Separately Together Again

CHAPTER 2: IN WHICH HERMIONE REMINISCES OF THE GOOD OLE DAYS, GINNY AND HARRY GET AWKWARD, AND MALFOY MAKES A CAMEO

     Hermione stared into the water, slowly kicking her feet and watching the tiny waves move outward. The dock on which she sat was worn, from Fred and George jumping off of it on summer days and her and Ginny playing footsie on the very edge, whispering secrets to one another in the dead of night and holding hands and dreaming about the future. The rough wood was bringing memories rushing back to her, and she twisted arund to gaze at the Burrow, where she had spent many of her summers growing up. At the moment, the lights were off and the entire house seemed to be asleep.

     She'd been coming here for the past two days, always when she knew Mrs. Weasley was away or asleep. She had thought her life was perfect -- a Healer, with money, and a great, sensitive guy ... and then this. She'd thought they were just her past. She'd thought she'd left them behind her. She'd started over new. She was going to be Hermione Krum soon.

     But these were her best friends, the people she'd grown up with, shared secrets with, and in Ron's case, fallen in love with.

     So why did she feel like they were ruining everything?

     It wasn't that she didn't miss them. It was more like ... she didn't want them to see what she'd become. She'd spoken with Harry and she could tell he was just the same -- his voice a little deeper, his eyes a bit more haunted -- but still her Harry. And she knew Ron would still be Ron, the same loud, funny, speak-before-you-think kid -- er, man, -- that she grew up with.

     But Hermione had changed. There was no doubt about it. Her hair was still bushy, her nose still turned up in that superior-looking way, and her eyes still (in her opinion) boring brown. But she'd started wearing make-up and wearing pretty clothes that made her feel good about herself instead of walking around, completely oblivious as to what anyone thought of her figure. She was even more uptight than usual, and she was always checking her watch, ... if everyone saw her like this ... they'd know she was different, and she didn't want them to. She wanted them to go away and yet she needed them here.

     'Funny,' she thought bitterly to herself, trying not to notice the tears in her eyes as she slipped her legs out of the water, picking up her socks, 'how everything just works out like this ...'

     Harry entered the cramped office and stopped abruptly. Odd. It was empty.

     He cleared his throat. "Uh, Ginny?" he asked, breaking the silence, and immediately he heard a thump and a muffled, "Dammit!"

     A head popped up from behind the desk, glaring at him accusingly through a sheet of red hair, but Ginny's expression softened when she saw who it was.

     "Am I interrupting something?" Harry asked, trying to hide his smile. Ginny rolled her eyes.

     "No, no way, interrupt me? Why, whatever you need I'd be delighted to help you with, please, come to me for every tedious little thing you need done. I'm never busy, and nothing's more important to me than what you need. Gee, it sure is a good thing I'm not focused on something else, because you coming in here for no real reason would really piss me off."

     Harry sighed and tossed the file he'd brought onto her desk. "Fine," he said wearily. "I can take a hint." He turned to leave.

     "Wait, Harry," Ginny said, getting up. "Sorry. It's just, well, ... if it isn't one person coming in to give me more work, it's some idiot who doesn't know what they're doing and," she paused, rubbing her temples, "I'm just kinda stressed out." She smiled weakly at him. He managed a small grin back, and then walked around behind her.

     "What are you -- ohhh," she murmured, as her rubbed her shoulders. She rolled her head around on her neck. He laughed a little, and tried to ignore the pleasantly tingling sensation in his fingers at the touch of her skin.

     "How does that feel?" he asked, his voice breaking a little.

     "Mmmm, much better. Now, what is it you need?"

     She turned to face him, and Harry sucked in his breath. They were best friends, but he was always taken aback by how beautiful she was, and right now their faces were inches apart. His eyes traveled down to her lips, and for a second, time seemed to stop. Then Ginny turned away uncomfortably. She didn't speak.

     "Er, I ... I needed ..." What did he need? He shook his head for a second -- [I]"Just friends!!"[/I] his mind hissed -- and cleared his head. "I needed to give you the file report there, and also ... to tell you something ... " He was still trying to regain his composure. She turned to look at him, her face expressionless.

     "Oh?" she asked, pretending to be busy with some papers on her desk. There was a hint of anxiety in her voice.

     "Yeah, uh, do you remember Hermione Granger?"

     Ginny looked up at him, her eyebrow arched slightly. "Yes, I do."

     "She's coming to meet Ron and I for lunch at the Three Broomsticks tomorrow, and I -- er -- we wanted to know if you wanted to come."

     Ginny immediately froze. She stared at him for a second, and then her face broke into a huge grin. "Are you serious?!" she exclaimed, dropping the papers onto the floor.

     "Of course," said Harry, also smiling now. Thank God, the awkward moment was finally over.

     Ginny did a little skip and suddenly her jaw dropped. "Oh my God," she said, in a very school girlish way, "does Ron know?"

     Harry sighed. "Uh, Gin, I don't think Ron's as happy about this as you are."

     Ginny stared at him. "What do you mean? Why the hell not?"

     "Because the Mudblood's engaged."

     They both jumped a little at the voice from the doorway, and Draco Malfoy grinned at them. He tossed another folder onto Ginny's desk, who was speechless.

     "Malfoy?" Harry asked, unable to believe what he was seeing. Malfoy works for the Ministry?

     "The one and only," smirked Malfoy, clearly delighted at Harry's confusion. "And I expect I'll be seeing you an awful lot more now that my office is next to dear Ginevra's." Ginny suddenly found her voice.

     "You're shitting me," she said, standing slowly.

     "I shit you not, Weasel Queen," he snapped, and with a quick sneer at Harry he was gone. Harry immediately leapt up to follow him. Nobody called Ginny Weasley names, not if he had a say in it, and especially not if his wand was in proper working order.

     He flung open the door to Malfoy's office, reaching into his robes for his wand, and came face to face with Malfoy's wand, square between his eyes. Harry froze.

     "You need to take a step back," said Malfoy, in a husky voice. Harry stared at him, unmoving. Then he slowly edged backward.

     Malfoy nodded. "A bit more," he said, just loudly enough for Harry to hear him.

     "No," said Harry firmly, but Malfoy moved the wand so close to his head he felt it graze the skin lightly.

     "[I]Yes[/I]," he muttered. "Just a bit."

     Harry grudgingly took a miniscule step backward and at once, the door slammed in his face, and he was left staring at the white-painted wood. He sighed and leaned his head against the door for a moment, then walked back to Ginny's office, where she looked at him anxiously.

     "Well?" she said impatiently, crossing her arms. "Did you kick his ass?"

     "No," Harry admitted, frowning. "But rest assured I will, if he ever unlocks the door."

     Ginny nodded, and then she smiled.

     "So, where's Ron, anyways?"

     "At home, taking a nap," Harry answered heavily, but Ginny snorted.

     "A nap? Yeah right, more like beating his meat at the thought of seeing Hermione again."

     Harry stared at her for a second, not sure whether to laugh or make a face, and then decided on both.

     "You sick minded little girl."

     "I get it from my brothers," she admitted, and Harry watched as she sorted files, her hands smoothly placing them in the correct folders, and found himself hypnotized. She was beautiful, wasn't she? Ginny paused, looking up at him, and he felt himself go red.

     "I should get back to work," he said quickly, and he abruptly turned to go down to his office. However, Ginny called him back.

     "Yeah?" he asked, pausing in the doorway.

     "So ... can I still come to you guys' lunch thing?"

     He stared at her. "Of course," he replied, amazed she had to ask. "It's at 2 o'clock tomorrow at the Three Broomsticks."

     "Good," she said, smiling at him prettily before biting her lip. "Then ... it's a date."

     Their gazes locked for a split second, but then Ginny immediately looked back down at what she was doing. He nodded, more to himself than her, and managed to make it all the way to his office before his knees gave way and he collapsed into his chair. 'A date,' he mused, staring at the ceiling. 'Indeed.'

~~~~~~~~~~

     Ginny stared at the file on her desk, blushing furiously. That had been an awkward confrontation between her and Harry. They'd become more and more frequent, more and more awkward ... and she was hating it. Damn Harry's cowardice. And she used to think him brave -- ha. He couldn't ask her out, for Heaven's sake, ... and the time had come for drastic action. If she planned her moves carefully, she'd have a date with Mr. Potter by the end of the week.

     She smiled a little, and remembered the way he'd looked at her. He mus've been two inches from her face ... why had she pulled away? Oh, yeah, that's right, because she's an idiot? And maybe because ... well ....

     She leaned back in her chair, staring at the ceiling Perhaps she had pulled back from him because she was just as scared of this relationship as he was.