Chapter 28 The Autumn In Her Eyes
“WHERE. THE. HECK. IS. IT?” Ginny demanded her unsympathetic bedpost frustratingly, yanking her hair into a knot as she turned her bed upside down, searching for the pale blue box.
“I knocked twice but you…” Hermione opened the door and tiptoed into her room quietly, only to find her feet trampling over something squishy. It was Ginny’s twisted blanket.
“Have you gone mad?” she shrieked, appalled by the war zone in front of her eyes. “What “ ARE -- you doing? I thought you weren’t feeling well!”
Ginny didn’t respond as Hermione leaped over the heap and clawed her way to the open window.
“Go away, Hermione!” Ginny barked. “NO! Don’t close the window. I’m boiling hot!”
“Wait a minute!” Hermione distractingly retrieved a pale blue box from the windowsill outside, dodging an unwelcome cushion that Ginny launched at her in the process. Oblivious to the fading image of an owl flying away in the dark skies because she was too busy assessing her catch, she immediately recognized it as Harry’s present.
“Have you gone mad?” she picked up the cushion and hurled it at Ginny to seize her attention. “Are you hanging his present out to dry or something… like a form of symbolic punishment?”
Seeing her prize, Ginny lunged towards her and snatched it hungrily, forgetting to attack Hermione back for hitting her with a cushion.
Hermione was now sporting a thin knowing smirk as her mind rotated back in time, to the morning of Ginny’s birthday at the Burrow, and Ginny’s apparent frosty reaction to Harry’s gift, in contrast to her exaggerated cheerful reception to Oliver’s jigsaw puzzle. Her voice cords still contained every vibration of their shocking conversation, highlighted by how unusually critical Ginny was of Harry. That morning, she was forced to listen to Ginny moodily comparing his stiffness, unresponsiveness, and lack of affection to that of a Christmas fruitcake. Ginny was obviously spiteful to see her seductive efforts to signal Harry to proceed further did not work. Disagreeing with Ginny’s viewpoint completely, Hermione understood Harry was simply being a respectful gentleman, but she was too aghast with Ginny’s uncharacteristic behavior and she failed to get a word in to defend him.
It was because that day, Ginny rendered her speechless for the first time with her excessively blunt revelations, when she scornfully shared all the intimate details of what she claimed to have done to Harry at the Burrow in the privacy of her bedroom, her tactics ranging from tickling him, making him sleep on top of her like a human blanket, to using his mouth to perfect the techniques of a surfing tongue. However, what stuck out the most was the unnecessary newsflash that Ginny’s fingers had visited every part of his skin. The resulting carnal image of her two best friends swimming in her head was a vision she had never imagined before, and certainly one she did not want to envision ever again.
“Back at the Burrow, you tossed him away, and now you’re hunting him down like he’s the last Qudditch Snitch!” she challenged piercingly, her tone laced with barbs as she rinsed her brain of the offensive images once again.
Ginny hugged the box and gazed at it preciously, ignoring Hermione’s catty taunts. Studying her award carefully, it appeared to have gone through a rough patch. It was very bloated and bursting at the seams for some reason. There was a couple of band-aids stuck awkwardly on one of the edges, patterned like a cross, seemingly keeping the contents tenuously from falling apart. The band-aids made the gift look like as if it was badly wounded.
“Well, what are you waiting for? Another five months? Open the box now!” clapped Hermione, feeling every right to be present for the grand opening, at the same time praying once again Harry did not get her a log for the fireplace. Her cheeks were inflating with anticipation, matching Ginny’s excitement inch for inch.
Ginny carefully undid the wrapping paper and opened the tumultuous box. Filled to the rim, there was an array of items squished together, three to be exact, giving her the distinct impression that it was like a packed can of sardines. She carefully retrieved the first item, a plain looking pink bottle with liquid inside.
Hermione snatched the bottle, her eyes rolling in disbelief as fire was shooting out of them, the flames bursting the air of anticipation pressuring her cheeks, “BU”BBLES??
“Harry got you -- a bottle of soap -- to… blow bubbles?” she etched the price tag off disapprovingly, clouds of steam puffing outrageously out of her cheeks, in her mind giving Harry an absolute failing grade for his childish efforts.
Too busy to react to such an immature gift, Ginny continued digging into the contents. Her fingers were attracted to a shiny medallion that was overshadowing a black plastic cube crowded next to it.
“Hermione, I think this is the real gift,” she defended her precious Harry with an angular voice as she retrieved the golden locket and pushed the button, releasing the cover.
Hermione’s eyes immediately dilated to the maximum as she tossed the silly bottle aside, her chin dangling brightly.
“Gin! It’s… an Amoré…” she spurted breathlessly. “I can’t believe Harry gave you an Amoré… I knew it! I knew he had it in him!”
Ginny extended her face towards Hermione, eagerly waiting for her friend’s usual annoying know-it-all attitude that always accompanied her snotty outbursts of wisdom.
“It’s a compass of the heart,” Hermione explained impressively, mindfully altering Harry’s grade at gift giving to that of a passing one.
“According to my book of Enchanted Ornaments, the Amoré’s needle guides the holder to the person who resides in the holder’s heart.”
Gazing at the magic needle, Ginny suddenly found her eyes buttered with the sweetest honey as booklets and booklets of Harry’s boyish face packed her head again. Not wanting Hermione to see her glee, she quickly blinked the honey away but her cheeks would betray her and turned crimson.
“See where it’s pointing? It means you’ll find him… you know…” she hesitated because she remembered Ginny’s explicit request to stop matching her and Harry together.
“Gin,” she muttered calmly. “I know you told me to mind my own business… but… I just want to say… I think… he’s falling for you… all over again.”
Ginny responded by burying her head down to hide her reddened face and the shy grin dying to come out.
“What does it matter… with what happened last year?” Hermione added uncomfortably, slowly inviting herself into what she believed was forbidden territory. “He doesn’t… remember any of it. I know you love him. Why don’t you er… consider…”
Hermione stopped because she recognized the ominous silence that surrounded her words. Luckily, Ginny could not hold her composure much longer, and to Hermione’s surprise, Ginny giggled and clutched the metal against her chest, her cheeks flushing behind a smile.
“Ginny…” she announced happily, seeing the look of a smitten girl finally returning, signaling to her she had forgiven him.
Hermione instinctively threw her arms around her, confirming her suspicions excitedly, “Oh my goodness! Wait till Ron finds out about this! He’s been so guilty breaking the dove statue!”
Ginny hobbled out of the tight hug, “Have you seen… Harry? I thought he was supposed to sneak Sam into Hogsmeade, but earlier… I think he…”
She stopped because she didn’t want Hermione to know he was in her quarters earlier, a fact she still wasn’t too sure about.
“I was with Ron… but… we… never made it to Hogsmeade!” she fired angrily.
“Ron’s mad at me… and ran off… because I decided I’ll be spending Christmas with my parents instead of at the Burrow! I don’t know or care where he is!”
“Ooh, how dare you!” screeched Ginny mockingly, rolling her eyes discreetly, because compared to the magnitude of problems she had with Harry this past year, Hermione’s little disagreement seemed too trivial to be worthy of a newsbreak.
Wanting to shift the conversation back to Harry, Hermione paced evasively past the dresser and spotted the jigsaw puzzle and its two missing pieces, one of which was in her pocket now.
“Ginny, what made you -- really change “ your view?” she beamed and sat carefully on her disheveled bed.
“A combination of things… and people… Sam… you of course…” said Ginny breezily. “But it was what Oliver said earlier that opened my eyes.”
“You were with Oliver?” her face imploded scandalously.
“Hermione, please!” she zapped infuriatingly. “For the last time, there’s nothing between us. Oliver likes to tease but that’s it! He sees me like a little sister. He has no special feelings for me. Even “ HE “ keeps telling me he’s too old for me!”
Ginny quipped, “Haven’t you noticed the engagement ring around his adam’s apple? He’s already taken, or… at least he wants the girls to think that way! Maybe he should wear it on his finger instead.”
“I don’t look at Oliver’s adam’s apple!” gasped Hermione appallingly.
“Yeah sure,” Ginny raised one eyebrow wickedly at Hermione in response to her wide opened mouth. “Your eyes check out the rest of his anatomy but certainly not his adam’s apple!
“Anyway, I promised him I wouldn’t tell but let’s just say that… if you’re right about this Amoré thing… and if he were holding it, the needle would definitely NOT be pointing at me even if I were parked in front of him!
“It will be pointing… unfortunately… as far away… as another country,” she sighed sympathetically.
“Forget about Oliver!” Hermione seared impatiently. “Harry! Talk Harry!”
“After the performance, I realize Harry… is… you know... sort of… back to his old self with me again.”
“I guess with all those illuminating shapes he conjured…” Hermione swallowed her judgmental laugh and shook her head obnoxiously, “especially that huge thumping heart, his intentions can’t be more clearer than that.”
“Oliver taught me that if I truly do love him “ Harry ““ she added his name blatantly to ensure Hermione would not stare at her scandalously again, “I should be able to get past anything, and focus on the good, because no one is perfect.
“It was better having him in my life,” she smiled honestly.
“I guess for me… it will be like having to restart all over again, and letting go of the past, like it was a bad dream…
“As if… as if… we never knew each other before.”
“As if we never knew each other before…” Hermione repeated longingly, her mind vividly situating itself in the common room of two years ago, watching an awkward Harry kissing Ginny under the mistletoe, once on the forehead, and weeks later, on the lips. Even though those memories were no more, she took solace in the fact that Ginny was willing to accept Harry again. She was also happy Ginny firmly clarified that there was nothing between her and Oliver. It was no longer necessary to hold on to her puzzle piece.
“Look what I found underneath your bed,” Hermione opened her palm delightedly. “It must have… fallen there by accident.”
Hermione got up and inserted the piece in one of the spaces in the jigsaw, “Now, we just have to find the last piece to get this beautiful portrait complete. I wonder where is it?”
She had expected Ginny to be thrilled by her discovery, only that it was met with soundlessness.
“Ginny, why so quiet all of a sudden?” she turned around to find her fumbling inside the pale blue box, and pulling out a black plastic cube soon after.
Hermione walked curiously next to her because she was fascinated by the many glass panes on all sides, making the cube look like the magnified eyes of a bee.
Ginny pressed the button on the bottom and the glass windows suddenly lit up glowingly.
“Ginny, look at the ceiling… and the walls!” she shrieked.
She snapped her head up and her eyes were immediately mesmerized by what was surrounding her. As Hermione turned off the lights, she saw the most beautiful nighttime of skies. A set of stars was blinking over her in an array of colors, twinkling and floating with the other smaller stars. A crescent moon was swirling in the wall. All the shapes had a life of their own.
Gazing at the artistic stars as they turned bright green brought Ginny back to last year’s birthday, when Harry prolonged the celebrations secretly in her room with a bottle of champagne. She fell asleep because of the effects of the champagne, only to be awakened by the sounds of dancing rain, and she found herself warm in his arms and nestled on his chest. He was watching over her with his green eyes, and they resembled a pair of green stars, gazing at her protectively, to make sure she was safe. This memory would usually trigger tears of sadness. This time, however, her eyes were glossed with tears as sweet as honey.
“It’s a star ceiling lighting kit!” Hermione smiled innovatively. Although personally, she thought the gift was silly, but judging by Ginny’s emotional reaction, she understood there was a deep meaning behind it. As a result, she gladly gave Harry the top score at gift giving.
“I need to find Harry!” Ginny pulled herself together and zoomed out of her room, with Hermione hot on her trail.
As she sprinted down the common room stairs, she would get her wish, when she noticed Harry was trudging downstairs soullessly with his Firebolt and a rather stuffed school bag.
“Harry!” Ginny called after his trail breathlessly as she purposely collided into him from behind. There was no mistaken identity this time. It was him.
Clearly not prepared to hear her voice and having her stand so close to him for the first time since he regained his memory, Harry’s feet were nailed to the floor as he slowly engaged her shakily with his tired sad eyes. The small distance between them allowed him to clearly see the traces of tears in her deep brown eyes. He now understood why they seemingly always had ripples of water varnished over them this past year, making them opaque. Looking closer remorsefully, the tiny pearls over her pupils resembled abandoned autumn brown leaves that have been covered with morning dewdrops, and they were swirling to form a pair of his reflections staring back at him, the reflection of the despicable person who gave her the permanent autumn in her eyes.
Without realizing it, they were standing in the exact spot as the many poignant times before, by the staircase, with Hermione watching them clairvoyantly from afar. Before she knew it, her eyes were trembling. Seeing them together like this was almost surreal.
“Mistle… toe!” Hermione gladly squeaked through her tears, as she glanced up and noticed the common room was already decorated in preparation for Christmas. Indeed, just like many times before, a mistletoe would find itself fittingly above the staircase, shining deservingly on Harry and Ginny once again, rekindling the moment that was lost.
The Boy Next Door by gossipweaver
Chapter Notes: He sees nothing but the deep autumn in her eyes, swirling like abandoned brown leaves, his reflection rippling over the tears, the one who gave her the autumn in her eyes…