A/N – Hey, sorry. Life has kinda gotten in the way recently. I am back to preforming in plays. Since my last post on this story I have played Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast, and I recently auditioned for a part in Peter Pan. AAAND my big brother and his wife and baby came to visit from Japan. So now that things are a little calmer since they went home and auditions are over with. How about a new chapter?!
-O-O-
Hermione inhaled the smell of the desert and heat. Minerva wouldn't find them again she was sure of it. She also knew that she was being foolish for running the way she had, but how could she not. Minerva had thrown her heart back in her face and dismissed her like a school girl. Her mind and her heart were at war as she stood on the balcony of their temporary hotel room, and she wasn't sure which would win this time. Many times since she had left England, the young woman had wanted to return and beg the older witch to give her a chance. Her head had always won those battles, dismissing the yearning and reminding herself that Minerva didn't want her. Now though, everything had changed. Minerva did want her, and Hermione wanted her in return. It was the trust factor that kept Hermione from running back. She just couldn't trust her.
Isabella watched her tormented friend knowing that she longed to return to Minerva. Over the last week that the two of them had been here, the brunette had spent more time drunk than sober, and woke up crying most nights. At those times she clung to her friend like a lost child and Izzy was helpless to do anything but hold her and cry with her at some points. She knew that Hermione had a friend in England and that she was pregnant and due soon. Perhaps she could come up with a way to get the two of them together and force them to figure out their difference.
-O-O-
Minerva was sat on the edge of her bed. It was well past midnight and she couldn't sleep. She could get the image of Hermione's tears that day on the platform out of her mind. Images of the brunette in the alley way when they last spoke haunted her every time she closed her eyes. She had made a mistake when she had told Hermione that her feelings were trivial. And now she was living to regret it. Many sleepless nights had caused her to begin to become slack in her lessons. She had taken to drinking more than usual to try and erase some of the guilt and longing that she felt. She also knew that the other professors had noticed and were starting to worry.
She stood and padded quietly over to her liquor cabinet, pulling out her strongest label and pouring a healthy amount into a glass, she took a large swig. If she couldn't sleep, she could at least forget. Enough hard alcohol and hopefully she would be drunk enough to not remember. Her only problem was remembering to forget. With a wave of her wand a roaring fire lit itself in the fireplace and she curled herself into the corner of her couch, nursing her drink. Things will be ok, she told herself. I will be ok. She repeated this mantra to herself, over and over. If she said it enough times, then maybe she would start to believe it.
-O-O-
Ginny Weasley sat at the Head Table the next morning watching Minerva. She shook her head and placed a hand on her swollen stomach. She knew that Hermione and Minerva had had an interlude while Minerva was in Brazil. She also knew that the younger witch had run off. She had received a letter from Isabella shortly after Minerva had returned explaining what happened in great detail and how her friend had taken the meeting. She rubbed her stomach, smiling lightly when she felt a push against her hand. "You know, little one, your Aunt Hermione is supposed to be considered the brightest witch of the age, and even though I agree with that in some aspects, in others she can be a real moron." She glanced back up at the older witch. She looked like she had been through hell. Perhaps there was something she could do. She needed to get in touch with Isabella.
A/N—I know it's short, but I'm setting up for the final chapter. Might be 2 more chapters depending on how I feel about the next one. Let me know what you think. Reviews are amazing!