Shifting…
Ron woke with a start on the sofa in his parent's living room. His magazine had long ago fallen to the floor; the sun was streaming in through the window momentarily blinding him. With a groan he sat up rubbing his neck and stretching his long legs. He was a bit angry that he had fallen asleep on the sofa; a bit angry that the chess game against Draco ended in a draw and a bit angry he was at The Burrow… he had been planning on staying the night at #12, talking with Harry about an article he had read about the latest roster change to the Canon's.
Glancing up at the clock, he saw all his brothers were at work, his mom had just started a part time job at the ministry now that she didn't have any children that needed watching, so her name was next to his dad's and Ginny was still upstairs most likely asleep.
Running his hands through his wild hair he caught sight of the chess table, back in its place.
Arms now folded across his chest, he appraised the table with thoughts of yesterday and playing against Draco moving around in his head. He had to admit, he was totally astounded at how good of a player Draco was; the piano thing had surprised him too.
With his limited knowledge of music, he had to admit that Draco played a very nice song on the piano, though he couldn't remember the name of it at the moment He also realized that he actually enjoyed playing chess with someone different and someone GOOD.
As he trudged upstairs to the shower, an idea formed in his head. He had nothing to do today, it was Thursday. Harry
had told him that he and Hermione were going to go shopping for some new Muggle Clothes, something that didn't
interest him or Harry that much. Ginny was actually going to Diagon Alley tomorrow by HERSELF to eat lunch with
Narcissa and Draco (a big trusting move on his parent's part). He wouldn't be able to contact Samantha until
tomorrow, so he came up with a few ideas on how to spend his day at The Burrow as he took his morning shower.
As Ron munched on cereal twenty minutes later, freshly showered, he saw Pig fluttering near the window and got up to let him in. Tied to his leg was a large envelope which Ron relieved him of and took to the table.
It had his name and Samantha's on it; frowning he opened it and out slid a few Muggle type pictures that Colin had taken at the dance. There were three to be exact, one of him and Samantha slow dancing, one of them smiling at the camera and one of him and all his friends. He saw a short note from Colin saying he sent all the pictures he took to the men and they could make copies if they needed by saying a certain spell that Ron couldn't even pronounce. Hermione would have to help him with that.
Seeing the picture of Samantha brought back memories of the fantastic time he had with her, he barely remembered passing out in her bed; but he definitely remembered the shower later that morning, smiling to himself as Samantha dared him to get in with her while Harry and Hermione were still asleep in her bed across the room. He made a mental note to call her the next evening; feeling the need grow stronger every day to at least hear her voice.
He was glad he gave Bill most of his money last night, asking him or Fleur to invest it in whatever he thought would earn him the highest returns. He was saving for a ring, had an idea of what he wanted and realized if he bought it, he wouldn't have any money left at all. His father had mentioned a few times that he could hook him up at the Ministry if he needed a job…it was in the auror department which he had thought about doing. He still wasn't sure; ultimately he would love to play Quidditch, but after reading how much time the players spent on the road and in training, he knew he would never see Samantha or his family.
Ron looked up as he heard a soft "pop" and saw Hermione standing in the kitchen.
"Hey…kind of early for you to be up and about isn't it?" Ron joked, watching her help herself to some juice and joining him at the table.
"I was hoping Ginny would be up before Harry and I left to go shopping. I wanted to see how her day went yesterday."
"She is still sleeping; it ended in a very surprising way though." Ron sat back and stretched out his long legs onto the chair diagonal from him.
"How so?" Hermione took a sip of her juice.
"Somehow, he and dad got on the subject of pianos and dad conjured up one, which led to Malfoy playing."
"Really?" Hermione set down her glass, looking interested. "How was he?"
"Well…," Ron started out, "Considering I haven't heard much Muggle music, he was good. I wouldn't know that off the top of my head but mum looked like she was going to cry and Ginny was about to fall off her chair. And I actually was impressed…," Ron trailed off.
"That good? I would love to hear Malfoy play the piano. What'd he play? Do you remember?" Hermione looked very impressed.
""Moonlight" something." Ron had no idea what the second word was that Draco had said.
"Beethoven? Amazing! I would have paid many galleons to see that," Hermione said wistfully, then her eye caught some pictures and she reached for them.
"We got ours this morning too! They came out very nice!" Hermione looked at the three pictures in front of her. "You and Samantha are very cute together."
"Thanks." Ron thought so too.
"The other reason I came by was to invite you to dinner tonight. My parents are stopping by and I thought you would like to join us."
"I'll never pass up free food, as long as Harry oversees your cooking." Ron ducked as she threw a harmless spell at him.
"Well, tell Ginny I stopped by and I'll talk with her later." Hermione stood up along with Ron who put the pictures back inside the envelope.
"I will, whenever she wakes up." Ron leaned against the table and watched Hermione, who was hesitating in asking him something…he could sense it. "What?"
"What, what?" Hermione asked looking up from the spot she was staring at on the floor. Ron was quiet with an inquisitive expression on his face. "I was just thinking about Ginny and Malfoy and where they are headed."
"And?" Ron prompted.
"Well, I found out last night and maybe you knew this, that Harry had more than friendly feelings for me ever since the last half of 4th year."
Ron's face registered surprise, so she knew he had no idea.
"And I am torn between telling Ginny that I wish he had said something sooner, then we could have done more, together, during the school year…thinking maybe she would get the idea and not keep her feelings hidden so much of the time. Malfoy is only going to be around for another six months…then what will he do? He could go anywhere. On the other hand, he is Malfoy and part of me cringes every time I see them together, but then I can see the looks they give each other," Hermione sighed and shook her head.
"Yeah, me too." Ron agreed, startling Hermione.
"You're thinking the same thing?"
Ron nodded.
"We actually agree on something?" Hermione actually went over and hugged him, knowing that they rarely ever talked or thought on the same page with anything. Ron wrapped his arms around her.
"I have no idea what is right for them. They need to figure it out on their own. Ginny has a pretty good head on her shoulders, though I wish she was snogging someone else besides Malfoy…but sometimes, you can't really choose who you fall in love with can you?" Ron said quietly and he felt Hermione go still in his arms.
She didn't say anything or make a move to step away.
"Hermione?"
"Ron, I think you just had a very deep, mature thought and… you left me speechless for a minute." Her voice was quiet and a bit muffled in his chest.
"Yea. I had that happen awhile ago too…hell must be freezing over or something." Ron joked, grabbing Hermione's arms and pushing her away from him a little so he could look at her.
"Maybe I am finally growing up, Hermione."
He smiled at her and she just studied his face for a minute.
"At least you don't have to tell your parents you are having sex. After you leave tomorrow, we made the decision to talk to my parents about my miscarriage."
"If you are doing it after I leave to make me less uncomfortable, I don't mind. They might want to know everyone's version of what happened that day; soften the blow a bit," Ron argued.
"Wow, yeah, I think you're right. Again," Hermione said slightly taken aback.
"Stranger things...," Ron said in a wistful voice.
"Things are changing aren't they?" she asked softly, her arms on his waist trying to make out the expression on his face. He nodded, not needing to ask 'what was changing'.
"I just hope our relationship doesn't change. The three of us have been together for so long that sometimes I feel like now that we all have significant others, our ties will start to unravel."
"Marrying Harry will put a different twist on your relationship, but not mine with the two of you. Samantha however…she's a Muggle. That is something that will bring a different twist." Ron's voice became a bit deeper as he talked about Samantha and his wrists now rested on Hermione's shoulders. He gazed at the window behind Hermione, the one at the bottom of the stairs.
"I think me marrying Harry will change how you view us. Right now, I like how you, Harry and I can just pop into each other's places without having to clear it first. But, once we are married I keep thinking that you'll feel the need to keep your distance. And, what if Ginny does date Malfoy? Should we allow him into Grimmauld Place and if so, how do I feel about him apparating into my home? Ginny is one of my best friends," Hermione was just rambling now, feeling the weight on her shoulders literally of trying to keep everyone together and happy.
"I honestly haven't thought about what the differences will be when you two get married, besides the obvious of you becoming Mrs. Potter," he smiled down at her and tugged her hair gently.
"The thing that gets me is when you two start having children; that will keep you busy and if I am not at the same place in my life, then I won't be doing the same things you will be doing. It really hit me back in November when…everything…happened." Ron vividly remembered him running to the hospital wing with Hermione.
"Ron, you don't know that! You'll be their uncle, whenever we have children…which I still can by the way."
Hermione almost felt like crying, he was being so strangely open and it was the second time in as many weeks that he had mentioned the miscarriage.
"Are you still upset about the miscarriage?" it came out as a whisper and she felt herself pressed against his chest, his arms tight around her and he nodded.
Having her ear pressed to his chest she could hear the strong steady beat of his heart and she could hear him take a deep breath.
"I had never been so scared in my life." His voice shook slightly and it dawned on her that except for the talk he had with Samantha that evening, he never had any type of closure…reading all those Muggle Psychology books taught her people liked closure in instances and situations like these.
"Talk to me Ron…please," Hermione added as he stayed quiet. His arms tightened around her and she felt him lower his head to hers, practically whispering in her ear.
"I thought you were dying…I really did. I heard you first and thought you were dreaming with the noises you were making. Then I saw the blood and the first thing that came to my mind was someone had hurt you and you needed Pomfrey. You were so light when I picked you up, I thought you really were-gone." His voice hitched but he went on, pouring out all the emotions he was keeping inside.
"Then hearing it was the baby, then seeing Harry losing control like that… I knew you guys, at least he, needed me for once…then you were back, got better and stronger and managed to do what you were doing before. But," he paused, tightening his arms around her and feeling her rub her hands slowly up and down his back, "right after I laid you down on the bed, seeing your face so white and hearing you cry I thought that Harry and I were going to have to go out on a hunt and AK whoever did that to you; then when it sunk in you were losing the baby I had no idea how to react."
Ron's voice trailed off and he laid his forehead on top of her head, struggling to not cry in front of her. The feeling of losing a friend that he had "almost" experienced for just a few minutes two months ago was now fresh on the surface…and now that he could attach words to what he had been feeling it felt like it happened yesterday.
Hermione now truly believed what Harry had been saying all along. 'Your friends love you, even if you don't want to believe it, we do.' She couldn't fathom why Ginny, Ron, Luna, Neville and even Samantha were taking shifts around her bed when she was in the hospital. They brought her food, the Daily Prophet, her cousin attended classes for her…and no one said a word to anyone else about what happened.
Hermione pulled back, blinking away tears and saw the he was doing the same…so she did the only thing that came to her mind. She stretched up and kissed him on the cheek.
Hermione rocked back on her heels, took a deep breath and lightly tapped her fingers on his chest.
"I promise I will never scare you like that again; you saw something that rendered me helpless that wasn't supposed to happen, but did. I will never scare you like that again and I promise I will never die on you…without telling you first." She gave him a small smile and he nodded, quickly running a hand down her hair which was brushed straight down her back and he dropped his arms.
"I hope you aren't mad that I kinda…went off," he began awkwardly and was relieved to see Hermione shake her head and took her hand down from his chest, taking a step backward.
"I wasn't planning on this when I came over, but I am glad we finally talked…and I hope we're not going act funny around one another now."
"No, I don't reckon we will be…I'm glad we talked…or…whatever," he stumbled through his thoughts.
"I need to get back. I have to take a very reluctant Harry shopping for something non-Dudley worn. Sure you don't want to come?" She smiled fully at this, seeing him give a small shiver.
"No way, I hate shopping. I think I might challenge Malfoy to another game of Chess."
"Here?" Hermione raised her eyebrows and he nodded.
"Ginny said too look him up if I wanted to play and now I am determined to beat him. I need to show him I wasn't brought up in a bin like his song said."
"Somehow, I don't think he really believes that anymore."
Ron shrugged, not ready to connect too deeply to a Slytherin.
"Buy something sexy for him." Ron grinned and rubbed his arm where she smacked him. Then she reached up, grabbed his chin and pulled him down to her height and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.
"Watch what you say; I know how to embarrass you!" Hermione let him go, gave a wave and with her usual small bubble sounding POP she was gone, leaving Ron to sink back into the chair resting his forehead on the cool wood table.
'I am doing way too much sharing of my emotions lately,' he thought to himself. 'I think I need a mental out and go play Chess.'
Pushing up from the table, he checked the clock…10:10. Ginny was still sleeping and it should be a normal time to floo Malfoy Manor. He walked over to the fireplace and popped his head into Malfoy Manor, seeing Draco look up from a desk where he was working on something.
"Weasley, back so soon?" Draco ambled over and looked down at him.
"I just had a conversation beyond conversations with Hermione; I need to kick your arse in Chess," Ron said lightly and Draco rolled his eyes.
"I'd like to see you try, so therefore I'll be there in a few." Draco turned as Ron's head disappeared and walked back to the desk, grabbing the envelope that came with them morning mail. He figured Ginny would probably want to see the pictures Colin managed to snap of them at the Yule Ball. Not bothering to change out of the suit he had worn that morning to the bank, he decided to apparate over, not wanting to stumble out of an ashy fireplace.
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Later that day, Ginny sat on her bed staring at Hermione across from her, neither one saying anything. Ginny had just finished recounting her day starting with Malfoy seeing her in her pajamas and ending with her staying in her room through the three games of Chess (all a draw) that her brother and Draco played.
For Friday, Ginny made plans to meet him outside Olivander's, then he would accompany her to Florean Fortesque's where his mother would be. He also said offhandedly that there might be people taking their picture. His father's death still being talked about in the wizarding community, they liked to get any information they could on how he and his mother were doing.
"Your days are so much more exciting than mine have been. Shopping with Harry is not the most fun thing to do, I found out. He never really developed a taste for what he liked in clothes, never having been given the choice so asking if he liked red or blue better in a shirt was like asking him if liked Quidditch as much as sex…he couldn't decide," Hermione said suddenly and Ginny laughed.
"How is that going by the way?" Ginny asked shyly and Hermione gave a small smile.
"Let's just say having Harry Potter let down all his defenses is a good thing." Hermione tucked her legs up under her and leaned back against the wall.
"Oh really? So, what's it like with the boy who lived?"
"Fantastic…I don't have anything else to compare it to. But when we first kissed in the Astronomy Tower, I knew that there was an amazing side to him that no one knew."
They were both silent, lost in their own romantic thoughts until Hermione changed the subject.
"Your brother and I actually had a heart to heart about the miscarriage," Hermione told Ginny.
Ginny raised her eyebrows, indicating for Hermione to go on.
"We started out talking about you and Draco, then changes in life, then he revealed to me what he was feeling when I had my miscarriage. Ginny, he was crying when he was telling me and he actually thought someone had hurt me and was ready to kill whoever it was."
Hermione leaned forward and stared into Ginny's eyes. "I have two non-related people in my life that would protect me with their lives. He actually understands what happened and I think we actually became closer-I understand him a bit better now. Maybe we won't argue as much now…who knows?"
"I'm glad you two talked, especially if he needed it. Let's hope the arguing will...not happen so often for all our sake!" Ginny laughed as Hermione tossed a pillow at her.
"Anyway," Ginny continued, "Thanks for stopping by and showing me your pictures. They are lovely…you two are the best looking couple in all of Hogwarts." Ginny praised her and saw a pink flush touch Hermione's fair skin.
"You should take a better look at you and Malfoy then; that one of you and him is amazing. Did you show your parents so they could see the dress?" Draco had dropped of his and Ginny's pictures when he came over to play chess and Ginny thought they had turned out excellent.
Hermione grabbed her envelope and put a pile of CD's and her personal CD player on Ginny's desk (Classical Music per request of Ginny).
"I did and mum and dad got tears in their eyes. First because of the generosity of my friends for the dress and
then they kept saying how beautiful I was. When they saw the up close one of him and I….well…I don't think I have
ever seen my parents so quiet for so long before." Ginny fiddled with the cord on the headphones of the CD
player.
"What did they say?" Hermione pulled her shoes onto her feet and laced up her trainers.
"Nothing for what seemed like forever. Then my mother looks up at me, a very serious expression on her face and my dad's still staring at the picture and asks me if I'm as happy as I look in the picture. I told her that I was still being very careful and moving very slowly around him, but I was very happy and am happy with the way things are. She seemed to like that answer and my father just nodded a few times and set the picture down. I still don't know if he was choked up, angry because he remembers what the Malfoys would say, especially Lucius, or he is just having a hard time realizing that soon all of his kids will be out of the nest."
"Probably a bit of both, I'm sure." Hermione hugged her friend. "Good luck tomorrow and just be yourself. Depending on what time my parent's leave I'll floo you, if not then I will see you at the train station on Saturday, ok?" Ginny nodded, watched her friend apparate home and began getting ready for bed.
----
Later that afternoon Hermione was resting on the sofa, planning her dinner which her parents were coming to that evening, when Harry collapsed next to her. He had been out flying and had just brought in a gust of cold air as he entered through the front door.
"Did you know that Malfoy and Ron played chess again today?"
"Really? Who won?"
"Another draw I think," Hermione put her cookbook down on the coffee table.
"Wonder why they are doing that?" Harry asked kicking off his trainers and flexing his feet.
"I'm sure it's some type of macho competition thing going on…who is better? Gryffindor or Slytherin?" Hermione opened her cookbook again and began flipping through it absentmindedly.
"Simple answer to that one," Harry responded.
They were quiet for a few minutes and he could sense she was uneasy about tonight with her parents.
"Are you nervous about tonight?" Harry asked, resting a hand on her back as she leaned over the table.
"A bit. Should I tell them about the miscarriage, shouldn't I? That is the question," she said flippantly, but he could tell she was thinking about it much deeper than she let one.
Harry knew better than to respond so he rubbed her back a bit, then stood up to go shower and change before she started trying to make dinner.