"Look," Ginny said primly once Hermione had stopped her seemingly endless shouting, "you needed a getaway, and you know it. You fought in a bloody war, Hermione, when you were eighteen-years-old, not to mention the guilt you still carry for Obliviating your parents. Even after we'd won, you jumped right back into the fray—rebuilding Hogwarts, studying for and then getting your NEWTs, and then working for your parents at their dental office. Not to mention the textbook project that's completely burned you out," she concluded. "Even Harry and I had a honeymoon, and two babymoons before James and Al came along. Ron and Lavender had a honeymoon, and so did Neville and Luna, Draco and Astoria, Pansy and Theo, Blaise and Daphne... My point is, Hermione, you need this."
"I agreed to a getaway, Ginny," Hermione responded, her tone clipped. "What I did not agree to is being bullied for my time away from home."
Ginny's eyes flashed dangerously at her proclamation. "Minerva swore that Severus would behave himself—!"
"So Minerva and Severus knew about this?!" Hermione demanded.
Ginny grimaced. "No, just Minerva," she admitted after a few moments of silence. "I brought James and Al to the castle a few weeks ago, just after Halloween, to see Hagrid and meet some of the new mooncalves. Minerva invited us all to lunch and, while the boys played, we got to talking about how everyone seemed to be married and having babies, and then you and Severus came up..."
Hermione gritted her teeth. "Did we?"
"You did," Ginny confirmed, nodding, and looking just a bit ashamed at that. "I mean, I know how you feel about Severus, as does Harry..."
"Please tell me you didn't go telling everyone," Hermione moaned, flushing with embarrassment at the notion of Rita Skeeter potentially getting her green manicured nails into the story and letting the entirety of the Wizarding World know about it. She could see it now... Gryffindor's Princess Lusts after Former Death Eater, and is Subsequently Rejected...
"Not everyone," Ginny assured Hermione quickly. "Just Minerva, who mentioned that Severus brings you up in conversation an awful lot..."
"Likely to disparage my work and inform the headmistress about how I still hold the status of Supreme Know-It-All of the Wizarding World," Hermione snapped.
"She didn't go into much detail," Ginny said gently. "Just that the conversation, whenever they do meet for tea, will inevitably drift towards you. All I can say in my defense is, Minerva and I really wanted the two of you to have a good holiday..."
Hermione shook her head. "Ginny..."
"...because you spend all your time thinking about others, as well as bubble up with guilt and dwelling on the past, to truly be happy," she continued. "Please, Hermione. Just try to break down the walls of animosity and move on."
"I thought I could," Hermione confessed. "I really thought I could... But he was terribly rude to me from the moment he saw me. I'll admit, I handed it right back to him, but I was so devastated that he spoke to me that way..."
"Leave it with me," said Ginny firmly. "I don't want you to worry about a thing, other than enjoying your Christmas holidays. You can do that, right?"
Hermione sighed. "Yes," she said quietly. "He did mention there was a library here..."
"Full of rare books, Minerva and I made sure of that," Ginny said quickly.
Hermione nodded, wrapping her arms around herself. "All right," she said quietly. "I'll try to make the best of it..."
Ginny scooted over in the Floo, and Hermione was greeted by Molly Weasley, kneeling just beside her daughter. "Mum..." Ginny said softly.
"Good evening, Molly," Hermione said politely.
YOU ARE READING
Lavender's Blue
FanfictionFive years after the Battle of Hogwarts, twenty-four-year-old Hermione Granger has yet to take a vacation. She has been rewriting curriculum in textbook form for various wizarding schools, and, while enjoying her work, is becoming burnt out. As all...
