Out of Time

Chapter 20

To lead you to an overwhelming question...
Oh, do not ask, "What is it?"
Let us go and make our visit.

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, T.S. Eliot

Hermione's brain wakes her up again, and again, and again, to no satisfactory conclusion. Why must it wake her up when Draco's tongue isn't between her legs? What's the point? It's infuriating. When did her mind become such a traitor? And why can't the dreams just let her finish, like a proper wet dream? Hermione's been led to believe this happens for wizards all the time.

She hates a double standard. What absolute bollocks.

* * *

They still don't all eat together in the Great Hall. It's one of the few hiccups none of them have managed to sort. Hermione clearly still wouldn't be welcome at the Slytherin table, even if surrounded by her new friends. And all of them picking up and moving to the Gryffindor table would be, as Pansy had eloquently put it, 'weird.'

Even if they all spend time together (more and more as a group of five, and not four), it's still solidifying to the story to have Theo and Hermione spend time on their own in public.

Theo seems bolstered. Cheerful, even. She can read him well enough now to tell, even though she knows better than to ask in the middle of dinner. He's still frosty towards Harry and Hermione wonders if that would ever change, but Ginny bridges the gap well from Harry's side. Dean shoots irritated looks their way between bites of broccoli and Hermione has no idea what that's about. But it doesn't seem like anything to do with her and Ginny just ignores it.

A bonus: Cormac takes his meals at the far end of the table now, rallying the Quidditch team. This used to annoy Harry but Hermione's happy to see him moving past it. It's likely the imminent Horcrux hunt with Dumbledore is taking precedence, but even without the promise of that dangling over him, Harry's been less invested in Quidditch since Cormac joined the team. Knowing nothing about it, Hermione can still openly admit it's probably loads less fun.

Something strikes her. "Ginny, shouldn't you be down there?"

Ginny tosses her hair and smirks. "Nah. Since I'm the seeker, I just get to show up."

"That's not how I ran things," Harry grumbles, but puts an arm around Ginny's shoulders. She gooses him in the side and he flinches away.

"Oh, it's fine. I'm not part of McLaggen's intricate formations and strategies and it suits me. I'm not hankering for more involvement. I'm just glad not to be one of the three chasers, if McLaggen's one of them."

She turns to Theo next. "You never played for the Slytherin team, did you, Nott?"

"Nope," Theo crunches, swallowing before continuing. "Physical activity wasn't my thing growing up. I was more bookish." He scrunches his nose at Hermione, who grins.

"Well, all the jabbering will be over after Saturday. Then next year, Harry can make the call on whether Cormac will still be allowed on the team. Harry can be the seeker again and I can go back to being a chaser, which can't happen soon enough." Ginny kisses her boyfriend on the cheek and Harry blushes furiously.

Harry's embarrassment aside, Hermione detects something deeper in his demeanour. The pit in her own stomach grows larger, darker. A huge surge of empathy rushes through her for Harry, who can't tell Ginny anything at all - well, she supposes he could, but he hasn't. She wonders if he will at some point this summer. If her intuitions are right and they won't be back here next year, he'll have to tell Ginny something.