Chapter 22

Ginny maneuvered around the kitchen island, "Look, I know things aren't well with you and Ron, but you can still come over to the Burrow this evening." She continued on, "Harry and I are just worried, you didn't come last night and with everything, you didn't need to be alone anymore than any one of us."

"I wasn't alone last evening," Hermione stated as she put the tea back, "and before you ask, I was at Hogwarts."

"Hogwarts." Ginny narrowed her eyes, "Is there anyone even at the school other than the ghosts right now?"

"There are, and I'm going back tomorrow morning and will be staying at Hogwarts for the next several weeks."

"What? I thought you were going to Australia to find your parents? Since when did that get moved to you staying at Hogwarts?"

The word Minerva was too fresh, too new and she was still not comfortable with it herself; let alone saying that name to a friend and previous classmate. "The Headmistress is making inquiries for my parents to assist in locating them this week. If she cannot find them, then I will be leaving for Australia as planned; and when I return," Minerva's haggard image loomed close to the surface, "I'm going to help rebuild Hogwarts after my parents are settled. That is if they still need any help."

"Why don't you stay at the Burrow in the evening, and work at Hogwarts during the day? Staying there at night, if the dreams start…there won't be anyone to help you. At least close by," Ginny quickly added.

"I love you and Harry, and your family Ginny; but I do not want to be around your brother."

"He's going to the Ministry tomorrow for the day, applying to be an Auror; and with the shortage of Aurors I'm guessing Kingsley will hire him. What I'm trying to say is that Ron won't be there all the time, and you can you still act civil with each other."

Hermione flung the glass forward, causing it to careen through the air and shatter across the cabinets. "I don't want to be civil with him, Ginny!" Hermione snapped, brown eyes laced with red as tears threatened to spill over. "So, no, I don't want to go to the Burrow – today, tomorrow, or probably for the next week if that means having to spend time with him!"

Ginny ignored the way the tea was dripping off the cabinets into the large puddle on the floor, "He was an ass the other night, and he made an accusation about you and Harry that was way off base; but damn Hermione give him a break. He just lost his brother. We all did."

"And I haven't had my family for the past year, so does that mean I have the right to be a bitch? To say that it's alright Bellatrix scarred me, that he'll fix it and if not it can be glamoured away!" Hermione thrust her sleeve up, "She etched the damn word into my skin, Ginny. It isn't going anywhere. Nor can I help it if I occasionally shudder when someone touches me, and for him to think that I did it on purpose because I fucking like Harry!"

Ginny reached out, touching the marred flesh, "Oh honey…" blue eyes sparkled with barely contained tears, as she traced the horrific word 'Mudblood' upon her friend's arm. "I didn't know…"

Hermione's jaw flexed, "Only Harry and now Ron do…along with you."

"Did anything else…happen while you were at Malfoy's Manor?" Ginny timidly asked, unsure if she wanted to know the truth.

Hermione read the mixed emotions, and as much as she needed a friend to talk about it; Ginny wasn't ready and if she was honest with herself – she wasn't ready either. "Let it go, for now. Just know that I need some space from Ron, and believe me when I say its better for everyone involved if I stay away for a week or two."

"But are you sure Hogwarts is the right place?"

"It's better to be busy than idle and waiting."

"There is definitely enough to keep you busy for months." Ginny wiped the last remnant of her tears away, "Actually I'm surprised that McGonagall is planning on opening Hogwarts on time with the destruction that the castle suffered."

"Then I guess you'll have to come over help in two weeks when the Professors and everyone comes back to begin the main clean-up."

Ginny nodded, "Alright. I'll drag Harry along, but if it doesn't start for two weeks, what'll you be doing?"

Hermione stared at Ginny for a heartbeat as she tried to come up with what she would be doing for the next two weeks. "Assisting in repairing some of the professor's quarters and such." And she wondered how true her previous statement was as Ginny commented about the fabled Hogwarts kitchens and what it would take to make them fully operational; after all, what else would Minerva and she work on?

xoxo

a/n: a Sunday morning drabble…