“You look stunning,” said Ginny, as Hermione emerged from her room, sporting a simple but lovely blue evening gown. She had held back some of her hair using blue clips, while the rest of her curls were let loose. She applied no make up. Ginny grinned. “Ron is going to love this. He likes it the most when you look the way you are, instead of doing yourself up.”
Hermione smiled. “Well, I’m not as charming as Rebecca…”
“Come on, Hermione, there’s nothing between Rebecca and Ron.”
“That’s just an assumption, isn’t it?”
“No, Hermione, it’s the truth.”
There was silence, as the two women looked into each other’s eyes.
“Let’s go,” said Ginny, breaking the silence.
Hermione nodded and followed Ginny to the car. In fifteen minutes, Ginny was parking in a lot beside Scoffers. They got out of the car and headed to the restaurant together. Just as they approached the door, it opened and a girl strode out, dressed in casuals and looking pale.
“Hey!” greeted Ginny, grinning at her. The girl smiled, as she and Ginny embraced. Ginny then looked at Hermione. “Hermione, meet Daisy.”
“Hi Daisy,” said Hermione, smiling.
“Nice to meet you,” Daisy replied, holding out her hand to shake Hermione’s. “And many happy returns!”
Hermione smiled and thanked the girl. “So, all prepared for the huge batch of memories that you have to erase tomorrow?” Ginny questioned.
“Sort of,” Daisy replied. “I’m going to concentrate on my food for the time being. I don’t cook on Wednesdays.”
Ginny raised an eyebrow. “Something special on Wednesdays?”
“Well… actually, it was like… well, I have this thing… basically, I don’t dine alone on Wednesdays, because… um…” Daisy turned a deep crimson.
Ginny smiled kindly. “So, who’s your dinner companion for today, then?”
“No one… with Andrew gone…”
“Hey…” Ginny put an arm around the girl. “Shall I come with you?”
Daisy looked up, and her face gained much of its colour. “Really?”
Ginny nodded, as Daisy hugged her again. “Thank you so much, Ginny…I-”
“It’s all right,” replied Ginny. “Come on, then, let’s go and order a takeaway from somewhere. Scoffers has only dine-in. Anyway, Hermione has a date to look forward to.” She grinned at Hermione, who smiled shyly and opened the door.
The restaurant was very beautiful with a romantic, elegant interior and well-set tables. Hermione wound her way inside and found Ron. But as soon as she looked at him, her heart sank. Rebecca was sitting opposite him. Well… probably Ron didn’t understand the importance of being alone with Hermione at least on this occasion.
Hermione swallowed a lump in her throat and walked on. Probably, Rebecca was there only to discuss matters regarding work. Maybe she’d go away when Hermione joined Ron. Maybe… Hermione gasped, as Ron tilted his head and bent forwards, right towards Rebecca. What was happening? Tears blurred Hermione’s vision, and before she could stop herself, a sob escaped her.
She was right beside Ron now, but he had not noticed her. Rebecca had not seen her either. She felt more sobs escape her as the duo kissed and she turned away, just as Ron finally looked up and noticed her.
***
“So, why do you have company for dinner on Wednesdays, then?” asked Ginny, as she and Daisy set the table at the latter’s home.
Daisy shook her head, as colour began to rush up her cheeks. “Nothing… just…”
Ginny snorted. “It’s all right, I was just trying to tease you. Anyway, you’ve got certain stories to complete.”
“What stories?”
“Well,” said Ginny. “We’ve been friends for two months and all we’ve gone through are the life histories, case-related stuff and everything for the vat of boring paperwork that I’ve got. You never said anything ahead of what happened after Chris confessed that he had a crush on you.”
“Oh… you know it already… I ran away and-” Ginny could feel the heat radiating from Daisy, now.
“And?”
“N-Nothing… I told you what happened, Ginny!”
“Yeah, you told me all about not being able to sleep and everything, but what happened, finally? I don’t think Chris would have only confessed and left it there…”
Daisy shook her head and looked at the floor. “You’re right… it didn’t end just there.
***
“Hermione, what-?”
Hermione didn’t reply. She didn’t want to listen to anything. Walking out of the restaurant, she reached the parking lot in search of Ginny. Ginny, however seemed to have left. Wiping her eyes, Hermione walked back to the main street, Ron still following her uselessly. She waited for the road to be clear. There was an approaching bus, but if she hurried, she would be able to cross or else Ron would start off with his explanations.
Hermione ran across, but the hem of her gown came under her shoe and she fell down. The bus driver had not noticed her, however, and it sped right at her… she shut her eyes, as a strong hand enclosed hers and pulled her up, and a pair of arms lifted her. She was let down on the pavement and the same pair of arms wrapped themselves around her. She melted into the affection, more and more tears streaming down her face.
“What did you think you were doing?”
She suddenly realised what she was doing and pushed him away. She didn’t want him to touch her. She turned away and began to walk in the opposite direction.
The same hand held hers again and pulled her back.
“Leave me, Ron,” she asserted.
“Not until you tell me what my mistake is.”
“Oh, right,” she replied, wiping off her tears and finally looking at him. His face was pale and his hair was messed up. He also looked as though he’d cry. “Of course you’re not wrong, Ron. I always wanted you to go on a date with Rebecca, you know.”
“I wasn’t on a date-”
“Weren’t you? Oh, that explains a lot. So the person whom you were sitting with was a figment of my imagination, right?”
Ron sighed. “Hermione, she had come with someone else. I just met her there and ended up talking-”
“- rather intimately. I know, Ron. I told you that you aren’t wrong at all.”
“It wasn’t intimate, come on…”
“Yeah,” replied Hermione. “It was only a small kiss, wasn’t it?”
Ron’s eyes widened, as he fumbled with his words. “Kiss? I never- that was… oh Hermione, Rebecca wanted to say something in my ear… Merlin…” He broke into tears and looked around helplessly, searching for words. “I l-love only you, Hermione, I s-swear… p-please don’t do this again… I’d n-never be a-able to bear it if a-anything happened to y-you.” He covered his face and began to cry harder.
He looked so helpless… like a baby. Hermione wanted to throw her arms around him and comfort him- tell him that she had not meant to come in the way of the bus. She looked at Ron, who was now rubbing his eyes with his knuckles and felt the need to cuddle him- to kiss his cheek and tell him not to cry. But suddenly, a kind of satisfaction filled her. She actually wanted him to cry. He had let her cry and now, she wanted him to weep, sob, suffer…
“Don’t cry, Ron,” she said. “Rebecca can dine with you again. You’ll have plenty of opportunities.” So saying, Hermione waved at a taxi and jumped in, leaving Ron right in the middle of the highway.
***
“Andrew, I don’t think I want to go in there,” said Daisy apprehensively, as she and Andrew stood right outside the Great Hall. “Chris is inside, and… and what if…?”
“Daisy,” sighed Andrew, “what’s the great worry about? It’s not as though Chris is going to run you through with a knife! You’ve already avoided him at patrol, breakfast and during the Runes lecture… you can’t avoid him forever.”
“But…”
“What’s going on, out here?” asked Liz as she appeared beside them.
“Daisy is nervous about Chris being in the hall,” sighed Andrew.
“Oh, yeah!” said Liz gleefully. “Do you at least accept now that you’ve got feelings for him?”
Daisy went pink. “Yeah… you were right on that account.”
Liz chuckled. “I’m never wrong about my friends, Daisy. Come on, then…”
“No!”
“Daisy,” said Andrew, exasperatedly. “I’m hungry, you know.”
“But you do know what Chris can do! What if he asks me out when I enter?”
“Just say ‘yes’,” replied Liz. “It’s not that hard, you would like to go out with him, wouldn’t you?”
“Yeah… but it is difficult,” Daisy insisted. “And… and… what if he decides that he wants to kiss me right then?”
“Kiss him back.”
“This is the Great Hall!”
“If you really have feelings for Chris, then you’ll realise that you don’t mind any of it,” Liz said, smiling. “And trust me, Daisy; he couldn’t get more romantic if he really does that””
“”and, you’ll also forget that you were supposed to be my girlfriend,” someone added, and Daisy turned to see Neil, Mike, Parineeta and Charlotte walking towards her.
“Neil…”
“I’m very happy for you, Daisy,” said Neil, as he hugged her. “You deserve Chris. He’s a very good person.”
“Yeah!” Mike said. “Congratulations!”
Daisy raised an eyebrow. “I’m not marrying Chris or something, Mike.”
Charlotte giggled. “No, what he meant was that it’s great that Chris has finally confessed that he fancies you too, as much as you’ve fancied him.”
Daisy looked amazed. “You knew this, too?”
“Of course I did, Daisy,” replied Charlotte. “All of us did, in fact. Liz was the only one to express her suspicions aloud. The others in the school may not have noticed, but we’re your friends, and there are few things that you can hide from us. It’s been obvious for a while now… to the six of us, at least.”
“Yeah,” agreed Parineeta. “It was no secret, after all.”
Daisy looked at Andrew. “Had you guessed that, too?”
He nodded. “They’re right, Daisy, it was very obvious.”
“So Chris…?”
“No, Chris never noticed it. Actually, as Charlotte says, only the six of us were able to make it out, really, and that’s because we know you so well.”
“How didn’t I realise, then? I’m supposed to be fancying him, not the six of you!”
“Because you’ve been ignoring it. You’ve made your conscience lie to you. And, you’ve made yourself believe that Chris is too stupid, and that you’ll never fall for him, when the truth was that you had already fallen for him.”
“Are you a Legilimens?”
Andrew chuckled as he gave Daisy a small hug. “For you, I am. And now, I think we’ve delayed enough.”
“I’m still scared…”
“Hey, I’ll be right there,” Andrew said. “I’ll be beside you, okay? It’s not scary at all, trust me.”
Daisy looked into Andrew’s reassuring eyes and took a deep breath. “All right… I’m ready.”
The seven friends walked into the Great Hall, and Daisy strode over to the Ravenclaw table with Andrew by her side. But just before she seated herself, a hand found her shoulder. She turned around to see Chris, his hazel eyes fixed on her. “Er- can we talk?”
“Um… here?”
“Uh- yeah, it won’t take long… just maybe…”
“Okay…”
“Um…” Chris looked nervous. “Uh, have you th-thought over whatever I-I said yes-yesterday? I-I mean it’s not… I don’t- you know, as I said- you… er…”
Daisy smiled. She had never seen Chris this nervous before and realised that she had surprisingly little to worry about. At least, she didn’t have to be the one to ask him out. It was sort of hilarious and relieving that boys were always the ones with the task to ask girls out and not vice-versa. She decided to make Chris’s task easier. “Chris, here’s my answer: yes.”
“… And that T-Transfiguration… er- what?”
“I said, ‘yes’.”
Chris grinned. “Really?”
Daisy nodded. “Yeah, really… now, Chris-”
But it was too late. He was already doing what she had been about to ask him not to do. In a moment, his lips were on hers and his large hands were laced with her small ones. They were surprisingly gentle for hands belonging to a boy, but firm, nonetheless. His thumb traced her soft palm, and suddenly, she didn’t care that the whole school was watching them kiss. She kissed him back with equal passion, feeling his warm thumb caress her palm and her fingers… cherishing the sensation…
There was a whoop and applause broke in the Hall. The couple pulled apart, beaming at each other. Daisy could feel Andrew seated on the bench right beside her, and though she didn’t look at him, she knew that he was beaming too. “Come on, let’s go out and talk. Come…” she told Chris, as she looked down at Andrew and winked at him. Then taking Chris’s hand, she pulled him outside.
The duo walked in silence, all the way to the lake. Finally, as they settled themselves upon the grass, Chris put an arm around her and pulled her close. Then he ran a hand through her hair and kissed her forehead lightly. They sat in the same position for sometime, thinking of what had just happened. Daisy didn’t even know where to begin. Finally, as he moved a finger on her cheek, she pulled away and looked up at him. “Which Transfiguration class were you talking about?”
Chris smiled shyly. “You remember that class in which we were turning goblets into jars? I was daydreaming and didn’t really listen to McGonagall. You taught me the wand movement for that.”
“Yeah, I do… in a way.” Daisy frowned, trying to remember. “ We were already friends, at that time… I think I held your hand, and… oh… so that’s what made you fall for me?”
Chris nodded. “I don’t know if anyone has ever told you this, Daisy, but your hands are like an angel’s. I don’t think I might have met anyone with such soft, wonderful hands…” He looked at her and took her hand again, caressing it with his fingers. “I just want your hand in mine for the rest of my life.”
Daisy chuckled. “You can date my hand, then, what do you say?”
Chris grinned back at her. “Oh, but I’m as fond of the hands as their owner, herself. Didn’t I tell you that?”
“And I’m fond of you, Chris, soft hands or not,” replied Daisy. She could have easily described this as the happiest day of her life, as she leaned onto his chest, listening to his heartbeat. She and Chris Stevens were finally a couple.
Daisy sighed sadly as she ate. “I was so ecstatic, so happy… but when I look back at those moments today, I feel like an idiot, falling for Chris Stevens.”
“Why? What happened? I did notice that””
“” that I hate him now, yeah. And it’s for a reason, Ginny. Something… something that I still find difficulties in even thinking about… I won’t forget what he did to me, Ginny, I’ll never forget it. That day has been etched on my mind, and I can’t forget how miserable I had been for days- even weeks after that. My friends say that I’ve changed since then… I think I might have.”
Ginny put a hand on Daisy’s arm. “If you have to know, Daisy, I’ve been through something very similar. If only I hadn’t fallen for Harry””
“Harry?” asked Daisy, looking up abruptly. “But, but I thought”?”
Ginny smiled. “Oh, no, no, we’re definitely not together. Harry is married to a beautiful, lovely woman and has a cute little girl at home.”
“But Harry doesn’t seem the type to do anything similar to what Chris did to me…”
“No, Harry left me because he didn’t want to lose me in the battle. He and I were a couple at Hogwarts. But that was before… before Harry went off to sort out Dumbledore’s mission.” She sighed. “My family didn’t allow me to fight the war and Harry and I were separated completely. Then, while the war went on, I went to Australia for my Auror training because Britain didn’t have a place in its school. I had to work in Australia as a deal with my training school for a few years and when I returned… well, Harry was already married.”
“He didn’t tell you?”
“No, he didn’t,” replied Ginny. “And you know what, Daisy? Just like Chris asked you out in front of the entire school, Harry did it in front of all the Gryffindors. Like you, I had fancied him for a very long time before we were finally together.” Ginny chuckled sadly. “We’re so similar, Daisy… so similar… but I guess our destiny wasn’t the best. Fate, indeed…”
There was silence, which broke immediately as the doorbell rang. “Who is it, now?” Daisy asked, as she walked to the door. But just when she had thrown it open, a figure launched itself upon Daisy, engulfing her in a hug. “You stupid, silly girl! Couldn’t you call me when all of this had happened? Couldn’t you speak to me or contact me? Liz tells me that… oh, Daisy, Liz is being so foolish! And- and I’ve been holidaying… Daisy… and-”
“Hey,” said Daisy, pulling herself away, and smiling at the new arrival. “Calm down… I’m fine, okay? Liz will be fine too… she’ll realise as time passes, I guess.” She then turned to Ginny and stood aside, revealing a short, plump girl with thick dark brown hair and pretty eyes. She was dressed in a crinkled, pink shin-length top with white pyjamas and a white dupatta: a salwar kameez, which Ginny had noticed on Parvati often. The newcomer looked tired and travel worn.
“Ginny, meet Parineeta; Parineeta Roy,” said Daisy, smiling. “She’s my friend from Hogwarts.”
Killer Instincts by Ginny Weasley Potter
Chapter Notes: Pauie definitely rocks!!! Thank you for being my Beta, hon!
I'm sorry about the lateness, guys... too much in RL to cope with. I am putting this story on hiatus, as of now. Please check my profile for details.
This chapter is for ginneyweasly_27, my sis who just missed being my twin by two months.
Please tell me what you think, guys, and also keep your eye peeled for a new fic that I may submit for the Spring term at Hogwarts!