Chapter 7
Remaining true to her word, Hermione used her afternoon to visit Harry and Ginny. She arrived after trying to rush through all her off-day brewing. It wasn’t long after lunch.
Grimmauld Place never ceased to leave a small ache in her chest. Harry's decision to live in the old Order headquarters was highly debated. Many disagreed with the choice given that it may be a known location to deatheaters. Harry had outright refused to give it up though. He hadn’t said it but those close to him knew why. It had been Sirius’ home. To Harry it was as good as his home too, it was always going to be anyway.
Her arrival was the same as always, using the front door. Harry had insisted that she use the floo to come in whenever she wanted. He had even opened a permanent network with her own home. She had used it for a while, it was nice having 24/7 access to her friends. After one particular run in with Ginny and Harry jumping apart as she had landed, their clothing in various states of removal, she decided the door was better. She knocked only once before Harry opened the door. He looked tired, dark shadows under his eyes.
“You’re not sleeping enough”
Hermione had assumed she would be entering into some sort of damage but really sleep wasn’t that hard to come by. Following the war Hermione had kept Harry in steady supply of dreamless sleep. He had never stopped having nightmares. Of all the issues Harry could be having, sleep wasn’t one he should have.
“Yeah, I know. The dreamless sleep isn't working”
It was something that, had Hermione not been so busy, she would have thought of. Harry now had an increased tolerance to potions; she would have to brew his supply stronger.
“Right, sorry. I forgot you’d need stronger potions now”
The guilt formed instantly. She was responsible for his potions and because she wasn’t paying attention, he was suffering.
Harry pulled Hermione into an embrace before they moved into the kitchen. Ginny moved about at the counter in a very Molly-like fashion. She seemed to have twenty tasks going at once, all charmed to continue on their own. Ginny turned when Harry moved in her direction. His hands easily slid around her waist as they joined in a quick kiss. The show of affection never ceased to leave Hermione smiling. She had never been happier than when she found out about their relationship. They truly deserved each other.
When Hermione made eye contact with Ginny, she removed herself from Harry to pull her into an embrace.
“You must be exhausted. Padma gave me the details on the hospital, it's crazy”
Hermione let out a breath, relaxing into Ginny's embrace before speaking.
“It’s exhausting but everyone is working together. It should calm down soon”
They parted to sit at the table. Hermione noted just how unusually clean the place was. She had never seen their home in such a picturesque state. They both were such chaotic people and that usually showed heavily in their home.
“Have you eaten yet Hermione? We were just about to order some food”
“No, I came straight from working”
Ginny jumped up at the confirmation and made her way to the living room where Hermione knew they kept the muggle phone. It had been a bit confusing for Ginny at first but Harry insisted they kept one. He still called Hermione using it occasionally, them both finding comfort in it.
The moment she was out of the room Harry turned to Hermione.
“She hasn’t reacted. No crying, no breakdown, nothing”
The news shocked Hermione. Ginny wasn’t the type to cry easily but what had happened, Harry becoming a werewolf, that wasn’t something small. Hermione thought back to the night of the party when Ginny had expressed concern over Harry. They had never had such issues with communication in the past. They both have strong protective instincts towards those they love. The more she considered it she thought that it was possible Ginny was hiding her feelings from Harry to try to help him.
“Has she seen anyone else without you around?”
Harry's eyebrows drew together as he answered
“No, she won’t let me out of her sight long enough”
That just further confirmed what Hermione had been thinking. She was holding in her emotions so that Harry wouldn’t see.
“You don’t think it’s because of me, do you? I know it’s difficult for her, maybe I should give her some space to process things”
Hermione could see the spiral approaching at a rapid pace. She usually tried to stay out of their relationship, but this didn’t seem like it would fix itself.
“No. You know Ginny. She loves you, more than anything,”
Harry looked to the table, his eyes glossy.
“She is probably just trying to protect you. Acting like nothing is different is her way of dealing with things and trying to make you feel better”
Hermione looked around the room as she spoke. Harry was truly stressed if he didn’t notice the small changes. The cleanliness of the place came to mind, it was excessive. Ginny had always been the type to never be still when she was dealing with too many emotions. She was likely stress cleaning.
“I’ll talk to her. Maybe organise a girl's night and we can all try to figure this out, okay?”
Harry nodded, rubbing his face to remove any evidence of their conversation. Ginny can’t be far from coming back into the room.
Hermione began thinking about how to approach the girl's night situation. According to Harry she wasn’t going to be keen on leaving him alone. Maybe if she proposed it as her needing the gathering rather than it being for Ginny. If she made out that it was a normal girl's night she would back out, it needed to be more important. Ginny wouldn’t resist coming to Hermione's aid. That did still leave the issue of Harry being alone.
“Harry, is Ron still in town?”
Harry sighed before responding.
“Unfortunately, yes. He stayed once news got back to him”
It wasn’t the best idea, but it was likely the only one that would corner Ginny enough.
Ginny's footsteps could be heard approaching, cutting their conversation short before she could share her plan with Harry. Ginny entered the room, kissing Harry's head before taking her seat to his right.
“I ordered from that Chinese place down the street, I hope that’s okay”
Her choice was agreed upon by both Harry and Hermione. She knew it happened to be one of Harry's favourites, probably not a coincidence.
“Ginny, I was thinking of a girl's night again this week. We all seem to need it after the week we have had. I could use the relaxation too”
She looked just as hesitant as Hermione had predicted. Her eyes drifted to Harry before looking back to Hermione.
“I don’t know if I’ll be free this week”
Hermione knew for a fact she would be free. She had been given the week off from her quidditch training in light of the situation.
“That’s okay. Oh, Harry I meant to mention. Ron came into work the other day; he wants to meet with you”
Harry looked to her confused, she had asked about his whereabouts, so he knew this hadn’t happened. They made eye contact and the look of confusion slipped away as he realised what she was doing.
“Did he say why? I would rather avoid being in a room alone with him. I’m sure it wouldn’t end well”
“Something about auror training. Maybe he wants to become an auror?”
Ron had never wanted to be an auror. He had taken a strong position that after all they had been through in the war, they deserved to live comfortable lives. He had immediately used his status as one third of the golden trio to secure a place in the quidditch big leagues.
“I’ll call him.”
That seemed to be the most she could do; Harry knew how to handle Ron and maybe he would even agree to help them with Ginny. The topic quickly moved to random things they hadn’t spoken about in a while. Hermione let all thoughts of serious topics drift away, it was hardly the time to try addressing them.
In her somewhat calm state, she found her mind drifting to Malfoy and his potential treatment. She truly didn’t have much idea how to even begin. Obviously the potion would need to be studied and adjusted but that could take her weeks to figure out. There was so little research for her to refer to. There was absolutely no precedent to his case, she was going in blind. She considered for a moment whether going to Theo would be acceptable, she would have to ask Malfoy about having Theo potentially oversee her work. It was always better to have a second opinion.
She was beginning to think of all her knowledge on the physical therapy options Malfoy may have when she was snapped out of her daze by Harry insistently calling her name.
“Yes, sorry I zoned out. What were you saying?”
It wasn’t like Hermione to zone out in the middle of conversations, especially not ones with her friends.
“Nothing much, we were just discussing the trial. It’s looking like I will have to attend to testify, the auror office needs someone to represent them and I was cornered into the job”
Harry had been the only person in their group who had attended or testified at a trial since the war. His status as the chosen one made his presence almost compulsory. He had never enjoyed it, many nights of drunk ranting always followed. It would be nice though that she would have Harry there when she went to support Theo. She hadn’t considered it but she was going to be attending alone, Theo would be sitting in a separate area for the witnesses.
“Oh, I'm actually attending too. Theo is going to testify, and I thought he could use the support”
This clearly wasn’t news to Harry. Being an auror has its perks, he clearly checked the list of witnesses.
“Well, we can go together then. You can be my excuse to not sit in Skeeters firing line”
“That woman needs to get a damn life”
The comment was Ginny's last before moving to the next room. She returned with the paper, today's issue. Hermione was never one to read the paper and Ginny knew it, especially given current news. She placed it on the table in front of Hermione before taking her seat. Hermione didn’t hesitate to reach for it but as she was about to grab it, she saw the headline.
Harry Potter. Chosen one, Werewolf, Deatheater?
“The whole thing is a cop out about how he purposely became a werewolf so he could run off and basically become fuck buddies with Greyback”
It was the first emotion Ginny had really shown since Hermione's arrival that seemed real, she was mad. Hermione too could feel her anger growing. She retracted her hand, no longer interested in reading the paper. Nothing it said was true anyway.
“That's completely insane, everyone has to know that”
“Actually, many people think she’s right. The stigma around werewolves wasn’t great already but with Greyback running around like he is, people are just…scared”
Hermione could see the ghost in Harry's eyes. She could only imagine what he must feel like. Harry has almost always been well loved by the public, especially after the war. Sure, he had his times where Skeeter would say something and it would cause an issue but nothing like this. This wasn’t something that would go away when something new took over the headlines. He couldn’t fix this.
“I’m sure it will pass; her claims are groundless, and people will see that”
Harry just nodded, the room moving into an unfamiliar silence. It wasn’t often that Hermione was at a loss for words with Harry. She couldn’t think of anything that might be comforting to him. He likely knew exactly what she did about the prospects of public attention. He wasn’t going to come back from this easily. The topic had reminded Hermione about what she had spent all day doing.
“I made some extra wolfsbane, I brought it with me so that you’d have a stock here”
As she spoke, she pulled it out of her bag. She could see the looks on both their faces when the bottles came into view. The transition looked like it was taking a toll on both of them, even more with such a reminder.
“Actually, I have to get back. I left some potions going and they will need tending soon”
She could tell that maybe she was better off not being there. Harry wasn’t likely to open up with Ginny there, too scared to push her into a breakdown. Ginny was still a mystery of sorts; Hermione didn’t think it would be good to trigger her.
“Right yeah, of course. Make sure you stop in sometime soon. I miss seeing you”
Ginny stood after speaking to hug Hermione goodbye. Over Ginny's shoulder Hermione could see Harry. He was staring at the bottles on the table, his face overcome with emotion.
“I’ll see you at the trial Harry, look after yourself”
She smiled when Harry's eyes moved to meet hers. He returned the smile, only vaguely.
“You too Hermione”
Hermione disconnected from Ginny and began making her way towards the door. Before reaching it, she turned back to find Ginny holding Harry's hand. His eyes back on the bottles while Ginny examined his face. Something in her wanted to do more, to fix what was happening to those she loved most.
“I love you both”
The words weren’t enough to show what she was feeling but they were the best she could think to use. It wasn’t like her at all to voice the sentiment, she had always been more for actions. The use of them drew both of her friends' attention. They smiled in her direction, Ginny speaking before Harry could.
“We love you too Hermione”
She saw a single tear fall from Harry's eye. He moved to wipe it away before Ginny turned her attention back to him.
She took that as her que to leave. The cold air outside was a welcome change. Looking both ways down the street she decided to walk for a while. She didn’t truly have anything to do with her day, not until night when her potions would actually need tending. She took the steps down until her feet fell onto the footpath and walked. No destination, nothing. Just the cool air and her thoughts.