Chapter Four: Good Advice at Shell Cottage
Ginny POV
"Well, don't you look worse for wear?"
Ginny gave her oldest brother Bill a look as she brushed soot off of her clothes. Even though traveling by Floo was far messier than Apparating, Ginny still preferred it – what was a little soot compared to the sensation of being squeezed through a small tube and the queasiness that followed?
"Thanks Bill, but is that really a nice way to welcome a guest into your home?" Ginny asked sarcastically, stepping out of the fireplace and into the kitchen of Shell Cottage.
"Auntie Ginny!"
Ginny grinned broadly as her 4-year-old niece Victoire rushed into the kitchen and latched onto her leg, "Just the girl I was looking for! How is my favorite niece?"
Victoire giggled as Ginny swung her up into her arms, "You don't have any other nieces Auntie Ginny, I'm the only one!"
"Huh, I guess you're right! Even if I had other nieces or nephews though, I'm pretty sure you'd still be my favorite…"
Victoire beamed at her and hugged her tight around the neck before squirming in her arms, "I've got something to show you in my room, I'll go get it!"
Ginny set the small blonde girl down and she scampered up the stairs to her room.
"You should be a bit more careful saying things like that with Fleur and Angelina so close to their due dates…" Bill pointed out as he handed Ginny a cup of tea.
Ginny furrowed her brow as she took a sip, "Why? It's true, she is my favorite and always will be. She honestly might be my favorite person of all time."
Bill chuckled, "I'm sure Hermione would love to hear that."
Ginny glared at him and set the cup down, walking into the sitting room. Even though all of the windows were closed, she could still hear the waves of the ocean crashing against the cliffside the cottage was perched on. Perhaps in a little bit she would take Victoire on a walk along the shore to see how many shells they could find. She sat down heavily on the sofa, and Bill sat beside her.
"Really, how are things going? You look like you had a late night…" Bill said quietly.
Ginny shrugged, "Yeah, a bit..."
"Another woman to try and help get your mind off of Hermione?"
Ginny was silent as she ran a hand through her long red hair.
"And…? Did it work?"
"Of course not… It – "
"Never does," Bill finished for her. Ginny sighed.
"Hermione stayed over a few nights ago, and something felt different. She asked if I'd noticed anyone while signing autographs, brought up how I shagged a lot of women… I'm sure it didn't really mean anything, I mean she's dating this idiot bloke at the moment, so I'm not sure why I even bothered letting myself overthink it, but I did… You know me, I can't help me take any sliver of hope I get and make it into something it's not… Even though I've worked for years to try and accept that Hermione will only ever be my best friend…"
Bill was looking at her carefully, "She may have just been interested in your life, Gin…"
"I know… But she also asked me to sleep with her."
Bill choked on his tea, "She what?"
Ginny rolled her eyes, "Not like that. It was cold in my flat – the landlord still hasn't sealed up the windows properly – so we shared my bed when she stayed over after the Puddlemere match and… "
"And…?"
"In the middle of the night I woke up and my arm was around her, no idea how or when it happened. I tried to pull my arm away because the last thing I want to do is make her uncomfortable somehow, but she pulled it back around her and snuggled back against me even further. I'm pretty sure she was asleep the whole time, but still…"
"Huh…" Bill said, frowning slightly.
"Then the next morning I felt her get up and sneak out before I got up. She left me a note saying she forgot she had an early morning breakfast with that prat boyfriend of her's. Either she was lying, and just didn't want to see me because she was freaked out that she woke up with my arm around her, or she actually did have a date, which brings me right back to the reality of my own delusion anyway…"
Bill was still frowning, looking as if he were deep in thought.
"I am being delusional… Aren't I…?" Ginny asked, trying desperately not to get her hopes too high.
"Auntie Ginny!"
Victoire had launched herself onto Ginny's lap, forcing a large piece of paper into her hands.
"And what do we have here?" Ginny asked, turning the paper over.
"It's you! Mummy and Daddy told me that you won your big Quidditch match and that it means your team is the best team! See, there's you on top of the big hill, because you're the best!" Victoire explained excitedly, pointing at the stick figure with red hair.
"I see! Thank you for choosing such a lovely red for my hair, Victoire, you do have an eye for that kind of thing…" Ginny complimented the beaming child, "But why is my skin green? Am I ill?" Ginny asked.
Victoire looked from Bill to Ginny as both adults tried to keep from laughing.
"Noooo! Those are your green Quidditch robes!" Victoire explained very seriously.
"Oh, of course! You like the home kit better than the away kit, then? When we play in Holyhead, we wear green. And when we play at other teams' stadiums, we wear gold," Ginny explained. Victoire looked at her with a blank expression.
"Might be too much for her to grasp…" Bill muttered.
"No Daddy, I got it! Auntie Ginny wears green when she plays where she lives, but when she plays away from home, she wears gold. Right Auntie Ginny?" Victoire asked, looking expectantly up at Ginny.
Ginny smiled down at the girl in her lap, "Right! You know Victoire, if you get too much smarter, we might have to start saying that you're already brighter than Uncle Ron…"
"Ginny…" Bill warned.
Victoire giggled, "Uncle Ron is silly! Auntie Lavender is always bossing at him, and he makes faces at me when she does!"
Ginny and Bill both laughed at this too, as they knew it to be true. Ron had settled down with quite a handful, but he seemed to be pretty good-natured about it, always quick with a joke.
"Hey Victoire, how about you go get your shell book, and we'll go for a walk? See if we can find more shells than last time?" Ginny suggested.
Victoire gave an excited gasp and jumped off of Ginny's lap, again headed back up to her room. Once the young girl left, Ginny turned to Bill again.
"What do you think? Think I'm being delusional?"
"Honestly Ginny, I think you should just talk to Hermione. You two have been best friends for how long now? Just be honest and talk to her," Bill encouraged.
"It doesn't feel that simple… What if I freak her out and lose her?" Ginny muttered, looking down at her hands that were clenched together.
Bill put his hands on Ginny's and gave a supportive squeeze, "I highly doubt that would happen. You've loved her for years, Gin, and she definitely loves you, at least in some capacity. If it's just as friends, you deserve to hear that so you can actually get some closure and move past this. I'm sure you won't lose her as a friend if she doesn't feel the same way… Is that why you've never told her? You've been afraid to lose her?"
"Well yeah. That and the fear of telling her I love her and not hearing it back... This is why I don't think I should, because she's obviously straight, right? All the boyfriends she'd had… I mean, at least I thought so until she cuddled up against me the other night… But she said she was cold, so of course I obliged… Ugh… I just know I'm overthinking it…"
Bill tipped his head and gave her a knowing smile.
"What?"
"Isn't that the oldest trick in the book, Gin? Saying you're cold to get the other person close to you?"
"I mean, I don't really have to use tricks to get women close to me…" Ginny said with a hint of smugness.
Bill shook his head, the smile still on his face, "I think you should talk to her. Be open and honest with her. You deserve to know the truth, once and for all. What if she did feel the same, Gin? Wouldn't you be happy?"
"Happy would be an understatement…" Ginny sighed, leaning back against the sofa.
"Exactly. I think you should take the risk, Gin."
"Yeah, Auntie Ginny, take the risk!" Victoire shouted as she ran back into the room.
Both Bill and Ginny laughed, "Come on you, let's go," Ginny said as she wrapped a scarf around Victoire's neck and took her hand.
It was a perfect autumn day on the outskirts of Tinworth, not too cold or windy even though they were firmly into the October now. Ginny and Victoire slowly maneuvered down the cliff that Shell Cottage sat on, making their way down to the shoreline.
"Found one!" Victoire shouted in excitement as soon as they hit the beach, letting go of Ginny's hand and rushing ahead to pick it up.
"Remember, you only get to take home one shell, and it has to be empty…" Ginny called after her.
Victoire froze with her hand hovering over the shell, the weight of the decision evident on her little face.
"I think… I'll wait… What if there are prettier shells that I see later?"
"And with that, you are officially smarter than Uncle Ron."
Victoire giggled and ran off ahead, looking for the perfect shell as she kept tally of how many shells she came across in her notebook. At the end, they always counted up the tally marks as a way to work on Victoire's counting skills.
Ginny loved coming to visit her brother and his family in Tinworth, and not just because Victoire truly was one of her favorite people in existence. It was relaxing, vacant, and she could always count on Bill to give good, helpful advice without judgment. She looked out over the edge of the water, the waves quietly crashing along the shore before pulling back out to sea. The air smelled lightly of sea salt and lavender, seamlessly adding to the relaxing ambiance that was broken by a screech of excitement from Victoire a little way down the beach.
"This one's moving!" Victoire laughed, pointing at a small crab that was trying to scurry away from her as fast as it could.
Ginny nodded, "This is why Auntie Luna told us not to pick up every shell we see, and this is why we only take one from the beach and make sure it's empty. Creatures live in these shells, remember? So, if we take away every shell, then they wouldn't have anywhere to live when they get bigger."
Victoire nodded, "And we are always nice to creatures, no matter how big or how small! Right?"
Ginny smiled and nodded again, "That's right. Auntie Luna would be very proud."
Victoire beamed up at her, before her brow furrowed again in very focused thought, "Why do we call her Auntie Luna if she isn't married to any of Daddy's brothers?"
"Well, we all say that Uncle Harry is our brother, so that makes him your uncle, and he's married to Auntie Luna, so that makes her your auntie. Sometimes you don't have to be born into the same family to be brothers or sisters or aunties or uncles. You can choose your family, too."
Ginny watched as Victoire processed the information, her face screwed up as she did. She was so cute, and extremely bright – Bill and Fleur were going to have their hands full in no time, even more than they already did, especially with another baby on the way.
"Okay…"
They continued walking, tallying the shells as they went.
"Auntie Ginny…?"
"Yes?"
"Why was Daddy telling you to take a risk? Aren't risks bad?" she asked, concern etched into her light little eyebrows.
"Not always. Sometimes taking a risk can be scary, but it can be good if it works out after," Ginny explained.
"What is the risk you and Daddy were talking about?"
Ginny paused, not sure where to go from here. She'd always been open and honest with Victoire as Bill and Fleur encouraged it, but this seemed a step too far. Well, she'd navigate the best she could.
"Well… You know how your mummy and daddy are in love?"
Victoire's grin nearly covered her whole face, "Yes!"
"Well… I'm in love with someone too, and your daddy thinks I should tell the person that I love them…"
Victoire gasped as if she had just received the best news ever, "Do it Auntie Ginny!"
Ginny chuckled and smiled down at Victoire, "You think I should?"
"Yes! Why wouldn't you?"
"Well… Sometimes when you tell someone you love them, they don't say it back, and that's scary. That's the scary part of this risk."
Victoire laughed, "That's silly Auntie Ginny! You're the best auntie in the whole entire world, of course they will say they love you back!"
Ginny laughed out loud as the smile on her face grew, "You're pretty great, you know that?"
Victoire nodded, "I know! You tell me all the time!"
Ginny laughed and took Victoire's hand as they slowly started back towards Shell Cottage, the waves still crashing lightly along the shore.
Suddenly, Victoire gasped louder than she had all day, "Does this mean that Auntie Hermione will be a real auntie and a friend auntie?"
Ginny stared down at her, "What… What do you mean?"
"You just said that Uncle Harry is my uncle because Daddy and everyone else said he's their brother. Isn't that why Auntie Hermione is my auntie now?"
Ginny nodded slowly.
"But if you love her and she loves you too, then you will get married and she will be my real auntie, right?"
Ginny gaped at her, "I – How – Victoire, why do you think that I love Auntie Hermione?"
"You said you love someone like Mummy and Daddy love each other! You and Auntie Hermione look at each other like Mummy and Daddy look at each other, with smiles and nice eyes."
Ginny couldn't help but continue staring at the girl, "With smiles and nice eyes…"
Victoire nodded, "So will Auntie Hermione be both types of auntie, or just one?"
Ginny shook her head in disbelief, "I – I guess we'll see, won't we?"
Victoire gasped again, "Do I get to be in your wedding like I was with Uncle Ron? Can I throw flowers again at everyone?"
Ginny couldn't help but laugh, "Of course you can," she said as they came up on Shell Cottage.
Both Bill and Victoire had made it all seem so simple, but it certainly didn't feel that way. Perhaps she'd have to tap into that so-called Gryffindor bravery she was supposed to have. When it came to Hermione and being open and honest about her feelings for her, however, she'd never quite had enough nerve. Maybe next time she saw her, she would.