“A love potion!” Hermione raged around the bedroom, her voice several octaves higher than normal. “That filthy, conniving, attention-seeking witch! She didn’t even like him, she just wanted to prove that she could get him. I guess now she’s proved that she is Elodie-lady-of-lust, may mere mortal men worship the ground she walks on because she is the image of beauty and perfection”“ Hermione paused to take a breath. Ginny yawned and surreptitiously checked her watch.
“Hermio-” she started to say, but Hermione was off again.
“You know, it’s not like she’s anything that special. She just knows how to make a good love potion. And hey, I could make a good love potion. I just have the morality not to! But if she thinks she’s won with just a potion, then she has another think coming! He’s not even under the potion anymore. Any day now, he’ll realize what a terror she is.”
Ginny yawned again, and slid off the bed and onto her feet. “Hermione,” she said firmly, “Why don’t you just go talk to Ron? If he’s not under the spell anymore, then you can have an honest conversation.” She shook her head in irritation before adding, “for once in your lives,” under her breath.
Hermione frowned at her. “But Ginny,” she said, and her voice was softer, more fragile now. “What if, you know, he really loves her? What if I’ve only ever been his androgynous best friend, and that’s all I’ll ever be to him?”
She looked at Ginny, eyes wide, desperately seeking some kind of reassurance. But Ginny only gazed at her quietly for a moment before saying, “Then that’s something you’ll have to learn to deal with.” Then she turned and slipped out the door.
Hermione but her lip and stared out after Ginny for a moment. “Thanks,” she called after her, “That was really good for my self-esteem!” Sighing, she walked downstairs.
She hadn’t realized that it was so early until she entered the kitchen. It was empty, with only a few dust motes swirling around in the clear rays of early sunlight.
Hermione walked softly out the door into the garden, and stopped abruptly when she saw Ron sitting on a bench. Taking a deep breath, she strode out to sit next to him.
He turned towards her in surprise. “Hey,” he said, grinning crookedly at her, and she felt something melt. Her returning smile was tight.
“Haven’t seen you alone in a while,” she said caustically.
He sighed. “Yeah, I know,” he said. (Did he sound regretful? She wasn’t sure.) “Elodie’s still asleep,” he continued.
Hermione nodded. “Late night?” she asked innocently.
He shrugged. “Not that I know of.”
Hermione turned away, looking towards the house. A long, pale string was hanging from Fred and George’s window, and she wondered vaguely what they were inventing now. A moment later, she took a deep breath and asked, as casually as possible, “Are you in love with her? Elodie, I mean.”
Ron looked at her sharply, his brow furrowed. He shifted uncomfortably, and their shoulders brushed. “Well,” he said cautiously, “I always thought she was, you know, pretty. But for a while, I’d been…in love with someone.”
Hermione raised an eyebrow. “Please tell me you’re not talking about Lavender, Won-won.”
He laughed, and Hermione struggled to keep from throwing her arms around his neck. “No,” he said, “No, I was never in love with Lavender. There’s always been someone else.”
This was news. Hermione straightened, surprised, and looked at him. “Really?” she asked, “Who?”
He shrugged. “It’s not important,” he muttered. “Anyway, when she showed up, everyone went wild for her”boys in the village, other relatives who visited, even Charlie”they were all raving over how beautiful and clever she was. They would have done anything for her.”
Hermione gazed at him, thinking “I wish I had that kind of power.” The thought surprised her, and then disturbed her. She shook her head to clear it as Ron continued to speak.
“It’s funny, but I didn’t even notice her at first.” His frown deepened. “Things are a little fuzzy. I don’t remember exactly how it happened, but one day I woke up and I just couldn’t get her off of my mind. I didn’t realize it could happen like that”that you could wake up and just be so in love.”
Hermione snorted. Ron looked at her curiously. “What?” he asked.
Hermione sniffed haughtily, trying to sound detached. “Personally, I think a good relationship takes time and energy to grow. I don’t believe in these whirlwind romances based on potions. Er”passions.”
He just laughed and elbowed her. “I suppose you’d know,” he said, “You and Krum are going on, what, almost three years now?”
Indignant, Hermione snapped, “I’m not in love with Viktor! We’re just pen-pals.”
Ron laughed harder. “Sure. He only ever wanted to be friends.”
Two years ago, she would have given anything for him to stop getting angry over the correspondence she had with Viktor Krum. But now, his casual teasing scared her, and she missed his outrage.
“Do you still love her?” she asked suddenly, “Elodie, I mean?”
He blinked, and looked away, hesitating a long moment before saying, “The exciting, passionate newness of it faded after a couple of days. But it’s been nice, having someone here for me all the time. And Elodie proved to me that the person I’d been holding out for was never going to like me,” he sighed. “She was probably too good for me. But anyway, I owe Elodie a lot. She showed me that there are plenty of people out there.” He grinned foolishly, and then looked softly at her. “I’ve missed talking to you,” he said unexpectedly. “I’ve even missed you yelling at me for screwing everything up.”
She’d almost smiled. And then he said, “So how’s your love life going”besides Krum, I mean? How’s stuff going with Benji?” He winked, and she was suddenly livid.
“Just perfect,” she snarled. “We’re sending out wedding invitations next week. He wants them to be blue so they match my eyes.” She gave a hoarse, barking laugh. Ron looked startled, then concerned.
“Hermione, wha-” he started to ask, but she barreled over him.
“Benji,” she hissed, “is not my type. Actually, I think being in a relationship is the farthest thing I want. Seeing you and Elodie together is enough to make me want to vomit, thanks, and I don’t think I could handle any personal displays of affection. That whole Romance thing, Ron? Yeah, it’s so over. Your relationship with Elodie is going to end, in breakup, divorce, or death, and somebody’s going to get their heart broken. It isn’t even worth it, you know? Stealing kisses in the shrubbery, maybe procreating, getting older and tired and unhappy”what’s the point? You’re going to stop loving each other eventually, because that’s what happens. Nobody gets a happily ever after for long. I’ll bet you that after they rode off into the sunset, Cinderella got old and wrinkled, and Prince Charming stopped loving her after five or six years anyway and was off flirting with the maid. Nothing’s perfect, pr permanent, and being alone is better because it’s one less thing to worry about!” She stopped abruptly, heaving, her breath erratic. I didn’t even know all that was in me, she thought heavily.
Ron was frowning in concern. His red hair ruffled in the slight breeze, and she turned away.
“Hermione,” he said, and then his voice broke. “I-wha-did something happen? Are you alright? And uh”who’s Cinderella?”
His voice was soft and lulling, and she hated it. A year ago, his temper would have risen as soon as she had begun shouting. They should have been standing ten feet apart, bellowing by now. His obstinacy had always driven her insane. But it was better then this new sensitivity, this open concern, better then the way he reached out to brush a tear she hadn’t realize she’d shed from her cheek.
As his hand touched her face, she twisted away, running a few short steps. Her back turned to him, she said, “Please, don’t touch me,” in a voice no more then a ragged whisper. She stood trembling for a few seconds, then turned and ran, leaving him bewildered in her wake.
~~
In Fred and George’s room, three figures heaved a collective sigh. Fred rolled the extendible ear cautiously in through the window. George said wryly, “We didn’t even need the extendible ear for that last bit. They probably heard her in Romania.”
Ginny, sitting nearby, put her head in her hands. “I thought for sure they had it there…”she said morosely.
“At least they had a chance to talk. It was a good idea to give them that time, Ginny”it’s their fault it didn’t work,” said George, uncharacteristically comforting.
Fred sighed again. “I should probably go take that sleeping charm off Elodie,” he said regretfully. “I reckon they’re done talking.” He glanced out the window and shook his head, saying something that sounded suspiciously like “Stupid blighter, just kiss her already.”
Ginny looked pained. “Can’t you just keep that spell on her a little longer?”
Fred winced. “Don’t we wish,” he said.
Ginny turned to George. “They’re both miserable,” she said hotly. “Hermione’s more or less told me that she is, and look at Ron! He’s not so happy, either, despite Elodie.” She gestured out the window to Ron, who was now sitting dejectedly in the grass, staring off the way Hermione had gone. She looked at George desperately. “Isn’t there something we can do? Another kind of love potion”just to give them a push?”
George shook his head. “No,” he said, “That would be cheating. This is important. They have to do it on their own.”
Fred stumbled back into the room. “All right,” he said. “She’ll be up within the next ten minutes. The spell’s off.”
George shook his head. “Little terror,” he said.
Ginny laughed at them. Oh, you’re just upset that she picked Ron to enchant instead of you.”
Fred and George shot her dirty looks simultaneously, and then George’s expression changed. “Fred,” he said slowly, “Ginny just asked me about a love potion for Ron and Hermione, which would be extremely unethical. However””
Fred smirked. “Perfect,” he said.
Ginny looked from one to the other, scowling. Stupid twins and their hive minds. “What?” she asked “What are you thinking?”
Their faces burst into identical wicked grins. Fred turned and started rifling through the trunk at the end of his bed. George looked at Ginny. “Go get Hermione,” he said, almost cackling. “We have something to ask her.”
Enchanted by Willow Rosenberg
Chapter Notes: ~Preview~
Hermione took a deep breath and asked, as casually as possible, “Are you in love with her? Elodie, I mean.”
Ron looked at her sharply, his brow furrowed. He shifted uncomfortably, and their shoulders brushed. “Well,” he said cautiously, “I always thought she was, you know, pretty. But for a while, I’d been…in love with someone.”
Note:
Okay, so sorry about the long time it took getting this up. Anyhoo, this is the second-to-last chapter, people! Almost done. Wow.