Author's Note: This is one of the more peaceful chapters that can be found in this fiction, enjoy…there aren't many like them left. Also, you'll find that Hermione is quite out of sorts in this chapter. The main cause of the eventual downfall of Ginny and Harry is also highly evident within this chapter.
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It was one of those days where one wakes up, and quite simply feels good. Nothing more to say or feel about it-it just felt good. Everyone's mood was pleasant, everything was fine. Birds sang, clouds passed by. "Harmonious" would be an apt word to describe the day-interruptions were nonexistent. Life was pulsating, permeating through everything, and in these dark times it seemed as though the world wanted to take advantage of it.
Hermione and Ginny were getting ready for the day. Sunlight lit up the room in spectral columns of liquid light, pouring through the windows. A slight refreshing breeze put the heat of the sun in perfect equilibrium with its briskness.
"Push your hair back Ginny."
Ginny immediately acquiesced, catching the rebellious strands of hair and deftly smoothing them out.
"Thanks."
They were dressed simply. Hermione had khaki shorts, a swimsuit top (which she wore all the time at home, swearing it was extremely comfortable), and a light yellow polo covering it. Ginny had on a white khaki skirt with a dark green tee. Nothing especially showy, but casual-a tone no doubt set by the wondrous day.
Both girls had finished tying their pony tails and stood together looking out of the window, sun on their bodies.
"There they are Hermione, our boys" Ginny said as she tucked a couple strands of hair behind her ear.
It was true. Harry and Ron were standing casually back to back shooting spells at beleaguered garden gnomes who seemed to have no purpose-running from shrubbery to shrubbery with no real intent whatsoever but to run amok. Ron was of course talking, no surprise there, and Harry was dutifully listening, resonding every once in a while to fill in the silences. Hermione could tell his mind was elsewhere.
Ginny, she too caught up in thoughts, turned to Hermione and caught her eye, "I want to thank you again, for helping me this past year. The time we had…the time we will have…I owe so much of it to you."
"Nonsense Ginny, it was all in you, all you needed was a person to make you realize it."
"You're fooling no one Hermione, but thank you anyways."
Hermione smiled, "Of course Ginny…I couldn't be happier for you."
The both went quiet, as they watched Ron suddenly burst out in laughter, his guffaws echoing across the countryside. Harry, who had obviously been in his own little world, had not noticed a garden gnome-of whom was completely out of control and senseless-catapult himself off a rather bouncy Trepanta leaf right into Harry's groinal area.
Hermione laughed as Harry immediately went into guy-emergency-recoil-position-number-one. Perhaps she had imagined it, but she thought she had heard Ginny say something along the lines of "…if it's alright…" but she could have been hearing things.
Once more the boys commenced their work and the girls were once again left in silence.
"Are-are you okay with Harry's decision?"
She saw Ginny's sparkling eyes fade a little and her posture stiffen and immediately regretted her question-but knew it was completely necessary.
"Honestly?"
Hermione nodded.
"No. But, I mean, I can't help it. That decision is so…so him. Typical of the way he is, really. He's just so perfect for me, Hermione…it's hard to be mad…Just look at him!"
And she did. Harry was now carefully scoping the area for any remaining gnomes. The breeze tousled his hair and his posture was tall and proud-not in any protruding way, but one that spoke of silent power and commanding maturity.
It did not occur to any of the girls that he had just taken a hard gnome cerebrum to the crotch just a couple minutes ago.
Ginny continued, "look at him…handsome, trusting, skilled, intelligent, and loving to a fault! He's got the world on his shoulders yet he is more human that any of us…so pure!"
At first, she disagreed. She could think of many faults and mistakes he had made. He was not perfect, that she knew. His temper, his introverted personality, lack of focus in the classroom…
Yet, all of a sudden, it struck her that he was indeed very handsome in his own quiet, Harryish sort of way. Her best friend never looked better as he did now, standing in the sunlight, the breeze slowly caressing his face, countenance scrunched in intense concentration at the task at hand. Her stomach clenched. He was such a good person too…despite all that had happened to him, he still turned out the way he did…as Ginny had said, "Perfect."
Ginny grabbed her arm and their eyes locked together. On Ginny she saw a big genuine smile, her face alight in…was it awe? If it wasn't, it was definitely something very close to it. Hermione was suddenly struck by a large sense of dire foreboding.
"You know, I love him…a lot, Hermione…it hurts to let him go…but I can't help it. I just can't refuse him…he's so…hmm…" her face still stuck in a big smile.
The sincerity of the girl's actions kicked her motherly, big sister instincts in and all senses of apprehension fled away.
"Remember what I said before, Ginny?"
"What?"
"Control yourself."
"I know, but I'm not even around him right now," she said, still in a bit of a stupor.
As she walked out of the room in all her feminine glory, face alight with happiness, Hermione could not shake off the returning sense of foreboding that gripped her, spoke to her, and begged her to listen.
"Exactly, Ginny. So just be careful, one mistake is all it would take."
"Enough Hermione, I will, okay? Let's go talk to them."
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"Ron! To your left!"
Ron spun, shooting the red colored spell at the fleeing gnome. It glanced him on the arm, which immediately turned limp. The gnome stopped running, and altogether stopped remembering that the people he was running from were right in front of him.
Tentatively, he lifted his limp arm with the other…and let it drop, giggling madly as he did so. Again and again he would do this, laughing all the harder each time.
"Is it impersonating you Ron, or what?"
The boys turned around, seeing Hermione and Ginny walking towards them.
It was one of those moments when guys truly appreciate the ways girls looked-and could look without openly declaring they were checking them out-even though both parties new full well they were. There was something about summer that made girls so much more desirable…
It was this Harry was thinking about as the girls made their way towards them, ponytails bouncing gaily. Ginny, of course, looked wonderful and the monster of last year trembled in its hibernation. Her red hair fit perfectly with the deep green tee and the skirt and body-hugging shirt belied an excellent body. A fresh breeze traveled through his body and it seemed to pump his heart to new levels. He really did miss her…
It was only in an after thought that he noticed Hermione, too, was looking-
"Harry! A gnome flying towards you to your right…cover yourself!" yelled Ginny.
Ron, still trying to think of a response to Ginny's initial comment, turned around suddenly to look, but Harry didn't even budge.
"Hilarious, I must say, almost got me on that one you did."
Ginny smiled while Harry grinned and shook his head.
Hermione, comforted by Ginny's behavior, stabbed a question at Ron. "How's your day been?"
"Mum woke us up at like 5:30, we think she did it because she caught us-okay, just me-stealing food she was keeping for today, yesterday. She said that we had to degnome this entire place! For the wedding of course…but it took us two bloody hours! We're almost done now, quite easy actually…Harry of course found it a little tough…"
"Shut it Ron."
"It was funny Harry, admit it."
"I admit it, now shush."
They commenced to small talk, which mostly consisted of colloquial matters such as quidditch, the stupidity of gnomes, and cheesecake served two days ago. They were interrupted, however, by Mrs. Weasley.
"Ron, Ginny come help me with the decorations!"
They both groaned, and Ron dejectedly trudged over and Ginny, after giving Harry a quick kiss on the cheek, rather happily followed her brother.
This of course left a rather perplexed Harry and a silent Hermione.
They hadn't really talked much to each other since a couple days ago. Harry knew she needed her time, and he gave it. They both understood what was bothering her, and unspokenly agreed not to talk about it. They had, however, also not talked to each other one on one since that night and it created an odd situation.
Hermione was the first to speak.
"Let's take a walk."
Harry silently agreed and walked over to sling his book bag over his shoulder. Hermione eyed him a bit warily.
"I can study in my off time, can't I?" he said with a bit of humor in his voice.
"Oh! Of course you can Harry, I didn't mean you couldn't, but…"
"I know, I know…" smiled Harry.
The headed off towards the woods, where a clearing they knew would appear once they rounded the corner. It was a beautiful spot, overlooking a trickling creek, and was a favorite of the both of them. Ron always stated the field to the East of the house was his favorite, as that was where the Quidditch games were played. Harry always verbally agreed with him, not wishing to cause adversity, but secretly liked this place much better. It offered solitude, privacy, and a place to sift one's thoughts.
"What were you studying anyways?"
"I actually was looking at some of my third year books and trying to cast the spells wandlessly…"
He continued, answering Hermione's unvoiced question, "Before Snape ran and apparated away, he told me in a sputtering rage and disdain that I needed to work on wandless spells and occluding my mind…It wasn't just another insult, he was right. I'm tired of being completely man-handled by him every time we face him, so I took it to heart."
"That's very good to hear Harry."
They reached the grassy knoll overlooking the crick.
"How's it coming alo-"
Hermione immediately felt her hands snap to her sides and her body stiffen involuntarily. She fell stiffly and closed her eyes, thoroughly expecting to hit hard on the ground.
But she didn't.
When she opened her eyes back up, she was indeed looking at the sky, but with Harry's face, bearing a Cheshire grin, looking right at her. He had caught her midway through her fall. If she could have yelled or even smiled and laughed at the time, she would have. The awkwardness between them had dissipated.
"They're going quite well, funny you should ask."
She felt herself regain use of her limbs and fall momentarily in Harry's arms. Oddly enough, she felt no panic in being momentarily helpless, and actually felt oddly comforted in Harry's arms.
She quickly pushed the encroaching feelings she knew were coming up within her.
"Harry! I can not believe you did that. Well done by the way, but honestly! You could have, I don't know, transfigured a blade of grass, perhaps?! I would have gotten the point just as well. I don't know what gave you the piece of mind to do that…"
"I don't know either but if you keep on babbling, I'll put on that piece of mind again."
Slightly put off by being called a babbler and more or less taken by amusement, Hermione simply smiled and sat down beside Harry, who had already lain down.
"But really, Harry-well done."
"Thanks Hermione, that means a lot."
And so they sat there, peaceful in midst of the sun, water, and grass. Blissful.
It was one of the things Harry loved about being with Hermione, something that he had missed in this past year-Silence. It took a certain depth of a relationship to be comfortable to sit in silence together. It was comforting, to know that neither of you felt the obligation to chatter-taking consolation in the fact that you both had reached an unspoken agreement and harmonious union. Silence is when the things you don't day to one another are thought. For any shaky or shallow relationship, silence could be highly uncomfortable. Right now, however, with Hermione, he felt as though he could be here forever.
Both were smiling, both did not know why.
"Beautiful day."
"Indeed."
Harry sat up after a while, slipping off his pack and threw it to the ground a couple feet in front of him. They both watched it fall and land. A book fell out and opened. Tiny, almost illegible script could be seen on the margins…
Hermione's chest tightened and Harry's posture straightened. All of the sudden it seemed as though the birds had flown away, the sun had fallen, and all the warmth had disappeared.
Hermione slowly, but irrevocably looked up to meet the antagonizing, questioning pair of blazing green eyes.
"Why, Hermione. Why."
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"I know you are wanting a straight up answer, Harry, but I don't think I have one…if I had to give one I suppose I could just say…that I lost myself. I wasn't myself last year; I know it and I deeply regret it…"
Harry simply stared and listened. He had never seen her at such a loss for words.
Hermione took another deep breathe and continued, "I suppose it all got to me, I suppose. Oh! It sounds so shallow and silly now that I'm saying it but it's really what I thought! First off, I'll let it on right now, I had a crush on Ron."
"That I did know…but going out on a date with McLaggen? Hermione…"
It hurt him to say this, to acknowledge the fact that his ever obstinate rock solid Hermione had lowered herself to such petty means of payback.
"It was only a date!"
"Hermione."
Hermione sighed in knowing defeat, "I don't know what got into me, at that point I just lost my head…I became infatuated with being with Ron…I think all those comments I got through the years about being abnormally prude and non-social because of my study habits finally hit me...and hurt. I felt as though Ron was my one way ticket to ridding them all off me…I dunno Harry…"
Harry sat back, relaxing in the sun he was beginning to become aware of again. Multitudes of emotions rolled about in his head. Betrayal was one of them. She had betrayed herself in ways that were scarcely comprehensible to him. She had lied to herself, and because of it she was in this inner turmoil. A sudden wave of sorrow and pity swept him.
"I'm sorry Hermione, I'm sorry it had to happen to you."
"What?!" she cried, clearly astonished, "If anyone is sorry, it's me, I completely left you alone last year! I didn't believe you, I didn't commend you, I….I wasn't even a good friend to you, or maybe not even a friend at all!"
Harry was unperturbed, "Nonsense, I completely understand that you'd want to step away from me to live in normalcy for a while and that-"
Harry quite suddenly found Hermione right in his face, her features contorted in high emotion, "No! Harry!…just, no! I would never want to step away from you because of that, I was just that way because…I…I don't even know anymore!"
By this time tears were very evident on her face, streaming down in torrents of sadness, guilt, and sorrow. Harry scooted over and carefully took her in his arms.
"Hermione, I still don't think any less of you, everyone has their off times."
Head buried in his chest, still crying, Hermione stumbled out "I'm so sorry Harry…I'll never leave you again."
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A/N: I know I didn't reveal how Harry and Hermione (or even where) would be in living quarters away from Ron, but it fit better in the next chapter. Please let me know what you thought!
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