Roommates || A Harry Potter Fanfiction

Chapter 4

I'm afraid there's nothing we can do," Mrs. Sprout said.

Hermione had approached the Housing administrator without much hope. It still stung to be turned down so bluntly. "Nothing?"

Mrs. Sprout looked like she wanted to sigh. "It's early in the year, Ms. Granger—"

"Hermione."

Mrs. Sprout smiled. "Hermione, then. It's early in the school year. All the campus housing is occupied. It's possible that some spots could open up in a few weeks or months, as students drop out or transfer to other schools.

"But as I'm sure you were told, we have more students than we can accommodate in the dorms. We only guarantee a spot on campus to freshmen. It's quite likely that either you or...Ginny, or both of you, will have to find an apartment off campus for your sophomore year."

"Oh." Yes, she'd been told as much.

"Is it so bad?" Mrs. Sprout asked. "Your situation? Isn't there some way you and your roommate can learn to get along?"

"It's not that." Hermione didn't want to give the woman the wrong impression. "We get along okay. I like Ginny."

"Then I don't understand. Why do you want another roommate?"

Hermione looked away, unable to meet the woman's eyes. Because Ginny is constantly having sex in our room. I spent more time away from the room than in it.

"Hermione?"

"It's just that...." Hermione felt disconnected from her voice. It ought to be so easy to say, but the words stuck in her throat. "Ginny, she—"

The silence stretched between them. "She's having," Hermione glanced sidelong at Mrs. Sprout. "You know...sex."

Mrs. Sprout's frown of puzzlement lifted. "Ah," she said. "And you disapprove?"

"What? No." Or not much. And it really wasn't her place to judge. "But she does it"—she stumbled over it—"a lot."

"A lot?"

"Every day, almost."

"I understand how that could be a problem. You're feeling like she's monopolizing the room? That you can't spend time there because of what's going on?"

Hermione nodded, relief at finally making herself understood unknotting her muscles.

"I'm afraid that there's still nothing I can do. There simply aren't any openings in other rooms. I would suggest that you try to find a student willing to swap with you, but if the problem is as bad as you suggest, I doubt anyone would be interested.

"I'm afraid you're just going to have to make the best of it. I can put your name on the waiting list for any openings, but I don't want to give you false hope. You'd be at the end of quite a list. The chances of your getting another room assignment are remote.

"You're both adults. I'm sorry, but you're going to have to settle your differences between yourselves."

Hermione posted notices seeking to swap rooms on the university's student forum, as well as actual 3×5 cards on an honest-to-god bulletin board in the center of the campus. No one responded. Trolling Craigslist alerted her to a number of opportunities to share an apartment or a room in a house off-campus. She couldn't afford any of them, and wasn't about to ask her parents for the money. Not when they were paying for perfectly good housing on campus—and doing so at some expense.

No, she was stuck with Ginny.

Which wasn't true. She had told Mrs. Sprout the truth. She liked Ginny. She enjoyed spending time with her, talking to her. If Ginny didn't monopolize the room with sex, Hermione would have had no complaints. But she did.