Chapter 19 ~ Betrayal
Ginny sputtered before her irate brother, furious husband and utterly enraged best friend. A best friend who…she had betrayed twenty years prior.
"Tell me you didn't do this to her." Ron's voice shaking in fury, "To me."
"Ginny?" Harry questioned hoping beyond hope that Ron and Hermione had been faulty in their accusation, but at seeing her shoulders sag; knew their words had been true. Ginny had meddled.
"I…had…" Tears splashed down her lashes, "Dad had given it to me. And I was going to give it to you, I had been curious as you…" She turned to Ron, "She was going to break up with you and you would have been devastated."
"More or less than now, Ginny?"
"I trusted you!" Hermione lashed out, her magic pushing the other woman backwards. "And you…you…damn it! What if I had done that to you? To Harry?"
"You loved him, and I…thought…"
"You didn't think!" Hermione screamed, "You meddled with what YOU wanted!"
Ginny straightened her back, "And if you and Ron hadn't got together, you'd never have had Rose or Hugo; your marriage…"
"Which neither of us wants to be in!" Hermione countered taking both Harry and Ginny by surprise by her comment. "And we are. A subterfuge as it were, one that you are going to help us with or so help me God, my nieces and nephews will never see their mother again."
"I didn't know…"
"That your dearest brother has been seeing someone for almost five years?"
"Hermione…" Ron hissed at her, "I thought we talked…"
"We did." Her curt voice ending his, "And since Ginny thought she should take it upon herself to meddle; I want her to know what her damning good intentions have led to." An understanding passed between blue and brown eyes, and with the faintest of nods; Hermione returned her full attention to Ginny. "How would it feel to know that I haven't had sex in just over four years until last night! No," Hermione snapped, "You think we have a perfect life, because we don't air our arguments; they remain behind closed doors as they should. And for the last twenty years, we've been trying to make it work, trying to put everyone else's happiness above our own. For a while, yes; you could say we were happy and then it became a contented routine as we watched all of our friends growing older and their love richer." She scoffed, "And ours grew dimmer. And dimmer. What have you to say? That I never got to spend time with Minerva and Ron with his lover; growing older with the ones we love? And while I wouldn't trade Rose or Hugo for the world, what if I wanted to raise a child with Minerva? Or even use muggle technology and have a child with her? See and be with her while she was the Headmistress? Did you know why she left Hogwarts; I'm sure it never entered your mind other to question past the official resignation statement. She left because of my child; wanting to keep her distance from me, in case she said or did something that would betray her feelings. You robbed Minerva, Ron, and me…of countless experiences that…no amount of apologizing nor regret will ever be returned to us. You stole twenty years of choices, twenty years of memories…" Her eyes glowed with undulating fury, "Because you bloody well meddled in affairs that weren't yours to meddle in. I loved her! Still do, and thankfully…" The rage coursing through her becoming slightly tempered by the love she felt for Minerva, "There is a modicum of hope for our mutual happiness."
"I never meant to hurt you." The pain in Ginny's voice was palpable. "Either of you."
"Then you should have given me the letter, despite your personal feelings regarding Minerva or my happiness being found in another woman's arms and not your brother's." Her voice cut the air, leaving a red welt across Ginny's cheek. "Twenty years, Ginny." Tears dripped off her long lashes, "I should banish you to some forsaken island and come back in twenty years; after all, that's what friend's are for."
Xoxo
A/N: How do you get back 20 years of missed opportunities, choices, and dreams?