Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine. Harry Potter is JK Rowling's. I'm not dillusional; I don't think I made them up.
A/N: This is the first fanfic I've submitted, so please R&R!
“Ginny! Hermione! Breakfast!” Mum yelled up the stairs at me. I groaned, then climbed out of bed and put down Hogwarts, A History (I’d exhausted my reading collection, and this was all Hermione had for me. It was actually quite interesting).
Hermione yawned in the bed next to me and stretched. “I’m tired,” she complained, sounding very unlike herself.
“Well, that’s what you get for staying up all night ‘talking’ to my brother.” I eyed her suspiciously, seeing if she would reveal something about it, but her face stayed blank and innocent. “Since when do you and Ron talk, anyway?” I asked, smirking.
“She shrugged evasively. “Let’s go eat. I’m starved.” She walked out of the room and into the kitchen and grabbed a plate of eggs and bacon. I grabbed one, too, and sat down next to her. Ron came in his pajamas looking very tired and took a plate of food. He sat down on Hermione’s other side.
“’Morning, Hermione,” he said, yawning widely.
“Good morning to you, too, Ron,” I said coldly. I felt slightly hurt that he had greeted Hermione instead of me. He usually just ignored both of us and practically fell asleep in his food. I liked that Ron better.
“Oh, hey Gin. Sorry, I didn’t see you.” He replied, then turned to Hermione. “So, Hermione…”
I rolled my eyes and sighed. Since when had Hermione had no time to talk to me? I mean, she and Ron were always bickering. Why the sudden change?
“Is something wrong, Ginny?” Tonks asked worriedly. She put her plate down next to me and sat down in the chair, putting her arm around my shoulders.
“No, Tonks. I’m fine,” I replied dully.
“Are you sure?” She insisted. “You seem a little bit put out.”
“Well…” I started, not quite sure what to say, or if I should say anything at all.
She said softly, “It’s about Ron and Hermione, isn’t it?” She looked slightly concerned.
“Yeah,” I replied hesitantly. I took a quick look at Hermione and Ron to make sure they weren’t listening. They were so engaged in their conversation I doubt an explosion would’ve disengaged them. “I mean, Hermione was my best friend, but now she’s so busy talking to Ron. I was excited to see her this summer, but she hasn’t really said a word to me since we got here.”
“I know what you mean,” Tonks sympathized. “But it’ll pass. I promise. We have some news that might make you feel better, though.”
“What?” I demanded.
“Well…” she hesitated. “I’m not supposed to tell you this, but Harry’s coming tonight.”
“Really?” I persisted. I hoped she wasn’t telling me this just to make me feel better. Part of me wondered why she thought it would cheer me up.
Tonks nodded. “So much for a surprise,” She muttered. “You weren’t supposed to know until tonight.”
“I don’t mind,” I replied. “I mean, I’m still surprised.”
“Good.” She said, smiling. “Do you mind if we borrow your broom? Harry doesn’t have his anymore. After that toad Umbridge… you know…” She trailed off. I knew what she was trying to say, so I didn’t press her. It was hard for her to talk about Harry for reasons I couldn’t understand. It wasn’t like she made it really obvious; I had the time to look carefully at everyone living in the house.
“Sure,” I said. My heart was thudding like mad in my chest. I was excited to see Harry again. I kept wondering why I was so eager to see him”he was just my brother’s best friend”when I had gotten over my crush on him years ago.
It’s because you’ll finally get your best friend back, Gin, I told myself. Ron will be too busy with Harry to “talk” to Hermione any more. I wonder exactly what they’re doing for the whole day? I had a feeling I knew, but didn’t want to spy on them to confirm my feelings. I didn’t want to see my brother snogging someone, especially my best friend. It’s not like I couldn’t if I had wanted to”living with Fred and George had taught me a lot.
This day seemed much more agonizing than most. I read Hogwarts, a History until lunch. I wanted to talk to Hermione, wondering how I could’ve taken it for granted for so long. She was a bit pushy and could be rude at times, but she made you feel better when you were in a bad mood.
I thought about my reaction when I found out Harry was coming and decided that I definitely didn’t have a crush on Harry. I couldn’t; he was my brother’s best mate. After coming to this conclusion I couldn’t help but remind myself that that hadn’t stopped Ron.
Lunch helped take my mind off of how bored I was. Tonks and I talked through most of it, which almost made me forget about Hermione. I told her I’d give her my broom after lunch, and she seemed satisfied.
“How are you going to go about getting Harry?” I asked, slightly louder than I normally would have because I couldn’t hear over Ron and Hermione. They were loudly bickering about something having to do with homework, but it seemed almost like a show they were putting on. They wanted to convince us that everything was the same as ever. Nice try, Mione, I thought. You’re not fooling me, or anyone else, for that matter. We’re not blind.
“Shhh!” Tonks hissed. “You’re not supposed to know this, remember?” I nodded. “We’re just going over there and picking him up.”
“But what about his aunt and uncle?” I wanted to know. “Do are you going to try and get them out of the house? They’ve probably been really suspicious about that type of thing since you lured them away last year””
Lupin sat down across from me and Tonks shut me up by stepping on my bare foot. Hard.
“So, Ginny, what were you saying about Quidditch?” She asked sweetly, fixing me with an evil look that said, You had better play along with this, or else!
“Oh, um…” my mind raced for something to say about it. “I was just saying that I’m going to try out as a Chaser once Harry gets his position as Seeker back.”
“That’s nice,” Tonks said. Thankfully, I had finished my food and was free to go back upstairs.
Tonks grabbed me by the arm and whispered, “I’ll be up in your room in just a second.” I nodded to show that I’d heard, then sauntered up the stairs, dragging my feet. I was bored stiff, and I suppose I figured that if it took me forever to walk up the stairs I wouldn’t have to worry about finding something to do before Harry came and I got Hermione back.
I had just slammed my door and flopped down on my bed before I heard a knock at the door. “Come in,” I said. Tonks obeyed, the door swinging back with a thud. She started to walk over to my bed, but she stubbed her toe on a Charms book that was lying on the floor.
Tonks swore loudly, covering her mouth and turning slightly red. “Sorry,” she said, hopping over to my bed, sitting on the edge. I pulled myself up and sat, leaning against the pillows.
“To answer your question, we’re just going there and picking him up. I think it’ll be nice to pay a visit to his aunt and uncle to make sure they’re treating him all right.” She grinned slyly.
A smile tugged at my lips. “When are you going?” I wanted to know.
“Before dinner. Probably around five or so,” She responded. “It’s just me, Mad-Eye, and Remus going, so we can really go anytime.”
“Oh,” I said, sighing. I wished this day would just end!
“You’re really bored, aren’t you, Gin?” she said, looking slightly concerned and motherly. I finally remembered how much older she was than me.
“Yeah. You would be, too, if your best friend left for your brother,” I replied bitterly.
“I’m sorry. I’ll try to go earlier, if that makes you feel any better,” she offered, trying to be helpful.
I shrugged. “Whatever. I guess that would be nice.” My mood was becoming increasingly worse as the day wore on.
“Well, I’ll just leave you to… whatever you’re going to do,” Tonks said. She hugged me. “It’ll get better soon. I promised, didn’t I?” She stood up and limped out of the room, but stubbed her other toe on my Transfiguration book. I need to clean up around here soon, I thought.
“Fuck!” She yelled. She then looked over at me. “Oh, sorry Ginny. I didn’t mean to.” She blushed, her face turning almost the same shade as her bright pink hair. “I’ll just be leaving now…” She slunk out of the room, trying desperately to look at the ground and straight ahead of her at the same time so she didn’t stub her toe, trip, or run into anything. She succeeded, then went out the door and shut it, muttering as she did so.
I looked around my room, slightly embarrassed at the state of it, and made a half-hearted attempt to clean it up. I managed to throw all my books in the trunk before I decided I was too lazy to do anymore and just sat in the middle of my floor. I felt like I was on the verge of tears. Why doesn't anyone want to talk to me? I felt like yelling. Why can’t Fred and George come? They could certainly find ways to make our stay here interesting. For everyone. Not just Ron and Hermione. I wondered for the millionth time what they were doing all day.