Shifting Sands
Merlin's BALLS," said Ron, softly, eyes wide. "She did that on purpose."
"Um, yeah," said Ginny, shakily, getting herself over the effects of the incendiary kiss she'd just been given, and watching as her girlfriend walked away, trailed by her shellshocked parents, with the air of someone walking off to meet the firing squad. "I guess she decided to tell them."
"Damn," said Fred, who'd come with their mom to meet the train, "what was THAT all about? Did I mention, sis, I admire your taste in girlfriends?"
"I think Hermione just took the battle to the enemy," said Molly Weasley. "I'll keep the fire lit for her."
"You think she'll be showing up at The Burrow soon?" said Fred.
Molly nodded. "I predict sometime between dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow morning, myself. That fight's going to be interesting."
"So, Fred, " said Ron, with the air of someone changing the topic, "did you get the patents for the new stuff like you were thinking?" And with that, the Weasleys headed off home.
* * *
Amazingly, Ginny reflected, with just herself, her mom, and Ron, The Burrow was pretty quiet, compared to her memories. Of course, she thought, Charlie's in Rumania, Bill's in Egypt, Percy's married with his own place, Fred and George have a flat of their own... We're the only two left...and the quieter of the lot, at that.
But the memories of laughter and shouting children and friendly arguments seemed to radiate from the walls of the old kitchen, like warmth from a hearth raked out but not gone cold yet, and it still was, in an indefineable way, home. Her father came home, just before dinner, and she realized that he looked tireder than usual.
He wouldn't, however, say what was wrong. "More of the same," he said, rubbing a hand wearily across his eyes. "It wears a man out, you know. I...I'm going to wash up, Molly."
"All right, dear. Dinner's almost ready."
Ginny HAD missed her mother's cooking. It was good, but...erratic. Her spaghetti sauce, for example, could be anything from painfully ordinary to outrageously good, and you never knew which way it would go. Tonight, however, was one of the better versions, and she ate everything on her plate and got a second helping. There was plenty, of course, her mum not quite having scaled her cooking down for a smaller group yet.
She and Ron flipped a coin for dishes, and she was just clearing the table when the fire popped, crackled, flamed green, and Hermione stepped out.
She looked like hell, face white, eyes staring hollowly, and her voice was unsteady. "Hello, Mr., Mrs. Weasley...I don't mean to intrude, but might I stay here tonight?"
"Of course, Hermione," said Arthur Weasley, "but..."
His wife darted a swift glance at him, and he shut up. She instead took the cage which held Crookshanks out of Hermione's grasp, and said, "Have you eaten yet, dear? No?" Then sit down and I'll have you a plate ready, there's plenty. Ron, will you take over from Ginny, dear, please?"
Relieved of dish washing, Ginny came to sit next to Hermione, who was mechanically eating spaghetti. She let Crookshanks out, and he sprang up to the bench between them, where Ginny stroked his back as she watched her girlfriend.
"Did you bring anything with you, dear?" her mother asked.
"It's in my pocket," Hermione said, "Reduced. I didn't realize that a room looks so empty when you take all the furniture out..."
"Oh," said Ginny. "You mean...."
Hermione laughed hollowly. "Yes indeed, everything I own is right here. I suppose my mother will turn my bedroom into a craft room, or something."
She finished her spaghetti, and Ron took her bowl without comment, darting a glance at her.
"I'm not going to ask if you're all right, Hermione," said Molly, compassionately. "I will ask if you will be all right."
"I...I think so. But right now I think I'd like to just..."
"Yes," said Molly, with a wealth of understanding in her voice. "A bath would be a good thing, I think. Come on, dear."
And she led Hermione upstairs, and into what had been Fred and George's room, at one point. "Where's your trunk, Hermione?" she said, and when handed it, set it at the foot of one of the beds, and said, "Finite Incantatem". It turned back into normal size, and Hermione, with a kind of fragile dignity, opened it, drew what appeared to be doll's-house furnishings out of her pocket, and packed them away, laying the thumb-sized books and matchboxes of possessions in the tray for later perusal.
"I'll get you out a nightgown," Molly said. "Take your robe, and scoot."
Alone in the room, Molly frowned. A wave of her wand removed old posters and the remnants of exploding jokes from the walls, and another whispered spell painted them a creamy white, and spilled a floral border along the top of the wall. She bit her lip, looked at the furniture, and then Reduced one bed, putting it in her pocket. The remaining bed she transfigured into a double, a fourposter which bore a distinct resemblance to the ones at Hogwarts. Spell by spell, she redid the room....fat pillows and warm, soft duvet for the bed, a thick rug on the floor, two sets of bookshelves that she took out of Hermione's trunk and restored, a comfortable armchair to read in, Hermione's working desk, with its pigeonholes for sorting and storing parchment rolls, and a wardrobe and two dressers.
Ginny peeped in to see her mother briskly unpacking Hermione's possessions with a spell, wand directing books to shelves, clothes into wardrobes and drawers, and a nightgown and knickers laying themselves out tactfully on the bed. She stood there, amazed.
"WOW, Mum! I didn't know you could do this!"
"It would have been stupid to do it for your brothers," she said, briskly. "Although Ron does seem to be less destructive than Fred and George." She yawned as a final flick of her wand lit lamps beside the reading chair in the corner and the bed, spilling a welcoming, cozy golden light over the room. "However, it's been some time since I did all that at once.
"She needs a space of her own, " Molly continued. "That's why I didn't just put her in with you... women need their own space more than men do, I find."
Ginny went over and hugged her mother, with great relief. "How do you know so much, Mum?"
Molly laughed. "Experience and observation. When I get her to bed, I want to talk to you, all right?
"Sure..." Ginny said, as her mother walked out of the room, and Hermione, looking rather young in bathrobe and bare feet, walked in, and gaped with shock.
"How...I mean, who....
"I wasn't going to make you sleep with residue from the twin's last project before their move coating the walls, " said Molly, returning with a small vial of potion in her hand.
"It's lovely," she said, dazedly. "I don't know how..."
"No thanks necessary, Hermione," said Molly. "Understand me, this is yours, until such time as you get your own flat and move out. Your own space."
"I..."
"And now," Molly said briskly, "put on your night clothes and drink this."
"What is it?"
"Dreamless Sleep potion. A good thing to keep around the house for occasional use."
Hermione nodded. She got dressed, and then took the vial from Molly's hand and drank it.
"Now, dear, do you want me or Ginny to stay with you until you fall asleep?"
"G...Ginny, please... if you don't mind....?"
"I don't mind," said Ginny.
Molly Weasley crossed over to Hermione, gave her a brisk hug, and kissed her on the forehead. "Now into bed with you, before that takes effect."
She got into bed, and Ginny kicked her shoes off, slid in from the other side, and pulled her into an embrace. Molly Weasley shut the door, and went downstairs to tell Arthur what was going on.
"She's asleep, Mum," said Ginny, padding downstairs in stocking feet.
"I didn't think it would take long to work, under the circumstances," said her mother. She was sitting in her chair, her knitting in her lap, and her father was buried in a journal article over on the couch. Ginny took the chair across from her, and sighed.
"Do you think she will be okay? She's seriously burnt her bridges."
"I think so," Molly said, setting her knitting aside. "She's quite strong, really. It's going to be tough for her for a bit, but at least she has the summer to get her equilibrium back before she goes back to school....IS she going back? If she left like that her parents..."
"I suppose she is..." Ginny frowned. "She's probably going to be Head Girl next year, she CAN'T not go back."
"There is an answer to this, you know, ladies," said Arthur Weasley. He put down the journal, walked over to the parlor fireplace and lit it with a flick of his wand, then tossed in a pinch of Floo powder. "Albus Dumbledore's offices" he said, and put his head into the fire. "Albus, if you're free, we need a word."
Presently his amiable white-bearded features appeared in the fire. "Yes, Arthur, how's all your family? I trust young Ron and Ginny got home safely?"
"Yes, we're all well. Apparently, however, Hermione Granger has had a parting of the ways with her family. She showed up here about an hour ago with everything she owned in her pockets, white as a sheet. Molly sent her off to bed with some Dreamless Sleep, and thinks she'll be all right in the end. But of course under the circumstances we were concerned about whether or not she would be financially able to finish at Hogwarts."
"Oh, I don't think that shall be a problem, Arthur," said Dumbledore genially. "I think in her case a scholarship could be found to cover room and board and books, and I am sure that she can manage the other necessities of life on her own, perhaps with a little help from her friends. After all, it's only one more year. I daresay this is over Miss Granger's being....not exactly the girl her parents thought, hm?"
"You'd be right, Albus," said Molly. "She...provoked a confrontation on the issue."
"Hm," he said thoughtfully. "Courageous, but I would expect nothing less. By the way, there'll be a letter arriving for her soon that should make her feel a little better." He winked. "But, I will leave you to your family. Do take care, all of you, and enjoy your holiday."
When Dumbledore winked out, Arthur turned to Molly and Ginny, and Ron, who wandered in about then. "Provoked a confrontation?" He raised a brow.
"Ginny went to hug her goodbye at the station, and Hermione laid a kiss on her that was hot enough to make a dead man's wand stiff, " said Ron. He then ducked his head when his mother and sister both hissed, "RON!" at him, grinning as he watched his sister turn as red as her hair.
"Ah," said Arthur, cultivating a careful air of detachment as he noticed his daughter's embarassment. "In front of her parents, I take it."
"Um, yes," said Ginny. "I wasn't expecting it. At all. I asked her why, before she went to sleep, and she said it was so they couldn't ignore it or rationalize it away."
"That's what I thought, " said Molly. "Ginny, I take it that she's never been close to her parents?"
"She calls them Mother and Father," said Ginny. "And from the letters....it's all about be perfect so you can look good for the university, and who are you dating and we'll give you hell if it's not some uppercrust twit."
"They send her money for birthday and Christmas," said Ron. "So she can buy her own presents. Always have, even the first couple years. "
"And she said that they go through her drawers, read her letters, stuff like that, " Ginny added.
"No wonder she chose that method, "said their father, and, unexpectedly, he laughed. "I bet it embarassed the hell out of them, too."
"From the looks of things, yes, " said Molly. "I'll admit, it embarassed me too, it was entirely too intimate for the setting."
"You, Mum, how do you think I felt?!" said Ginny, and flushed bright red again when her brother glanced at her.
"Still, " her father said, squashing them both. "Does she have any...I mean, is she...."
"She's planning to go to college, " said Ginny. "And she said something about having money in trust for her when she turns eighteen. "
"Which is..."
"In November."
"So she'll just have things tight for a bit, then, "said Arthur, nodding. "That will be okay, then."
"She's been doing some tutoring and getting a couple Sickles here and there for that," said Ron. "Of course, I don't know how much, but she was managing nicely even when her parents stopped sending her pocket money."
"When was this?" said Ginny, surprised. This was HER girlfriend, after all!
"I was watching her with her letters," said Ron. "Normally she opens them, tilts them, and the enclosure falls into her other hand to be tucked in her bag, and then she reads her letter. But the "stuff check in bag" step's been missing since...oh, since about Easter. I'm sorry to put it like that, Gin, but I only just added everything up this moment."
" 'S'okay, Ron. That was about when she started seriously tutoring," said Ginny, thoughtfully. "And started worrying a lot more about the whole issue with her parents. She'd been more withdrawn and silent lately...she reassured me it wasn't us, it was the parent issue, and so I didn't pry, but that would explain it."
"That and the Slytherin gits," said Ron.
"Oh?" said Ginny.
Ron looked uncomfortable. "It...well... You were there when Malfoy tried to stir up shit on the train coming home last time, I know, Gin," he began. She nodded. "And...you wouldn't know this cause you don't sit classes with us, most of the time....he and his lot...you know, Crabbe, Goyle, Avery...couple others... they stare at her in class. And they talk about her a lot. And I was noticing that just before break, if they were in Potions and doing a lab class, if she had to go past one of them they made sure she had to push through. I wouldn't be surprised if a few words are going with that, too."
"Because she's gay?" said Ginny, in surprise.
"Well," said Molly, "because she's the best student, and she's one of Harry Potter's best friends and so a bit of a celebrity, also. But that's got something to do with it, yes..."
"From my experience as a male," said Arthur, "and observing the others of my gender, there is a type of male that only wants what he can't have."
"Now I feel bad for not seeing all this, " said Ginny. Her mother came over and gave her a hug.
"Dear, it took all of us sitting here and talking to put the pieces together. Don't feel bad. We've got the summer to help her get strong."
"Thanks, Mum," she said, a hint of tears in her voice. "I...I'm tired. I think I'll go to bed myself."
"An excellent idea. Ron, I suspect you're tired too," said their mother.
"Oh, yes, " said Ron, taking the hint. He kissed his mother, said, "Good night, dad," and went upstairs after Ginny.
"You know, Arthur, she didn't know what to do when I hugged her goodnight," said Molly quietly to her husband. "I wonder how long it's been since her mother did that."
"If she ever did," said Arthur. "Well, it looks like we've got us another daughter over the summer." He sighed, but there was a twinkle in his eye that made the complaint a fond old one. "You always were one to take in strays, Molly."
"You knew it when you married me, dear."
"Yes, I believe I was one...ah, well. Come to bed, Molly," he said, holding his hand out to her. She waved her wand to shut the lights off, and walked upstairs with him, hand in hand.
They paused on the landing. The door was open, and from the light that leaked in from the hall they could see Crookshanks curled on the foot of her bed, protectively. Hermione was curled into a ball, but there was a tension there that even the Dreamless Sleep couldn't remove, evident in hands and shoulders and the nape of her neck.
Molly felt her husband pull her back against him, and kiss the top of her head. "It'll be okay," he whispered, and they turned and went into their room.
* * *
When Hermione woke, for a moment she was disoriented. Then, memory returned with the sound of Molly's voice drifting up the stairs and saying, "Ron! No, before you get involved with things, I want you to degnome the garden. It's been ages since it got done properly, one bit my ankle when I went outside to let Crookshanks back in, " and Ron complaining about it. She looked around her room...it was her room, she remembered Mrs. Weasley saying something about it being hers until she moved out. At the time, she'd been surprised that she'd not just been put to bed in Ginny's room, but she was rather grateful now.It was nice to have her own area in which to put on a face to present to the world. She unbraided her hair, used her usual curl management charms on it, and looked in the dresser drawers for her clothes. Jeans and a t-shirt felt good, and she slid on sneakers before she glanced at herself in the mirror.
It was a Muggle mirror, since it was from her old bedroom, and it didn't talk, which was just as well. Today she didn't want to hear it. She didn't think she looked too bad, considering, though. Circles under her eyes, true, shadows behind them, and a drawnness to her complexion she hadn't seen since she got the flu last. But it was amazing how good a hot bath and a full night's sleep were for the emotions. A little stunned, she decided, but....really, not bad. Doable. Able to interact with others. Yes. She decided she would feel better after a cup of coffee, and went downstairs.
"Hello, dear, " said Molly. "Are you a coffee or a tea person? We have both in this house."
"Coffee, please," said Hermione, and watched as a cup soared out of the cabinet and set itself down in front of her, and the coffeepot drifted over and poured her a cup. The sugar basin and cream jug hovered nearby, and she said, "Two lumps, light on the cream." and let them do their thing. Stirring her coffee, she said, "Where's Ginny?"
"Not up yet, " said Molly. "Given her way she sleeps all day, and it IS holiday. And, no, I don't mind if it takes you an hour or two to wake her up, either. Just so you know. You two are old enough that in the muggle world you could be on your own, working...I'm not going to have a fit about that or make you sneak about. In return, I ask you that you keep your public displays of affection to things that won't get you in trouble at Hogwarts, and ward the room. Fair enough?"
"Um, yes," said Hermione, feeling shellshocked.
"Now, anything else for breakfast? I've got cinnamon rolls."
"That sounds fine," Hermione said, dazedly, and watched as one floated over on a plate and settled in front of her. The first bite drenched her chin in sugary yeasty cinnamon goodness, and she looked about for...ah, there. Let's see... she thought, and said Accio! concentrating very hard on the napkin...and, to her delight, saw it rise up and drift over into her hand.
Applause behind her startled her, and she turned in her chair to see Molly smiling at her. "You are very good, if you can do wandless summonings. I see no one was exaggerating."
Hermione blushed. "Well, it's my first, and it wasn't that good...."
"Good enough," said Molly, with a shrug, twitching her wand at the teapot to get it to refill her teacup. Unsurprisingly, Hermione thought, Molly took hers strong and plain. "I never could manage, and neither can nine wizards out of ten."
"Oh....well... um...thanks. I want to see if I can't get it more solid, though."
"Well, of course. A good Accio! could save your life sometime," said Molly pragmatically. "I'd love to learn the trick of it myself."
"Well, I just concentrated and...called....it, with the word at the height of the call," said Hermione.
"Hm," said Molly. She looked across the kitchen at where the cinnamon rolls sat. Her eyes narrowed in concentration, making her look much like Ron. Accio! she said, and much to her surprise the pan of rolls on the counter rose, wavered, and settled.
"Well, how about THAT!" cried Molly, joy on her face.
"See, you CAN do it!" said Hermione, delighted beyond measure with the joy that always filled her when someone understood. "Now you know you can, do it again, and hold the concentration. You don't have a wand to do it for you, so you have to hold it until the rolls get here."
"That makes sense," Molly said. She tried again and held the concentration, face tense with the strain, as the pan rose and drifted across to the table, then released it. The pan thunked down, and she was shining with pride. "Oh, wow. This is fabulous, Hermione! But it's awfully hard work, isn't it?"
"Well, yeah, I think so. I just didn't bring my wand down this morning, and wanted a napkin for the cinnamon roll..."
"So you tried it. Fabulous. Why didn't you bring your wand?"
"It's in my trunk, yet. I'm not used to wearing it with Muggle stuff."
Molly nodded. "Have you tried an arm holder?"
"No... what are those like?"
"This," said Molly, and flicked her wand with another summoning spell. It fell down on the table between them, and Hermione picked it up, curiously. It looked like a hammered silver bracelet, and she couldn't see what was so special about it.
"Watch," said Molly, and she slipped it on, latching the catch. She slid her wand down slightly in her hand, so the butt end of the wand touched the bracelet, and in a quick motion it pivoted and lay flush against the inside of her forearm, butt end held by the bracelet. She raised her arm up, and let Ginny see that the silver had changed when the wand touched it, running up the shaft of the wand to hold it firmly against the wearer's arm.
"And you release the wand like this," she said, extending her arm and shaking it in the motion that Hermione was familiar with that slid your wand back down your robe sleeve. The holder released, sliding the wand down into her hand, and she showed it to Hermione triumphantly as the holder returned to being a simple bracelet.
"Now, THAT is cool," Hermione said. "Wow."
"Would you like to borrow it?" said Molly, watching the surprise break over Hermione's face. "I've not been wearing it... around here, my wand's in my hand most of the time. And as a young witch you'll need it. Here," she said. "Finish your coffee, and go wake Ginny up, and when you come down have your wand with you. I've got to go make sure Ron isn't skimping on the job." And she fastened the bracelet around Hermione's right wrist, then picked her wand up from the table, and walked out the kitchen door. For lack of anything else to do with her surprise, Hermione drained her coffee, and went to wake up Ginny.
Ginny was curled up in her bed, red hair fuzzing around her head where strands had escaped from her braid, and facing firmly away from the window, whose thin curtains did not much block out the sunlight. Hermione looked at her, and thought that she was adorable when asleep. She pondered what to do, then kicked off her sneakers and slid in behind her. "Ginny..." she breathed in her ear, and slid her hand down over her hip and thigh in a deliberately sensuous feathering of fingers. "Wake uuuup....Ginny...."
"Mmmm," said Ginny, stretching and yawning, then rolling to face her. "Better than my alarm clock. What time is it, anyway?"
"Dunno. Daylight, and Ron was up. Your mom's got him de-gnoming the garden."
Ginny giggled, and said, "Well, I'll just let him have that delightful job all to himself. I've got more...interesting things at hand." And then she registered the sensations on her body. "You're already dressed, damn it."
"I can get naked," Hermione offered.
"Why don't you do that, then?"
Hermione laughed, and stripped off her t-shirt as her girlfriend slid out the other side of the bed and headed out for the bathroom.
When they finally came downstairs again, showered and hungry, Ron was coming in, having degnomed the garden.
"Nice to see you two can get out of bed," he grumbled.
"Oh, you're just annoyed cause you got caught to do the degnoming," returned Ginny. "I'm on holiday, I can sleep late. You could have too."
"Yeah, well, my body's not shifted off morning Potions yet," said Ron. "Hi, 'Mione. How you doing?"
"I'm okay," she said, consideringly, using her wand to summon herself another cup of coffee. "Gonna have to sit down and do some serious thinking, though."
"Yeah, you burned your bridges pretty good, from what little you said," Ginny commented, sitting down across from her and sipping her own coffee. "Hey, Mum made cinnamon rolls, good!"
"Yeah, but it was sooooo satisfying," said Hermione, with a wicked grin.
"Hey, 'Mione, before you think too hard, there's some mail here for you. From Hogwarts," Ron said, tossing two letters to her with a grin.
"Oookay... said Hermione.
She opened the first.
Dear Hermione:
By virtue of your abilities and reputation, you have been chosen as Head Girl of Hogwarts for the upcoming year. I am sure you will do the position much honor.
Very Sincerely Yours,
Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster
"Oooh, Hermione!" Ginny squealed, "how fabulous!"
"Congratulations, Hermione," Ron said, grinning broadly. "You're the best for the job, I agree."
"Of course, considering that I moved out, took everything I owned, and said I would change my name rather than blacken their closeminded reputation by being their daughter and a gay witch, I doubt I'll be able to afford to go next year," Hermione said. "I know it's not cheap."
"Open the other letter, " urged Ron.
Hermione sighed and opened it. And stared. And started to cry. Ginny snatched the parchement from her hand.
"Dear Miss Granger:
Hogwarts prides itself on the full and complete education of the best young witches and wizards in England. As such, we have been endowed by many distinguished alumni and sponsors in order to help us complete this mission. The Hieronymus Finch Scholarship, a full scholarship that includes tuition, books, and supplies, is hereby extended to you for the next school year. Please owl us your acceptance so that arrangements can be made as soon as possible.
Very Sincerely Yours,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
Ron and Ginny exchanged glances of happiness, and then Ron jerked his chin toward Hermione, who was still crying in shock, and in a relief of the tension of the last few days.
"Take her upstairs," he said, "I'll write her acceptance." They grinned in complete unity of purpose, and then Ginny bent to the task of getting an incoherently weeping Hermione up the stairs, while Ron tried to figure out where the desk, which got a little grumpy sometimes, had hidden the quills today. For some reason, it wasn't annoying him nearly as much as normal.
Author's Note:That's all for now, folks, but we're not done. Thanks to Dale Marisa for the name of Hieronymus Finch.
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