Chapter 19

Ginny POV

Ginny stifled a yawn as she trailed behind Natalie through High Street in Hogsmeade. It wasn't early by any means, really, Ginny was just still tired from staying up late the night before.

"Come on, Gin," her teammate said with exasperation as she turned to look at Ginny, walking backwards all the while.

Ginny rolled her eyes and shuffled her feet into a bit of a jog until she fell into step with the younger girl. The redhead gave a bit of a rueful shake of her head. Natalie had a date with Ritchie next week and she wanted buy a nice dress for it. The girl had heard that Ginny had at one point gotten a dress from the elusive corner shop, so, reluctantly, Ginny realized that it only seemed logical that she be enlisted for this task.

"Where is it?" Natalie asked as they reached the end of the road. The younger girl peered around the supposed empty roadway, looking behind the small shrubberies that lined the side wall and examining the back wall.

"Over here," Ginny chuckled as she moved towards the crack in the wall. A fleeting memory of Hermione studying this wall and quietly saying an incantation rushed through Ginny's head. She smiled at the recollection of their outing that year and even the absurd, excessive tension that had been shooting back and forth between them. How could they have not have seen it earlier?

With a lingering smile, Ginny pulled her wand out and tapped the wall, the incantation falling off her tongue. A moment later, the crack in the wall widened to reveal the glamorous dress shop inside.

"Whoa!" Ginny heard Natalie exclaim from behind and soon was pressed right up against her, half pushing her aside to look inside the store. Ginny laughed and pushed her teammate inside.

"Hello Ladies," the same woman from last time greeted them. She still looked absolutely amazing, dressed to perfection , every hair in place, and makeup flawless on her skin. She was about to continue her introduction when she narrowed her eyes slightly at Ginny. "Oh hello, I remember you. You were here with that other girl. Dark hair, curly? Ah, she was bossing you all around the store," she chuckled, causing Ginny's cheeks to redden against her will. "Not that you seemed to mind," the woman went on with a sly smile. "So, is this a new friend?" The woman asked as she cocked an eyebrow and glanced in Natalie's direction.

Ginny went rigid with appall as her gaze followed the shopkeeper's. Thankfully, Natalie wasn't even remotely aware of their conversation, as she was already lost in a rack of dresses.

"No, definitely not," Ginny stressed as she eyed the older woman.

"Hm, I figured not...just thought I'd ask. Where's the brunette? She chose very well last time," the shopkeeper said.

"She's-"

"Ginny!" Natalie called from across the store. "Come here!"

Ginny exhaled in minor embarrassment before excusing herself.

"What is it?" Ginny asked in mild exasperation as she came up behind Natalie.

"What do you think?" The girl asked in awe as she held up this, admittedly, beautiful dress.

"Looks promising," Ginny commented with a laugh at how excited Natalie seemed.

"Okay, well I need 'drop dead gorgeous' for next week...," the younger girl clarified.

"Try it on," Ginny said patiently as she gestured to the change rooms located in the back.

Without a word, Natalie ran off to the back, leaving Ginny to chuckle and shake her head. The redhead wandered around the store and examined the dresses on display. Her mind wandered back to Hermione's stunning red dress that she wore in sixth year to Slughorn's dinner party.

"Merlin, that dress made me such a blubbering mess," Ginny recalled in mild amusement.

As Ginny looked through the rest of the dresses, she imagined what Hermione would look like in certain ones and the images in her mind never disappointed. When she made more money, she'd return the favour and buy Hermione a nice dress from here.

She sighed as she thought about her girlfriend. Percy better watch his back during the holidays, Ginny thought. She had a firm belief that every one of her siblings would beat the snot out of Percy for the way he outed Hermione; this belief later confirmed by letters.

Ginny had received multiple letters the following day. Each one from her brothers involved a different method of punishment for Percy and Ginny had to give credit to her siblings for how creative they all were. While it wasn't public knowledge that Percy was the prat responsible for the article that came out about Hermione, Ginny's brothers were always rather adept at finding out information that they weren't particularly supposed to know.

Ginny had also received an owl from her mom asking what happened and if they were okay. The reply Ginny sent explained some of the incident and assured her mother that they were okay, but she did exclude the portion about Percy. She didn't want to unleash that bomb through a letter - no, something like that had to be done in person. However, she was sure that her mother had already heard the fully story from someone else - there's no way all of her other brothers would be so tight-lipped about it all. If her mother did know, it did irritate Ginny that she wouldn't react more harshly towards Percy, but Ginny had to remind herself that someone had to play peacemaker, though she didn't think that Percy deserved such leniency.

Hermione and Ginny had talked a bit over the past few days and it seemed that Hermione's immediate colleagues were taking the news fine. Mr. Noirent had said that Hermione's personal life was her own and that he and the others had nothing to do with it. Mr. Higgit had apparently joked around with her, saying that a fellow named Jerold or Jerry, or something else that Ginny didn't care to remember, was devastated by the news. This all put the brunette at ease and it made Ginny feel better too, but still, Hermione should've been able to tell people in her own time and of her own accord. Now, the news was splattered across numerous countries.

Ms. Blake had apparently been none too pleased about the scandal hitting the papers, however, she did say that since there was a bit of a positive spin on the article, as in at least nothing negative was being said specifically about the project - all would be well. Still, this whole thing put Hermione in a horrible position and Ginny absolutely hated that her own brother was responsible for it.

"Gin." The redhead looked up when she heard her name. She put the dress she had been holding back onto the rack and walked to the change rooms.

"What do you think?" Natalie asked nervously as she stood outside the change room in the dress.

Ginny examined her friend briefly. She couldn't deny that the girl looked good - quite good.

"Regarding that whole 'drop dead gorgeous' comment you said earlier," Ginny said casually, "I don't think you have much to worry about. Ritchie's a goner as far as I'm concerned."

"Yes!" Natalie squealed before rushing back into the dressing room and closing the door behind her.

Ginny rolled her eyes once more and wandered back towards the dresses. A short while later, the girls were back out on the snowy streets of Hogsmeade, Natalie simply glowing with satisfaction from her purchase.

"Mind if we stop by the owlery?" Ginny asked as they wandered down the street.

"Sure," Natalie replied dreamily, clearly lost in her thoughts.

They walked into the owlery and Ginny purchased some blank parchment - begrudgingly, since she had so much back at the castle, but none on her - borrowed a quill and began to write.

Hey, Love,

I'm in Hogsmeade right now and I was just in that lady's fancy dress shop. I kept thinking about our trip to Hogsmeade early in fifth/sixth year - it was really great (until a certain other Weasley ruined our day). And I just realized I never called you out on it, so I'm doing it now, I know you got me that gorgeous dress. Ron spilled the beans - take it up with him. Anyway, thank you so much. It really is beautiful and the fact that you got it for me and didn't want any credit for it is just so incredibly sweet. I can't wait to see you again.

So is everything still okay over there? Ms. Blake didn't change her opinion did she? It's not your fault that my brother is a complete prat and that article was published. Take care, okay?

Miss you endlessly.

Ginny

PS - I hope you get some much needed, well deserved rest. I'm worried about you, you know

Giving the letter a quick once over, Ginny folded it up and gave it to the shopkeeper who handed it off to a nearby owl.

"Okay, where now?" Ginny asked.

Natalie gave her a quiet, teasing smile, but didn't say a word about the letter. Instead she grabbed her hand and led her towards Madam Puddifoot's.

"Oh, come on," Ginny complained as she began to drag her feet.

"I just want to check it out. I've never been before and I don't want to be caught off guard next week," Natalie whined.

"Caught off guard by tea?" Ginny asked in disbelief.

"Just be a good sport, will you?" Natalie implored and gave Ginny an unimpressed look.

"Merlin," Ginny muttered. "Just for a minute, okay?"

Natalie squealed again and dragged Ginny into the shop. Immediately, Ginny's senses were overwhelmed by the excessive pink and frills and lace that littered the shop.

"Have mercy," Ginny breathed as she stumbled along behind Natalie's confident steps as she led them to a vacant table.

The redhead sat down and cowered slightly under the smothering atmosphere of the place. Her eyes wandered the shop and she saw many couples lost in their own private worlds. A blush of embarrassment crossed Ginny's cheeks as a menu popped into her hands. She glanced at the menu's few items and began to fan herself with the menu.

"Dear Nargles, it's hot in here," Ginny remarked as she continued to look on in a level of disdain at the tacky decorations.

"It's wonderful in here," Natalie sighed as a cup of tea appeared in front of her.

"You're ordering?" Ginny asked impatiently and shot a withering look at her teammate.

"Why not? We're here already, and I want to know what to suggest for Ritchie. You order the coffee," the girl ordered.

"You owe me big time. I don't want a single bludger to come anywhere near any of the chasers or Dennis next match," Ginny warned.

"You got it," Natalie promised with a cheeky grin.

As Ginny sipped her coffee, interrupted periodically by Natalie reaching across and stealing it away for a sip, the redhead thanked the powers above for being blessed with a girlfriend who would likely rather re-write all of her O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s in one day than sit in a place like this. Sure, Hermione and Ginny had gone to their share of shamelessly romantic venues while in Paris, but it wasn't anything like this. They had purposely avoided this shop during their time at Hogwarts together for a reason.

After what felt like a painful lifetime, they finally drained their cups, paid their bill and were headed back to Hogwarts.

The next day, Ginny walked into the Great Hall at breakfast with Colin and they sat down with Eleanor at the Hufflepuff table. Ginny was in the midst of telling them of her painful experience with Natalie yesterday in Hogsmeade when their attention momentarily shifted towards the owls that began to fly into the Great Hall. Ginny returned her gaze to the pair in front of her and started in again to her story about Madam Puddifoot's. She was just about to tell them all about how much she hated the atmosphere when a glaringly red enveloped swooped in and stopped right in front of her face. Ginny stopped her story mid-sentence as the howler started up.

"GINNY WEASLEY," her mother's voice boomed across the Great Hall. The fork Ginny was holding clattered to her plate as she released it in surprise. The chatter around the giant room came to an abrupt stop and Ginny felt hundreds of eyes upon her. "How dare you betray Hermione that way! I thought I had raised you better than that, but I am sorely disappointed. I've seen you kids do a lot of stupid things, but this one takes the cake. I can't believe you! She's such a sweet, wonderful girl, and she's stood by you through so much and this is how you repay her! December 20th, you will come straight to King's Crossing and your father and I will be waiting and we will have a good, long chat. Try not to cause any more trouble until then."

Ginny's eyes were wider than ever, her mouth hanging open as the letter ripped itself up and fell in bits onto the table. Excited murmuring erupted around the Great Hall while Ginny stared at the pieces of the howler. She shifted her gaze up to Colin and Eleanor, still at a loss for words. They stared back at her in a level of fright.

"Wh-what was that all about?" Colin asked nervously.

Ginny absently shook her head. "I...have no idea." They were silent for a few moments longer before Ginny spoke up again, her mind beginning to feel a bit more clear. "What the-"

Just then another few letters arrived. Ginny inhaled sharply before she tentatively reached out and looked at the writing on each. The first one she picked up appeared to be from Fred and George. She growled under her breath, if they were about to give her a hard time too...

"Ginny."

The redhead looked up to see Luna standing behind Colin and Eleanor. She just looked at the blonde expectantly.

"I think you should come with me," Luna said softly as she held up a magazine briefly for Ginny to see.

Ginny snatched up her remaining letters and scrambled out from the table and walked briskly towards the doors of the hall, Luna matching her pace. As they stepped out into the corridor, Ginny wheeled around to face Luna, complete disbelief on her face and praying that Luna had an explanation for all of this. Luna wordlessly handed the magazine to her - it was open to an article. Ginny's jaw dropped as the images of the article were burned into her mind. First off, there was the headline, "Hermione's Heartbreak"followed by four pictures of Ginny with Natalie. One of them standing in, regrettably, intimate proximity when they were entering the dress shop, Ginny eyeing Natalie in her new dress, Natalie dragging Ginny down the street by her hand, but again, looking admittedly intimate, and one of them at Madam Puddifoot's. Ginny's mind reeled as she began to read.

The article was dripping with sympathy for Hermione as it hashed out the details of Ginny's affair. The redhead's hands were shaking with rage as she finished reading.

"Rita Skeeter," she hissed as she clutched the magazine tightly enough to crinkle the paper. "I should march down to her office, break her quill and make her eat the damned thing."

Luna gave her a reproachful, yet amused look.

"You should probably speak with Hermione before this escalates," Luna advised.

Ginny groaned. "Yeah, you're right. I'm really hoping she hasn't stumbled upon this yet. She never reads Witch Weekly, so with any luck, she won't start now."

Ginny quickly looked down at the letters she received. From the looks of things...this was likely a popular edition, she didn't anticipate she'd be so lucky as for Hermione to not have come across it. With a gulp, Ginny opened up the letter from the twins.

Dear Little Sis,

We heard so many rumblings this morning about a 'riveting' article in Witches Weekly that we just had to check it out. We have to say that we are thoroughly disappointed...in ourselves, for not getting near as much tail as you while we were at Hogwarts. Well done!

Signed,

Fred & George

PS – we know the whole thing's rubbish

"Well at least someone in my family knows better," Ginny grumbled. Luna gave a soft chuckle.

Ginny sighed and opened the next letter. It was from Ron. He said that he hoped the article was a joke, but to either way, watch out for Hermione...she could be a force to reckon with when she was furious.

"No shit," Ginny scoffed internally as she rolled her eyes in irritation before continuing to read.

He went on to ask what the heck she had done to piss off Rita Skeeter so thoroughly. Apparently Harry was waiting for Ginny's go-ahead to put a nasty curse on the vile journalist. The thought made her smile.

The last letter she had was from Percy. When she saw his writing on the letter, her knees nearly buckled as she put two and two together. So the article was in France...and she knew he sure as Hell didn't read this magazine regularly, so the news must be everywhere...

Ginevra,

It's bad enough that you've chosen this life, but now you have to inflict your poor choices upon me? This article is all over the office. I was lucky enough to not have our name mentioned in that previous article about your...girl..., but this makes every single one of us look bad. You obviously don't have any respect for those of us who would like to rise above the muck that our father has dragged our name through. Instead you seem content to bring it to a new level of shame. I, unfortunately, will have to see you at Christmas, I will be there for one day, but after that I want nothing more to do with you. At least with this article being heavily circulated, I may not have to deal with you and Hermione together. She did not look pleased this morning. Good riddance.

Percy

"Ugh," Ginny said with disgust. "What a self-righteous git. Oh shit," Ginny breathed in anxiety as the last part of his letter hit home. "Hermione...I have to go, Luna. I can't talk to her through owl or through...," she trailed off, not wanting to mention their charmed rings. "I need to see her in person."

Luna gave her a nod. "I believe the twins would be quite helpful in this endeavour. Also, I believe the path into Honeydukes is open, in case you wish to exit discreetly."

"Right," Ginny nodded. "Thanks for your help, Luna. I have to go to the owlery. I'm not going to be in class, cover for me if you can," Ginny said in a rush as she took off down the corridor.

A couple of hours later, Ginny waited for Fred in Hogsmeade. She had sent an owl to the twins earlier requesting that one of them meet her there as soon as possible. She would've come sooner, but she had to give Pig time to get to Diagon Alley. She stood, somewhat concealed, in an alley off of High Street and tapped her foot impatiently. She had no idea what she was going to say to Hermione when she saw her, but she knew that this couldn't be hashed out any other way than in person.

"There you are, you little player, you."

Ginny looked over to see Fred standing at the entrance to the alley, his arms crossed and a playful grin on his face.

"Don't even start with me," Ginny sighed as she walked towards him.

"Think she believes the article?" He asked as she held out his arm to Ginny. She took it and they were pulled in a blinding rush towards Diagon Alley and landed with a pop.

"I don't know," Ginny replied as she let her hand fall from his arm and she followed him down the street.

"She's a rather smart girl, I'd assume she could see past it, but then again, she is oddly self-conscious when it comes to you," he winked. Ginny punched him in the arm.

"That is not what I needed to hear," Ginny seethed.

"Come on, it means she really likes you," he chuckled. Not giving Ginny a chance to respond, he said, "Okay, there's a portkey that leaves for Paris in a few minutes. It'll take you to downtown Paris. You'll be surrounded by muggles, but just follow the others that took the portkey, they work for the Ministry and they'll be going to the French Ministry."

Ginny nodded. "Okay."

"Well," Fred said as she came to a stop. "There it is, the paper cup over there," he pointed. "Good luck."

"Thanks," Ginny said. She gave a sidelong glance at her brother, "I owe you," she grumbled.

"Say my 'hello's to Hermione, if she doesn't stun you the moment she sees you. And give Percy a swift kick in the shin for me, will you?"

Ginny groaned. "You got it. Later."

Ginny approached the portkey and the few other people that were currently surrounding it. She felt completely out of place standing here next to these people in business attire and who were clearly much older than her. Well, if she had any hope of making it to Hermione without days of wandering, she'd best buddy up a couple of these employees.

"Time to turn on that Weasley charm."

An eventful period of time went by including navigating downtown and entering the French Ministry through a change room in the back of a small shop lining a busy street. It would've been far more difficult if it hadn't been for these two Ministry officials that seemed rather amused by her spontaneous jaunt across the sea to France.

"This is your stop," the officials announced teasingly with small smiles.

"Oh," Ginny exclaimed as she stood up straight and took a few hurried steps out of the lift. She spun around on her heel to face the pair. "Thank you so much for your help," she smiled. "You guys were great. Enjoy the rest of your day."

"You too," they laughed.

Ginny gave them a quick wave and headed down the hall and approached the woman at the desk who was already eyeing her curiously.

"Good afternoon," Ginny greeted her with a friendly smile. "I'm here to see Hermione Granger, would you be able to direct me towards her office, please?"

Ginny continued to offer the young blonde woman her most charming smile. Unfortunately, the woman didn't appear moved by the gesture. Instead, she kept her eyes locked on Ginny and slowly reached her hand to the side toward a stack of papers. Ginny watched her hand carelessly, blindly, paw through the papers until she clutched onto something and brought it forward. Ginny's stomach dropped as she saw the item in the woman's hands. The blonde looked down quickly at the magazine.

"You're Ginny," she stated in a low, dangerous voice.

"Yes...that's right," Ginny replied slowly as her gaze flitted about the room until settling back upon the blonde who eyed her darkly.

"Miss Granger will not want to see you," this Antonia woman, declared. "She's been locked up in her office all morning. She's currently in a meeting, but I think it'd be well advised for you to leave."

"Thanks for the advice," Ginny said politely, making sure to keep the edge out of her voice that threatened to seep out. "Which office is hers?" She asked casually as she peered around.

Antonia waved the article in Ginny's face indignantly. "You should be ashamed of yourself! Miss Granger is such a nice lady. She just comes to the office, works hard all day long, and goes home. She's always sweet and polite no matter how long her day has been. She deserves far better than you."

Some part of Ginny felt tempted to show this woman just how skilled she was in hexes, but for the most part, she appreciated how this woman was defending Hermione. Under different circumstances, she'd probably quite like this woman.

"Hermione's very lucky to work with someone like you," Ginny said with sincerity, as she pushed aside that alluring desire to retaliate. "I'm really glad she's being taken care of over here. I worry about her, you know?"

Antonia looked completely caught off guard, as her mouth hung open slightly before she clamped it shut. "I'm sure," she said finally in a flat voice that made Ginny grit her teeth in frustration and displeasure.

"Please," Ginny pleaded quietly as she leaned against the table, "there isn't an ounce of truth in that article. If you won't believe me, then at least let me speak with Hermione because she deserves an explanation straight from me. You have no idea how much I love her."

Antonia looked around warily before laying eyes on the redhead once more, this time her eyes much gentler, though still defiant.

"Well...I suppose. Her office is the one at the end of the hall," she announced quietly with a gesture of her hand. "The one on the left. Your brother's is on the right." Before Ginny could begin to thank the woman, Antonia narrowed her eyes once more at the younger girl and went on, "If there are any signs that you so much as begin to upset Miss Granger, I'll have you hauled out of here by our least-forgiving Aurors."

"Right," Ginny said with a bit of a nervous smile and a nod. Normally she would've laughed in the face of anyone who would say such a thing to her, but right now, Ginny had to admit that the she was at a bit of a disadvantage. Coming out of her thoughts, Ginny quickly offered Antonia a sweet smile. "Thank you very much, Antonia," Ginny said softly. "Have a great day. It was nice to meet you."

"Hm, yeah, you too," Antonia offered in an unconvincing voice as she followed Ginny with her gaze until the younger girl disappeared down the hall.

Ginny walked down the short hall until she reached the end. Sure enough, on the right was a door with Percy's nameplate on it, and on the left was Hermione's. It was probably an incredibly good thing that Percy's office appeared empty, because if he had been there...

Ginny shook out her head a bit as she refocused on the task at hand. She turned to face Hermione's office and butterflies stirred up into a flurry in Ginny's stomach just at the sight of Hermione's name and knowing that the room was essentially hers. After a slight pause, Ginny walked into the office. She stood just past the threshold and took in the surroundings. The office wasn't exactly spacious, but it actually wasn't bad. It was incredibly neat; that small fact making the redhead smirk fondly.

She was about to sit down when she spotted a picture frame on the side of Hermione's desk. Ginny walked around the back of Hermione's desk to pick up the picture to examine it. She smiled affectionately as she took in the sight of herself and Hermione hugging.

"She must've just put this up," Ginny mumbled quietly in awe. It made sense, now that everyone knew they were a couple there wasn't necessarily a need to hide things anymore. She sighed as she recalled exactly why she was here and that uncomfortable twinge formed in her chest. "Well, at least she didn't break the frame or set the picture on fire..."

She brought her hand up to trace along the frame. She was in the middle of getting lost in her recollections when a figure appeared in her periphery and stopped dead in their tracks. Ginny's eyes snapped up in apprehension as she saw Hermione standing there with an arm full of folders held up against her side. She just stared at Ginny.

Ginny hurriedly set down the picture and stepped out from behind the desk. "Hermione, I-"

Her explanation was cut short as the door slammed shut.

AN: Well, our dynamic duo is finally reunited! Perhaps not in the best of ways, but still, together again lol. Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! Thank you again to everyone for staying tuned :)