Winter
Hermione Granger stared at the signed order from the court in her shaking hands and finally allowed the tears to fall. It had been a long time coming, the divorce, and though it had been on the horizon for months now, knowing that things really were over between her and Ron still hurt so much that it felt like stone in her heart.
After allowing herself a few moments to wallow in her sadness, Hermione finally slid the document into a folder and put it in her bedside table drawer. She would have to properly file it later, but couldn't spend another minute looking at it right now. All she could do was hope that the pain would eventually lessen, though she didn't know how long that would take.
Hermione shook her head and stood up, glancing out of her room's window at the snow and deciding to go to the teachers' lounge for some hot chocolate. She had to get out and try to take her mind off of how much her heart hurt.
With winter descending on Hogwarts castle, the Christmas decorations that the house-elves had put up were finally feeling appropriate; Hogwarts had always done the holidays beautifully and Hermione was glad that this year was no exception. She walked down the chilly corridors until she reached the lounge and was pleased that it was empty, as she really wasn't in much of a conversational mood.
The mugs were all kept in one of the cupboards on the far side of the room and Hermione grabbed her favorite one, which was shaped like a large cauldron with "magic potion" in gold lettering on the side. Her mother had gotten it for her previous birthday and Hermione had cherished it since. While she loved being a witch, having small ties to the Muggle world still brought her joy and made her feel grounded.
"Hot chocolate," Hermione said to the mug and it immediately filled with the sweet brown liquid. She blew on it and took a small sip: it was perfect, as usual. The mug was warm in her hands and the hot chocolate warmed her body from the inside out, bringing another smile to her lips. She decided to sit by the fireplace but not before transfiguring one of the hard-backed chairs into a squishy orange thing like she used to sit in back when she lived in Gryffindor tower.
A lazy stupor was falling on Hermione as she enjoyed her hot chocolate and the warm fire. Her mind was blissfully empty, which was a rarity, and she caught herself dozing off a few times. Eventually, her mug was empty and she decided to head back to her study to read or take a nap.
She had just gone to stand up and clean her mug when a familiar face appeared in the fire before her, startling her enough that she jumped and dropped her mug, which shattered on the stone floor.
"Shit," Hermione cursed, pulling her wand out and pointing it at the shards of ceramic. "Reparo." The mug pulled itself together and Hermione picked it up before turning back to the fireplace, scowling.
"Ginny, you gave me a fright!"
The woman in the fireplace laughed. "Hermione, you'd think I was a Boggart or something. You've got to learn to relax a little."
Hermione was about to open her mouth to disagree but Ginny continued.
"In fact, you should come out with me tonight. I'm sure you need it."
Hermione had tried very hard to keep the rest of the Weasley's out of her and Ron's personal business – the last thing she wanted was for them to feel like they had to take sides or to lose the family she had grown to consider her own – but there was no hiding the divorce itself. She walked to the mug cupboard and put it away before she answered, choosing her words very carefully.
"I don't know, Gin," she said as she turned and walked back to the fireplace. "It's almost Christmas, shouldn't you be spending it with your family?"
"I'll get plenty of them over the next few days," Ginny said, shaking her head. "Tonight is the last night I have to have fun before mum has me trapped in the kitchen to help cook Christmas dinner."
"I also can't go too far from school grounds," Hermione added. "Teachers are supposed to be close enough to come back in case of an emergency."
"Then we'll just go to the Three Broomsticks or the Hog's Head," Ginny said without hesitation. "Face it, Hermione. You're not getting out of this so you might as well accept it."
It seemed there were no more excuses to be had. Hermione rolled her eyes in defeat. "All right, fine. Let's do the Three Broomsticks. I'll see you there soon."
...
Ginny was outside the Three Broomsticks when Hermione got into Hogsmeade, looking beautiful with her long red hair up in a fancy twist and wearing a long green dress underneath a knee-length black coat. Hermione smiled at her friend and pulled Ginny in for a hug.
"You look amazing, Ginny," she said, holding the woman at arm's length and looking her up and down. "I take it the Harpies are winning more than ever?"
Ginny grinned. "We've been on quite a streak," she said. "I decided it was time to spoil myself. Harry helped me pick the dress, he says it brings out my hair or something." She rolled her eyes, but the smile on her face showed Hermione just how much she loved her husband.
"Well, I'm really happy for you," Hermione said. She swallowed the lump in her throat and pushed aside her sadness and jealousy as best she could. "Let's get inside and out of the snow. I'm freezing."
As soon as the two women stepped into the warm pub, they were blasted with noise and chaos. It was packed to burst and made Hermione's head throb. She looked at Ginny, who had an expression like someone that had just been slapped.
"Let's try the Hog's Head," Hermione yelled. Ginny nodded and they swiftly exited the warmth and noise of the Three Broomsticks, trading it for the much quieter, smaller pub down the street.
After the final battle had taken place at Hogwarts and the rebuilding had begun, Dumbledore's brother Aberforth had taken it upon himself to do some remodeling of the Hog's Head, turning it from a small and rather dingy-looking place to somewhere that people could meet and stay comfortably. Even the glasses that he served out of were clean, which was a marked improvement from when Hermione had brought the D.A. there in their Fifth Year and everything seemed to have a thick layer of dust permanently attached to it.
"What'll you ladies have?" Aberforth asked as Hermione and Ginny entered the pub. He was still a private man, but had forged a relationship with the trio and Ginny over the years since his brother's death and Voldemort's defeat.
"I'll have a - " Hermione began. Ginny cut her off.
"Firewhiskey for both of us, please," she said, grinning mischievously at Hermione, who shook her head. Aberforth had already disappeared to pour their drinks, so there was no taking it back now.
Ginny took her coat off and put it on the back of a chair, sitting down and smacking her hands on the table in eager anticipation. Hermione did the same with her own jacket, feeling slightly awkward at how simple her dress seemed next to her friend's. She had donned a simple black sweater dress and tights, but it was starkly inelegant compared to Ginny and she was having a harder time pushing the feeling of unease away this time around.
A silence billowed between the two women as they waited for Aberforth to bring their drinks. Hermione still felt heavy with sadness and hoped that there wouldn't be a rift between her and Ginny now that she and Ron were officially divorced, but had no idea how to bring the subject up in a casual way. She was just chewing on the words in her mind when Ginny finally broke the quiet.
"So it's official, then?" she asked. Her hazel eyes bore into Hermione's brown ones. Hermione's stomach clenched.
"As of this morning, yes."
There was something unreadable in Ginny's expression, but it was quickly replaced by compassion.
"I'm sorry, Hermione," Ginny finally said in a soft voice.
"Yeah…" Hermione trailed off, unsure of what to say. Ginny was Ron's younger sister, after all, and Hermione had fully expected her to take his side in things.
At that moment, Aberforth appeared with two glasses of smoking liquor in his hands. Hermione gratefully took hers and she and Ginny clinked their glasses together before each taking a long sip.
The alcohol burned as it went down, warming Hermione like the hot chocolate had earlier, but lighting a fire in the pit of her stomach on top of it. Hermione sputtered a little; it had been a long time since she'd had such a strong drink, usually preferring elf-made wine. The effect of the strong drink was immediate and Hermione felt her muscles begin to relax as the warmth made its way through her. Maybe Ginny had the right idea with firewhiskey. Hermione took another drink and relished the swooping feeling it provided, a smile creeping across her lips.
"So what are you going to do now?" Ginny asked, pulling Hermione out of her thoughts. She looked at her friend as if seeing her for the first time.
"To be honest… I hadn't thought that far ahead," Hermione admitted. The idea of her not having meticulously planned out her future suddenly struck her and she began to laugh. She had never been without at least an idea of what she would do next and the thought of simply seeing how things turned out struck her as absolutely absurd. The more she laughed, the funnier it became, until she was practically howling with mirth. Even Ginny had joined in, the liquor and atmosphere having sucked her into Hermione's giddiness.
Both of the women were so absorbed in their maniacal laughter that they didn't notice when someone opened the door, letting the snow swirl in along with a gust of icy air.
"Granger?" A voice drawled. Hermione stopped laughing immediately, a small hiccup escaping her mouth in surprise. She turned to the door and her mouth dropped open when she saw who had entered.
It was Draco Malfoy.
"What are you doing here?" Ginny said, her voice as freezing as the wind that had just come in.
"I wanted a drink, Weasley, is that all right with you?"
Ginny frowned. Hermione had finally gotten ahold of herself and her eyes met Malfoy's. There was a glint in his silver irises and something about it made Hermione shiver slightly. Malfoy walked over to the bar and once he was engaged in conversation with Aberforth, Hermione and Ginny exchanged a glance.
Hermione finished her firewhiskey in one more gulp, the drink already taking an effect on her. Her whole body was warm and everything had an orange, fuzzy glow that hadn't been there when she'd walked into the pub.
"You want a refill?" She asked Ginny, who smiled and finished her drink as well. She handed her glass to Hermione, who stood up to go procure more drink.
Malfoy was still standing at the bar when Hermione walked up and she tried very hard to pretend he wasn't there. While he had sort-of switched sides during the Hogwarts battle, he had never been close with any of the trio and his family had still considered purebloods to be superior, despite everything that had happened during Voldemort's reign. A lot of ideas had died with Voldemort, but the inequality between purebloods and Muggleborns had not.
"So what was so funny, Granger?" He asked, his voice light and curious but carrying its usual undertone of superiority. "You were laughing fit to burst when I walked in. I thought you might have finally snapped."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Stuff it, Malfoy," she said.
"That's not very nice to say to someone that just bought your next round of drinks."
Hermione looked at him in surprise and suspicion. "Why would you do that?"
"I'm feeling… generous tonight." His tone was sickeningly sweet, but it didn't make her turn away. Instead, it made something deep inside of her flutter to life. Hermione attributed the strange feeling to the firewhiskey and swallowed hard, turning away from Malfoy's strangely intense gaze.
"Well, then, thanks."
Aberforth returned with three drinks in his hands and Hermione took two of them before turning to head back to where Ginny was still sitting. The redhead had a frown on her face that was obviously directed at Malfoy and Hermione shrugged when she caught her eye.
"What happened up there?" Ginny asked before Hermione had even had the chance to sit down. She raised an eyebrow while Hermione blushed.
"Nothing," Hermione said. She paused and then continued, "Well… he bought us these drinks."
Ginny barked out a laugh.
"Something funny, Weasley?"
It was Malfoy again, though this time he decided to pull up a chair to the table that the women were sitting at and make himself comfortable. Hermione and Ginny exchanged another look, each as confused as the other.
"Did you have Aberforth secretly poison these?" The fiery woman shot at him accusingly. "What's with the sudden generosity?"
Malfoy grinned at Ginny's question and there was a new glint in his eyes that made Hermione's stomach do somersaults.
What is with me tonight? Hermione chastised herself. It has to be the firewhiskey. I'm switching to wine after this one.
"Can't a gentleman buy a couple of ladies a drink?" He asked, his voice dripping with saccharine.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "You never just do things out of the kindness of your heart, Malfoy. It may have been a decade, but you can't be that different from when we were in school."
Malfoy smacked his chest with one hand, feigning hurt. "Your words cut me deeply, Weasley."
Hermione had been taking a drink when Malfoy made his declaration and snorted into the glass, choking on the burning liquid. Ginny slapped her on the back and she sputtered for long enough to feel thoroughly embarrassed about it before she was finally able to catch your breath.
"Geez, Granger, drink much?"
"Shut up, Malfoy." Ginny said before Hermione could find her words.
"I didn't expect you to be such a drama queen," Hermione was finally able to say, though her voice was still a little weak from coughing so much.
"You should be used to dramatics, being married to a Weasley and all," Malfoy shot back.
Both Ginny and Hermione froze; Ginny's eyes snapped to Hermione and Hermione's heart sank to the floor. Her hands absentmindedly found the firewhiskey glass and began to play with the stem, trying to keep busy and occupy her mind in hopes of preventing the tears from flowing again.
"What did I say?" Malfoy asked, his brow furrowed in confusion. Clearly he meant it as a joke, and nobody except the family knew about Ron and Hermione splitting up, so it was impossible for him to be privy to the news either.
"You spoke out of your ass, obviously," Ginny snapped. Hermione shook her head at her now-ex-sister-in-law. She don't know why she felt the need to defend the tall blond boy, but she couldn't let Ginny continue to dig at him.
"Ron and I aren't…" Hermione had to pause and take a deep breath. "We're divorced. As of this morning, actually."
Malfoy's silver eyes darted from Hermione to Ginny and back again. His lips turned into a thin line, but he took a drink from his glass instead of saying anything.
"Speaking of marriages," Ginny piped up, "how are you and… who was it? Astoria Greengrass?"
"You know what happened." Malfoy's voice was sharp and Hermione saw his fingers tighten around the stem of the glass he was holding.
"I was sorry to hear about her," Hermione said quietly. Malfoy looked at her, surprise evident on his usually arrogant face.
"Yes, it was a tragedy. Another pureblood lost too soon," Ginny said, her voice soaked in sarcasm. Hermione noticed that she had already drained her second glass of firewhiskey and she frowned at her friend. Ginny had never liked Malfoy or his family, but this was unlike her.
"I see it's time to take my leave," Malfoy said, finishing his own drink and standing up. Something in Hermione wanted to reach out and apologize, but she couldn't find the words in her muddled thoughts and remained silent. With a swish of his too-expensive cloak, Malfoy was out the door and disappeared with a crack.
Hermione then immediately rounded on Ginny.
"What the hell was that?" She demanded angrily.
"Are you really angry that I told Malfoy off? Of all people, you're defending him?" Ginny's words were slurred and her cheeks were as red as her hair, which was falling out of the elegant style it had been in when they first met up.
"Ginny," Hermione protested, "his wife died. That deserves some sympathy. He's still a human being, you know. And he changed after the war - we all did."
"He hasn't changed that much," Ginny said stubbornly, drawing her finger around the rim of her empty glass. "He'll never be one of us."
Hermione knew there was no getting through to Ginny when she was like this, so she remained silent as they paid for their first drinks and made their way into the cold winter air of Hogsmeade. Their goodbye was warm enough, but there was a strange, nagging feeling that bothered Hermione for the rest of her journey back to the castle.
The fact that she had felt compassion for Malfoy was strange enough, but Ginny's outright anger and vitriol towards the man had taken Hermione by surprise. Her comment about Malfoy not being "one of them" also itched at Hermione: now, with her marriage to Ron officially over, was she to become an outcast as well?
With nothing officially tying her to the family that she had spent most of her life building, where did she belong now?