Written In The Body
Poetheather
A/N: Well, since you all have done well and there are 100+ favorites and 200+ followers you get two chapters this week. So this Thursday will be Chapter 25.
Enjoy!
Still not JKR so don't ask.
Twenty-four
It was a couple of days later after the first time they had had sex and Hermione was still grinning about the other night, inordinately pleased with herself. It had been so wonderful, so unexpected and if she thought back to those events parts of her body would tingle in memory. Sure she had not gotten as much sleep as she should have that night and she had been tired for a good portion of the day, fighting against dozing in class but it had so totally been worth it. The sounds Ginny made, the feel of her skin, and her taste… Hermione's eyes fluttered and she had to shake her head to clear it so she could try to focus back on the classwork she was doing. Granted they were in the practical portion of Ancient Runes at the moment so she could spare a few moments to indulge in such blatantly libidinous thoughts but still there was a time and a place for everything and now was not it. But oh what a lovely indulgence that little moment had been. She sighed in pleasure. They would have to do that again and soon.
This was her last class of the day and then she had her meeting with Madam Pomfrey. She looked over her work, making a few minor corrections to several complex rune sets in order to ensure they were as precise as possible before she was finished with her in class work. She was still at the top of this class, having been so far ahead due to her self-paced advanced work that her missed year had not really dropped her behind any one or far enough for her grades to be close enough for any other student to displace her from first place. It was a subject she enjoyed and that she found eminently practical seeing as it allowed a person to do some amazingly complex things that lasted over a long period of time if they just took the time to find the best rune set and pattern to accomplish their particular goal. When combined with Arithomancy the runes could then yield some amazing advances in magic. There was clear value in this particular set of skills and she was trying to apply the Marauder style thinking to the field with her muggle knowledge base to see if she could come up with any new ideas. The Marauders also had extensive notes on the subject, having used rather complex runic chains to help in their creation of their mirrors and the map. In fact it seemed as if Remus had also enjoyed both of these subjects.
One item she kept coming back to the more she thought about it because of how just useful they seemed was the Marauders mirrors. They were a simply brilliant piece of work and from how everything appeared they did not have an issue with distance affecting the image or sound quality. The transmission was pretty much perfect each and every time, even when the mirror itself was broken, as Harry had proven with the shard he had used with Aberforth. Now if she could just find a way to make them a bit more universal then she just might be able to find a way to create a wizarding version of cellular phones. The overarching problem was that the universality issue was so amazingly complex that she was sure it was going to take her a while to figure this one out. And how could she ensure that the mirrors were otherwise private and secure if she did manage to solve the universality problem? Maybe she could get Luna to help? There really was no one who thought more out of the box than the blond, to the point where the box wasn't visible anymore. This problem was certainly one that would require that kind of thinking to accomplish her goals. Luna was so unique and had such a different outlook on the world that she would be a valuable research partner.
And what if she could make her new music player more portable, like a portable CD player with a built in radio? There were just so many ideas she had bouncing around in her head thanks to Remus's gift that her original notion of working in the Ministry was fading the more she thought about it. But that certainly didn't eliminate her huge desire to fix some of the glaring problems that she saw in wizarding society. She was so conflicted on the matter and she really had no idea what to do.
That reminded her of a task and made her frown a bit. She had something she needed to do and she really needed to stop avoiding it. Putting this task off was not going to help matters any and might even serve to make things worse in the long run. No, despite all of her worries and fears over the matter she had to go downstairs and take care of a problem she had avoided to the best of her ability because of the pain it caused. It was her mess and she had to clean it up. It was only right. Even with all that resolve it still took a glance at her forearm to really get her moving.
Once class was over she packed up everything, putting it into her book bag and headed downstairs towards the kitchens, specifically towards a particular painting near the Hufflepuff dorms. Once she reached it she closed her eyes and took a deep breath to try and center herself and calm her racing heart. She could do this as it really needed to be done but she was afraid. What would they say? Would they reject her? She simply didn't know and that fear almost made her walk away. She swallowed heavily, reminding herself that she was a Gryffindor, took another deep breath and opened her eyes. She tickled the pear and as the door opened she made her way inside. Once down in the vast kitchens of Hogwarts she waited until she spotted a house elf that seemed to have paused briefly in their labors. "Excuse me."
The elf turned looking quite helpful until it saw who it was, and then they looked a bit upset and somewhat conflicted, as if struggling with something. Hermione sighed, now knowing that she deserved this treatment and was currently trying to take care of this situation. "May I please speak with the Elf in charge?"
The house elf stared at her, as if she were up to something and she held her hands open, showing that she was hiding nothing in them. There was no knowing if that would make a difference or not but it was the best she had. And the fact that it seemed like she needed to do that hurt even more. She made absolutely sure that there was nothing even remotely clothes like that could fall out or slip out anywhere near this discussion. This conversation was too important for her to make such a stupid mistake. She owed it to Dobby to get this right the first time because she wasn't sure if she would be given a second. He had been a good friend and deserved far better than he had gotten. The elf disappeared and she breathed a slight sigh of relief.
"Yes Miss Grangy? I am Poesy, the Head Elf." The female elf that stood before her was old, not Kreacher old to be sure but older than most any other elf she had seen. She did not look as broken or defeated as Harry's inherited elf either but was healthy and upright, looking her directly in the eyes without fear.
Hermione smiled and nodded. It made her happy to see a house elf that looked so healthy and happy. It more than anything else told her that she had been basing her entire movement off of somewhat faulty information. Sure there were terrible Masters but that did not hold that all of them were. "Yes, thank you for seeing me Posey. I… uh… first off, it was so busy after the battle that I forgot to thank you all for the wonderful help you gave us in defending the school. You all were just brilliant. I don't know if Harry or Ron remembered to say anything about it afterwards, so for the three of us, I want to say thank you from the bottoms of our hearts. You certainly helped save Hogwarts and the wizarding world."
The House Elf looked a bit confused and embarrassed at that, clearly not expecting to have heard anyone say such a thing to her and that showed in her voice as she said, "Thank you Miss Grangy. I will tell the others."
"Could you also tell the others that I will no longer be leaving out any clothes or anything like that for you all. I am also terribly sorry for doing that to you all. I… I thought what I was doing was the right thing in trying to free you all but I was wrong, very wrong." She was starting to get more and more emotional as she spoke, the complex and deep feelings she had for Dobby creeping into her voice.
"Miss Grangy…"
"Please allow me finish. In the muggle world we see slavery as this cruel and inhuman thing where people own other people and work them cruelly, with no regard at all for the person they have enslaved. It is a terrible thing that horrifies most muggles and we have been working to wipe this practice out to the best of our ability for hundreds of years. It is now fairly rare in public and has been forced into secrecy. So then I hear about Dobby and how his family treated him and I thought that this was how House Elves were always treated by other wizarding families. Then I heard about Winky and then Kreacher, all of whom sort of proved what I had thought. However I know I jumped to conclusions without ever actually asking any of you what you wanted or even how you saw any of this. I never took the time to get any of your opinions on this matter because I was sure that I knew best, knowing better than you who had been fooled into thinking this was the right way to be. Hagrid tried to tell me different but I was so sure that I was right that I ignored him and his advice. But after Dobby died while saving me and then you all helping to save all of us, I was made to think about this matter more. In addition, well over this summer Harry told me what Dobby had done while I was trying to free you all, collecting the hats I had made and being forced into having to clean Gryffindor Tower all by himself, it shook me up, all of this has shaken me up. So yes, I am tremendously sorry for trying to force something onto you all without asking any of you about it. I am so sorry for never bothering to talk to you about something so basic and simple, acting like I knew best when I really didn't. Please forgive me." Hermione bowed her head, looking down at her feet and her heart ached, thinking about that tiny grave on a dune alongside Shell Cottage where a brave and loyal friend was buried. She wouldn't be alive right now if it weren't for him, they wouldn't have won the war if it weren't for him, and she wouldn't have Ginny if it weren't for him so she owed it all to Dobby to do the right thing. How could she do any less?
"Miss Grangy… thank you for telling us this. We did not know how muggles saw things and always wondered why muggleborn seemed so upset by us. We thought you were hating us and thought us bad elves. This whole time you have been worried for us. Thank you. You are not like we thought. You are forgiven. You really are a great witch Hermione Granger, just like Dobby said." The older House Elf came up and hugged her leg.
Hermione began to cry in relief. She had been so hurt when she had heard what had happened, that Dobby had been forced into cleaning the whole off Gryffindor tower himself because of her foolish actions since no other house elf would set foot in the Tower. It had certainly driven home the importance of researching and thinking things through, of not just jumping in with her first impulse. She had made a right mess of things but amends had been made and she had learned her lesson. She had done what she had promised to Dobby once she had found out and fixed the problem. She sniffled and wiped her face, "Thank you."
"You be needing anything?" The elf asked gently, clearly concerned for her.
"No thank you Posey. Dinner will be soon enough and I can wait for that. It smells like it will be wonderful. I just wanted to come down here and take care of that. It was important to me and I just wanted to let you all know." Hermione dabbed at the tears at the corners of her eyes and smiled at the House Elf.
The aged elf smiled and patted her knee, saying, "Okay. I'll make sure Topsy brings you and your Weezy something nice tonight."
That made Hermione blush. Honestly, did everyone in the castle know her business? "My what?"
"You and Miss Weasley. We knows you are together. Everyone knows." The elderly House Elf smiled, showing her teeth, clearly happy with this.
"Thank you. I… I should go so I am not late for my appointment with Madam Pomfrey. Goodbye and thank you again. I will come back and talk to you later." Hermione's cheeks were still red as she left.
As she walked away she could barely believe that a House Elf managed to embarrass her. Ginny would crack up over that finding it one of the funniest things ever. So would Ron and Harry now that she thought about it. George would appreciate it as well if she wanted to spread her embarrassment out and around through the greater community of her friends. At least the worst thing Luna would do to her would be to grin at her. She shook her head. At least she got that done and had fulfilled her promise to Dobby. It made her feel better. Sure she wanted to do something to ensure that House Elves we well treated everywhere but she was sure she needed to find a better way to go about it than what she had first planned. Getting into the Ministry and trying to change the laws that way didn't really appeal to her. However, despite dealing with that awkward situation, now she had to deal with the actually uncomfortable portion of her afternoon.
Moving through the halls towards the Medical wing, she felt a sense of dread fill her. She was sure that this upcoming conversation was going to be tough and upsetting. What was she going to do? She liked Simon and to have to tell him that she knew about the abuse he had endured would be difficult at best and nearly impossible at worst. Until she knew what the specific options were, everything about this particular situation was simply up in the air and a bit vague. She really hated that, preferring to know exactly what she could do and could not do rather than walk into things blind.
It wasn't easy but she did manage to get her mind off the meeting, at least enough for her to think about the fact that she needed to set up an appointment with Headmistress McGonnagall to help her figure out what she really wanted to do as a career when she got out of school. She also spend some time thinking about sending Harry a letter asking his advice about how to tell Ron about her. She was still at a complete loss as to how to tell him about her being a lesbian not to mention that she was in love with his sister. How do you tell the young man you used to be in love with that there really is no more hope for them? How do you tell him that you were sleeping with his sister? If Ginny was the one to tell him she was certain that it would only make matters worse, based on how the two of them seemed to grate on each other's nerves in most situations. It was no stretch of the imagination to gather that he would rant and rave about how Ginny had stolen her from him or some such nonsense. Of course it was complete poppycock but that was often par for the course when Ron got mad. He really was a great guy and she loved him dearly but when he was mad his brain was removed to be replaced by something else entirely. This situation was completely unlike fun and she had no idea how to get past it since she wanted to tell Ron before telling Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. It was only fair that he know before them. That is unless Ginny had other plans.
Her nerves kept building and winding tighter until she reached the medical wing as her digression hadn't really helped in the whole keeping her calm. She walked inside and saw that there were thankfully no students there, which would make this conversation far easier. Witnesses would have only complicated matters and she really did not need complicated right now. Hermione went over to Madam Pomfrey's office door and knocked, partially hoping that the woman would not be there. The nurse's voice called out, "Come in."
Madam Pomfrey was filling out some paperwork when she entered, the quill scratching away on the parchment. "Ah good… Miss Granger, right on time."
"Of course, Madam Pomfrey, you implied that there was something important to talk about?" asked Hermione, worry clear in her voice.
"Yes, I did. I gathered from what you had said about Mister Potter that Mister Cresswell might have been treated in a manner similar to how Mister Potter's relatives treated him. So I did look for those signs as you know with my diagnostic spell. Unfortunately, as I let you know, there were indications. He has had enough recent and long term abuse that I believe we might be able to take action to remove him from his environment. No child should ever have to endure this and I am still upset with Albus for keeping Harry at that place. However I am worried about Mister Cresswell, do you think he might be ready to talk about this situation? Without his input on this, letting us know what exactly has transpired, I am afraid our actions are rather limited."
Hermione looked thoughtful as she ran this through her mind. Would Simon want to talk about this, the abuse he had endured? Harry did everything he could to avoid the topic and still sort of danced around the topic if given the chance. Knowing that provided her with a far better guess then she would have been able to otherwise make. "So fundamentally what you are saying is that we have to get him to tell us what is going on back at his home so that we know if he is in any real danger or what else may be occurring if it is coming from somewhere else. This would enable us to determine how much we can interfere or to what degree."
It was a very friendly and proud smile that Madam Pomfrey turned on Hermione. "You always were very bright Miss Granger. I do think that we need to get more from him on this subject and then we can take this to the Headmistress. Or perhaps we simply need to go to her directly. I am not entirely sure. I do know that there is no need to spread around his information without justification. You only know about this because you were the one who alerted me and I know you would have not stopped until you had gotten something back on the matter. Sometimes you are far too tenacious for your own good. And I am well aware that you are quite circumspect."
She did have the grace to blush at that, not used to being praised for hiding information. "I think I can get him to tell me but I'm not sure. Maybe. At least I hope I can get him to tell me. I'm a bit worried about how to go about it though. I don't want to drive him away because I am prying too much which could very well happen."
"Then I suggest you let him get used to you a bit more. That way he will build up more of an attachment and feel more inclined to confide in you. There is no chance of him returning to his family until Christmas at the very least so he is quite safe here until then. There is no need to rush things and cause him undue trauma."
"But from what he told me he has younger siblings." commented Hermione, biting her lower lip nervously. This was one part of the situation that was causing her the biggest worries and she was fairly certain that it was doing the same to Simon. "Shouldn't we find out if they might be in any danger as well?"
The matron pinched the bridge of her nose, clearly not having been aware of that particular complicating factor. "Okay… give him a little bit longer to get comfortable but not too long. We don't want the siblings to be in any danger if that is indeed the situation. I will make some inquiries to see if I can have someone look in on the family, to ensure that his siblings are okay. I will also stress that they are to do it discretely."
Hermione sighed, some of the tension she had been holding in releasing. If helping to take care of Simon's brother and sister was really that easy then she would be quite surprised. She had far, far too much experience with things going awry at the most inopportune moments. "That's wonderful Madam Pomfrey. I am just really worried about Simon and am not sure what to do about all of this. It is kind of overwhelming and nothing I have read has prepared me for this."
Madam Pomfrey reached over and patted Hermione on the arm soothingly, clearly empathizing with her. "You are doing just fine. Showing such compassion for a younger House mate is one of the signs of a wonderful Head Girl and is indeed one of the traits that have made you so beloved by the staff. Once you can get some of that information from Mister Cresswell we can then proceed from there and find the best means to help him."
Blushing slightly under the praise, Hermione said, "Thank you Madam Pomfrey. At least I know that there seems to be a plan to take care of this situation. My only worry is that I know what would be done in the muggle world but I have no idea what sorts of things would be done here in the magical world to deal with this issue."
"I completely understand. Since you were not raised in this society there are lots of things that you would not be acquainted with. In this situation, if there is abuse proven, Simon will be able to be taken from his home and placed with another magical family or an appropriate magical guardian. If his siblings or even just one of them are also magical they may be placed with another family as well depending on the severity of the charge, though sadly siblings in these situations do not always end up together. It often depends on the financial situation of the receiving family. Given what I can tell happened to Mister Cresswell physically, if he confirms that it was indeed abuse, specifically from his family, then he and any other magical siblings will be gone as well." clarified Madam Pomfrey, making sure Hermione knew how things would play out if things had to escalate to the next level.
Hermione nodded, not necessarily pleased with the whole situation but certainly aware that there was very little that she could do about it at this juncture. She just wondered if she would be able to hold her tongue for a while, to keep from jumping in and asking Simon about all of this right away. All that patience she had learned during the Horcrux hunt would need to come in to play here so she could find the right moment to do this. She just hoped that she would be up for it. Or maybe if she were lucky someone else would do it.
Just thinking about the fact that someone had hurt Simon, cute little adorable Simon almost made her blood boil. How could someone be that inhuman? That was just not right, hurting a child like that. Even though she could not understand how anyone could do that, she could grasp the fact that there were people like that. It let her know that the urge to become something like a Death Eater was not limited to just pureblood bigots. There were lots of idiots like that everywhere and that sort of thinking was a very human thing to do and not something confined to either the magical or muggle worlds. This kind of repugnant inhumanity was sadly one of the defining characteristics of humanity, the fact that people could be at such extremes. She had to close her eyes and swallow her gorge that was rising at the thought of what some of those terrible people were capable of, what they would do to achieve their twisted aims, for their deviant pleasure, to vent their anger. She was glad that none of the absolute worst of that had happened to Simon but she had heard enough of that kind of nightmare life from Harry to know that it had happened to someone she loved.
Maybe that would be a good idea after getting the information, have Simon talk to Harry about all of this. Since they both would have somewhat shared experiences it would give them a point of contact. There was also a bonus in the fact that this would give him someone similar to look up too. The problem was that Harry was currently stressed over so much thanks to this damn war so there was no telling if he would be able to even talk with Simon at all.
And then there was the fact that Ron was training to be an Auror and from what Harry's last letter said he was training along with Neville. That was something that she had trouble believing but was apparently true. Two of her friends were training together, and Neville of all people. There were several other people who had survived the battle that spring that were currently training to be Aurors as well. She just had to shake her head, saddened by that fact. A whole year of students was mostly going in to the Auror corps all because a little boy who had grown up in an orphanage had been afraid to die. Tom bloody Riddle had been a damn coward and so many other people had to change their life goals or had their dreams crushed because of him and his fear. She shivered at the thought and walked towards the Gryffindor Tower, desperately needing a hug right then.
Winding through the halls, moving ever upwards, she heard a sound that set off all her warnings, the faint noises of a scuffle and her wand was instantly in her hand. She started running towards the direction of the sound, more on her toes than landing on her heels, making her steps quieter. She rounded the corner nearest the sounds of conflict, wand at the ready and all that was there was a second year Hufflepuff boy with his robes wrapped around his head, muffling his cries for help and flailing about with a jellylegs jinx. After a quick scan of the area to ensure there was no one about to ambush her, she quickly uttered the counter curses to both spells and helped the boy upright. He looked a bit frightened, shying away from her initially. "Are you okay?"
When he settled he seemed quite surprised to see who it was who had saved him and he gaped at her like a fish for a few moments. She smiled at him encouragingly, "Well?"
"I… I'm okay." He flushed slightly.
"What's your name?" She asked, staying down closer to his height.
"Walden Burton."
"Okay Walden, where were you headed?" asked Hermione gently.
"I was headed back towards my common room when these four older Slytherins jumped me. I couldn't really see who it was because they covered my head too fast." His voice was a bit shaky, still clearly effected by what had happened to him.
She looked him over quickly and asked, "Are you hurt anywhere?"
He shook his head. "No ma'am."
Hermione smiled at him, amused with his answer. Being called ma'am was not something she was used to. "That's good to hear. Well, let's get you back to your Common Room and then I will see you later."
They walked through the halls with Hermione on alert, wand still in her hand, eyes scanning everywhere. Sure she was aware that it was probably excessive but she had not survived the war without going a bit far sometimes. If students were attacking other students she was not going to take any more risks than she had to. Once they made it to the door to the Hufflepuff dorms and Walden reached safety she told him, "Well there you go. Could you grab one of the Prefects when you get inside and tell them I'd like to speak with them?"
The second year nodded and ran into the room, clearly happy to be in a safe haven. Hermione backed up until her back was against the wall opposite the door, making sure she was less compromised than she would be otherwise. Knowing that there was a group out there stalking vulnerable students made her nervous, bringing out all of her survival instincts. When the door opened, one of the fifth year Prefects came out looking a touch confused, "Yes Hermione?"
She smiled. It was a good thing that the girl remembered what she had said to them on the train about calling her by her first name. "Yes, apparently Walden was jumped by four Slytherin boys. That might be something you and the others need to keep your eyes out for as I know of at least one Gryffindor girl who was jumped as well possibly by the same four. I will pass this information on to the other Prefects and Cameron, but since I am here right at this moment I thought I would pass it on to you now."
"Thank you for taking care of him." The girl said, clearly looking relieved.
"It wasn't a problem. He was in trouble and it was the least I could do. I am just sorry I could not catch those responsible. I heard some of the scuffle but couldn't get there fast enough to apprehend them." Hermione frowned. "We need to be more diligent about that. Well, I must be off. Take care."
She headed off, grumbling to herself about the stupid fact that now she had other things to do tonight instead of the studying that she had planned on and the time she wanted to spend with friends. Maybe she would be able to catch the other Prefects at dinner and let Cameron know about all of this afterwards as well. That would mean that she could actually get some time in Ginny's arms at the very least.
It did not take her long to get upstairs as she was moving faster than she usually did due to her irritation. After telling the Fat Lady the password, she walked into the common room and spotted the familiar hair off to the side and moved in that direction. It looked like she was talking to a couple of her year mates and that was a good thing. She smiled, glad that Ginny had some friends however right now she could care less about them, she needed her girlfriend and the other people could go hang for all she cared. She came up behind the redhead and laid a hand on Ginny's shoulder.
Ginny bent her head backwards with a huge smile on her face. "Hey there 'mione."
That smile fell when she took in the girl's countenance, her brows furrowing in worry. "Hey guys, I'll talk to you all later. I think my girlfriend needs me."
Hermione gave her a grateful smile and let Ginny take her by the hand to lead them both upstairs. The redhead gave the password and once they were inside helped Hermione get comfortable, by taking off her shoes and saying, "Get changed. I know you'll feel better out of your school things."
Hermione nodded, getting changed into some far more comfortable clothes, an outfit a bit closer to what she used to wear before and during the Horcrux hunt rather than what she was wearing normally now. At the moment all she wanted was comfort and it didn't matter at the moment if she looked all that cute, though she still accomplished that aim pretty well. Ginny meanwhile had asked Topsy for some tea, and the house elf had happily complied, bringing them a small pot of tea and both chocolate and gingerbread biscuits. Ginny had fallen over when Hermione had told her a bit ago that she really liked gingerbread cookies. When Ginny could breathe again she had clarified the statement and it had promptly earned her a smack to her arm. Now neither of them could even think about those cookies without thinking about Ginny saying rather cockily, "Nah… you just like to eat Gingers."
Of course later that same evening, when Ginny ate one of the same type of cookies, Hermione countered with, "Wow Gin… you really must be flexible."
Ginny had spit cookie everywhere.
Right now though, the cookies were helping her mood by making her smile. At the same time Ginny prepared her a cup just the way she liked it and handed it over, "Here you go Kitten. Now what is going on?"
Hermione took a deep sniff of the herbal tea, enjoying the lovely fragrance and then exhaled, "I don't know if I told you but today I was planning on apologizing to the House Elves for all the things I did when I was running S.P.E.W., like leaving out hats and stuff so I would be freeing them. That had me on edge right there and even though that conversation went well I was really nervous throughout."
"You did it? You really talked to them?" asked Ginny, stunned by this revelation.
"Well, yes. Of course." Hermione looked at her as if she couldn't understand why Ginny was asking that.
"Oh Kitten I am so proud of you. I know that couldn't have been easy." Ginny hugged her quickly and kissed her on the forehead.
Hermione blushed and lowered her head. "Well, that wasn't all. If it was just that I would be okay. After that then I saw Madam Pomfrey to talk about Simon and his whole situation and that made me think about Harry and Death Eaters. It was not an easy conversation to sit through. Then on the way back I ran into a Second Year Hufflepuff who had gotten jumped by some older Slytherins. They had done a number on him and I needed to free him and escort him back to his dorm. So, it has not been a very stress free afternoon for me." admitted Hermione, sounding a touch frazzled there at the end.
Ginny stood and moved towards the desk, saying, "That sounds like it really sucked. I am so sorry that everything you did today was so stressful. You really didn't need anything like that." She headed back towards her with a vial of potion and a bit of the Molly Weasley no nonsense look on her face. "This is one of your half vials for things like this. It is still too soon since you were off your potions for you not to take this. I want you to take the edge off this tension and then finish your tea. Tonight you are going to be taking a relaxing bath and then I will hold you while you sleep. You will not work too late even a little. Are we clear?"
Hermione grinned. Even though she was sure she would have to die if she ever said it aloud, there were times, like this one, where Ginny acted so much like her mother that it was uncanny. Thankfully it mostly seemed to be the best parts of Molly so far and not the more problematic parts. "Yes baby. I will."
"Thank you for not fighting this Kitten. You know I just want what is best for you. Maybe we can try having me not staying over tomorrow night?"
Hermione frowned a little, pouting just a bit at her.
Ginny chuckled softly, "Or maybe not."