3
There are many things that make a friendship strong. May a friendship last for the rest of your life and may the person with whom you make that type of bond become more than a friend.
There are many people with whom I feel this way, many people around me, alive, who I want them to be in my life for the rest of it.
One of those is Kingsley. Tina was a very grateful addition to my circle of friends and she understood that Kingsley and I had stuck together like Siamese twins during the war and that what was between us was not romantic. That had made my appreciation and gratitude for her grow to the heavens, but when we met, when she decided that she would be an active part of my life not only as Kingsley's partner but as my friend, that was when my walls melted.
I wasn't very good at making friends at Hogwarts, to tell the truth most of the people I had come across during my school years had only given me a warm greeting after the Order of Merlin was awarded to me and it was discovered that I held a friendship with the current minister of magic. I completely understand that I am not the sociable or the tolerant type and therefore the people who were around me were treasured. Not only did they not care about my quirks, but they still wanted me with them.
The list wasn't long, but it was enough for me.
In the end the plan had changed, Kingsley had not met us at Gringotts as we had planned at the beginning, Tina had had birth scares so we said we would floo to her home.
It was six o'clock when Ron, Ginny and I flooed into his living room.
"Welcome." A house elf greeted us as we emerged from the floo.“This way, Trimi will show you the way.” Trimi, Kingsley's elf, guided us to the dining room, the table was ready and the curtains had been drawn to let us enjoy the great view that the mansion did offer. If it weren't for the fact that I knew perfectly well where we were located on the map, I could swear that the huge lake in front of us was Serpentine. The view was simply wonderful, the sunset left orange and purple sparkles in the sky. “You can take a seat, master will come down in a moment, Trimi will soon finish his schedule. Trimi is going to study! Yes, yes. But if you need anything you can tell me…” Trimi's voice dropped an octave, as if it were a secret that she would leave anything she was doing to serve us. Of course it was not a secret, but many things had changed over the years, among them that the house elves had the right to work no more than 10 hours a day and between those hours they had to study more about themselves and their history. . Although I wasn’t part of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, I had indeed left a lot of projects running in the few months that I had set foot in the place and I was glad that many of them had been consolidated and moved outside the walls of the ministry.
Trimi left with a slight bow and disappeared down a hallway, skipping in her new shoes.
"I still can not get used…"Ron scratched behind his ear with a frown. “But the change is good.”
I hadn't even gotten used to it. Most of the elves he had met were half naked using old rags as clothing and in less than a year they dressed like any wizard or witch. Meanwhile, the high demand for shoes for elves had been noticed. They appreciated clothing and wore it so as not to dishonor their masters, but shoes were their hit. All kinds of shoes.
“In Bulgaria they have always been known for treating elves very well. I heard, during training, that the elves of the country had celebrated when the news reached them.” Ginny was smiling.
More vague comments were made before Kingsley and Tina made their entrance.
“It's nice to see you all…” Kingsley smiled, hugging each of us. Minister Kingsley was tough and calculating but friend Kingsley was a fluffy cloud who loved contact. It's funny. “Ginny! How is the professional world of Quidditch? Ron, how long? DMLE is still waiting for your return.”
“It’s killing me…” Tina whispered to Ginny and me. Ron and Kings had been engaged in a long conversation about the new DMLE projects, they were speaking in code, although I hated it because I didn't fully understand it. I also understood that it was the way they had both been trained during their time as Aurors and not that they did it on purpose.“I feel like I'm going to burst at any moment and don't even get me started on my nights or my mornings or any part of the day where I feel huge and I can't breathe.” Tina sighed loudly as she stroked her belly. “The worst thing is that I no longer have patience… Anyway, let's forget about me. How's everything Ginny? How is the barbaric world of Quidditch treating you?”
“It's actually great. I had the opportunity to train with Krum a couple of months ago…” Ginny gave me a mocking look as I snorted. “It's a shame he has no intention of playing again. I am still in training and waiting to be signed soon and if everything goes well by the end of this year I will already be on a team.”
Oh yeah. Ginny didn't have a team yet. She had been hunted by a company of young talents who made them fly to different parts of Europe for auditions, however she still had no luck. Ginny had told me that if she wasn't signed by the end of this year she would probably consider her options and drop it.
"I wish you the best of luck. I've seen you play and I could swear you're spectacular. Let me know if you get chosen, it will be a celebration.” Tina smiled sweetly at her.
"Good good.” Kingsley's voice made us turn around. “I say we can move the conversation to the table, we don't want Trimi and Tina to get upset if the food gets cold.” Kingsley smiled at Tina—who rolled her eyes in mock annoyance—and directed us to the table.
“I hope you like it, I experimented a little with some new species.” Tina applauded excitedly and within seconds the empty plates were filled with food.
Something is not right.
I hope I'm wrong, but something tells me something isn't right.
Dinner was delicious, as always, and just as we headed to the lounge for some non-alcoholic drinks Trimi appeared asking Kings to follow her. Tina excused herself, leaving us in the living room, not long after Kings left.
None had returned, and although I felt a huge need to send a patronus to let them know that we were leaving, we preferred to stay just in case they needed our help.
I had finished biting each of my nails when Kingsley showed back, with a fake smile and a light sheen of sweat on his forehead.
“Tina has decided to retire for the night, I guess the pregnancy is taking more of a toll on her than I thought, she apologizes.” Kinsgley did not move from the entrance.
"Is everything alright?" Ron asked bluntly.
"More than that." As surprising as it seemed, Kings' smile was real. Honest.“In fact, more guests joined our little gathering.”
Kingsley stepped aside, clearing the way.
“¡Harry!” Ron smiled widely at her while Ginny ran to meet him. I would be lying to say I wasn't surprised Harry was here, according to his last letter he wouldn't arrive until the middle of the month.
Harry hugged Ginny, laughing at the warm welcome, when Ginny let go Harry walked over to Ron hugging him with a pat on the back.
"You lied." Despite my accusation I couldn't help but smile. Harry hugged me tightly.
"I didn’t." Harry moved away a little, leaving inches between us but he didn't let me go. Damn Harry Potter and my bloody schoolgirl heart that still can't get over him. "What happened to your hair?"
The question shocked me a little. My hair wasn't the same, at least not completely. I had gone through countless potions and treatments that had helped me make my uncontrollable curly hair more smooth, not to mention countless cuts to make it lighter.
"A small change…" I took a strand between my fingers nervously.“It makes my job easier.” That wasn't a lie but not the whole truth.
“I think you look great, Granger.”My gaze moved away from Harry, who hadn't arrived alone. Draco smiled at me and behind him my three friends tried to contain the teasing. Damn. It wasn't enough that Harry Potter was here but that Draco was with him.
Draco, who had made my first three years of school a living hell. Who had apologized until he was breathless in fourth grade. Harry's best friend with whom I had shared a tent for months when I had gone to help them hunt for horcruxes. Fuck me.
If my tastes were already questionable having a one-sided romance with my secretly well known best friend, let me tell you that my little crush on Draco Malfoy was teasing me even harder.
“I never said anything bad.” Harry let go of me, giving room for Draco to greet me with the same energy as Harry.“Just ask what happened to your hair.”
"Hmhu." Draco kissed my cheek and positioned to my right, Harry remained to my left. “You look amazing, I will miss the old messy look but this is great. You look great." What a gentleman.
My stomach is churning and my face feels on fire. With all the composure I have left I pretend that nothing important is happening, they are just two old friends that I am reunited with, that I have missed. Only this.
Although it is not true, of course I can tolerate the presence of each one separately, but both are like aphrodisiacs for me. I know I should feel ashamed, I know this childish behavior is wrong and I should have gotten over it a long time ago, but I'm not.
During the war it was easy to put my feelings aside, at the end of the day my guard was on edge all the time and there was no time to think about romance or pay attention to my feelings during those years. No, there were important things to do, I had to use my brain to figure out how to survive, how to attack the enemy and how to help others, I hardly had time to fantasize about them – even when we slept under the same tent – but not now. My attention was here and I couldn't turn it away. They had both grown up, years of not seeing them in which I hoped that whatever I was feeling would fade away but it didn't. And bloody hell if they didn't look good. The years had only made them look much better than I remembered. More mature.
They were going to ruin me and they wouldn't even know it.