Title: The Ladies "Weasley"
Author: herminia
Rating: PG-13
Ships: Harry/Ginny, Ron/Hermione, Harry/Hermione
Word Count: 478
Summary: "Frank" chats and other delusions.
Nothing special. Just a drabble.
Just a plot bunny that came to me while I was on the way home from Madison; Ginny misinterprets what Hermione's saying - or at least, whom she's speaking about. It's another fifteen-minute ficlet. Nothing special. Just a drabble.
* * * * *
"Ginny?" she whispers, speaking to the cobwebby underside of Ginny Weasley's bunk.
"You're not exactly the person I want to talk to right now," the younger girl replies stiffly, and Hermione can't blame her for holding back. She's at a loss for words herself. It's been a day unlike any other in recent memory; `surreal' is the first word that comes to mind, recalling the haunting lament of the Merman, the centaurs' final salute, the White Tomb gone up in flames, the dissolution of Harry and Ginny's flash-in-the-pan romance, the relief she felt at welcoming the old Harry back into the fold, the send-off.
It's also surreal being back at the Burrow and lying in the very same bunk in the very same room she's been happy to call a second - nay - a third home these many summers. Tonight, the muggy air seems to spark with electricity - with magic - a nod to the losses and triumphs and discoveries of the day.
This is where everything begins again.
It's Ginny who finally breaks the silence. "Why won't he let me in? Why does he push me away?" Then, the inevitable: "Doesn't he love me at all?"
"Ginny," Hermione says pleadingly, "don't torture yourself like this."
When it's become abundantly clear that no further reassurances are forthcoming, Ginny answers the question for herself, "He doesn't. I'm not stupid, you know."
Hermione's mind scrambles for words of comfort - words to soothe a breaking heart - but comes up short.
"How d'you know when it's for real or if it's just a game of make-believe?"
At this Hermione smiles. "It's just right. There's no other word for it. You and him. Together. And it's what you've been through together. You'd die for him in a heartbeat but you'd rather live for him… It sounds like one horrendous soapy cliché, I know," she adds, chiding herself.
"It sounds wonderful," Ginny whispers back, sounding marginally happier.
"Trust me, it is," Hermione rejoins, her mind drifting idly to thoughts of Harry.
"We're talking about you and Ron now, aren't we?" Ginny queries after a moment's pause, a note of amusement creeping into her voice.
"Ron - no - Ha-" she begins, but catches herself at the last possible instant and does an about-face, "-no kidding. Yes. Sure. This is about Ron and me."
"Hermione?"
"Yes?"
"Thanks."
"Anytime," Hermione murmurs, and though Ginny Weasley has already drifted off to sleep, Hermione Granger lies awake, torn between congratulating herself on a close save and disquieting unease, for masking the truth from an old friend.
Tonight, she tells herself, isn't the night to make such confessions. Better to let the shock wear off. Better to let Ginny pick up the pieces and move on with her life. What Harry and Hermione have - what Hermione has waited for all these years - can wait, for tonight.
But tomorrow is another day.
* * * * *
{ Read? }
{ Review }
{ Thank you! }
-->