Chapter 34
Hermione POV
Hermione slowly felt herself awakening, though her eyes initially refused to open. She was momentarily confused when she felt warm and the bedding below her was actually soft and comfortable. She felt even more perplexed when she heard breathing next to her. Her eyes snapped open to see a mane of red hair and slightly freckled skin that sent the brunette's heart a flutter. She was home, she was safe, and she was with Ginny.
Involuntarily, Hermione's mind flashed back to the nightmare she had been having when the redhead had woken her the previous night. With a shocking amount of urgency, Hermione closed the space that had formed between them throughout the night - steadily ignoring how meek the action made her feel. Only after did she realize that her movements could and did disrupt her girlfriend's sleep. She watched in stillness as Ginny stirred and eventually stretched out before unceremoniously flopping onto her side to face Hermione, her eyes still closed as she buried her head into the pillow.
"Gin?" Hermione asked quietly through the affectionate smile that had formed on her face. "Are you awake?"
Ginny stirred furthermore but eventually blinked her eyes open.
"Mm," Ginny noised as she rubbed the side of her face momentarily. "Mione, hey," she smiled a moment later.
"I'm sorry I woke you," Hermione spoke softly.
Ginny grinned lazily before lacing an arm around Hermione's waist. "No you're not."
Hermione leaned forward and kissed Ginny's forehead before pulling back with a smirk. "Okay, maybe not."
Ginny rubbed her eyes and forced herself up so she was propped up on an elbow as her eyes scanned the room. "What time is it?" She asked, her voice a further indication of how groggy she was.
"I think it's about 6:30," Hermione announced, laughing softly as Ginny allowed herself to fall back onto the bed with a groan.
"Blimey, are you kidding? Mione, have mercy," she chuckled.
"You can go back to sleep," Hermione offered as she smiled at the girl who had closed her eyes once again.
"Mm," Ginny grunted, pulling another giggle out Hermione. "Are you going back to sleep?"
"No, I don't think so," Hermione answered.
"Oh sweet Merlin, why can't I be dating someone who isn't an early bird," the redhead mumbled.
Normally, Hermione would've shot a very clever quip Ginny's way, but she just didn't feel up to it today. Instead she just smiled softly and offered, "I'm sorry."
"Oh come on," Ginny grumbled. Hermione let out a small yelp as Ginny put both arms around her and she found herself being pulled partially on top of the redhead. "You know I'm just teasing." Hermione laughed silently as Ginny wrapped her arms securely around the brunette and kissed her head.
Hermione was content to just stay where she was, eventually letting her head rest upon Ginny's chest. She closed her eyes as the sound of Ginny's heartbeat filled her head and offered an odd sort of comfort. A short while later, Hermione's eyes opened as she felt Ginny's arms falling away from her, and she looked up to realize that the redhead had fallen asleep again. Hermione gave an admonishing smirk before gently, carefully, removing herself from the younger girl's body. As discretely as possible, Hermione climbed out of bed and after one last glance back to ensure that Ginny was still asleep, she left the room and headed downstairs.
Quickly, the smell of freshly brewed coffee filled Hermione's senses and she smiled fondly. She felt safe just knowing that her parents were here, the murmur of their voices confirming their presence furthermore.
"Good morning," Hermione greeted quietly as she came to a stop in the doorway to the kitchen, folding her arms against her chest, realizing that she should've put a jumper on before coming down.
"Hermione," her dad smiled as she turned to see her.
"Sweetheart, come in, have a seat," her mother offered as she hurried over to the table and pulled out a chair.
"Thank you," Hermione said as she sat down, smiling further as her mother gave her a rare kiss on the head.
"Coffee? Toast?" Her dad asked.
Hermione offered him a nod. "Sure, thank you."
A while later, she took a small bite of her toast and washed it down with a mouthful of coffee. Both felt like heaven to her after the gruel at Laurophey.
"Did you sleep okay?" Her mother asked as she stirred her own cup of coffee.
"Yes, very well," Hermione smiled as her thoughts wandered to the girl upstairs in her bed.
"That's great, honey," her dad said.
Silence crept into their conversation and Hermione knew that they wanted to ask her questions, but were afraid of pushing her.
"I'm fine," she assured them. "You can ask me whatever," she declared with a shrug as she took another bite of her toast. Though what she said wasn't exactly the truth, she knew that she couldn't hide from things forever too.
"We know that if you want to tell us things, you will. And you just got back yesterday, we're not about to rush you into anything. Take it easy; we encourage it. All we want to know is if you're doing okay and if there's anything we can do to help."
"Thank you - that means a lot to me," Hermione said. "I'm doing about as good as I can be right now. I know I have a lot of support, so that helps tremendously. I'll be back on my feet in no time," she smiled bravely.
"No need to rush, though," her dad stated in that quiet authoritative voice he used every now and then. "We know that you always want to get things done and get them done as quickly and efficiently as possible, but in this case, resting is probably best - at least for a while."
"I know," she assured them. "I will go speak with Dumbledore in a few days, just to see what the situation is, but outside of that, I know I need to sit back for a bit."
"Good."
"Speaking of support," her mother started with a bit of lilt in her voice as she eyed her daughter with a bit of a twinkle in her eye, "Ginny came down last night - gave us a bit of a speech." Her eyes flitted towards Mr. Granger who offered a knowing smile.
"Speech?" Hermione asked with a frown as she set her food down. "About what?"
"No need to worry, dear," her mother assured her with a bit of a laugh. "It was a very sweet, moving speech." Hermione looked accusingly at both of her parents as they left her hanging with no immediate explanation.
"She just let us know that she's in it for the long haul with you - whether we supported that or not," her father explained.
"Well why wouldn't you support it all of a sudden?" Hermione asked as confusion set in - that part of her over-riding the sweet butterflies that formed in her stomach at the thought of Ginny's proclamation.
"Ginny was under the impression that we blamed her for the whole mess with the Ministry," her mother answered.
"What?" Hermione exclaimed. "Why? You don't do you?" She questioned further as she began to eye her parents in challenge.
"No, we definitely don't blame her. I think she might've gotten that idea because we were so preoccupied with worrying about you. Perhaps we were cold to her? I'm not sure, actually. But we assured her last night that we're not remotely upset with her and instead are very happy that you have her to lean on."
"Good," Hermione nearly snapped, trying to bite back the feeling of accusation towards her parents for making Ginny feel bad, even if unintentionally. She felt guilt rising within her as her parents both eyed her. "I mean - thank you," she said with a resigned nod. She sighed before continuing. "I'm sorry, it's just that Ginny's really...important to me." She looked up to make eye contact with her parents who were watching her patiently. "She's been absolutely amazing throughout all of this, not just the past few weeks, but the entire thing - ever since Mr. Noirent told me about the job. I just don't want to give her any reason to leave...you know?" She asked, her expression growing vulnerable. "I don't want her to feel unappreciated - especially after all that she's done. In fact, some part of me is surprised that she's still around."
"Why?" Her father asked as his expression changed - Hermione instantly recognizing it as the one that came up when his fatherly protective instincts kicked in. She nearly rolled her eyes at how he had such faith in Ginny a moment ago and one simple comment made him doubt the redhead's devotion.
"Nothing bad, dad," she chuckled. "Ginny's very loyal - as you should've seen last night," she said deliberately as she looked pointedly at him. "It's just that we've been through a lot this year and I'm sure there are lot of other couples that would've broke up over some of the things that happened. But, if anything, it made us stronger. She's the best thing that ever happened to me..."
"We're very happy to hear that," her mother smiled. "She's a really sweet, brave, and yes, loyal girl. We're very happy for you."
"I can't believe I'm hungry again," Hermione muttered as she and Ginny watched TV that evening - Ginny still rather fascinated by the device.
"That's a good thing," Ginny offered encouragingly. "I'm betting you didn't eat much the past while. You could use a few more meals," she said in an almost apologetic tone.
"No, can't say the food there was overly appetizing or nutritious," Hermione responded flatly. "But we just ate dinner a couple of hours ago," she reasoned.
"So? What do you want? Let's making something," Ginny replied brightly as she stood up from the couch. "Come on," she waved when Hermione remained unmoved.
"No, it's fine. I should stay on a regular eating schedule-"
"Oh Mione, honestly," Ginny complained. "I'm hungry, too."
Hermione couldn't resist the smirk that formed across her lips as she flashed her girlfriend a look. "Ah yes, that Weasley appetite of yours."
Ginny nodded, unfazed. "I won't even use magic," she offered lightly.
"I wouldn't let you use magic - not in my parents' house," Hermione remarked, though she found herself uncurling from her spot on the couch and going to stand.
"Oo, this will be fun," Ginny stated in excited anticipation as her eyes shone with enthusiasm that rubbed off on Hermione, no matter how reluctant she was. "What are we making?" Ginny asked as she began helping herself to look through cupboards and the fridge.
Hermione chuckled before she joined Ginny in her search of the kitchen.
"Hmmm," she said in contemplation as her eyes scanned the fridge. "I don't want anything too big. Maybe just a salad." She fully anticipated the groan that Ginny would give and wasn't disappointed. With a laugh, she added, "You can make something else if you want."
"No," Ginny grumbled, "salad is fine."
As they finished preparing the food and Hermione began serving the salad, something caught the light in the kitchen and its glare consequently caught the older girl's eye. Her gaze shifted as she saw Ginny standing off to the side and toying with the gold chain of a necklace that Hermione knew too well. She gulped subconsciously at the thought of the item.
"Here you go," Hermione said as she presented Ginny with her bowl, the brunette's gaze dropping from Ginny's eyes to the necklace once more.
They moved to the kitchen table and began to eat. No conversation had started up yet between the two of them. While Ginny's silence seemed easy and unconcerned, Hermione's was less so. The brunette was lifting a forkful of food up to her mouth when she hesitated and eventually set it back down in her bowl.
"Gin?"
"Hm?" Ginny asked through a mouthful of food, though not opening her mouth to respond like a certain other Weasley would have. Ginny swallowed her food, perhaps a bit forcefully from the look of strain on her face, but spoke, "What's up?"
"Um, I-" Hermione's eyes momentarily flitted away before settling upon the redhead once more. "I have some bad news," she announced regretfully.
"What?" Ginny asked, her voice soft and heavily laced with concern. "What's wrong?"
"I never got my ring back," she said in a solemn voice. "The guards said that I never came in with one - which is a complete lie. I should've fought harder for it, but I was just so eager to get out, I-"
"Hey, hey," Ginny interjected in a hushed voice as she put her hand out to rest on top of Hermione's. "It's okay, don't blame yourself. I'm sorry to hear that you didn't get it back, but...honestly, the most important thing is that you're safe and you're back."
"But Gin-" Hermione protested.
"I know it's upsetting, Hermione," Ginny interjected once more. "We'll get you a new one."
"But I won't be able to duplicate the charm to sync up with yours," Hermione argued, feeling exasperated for some reason over the fact that Ginny was being so easy-going about this whole thing.
"But if we got two new rings, you could sync them, right?" The younger girl asked.
"Yes," Hermione replied, if a bit reluctantly.
"Okay," Ginny nodded. "But really, hopefully we won't even need them. Hopefully you stay here in London."
The brunette shook her head, just the thought of going away again, especially to Paris, gave her the shivers.
"I won't be leaving London any time soon, I can promise you that."
"Hermione," Ginny said in a serious voice, the weight of the impending statement or question cemented with how Ginny set down her fork and turned to face Hermione furthermore. "What was it like? I know you told me a bit yesterday, but..."
Before Hermione had a chance to speak, Ginny blurted out, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but, I think it'd be good for you to talk about it. And I also want to know."
Hermione sighed wearily as she reclined a bit in her chair. She smiled as Ginny moved her chair to sit next to Hermione who had been seated at the head of the table.
"It was," Hermione paused as she struggled for the right words. "It was...wretched," she laughed feebly and allowed Ginny to grasp her hand. "I know I was only there for a few weeks, but those were a few weeks I'd be more than happy to forget."
"Mione, I'm so sorry," Ginny said gently, the remorse in her voice blatantly clear.
"No, it's not your fault," Hermione replied with conviction as she eyed Ginny meaningfully. "Anyway, as you know, I wasn't on the level with the Dementors, but it was still so cold...I could hear the other prisoners screaming, and their Dementors would do 'rounds' I suppose and fly past all cells on each level at least once a day, so they were closer than I'd have liked them to be at various points."
Hermione stalled as she recalled the Dementors flying past her cell. The feeling of all the happiness she'd ever known being sucked right out of her was indescribable. As the days wore on, it felt like there was less for them to rob each time, but just knowing they were coming, feeling them coming just frightened her.
"God, Mione," Ginny mumbled as she tightened her grip on the brunette's hand and laid her free hand on top of their entwined hands.
"Well, it wasn't all bad," Hermione promised with a half-hearted smirk. "I never felt completely affected by them. Sirius had said that it wasn't as bad for him because he knew he was innocent, well, I wasn't entirely innocent-" Hermione quickly forged on when she saw Ginny about to argue her, "-but, in terms of will, I was innocent, so that was a big help. On top of that, I knew that you and the others loved me. Though," Hermione started before she could stop herself. A look from Ginny encouraged her to go on. "Well, I told you about the spells the guards had me under at various points. I know they were just messing with me, but I couldn't help but wonder if maybe they would turn out to be true."
"Hermione," Ginny said such a stern voice that it nearly startled the older girl. "I'm going to chalk up your lack of logic and reason to the Dementors and whatever else might have been messing with your mind and well-being while you were in Laurophey, but I will repeat myself: I never at any point thought about leaving you. Even if you ended up staying in Laurophey for five years, I still would've been here for you, waiting for you. And I also never thought for even a second that you were guilty. And for the record, I consider you entirely innocent."
"I performed the spells, Gin," Hermione stated quietly.
"Under the Imperius Curse," Ginny exclaimed in an exaggerated manner. "You had no choice in the matter!"
"Still," Hermione insisted, though she knew Ginny had a point.
"'Still' nothing," Ginny retorted. "You're innocent. And let me guess, Ms. Blake put memory charms or something on you so you wouldn't recall any of it?"
Hermione had to chuckle. "Yes, that's exactly it. After Ms. Blake was convicted they had someone restore my memories - took a while, but they're all back supposedly. Oh, and that's why Crookshanks was so mad the past few months - he knew. By the way, thank you for getting Crookshanks. I was worried about him, too."
"Of course," Ginny nodded. "But see - point made. Imperius Curse doubled with Memory Charms? How can you blame yourself for that?"
"I know you're right, Gin," Hermione replied tiredly. "But, it's just not that easy to get over."
Ginny exhaled audibly as she continued to eye Hermione. "I'm sorry. I'm not trying to say 'get over it' - I just don't want you to blame yourself for something that you had absolutely no control over. I'm sorry I never noticed that anything was up."
"You told me to see a mediwizard," Hermione said. "One might've been able to detect the memory charms at least - a really thorough, good one anyhow. Also, you told me that Ms. Blake couldn't be trusted, so maybe if I had listened to you, I could've avoided this. "
"Well then it's my fault - I should've pushed you harder."
"Oh Gin, let's not blame anyone," Hermione pleaded.
"Sounds like a very good plan," Ginny concurred. A moment passed as she asked, "So...what else happened?"
"Well," Hermione sighed once more, "since I didn't consistently have Dementors on my level, I had guards instead, as I mentioned. And from the stories, you might've guessed that they were," she smirked ruefully, "less than polite."
The younger girl looked tentative, but eventually asked, "What else did they say? Do?"
Hermione shook her head as she closed her eyes. "They didn't do anything, really. They were a bit rough with me," Hermione squeezed Ginny's hand reassuringly as she felt the redhead's temper starting to flare, "a few cuts and bruises, but nothing life threatening."
"I didn't see anything on you when you took a bath yesterday," Ginny remarked. "Not that I don't believe you, I do, I-"
"They healed me before they released me," Hermione explained. She wished they had left her, then she'd have at least temporary evidence of how cruel they were to their prisoners.
She wondered what else she should tell Ginny. She honestly didn't want to go into detail. She was trying to convince herself that it was for Ginny's benefit, but she knew deep down it was more for her own.
"Mione?"
Hermione's eyes snapped towards Ginny in question as she was pulled from her thoughts. "Oh, sorry."
"What were you thinking about?" Ginny asked in worry.
Hermione shook her head, though she knew her girlfriend would never let it slide.
"What was it, Mione?" Ginny gently probed.
"I was just...I don't know...remembering, I suppose."
"Tell me..."
Hermione looked to Ginny. Though she didn't want to rehash some of these memories, the love and concern in Ginny's eyes assured Hermione that if she were to share these thoughts with anyone, it should be her.
"Well, there was one guard in particular who was so absolutely vile. I hate him," Hermione nearly snarled, shocking herself with how vehement she was. She was even more surprised by how calm Ginny looked. Though, upon closer inspection, Hermione realized that Ginny's calm was a tightly controlled, forced calm.
Ginny nodded slowly, prompting the brunette to continue.
"All of them were mean and terrible, but this one, he was the worst. He always taunted me, teased me, treated me like filth," the older girl explained as her voice grew tight as she struggled to restrain her emotions. "He kicked my tray of food across the room sometimes. He made comments, crude comments, about me-" Now Ginny bristled. "-And he..." Hermione trailed off as she averted her gaze.
"He what?" Ginny asked breathlessly, her hand gripping Hermione's almost painfully tight.
"No, he didn't go that far," Hermione assured her, thanking the stars once more for that small blessing. "But, he did use the Cruciatus Curse on me."
"No," Ginny seethed.
"It wasn't for very long," Hermione said slowly, as her mind was distracted by the horrific memory of the pain rippling through her body as the guard looked down upon her, laughing as though it was a game.
"Mione, he can't do that," Ginny proclaimed, her voice shaking with anger. "We could have him fired and locked away for that."
Hermione gave an empty smile, knowing that it'd be near impossible to pull off such a feat. At a later point she might revisit the thought, but right now she just wanted to leave it behind.
"So," Ginny went on, and she visibly struggled to restrain her anger. "What did you get the cuts and bruises from?"
Hermione rested her head in her free hand as she propped it up on the table using her elbow. "Just being handled roughly. Being thrown into the cell..."
Ginny was silent for a few moments and Hermione slowly looked over at her. The redhead was staring hard into the distance. Before Hermione had a chance to question her, she spoke.
"You have no idea how much I want to go there and kill them myself," Ginny said in a strained voice.
"Gin, please don't think that way. I hate them too, believe me, but I'm just thankful to be out of there. And I need you here; I don't need you locked away, too."
"You shouldn't have had to deal with that treatment. It's not fair, it's not right. That bitch, Ms. Blake. I should've given her a few doses of Cruciatus before letting them take her away."
"Gin," Hermione warned softly as goosebumps rose involuntarily on her skin at the recollection of her own experiences.
"I'm sorry," the redhead said in a surprisingly frail voice as her shoulders slumped. "I know you shouldn't be comforting me right now, it should be the other way around. You just don't know how helpless I felt. I wanted to go to Paris immediately and just, I don't know, break you out of there and whisk you off to safety, but I couldn't. I had to wait, knowing that horrible things like that could happen to you while we sat around and twiddled our thumbs."
"You can't blame yourself," Hermione asserted. "You guys got me out of there in three weeks - that's beyond impressive. I was anticipating five years, so to get out in three weeks was a miracle." Ginny remained staring hard at nothing in particular, her jaw clenched. Hermione leaned over and kissed Ginny softly on the cheek. When she pulled back, Ginny's eyes were closed and if she wasn't mistaken, she saw Ginny's bottom lip tremble.
"I love you, Gin," Hermione said quietly as she stroked the back of Ginny's hand. "And I know you love me, too. You have no idea how much that did for me while I was in there. It made all the difference for me."
"I love you more than anything." The younger girl spoke with such sincerity that it made Hermione's heart melt further if it was even possible. "Thank you for telling me these things. I know that took a lot - you're so strong," Ginny said tenderly. "I know I'm being a big baby right now, I'll pull it together in a moment," she laughed weakly.
"You're not a baby, Gin," Hermione laughed softly as she ran a hand fleetingly along Ginny's arm. "Goodness."
Ginny let out a tired sigh before facing Hermione and offering her a small smile. "So, when do you want to see Dumbledore? He says he has good news for you."
For once in Hermione's life, she didn't feel that irresistible compulsion to get things done. Instead, she wanted to just kind of hide away, a little like what her parents had encouraged. However, she knew that that approach would do nothing.
"Tomorrow, perhaps."
"Are you sure? That's awfully quick, you can stay here for a bit," Ginny offered.
"You just don't want to go back to school," Hermione teased. "I am sorry about that, too. You've missed a lot of classes and you have to do your N.E.W.T.s this year. I promise I'll help you study though. Especially since I probably won't have much to do over the next few weeks, what with no work."
"N.E.W.T.s, that's one thing I didn't have to think about tonight," Ginny complained with an arched eyebrow. "But no, I was more concerned about your well-being, amazingly."
"I know," Hermione relented. "I was just teasing."
"I know, Love, I was just playing along," Ginny retorted in an exaggerated manner.
"I know," Hermione replied in the same way before letting a small smirk play across her lips. "Eat your salad."
AN: Hi all! One chapter closer to the end - nearly there! Hope everyone enjoys the dose of Hermione/Ginny time. Take care!