Written In The Body
Poetheather
A/N: There will be a number of mature things discussed including torture, same sex relationships, violence and others… you have been warned.
A/N2: I almost had a huge continuity problem (well to me) that I thankfully caught and corrected (it was a movie btw). That has since been fixed. Whew! I would have been so embarrassed, especially because of the insane work I am doing to keep the rest of the continuity. Not like you wanted to know but there you go.
BTW, Wizarding World of Harry Potter rocks. Carry on.
A/N 3: This is a revised version of the chapter.
This is a work of fiction using the characters created by J.K. Rowling. They are not used with her permission. All actions follow the events of book seven of the series, excluding the epilogue. Any similarity between any person living or dead is purely coincidental and unintentional. If you happen to find your life reflected in this piece I'll be impressed.
Six
Several days later found the two girls walking through downtown London towards a very specific destination, with Hermione taking Ginny towards one of the more well-known muggle tourist attractions of the city. It also helped that it was one of Hermione's favorite places in all of London as well, some place she came every summer without fail. Ginny was amazed at much of London as they had traveled into the center of the city. She had not really seen a great deal of the city as she was only really familiar with her little town of Ottery St. Catchpole and the route in to King's Cross station. Otherwise the rest of her life had been spent primarily in and around wizarding areas almost exclusively. The Underground freaked her out a little, due to the press of people, the roar of the trains and the rush of everyone until she traveled on it a few times, insisting on holding Hermione's hand the whole while in case they had to apparate out of there in an emergency. The whole thing was so cute it made Hermione giggle, earning her a rather serious glare from the youngest Weasley when she heard it. The taxis and buses were pretty much as expected, since the Night Bus was a comfortable known and her father had owned that car.
The sheer size of the city, how busy it was, and how different and modern everything looked when compared to the wizarding world really did throw Ginny some. It was so much more amazing than anything she had ever seen before, with huge buildings everywhere of steel and glass, not just a few here and there, some even dwarfing Hogwarts. Hermione could tell that Ginny was not sure how to take all of this or even how to make sense of it but she did not say anything as this was an experience that Ginny would have to cope with on her own. She knew that her own transition to the wizarding world had been rather shocking, like she was stepping back in time but she got used to it. If she could do it she had faith her best friend could do this as well.
Hermione had been unable to resist the urge to take her best friend to one of her favorite places that day. She had wanted to go anyway and to be able to share this with her was wonderful. Ron wouldn't have understood but she was sure that Ginny would. Soon the two of them were walking around inside the British Museum. Hermione was excitedly showing Ginny all of her favorite things on the first floor, such as the Assyrian section, the Greek artifacts, the Egyptian artifacts and most especially the item that she was most enamored of and had been for most of her life, the Rosetta Stone. They were standing in front of it and Hermione was looking at it with such awe, seeing nothing else around her as her eyes drifted over the dark stone. Her voice was reverent as she said, "Just think about it Ginny. This stone tablet right here allowed Jean Francois Champollion to translate ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and demotic all because of the Greek text there at the bottom. This one object right here was a gateway into understanding an entire civilization that was mostly unknown to both worlds even though so much of their writing had survived. There were all those temples and tombs but no one could read anything in them until this stone right here was discovered and it allowed someone to figure their writing system out. Sometimes all it takes is just one little thing to open up an entire new world."
When she looked away from the black granite stone and over at the red head, she noted that Ginny was looking at her fondly, with a slight smile on her face. Hermione blushed and looked away, back at the stone. "What?"
"You really are amazing you know that?" said Ginny, sort of chuckling and shaking her head is clear admiration.
Hermione cocked her head, unsure of how to take this, and asked, "What do you mean?"
"I mean look at you. You gave me all of that information right out of your memory and it isn't like that is common information either or is on the plaque there with the tiny writing. Is there anything you don't know?" teased the redhead.
"Of course. There are lots of things I don't know. There are so many things to know in the whole world after all Ginny and there is simply no way for any one person to know everything there is." stated Hermione, endeavoring to make her point clear to her best friend.
"But that's not going to stop you from trying to be the first one in history from doing so, is it?" said the red head playfully, reaching out to nudge Hermione in the shoulder gently.
Hermione could think of no truly dignified response to that, given that there was a kernel of truth to it, and so stuck out her tongue. The two of them walked away from the Rosetta Stone laughing happily and headed back to the entry room, as a group of tourists headed towards the stone en mass following a guide holding a flag aloft. Hermione looked over at Ginny and said, "Well, we can either continue looking around in here, as there is still quite a bit more to see and eat at the cafeteria or we can leave, go somewhere different for some lunch and do something else, maybe even catch a movie. Which do you prefer?"
Ginny was unsure which of those options to choose and it showed on her face as she pondered. Hermione watched her and her reactions as the girl thought through things, smiling softly at the redhead. This really was a lot of fun and she was so glad that she got to share her favorite parts of the muggle world with one of her friends. Harry already knew it and Ron would never have understood. He probably would have scoffed at the Rosetta Stone or made some dumb comment about muggles over all of this but Ginny had gotten it, had gotten why Hermione really enjoyed all of this and why the stone was important to her. She really did seem to be enjoying her time immersed in a muggle life, learning all the things that the muggle studies class tried to teach but never really seemed to be able to carry across thanks to their outdated curriculum. The redhead bit her lip and deliberated some more, looking around the room. She then turned back to Hermione, "How about some lunch, but not here, and then we can make an actual decision. Do you think we can do that?"
"I think we should be able to do that." Hermione grinned at Ginny, a touch amused by her response, and the two of them headed out of the museum. It was such a stereotypical Weasley response that she just had to smile to herself. Starvation would be a much more effective torture than a Crucio against a Weasley.
They headed out of the museum and started heading towards Piccadilly Circus and along the way found a nearby place that served fish and chips. As they ate, the two girls talked about school and the classes they were looking forward to as well as how nervous they were about their NEWTS, given how insane the last year had been, masking things rather well when they were being overheard. Hermione was thinking about how nice it was to talk to someone who actually seemed to have at least some interests somewhat akin to her own for a change. Ginny actually cared about school and her grades, despite the fact that she was a serious athlete and about as into Quidditch as Harry and Ron. If only the boys had taken an interest to the same degree with their own academic pursuits, maybe then she would have been able to focus even more on her own work and would have been able to learn even more spells and things before everything went down.
Once they finished their meal, Ginny sat back and considered their options again before saying, "You know, I think if it's good with you, I would rather see one of those movies in a movies theater."
"It's a movie theater and yes we can go. There are two things playing right now that look quite good to me, one is a romantic movie, City of Angels and the other is an action adventure film based on a novel by Alexandre Dumas called The Man in the Iron Mask, which was a really good book. Which of those do you think you would prefer watching?" asked Hermione, wanting to leave these sorts of choices to Ginny, so that she had the greatest control of her muggle experience that could be managed.
They started walking towards the tube station as Ginny thought about that choice. Once they started heading down the escalator, Ginny finally had an answer, "How about we go with City of Angels? Honestly, I think I have had enough of action for a while. I honestly could do with a little romance in my life."
"Sounds good to me." She was pretty happy with that response, to be honest. For all she loved Dumas she also had had her fill of action for a while. "If I remember the advert in the paper correctly then I know which theatre it's in. Let's head over to Leicester Square and see if we can get some tickets."
Both girls were wiping their eyes and sniffling as they were leaving the theatre. They were doing a bit better now than they had been right towards the end of the film but the story and the ending was still clearly affecting them greatly. Hermione was feeling so overwhelmed, "That was so good."
"I know and that picture was so big and the music was so loud. That was amazing Hermione. Thank you. Oh Merlin, that was so good. Why don't we have anything like this in the wizarding world? Ahhhh!" Ginny cried out in frustration. "That was just so… and the story… oh… my mother would love this. We have got to find a way to take her to this."
Hermione giggled a little at this notion, picturing Molly Weasley staring wide eyed at the screen in a manner similar to how Ginny had reacted to the movie. It was a humorous image and one she would cherish. If she saw the real thing it might even be Patronus worthy. Ginny was so excited, clearly pleased by the experience and completely energized because of it. The redhead turned around and hugged Hermione tight, lifting her in the air, saying happily, "Thank you!"
"Aahh… put me down! You're welcome Gin. I am quite glad you enjoyed it. We will have to see if we can make it to more movies over the school year. Definitely Maybe we can arrange something with Headmistress McGonagall to let us out so we can see more." said Hermione with a smile.
"Oh could we? She likes you, you're her favorite, so I am sure she would be happy to let you do something like that. That was incredible." gushed Ginny, filled with energy from what they had watched.
"Come on, let's head home. I am sure by the time we get there it will be time for dinner and we really shouldn't apparate. This way you can get a better feel for what muggle life is really like." Hermione smiled at Ginny, glad to be providing another learning experience.
"I don't understand why my dad can't seem to get this. It's not that difficult the way you have explained things. The longer I am here with you the more all of this stuff actually makes a kind of sense. Sure it is strange and frankly pretty magical in its own right, like how you can get all that information out of your computer, or what a television is or how that ekeltricity works but you know I guess each world is equally amazing in their own ways." Ginny was looking around as she said that, just taking in everything she saw, including people talking on cellphones. The idea that people could talk like they were using the floo while they were walking around really impressed her. Muggles had some truly amazing ideas, some of which seemed superior to the wizarding ways of doing things.
Hermione was thoughtful. She hadn't framed any of this in that way and frankly it shocked her that she hadn't. To her, all of this was just her regular ordinary boring pre-Hogwarts life; hardly any of it was amazing to her. Sure there were some things that were pretty neat but Ginny was acting over all of this very much like she had when she had first started discovering the magical world. Maybe Ginny was right and that each world was as amazing and full of mystery to the other. It was certainly not a position that Ron ever held or espoused. Perhaps it would be a good thing to pay greater attention to, the interesting aspects of both worlds and never lose that sense of the magical? After all wasn't that what drove her to want to learn everything in the first place, the fact that the world was such an incredible and limitless place?
She turned to Ginny and took her friends hand. She could feel the girl's calluses from gripping the broom while she played Quidditch but other than those, the hand was not rough like Ron's had been. This action got the other girls attention, making her look at Hermione in confusion. She looked right into Ginny's eyes and said with all honesty she could muster, "Thank you Ginny."
"For what?" Ginny was confused as to what Hermione was talking about.
"For helping me to remember why I love learning everything there is to know about everything." Hermione kept looking right into Ginny's warm brown eyes as she said this, trying to make sure that her sincerity was clear to the other girl.
Ginny blushed and looked down and away, tightening her grip on Hermione's hand. "You're welcome but it's not like I did anything special."
"Not any more special than being yourself, which is pretty special on its own," admitted Hermione, blushing slightly herself, though for the life of her she was not sure why she was doing so. What was embarrassing about that statement? Why did it make her feel a touch self-conscious?
The blush on the other girl deepened and Hermione laughed happily in response. With a slight tug, Hermione dragged Ginny down into the Underground in one piece, both of them heading out of the city and closer towards the suburbs where the Grangers lived. Once they reached the correct station the two of them transferred onto a bus and drew closer still. They walked the last little distance just basking happily in the glow of the movie, their conversation and being together.
Dinner was indeed ready when they got home and the four of them sat around the table and ate. The girls told Hermione's mother about the movie they had seen and they heard about the elder Grangers' day, about a rough bicuspid removal and some routine cavity fillings and examinations. Ginny hung on every word as she was somewhat fascinated with the whole business of dentistry. It sounded clearly fascinating, given the look on her face. Hermione chuckled to herself over the whole thing.
"Well Ginny, seeing as I kind of need to run an errand over to St. Mungo's, why don't you go with my parents tomorrow. They can give you a checkup and show you around the office. And when I'm done I can come by and pick you up. Does that sound like it will work for you?" suggested Hermione. She had been putting this appointment off and she really should just get it over with.
"Really? Would that be okay with you, Mr. and Mrs. Granger?" Ginny seemed excited about the prospect. It was kind of adorable.
Hermione's parents grinned and her mother said, "If only our other patients were this excited about coming in for a checkup. Sure, we can do that. It will be fun and educational. After we explain what we do, you can tell us what is done in the magical world to take care of teeth. It will be interesting. We would love to hear about that."
"Deal!" Ginny grinned happily, bouncing a little in her seat like she was an excited five year old.
"Why do you have to go to St. Mungo's dear?" asked her father, sounding a touch concerned.
"There is something I need to check on for Harry and possibly myself. It shouldn't take me too long, as I only have a few questions to ask someone, if they even have someone there who can even address these particular issues. Once they answer them I will be able to meet you all at the clinic so don't dillydally too much. I'll be right over after I talk to Harry to pass on what I have learned, if anything." replied Hermione, not wanting to give too much away. Her health issues were her own concern. If it was something a bit more serious she would share it with them.
"Good. I want to do something fun tomorrow afterwards. What is there around here that we can do like swimming or something?" asked Ginny.
"I am sure I can find us something to do." Hermione grinned at the other girl. "You do have a suit with you, right?"
"I do. I hope it works. It's not as nice as Fleur's was for the Triwizard Tournament but it isn't too bad." admitted Ginny as she got some more dinner on her fork.
Hermione groaned. "Oh Merlin… let me at least see it before we make that decision. It could actually be horrible and need a lot of work or we might just need to buy you a new one. Most wizards have terrible fashion sense when it comes to muggle clothing."
Ginny rolled her eyes. "That's horrible, we just might have to shop, what ever shall we do?"
Hermione started snickering about that and soon Ginny started joining along. They kept laughing more and more each time they looked at each other, unable to reign their laughter in. Hermione's parents just gave them looks of great patience and tolerance which didn't help matters in the slightest.
Once the meal was over, the girls headed back to the bedroom to play some exploding snap for a little bit before bed. After a two games they changed into their pajamas, brushed their teeth, and talked some more. "So do you think you'll get Head Girl?"
"Honestly I think it will be a bit unfair if they decide to give it to me," answered Hermione, with a shrug.
"But why? You are brilliant and there is nobody in the whole school who can touch you academically. The only subject that Harry can best you at is Defense and that's it. Even then it's only because of the practical and especially his insane Patronus. That and you are also a hero to the entire wizarding world. They would have to be utterly mental to not give it to you. There really is no other option that would make any sort of sense." countered Ginny, giving her a very knowing look.
"It isn't my year Ginny. I am coming back after missing a year due to the Horcrux hunt. This is your class year so the Head Girl should come from someone in your year." said Hermione patiently. "I just think it isn't fair for me to come in and take it is all."
"So if they give it to you, you will just say no?" Ginny was incredulous at this notion.
"I am thinking about it." admitted Hermione. "I mean, fair is fair."
"Okay, how about you think about it this way Hermione, instead of thinking about the fact that it should go to someone from my year blah blah blah. If you get this very well deserved honor, you would have your very own bedroom and bathroom, all by yourself, without having to share it with anyone else. From what I heard from Percy, the door to your room even has its own password that you get to set that not even the teachers know. Plus you would have access to the Prefects Bathroom as well, if that is what you wanted, though it is not necessary. Percy also said that as Head Boy, he could have snacks and tea brought up to him after hours by the house elves in case you needed a snack while studying, seeing as you have lots of extra responsibilities. How is this even remotely a bad thing? Sure you would have all sorts of extra things to do, but you would also have all those lovely perks to make up for it." stated Ginny, trying to make her case as clear as possible.
Hermione looked at Ginny and thought about it. Those were not bad reasons and she could actually get behind some of them. She then narrowed her eyes as something occurred to her at that moment. "Why do I think that there is more to your support of this particular idea than meets the eye? You seem awfully invested in this notion."
"Well, I must admit there could be something to that. I mean there is the fact that you could occasionally let your dear best friend in the whole world who would love you forever if you would let her share in some of those lovely little perks from time to time." Ginny batted her eyes several times and looked at Hermione rather soulfully, holding her lightly clenched fists under her head.
"Oh! I knew it! You! You! Ginevra Molly Weasley, of all the reasons… oh!" huffed Hermione, shaking a finger at the red head chidingly.
"So is that a yes then?" grinned Ginny, waggling her eyebrows at Hermione suggestively.
Hermione dove onto the surprised redhead and started tickling furiously. Ginny squealed and writhed, trying to escape the assault. When she started turning the attack back on the older girl that's when things started getting interesting. Each girl was getting plenty of tickles in, rolling back and forth over the bed, neither truly gaining dominance over the other as they attacked. Then with a shriek of surprise they both rolled off the bed and hit the floor with a thud.
They just lay there on the floor, tangled together, laughing until tears were rolling down their faces. There was a knock at the door and Mrs. Granger asked, in a voice clearly filled with amusement, "Are you both still alive in there? Do we need to call an ambulance?"
Hermione struggled to stop laughing, which was difficult. Answering was important. "Yes mom. No need to call Emergency Services."
"Good. Keep it down some, will you." Her mother's voice was a half-step from laughter.
Their giggles abated and they lay there next to each other, panting, and their clothes in all manner of disarray. When Ginny finally caught her breath she said, "That was fun."
"Yeah it was." Hermione had to admit it was. It was one of the least adult things she had done in ages and it had been wonderful.
"I'm serious though 'mione. You would be a really good Head Girl. You wouldn't be a stuffy git like Percy was. You would be approachable, helpful, and nice the kind of Head Girl that Hogwarts absolutely needs to get back to normal after what we've been through. People would be happy to come to you to get problems fixed without bothering a teacher. And yes you may get extras for doing that but that just makes up for the job you will be doing," said Ginny, turning her head to look at the bushy haired girl lying there beside her. There was so much honesty in Ginny's face that it was hard to argue her point.
"I'll think about it Gin. Though I have to admit, you have given me things to think about that I hadn't thought about already. So thank you for that. And that's even if they are going to even offer it to me."
Ginny snorted.
"What?" Hermione turned to face Ginny, her brows furrowed in question.
"Please. I would be willing to bet you all sorts of good money that you get Head Girl and I get Quidditch Captain. There really is no other way that it would make any sense." explained Ginny with great confidence.
Hermione thought about it and realized that there really was no better choice for the Quidditch position and she was unsure about the post of Head Girl so it really was not a safe bet to make. She really hated losing and this would be setting herself up for failure. "I would rather not take your money."
"Hah, you mean you don't want to lose your money. Admit it 'mione you think it might happen and that's why you don't want to bet," tossed Ginny right back.
Hermione bit her bottom lip and then sighed. There really was no way of escaping the fact that Ginny really did know her well enough to guess that much. She had to capitulate. There was no other option. "Fine, I think it might happen. Are you happy?"
"Getting there." Ginny yawned, covering her mouth. "Oh! It's getting late. Maybe we should get some sleep."
"I agree." They climbed up, off the floor and then moved under the covers. Hermione again used wandless magic to turn off the lights with a simple, soft spoken word. It did not take them long to fall asleep.
Hermione woke up screaming, her body convulsing as pain flared through her, nerves pulsing with fire and glass shards ripping through her insides, maniacal laughter ringing in her ears. She thrashed a little, lifting off the bed some as her back bowed. Strong slender arms grabbed her, pulling her in close, and hold her safe, and a familiar voice that was warm and comforting kept saying over and over, "It's okay Hermione, I have you. I have you."
With a shudder and a long sigh, it finally registered to her that she was being held protectively in Ginny's arms. Once she came to that realization, Hermione let loose what was left of her tension and just lay there, muscles unclenching slowly, flayed nerves calming down. Knowing that she was safe made her feel better and allowed her to relax even more. She felt drained and did not even remotely feel like moving out of the welcome grasp. Besides, Ginny was holding her comfortably and she was finding it easy to relax in the girl's arms.
Meanwhile, Ginny was softly running a hand down her hair, her fingers moving through the bushy mass of Hermione's hair and massaging the her scalp as the redhead's warm breath slightly tickled her neck and ear as she said, "It's okay Hermione. It's okay. You're safe now. I have you. Shhh… I have you. You're safe."
Hermione finally found her voice, which felt a bit dry and sore, breaking the silence that had fallen between them when the soothing had slowed her racing heart to more normal levels. The hand continued to run through her hair, lulling her back towards sleep while the other arm was wrapped around her, holding her close. "Thank you."
"It's okay. You held me when I needed it and I'm just returning the favor. Besides, it's not like you didn't warn me about these, though they are a bit worse than you implied." replied Ginny, seemingly perfectly calm.
"I'm sorry I woke you." Hermione was growing embarrassed, but snuggled further into Ginny's arms. There was a safety there she had never felt in Ron's arms and she craved it.
Ginny tightened her grip, pulling the scared girl even closer, letting the girl know she was welcomed against her body. "That's okay. I am happy to do it. Was this about Bellatrix?"
"Always is." grumbled Hermione, somewhat depressed to admit this. "I can never seem to get away from her for very long. But thank you for this, this is making my recovery so much faster. Usually I'm up for several hours before I can go back to sleep, so this is really helping. I can already feel myself getting relaxed enough to sleep again."
"Then I'm very happy to help. You try to go back to sleep 'mione. I'll keep holding you while you do and we can see if that will chase that dead psycho bitch away from you. I'll keep you safe."
"Thank you Gin." said Hermione, with a great deal of thankfulness, emotion filling her voice. This really did mean so much to her. "Good night."
"Good night, 'Mione. Pleasant dreams." She tightened her arms into a hug and then loosened them just slightly, keeping the older girl against her body, stroking Hermione's hair until the girl fell back asleep.