Where I Found You | Dramione

18. A Touch of Epiphany

"I knew you'd get in Ron!" Hermione flung herself at Ron, giving him a bone-crushing hug.

He hugged her back, chuckling slightly. "Thanks, Hermione."

When she let go of him, she realised why the other boys were snickering. Ron touched his reddened cheeks, ignoring their allusive stares. "Isn't it hot here? I haven't done that much exercise in months!"

"Are you sure mate?" Seamus looked around the room to grab everyone's attention. "You've been pretty hard on yourself lately training for the tryouts."

"I'd be hot too if Granger hugged me like that!" Someone said from the crowd and everyone else laughed along with them. Ron couldn't look at her in the slightest. She wouldn't mind such words but apparently, he did and she found it surprisingly sweet.

"I'd like to say a few words!" Harry raised his voice. Those who couldn't see him looked around to see who was disrupting their fun and shut their mouth upon seeing the quidditch captain. "I want to congratulate every single one of you here once again. Whether you got in or not, you all showed great effort and agility,"

The crowd cheered on and he continued. "We've not been having the greatest matches in the last two years. A lot has happened, but now I, as the captain, promise to do my best at playing and also guiding the team. This year we WILL have the quidditch cup!"

The common room was once again filled with the same cosy and boisterous ambience. The players had enough drive to fly the quidditch field a few times. Tiredness was no longer an issue for them; they only wanted to train and bring the cup home. And Hermione was confident they could. Harry had made wise judgments while selecting the players, and she could see he was already good at being a captain.

Ginny drew her to the side and away from the crowd before she realised what was happening. "That was a fifth year."

Hermione shook her head. "Ginny, I'm not interested." When she spoke, it almost sounded like a complaint despite the fact that she had said it matter-of-factly.

Ginny thought for a second, considering what to say. "Alright, but tell me one thing, because I'm dying to know... how are things with my brother?"

"Your brother? Ginny..." Hermione sighed. "Don't expect something to happen between us. We're friends."

"I was friends with Dean, too! And now look at us, it'll be our tenth month tomorrow, can you believe it?"

"How are you two, by the way?" Hermione asked, wanting to change the subject. "Is he treating you good?"

Ginny looked away. "I'm not sure if I can call it good, but it's okay,"

Hermione immediately frowned. She couldn't do anything about their relationship, but she was also protective of her friend. "Why is that?"

"Well," Ginny mumbled and sat down on a couch. Assuming it would be a long talk, Hermione followed right after her. "We have our fights, of course. We agreed to keep our relationship private when we first began dating. It was okay at first, but when other boys started flirting with me, he got pissed and jealous over it. Then, as you know, we started holding hands in front of people, but apparently, it wasn't enough to keep them away, so he started randomly kissing me,"

Hermione arched her brow in thought. "Exactly!" Ginny continued. "I don't feel comfortable kissing him in front of professors!" She quieted down after realising she might have been too loud. "But that's not the only thing. He doesn't want me to be in the team."

"What??" Hermione couldn't imagine Ginny not playing.

"I told him that I wouldn't quit playing simply because he didn't like it, no matter what he said or did. I have a life of my own!"