Hermione took another ornament from the shelf, her forehead rotated it slowly taking in the strange design of a witch casting a spell on a small unsuspecting frog. With a shrug she placed it on a lower shelf, moving to pick up a pile of books and peruse each title. Her behaviour almost seemed normal, like the old Hermione, the Hermione before all the worry of the Tri-Wizard Tournament and the return of You-know-who. Ginny, however, knew better. Hermione Granger was acting anything but normal.
Ginny Weasley didn't like to say that she'd learnt anything from her run-in with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, (apart from the obvious fact of never letting it happen again) but she knew it would be lying if she ever denied it. There was one thing she had learned (apart from the aforementioned never letting it happen again) and that was seeing things that other people, for whatever reason, didn't. They weren't necessarily big things, most of them were small and subtle and would quite easily pass most people by, but Ginny noticed them clearly.
It was because of this skill that Ginny knew there was something not entirely right with the way the Gryffindor held herself as she perused the shelves; shoulders too stiff, back slightly hunched as if wanting to disappear from view almost entirely. Granted Hermione had a habit of blending into most surroundings, especially when her nose was buried in her books, somehow though, she always had a relaxed air about her and an easy confidence with being just who she was. The Hermione Granger that stood in one of the small rooms of Grimmauld Place, sorting through books, looked too awkward and uncertain.
She'd been acting strange ever since she'd arrived at the Burrow, Ginny had become certain of it as time went on. Granted, the first signs had been small and subtle; her hugs, not a warm and loving as they usually were, the strangely orchestrated avoidance of Ron, following a period of her spending extraordinary amounts of time with him and her being generally distant. She tried to brush all these things off as being in her head or somehow related to Harry, but then Hermione had accompanied Ginny flying.
It was a tradition with the two girls, one that Ginny valued highly because it allowed her the freedom to practice Quidditch and, though Hermione didn't entirely get it, it was nice to share it with her. They'd taken Fred's old broomstick and traipsed a good way from the burrow. Hermione had opened out a blue blanket and sat curled up with a book as Ginny had kicked up into the clouds.
She loved it there, far away, everything about the earth just tiny specks and blotches. The wind would whip past her, blowing her hair behind her and filling her lungs with the sweetest air she'd ever tasted. The stresses of the day just seemed to brush off her, it no longer mattered that Percy wasn't talking to their family, or that Harry Potter wasn't with them, even He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had been far from her mind. She'd never understood Hermione's fear of flying and had often tried to encourage her onto the broom. Hermione had always shook her head, swearing that if she'd been meant to fly she would have been born with wings.
That day had been normal, until Ginny had decided to descend, the earth drawing her back down away from the clouds. Hermione hadn't been reading, instead, she seemed to be passing something between her fingers as she stared at it intently and almost sadly. The sight of it filled her with a fear and dread she hadn't quite experienced since second year. She'd panicked that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had found a way to her friend, but immediately brushed it off. Hermione was not like that and Ginny was sure of it. Whatever the scroll was though, Hermione did not want anyone to know about it as she had secreted it away when Ginny had gotten closer and the redhead did not see her with it again for some time. Not until they got to Grimmauld Place.
"So, you going to tell me what's wrong?" Ginny asked, as casually as possible, slipping beside her friend and reaching for a random book. She wiped the dust off the cover slowly before she chanced a look at Hermione. The Gryffindor had paused, her eyes wide as she glared at the faded red carpet beneath her feet.
"I don't know what you mean," Hermione mumbled after some time, placing her pile of books on an ornate wooden chair, the cushion decorated with faded embroidery that had turned a sickly yellow. She bent down to pick up a rather sorry looking cloth and began to wipe the shelf in earnest.
Though not entirely unlike Hermione, Ginny had found it a little weird that she had thrown herself so enthusiastically into the cleaning of Grimmauld Place, getting lost in the catching of various magical creatures that had made the old building their home and sorting through the piles of junk that Mrs Black had somehow managed to amass over the years. Some days the Gryffindor had hardly spoken to anyone as she cleaned and she only stopped when one them forced her to sit down and eat something. Such behaviour had lead Ginny to tentatively broach the subject with Ron but, as per, her brother was less than helpful and hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary.
At first Ginny had thought Hermione's strange behaviour was to do with Harry. Every single one of them had felt somewhat guilty for being unable to tell Harry anything, keeping him out of the loop while they prepared Grimmauld Place. Regardless of how much Ginny trusted Dumbledore, she had questioned his judgement on that particular matter and she knew that Hermione had felt the same. Something told her that it had nothing to do with Harry, especially when the young wizard had turned up after his run-in with dementors and Hermione had not shown any signs of improving; if anything she had gotten worse. Especially with the tapestry.
During their excavation of the old decrepit house, Sirius' family tree had been uncovered; the old tapestry hanging from the wall, its gold thread still glinting faintly in the low light. It was only on the off-chance that Ginny had spotted Hermione staring at it, only a day after Harry had turned up, her hand hovering over the dusty material in what seemed almost like reverence.
"Of course you don't because you haven't been acting strangely at all." Ginny leant against the old, oak shelf, crossing her arms and staring at the side of Hermione's head.
"Well I don't think so" Hermione's voice was clipped, her cheeks flushing slightly as she focused far too much on dusting.
"You've been quiet all holiday." Ginny pointed out in exasperation. Hermione lifted one shoulder in a noncommittal shrug.
"I can be quiet." She sniffed.
"Of course you can, but not about important things like; not being able to tell Harry anything, Ron's incessant moaning, not to mention the twins obvious misuse of magic." She pointed at each of her fingers as she reeled them off. Hermione flinched slightly as the redhead listed pretty much all the things that did, in fact, infuriate her.
"And I know for a fact that each and every one of those things has happened in abundance and you haven't so much as said a word." Hermione remained silent.
"You didn't even say anything the other day when Sirius was complaining at Kreacher again." Ginny could tell that observation bothered her as Hermione drew her bottom lip between her teeth guiltily.
"I didn't feel the need." Hermione finally uttered. Ginny scoffed, reaching forward and snatching the cloth from Hermione's hands.
"Hey…" Hermione started, but the words died on her lips as Ginny grabbed her shoulders, staring into her eyes as she spoke.
"I don't know what it is that's got you acting so….so different, but please tell me. I'll understand." There was a moment silence where Hermione inspected her shoes, then her shoulders slumped and she glanced up at Ginny, looking somewhat sheepish.
"There's-it's complicated." Hermione almost whispered.
"You know, whatever it is, I'll understand." Hermione smiled a little at Ginny, her face a mix of gratitude and disbelief.
"That's the thing," she took a deep breath, falling into another rickety chair, ignoring it creaks of protest, "I'm not sure that you will."
Ginny opened and closed her mouth several times somewhat appalled that her friend thought she wouldn't understand. Annoyance prickled slightly beneath the skin, but she soon brushed it off. Hermione would have her reasons, she always did.
"We both know that's not true, I have six brothers, I've seen and heard-well, you know it's just- just wow. You know I don't judge people." Hermione smiled slightly, nodding her head in agreement. Hermione had told Ginny many things including her feelings for Ron (not that she could ever hide them from Ginny anyway) and her friend hadn't so much as blinked. It was true that the redhead had been a source of comfort when talking to the boys had not been an option and Hermione felt guilty for having to hide how she felt.
"I don't know where to start," Hermione mumbled it at her knees. She knew exactly where to start, but saying it was impossible, and she was acutely aware that the twins had been wandering around the house with their latest invention of extendable ears. While handy when listening in on secret meetings, they were becoming increasingly annoying when trying to have day to day conversations.
"Well, the beginning would be preferable." Ginny missed Hermione rolling her eyes as she turned and began dragging a chair over, kicking the door shut as she passed it.
"But the twins." Hermione hissed, glancing around the room suspiciously as if they would pop up at moment as they had a tendency to do. Ginny waved her hand, she knew for a fact they had managed to slip away with Mundungus while their mother had been distracted with fussing over Harry.
"The twins won't be a problem," Ginny assured her and plonked herself into her seat. "Nor will anyone else before you say anything." Harry and Ron were in the middle of a fierce game of Wizard Chess, Ginny's mother was as usual bustling in the kitchen preparing food while Tonks did her best to help and the last time Ginny had seen Sirius, Mad-Eye and her father, they had been tucked away in the front room, heads pressed together in a secret conversation.
Hermione didn't know what to say, her mouth opening and closing several times before she simply gave up and sat back.
"It can't be that bad." Hermione cringed at Ginny's choice of words. It was bad, it was very bad, worse than bad. When she'd turned up at the Burrow she'd been determined to put Malfoy from her mind. The blonde had, after all, left her feeling utterly confused and on top of that resorted to calling her names again. But as soon as she'd arrived she felt a strange sort of longing. The Sensieve's magic didn't gather around her like it used to and memories of Malfoy lingered at the most inappropriate times. They weren't even substantial memories; just the way he said certain things, his laugh, his sarcasm, the way he'd run his hands through his blonde hair. They were beyond distracting and only made the weird longing worse.
"It is." Hermione closed her eyes for several seconds trying to even her breathing and slow her heart down. She had to talk to someone about it. Not understanding was driving her mad.
"Right." Ginny remained quiet for some time, tapping her fingers against the snakeheads carved into the wooden arms of her chair. "How about we speak in hypotheticals?" Hermione frowned, she could practically hear Malfoys drool in her head; Gryffindor bravery is out in droves today.
"Hypotheticals?"
"Mhm, no names, you don't even have to go into extreme detail, just the basics."
Hermione supposed it wasn't a terrible idea, she could skirt around the issue without having to explicitly say that it seemed like she was missing Draco Malfoy. Just the thought of it made her shiver involuntarily.
"Right, hypotheticals, okay. Well, I...I guess you could say that I have recently been…" Hermione struggled with how to explain her time with Malfoy and another part of her was reluctant, it all felt strangely precious to her which was rather worrying. "I've been spending time with...with someone, I don't usually, quite a bit of time actually." Ginny nodded slowly.
"Any particular reason why?" Hermione shifted uncomfortably at the question.
"It's complicated. Let's just say that we accidentally started spending time together and...and it's not a person I would normally spend time with." She almost groaned at her phrasing wondering when it was she became so inarticulate. Ginny smiled wolfishly.
"You know you're starting to sound a bit like Lavender." Hermione gave her friend a withering look, appalled at herself.
"I do, don't I? Oh gosh, and you haven't even heard the rest." Ginny couldn't help but smile, she was acting like Hermione again and that eased some of her worries.
"Okay, what's the rest?"
"I don't even want to tell you." Hermione cringed, shaking her head slightly and tapping into the Gryffindor bravery she knew must have been lurking inside her somewhere.
"Well, there have been moments when this other person has been strange, being….ah I don't know, being really happy with me, getting close."
"And this person wasn't happy with you before?" Hermione shook her head quickly, suppressing a sardonic smile.
"No, anything but." Ginny nodded slowly, obviously processing the information.
"And how did you feel about them?" Hermione paused, unsure how to answer.
There was no doubt that before she had despised the very ground he walked on, but now? She'd felt as though they'd become closer, definitely, but that was all due to the Sensieve and Mina and Edward's story. At least she thought that had been the case, until they'd spent the day together and she'd actually found herself having fun, enjoying his company. Now that he refused to use the scroll to contact her she felt infuriated and frustrated. Several times she'd almost given in and written to him, but her pride had stilled the pen before she went through with the stupid plan.
"I don't - I don't really know." She muttered.
"So this is it, this is what's been bugging you." Hermione blushed, her face turning a deep red almost instantly.
"Well, no….there's..there is more," Ginny said nothing but gazed at her expectantly, leaning forward slightly in her chair. "Well, the person sort….gosh I sound like Lavender." Quickly Hermione looked up, her eyes flaring with renewed determination. "He kissed me and I don't understand it."
Ginny sat back, her eyes wide. Many things she had expected but this was by no means one of them. It wasn't very often that Hermione had conversations like this, in fact when the rest of the girls in the Gryffindor common room gathered together and giggled about boys they liked, Hermione would ignore them and carry on with her homework or with reading. Even when Krum had followed Hermione round like a lost puppy she'd seem less than impressed and only really spoken to Ginny about it once. Even then it was just to tell her that she felt guilty for not liking the seeker as much as he liked her.
"Well if he kissed you it must mean he likes you." Ginny had to bite her lip to keep herself from asking who this strange person was. Hermione scoffed.
"He insulted me straight after and hasn't spoken to me since, I think that it means the exact opposite." Ginny shrugged.
"I don't know, it depends how you reacted to the kiss I suppose." Hermione's eyes bugged out of her head.
"What?" Ginny asked, examining her friends face as a whole number of emotions flickered across them.
"It's just I - it shocked me. If you knew - if you knew who it was…" Hermione shook her head, it was impossible that Draco Malfoy could see her as anything but a Mudblood. Somehow though, the idea that he might possibly feel that way didn't disgust her and that alone made her want to bang her head against the nearest wall.
"So let me get this straight, someone, who shall remain nameless, kissed you and you don't know what it means?" Hermione nodded slowly, "and what, you want to find out?"
"I don't know...I'm not even sure how I would find something like that out. He's not even talking to me anymore."
"And you don't think he will?"
"Don't think who will?" Fred asked, popping into the room unannounced, dark smudges on his cheeks. Hermione and Ginny both jumped, turning to the intruder with matching scowls on their faces.
"None of your business." Ginny spat, narrowing her eyes at the extendable ear dangling from his fingers. "Where have you been anyway," she said quickly, hoping to change the subject and distract her brother.
Fred grinned broadly, tapping the side of his nose slowly.
"Well, now little sis, that would be telling wouldn't it?"
"And we are sworn to secrecy" George added, appearing next to his brother, his own extendable ear dangling from his fingers, his cheeks just as muddy.
"You know mom will kill you if she see's you with those things." She said pointing at the offending objects.
"She will have to catch us first," Fred stated, placing his extendable ear in the pocket of the emerald green coat he had taken to wearing.
"YOU BOYS GET HERE THIS INSTANT!" Mrs Weasley shouted from downstairs, her shrill voice waking up Mrs Black and causing her portrait to shriek along with her about blood traitors taking over her home.
"That would be our cue to make ourselves scarce, I think," George said, disappearing quickly and Fred soon followed.
Ginny turned to Hermione after a moment, giving her a sympathetic look.
"Well, we can't talk about it now." Ginny sighed, shaking her head slowly. Hermione couldn't help but agree, even if the twins were distracted she didn't want to risk it, they had a habit of finding things out that no one wanted them to. She still wasn't exactly sure how much of their conversation the boys had already heard and that worried her.
"Mom was talking about going shopping tomorrow, for school. We can talk about it then." Hermione nodded but she wasn't sure. Though talking to Ginny had made her feel a little better there was a huge part of her that worried about whether it was the right thing. So far the redhead had no idea who it was that she was on about, Hermione dreaded her reaction when she found out it was actually the blonde Slytherin they all despised. It wouldn't take them long to figure out who it was she had been meeting up with.
That night as they gathered around the table, Ginny kept glancing at Hermione, chewing the inside of her mouth with worry. The young witch seemed to be in a world of her own. Nodding slightly to herself Ginny came to the conclusion that she would have to find out who it was that was causing her friend so much trouble. She would find out and she would do everything she could to help.