Written In The Body
Poetheather
A/N: 6mo Anniversary post. Thank you all for following this story and enjoying the read. You are all awesome. Thanks.
A/N 2: Wrist is feeling better, so that's good. I am getting much more writing done so that makes me feel better. Chapter 35 is done and I am a good way into 36. So I am nearly back on schedule.
A/N 3: Your 6mo surprise is that I figured out that once the main story is done, around chapter 45-47, there are also going to be 4 epilogues about life after Hogwarts, each one focused on a different thing. I figured you might enjoy that. I thought about an extra chapter but with how far behind I am I was not sure that I could do that. But if I finish 36 soon then there might be. Just fyi.
Still not JKR.
Thirty-One
Ginny lay there comfortably on the deck chair by the indoor pool, sipping her fruity drink through a straw, "Seriously Hermione, I honestly cannot believe that this is what your treatment is for excessive stress."
Hermione grinned over at her girlfriend from her own deck chair that she was lounging on and chuckled, "I know. But between Madam Pomfrey and the Senior Healer insisting that this needed to happen, did you think anyone would be able to say no to them? I mean, Harry never could argue with her and he argued with everybody, even Dumbledore."
"I know what you mean but having to endure four days of this? Really? And on the school's knut even because this is your medical treatment prescribed by the School Nurse. That is what takes the cake. And McGonnagall signed off on this just fine? I know what you're going through is horrible and complex and causes you lots of problems but Kitten I have to admit that this is one hell of a lovely treatment." Ginny raised her glass in toast to her girlfriend.
Hermione did as well, acknowledging her girlfriend before taking a sip of the very refreshing beverage then laying back and closing her eyes to rest some. When Madam Pomfrey told her in no uncertain terms that she was going to be taking a long weekend at a spa with Ginny and her parents she could scarce believe her ears. It was ludicrous as that sort of thing never happened. She had to have been hallucinating as it just didn't seem right. How could they actually allow this for a couple of students? However it wasn't like she was going to argue with them when they told her to go. She wasn't an idiot after all and the idea of four days at an exclusive magical health spa sounded amazing. Honestly, if they wanted her to be pampered and relaxed into submission as part of her recovery plan than she was just going to lie there and accept it. This was the kind of medical torture she could endure. She had been told to finish classes for the day, gather up some things, collect Ginny and meet up at the Headmistress' office as soon as they could. There had not been any hesitation at all once she was aware that the whole thing was for real and not some strange joke. True she had taken the time to pass on the new list of tasks for the ceremony to the House Elves as that planning had to be done but that was it. She had not stopped grinning the whole time.
The two of them had flooed over to the Leaky Cauldron after saying their goodbyes and getting briefed on the basics by Madam Pomfrey, disapparated from there to her parent's house, who had been informed of their arrival somehow and then they took a taxi from there to the address of the spa which looked like an overgrown fenced in garden plot with tangled hedges. After dinner that evening which had been lovely they had all sat around and talked for a while before crashing, as Hermione had been given a modified potion regime for the four days to aid in her relaxation and she had gotten her schedule of treatment prepared by the Healers there. The potions made her a bit drowsier than her others did but they certainly worked to help her relax. She sort of felt a little like fuzzy headed jello and she was okay with that as weeks of muscle tension were beginning to fade.
"Are you girls doing okay?" asked Hermione's mother, as she walked up in her suit, carrying her own fruity drink, smiling down at the girls.
"Yes mum." Hermione relaxed and laid there, eyes half open, in a restful daze. She really didn't want to move too much right now as she just felt good and she was in a lovely place with the girl she loved and her parents. Life was great.
"When is your massage?" inquired her mother, helping to manage the care as had been agreed upon. It was one of the primary reasons that she and her husband were here despite being muggles.
"About an hour from now. And then lunch." commented Hermione, her voice a bit sleepy but happy after she glanced at the clock of the wall to ensure that patients knew when their treatments were.
"Oh, such a terrible life." teased Ginny, not even turning her head.
"Prat." It lacked the heat that it usually had. Hermione couldn't help but smile after saying that. She really did love that girl.
Her mother snickered at their antics, having been able to see a good bit more of their interplay since they had gotten here. "You two…"
"What?" Hermione's response was a little louder than she had intended but it wasn't too bad. It wasn't like there were that many people here at the spa to be disturbed by them. She had her eyes open and was gazing at her mother questioningly.
"You're cute is all. You two are an adorable couple and have only gotten more so since you have been together longer. Even your father said so. It's there in the things you say and the ways you interact. You two really fit well together." She said with a smile.
Ginny laughed brightly as Hermione blushed a very warm red. Her mother smirked at the sight and said, "However young lady, you need to take care of yourself more thoroughly. The reason that this is happening is not because you have been good and need a reward but rather because you have been bad and needed something a bit more extreme to get better. This is actually medical treatment after all. This does get prescribed in our world as well in some cases."
"I know mum, but I don't know what to do to make things easier on me. I am so busy up at school doing all these different things that I have no idea what to do for stress relief anymore. I am doing what I was told by Senior Healer Bainsley but it doesn't seem to be enough anymore. I just want to get better." Hermione was a bit upset over this and it was burning through the fuzzy headedness that the potions had her in.
Ginny looked to make sure there was no one close enough to them to overhear her comments before she leaned in and said, "Well, there is always going flying with me. It is a physical activity and it gets you outside, two things that you are supposed to do. If we store your broom out at the Pitch with mine then we have to walk down there to get it and then walk back up to the castle which is even more exercise and time outside. The only other easy exercise I can think of off the top of my head is walking around the lake or the castle and I'm not sure you want to do either of those."
Hermione looked thoughtful as she pondered that. She had gone flying a couple more times with Ginny when the weather had been nice and had even tried out the Comet that Ginny had borrowed from Madam Hooch. That experience had told her quite definitively which broom she preferred and surprisingly enough she was also getting more comfortable with flying, even though the heights were still a touch problematic. Doing it more often would only increase that comfort and a good stable broom would only help with that. Ginny had been right when she had figured out what her real objections to flight had been. The people who only saw her as a jock missed so much. "That might actually be a workable idea. We can talk with Madam Pomfrey when I get back to find out how often I should be doing that. We will more than likely have to come up with something else as well but that might be a good idea. You know, I think it just might be time to go pick up that birthday present that has been waiting around for me."
Ginny looked really happy and excited at that. "Really? You're actually going to do it? Actually going to buy a broom of your very own?"
"What? I enjoyed flying with you as long as we didn't go too fast or turn too sharply. That really scared me. Then there is the fact that a lot of those brooms don't feel very stable to me. And the picnic was lovely. And you are right, the view of the castle is really nice from the air and should not be missed." admitted Hermione.
"Told you." Ginny gave her a cheeky grin. "You need to trust me on things more often. I actually know things after all."
With a grin her mother sat back into her deck chair, happy to be hearing about what was going on at school. Since they didn't need to keep any secrets any more about the crazy goings on she was actually well informed as to everything they were dealing with in their lives. "So what about you telling Ron or Ginny's parents, any luck with that so far?"
The girls looked at each other and then shrugged. Ginny said, "We still have no idea what to say to my brother about us as we kind of came to a realization about him that sort of reframed everything we thought about him but we have an idea, or at least the beginnings of an idea. As for what we're going to say to my parents about us, I don't know. I'm really worried about that in all honesty."
"Ginny, your parents love you, that was rather obvious when we met them, and if you're honest with yourself you can admit that they aren't as blind as you think they are. From listening to your stories, after having the Twins as their children I am sure they are able to pay attention to subtle changes in things and figure out what they mean. Parents do notice things about their children after all but generally give them the room to say things themselves. Sure you might not have been as obvious about things as Hermione here and her extreme lust for Danish…" said Mrs. Granger.
"Mum!" Hermione was horrified that her mother was bringing that event up again and this time in a public place. What was she doing? Was she trying to embarrass her daughter to death? Ginny only laughed.
"…but surely they have been paying attention to you and Harry over this summer and fall and the lack of relationship there as well as the development of things between you and Hermione. Do you really believe that this will come as a complete surprise to the both of them?" Mrs. Granger completed, not even remotely worried about her daughter's blush as she was used to causing them by now.
Ginny looked utterly gobsmacked. Clearly this whole idea shook her entire notion of how the world worked and it was clear that she wasn't sure how to process any of it at all. Hermione reached over and took her girlfriend's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. Ginny squeezed back in reflex, which served to pull her out of the near fugue state she was slowly slipping into thanks to her shock. Her voice was really small and shaken when she nervously asked, "Do you really think that they might know about us?"
Mrs. Granger sat up from her deck chair and turned, leaning forward, somewhat across her daughter. She reached out a hand to Ginny and waited until the redhead took her hand. When she did she gave it a reassuring squeeze before she said, "If they are both as bright as you and as we have found them to be, then surely they could put the pieces together by how you have been acting around Hermione. You two don't exactly act like friends and you haven't for a while now, even before you both realized it. Right?"
Ginny swallowed heavily and nodded, looking down nervously.
Hermione groaned. This was entirely what she did not need. Wasn't her mother aware of what her prescription had been for this weekend? What sort of physician was she to be going against a Healer's orders? She was here to relax. "Mother, we are supposed to be here relaxing not getting me even more stressed out over things that we cannot do anything about at the moment."
"Sorry sweetie. I was just trying to help you know. I care about the both of you and want you both to be happy. After all you have done for this country you completely deserve any sort of happiness that you can get and no one should begrudge you that. It is obvious that this situation as it stands does not make you happy so I want to do what I can to help you fix it. Just remember when you do finally tell them about you two, have them come talk to your father and me about everything. That should help them feel better about everything as we can share our experiences and maybe get them to relax if they are freaking out. We can talk about a number of things and it's not like we don't want to get to know them better." Hermione's mother grinned and sat back in the lounge chair again, shifting a little to settle herself in comfortably. "Now I think a bit more relaxing is in order before you have your massage Hermione, don't you?"
Rolling her eyes at her mother's antics, Hermione sat back and relaxed into the chair enjoying the warm humidity of the pool room. She had swum a few laps and had played with Ginny some, splashing around, pushing off the wall and gliding underwater like an otter and that had been enjoyable. The potions she was on however made that level of exertion rather draining and so lying here was a nice thing. Thinking about what her mother said to Ginny, that actually was a bit of a relief, knowing that her parents were willing to talk to the Weasleys about all of this after the girls told them about their relationship. It was one thing to know that the wizarding world was mostly okay with same sex relationships on the whole and it was an entirely different thing to feel it when facing off against Molly "When are you having Grandkids" Weasley and her determination to match up her kids with whosoever she determined was their perfect match. She wasn't sure if she was actually ready for that conversation regardless of how happy she was with Ginny. She wasn't sure if she was ever going to be ready for that conversation despite knowing that it couldn't be avoided. You couldn't really avoid telling your girlfriend's mother about your relationship, especially if you had thoughts about making it more serious. There was little wonder that Molly had been strong enough to go after Bellatrix the way that she had and kill her. That woman could bloody well scare a Dementor if she had a half a mind to.
She came awake a bit surprised when Ginny shook her lightly on the shoulder, "Come on Kitten, it's time for you to wake up. Time for you to go get rubbed just so you can fall right back asleep again."
Hermione smiled happily up at Ginny, looking at her with half lidded sleepy eyes and she reached up, pulling Ginny down into a kiss. As she let her go she moaned out happily, "Mmmmm Vixy."
"Oh god, I'll pretend that I didn't hear any of that." complained Mr. Granger off to the side, in mock horror.
"Dad!" "Mr. Granger!" snapped the two girls.
Mrs. Granger started laughing as the two girls blushed an extreme red that almost indicated that there was probably no blood left on the inside of their bodies as it had all rushed to their skin.
"What? I am very well aware that it is my ancient and noble right to torment my daughter and her love interest as I will, whoever it may be. It says so in the father rule book, page 63, paragraph 2. So there." He grinned rather happily at the two of them, clearly pleased with himself.
Ginny groaned, lowering her head despondently, "Oh Merlin, did you actually inherit that from him? Is that where you got it?"
"Ginny! Honestly! I'm not that bad, am I?" asked Hermione, now worried that she might have actually inherited her father's sense of humor.
"Not really but there are times you can get a bit over focused on some things and it does affect the quality of your jokes. Sometimes they can just rub people the wrong way." explained Ginny, wanting to make sure that Hermione know that things were okay.
"Speaking of that I believe I'm supposed to go have a massage right about now?" smirked Hermione, happy to be able tweak Ginny over that.
Ginny stuck her tongue out at her and Hermione did the same right back, to the happy laughter of her parents.
HGHGHGHGHG
"Are you sure you really want to do this?" asked Ginny yet again, clearly wanting to make sure that Hermione was positive about her choice.
"Yes. I have thought about it and I agree that it would be easier to go through with that particular form of exercise if I had a broom of my very own. That way I won't have to borrow one all the time from Madam Hooch. I liked the Bluebottle that you showed me. It was nice, comfortable and didn't make me think I was going to fall off every second. If they happen to have a newer model, one designed more for touring and less for basic family use that would be even better but we can only hope." said Hermione, a bit nervously. She was so anxious about this as it was so new and something that she didn't know everything about. She was actually going to do this, actually get a broom of her own even though she needed to rely on Ginny's knowledge. She had had the gift certificate for over a month now and had been a bit too terrified to even start to think about getting one and yet now here she was, standing before the store, ready to walk inside.
Her mother rested a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it slightly, to help boost her daughter's courage. "Well, I guess we just need to go inside and find out what they have. You can't buy your broom from out here."
With a nod, the group of three tromped into the store and Ginny happily looked at everything, with what seemed like stars in her eyes. There was no doubt that she knew everything about what they were looking at. As Hermione and her mother browsed through the brooms with very little understanding of what exactly they were looking at, a salesperson came up to them, "Can I help you?"
"Yes. I had a friend buy me a broom from here and said I could come in and pick up any one I wanted." explained Hermione, pulling free the gift certificate thing that she had been given. "So I'm looking around to find something."
"Very well… I am sure we will be able to take care of whatever you need. Now what exactly are you looking for? A Firebolt perhaps or maybe one of the new Nimbus's?" The salesman seemed a bit more upbeat as he heard that the sale was already made.
"Uhm… no. That won't be necessary. I actually have a broom in mind. I was thinking instead of getting a Bluebottle, but I would rather get one that isn't purely a family broom. Something that's got the same features as the Bluebottle but I guess is closer to the Comet 290 in other ways. Do you have anything like that?" asked Hermione curiously. She knew that Ginny really did want her to have a higher performance broom and maybe this would reveal a broom that neither of them had thought of.
"Well, there is a new Bluebottle that has recently come out, a slightly modified version of the original that is more geared for touring and traveling but can double up as a family traveling broom in a pinch, which might be along the lines of what you are looking for."
Ginny walked up and stood next to Hermione, listening to the salesman and his pitch. "That sounds interesting. Can I get some of the specifics on the model?"
Hermione sort of glazed out as the salesman began to rattle out a set of numbers that she really had no real reference to. Some of this was a good bit beyond her as it seemed to be acceleration factors, turn radius at speed, something about handling ratio, another thing about the control runes. Ginny was clearly following what was being said but she had almost no idea what she was listening to. Leave it to the Quidditch player to know everything about brooms. Hermione did know a bit about the runes used in broom making but it was not something she was interested so she wasn't that invested in the knowledge. There were other parts of rune lore that were so much more intriguing. After she heard the spiel Ginny turned to her with a pleased smile and asked, "Well, what do you think 'mione?"
"Does it sound good to you? You know that I am not the broom aficionado that you are. You are the one that knows all about this stuff." Hermione asked, putting her fate in the hands of her girlfriend, who did after all have a vested interest in her safety.
"Well, from what he said, it has better acceleration and handling than the one you practiced with but not too much for you. It won't over handle like the Comet did for you, since it is expecting you to know what you are doing and expects you to be playing Quidditch. It still has all the same safety features that you like including a new homing feature that can return the broom to a preset point if you get lost, which if you are not used to getting around flying can be really useful. From everything we have talked about for you and brooms, I think for you it would be a good choice. It takes the broom you liked and gives you more. You can even add some saddlebags to it if you want, so you can carry whatever you might need." said Ginny, grinning at her girlfriend, clearly amused with the idea of Hermione actually buying a broom.
"Okay. If you're sure this is a good choice? Then I would like to get one of the new Bluebottle Ts please. It fits with what I am looking for in a broom and she thinks it's good." said Hermione. She was doing this; she was really doing this, she was actually getting her own broom. It was almost unbelievable. Who would have thought that the girl who had been so afraid of flying for years would own her own broom?
The salesman nodded, took the voucher that she had gotten from Harry and went off to go collect her broom from the back. Ginny moved closer and hugged her excitedly. "I am so proud of you 'mione. You actually bought a broom. You committed yourself to actually flying on a regular basis! Who would have ever believed that? I wonder if there was a bet on that?"
Her mother was grinning at her, that annoying knowing smile that Hermione had grown up seeing a little too often, even more so of late. There was something she wasn't saying and she looked a bit too smug for her own good. Her mum was plotting something or was holding back and she really wanted to know what it was. "What?"
"Nothing. Nothing at all dear. I am so glad you and your girlfriend have this in common. Now why don't we go and rescue you father from the Leaky Cauldron and get back to the Spa. We wouldn't want you to miss any of your all-important massage treatments now would we?" Hermione could tell there was some teasing going on but she wasn't sure exactly what it was about. It had to be about her and Ginny but she wasn't exactly sure of the specifics. Her mother was just a grinning fool and it made her want to smack her.
"Maybe in just a little bit. Gin, did you want to drop by Quality Quidditch really fast?" asked Hermione, offering the visit up as thanks for the help.
Hearing that, Ginny's eyes lit up. "Could I? Really? There are a couple of things that I need that would be really helpful for my own play and for the team and they won't cost me too much. It shouldn't take me more than a few minutes. Oh, and do you want to look in on George really quick?"
Hermione grinned, happy to see Ginny so giddy. "Sure. This can be a spot check to see if he is holding up his end of the bargain."
"Bargain? Hermione Jean Granger, what did you do?" asked her mother, her gaze rather penetrating and demanding of answers.
"I… well I sort of bribed George to keep him motivated back during the summer. I didn't want him to completely wallow in depression because of Fred dying to the point that the business that he and his brother loved so much failed so when I realized that I had something that he would really want I insisted that he keep striving towards better sales and such if he wanted any hope of seeing the things. And apparently, from what I have heard, it is working." replied Hermione, trying to avoid giving away too much detail about what exactly the bribe in question was in case her mother get on her case. She really did not want to get interrogated over that though she was aware that her mother was not an idiot. It would not take a lot of thought to figure out exactly what the bribe was but hopefully she wouldn't think about it too much.
Her mother rolled her eyes in disbelief, "You know that isn't a healthy way to deal with loss Hermione. It could actually have a negative effect."
"I know, I know. Remember I've done a lot of reading recently on the stages of grief and other things as part of my figuring myself out. My thinking was that if he kept moving than he would be able to work through the stages of grief, because if part of his brain was busy dealing with needing to keep the store going and profitable then, knowing George, he would stumble through the stages and eventually feel a little better. Otherwise there is too much that could keep him from feeling better, like mirrors, pranks or most anything that had a chance of reminding him of Fred and I didn't want that." Hermione shrugged, her emotions tightening her chest. "I know it's was not a great plan but it seemed to be the most helpful idea I had at the time. I was only trying to help."
Her mother hugged her, kissing the top of her head. She ran her hand down Hermione's back several times. "I really do love you Hermione, I really do, you are a kind and compassionate young woman but your plans are sometimes helpful like your father."
"Hey!" protested Hermione, somewhat affronted by the comparison.
Ginny started snickering over that. Hermione glared at her but it had little effect on the rather amused redhead. Before things devolved further into madness the salesman returned with the broomstick, boxed up for travel and bound with twine. "Here you go Miss Granger, the Bluebottle T as requested. Sorry it took so long, I just had to take care of a few last minute items that Mister Potter insisted on having included. And thank you so very much for all you have done for us. I read all about it in the Prophet and the Quibbler. Speaking for myself and my family, we are forever in your debt. Thank you."
"You're welcome. It was my pleasure." She was embarrassed by the effusive praise from the man but she spoke absently while looking at the wrapped broom. This was clearly frustrating her and she narrowed her eyes, as if that would let her see through the paper and the box. Ginny took her hands as the man walked away from them, clearly pleased to have met one of the Golden Trio. "Love, we will look at your new broom back at the hotel and find out what Potter the wonderprat had them do to it then. Right now we need to move along before you lose it in the nice man's store."
With a huff at Ginny's words, Hermione turned on her heel and walked from the building grumpily, trying to keep herself from stomping like an upset toddler. The fact that there was some truth to those words was a part of the problem. Ginny came out of the store a minute later with the wrapped broom in hand, Hermione's mother trailing behind her, the both of them looking at the brunette rather concerned. Ginny came up to her and spoke calmly, "It's okay Kitten. Harry is a git. We all know that and have known that for years. He can't help himself. My guess is that he caught it from my brother but who knows. But I am sure he didn't have them do anything bad to your broom. He loves you too much to have gotten you a gift only to turn around and ruin it."
"I just want to know what he had them do." whined Hermione, a bit petulantly.
"It's okay, we'll find out and hex him later. Relax Kitten. This right here is a perfect example of why this weekend is so important for you. You are doing better than you have been but you need to just let some things go more. Back at school this might have gotten you to explode a bit more than you did." stated Ginny, with a bit of a sad smile on her face.
"I was going to wait to tell you until you were ready to leave on Sunday night but maybe it might be better to let you know now. Your father and I got you several books on stress relief and a few items to help you in dealing with that. We just want you to be okay because current research does show some sort of link between stress and illness even though it isn't exactly sure what. Working yourself sick is not a good place to be and I know the both of us would rather you not." Her mother reached out and rested a hand on her shoulder gently, like she had done her whole life. The familiarity of the gesture was helping calm her down and just the happy thought that her mother was here with her and her girlfriend in Diagon Alley shopping helped more than she had expected.
Hermione closed her eyes and took a deep breath in and let it out slowly trying to feel the tension and stress flow out of her. She could feel some control returning to her. She ran her hand down the inside of her left forearm, drawing strength from the gesture. "Thank you, both of you. I don't like snapping like that. It makes me feel so out of control, almost like I've gone crazy."
"No problem." said Ginny, giving her a warm smile that also served to lighten her mood some. "Let's go see George. He's good at cheering people up and we could all use some of that."
The Weasley's Wizard Wheezes store was still where it had always been, at 93 Diagon Alley with the sign all friendly and inviting just like always. The three of them entered and noted that while it wasn't empty it was about as busy as the other stores in the alley, which was impressive for a Saturday while Hogwarts was in session. They walked up to Verity who was working behind a counter by the cash register and Ginny asked the blonde, "Hey Verity, is George in?"
She nodded as she was ringing someone up, giving her some acknowledgement. "Yeah Ginny, he's upstairs. Go on up."
The youngest Weasley waved the other two after her and the three of them headed up to the loft where the twins had lived. After knocking on the door in a broken pattern, the redhead opened it up slowly and cautiously, obviously checking for some sort of booby traps and seeing none led them in. The loft seemed to be part workroom and part living quarters, with bits of experiments scattered most everywhere. As they walked into the living room, a confused voice called out the back, "Ginny? What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be up at Hogwarts?"
Ginny snickered at her brother and said rather cheekily, "I got time off for good behavior Georgie. Hermione and I had some stuff to do with her parents this weekend and McGonagall let us loose early, something about privileges for her favorite students or something."
Hermione looked a touch affronted but based off Ginny's amusement there was clearly something more to this than she was aware of. It had to be a sibling thing. George came in sight, dressed in rather grubby clothes, wiping his hands clean on his dungarees. "I am crushed, veritably wounded I tell you that she does not consider my brother and I to still be her favorite students bar none. We have heard her declare her undying love for us on more than one occasion."
Raising an eyebrow at this assertion, Hermione tilted her head slightly to the side as she asked, "Really now?"
George gave her a mischievous grin that she hadn't seen in a long time, warming her heart, "Absolutely! She is our most devoted fan."
Not wanting to push the issue anymore, Hermione instead changed topics and asked, "So what are you working on?"
"Well, thanks to the couple of journal excerpts you have sent me and some older notes that I have found stashed away of projects we…" George paused here and closed his eyes as if he suddenly needed to fight back tears. It seemed as if the caviler nature of his comments had caught up to him. Ginny came over and laid a hand on his arm and he smiled at her before continuing, "…we were not able to make work before. The notes you sent gave me some new approaches that just might allow me to make them happen. So I am hoping that with Lupin's journals I might be able to make more of the ideas Fred and I weren't able to create before a reality. That way it will keep his memory alive a bit longer."
Ginny hugged him and said, "George, his memory will last longer than that. You two made this amazing store which is threatening Zonko's everyday it's open. The work the two of you did helped keep the light going when so much else was dark. How can you even remotely believe that he will be forgotten? Did you know that Flitwick managed to save a bit of that swamp you two cooked up in your seventh year? When the Death Eaters took over the school he kept it from being destroyed by hiding it, saying work that clever needed to be preserved and not destroyed by ignorant thugs. It's still right where it needs to be, an example of how two absolutely brilliant trouble makers fought back against a horrible toad and won."
George hugged Ginny tighter, tears in his eyes. Hermione was crying as well. She missed Fred and Ginny had clearly said just the right things to get George to let loose. George asked, "So, I guess he'll never really be forgotten then?"
Hermione chimed in, adding her two cents to the mix, hoping to drive the point Ginny was making home, "As long as there is a Hogwarts, that bit of swamp will be there along with the plaque Professor Flitwick made for you two. When you come up next week you can come see it. It's actually really cool."
"I'll do that." said George, his voice a bit thick.
Ginny smiled at him, hugging him again before stepping back and towards Hermione. "Well, hate to traumatize and run, but we need to rescue 'mione's father from the Cauldron before who knows what happens. Thankfully Dad's not there or it would be a huge conversation on plugs. We just wanted to drop by and see you and 'mione here wanted to do a spot check."
George laughed, obviously amused by this. "Yeah. Well, at least he isn't as bad about the magical world as Dad is about the Muggle. That would be terribly embarrassing for everybody. Oh and by the way sis?"
"Yes?"
"Seeing as I am going to be collecting a whole boatload of galleons in the New Year, can you tell me when exactly you started dating Hermione here?" George said rather pointedly, clearly well aware of what was going on. "It's for posterity mind you."
The two girls blushed at his words and a rather flustered Ginny spluttered out, "How? What? How? Uh… what?"
Hermione's mother started laughing at that, shaking her head in amusement at Ginny's complete failure to remain calm. George grinned happily and replied, "Well the first how is actually rather easy. The body language between you two has changed and you two keep glancing at each other and giving each other these little smiles and I'm not really sure you two are even aware that you're doing it. That is a pretty huge giveaway if you know how to read people, and I have been reading you for your whole life Firefly. It became a necessary skill once you got that Bat Bogey hex. Now the what in this case is that Fred and I had noticed some interesting and rather intriguing behavior from Hermione and you the summer before and then part of your fourth year, there was even stuff that we saw just before your fifth year and on holidays. There was just a something there but we weren't exactly sure what but it kept itching at us to figure it out. And then the more we saw you both together the more whatever it was between you grew. So there was a betting pool that was set up, in our sixth year, about who would end up with who in the Golden Trio by the time they graduated. The betting moved back and forth and it got rather heated at times. There is some rather serious money in the pot, let me tell you. However, before things closed the summer the war started Fred and I were the only ones to put money on you two. We saw something there and we knew we had to take the long shot. The betting hasn't reopened since."
Ginny was groaning at this point and Hermione had a hand over her face trying to hide the growing blush. She couldn't believe it but then again, knowing some of their friends she could. She could almost imagine the specific people who were involved in this betting pool and it made her want to go and start smacking them around for good measure. Her life was not supposed to be used for betting!
"The next how is that members of all three Houses wanted in on this little pool and to join you had to sign a contract that said all bets were final and that the decision would be made based off of who the person was dating at their Graduation or within one week of that time. Thanks to the war everyone agreed that it now is going to be your Graduation Hermione as the end date for everything and like I said, no more new bets are being taken. As for the last what… do you really think that I would be upset seeing you with the most amazing witch in the whole of the Magical World? You're my favorite sister and the only two people that were even remotely close to being good enough for you, according to both Fred and I, and I must say that this is actually in order were the lovely Hermione here and his Potterness himself. Harry came in second in this whole thing because he kept breaking your heart and even though he is a great person overall he's also a berk for doing that. You deserve the absolute best baby sis and it looks to me like you got it." George ended with a huge grin.
Ginny launched herself at her brother, almost cracking his ribs with how fierce her hug was if his face was any indication. It was clearly a mix of a Hermione Hug and one of her mother's hugs. "I love you George."
"I love you too Firefly. You just be happy and that'll be good enough for me, money or no money. That's all that's really important." He towered over her, hugging her back. "And you, you take good care of her because you know what happens to people who don't."
Hermione nodded, the smile on her face was quite broad.
"Are you going to find someone to make you happy?" Ginny asked a bit worriedly, looking up at him with somewhat sad and hope filled eyes.
George was quiet for a few moments and then sighed, deflating a little, "I guess so. I mean, I've been working so hard here to make sure that Fred isn't forgotten and now that I think about it Fred would have been kicking me in the arse to get me moving. You know how he was, he would want me living my life, not hiding away up here, regardless of the reason. Maybe I should give Angelina a floo, see what she's up to?"
Hermione and Ginny grinned at the older boy happily. Hermione was very pleased with all of this, as it was clear that he was doing his best to move on from where he had been and said, "I'll get copies of the full journals to you once I get back, at least the first couple of years. There is some good stuff in there. Anyway, keep up the good work and the rest will be yours in no time."
George came over and hugged Hermione, "Thank you. I know you were trying to play me but it seemed so unlike you that I had to go along. It actually helped. Thank you. And I'm serious; you better take good care of my baby sis."
"I will. Don't mention it."
The little group headed back towards the Leaky Cauldron, a bit red eyed from the emotional visit but pleased with the way things had gone up in that loft. Ginny had more spring in her step than she had earlier and it made Hermione smile to see it. Given how worried she was over her family knowing about them, George's ready acceptance of her had to mean a lot. She knew it meant a lot to her so Ginny had to be over the moon.
They walked into the Leaky Cauldron and spotted Hermione's father sitting over at the bar talking to Tom. Still smiling happily over the recent developments, they came over and Hermione and Ginny called out their greetings to the man behind the bar. He seemed a bit surprised to see them and then he looked very pleased. "Bless my soul, if it ain't Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley. It's a pleasure indeed having you two fine ladies here."
"Tom we've been here before loads of times. No need to act that way with us." said Hermione, a bit flustered. Honestly between the looks and the way people were acting around her it was making her a touch crazy. Really, no wonder Harry hated this kind of thing.
"You weren't exactly heroes before, now were ye?" It was a plain statement that could not be argued with. They had to concede the point and he nodded in acceptance.
Mr. Granger turned from his butterbeer and asked the three women standing there, "So, are you ladies ready to get going?"
"Yes please. I think I could use some relaxing from all of this." said Hermione, somewhat tired already. With the emotional ups and down she had gone through she could do with a lie down.
Ginny leaned in and said softly and seductively in Hermione's ear, "Well Kitten… let's see if we can make that happen."