Chapter 85

Ginny POV

A week had passed, and Ginny still wasn't exactly sure what had happened to Hermione up in the Astronomy Tower. All she knew was that McLaggen attacked her in some way, and that his expulsion that evening was all that anyone in Gryffindor could talk about still. Rumors about what he could've possibly done to get expelled with only weeks left in his last year at Hogwarts had run wild, and fortunately no one had gotten close to guessing that it'd had something to do with attacking a fellow student. Well, no one except for Harry, who approached Ginny the day after it happened.

"Ginny, can I ask you something?" Harry had asked quietly the evening after the attack. Ginny had nodded, and allowed Harry to guide her into a more private corner of the Gryffindor common room. Hermione had been off on a Prefect patrol with Dean and the Ravenclaw Prefects, Padma Patil and Anthony Goldstein, as Prefects were now doing patrols in larger groups, so Ginny had been hanging out in the common room waiting up for her, reading the newest issue of Seeker Weekly in a chair by the unlit fire.

Harry cut right to the chase, looking at her seriously, "Did McLaggen do something to Demelza? Is that why he was expelled? Did he attack her again?"

Ginny had paled at the question, and stared up at him. She attempted to speak a few times, but couldn't say anything.

"Was it not Demelza?"

Ginny shook her head slowly.

"Was… Was it you…?"

Ginny's brow had furrowed.

"What? Why would you ask me that?"

"Well, I can tell that something happened to your friend group, Ginny. I've noticed the way you, Katie, Demelza, and Hermione have all been acting. You all look exhausted, for one, and you've all been quiet all day when you're typically chatting and joking with one another. Something happened to one of you, I know it, so if you don't mind my asking, who was it?"

Ginny had felt the tears trailing down her cheeks before she'd even noticed they'd formed.

"It was you…" Harry had muttered softly, running a hand through his wild, dark hair. "Ginny I'm sorry, I – "

"It wasn't me…"

"Then why are you crying? Was it… Was it Hermione…?"

Ginny had nodded, "You can't say anything to Ron or anyone else… She doesn't want anyone to know… I don't… I don't even know what happened… I just know that McLaggen attacked her and Demelza saved her…"

"I won't tell anyone, I promise… How is she doing?"

"She hasn't said anything since last night and doesn't appear to want to talk about it… I mean, I guess I don't really blame her… I wouldn't want to talk about it either if I'd been cornered by that prat up in the Astronomy Tower at night…"

Harry had shaken his head, sadly, "Look, if there's anything I can do to help, let me know, alright…? I'm sorry this happened…"

"Yeah, me too…"

Harry had pulled Ginny in for a hug before releasing her a few moments later, and she had returned to her chair to continue reading. Hermione and Dean had arrived in the common room about an hour later.

"G'night!" Dean had called cheerfully enough, heading up towards the boy's dormitories.

"How was it? Are you alright? Did you go up to the Astronomy Tower?" Ginny had rattled off anxiously as she followed Hermione up the staircase to the girl's dormitories.

"It was fine, and I'm fine. Stop worrying, Ginny," Hermione had said kindly, yet firmly. She'd given Ginny a quick kiss goodnight and disappeared behind her dormitory door.

For the past week, that was about as much as Ginny had gotten from Hermione. She wasn't angry, wasn't sad, wasn't scared. She was neutral, flat, toneless. She was fine, as she'd reminded Ginny time after time when Ginny asked how she was feeling, and while Ginny would've loved to believe her, she obviously couldn't. This wasn't a Hermione she recognized at all. Not even from when they weren't talking the year prior, because at least then, she'd send a glare or two Ginny's way every once in a while, but now, it was nothing. She was hollow now, and that terrified Ginny.

She'd woken up early, even earlier than usual, to get in a training session with Katie. The sun wasn't even up yet, and that was entirely on purpose, as it had been hotter than usual the past few days, and they knew they wouldn't get much done if they were sweating to death under the heat of the hot sun. As Ginny dressed quietly and left her dormitory, she looked down the hall to the sixth year dormitory, hoping today was the day Hermione would return to her usual self. She then hustled down the stairs to meet Katie in the common room, who was yawning and leaning up against the sofa.

"Ready?" she asked before yawning again.

Ginny nodded and rubbed some sleep out of her eyes, "Of course. I'm not going to be to blame if you don't make a team."

Katie chuckled, "What nice confidence coming from my coach first thing in the morning! I'm ready to train now!"

Ginny offered her a small grin, and followed her through the portrait hole.

"So, I saw that you and Hermione were on the sofa down in the common room until late last night. Does that mean she's doing better?"

Ginny sighed, "Not exactly… We were just reading near each other, really…"

Katie nodded slowly, "Has she said anything yet about McLaggen?"

Ginny shook her head as she looked down at the ground, "Nope."

"You know, it took Demelza a long time to want to open up to me about what he did to her… And he only verbally attacked her… I can't imagine how Hermione is feeling…"

Ginny was silent as they continued walking.

"I'm sure she'll open up when she's ready…"

"Yeah… Well… She's not really saying much of anything at the moment… I don't even… I don't even recognize her anymore…"

"What do you mean?"

"She's not Hermione anymore. She smiles and nods and tells me everything's fine, but other than that she's not Hermione. She's not my Hermione, at least. It's like she fell asleep that night and woke up a completely different person."

Katie paused before she responded slowly, "I see what you mean… It's as if she's been wearing a mask… Putting up a front so as to not worry anyone…"

"Exactly. I get that she'd want to do that with other people, but why me? Doesn't she… Doesn't she trust me?" Ginny said quietly, her voice breaking a bit. She felt Katie's hand on her shoulder and she looked up.

"It's not about you, Ginny. When she's ready, she'll come back to you. Hermione's a very proud woman who does not like to show weakness, she's probably just struggling with however she's feeling after the attack. Just continue being there for her, and she'll come to you when she's ready," Katie said softly, giving her a kind smile. They'd finally arrived at the Quidditch locker room. "Do you want to take the day off, or – "

"No, no. I want to train. It'll be nice to get my mind off of Hermione. Plus, like I said, I'm not going to be the reason you don't make a team…" Ginny said as she shot Katie the best half-smirk she could muster.

"Always providing so much confidence…" Katie grinned as she ruffled Ginny's hair lightly. They then continued out onto the Quidditch pitch where they could just barely see the sun begin to rise up over the hills, and got to work.

Hermione POV

It'd been a week since Hermione had been attacked by McLaggen. One whole week, and she was still struggling. She hated it. She hated that even though she knew McLaggen was gone, she was still scared to walk the corridors, day or night. She hated that people were still guessing why he had been expelled. She hated hearing his name. She hated that he had so much power over her even though he was nowhere near Hogwarts. She hated him, and she hated what she had become.

It'd been a week since the attack, and Hermione still hadn't been able to tell Ginny what had happened. She hadn't spoken to her about it at all. She couldn't. She couldn't bear to see Ginny's face when she told her that McLaggen had grabbed her from behind, grabbed her chest, and she had been completely unable to defend herself in any way. She was the first in her class to master nonverbal spells, and yet, it'd come to no use to her at all. If it hadn't been for Demelza, who knows what would've happened to her… There was no chance she'd have been able to stop anything or protect herself in any way.

Even though Professor McGonagall had suggested she forgo doing Prefect patrols for the remainder of the term, Hermione had insisted on doing so. Surely, people would've wanted to know why she wasn't doing her Prefect duties if she'd skipped out on them, and that was the last thing she wanted, people being suspicious of her or wondering about her. Prefect patrols were now done in groups of four, and she and Dean had been grouped with the Ravenclaw Prefects, Padma Patil and Anthony Goldstein. She and Dean got on with them great, and patrols were fine, besides Hermione internally struggling the entire time. She knew McLaggen was gone and knew she was safe, but still, even in a group of four people, she was terrified.

While her nights were filled mostly with Prefect patrols, her days were filled with spending time with Ginny. It was clear that Ginny was watching over her closely, and while Hermione did appreciate it, she also disliked it greatly. She hated feeling like some victim Ginny had to babysit, so as often as she could, she'd insist to Ginny that she was fine. Everything was fine, she was fine. She figured the more she said it, the more true to would have to become, right? She hadn't felt fine yet though, and she knew Ginny wasn't buying it either.

Hermione had woken early, and could tell by how warm it already was outside her open window that it was going to be another incredibly hot day. She sat up, stretched, and slowly got dressed and left her dormitory. As she walked down the hall, she paused at the fifth year dormitory, before knocking quietly on the door. No one answered, which was odd, as Hermione knew Ginny was usually up at this time getting ready to go train with Katie. She knocked again, a bit harder this time, and waited. Eventually the door opened, but instead of Ginny, a very tired looking Demelza appeared in the doorway.

"Oh, I'm sorry Demelza, I figured I'd catch Ginny before she went off with Katie," Hermione said, a bit embarrassed. "I didn't mean to wake you…"

"S'fine… She's not here… Must've gone down to the pitch earlier than normal…" Demelza muttered slowly as she leaned against the doorframe, trying to keep her eyes open.

"I'll be going… Sorry again for waking you…" Hermione whispered hastily.

"Don't worry about it, Hermione…" Demelza yawned as she closed her door softly.

Hermione rushed down to the common room, hoping to catch Ginny and Katie, but found an empty common room instead. Hermione closed her eyes in frustration before opening them again, focusing on the portrait hole.

"You can do this… You're safe… Go on and watch Ginny train…" Hermione whispered to herself, trying to convince herself to travel through the castle on her own. It was still dark out, the castle would be dark, just as it was that night, but still… McLaggen was long gone…

"Go on… Have a nice day with Ginny… You deserve it… Come on…" Hermione whispered again, trying to find something that would motivate her to leave the common room.

"Show her you're not a victim… Show her how strong you are…"

That seemed to do it, as before she knew it, Hermione was climbing through the portrait hole into the dark corridor beyond it. She walked quickly through the castle, hand grasping her wand tightly, trying to fight the fear that bubbled up in her chest at any little sound she heard along the way. She was focused solely on getting out to the Quidditch stadium as fast as she could, and her heart was beating so hard she wondered if it'd beat itself right out of her chest. Suddenly, she was pushing open the doors that led out to the grounds, and was breathing in deeply the fresh, early morning air. She had moved through the castle on her own, and nothing had happened. She focused next on the stadium, and hurried towards it as she took in the night sky as it transitioned from dark to light.

As she climbed up into the stands, she smiled as she saw Ginny and Katie flying together, chatting animatedly. Then, they shot off at speeds that should certainly worry her, but she knew they were more than capable of handling. That is, until Ginny spotted her, and was apparently so shocked at her appearance in the stands that she nearly flew into Katie. Hermione gasped as Katie swerved to avoid Ginny at the last possible moment, almost launching herself off her broom in the process. After apologizing to Katie, Ginny flew over to the stands and hovered just in front of Hermione. Hermione could see the light sweat already forming on Ginny's brow from the hot summer sun, and she reached out to gently wipe it away.

"What are you doing here?" Ginny asked, worry evident on her face.

"Good morning to you too, Ginny…" Hermione said, smiling at her.

For a moment, Ginny looked absolutely stunned, before a slow smile spread across her face as well.

"Good morning! I just – I – I'm shocked to see you out here… And so early…"

Hermione nodded, "I wanted to watch you train… And I was wondering if you'd like to go out for a walk along the lake after…?" she asked.

Ginny nodded quickly as she grinned, "That sounds great, Hermione, I'd love to!"

Hermione grinned back, "Great. Um, I think Katie is waiting for you…"

"She can wait…"

"Oi, coach? Is training over or what?" Katie called out.

Ginny sighed, "You know how Quidditch players are… So demanding…"

Hermione giggled lightly, and Ginny's face appeared to light up at the sound. Then Ginny tentatively urged her broom forward, so that she and Hermione were nearly touching. Her eyes flicked down to Hermione's lips, before returning to her eyes. Hermione smiled lightly and leaned forward, capturing Ginny's lips softly in hers.

"I'll see you after practice, coach," Hermione whispered against her lips as she pulled away from Ginny. Ginny shot her that signature crooked smile of hers and nodded before she flew off to rejoin Katie.

Hermione took another deep breath as she settled in to her spot in the stands and watched Ginny work with Katie. She had walked through the castle alone in the dark and she was fine. She'd made it to Ginny. She was fine. She was going to be fine.

About an hour later, Katie and Ginny called it quits. Katie dismounted her broom and walked into the Quidditch locker room, while Ginny flew up to the stands and hopped off her broom to sit beside Hermione.

"Ready?"

"Don't you want breakfast first?" Hermione asked.

Ginny shook her head, "It can wait. I've missed you," she said as she leaned forward for another kiss.

Hermione blushed slightly as she pulled away from the kiss, she knew Ginny had missed her. She'd missed Ginny too. They exited the stadium together, stopping off so Ginny could store her broom in the broom shed, before making their way down to the lake.

The sun had fully risen by now, and it was already quite hot, but the light breeze that was drifting across the lake was just enough to keep them cool as they walked along the lakeshore. The summer flowers were just beginning to bloom, and they smelled just as beautiful as they looked. Ginny picked a few as they walked, creating a small bouquet and handing it to Hermione. Hermione beamed at her as she took it and smelled it. Once they got to their spot with the fallen tree, they sat down on it, and looked out across the shimmering surface of the lake for a while, taking it in in silence, before Ginny broke it.

"So… You seem different…" Ginny said hesitantly. Hermione could feel her looking at her, but she wasn't quite ready to look at her yet. Instead, she nodded, keeping her eyes on the lake.

"I feel different… I walked through the castle alone this morning…"

Hermione saw Ginny nod out of her peripheral vision.

"I've just been so scared, Ginny…"

Ginny scooted closer to Hermione, and took her hand softly, still not saying anything.

"I had the tools to stop him and I didn't… I couldn't use them…" Hermione whispered, her voice starting to crack. Ginny tightened her grip on Hermione's hand and began to softly stroke the back of it with her thumb.

"I was frozen… I was ill-prepared for using skills that I had apparently 'mastered'… I was useless… Completely and utterly useless…" she was crying now, but she couldn't help it. She'd kept all of this in over the past week, and now it was as if the dam had broken wide open. Ginny hadn't even asked her anything, and yet, she was just openly bombarding her with all of this information.

"He grabbed me from behind… He grabbed my chest… H– Hard…"

Hermione felt Ginny tense up beside her for a brief moment before returning to her supportive and relaxed frame.

"I hate him… I hate him…" Hermione cried harder now, finally turning into Ginny. Ginny immediately pulled Hermione in close, putting her arm around her protectively.

"I've got you… Let it out…" Ginny murmured into Hermione's hair.

Hermione cried hard, harder than she had in a long time. And Ginny kept hold of her, kept her wrapped up in her strong embrace. For the first time in a week, Hermione felt completely safe.

After a few minutes, Hermione was able to calm herself down enough to pull her face from Ginny's chest. Ginny's shirt was soaked through, to the point where Hermione could see her sports bra through her white t-shirt.

"Oh Ginny, I'm sorry…"

Ginny merely shrugged, "Nothing you haven't seen before…"

Hermione laughed lightly, and tipped her head up to look at Ginny. Her eyes were soft, but not in a pitying or disappointed way. They were soft and loving, and Hermione felt incredibly cared for. She leaned forward and pressed her lips softly against Ginny's, not caring that her tears would surely get on Ginny's face. She knew Ginny wouldn't care. Ginny was never going to care, about any of this, and Hermione should've known that. Ginny clearly only cared about her, and she felt ridiculous thinking for one second that Ginny would've thought less about her for not being able to fight off McLaggen.

"Thank you for coming back to me…" Ginny whispered as she pulled away from the kiss, pressing her forehead against Hermione's.

"Thank you for being patient… I'm sorry…"

"Hey… You don't need to apologize. For anything. I'm here for you, and I'll do my best to give you whatever you need, okay?" Ginny asked as she looked into Hermione's eyes fiercely.

Hermione nodded, "Okay… Thank you…"

Ginny smiled and kissed Hermione again, before Hermione shifted on the log, laying across it on her side, with her head in Ginny's lap. Ginny ran her fingers through Hermione's loose curls slowly, her fingernails lightly scratching at her scalp, as Hermione looked out across the lake once again.

"That feels nice…" Hermione said in a relaxed voice.

"Good… Just relax…"

They were silent again for a while as the lake lazily lapped against the shore. In the distance it sounded as if some of their fellow classmates were finally awake and beginning to claim their spots out on the lakefront closer to the school. Birds called happily to each other around them, and Hermione could feel herself starting to drift off to sleep she was so deeply relaxed.

"Hermione…?" Hermione heard Ginny whisper.

"Hmmm?" Hermione hummed drowsily.

"I love you."

"Mmmm… Love you too…" Hermione mumbled before she drifted off to sleep, the feeling of Ginny's fingers in her hair keeping her safe.