Ch. 17: Forgiveness
On that Sunday evening, Hermione realised just how unhappy she has been without the possibility to talk with her best friends. Sure, she grew to like the other five a lot and she did get along with Shion and Safu even before she got along with Harry and Ron, but it was a different kind of a friendship. She would never want to lose what she had with her "study group", but it could never replace Harry and Ron.
She was thinking about it when Ginny was babbling next to her about how all the girls were jealous of her earrings. She only half listened to her friend, smiling fondly at her words and half remembering going to the Muggle piercing parlour with Ginny. It has been quite an experience in itself. They had met in the Diagon Alley on the 28th of December and, together, had gone to the Muggle London to the same place where Hermione got her own earrings, years ago.
'The earrings are awesome,' she said truthfully, realising that Ginny was looking for some reaction from her. She hoped what she said was appropriate for the conversation. 'Even the ones you have to wear from the piercing parlour for now,' she amended.
'Thanks,' Ginny replied, grinning and Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. 'They are even worth mom's complaining that I was mutilating my body,' she added. Hermione rolled her eyes. Mrs Weasley had even sent her an owl, saying how unhappy she was that Hermione convinced Ginny to get earrings. She had still sent a customary, knitted jumper, so she couldn't have been that upset. When she had received the owl, Hermione couldn't help but wonder what Ron and Harry had given as the excuse for Hermione's absence over Christmas.
'Uh, I'll leave you guys,' Ginny said suddenly and Hermione realised that Harry and Ron were there coming up to them, looking much more self-confident than they did in the library. Back there, they seemed ready to fly at the smallest hint of an incoming hex and Hermione didn't blame them. Being on the receiving end of not only Ciel's glare, but also that of Nezumi at the same time? Even if she thought they deserved it, she didn't envy them.
She hasn't seen them since then. When it became apparent that Shion wasn't going to say anything more to them, they disappeared. They did not come for dinner and they were not back in the common room when Hermione returned after dinner. She wasn't sure what do say to them.
'Hey so, are we good?' Harry asked before they sat down next to her. She nodded. Two grins were the answer to her nod and her friends settled down on the chairs next to her, looking even more relaxed. People in the common room shot them surprised looks, having gotten used to the fact that Hermione was sitting as far from Ron and Harry as possible, but she ignored them.
'Do you think that the devilish twins will stop cursing us behind our backs?' Ron asked and she blinked at him. 'Don't pretend that you don't know it was them,' he added, probably in reply to her expression.
'I wasn't pretending anything,' she protested. 'Whatever you want to know, you have to ask them because they never said anything about that to me,' she added. Of course, Ciel did suggest that they stopped because Shion asked them to. She was surprised that they actually listened, even though it made sense. After all, they were avenging his injury. When she asked, on the way to the dinner, if he had forgiven Harry and Ron, Shion had told her that he couldn't truly forgive them, but carrying a grudge wasn't in his nature. He had accepted their apology, because he knew it was important for Hermione and he shocked her by telling her that.
'I'll pass,' Harry told her with a grin and she giggled slightly, while Ron made a grouchy noise. 'I think I'll settle on ensuring your forgiveness and avoid them to the best of my abilities. And you have forgiven us, right?'
'If I didn't think you got enough detentions, I would probably make you apologise to all those poor Ravenclaw boys you've traumatised,' she commented lightly, not surprised when they both winced.
'They don't talk with us anymore,' Harry told her. 'Michael Corner is particularly furious because he was in on the scheme and the whole mess happened when he was just getting out of the shower, wrapped in a towel and he jumped and the towel fell and-'
'Can you please stop, Harry?' Ron interrupted him. 'I've been having nightmares since and I really, really don't need the reminder,' he added and Hermione couldn't stop herself anymore and she laughed out. She could easily picture the scene in her head, although she tried to not to think too hard about the details, and it was hilarious.
'Thanks, Mione,' Harry muttered. 'Your support is gratefully acknowledged.' He didn't seem at all amused and Hermione forced herself to calm down, pointing out that they were begging for a disaster, waiting in the shower.
'But it wasn't our fault that we were discovered,' Ron protested. 'We were well out of the way and everything, but then something bit my ankle. Then something bit Harry's and then the guys were suddenly all looking in our direction, because we made a noise and Michael flapped his hand and hit us and screamed and jumped and-'
'And then they all started screaming and called Flitwick,' Harry finished. 'I wish we never did that, although, since we did, I wish I knew what bit us. We didn't see anything, but it was pure chaos,' he added. Hermione knew, of course, but she was not going to tell them, not wanting to bring the conversation to her "study group". She actually didn't even want to discuss this incident anymore. She had spent far too long thinking about it as it was. Surprisingly, Ron came to the rescue.
'So hey, Ginny has been telling us that you kissed a girl,' he said, looking suspiciously interested. Harry's ears perked as well and she stared at them incredulously for a moment but they seemed to be serious.
'Well yes, even two of them and more than once, but I was drunk,' she replied, wondering if she had inadvertently created some crazy gossip in the Gryffindor tower. Harry's and Ron's eyes widened at her easy admission.
'You were drunk?' Harry asked. 'How did you get alcohol?' Hermione had forgotten how strict Ron's parents, and even Sirius Black, were when it came to age limits for the kids. She sighed and wondered if there was a way to downplay her little New Year's adventure. She didn't care to be "cool" in front of her best friends.
'Lizzy's parents are considerably more liberal,' she started. 'They seem to think that if Lizzy is allowed to do crazy stuff once in a while then she will not go doing even crazier stuff in secret,' she explained, watching their wide eyes. 'Don't look at me like that. My parents think the same, embarrassingly so,' she added, remembering the discussion with her mom about sex and boys.
'Really? My mom would have a fit if she thought I even thought about drinking,' Ron complained. 'Why can't I have friends whose parents don't mind?' he asked. Hermione bit her tongue on time to not say that he could have had friends like that, but his bathroom stunt crushed any chances he might have had. She was sure that, had things gone differently, her "study group" would not protest against Harry and Ron joining them. Now, however, when Shion had outright told her that he couldn't forgive them? They were way too loyal to each other to accept Harry and Ron truly.
'It was fun, really. We didn't drink too much either, but I'm not sure if I would dare to kiss a girl completely sober,' she commented.
'So, you kissed the guys as well?' Ron asked, sounding very unhappy about the conversation and looking even more unhappy when she blushed. 'All of them?' he added. Hermione wanted to say that it depended what he meant by all and how many he thought there were, but she stopped herself, remembering that it was not the sarcastic Slytherin twins in front of her, but Ron, who took everything seriously.
'Yep,' she said simply instead, watching his expression. She could almost see the wheels turning in his head as he processed that information. She could almost hear him think: so she kissed the Slytherin again.
'And you kissed the vamp- uh, Allen as well?' he asked, correcting himself hastily when her eyes narrowed.
'Yes, and trust me, he doesn't have vampire tusks,' she replied testily, before reminding herself that she was supposed to be making up with those guys and not arguing with them all over again.
'You changed, Hermione,' Harry said seriously and she bit her lip. 'The Hermione I know would never do those kinds of things.'
'You know it was just a game, right?' she asked. After all, maybe the gossip grew and half the tower thought that she had some sort of orgy for New Year's Eve. Harry nodded. 'It was just a game and it was fun. I think we should try to do something like that here as well.'
'Wait. But what if two guys would have to kiss?' Ron asked with a disgusted expression on his face and Hermione erupted in laughter again.
'Well then they kiss,' she said as though it was obvious.
'This is disgusting, Hermione,' Ron protested, with Harry echoing his thoughts, making her laugh again. After a moment, they looked at each other and started laughing as well. They didn't stop for a good ten minutes and, when she finally calmed down, Hermione's belly was hurting from all the laughter. It felt good.
In the following days, she made up for all the time she had spent being angry at Harry and Ron. For a moment, she forgot all about the entrance curses and drama and even the eternal fight between Gryffindor and Slytherin. They had a huge snow fight with Ginny and some other Gryffindors on one evening and they went to visit Hagrid the other day. He was overjoyed to see the three of them again and they spent a lovely time together.
'It's really good to have you back, Hermione,' Harry said, when they were going back from Hagrid's hut to the castle. They didn't have the Invisibility Cloak anymore, so they had to make it before the curfew, which was a shame. However, Hermione thought that maybe they would be happier without the Cloak, which gave them way too much advantage over other students.
'It was just a month, Harry,' she pointed out, because, even though she missed their company during that month, he sounded like she has been gone for a year at least. 'It's not like it's the first time we have been separated for that long and now you weren't even stuck with the Dursleys,' she added, making his wince slightly at the memory.
'Yeah, but we were forced to watch you together with those Slytherins,' Ron countered grumpily. 'That counts as double the time at least.'
'They are still my friends, you know?' she said, forcing her tone to remain calm. 'As much as will not let them insult you, I will not tolerate you insulting them,' she amended firmly and, when Ron was opening his mouth to complain, she raised her hand. 'And just so you remember, I was hanging out with Shion and Safu even before you guys realised that I wasn't so horrible.'
'We did loads of stupid things, Hermione,' Harry spoke seriously. 'I don't only mean in the first year, but this time as well. You were right, I forgot what it felt like to be stigmatised for something that I haven't done or had no control over,' he added, sounding sad. Overcame with the urge to hug him, Hermione whispered that it was alright and she didn't want to discuss that, even as a mocking voice in her head, sounding suspiciously like Ciel, wondered if Harry had looked up the word "stigmatised". She chased the voice away.
'Hey, don't I get a hug too?' Ron complained, so Hermione hugged him too, laughing and saying that they should hurry up before the curfew. They walked for a while in silence, before Ron spoke up again.
'And now it will be difficult to figure out what Malfoy is scheming about,' he said. Hermione stopped and looked at him incredulously. 'What is it Mione? We actually heard him say something about a scheme. Actually,' he paused and his eyes gleamed. 'Maybe you could get the help of the Phantomhives, huh? They have easy access to the Slytherin common room and they share the dormitory with Malfoy!'
'Are you serious?' she asked slowly, wondering if she had forgiven them too easily. 'Have you learnt nothing?'
'We learnt a lot Hermione,' Harry assured her quickly. 'Mostly about how to wash the most disgusting cauldrons without magic and separate different kinds of magical frog goo without magic, or how to scrub floor without magic,' he digressed with an annoyed tone. 'But we also know to not pick on the weak ones anymore or to invade people's privacy and stuff. But it's Malfoy we're talking, and this time we even heard him say that he's scheming.'
'But what can he scheme about? Voldemort's gone, his father is in Azkaban and there's really nothing left,' she pointed out, filing away the questions about the detentions with Snape for a later time. She still thought they had deserved the punishment, but separating different kinds of frog goo did sound particularly nasty.
'What if he got the idea to plant the House Curses around Hogwarts?' Ron suggested. Hermione felt as though an electric bolt hit her at those words and for a moment she very nearly panicked at the idea, before she remembered what she read and realised that in none of the books there was not a single mention on how to actually cast such a spell.
'He cannot plant House Curses in Hogwarts. Don't be silly Ronald, I'm sure that the castle is protected against something like that and besides, how would he know how to cast such a spell?' she asked.
'They are evil spells. You said it yourself on the lesson, Hermione. What if his father taught him to cast them? What if the Deatheaters used those kinds of spells?' Harry argued. An unwanted thought flitted across Hermione's head but she chased it away as impossible.
'This is insane, guys,' she said, willing herself to focus on the conversation. 'Malfoy would not be able to cast a curse like that anyway. I read about them and they require some complicated magic,' she added, grateful that they were well aware of her request to Professor Kruspe.
'Can you just ask the Phantomhives?' Harry asked. She looked at him as though he grew a second head. She would never, ever dare to ask the Phantomhives about the House Curses, not anymore. Ciel didn't outright confirm her findings, but his answers were as good as a confirmation. 'Not about the curses, no,' Harry amended, as though he had read her thoughts. 'I recon they wouldn't have told you even if they knew about it. I mean they can hardly endanger one of the other Slytherins and I imagine that Malfoy would get expelled or thrown into Azkaban for that. Just ask them if they know of any scheming.'
She wanted to tell them that she didn't think the Phantomhives would do anything to help either of her best friends, but she realised that it would be better than letting Harry and Ron sneak into the Slytherin common room or, worse yet, to Malfoy's dormitory. Ciel and Nezumi might have honoured Shion's wish to stop their punishment, but she didn't think anything would stop them if Harry and Ron did anything against them personally.
'Fine,' she said, pretending to be unhappy. 'I'll try to ask them, but you have to give me some time to figure out how to do that. Alright?' she asked. They nodded eagerly. 'And you promise to not do anything stupid in the meantime?' she asked and they nodded again.