in the end if we do and we don't want that to happen now do we?"
"One last thing," Blaise said. "When's the results out?"
"Hmmm?"
"The results."
There was an awkward silence for a moment before it finally clicked.
"Oh! Two weeks and three days." Hermione said. "But that would depend on the weather. If it's a rainy day on the last day, as in the day of the results, we won't be able to read it until it's sunny. That's because one of the ingredients used to make the potion only works on sunny days. I'm wondering if we may be able to fool the crushed plant into thinking that it's actually sunny with some spells... Do you think that would work? Maybe it wouldn't but still I-"
"You're off topic you hypocrite." Blaise grinned.
"You asked me the question, didn't you?" Hermione asked.
"Whatever. Let's just hope for it to be a sunny day. Um, where were we again?"
An hour later, the three had managed to come up with most of the possible places Ginny could have gone to. Branimir still hadn't arrived thus leading them to a conclusion that he apparently hadn't received the note yet. Hermione hoped that he would come soon since he may know a side of Ginny that she possibly couldn't know. It would give them clues as to what she may be doing and where she was. Could it be possible that Ginny was with Branimir?
As their conversation had died down, there wasn't much to say. Her husband was currently rubbing her right palm with his fingers, staring into space. Blaise was fumbling with his thumbs, looking stressed out and worried. He began to mutter things to himself that didn't quite make sense. Hermione looked away from him before turning her head around to look at the clock. Some time had gone.
"Well. I'll go search around Diagon Alley." Blaise announced, standing up from the chair he had been sitting on. "We can't stick together since you two are going to attract media attention being the media whores you two are." He paused for a moment before bringing his hands to his face. "OMG! It's Viktor Krum! Marryy meeee!"
Hermione laughed at his imitation of Viktor's legions of fangirls. Her husband rolled his eyes.
'I vill check Ministry. Von't say much to people. Just for valk." Viktor muttered, looking as if he was hating Blaise more and more. He then turned to face her. "Ve can go together if vant. But more spread more better? I don't think is good idea if ve stick together."
"Well, I better get going. Can't let my kid's mother go waltzing about like she is." Blaise muttered as he walked over to the fireplace. He then flooed off without another word.
Hermione sighed as she watched the last of the green flames disappear. As rude as Blaise had been today much to her surprise, he seemed genuinely concerned for Ginny in a discreet way. Had it been something about his eyes? The facial expressions he held every now and then? There had been a big give away somewhere but she didn't know what. And where was Branimir anyway? Had Pinky not found him yet?
There was a sudden loud POP!
"Missus!" Pinky called out with a puffed voice. "Pinky tries but Pinky couldn't found Mister Zabini!"
The houseelf walked up to her and gave her back the note looking terribly ashamed of herself. She burst into tears and began banging her head against the corner of a table. Blood started to drip.
"It's all right. He's called and said he couldn't come." Hermione lied, trying to stop the houseelf from further hurting herself. "You can return to the stadium."
Pinky smiled, thanked her a million times then Apparated away.
"You are tired, maybe you rest?" Viktor said. "Can go over to my papa's place to stay vith kids. Viktoria and Miro miss you and maybe Gary too."
Hermione sighed. "Yeah. I should probably spend time with the kids. They need us the most during childhood right? Might as well spend more time with them now then regret it later." She paused for a moment. "But Ginny... We have to find Ginny. She's been through so much... I just can't let her try and escape what she has been living with for all her life. We have to find her."
"Something else bother you." Viktor said, grabbing hold of her hands. It sounded more like a statement than an answer. His thick brows were knotted together in seriousness as he looked at her tenderly. She was never going to figure out how he could do that.
She sighed again and rubbed at her temple with her spare hand. "I don't know.. well... Gary... He... He just... I don't know..."
Viktor brought her into a hug, pulling her towards him with her hand that was in his. "Hermione, you know. You alvays know. Take your time, I vill vait."
She sighed into his chest. "It just seemed- or should I say seems- like he knew what was going on. It's scary to think but... I-I- I'm just wondering if he'll remember what his mother has done as he grows up. Will he have anything against her for that? You know... Hate her for leaving him like this? I just have this feeling that he knows what she's done... There was something about his eyes..."
"Love, you vorry too much." He let go of her but held onto her hands. "I vill try my best, use contacts to try and find her but secret. You stay vith children."
"I'll go vith you."
"Sure?"
"Yes."
And just like that, the two flooed off to the Ministry in search of Ginny. They would spend the rest of the day looking for her all over Magic London whilst trying to receive as little media attention as possible which was going to be very much impossible.
Ginny's POV
The next day
Ginny moaned as she tossed herself to her other side as she lay on her bed. Was it even her bed? The feeling of the bed sheets were so comforting yet so unfamiliar and strange... They were soft yet it was a kind of softness that she wasn't used to, it wasn't the same softness of the bed she had been given back at Krum Mansion where she had felt like she had been resting on a cloud, floating across the sky. It was like she was sleeping in somebody else bed.
She took a deep breath and it was then when her eyes shot open. She was on somebody else's bed. The smell was so not right. Not only that, why in Merlin's name could she smell Harry? Harry of all the people in the world? Merlin. Had she done something... stupid again?
She sat up in a bolt to find herself in an unfamiliar room. Looking down at herself, she quickly checked to see if her clothes were still on. They were. She lifted her head back up to look around the room. Furniture were placed in awkward places, the walls of the house absolutely did not match the colour of the flooring, there were picture frames hung all over the room- She jumped out of bed, feeling sick as the smell of Harry dug it's way all over her. Where was she?
Sudden flashes of moments from the night before came to her... The garden with Gary, they had had a bonding session of some sort... She had had a chat with Hermione before leaving the Krum's house... Flooing over to Luna's place for reasons she didn't know why... She had talked to her before accepting her invitation to stay for the night- Yes, that was why she was here- That was why she had been sleeping on that bed- Which was why she could smell Harry- Which explained why she was feeling so fucking sick.
She began to make her way towards the door to exit the room whilst making sure that she still had her wand with her. What was the time? Six, nine, twelve? She didn't want to bother Luna nor her child. She took a couple of turns before finding the stairs to go up to the living room- The Potter's household went the other way around meaning that the living quarters were downstairs, the living room in the middle and the garage at the top. It was weird yet interesting in a way. The entrance to the house was through the garage. She wondered how they had gotten used to living backwards.
"Ginny?" a dreamy voice called out as she was about to take the stairs to go up to the garage.
Ginny had been planning to leave via broom. "Um. Luna?"
"Did you want to see the garage?" Luna asked. "There isn't much up there apart from Harry's various brooms. I suggest you don't go up there since Nargles and such reside there. Would you like some tea?"
"Oh- no- I- I just wanted to take a bit of fresh air. Um, Good morning. Erm. Yes. Tea. Um, tea sounds good."
Half an hour later, Ginny had washed herself and was sat at the Potter's dining table finishing off her breakfast. She had tried to avoid watching Luna feed Lunily as they reminded her so much of Gary. She wondered what he was doing right now. Eating? Sleeping? Playing? Memories of her time with Gary flashed into her mind. Why had she left him again?
The sudden cries from Lunily brought her out of her pondering. She looked at the young girl to find her pointing at the photo where the Potter's had taken a photograph together. Looking at the photograph, she saw Harry, Luna and their child. They looked so happy together it hurt to the bone and it made her feel sick. It seemed like she was the only one in this fucking world who was sad. Looking into the background of the photo, her heart stopped. She knew the place. It was The Burrow.
"Daddy?" Lunily moaned in a babyish voice. "Daddy!"
Luna sighed. "Daddy needs to work, darling."
"Beezzie?"
"Yes, darling."
"Daddyyyyyyy!" Lunily cried.
"Shhhh. Lily, love, please." Luna said, almost begging. The last word came out as a crack. "I miss Daddy too."
"DADDY!" Lunily started to scream. She threw her fork onto the ground and glared at her mother.
Ginny couldn't bare watching the scene before her any longer, so she took her wand out and put Lunily to sleep. Not the euphemism to death but literally to sleep. It had been a spell that Hermione had taught her although she had been told not to use it unless necessary... capitalised NECESSARY. Hermione had always told her that she thought that the spell was rather horrible and inhumane. Looking at the sleeping young girl, she thought that maybe she wasn't the only one who was sad.
"Ginny! What did you do to her?" Luna cried out, standing up.
"Don't worry she's just asleep." Ginny muttered. "And no there are no side effects to the spell so she should be all right."
Luna had picked her daughter up and flooed off somewhere via floo before returning. She muttered something about keeping Lunily over at her father's place. After that, they didn't speak for a while, they were just silent. The moving photographs around them started to annoy Ginny, especially the ones with Harry in them. As much as she needed a place to stay in, she didn't know why she had decided to come to the Potter's place.
"You miss him a lot don't you?" Ginny asked as she looked at Luna who was beginning to cry silent tears.
She didn't respond but just stared into space. Tears rolled down her cheeks. Slowly. Slowly. Slowly. Ginny wondered if Luna had always felt like this after her marriage to Harry. She had told her that he hadn't been around for a week. People could lose track of time. A week could be a month, and a month could be a few months, and a few months could be a year, and a year could be... Ginny shook her head. This was none of her business. If Luna didn't want to talk about it, she would keep it that way for her.
Luna's silent tears were gone now. She was crying out aloud. Ginny blinked. She was confused. Had Hermione felt like this when she had cried out in front of her? Looking at Luna, she had never seen her cry before. All the bullying back at school had been serious and horrible, but Luna had managed to go through with it without even complaining. Her behaviour now was unpredictable, she couldn't deal or respond to this side of Luna.
She cried.
She cried.
And she cried.
"I want firewhiskey," she suddenly said. Her tear slithered down her cheeks and only stopped when it reached her chin.
Ginny didn't know what to say. She blinked.
"Ginny, I want firewhiskey." Luna repeated. More tears slithered down her cheeks, stopping by her chin.
Ginny frowned. "Luna... be serious. You're just upset, you don't know what you're talking about."
Luna looked at Ginny straight in the eyes. "That's what everybody has told me all my life but I stuck to who I am." she paused. "Please, Ginny. Just this once. I'm sick of having to be and live the life the way I am now. I feel like I'm confined in some prison."
"Have you even tried firewhiskey before?" Ginny asked nervously.
"To be honest, no." Luna said.
"Then I don't think you should drink... what if you-"
"Ginny. You used to drink underage and I used to rant on about how it's not good for you. Don't bother with me please. If you could start drinking from eleven, I should be able to now."
"If you insist..." Ginny began before pausing as an idea hit her. She smiled. "Hey, why don't we have some girl time? How does an island sound? It's been ages since I had time for myself and I'd say the same for you."
"Sure. Sounds great."
"Luna... I miss the old you."
"Same here."
"Will she be back?"
"I hope so."
Two hours later they were at some beachside pub, drinking. Ginny knew she should have told Luna some sort of method or something when it came to drinking. Luna had been drinking too fast and so many, she was already drunk and spluttering nonsense out. She had to save Luna many times from the men who had been eyeing them for some time.
"Mmm. Ginnnyyyyyy." Luna moaned before smiling. "Wrackspurtttsss." She paused before reaching for her mouth with her hands. "I don't feel so good."
"Serves you right." Ginny told her. "You shouldn't drink so much in such a short time and at the speed you drank too!"
Ginny heard some wolf howls and cat calls and when she turned around to find out where the noise was coming from, she saw Harry, but he was not alone. His arms were wrapped around a very pretty looking red headed woman and they were currently grinding each other. His hands were rested on her waist and one of them were slowly feeling her up. Looking carefully and the woman's hands that were currently resting on Harry's cheek, she saw a bracelet. She gasped. It wasn't just any bracelet but the bracelet Harry had once told her that had belonged to his passed mother.
She turned her head around to look at Luna who didn't appear to have spotted Harry yet. Should she tell Luna? Seeing the drunken state that she was in, probably not but... still... Luna was her apparently best friend and what were best friends for?
She reached forward and yanked the jug away from Luna who frowned at her.
"Giiiiiiive that baaaaack. It's miiiiiiiiinneeeeeee!" Luna moaned. "Areee you a narrrrrgle?"
"Luna, there's something I need to tell you."
Luna suddenly reached for her mouth. "Toiilettt!"
She stood up and bolted for the exit and Ginny followed after her. By the time she had caught up with Luna, she found her looking very unwell, and surrounded by three of the men who had been ostensibly and discreetly watching them. She began to feel nervous and was proven to feel so when one of them made a move on Luna, wrapping his arms around her. Unsurprisingly, Luna didn't resist when he began to kiss her being drunk as she was. Ginny quickened her pace.
"Let go of her!" she cried out, brandishing her wand at the three men.
They stared at her blankly as if she was stupid. The brunet closest to her chuckled and stretched his arms out for her as if to embrace her.
"Do we know you?" the blond next to him asked.
"I told you to let go of her!" Ginny hissed as the brunet forced a bear hug on her. He didn't let go.
"Are you going to hurt us with that wand of yours?" The brunet holding Luna asked. He licked her face. "We know who owns this island you know... We could trap you here for the rest of your life without the ministry knowing..."
Ginny's eyes widened. They knew Branimir? Her cheeks flamed furiously in anger. How could he be friends with such horrible people when he was so nice? Did they knew where he was now? And what did they mean by trapping her here for the rest of her life? Did Branimir have connexions? Her wand dropped to the floor as the pressure the brunet was forcing onto her was too much.
"Let go of me! I'm warning you!"
The three men just laughed.
A sudden burst of light shot passed her all of a sudden and bound the three men together. Luna fell to the floor in a gooey lump. She moaned before beginning to throw up.
"Ginny! Luna! Are you girls all right?" A familiar voice called out from behind.
"Draco?" Ginny exclaimed when he stood next to her. How did he get here?
"You three will have some serious explaining to do at the ministry." Draco growled. He gave her a surreptitious wink. "McLaggen! Take these three to the MOM. Lock them up somewhere, I need to have a few words with these girls."
Cormac McLaggen apeared out of no where and grabbed the three men before apparating off with them. She was left at the entrance of the beach with a very drunk-sick Luna and Draco.
"Merlin, are you two all right? And what's with Luna throwing up everywhere?" Draco asked, trying to hide his disgust. There were still some of the old Draco there.
"We're fine. Luna's had too much of a drink." Ginny said. "What are you doing here? I didn't expect to find you here on the island."
"Well... I actually came here looking for you." he said. "I need to talk to you about something. Can we go somewhere... private? Um, that's not the right word seeing the situation you were just in... Just somewhere where people can't hear us. It's important and strictly confidential."
"I can't leave Luna alone here though, some other people might pick her up. I don't think she's been doing all right for the past few weeks."
"I'll have to carry her then... Even if she hears the whole conversation, she's going to forget anyway."
A/N New chapter! Updated as fast as I could. Love it? Hate it? Flame or review.