Chapter 119 - Harry Potter Fanfiction 39 - Beneath Your Window (2/2)

”The son of a bitch,” he growled, and before she could reply or even think straight he had turned with a slick motion and vanished with a pop.

Ginny's eyes rested anxiously on the spot her boyfriend had just disappeared from. ”Oh my...”

Hermione was not less surprised, to say the least. ”Oh god, this is going to complicate everything.” She stifled another sob as she looked at Ginny quite apologetically.

”Don't you even dare think it,” her friend chastised. ”You have done nothing wrong. Merlin, I can't believe that rotten arsehole.”

”He's your brother...” Hermione protested, but Ginny shook her head.

”That doesn't change what he did to you.”

Hermione sighed, and tried to shut everything out, but it was useless. Thoughts about the years wasted on him kept running through her head, and for the first time she wondered if devoting her life to Ron Weasley has been nothing but a huge mistake.

”Come, sweetie,” Ginny suddenly urged. ”You can stay in our guest room as long as you need to.”

”Are you sure?”

Ginny gave her a stern glance. ”Of course. Don't be silly.”

As she tossed the covers off her warm body, she felt unbelievably empty. Day one. Day one of her new life without Ron, without his adorable quirks and his warm hugs. Day one of having to live with betrayal, of having to fight to get through each bloody second of the day. She pulled her clothes on painfully slow, every movement made in slow-motion as if she hoped it would dull the pain. But dulling the pain was no option, it seemed to make her ċhėst tighten, making it harder to breath. She sighed as she met her own gaze in the mirror. Her eyes held none of its usual gleam, even she could see that. All they emitted was sorrow and hurt, and the expression in her eyes together with the unusually pale skin and dark rings below her eyelashes made her seem almost sickly. Not having the strength to keep looking at her dismal appearance any longer, she turned around and wretched the door open, hoping it wouldn't be this hard to get up every day from now on.

”Morning,” Ginny said with a cautious smile. She was standing by the kitchen counter waiting for the coffee to finish, and even if the corners of her mouth were pulled upwards, Hermione could tell that she was troubled.

”Morning,” she replied quickly, knowing fully well how utterly miserable she looked herself.

The two girls exchanged understanding glances, but neither said another word while the coffee finished and Ginny reached for a plate of sandwiches. She put the sandwiches and two mugs down on the table before pouring the steaming contents of the kettle into the respective mugs. Hermione watched her intently, focusing on each and every detail, afraid to let her mind wander.

When Ginny finally sat down in her chair, the silence was broken by her deep sigh. Hermione gave her a small, reassuring smile, hoping to convey that she wasn't as broken up as she looked. Though she wasn't entirely sure if that was true.

”Where's Harry?” she asked, remembering his rash exit with apprehension.

”He already left for the office.”

”I should go, too.”

Ginny shook her head, making her red hair bounce against her cheeks. Hermione swallowed heavily at the red reminder, but then realised what the girl was saying.

”I have to go to work, Gin,” she protested, taking a sip of the marvellous content that was caffeine.

”Harry already fixed you a day off,” she explained, pushing the sandwich plate towards her, ”and I've called in sick to stay with you.”

Hermione's head snapped up, giving her friend an incredulous glance.

”You did no such thing, Ginevra.”

”Oh, come off it, Hermione,” Ginny said, laughing quickly at the use of her true first name. ”You just ended a 4 year long relationship in the most brutal way imaginable. I'm not letting you stay here all alone.”

”You can't just call in sick, they need you at St. Mungo's.”

”I can, and I did,” Ginny said with a raise of her eyebrows. ”What kind of friend would I be if I wasn't here to pick up the pieces after what my darling brother did?”

Hermione scowled at her, but softened quickly when she saw the true concern in the younger Weasley's eyes. To be honest, Ginny was right: it would have been difficult to be alone. So very, truly alone. She held in a sigh, feeling repulsed by her own wallowing. It was incredibly pathetic, this self-indulgent wallowing, but even so, she couldn't help herself. She couldn't help but feel the rawness of being alone, to think about how quickly her life had gone from perfect to horrible.

”Just let me be here for you,” Ginny suddenly begged. ”I feel so bad.”

”You have nothing to feel bad about, you silly git.”

Ginny gave a bitter laugh. ”I feel like even blood relation is a sin at this point.”

”You aren't Ron, and you certainly aren't accountable for his choices,” Hermione said fiercely, before drawing a hand through her hair looking quite resigned. ”And... thank you.”

Ginny looked up to meet her gaze, and smiled genuinely. ”You're welcome.”

They each reached for a sandwich and ate in companionable silence for a while, only glancing at each other now and again as they both contemplated the situation they suddenly found them in. Hermione realised that no matter how angry she was at being betrayed so horribly, she was even more angry at him for putting them all in this situation. Their family and friends were all an intricate web of different relations. Harry had always been the best friend of them both, Ron's sister had eventually become another one of her best friends, his mother felt like a second mother to her in so many ways. Not to mention the rest of the Weasleys, whom she had always loved dearly and saw as a part of her own family. Ron had jeopardized the friendship and relations between so many people, and she realized with a start that it was likely that she would be the losing part in most of these cases.

”Did Harry say anything about what happened last night?” she asked after once again picturing his rash departure.

”He wouldn't tell me anything,” Ginny sighed. ”Merlin only knows what went down over there.”

Hermione paled at the words. ”Maybe... maybe you should... go and see if he's, you know... alright?”

”Hermione Granger,” Ginny chastised. ”For one, my boyfriend would never seriously harm my brother. And secondly, if he did, it is well deserved.”

Hermione looked back at the small figure across the table, not missing the waves of anger that emitted from her from time to time. She could sense the fury that seemed to bottle up within her, and the disturbing thoughts about the relationships he had severely challenged returned.

”Gin, he's your brother. You shouldn't hate him because of me.”

”He did this all by himself,” Ginny replied simply. ”Fucking things up is something he does quite well on his own; always been a special talent of his.”

Hermione sighed in resignation, but cringed when she realised she was secretly glad. It was what she hand wanted, wasn't it? For her friends to be angry on her behalf. She shook her head slightly and her gaze fell towards the surface of the table. She wanted them to feel for her, to be on her side, but oddly enough she didn't want him to suffer. Sighing a bit, she realised she was still blinded by her all-consuming love for him. A love he didn't deserve, and probably never had deserved.

”Come on,” Ginny suddenly said. ”Let's not sit here and mope all day.”

”I don't know if I feel up to going anywhere,” she admitted with a small shrug.

”That's alright,” Ginny ȧssured her. ”We can order take out and rent a bunch of films.”

She smiled at the suggestion, wondering when Ginny had turned so very Muggle. But she bit her tongue, and thanked her for the suggestion instead. Hermione went up to get a quick shower while Ginny went to ȧssemble the films, none of which contained any sappy love stories or overly happy couples. A wise choice, as far as Hermione was concerned. Once they had finished the second film, Harry Apparated straight into the living room. Hermione watched him wearily, noticing that his face looked a bit drawn.

”Rough day?” she asked with a slight grimace, and he replied with a displeased grimace in return.

”It was busy,” he admitted as he sunk onto the couch next to her. He leaned his head back and let out a deep breath. ”And I was sent on an ȧssignment with Ron”

Hermione's heart gave a leap at the mention of his name, and she scolded herself for reacting in such a traitorous way. She shouldn't feel her heart quicken at the mention of his name, she should be disgusted. And she was disgusted, but it was all such a huge, confusion ball of emotions.

”Did it go okay?” Ginny asked from her seat in the armchair, her eyes darting quickly between Harry and Hermione.

”Not really. It was as awkward as anything I've ever experienced.”

Hermione sighed. ”You shouldn't be fighting because of me.” She felt like she was repeating herself over and over again, continuously trying to persuade them, but also herself in the process.

”I don't even feel like I know him any more,” he replied, and reached his arm around her shoulders. ”The Ron I know wouldn't do this.”

”I hope it won't feel like that forever,” she admitted as she leaned onto his shoulder. ”He has been our best friends for over 10 years, and even if it feels very far-fetched right now, I want to have him in my life.”

”I know,” Harry replied softly. ”But it's going to take time, especially for you. And you should give yourself that time.”

”I will,” she promised before sitting up straight again. ”Look at me; here I am, stealing your boyfriend.”

Ginny chuckled. ”Don't be daft.”

”Let's put on another film and get that pizza,” Hermione said in a cheerful voice, forcing every depressing thought into the back of her mind. Harry and Ginny had no objections, so all three of them curled up in the couch, leaning onto each other in comfortable silence.