Day by Day

DAY BY DAY

By Lady Jane

Chapter Seven: "The One That's Mainly About Ginny Talking to Hermione"

Wednesday

Hermione looked up from the book she was reading when Priscilla walked into her office, Ginny Weasley hot on her heels. Hermione could see Ginny was glaring at Priscilla, but smiled as she looked at Hermione, rolling her eyes.

'Hermione, Ginny's just popped in for a visit and it's nearly lunchtime, so why don't the three of us go to The Burning Broomstick for lunch?' suggested Priscilla brightly.

Hermione could see Ginny shaking her head in exasperation as she stood behind Priscilla and smiled.

'Sorry Priscilla, but I really need to talk to Ginny alone about some research I've been doing for her,' Hermione said apologetically. She'd arranged this meeting with Ginny that morning.

Priscilla looked crestfallen and not a little put out. She loved having lunch with Ginny - she always had the juiciest tidbits of gossip.

Ginny, giving Hermione an exasperated look, touched Priscilla gently on the arm to get her attention, saying, 'How about we go to lunch tomorrow Priscilla, to make up for it?'

Priscilla immediately brightened and when Hermione agreed that yes, she could also make it, Priscilla happily left them, closing the door behind her. The permanent Silencing Charm on Hermione's office door took effect the second it clicked closed and Ginny dropped into one of the arm chairs in front of Hermione's desk, shaking her head, a rueful smile on her face.

'That Priscilla - she's an indefatigable gossip! As soon as I walked in she positively sprinted over to me and latched on.'

Hermione laughed. 'So true! But she has a good heart and you are such a softy, Ginny, you didn't have to ask Priscilla to lunch tomorrow! Just make sure you don't tell her anything you wouldn't want spread throughout the Department within twenty four hours! Now, tell me, I've been dying of curiosity, what happened with Malfoy on Monday night?'

Ginny sat up straighter, nodding.

'Right, but first, let me tell you something. He popped in for a visit last night.'

Hermione's mouth dropped open. 'What?!' she cried.

Ginny told her what had happened the previous night.

'How the hell did he get in?' asked Hermione a few minutes later.

Ginny shrugged. 'He said he'd tell me - or might tell me - on Friday night.'

'Do you know what you're going to ask him, talk to him about, on Friday night?' inquired Hermione.

Ginny nodded. 'Oh, yes! But let me tell you about Monday night first. You know of course how our Editor, Ida, arranged for me to meet Malfoy in the Leaky Cauldron late that night,' Hermione nodded, 'well, he kept his hood on - I couldn't see his face, I'm sure he'd used a Concealing Charm - anyway, he said that he will only do an interview over dinner on Friday night and that I was to book the table and we would basically pretend to be a couple. He even told me that I had to call him Draco!'

Hermione looked horrified for her friend.

'You have to have dinner in public with Draco Malfoy? Bloody hell, Ginny, what will Dean say?'

'Don't worry about that. After dinner I'll be going over to Dean's to explain it all to him. There's no way I'd want him to find out from anyone but me to make sure he gets the truth. We're actually having dinner on Saturday night ourselves.'

'I guess,' said Hermione, 'that it's probably a good thing you'll be in public with him. That memo I Flooed you about had me worried, I must say. A late night meeting in a pub - a little scary.'

Ginny rolled her eyes. 'I can't believe how efficient the Law Enforcement Department can be at times! Then again, maybe whoever was giving Ida information about Malfoy was also telling someone from Law Enforcement - perhaps not even knowing they were Law Enforcement. I must say when you Flooed me and asked me what the hell was I doing meeting Malfoy in the Leaky Cauldron that night you could've knocked me down with a feather! Also, I've been wondering, who was it that sent you the memo?'

Hermione smiled. 'Neville Longbottom, of course. He knew better than to send it to Ron, naturally.'

Ginny groaned. 'Oh, hell! Imagine if Ron got wind of this? Actually, I don't want to think about that!'

Hermione laughed at the comical expression on Ginny's face, then continued. 'Okay, tell me, has Ida given you any more information about Malfoy?'

Ginny shook her head. 'I rather think she's sitting back and waiting to see how much initiative I'm going to show. And whether I'm prepared to use my "contacts in the Ministry" as she so delicately called you and Ron. Actually, I didn't think of Neville - and I should have!'

'Well, Neville and I have talked and he's told me this: Malfoy did give them information that has led to them arresting another four Death Eaters. Malfoy told them he simply wanted to get out of Azkaban and since he'd turned traitor on those Death Eaters, they could be sure he wouldn't be going back to his old circle of "friends" or his old way of life.'

'The ones still left will probably go after him, anyway,' put in Ginny.

Hermione nodded. 'With his parents both dead and their property confiscated, he really has nowhere to go. Law Enforcement have put him up in a rather awful flat not far from the Leaky Cauldron. But even they don't expect him to stay alive terribly long, considering what he did and how vengeful Death Eaters are.'

'So he does need the money we're paying him for the interview,' Ginny mused.

'Absolutely,' replied Hermione. 'You can be sure he's hating living where he is. You know what he's like.'

Ginny nodded, a bitter smile on her lips. 'Getting his just desserts.'

'What goes around, comes around, Ginny.'

The smile left her face as she remembered her sneering tone of voice when asking Malfoy if he was doing this because he needed the money. I won't lower myself to that level again, she promised herself. I'm doing no less than Malfoy used to. She shivered, hating the fact that she'd spoken like that, ashamed that it had felt good at the time.

Ginny sat back in her chair, saying in a much lighter voice, 'Forget Malfoy for the moment! Tell me about you and Harry. How's it going?'

Hermione gave a heartfelt groan, making Ginny laugh.

She told her how Harry had looked after her on the Sunday after their girls' night.

'You're lucky! I had to look after myself!' laughed Ginny.

'It was nice,' she said, 'and the soup was delicious! He's a much better cook than I am. Then, he came and took me out to lunch on Monday which was lovely and he said he's going to do that once a week from now on.'

Ginny raised an eyebrow as she spoke. 'Really? Now why would he do that?'

Hermione looked puzzled. 'Why not?'

Ginny shook her head, smiling. How could Hermione not see that as a sign that Harry wanted to see her more, wanted to spend time with her - wanted to please her? Because that's exactly what it implied to her!

'Just continue,' she told Hermione, still smiling.

'Well, last night was a little strange. Harry cooked dinner - he usually does, now - it was delicious, his own spaghetti recipe - and we had a bottle of red wine.'

'What's so strange? You said Harry usually cooks every night didn't you?'

'Well, he cooks dinner nearly every night, now, but we don't drink a bottle of red wine every night, which is just as well, considering...' Hermione's voice drifted off as she fell into her own memory of last night.

'You're making me ask, aren't you? Considering what?'

Giving a little start, Hermione refocused on Ginny. 'Sorry, just off with the fairies...'

'So I could see,' said Ginny then when Hermione suddenly sat up perfectly straight, a look of horror on her face, causing Ginny to cry out, 'What is it? Hermione, what's wrong?'

Hermione fell back into her chair. 'Oh, shit.'

Ginny clenched her teeth. 'For pity's sake, what?!'

'Fairies...' murmured Hermione.

Ginny raised her voice. 'Hermione!'

Hermione looked at her friend, her eyes blank. Ginny stood up and walked around to sit on the edge of Hermione's desk, turning the chair Hermione occupied so that they were facing each other.

'Hermione, I don't want to have to slap you, but if you don't blink and close your mouth right now, I'm going to do just that. For your own good.'

Hermione closed her mouth, blinked a few times and groaned, her head dropping forward.

'Out with it,' ordered Ginny.

So Hermione explained about last night. How she'd been sitting at the bench, drooling over Harry as he prepared dinner, having Harry see her drooling over him, telling him she was off with the fairies ('Which is what made me remember, when I said the same thing to you,' she told Ginny). Then saying her silly expression was because of work and because of a problem a friend had that she was worried about - Ginny guessing she'd been talking about her - and how Harry had hugged her and she'd cried and then everything had seemed fine and they'd ended up falling asleep on the lounge.

'Sounds innocent enough. Why the horrified look?' asked Ginny.

'When I think back, there's no way he could've missed the expression on my face. I was kidding myself. I may as well have written "I fancy you madly" on my forehead. He was just being nice when he accepted my explanation.'

Ginny shook her head in exasperation. 'Hermione, why the hell don't you just tell him? Whatever comes out of it, it'd have to be better than continuing like this! Your imagination is going haywire and besides, surely he wouldn't've curled up on the lounge and gone to sleep with you if he felt uncomfortable with you in any way for any reason!'

Hermione thought about sleeping on the lounge with Harry, blushing, groaning at the memory of waking up and checking out Harry's "bulge".

'What now?' cried Ginny and so Hermione told her, knowing Ginny would never betray her confidence.

'Woh! Well, that's normal for a man. He was probably having a wonderfully erotic dream. Maybe about you!' she said, smiling wickedly.

'Actually, he did say he was having a dream when I woke him up...'

'So, what rating would you give him? Small? Medium? Large?' asked Ginny slyly, watching Hermione.

'Ginny!' she squealed, then she blushed again, and smiled, looking down.

'I'd say that was a "Large"!' exclaimed Ginny, laughing at Hermione's discomfiture.

Hermione suddenly looked miserable as she said, 'Ginny, it's driving me crazy but I just don't know what to do! You can't seriously expect me to sit Harry down out of the blue and just tell him I love him and would he please take me to bed?! No one does that!'

'More's the pity,' murmured Ginny under her breath. 'Leave it with me,' she said out loud. 'I'll put my thinking cap on and get back to you.' But she already knew exactly what she was going to do.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Ron looked up from his desk, disappointed that his visitor wasn't Luna, but happy to see his little sister. She'd told him to get himself up, they were going to lunch, just the two of them. Since he hadn't had lunch yet, Ron happily conceded although he was a little puzzled when Ginny took him to a Muggle café rather than a wizard pub.

Sipping their coffee while waiting for their meals, Ginny explained she didn't want to risk any interruptions which is why she'd chosen a Muggle café where it would be highly unlikely they'd come across someone they knew. She then asked him if Harry had told him anything unusual, or special, the previous Saturday night when they'd all gone to the Wanderers' Club, especially anything to do with Hermione. Ginny knew immediately by the expression on Ron's face that she'd hit "paydirt".

'So he did. Tell me,' she said firmly.

'Well, I don't know, Ginny. Should I do that? I mean, Harry didn't say so, but usually these are things your mates tell you in confidence.'

'I know, and usually I wouldn't ask. But there's something I have to tell you and it's very important you don't let on you know to anyone, but especially to Harry.'

Ron cocked his head, giving her his full attention.

Ginny kept it simple. She told him that on that same Saturday night Hermione had admitted that she "had strong feelings" for Harry but didn't think she stood a chance.

Ron chuckled. 'Pair of prats. So what do we do?'

'I think they just need a nudge - at least I hope that's all they need. I swear sometimes you wouldn't know they're both actually quite smart - especially Hermione! All right, here's what I think we should do...'

That night at Dean's place, as she lay on the lounge with him, her head in his lap, listening to music, Ginny smiled to herself, feeling very satisfied with her life at the moment. If she did a good enough job on the interview with Malfoy she was hoping it could mean a promotion, so work was going well. Her philandering brother had finally seemed to be settled down with wonderful woman who truly loved him. It looked as though two of her best friends would finally get together and to top it all off, she shifted her gaze to Dean's face to find him looking down at her, his brown eyes shining. She smiled lovingly at him, lifting her hand to gently caress his cheek. To top it all off, I have the love of a completely wonderful man. What more could a girl want?

TO BE CONTINUED...