Stranger Than Fiction
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J.K. Rowling. This story is a work of imagination and is directed solely at readers of this website. No infringement of any rights is intended and no criticism of J.K. Rowling or her work should be considered to be stated or implied.
Part 2. Hermione's Visit
Hermione had come to see me early in September, when things were beginning to settle back to some sort of strained normality. As soon as I had made my decision to leave Hogwarts, I had rented a small, two-bedroom house in Hogsmeade, just to get away from the school grounds, while I decided what I was going to do and where I was going to go. I remember that the weather had taken a turn for the worse that day. A strong, chill wind was coming in off the North Sea bending the trees, which were already shedding yellowing leaves, and driving angry grey clouds across a pale sky. I poked my head out of the door once during the late morning to take a look and retreated back inside for the remainder of the day, lighting the fire for the first time in months.
I had just completed a few routine household chores and was settling into my favourite armchair by the fire with a good book in the middle of the afternoon, when I heard a muffled knock on the door. Heaving myself reluctantly from my cosy position, I made my way out of the sitting room and along the narrow, undulating hallway. When I opened the dark, heavy oak front door, I found Hermione standing on the doorstep, surprisingly dressed in her old school uniform, complemented by a pair of grey woollen gloves in recognition of the cold bite in the air. She was carrying a stack of new-looking books under one arm. Due to the wind, her hair was even more bushy and unruly than normal and her cheeks and nose were a rosy pink.
"Hello Professor," she said rather breathlessly, probably due to the weight of the books that she had been carrying. "I heard that you were staying here and I have just been doing some shopping," at this point she gestured with her pile of books in case I might not have already noticed them, "and I thought that I would drop by to say hello."
"Come in, come in dear," I replied hesitantly, stepping back and holding the door fully open. "That way," I pointed down the hallway, "and first door on your right." I followed Hermione's hunched figure into the sitting room and indicated the matching armchair across from my own.
"Eh, take off your robes dear and make yourself comfortable. Would you like a cup of tea or anything?"
"Oh, no thank you. I won't stop for long but I just wanted to make sure that you didn't leave without me having the chance to say goodbye," she said, rather sadly I thought. "You were always my favourite teacher after all."
"Well, that's very nice of you to say so dear," I replied, slightly flustered, slumping inelegantly down in my chair across from her. "Are you staying at Hogwarts?"
"I might as well," she shrugged. "I'm just trying to catch up a bit on what I've missed. The last two years have hardly been ideal and I suppose that I ought to try to finish my education, although, to be honest, it doesn't seem as important now as it once did. Anyway -" she started, brightening, "what are you going to do now?"
"I'm not really sure," I confessed. "It just didn't seem right for me to stay at Hogwarts. Things are changing and its time for a new guard to take over. The place isn't the same without Professor Dumbledore. But don't you worry about me. I have come through much greater challenges than this in my time and I am sure that I will soon come up with a brilliant new idea," I finished with what I hoped was a reassuring smile.
A silence settled over us and Hermione appeared to be deep in thought. The sound of the logs crackling in the fireplace seemed to intensify and I was suddenly conscious of the soft ticking of the carriage clock that was perched precariously on the rather erratic, wooden mantelpiece. "And… What about you dear?" I asked in an attempt to break the sombre mood that had suddenly descended upon us.
"Oh, I don't know really," she sighed. "As I said, I suppose I'll complete my education, but after that I don't really have any firm ideas. I know that I fretted over my OWLs but for the last three years so much of my time has been taken up with worrying about Harry Potter that life seems a bit empty now that it's all over. Anyway, he has Ginny to worry about him now," she said quietly, almost to herself. She looked up at me and I couldn't help noticing a slight sparkle in her eyes. "It's funny, but for the first time in ages I can actually just concentrate on what I want to do, but I'm not really sure what that is anymore."
"Well, you are a very, very bright witch, Hermione," I replied as positively as I could. "You certainly don't want to waste your talents. They could be applied in all sorts of areas. I might add that you have shown yourself to be extremely determined and resourceful over the last few years. These are admirable qualities in anyone. It also doesn't hurt that you are known to be a close friend of Harry Potter," I added as an afterthought and then immediately regretted it.
"I was a close friend you mean," Hermione responded regretfully. "I haven't really seen Harry much lately. He spends most of his time with Ginny and gives Ron and me a wide berth. I suppose he doesn't really need us as much now."
"Oh, I am sure that isn't the case, dear," I said hurriedly, feeling uncomfortable with the direction that this conversation was taking. "But what about Mr.Weasley? I understood that you and he are seeing each other now."
Hermione laughed briefly, possibly because she thought that my reference to her new relationship was a bit old fashioned, but that is how we described these things in my day. "Ron? Yes, it has always been me and Ron. Harry Potter's side kicks." She sounded remorseful. "It's strange, we only really got to know each other through Harry, but then he always seemed to be off somewhere; mostly in detention, or playing Quidditch, or with one of his female admirers such as Cho Chang, or, to be fair, fighting for his life as often as not and then it was just me and Ron." She sighed. "The thing is, Harry can be very stubborn and hot headed at times. Often, he wouldn't listen to me and I always thought that I had a better chance of making him see sense if I could get Ron on my side as well. I am certain that is how I managed to persuade Harry into starting Dumbledore's Army and there were lots of other times, I'm sure." She paused, staring into the fire. "Ron's OK. He drives me mad sometimes and he can be uncouth and uncaring but he has his good points and he seems to really like me, which is not something to be sniffed at. I think that I can understand him. I know what it's like to live your life in Harry Potter's shadow, although I was never really jealous like Ron. Well, apart from that time when Harry was cheating in potions with that book he was given." She suddenly snapped out of her reverie. "Anyway, I'm not speaking to the worm at the moment," she said with a sudden flash of anger. "I found a book called "Twelve fail-safe ways to charm witches" in his room the other day. He tried to pretend at first that he didn't know how it got there, but he finally confessed that he had been using it to try to get me to go out with him. I was furious, because I thought that he had mended his ways, but really it was all fake and coming from a book."
I couldn't help smiling at this typical example of Mr. Weasley's crass behaviour. "I'm sure he meant well, dear. You should take it as a compliment," I quavered, suppressing the urge to laugh.
"Hm, perhaps you're right," Hermione replied, her temper abating, "and it isn't as if I'm spoilt for choice, now that Harry is otherwise engaged. If it wasn't for Ron, I'd have no close friends at all. That is what you get for concentrating all your efforts on one relationship and neglecting any others."
Hermione seemed to be drifting away from me again, absorbed by her own thoughts. "But we had our moments, Harry and I. There was that time in fourth year when Harry and Ron had a big row over Harry's name coming out of the Goblet of Fire. Ron thought that Harry had put it in himself, but I knew that Harry would never do something like that. They weren't speaking and I had to choose between continuing to help Harry or giving Ron my support." She paused, a small smile of remembrance playing across her lips for a few moments. "There was another time that I had to make a similar choice," she began again, more seriously, "and that was much harder and far worse. It was when the three of us were living in a tent and trying to decide what to do towards the end of last year. To be honest, we were all getting on each others nerves a bit. Ron got really annoyed because Harry seemed unfocused and he thought that we were wasting our time. They had another shouting match and Ron decided to leave. He wanted me to go with him and I had to decide between them again, although it wasn't really that simple. Obviously, I stayed but I went to pieces after that," she said, shaking her head. "Well, it all seemed so hopeless and I thought that with Ron gone I had no chance of getting Harry to take action. I just seemed to cry all of the time. I couldn't sleep and Harry was so unsympathetic, which isn't like him at all. I am sure that it was that horcrux affecting us both. That's probably what tipped Ron over the edge as well. We had Regulus's locket with us, complete with Voldemort's soul fragment," she added by way of explanation. "Still, we finally sorted out a plan and things got better between us. At least until I accidentally broke Harry's wand. Then Ron eventually came back and the rest, as they say, is history, although I never did find out how Harry eased Ron's concerns about him and me."
Hermione seemed totally absorbed now, completely lost in her own recollections, as if I and my sitting room had become part of her imagination. "We had some amazing adventures as well, Harry and I, when Ron was hurt or just not around for some reason," she continued, almost dreamily. "I suppose that I must have been scared at the time, but now I just look back at those adventures as times when we were incredibly close. It seemed as if it was just Harry and me against everyone else. Like when we used the time turner to rescue Sirius and when we went into the Forbidden Forest with Professor Umbridge. Then we fought the Death Eaters together in the Ministry of Magic and, of course, there was the time at Godric's Hollow." She smiled again, warming to her theme. "Harry always tried to keep me safe. He always looked out for me; even when we were battling away in that last fight in Hogwarts. Whenever I stumbled or was in trouble, it always seemed to be Harry pulling me clear or pushing me ahead of him. I remember thinking that it was just like old times, before…." She hesitated briefly, but then continued, leaving that thought unfinished. "It's funny really, because that's when Ron and I really got started. It must have been the tension or something, but Ron had been really resourceful and then he said something that was very sweet and clearly meant for my benefit and I just found myself kissing him." Hermione frowned, "Harry got really angry when he saw us and just for a moment I thought…" She stopped again, but this time she seemed unwilling to continue, worried that she was revealing too much.
"Thought what, dear?" I probed, my appetite whetted.
"I thought…I thought that we might manage to win out over Voldemort after all," she lied unconvincingly, betrayed by the rising colour in her cheeks. "Anyway, that's all in the past now," she continued hurriedly. "Harry is with Ginny and I'm with Ron. I'm really happy about the way things turned out. It's just that sometimes I miss how it used to be."
"Well, there's no reason for things to change too much is there, dear. I mean you are all almost part of the same family now," I offered.
Hermione grimaced. "That isn't really how it works. I mean, I love the Weasleys and they have been very good to me, but sometimes they can be a bit insecure, particularly Ron and Ginny. I think that they get it from their mother. Ginny has been a bit off with me ever since she first started going out with Harry. Sometimes she can be really rude, as if she wants to make it clear that Harry is off limits as far as I'm concerned. And Harry and I both know that Ron was really jealous of our relationship at one time, so we have to tread fairly carefully there as well. So, the upshot is that Harry and I don't see much of each other now and when we do we hardly talk, because Ron and Ginny are always around." She hesitated and a worried frown formed on her brow. "I just can't help thinking that Ginny has always been a bit too concerned with Harry's celebrity status. She has been obsessed with him for all of the time that I've known her. And to think that I gave her advice at one time, but I never realised how far she would be willing to go to get what she wanted. I thought that it was only a harmless infatuation that would run its course, but she managed to change her whole personality almost overnight, just to try to get Harry to notice her. She even told me once that she purposely arranged an assignation with Dean Thomas, just so that Harry would catch them kissing in a corridor! Unfortunately, Ron showed up as well and got all brotherly, so that backfired a bit. I just wish sometimes that Harry would realise how manipulative she can be and could just get past his hormones for five minutes."
Hermione suddenly seemed to realise where she was and abruptly stopped talking. She smiled uneasily at me. "But what am I saying? I am sure that they will be very happy together. Ginny is really a lovely girl. She's just a bit over zealous sometimes and she loves Harry, that's quite clear."
"Well, it is what Harry thinks that is most important after all," I said uneasily, not knowing what advice I could give her.
Hermione considered this for a few moments and then changed tack. "Have you ever thought of getting married Professor?" She didn't wait for my reply but continued on. "Do you think that any person can really be complete by themselves? I mean…do you think that for each of us there is someone out there who is our other half, someone who will complement us perfectly?"
I wasn't sure what to say to this sudden, unexpected outburst. "I am really not sure about that dear," I stalled and then attempted to distract Hermione by returning to her original question. "But I did think of getting married; twice as a matter of fact," I confided. "The first wizard that I thought that I was in love with was killed by Voldemort and the second never really felt the same way about me, unfortunately."
"I know," Hermione replied. "It's horrible when you like someone and they don't return your feelings, isn't it?"
"Yes it is, dear," I said sadly, "but one just has to get over it and carry on."
"I suppose so," Hermione answered thoughtfully but she looked even more miserable than she had before. Then, like a conjurer performing a tried and tested illusion, she forced a cheerful expression to spread across her face. "That's good advice," she mumbled through a fixed, false smile. "You know, it has been really good talking to you Professor and I will miss you. But I had better be going. I'm taking up far too much of your time with my troubles and that isn't what I intended at all. Anyway, I have a long walk back. Promise me that you'll take care of yourself and keep in touch?"
"Yes dear," I responded, really meaning to keep my word. "I'm glad that we had this chat. Now, are you sure that you really need to go? You can stay and have some tea if you would like."
Hermione considered this suggestion for a moment. "No, I had better be getting back. I am really sorry that you're leaving. You have always been someone who I could turn to when I had a problem." And with that she pushed herself up from her chair, gathered up her books and robes, leaned forward to kiss me lightly on the cheek and then went out into the hallway, leaving me deep in thought.