Written In The Body
Poetheather
A/N: Sorry folks, no extra chapter this week. We're back on the usual posting schedule. One per week for the foreseeable future.
This is still not mine. Seriously.
Fifteen
Arriving at the Burrow several days later for the party was a fairly interesting affair. Hermione stood slightly to the side to help catch her parents as they came stumbling slightly out of the fireplace, mostly needing to steady them. Her parents had been getting better at floo travel as the two of them were getting more used to the magical world over this summer and were much better at moving around in it than Harry usually was. Since her oldest friend was a complete klutz in these cases most anything was better than that. She had to admit that amused her to no end. Poor Harry, he still was not a fan of most forms of magical transportation except brooms.
It was still early and the party was not for a while thus the only people there inside the house were the parents of the Weasley family. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley came up and greeted her parents, clearly pleased to see them again. Hermione hugged the two adults and asked, "It's nice to see you again Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Would you happen to know where Ginny is?"
"She's outside with the others, making sure the tent is up and everything is ready for the party. She said she wasn't going to trust the boys to get it done right." replied Molly with a smile.
Her mother patted her arm and said with a smile, "Go on dear, we'll stay inside and just talk to the Weasleys. You go and find her. We'll be okay."
Hermione nodded and headed outside. She moved past the garden and once there she could clearly see George and Charlie finishing setting up the last of the tables while Ginny and Ron were dealing with setting the places behind them. Percy was off to one side apparently prepping a punch bowl table and getting the glasses set down in order with a wave of his wand, which she had to admit fit his still anal retentive personality. Thankfully he had gotten over things before the end. It seemed pretty obvious to her that they were almost done with this particular part of the set up and probably did not need any more assistance from her. She simply stood off to the side, watched and waited.
Once George and Charlie finished with the tables they helped finish off the place settings, to get everything done faster. Soon the group of them was done with that task and they grinned at each other. Seeing as they had probably done this task a number of times before they were probably pretty skilled at party set up and take down at this point. After all, the Weasley family was basically its own Quidditch team, with replacements. Once the congratulations were over, then Ginny turned some and noticed her standing there kind of smirking at the lot of them. She smiled brightly and called out excitedly, "Hermione!"
The red head hustled over, dodging round tables as if she were on her broom flying round defenders on the pitch and then reached her, lifting her off the ground some as she hugged her, turning slightly. "You're early."
"Well, I wanted to make sure my parents had no issues with Floo travel, so I ensured we had plenty of time to correct any mistakes or if they pulled a Harry and got lost. That would give me the time to hunt them down and get them." explained Hermione, with a slight smile. She then looked away from Ginny's warm chocolate eyes and over at the others, "Hi guys."
"But they made it here okay? No trouble? Right?" asked Ginny a bit worried, as she had clearly come to like Hermione's parents over the summer.
"They're perfectly fine Gin. We all traveled quite well through the Floo and arrived here in one piece. I left them back at the house talking with your parents. Right now your dad is probably asking mine about who knows what, probably plugs or something like that." It had taken a lot to resist putting her hand of Ginny's cheek in a loving and comforting gesture so instead she focused on something else. Hermione giggled at the idea of Mr. Weasley bothering her dad about muggle technology. It was a good thing that her dad was skilled in that arena, but perhaps trying to explain things patiently to a wizard was not a skill he had. Mr. Weasley almost seemed to be immune to explanations of muggle technology and complete understanding of them. She had certainly tried enough times to explain simple concepts and had failed miserably.
"Oh no… what a terrible fate! Should we save him?" While Ginny seemed to be wavering between worried and amused, her lips kept twitching towards a smirk as she spoke.
"I don't know. I think the idea of my father trying to explain to yours about rubber ducks and plugs and the like would be funny." The two girls started laughing at that, clearly amused by the idea, as it was clear that they could both see the conversation in their minds.
George walked up to the chatting pair and gave Hermione a hug. "Hi there Hermione. How have you been? Haven't seen much of you this summer."
"Hi George. I've been fine. Just wanting to spend a lot of it with my parents and hanging out with Ginny. Oh that reminds me… ah, excuse me Gin, I actually need to talk to your brother for a few minutes if you don't mind. I'll be right back, I promise." Ginny looked at the other girl, confused for a moment and then things seemed to click as she realized what Hermione had in mind. She just smiled and nodded.
The two of them walked a little bit away from the others, ensuring that they were far enough away to not be overheard by anyone, as that was a pretty common occurrence at the Burrow. It was one of the problems with living in such close quarters. George was obviously confused as to the need for secrecy in this and he turned to her, asking, "What's this about?"
"First I wanted to know how you are doing? I've been worried about you." Hermione gave him a friendly smile, trying to disarm him a little, so his natural suspicion would fade a bit. She had actually been concerned for him and she and Ginny had talked about George and Fred a few times, especially early in the summer, when the pain was still new and raw for her. As one half of some of her favorite siblings, Ginny had let Hermione in on her own concerns about her older brother.
He shrugged, looking past her into the fields beyond, not really seeing anything there. He refocused on her as he spoke. "I… bollocks, like lying would ever convince you. At least not very well. You have always been too bloody smart. How am I doing? This has been really hard Hermione. I miss him, so much it feels like my heart has been torn in two, you know? Every time I so much as look in a mirror it hurts all over again."
"I hurt as well and miss him and I know it is nothing close to what you are feeling but that's why I pretty much immediately thought of you when I had this particular opportunity fall into my lap." She smiled at him, a coy smile that seemed to imply that she knew something that he didn't, which was often the case to be sure but she knew how not knowing something bugged him. Knowing the twins like she did she was well aware of what such a look would have on the survivor, knowing how it would draw him in like a moth to a flame.
George looked a bit intrigued, moving a bit closer to her, making it a bit harder for people to overhear. "And what opportunity might that be?"
Hermione had a glint in her eye when she began. Well, she got a nibble and now to see if she could hook him. She was making a bet here and she was really hoping that her hunch on this was going to pay off. She really hoped that her memory was not playing tricks on her and that she recalled this all correctly. "Harry told me once that you and Fred were huge fans of the Marauders, correct?"
"Yes…?" George looked at her a bit worriedly, unsure where this particular conversation was going.
"And he did tell you that Sirius and Remus, you remember them, were two of the Marauders, along with his father, right?" She said this so innocently, as if she were sure that he was well aware of this one important fact upon which everything turned. She had not been able to recall if either of them had called each other by their Marauder names in front of any of the others, but if they hadn't then she was fairly certain that this whole idea of hers would pan out quite nicely. Harry had been quite clear about how the twins had felt about the Marauders. It was amazing the sorts of things you learned on an extended camping trip.
George went wide eyed, taking a half step back from her, looking exactly like he had been hit by a bludger. "What!"
With a slight smirk to herself at having been able to call that reaction, Hermione continued, needing to make this pitch just right if she was going to be able to reel him in. "So wait… you didn't know then that Harry's father was Prongs? That's why we figure his Patronus is a stag. Or that Sirius was Padfoot? Or that Remus was Moony? You never heard them call each other than? Or heard Sirius call Harry Pup or anything?"
He blinked at her a few times, his mind racing to process all of this information she was dumping on him. He obviously noticed the one name left off the list and asked cautiously, "And Wormtail? Who's that?"
"Ugh! That would be Ron's old rat." She answered with some disgust.
"Scabbers?" She knew that George was aware that Pettigrew had been hiding as the rat but with all this other information it was clear that all of this was almost overloading his brain.
"Yes, Peter Pettigrew, Voldemort's whipping boy. So there you go, the four Marauders right there. But that's not really the important thing at the moment." said Hermione casually.
"Not the important thing? Not the important thing? I don't… what's the important thing?" George was really incredulous at that statement, as if he could barely believe that Hermione could not understand the true import of what she was saying.
"The important thing that you need to be aware of right now George is the fact that right now I have the compiled notes and such from the brains behind the success of the Marauders, including the detailed plans for how they made the Marauder's Map and a few other specialty items that they had. Now, and I really do mean this, because I love you like a brother I am willing to make you a deal. If, and I do mean if George, if you are a good Weasley and you start exerting effort at your shop and your business picks back up, then I believe that I just might be persuaded to let you borrow the notes after I am done with them." She smiled at him, looking as innocent and harmless as she possibly could. Since she was usually the best behaved out of the whole group of friends it was far easier to manage than was probably fair to remaining twin.
George just stared at her, utterly gobsmacked by that revelation, slowly blinking, clearly trying to process what she had just said. It was apparently too many shocking bits of information dumped on him all at once for him to really cope well with it. When it finally did completely click through, he fell to his knees and prostrated himself to her over and over, repeating in a profoundly worshipful manner, "I am not worthy! I am not worthy!"
She waved her arm dismissively, as if she were the Queen herself treating this as a mere trifle. "Yes, yes… I know, I know. So, George, now that you have heard the terms, do we have a deal?"
George bounded to his feet, eyes more alive than she had seen them in a while, and grabbed her tight into a hug, kissing her cheek. "Thank you Hermione. This is amazing. Yes, we absolutely have a deal. There is no way I could turn that down. With that as a resource to help prod my ideas I can ensure that Fred's memory will live on forever. Thank you. Thank you."
After one last tight hug that was very Molly-esque in its strength, he headed off back towards the house with a little bit more spring in his step, more the George he had been. Hermione watched him go with a very satisfied smile on her face. That had turned out a lot better than she had hoped. Clearly better than most of the plans she, Harry and Ron came up with. Those usually ended in fire and destruction and running and screaming. No, it was a good thing those two had not been involved in this part of things. A voice from behind her said, "That was a really nice thing you did there 'mione."
"Well, since I got that bequest from Professor Lupin, I have been thinking about this. I mean, I just wanted to give him a decent reason to get up in the mornings and go to work. I figured that this would work to give him something. He has lost so much, so I figured that if I could give him anything to help him feel better, how could I not do so?" She turned to face Ginny with a melancholy smile on her face.
"I know. This is just another reason why I think… you're an amazing person. That was still a wonderful thing for whatever the reason behind it. I really hope that helps to motivate him as he could use it. Do you really think it will help?" Gin seemed a bit worried about her brother and looked back towards the house.
"It should. My thinking was that he now has a goal to shoot for and a reason to work hard. That should motivate him to succeed and get out of the depression he has been in, at least for now. And once I am done with the first set of journals I will copy them and send them on to him because I think that's for the best. I was honestly planning on doing so anyway, but I figured this way he might start moving again. I am quite interested in the knowledge contained in them as they are already interesting. Your brother, however, will be able to do who knows what amazing things with them. He thinks like them." Hermione chuckled a little, looking towards the Burrow as well, letting her thoughts drift over the clever things the twins had invented over the time she had known them. Sure they were wrong but they were very clever. Yes, this would be a good thing.
Ginny grinned, her amber eyes practically twinkling, "Absolutely. I can't argue with your logic. Oh Hermione, that smile… thank you so much. I think George is back, really back."
They hugged tightly and Hermione sighed at the comfort and pleasure she felt in the redhead's arms. What would it be like if she were able to be like this all the time? To rest in Ginny's arms, to hold her and be held whenever she wanted. She couldn't really wish for anything more in her life at this point except to be this girl's girlfriend. That would be absolute heaven. Knowing the futility of her dream, aware that it would never come to pass, with some hesitation she let Ginny go. "So, don't you need to get ready for your party or are you going to go in your grubbies?"
Ginny looked down at her work clothes that were somewhat sweaty and then grinned at the brunette, "Yeah, maybe you're right. These really aren't the best party clothes I have. By the way… I have to admit that you look really cute there Miss Granger."
Hermione smirked and twirled a little, making her skirt flare a little. She replied with a touch of attitude, "Thanks. Well then get to work so I don't outshine you, Miss Weasley."
Ginny rolled her eyes, shaking her head at the girl and said, "Right, I'll do my best not to disappoint. Be right back. Don't get dirty."
After Ginny walked off to get cleaned up and dressed, Hermione wandered over to the table where the presents were supposed to be stacked. Several brightly wrapped gifts were already there, all of which were clearly from family members from what she could see from the tags. With a little happy smile for the girl she cared deeply for and a quick look around to make doubly sure that Ginny wasn't anywhere nearby nor looking, she pulled a package out of her expandable purse and set it down on the table. Sure she had given Ginny her present already, and that date had been a lot of fun, but this was more of a gift that they could both share in since her charm work seemed to have worked out as intended. It turned out to be a lot cooler than she had thought it would be.
She also pulled out the gift that her parents had gotten for Gin. They had come to really like the youngest Weasley as well thanks to this summer and so had insisted in getting the girl something. They figured that she would appreciate having some of the muggle things that she had enjoyed while she had stayed with them for her very own. Hermione thought that was a really sweet gift and was sure that Ginny would enjoy it, so long as her father did not try to steal anything. Sure there were no electronics but the pens and pads of paper were great for note taking and while there was no technology involved there were still some items that should please her.
"Hermione?"
She closed her eyes and sighed. Why did this have to happen? She was aware that the odds of this conversation occurring today were ridiculously high but she had hoped that things had fallen in her favor for a change. Given the way things had been with Ron lately she really did not want to do this. Did some people just never learn? "Yes Ron?"
"Can… can we talk for a little bit?" He sounded really nervous and uncomfortable, pretty much like she felt.
Against her better judgment she nodded her head and followed him as he walked a little bit farther away from the house, in the direction of the orchard. They had not gone all that far when Ron stopped and turned, facing her. He bowed his head a bit, looking somewhat abashed. "Hermione, look, I… I'm really sorry for what I said and did. That was really unfair of me. You know what a prat I can be sometimes."
"I know you are Ron. You're always sorry. Every time something like this happens you end up being sorry for something afterwards but that still doesn't make things better." replied Hermione, rubbing her forehead. She really hoped that it did not end poorly like she feared it would.
"You're right. You're always right. I know I screwed up, like I did after fighting with Harry, like I did over that whole stupid Goblet of Fire, like I did when we really needed to pull together last year. Ginny's right, I am a total prat. You're my friend Hermione and I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm really sorry that I did. I'm an idiot. I just really care about you and I don't want to lose you. I've… I've already lost too much." said Ron, fidgeting as he spoke, having trouble saying the last part.
"Look Ron, I am still you're friend and that is not going to change. We have been through way too much for that to ever change. Just because I do not want to date you does not mean that our friendship is over. And… like I said before, my life is kind of complicated right now. I am going through a lot and things are changing for me. Like I told you before, what happened to me in the Manor really shook up my life and tore me apart. The whole thing made me reassess everything. At the moment, the two of us being in a romantic relationship does not seem likely." Hermione was trying to break things to Ron gently, make it clear to him that it was over. She did not want to hurt him, even after how much he had upset her last time she had seen him. She just really did not know how to tell him about her attraction to girls. How was he going to understand?
"So what you're saying is that if things do change with you, you'll let me know?" Ron said hope very clear in his voice, bouncing almost like the terrier that was his Patronus.
With a sigh of long suffering, Hermione closed her eyes and lowered her head, unsure what to say, "Yes Ron, I guess if things do happen to change, and my feelings for you change, I'll let you know. Don't bet on it but if it happens I'll let you know."
"Okay. Well, I am sorry about this again. You know how I am sometimes. I'll make sure to give you your space and not do anything like that ever again. It should be easy since I'm starting Auror training soon so I will be away a lot. I'll write to you at school and maybe come visit you up at Hogwarts. Depends on what sort of leave they give us during training. Thanks Hermione." He gave her a quick hug and headed off.
Hermione had more to say to Ron but he had turned and walked off with more spring in his step than he had probably approached her with. With a groan, she lowered her face to her hands. Bloody Weasley logic! Why was it that all the damn Weasleys seemed to be incapable of standing there and waiting for anyone to finish a bloody sentence when they had something already set in their heads? Were they just incapable of that? All of them did it, even Ginny, though some did it more than others. They all seemed just so sure of the truth of their way of thinking that they just stormed ahead regardless of what was in their way or what the facts actually were. It was so crazy making that it made her want to scream. She loved Ron but she could just strangle him.
She lifted her head from her hands and headed back towards the house. If she did not get her mind off of this, she was going to run over it until it got her so worked up that she blew and the she and Ron would have one of their rows again. It was going to ruin today for her and for his sister and she was not going to let Ronald Bilius Weasley ruin Ginny's birthday. He had already come close to ruining Harry's party with his earlier stupidity and she really didn't want to have to explain a second incident, especially when it came down to Ron being overly Ron. Besides, Ginny wasn't in sight so the redhead couldn't save Ron this time when she exploded.
Harry and Luna came out of the house, smiling and talking, and she nodded to herself. There, that would do it, that gave her a direction and a good way to distract her from wanting to strangle Ron. It would be nice to see Harry again and besides, she wanted to see if she could borrow something from him. There was no way of knowing if it would be possible to so if she didn't ask and she had to admit she really wanted this particular favor. When Harry spotted her he said something to Luna and they changed direction, heading her way. "Hermione!"
"Harry! How have you been?" She waved as she called out, moving closer to them.
"I've been getting better. The potions have been helping. Thank you again so much for finding the Senior Healer. He really has helped me a lot." said Harry, with a wide grin.
"He's helped me out as well Harry, so trust me, I understand. A lot of the residual pain from the curses are gone and I am mostly having other issues." Hermione smiled and reached out to touch Harry to show that she was in accord with him on this point. "Things getting better with Luna I see."
Harry blushed some and looked down as Luna grinned happily at her, bouncing a little on her toes. "Yeah, it's getting better."
"I'm glad you found someone you could connect to through all of this, someone who understands some of what you have gone through. Thank you Luna."
The blond haired girl smiled at her, "You are quite welcome Hermione. Besides Harry has the most fascinating collection of wrackspurts I have ever seen. It is loads of fun… examining him."
Harry's blush deepened as he looked over at her kind of shocked at her bold statement, eliciting a laugh from Hermione. "She really does make me happy when she's not trying to make me blush and I am thankful for that. We're doing well. So, how are things on your front?"
Hermione sighed deeply, her frustration over this whole issue clear to everyone who could hear.
Harry frowned. "That good, hunh?"
Her eyes flicked over to Luna, but she was fairly certain that the girl would never say anything. Luna had kept things about what she had gone through at Shell Cottage a secret so this would be just another thing she could hold fast. There was no call to ask her to leave, even if she was Ginny's friend. "I just… I just can't tell her Harry. What if she freaks out? What if she hates me? And I still haven't had the courage to tell my parents. Oh god, I can't lose them either."
Harry quickly took her in his arms and hugged her, giving her what comfort he could. She shook a little and then relaxed in his grip, trying to hold back the fear and possible tears that threatened to fall. Luna patted her on the shoulder, saying, "The strength will be there after the fear. Never doubt that."
The blond excused herself and wandered off towards the punch bowl that had been filled. Harry and her stared after her for a few seconds before they shook their heads and he said, "It will be okay. Really it will. You can do this Hermione. Your parents love you and honestly they will be okay with you. How could they not? They were okay after you Oblivated them and sent them to Australia so how is this any worse than that. Besides, you are incredible. And as for… you know… Ginny… all you can do is take that chance. It will either happen between you or it won't. Unless you use that courage all you'll have is limbo. You ask and you will know however it turns out."
Hermione let her breath out and it shook slightly. She was so scared of so much. This whole situation scared her because there was so much riding on it, it was completely out of her hands and it made her feel vulnerable in a way she hadn't felt in a long while. It made her feel out of control and crazy and she could barely deal with it. "You're right Harry. I guess I can do this. It's just that… I'm so scared of how badly this whole thing could turn out that I almost feel like I'm back at Hogwarts waiting for the battle to start. I hate this."
"I know, I know. It feels like it could go badly, like things could only go wrong but I doubt it that it will. At the worst you and she will still be friends. There is no doubt that your parents will continue to love you."
"You really think so?" Hermione looked up into his green eyes looking for a spark of hope, her eyes wet with possible tears.
He just smiled and nodded, his complete confidence in this potential future shining through his eyes.
With a sigh, she lowered her face to his shoulder and let herself relax into his strong arms for a few seconds. This was just all so much. She then stood back up and looked him in the eye, smiling weakly. "Thanks Harry. I needed that."
"My pleasure, Hermione. You know I would do anything for you." Harry's smile was the familiar one that she hadn't seen in a few years. The stress was clearly fading for them.
This made her smile honestly and happily, in a way that she herself hadn't for a while. It made her feel lighter, happier. "Thank you. Oh… that reminds me… this may sound a bit odd but can I borrow the Marauder's Map this year."
Harry looked at her in some confusion. "Wait, you want the Marauder's Map?"
Hermione grinned and nodded, "Yes."
"Why?"
"Well, I actually want to use it to make my job as Head Girl easier. Besides I have a collection of notes from Remus and I wanted to have the Map as a reference while I studied them." explained Hermione in the briefest possible manner. She really did not want to give her ideas away because they were kind of fun.
"Wait, what notes from Remus?" Harry seemed actually confused. The more she kept going the less he was following.
"Remus left me a trunk with his old school notes in it in his Will. Among everything else in there, all the Marauder plans are in there apparently. So I was thinking that if I had the Map, I might be able to pull off a few pranks now and again, get a few butterbeers from Hogsmeade whenever I wanted some and basically make my life easier so I can focus on my studying instead of getting too caught up in all the Head Girl stuff." Hermione grinned at him.
Harry started chuckling, clearly amused with the idea. "Oh Merlin, Hermione… that's brilliant. Of course you can borrow it. But you have to tell me all about this. I mean it does me no good sitting in my trunk or in a drawer so feel free to use it up at the school. The most I would do with it is watch you lot wander around the school, which is not very useful and actually a bit depressing. You wanting to be a bit lazier to have more time to study, that does seem kind of useful. That is so you that it actually hurts."
"Thank you. And you know I'll let you look at the notes as well once I have gone through them. I am letting George take a look as well, as he could use the ideas to spur him on with his work." Hermione was really excited about those notes and what she had seen had already shown her some interesting value. The group of them had been pretty clever.
With a quick tight hug, Harry said, "You are so bloody smart Hermione that it is scary. I have to go with Ron on this one since he has the right of it. I love it. I'll get it to you before you guys take off for school."
She grinned back at him. "Great. Thank you so much Harry. It really will be a lot of help. So, is Luna your girlfriend yet or are you still working towards that?"
"Hermione!" Harry was shocked by what she said.
She started laughing and the two of them headed over to the tables where the rest of the guests were gathered. Ginny had come out while they were talking wearing a really nice dress that was more playful than sexy. Both the style and the color really suited her and Hermione fought to keep from staring. It was actually a tough struggle as the neckline gave a very good view of her cleavage and kept drawing her eyes. The necklace also drew the eyes there as well, making it even more difficult to fight against that urge.
After some time socializing with a lot of the same friends they had seen back at Harry's birthday, it was time for lunch. The food was great as always, with Mrs. Weasley having made all of Ginny's favorite dishes. Hermione had been seated right next to Ginny, as the redhead had made the seating chart and people were sitting where she wanted them. Luna was across from her with Harry next to the blond. Hermione was a bit uncomfortable with Ron being next to her but did understand how Ginny was arranging people, and so wasn't that upset by things. Ginny knew how she felt about him, especially after Harry's party, but she was just trying to make sure that this party went well. She just really hoped that Ron behaved himself like he said he would. She hated that she felt this way around him and wished it could go back to the way things used to be.
Once food and then cake was gone it was present time. Harry gave her a new broom, a Firebolt like his old one. Apparently finally having full access to his family vaults now that he was of age was going to his head slightly and he was having some fun making sure people had all the gifts they could dream of. Ginny squealed and hugged him tight, getting an amused laugh out of most everybody but especially from Luna. Ron gave her a really nice broom maintenance kit, so clearly there had been some collaboration there between the two boys, which was not a surprise. There were also some new clothes and such from her parents, a few items from the shop from George, Luna gave her something that made her blush and close up the box quickly, so no one could see it. Hermione looked over at Luna who merely smiled at her, her usual slightly spacy, slightly knowing look. That certainly peaked her interest.
When she got to Hermione's present, Ginny looked up confused and then over at the slightly bushy haired girl, "But…?"
"Just open it." insisted Hermione, giving her a simple smile.
Ginny opened it and looked at what seemed to be a somewhat modified Wizarding Wireless set. There were also a number of little crystals sitting in a box with a number of small marks on them that were all different. Looking closer, Ginny could make out a recessed spot where it looked like one of those crystals could fit inside there. She was not sure what that was, why it was different, making her look back up at Hermione. "Uhm… what?"
"Well, remember how we talked and you wished that there was some sort of way that my CD player would work at Hogwarts…" said Hermione, trailing off to see if Ginny could extrapolate from what she was saying and figure out where she was leading her.
The girl screamed, clearly excited about the idea as she practically tackled Hermione, with Ron barely keeping her chair upright. "Really? Really? You did it? You figured out how to do it? In just a few days? Bloody Hell 'mione, who does that?! Who bloody well does that?"
Hermione laughed as Mrs. Weasley chided Ginny about her language and she happily hugged the girl back. Harry and several others were laughing as well, amused by the younger girl's antics. Hermione was blushing and hugged back, "Well, I had most of the idea down and such after a little bit of thought but I did get a little help on one or two things, so it really wasn't all me."
Hermione's mother snickered and said, "Don't let her fool you Ginny. She put that whole thing together and then when didn't do what she wanted she asked that professor of yours, I think the name was Flitwick, to come look at it and he only had to slightly modify one or two charms to make it work right. He was very impressed with what she had done."
Now everyone at the table was staring at her in some surprise and Hermione was blushing brightly by this point, looking down at her shoes, quite embarrassed by all the attention. She cleared her throat and said, "Well, you know, it really wasn't all that complex."
Mr. Weasley looked at her in clear amazement and asked, "How did you manage to make it work? I honestly have no idea how you could have managed to make something like that and I have tinkered with those things for years? To transfer muggle music over to magical storage so it can be played through something like this. Amazing."
Ginny looked over at her father and said, "Dad… stop embarrassing her! You can talk to her about it later. Thank you Hermione. You copied…?"
"First one recorded." confirmed Hermione with a cheeky grin.
That earned her another hug. After sitting back upright, Ginny clapped her hands together, rubbing them together happily, "Right, so who's ready for a quick game of Quidditch?"