Sometimes It Be That Way

Sometimes It Be That Way ...The Beginning of a Memory

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'They say that Jesus loves you...

Well, what about me?'

~ Jewel, Jesus Loves You

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That day was one that Hermione would never forget. Indeed, it could never have been erased from her memory, even if she had been tortured by the Dark Lord for all eternity and had lost all her memory. That picture of the red-haired girl standing on her doorstep of her house in the suburbs outside of London one night.

Hermione remembered she had been reading a book on the couch in the living room. She had been waiting for her parents to come home for dinner and was eating an apple. The sky outside had already darkened considerably and in the back of her mind she wondered if she should cook her own supper just in case they didn't come home until very late.

She had been reading a particularly interesting passage in the book about ancient magic forms when the doorbell rang. Assuming that it wasn't her parents since they would have obviously used their keys, she put down the book and went to the door to open it.

The sky outside was quite clear and millions of stars could be seen. The air was cool and crisp despite the fact that it was only the beginning of summer. But that wasn't what had startled her. It was the fact that the youngest sibling of the Weasleys and their only daughter was standing on the front porch, her eyes red and puffy and an extremely nervous look on her face that startled her.

"Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I had no where else to go," Ginny half-sobbed. She looked at the street and asked anxiously, "Can I come in?"

Hermione jumped and recollected her manners. She opened the door wider and said, "Yes, of course, come in, come in." Ginny moved into the foyer a little nervously, as if some odd monster was going to pop out at her and devour her alive. "Would you like anything to drink?" Hermione asked, bringing her into the kitchen at the end of the foyer.

Ginny sat down at a stool that was situated at the counter. She shook her head and said, "No, I'm fine."

"Okay," Hermione mumbled. She herself sat down across from Ginny on a stool. Somehow, she could feel the intensity of this situation weigh in on her ominously as if it was going to crush her and Ginny. She looked down at her hands, which were clenched together, and wondered whether it would be appropriate if she broke the silence that seemed to be stretching to great distances between them. After awhile, she decided she should let Ginny tell her whatever it was that Ginny had come here to tell her. She looked up and examined her friend's face intently.

Ginny somehow looked older and more mature. The skin on her face seemed to be stretched, as if it didn't fit her anymore. The only skin that wasn't tight was the bags under her eyes, showing the fact that she seemed to have lost at least a little bit of sleep. Her mouth was stretched into a thin line as well, and her hair looked ragged, unkempt.

The air was tense around Ginny. She seemed as if she was about to explode about something, or as if she had this dark secret that she desperately wanted to tell everyone only she couldn't. After a longer silence, Hermione started to wonder if the Dark Lord had taken hold of Ginny again and was controlling her, something that Ginny had been all too familiar with in the past.

When finally Ginny spoke, her lips seemed to stretch further. Her eyes filled up with tears and her voice became a little husky. "I had no where else to go," she started again. "There was no where else I could turn to. My family wouldn't understand. I couldn't possibly tell them. You were the only one I thought of telling this to."

Hermione listened, patiently waiting for what Ginny had to say. She didn't want to rush her in fear of making her feel not wanted. She cocked her head to one side and waited out the small silence that seemed to grow out of Ginny's misery.

"I've been lying awake for a while now," Ginny began again, satisfied that she could continue on without breaking down, "debating on what I should do and what I should tell everyone. I don't want them to see me for the screw-up I seemed to be after my first year. I don't want people to baby me or think that I couldn't take care of myself. I don't want them to stay away from me, expecting me to grow horns and fangs and chase them, trying to eat them.

"To them, I'm just a little girl who will never grow up, never become someone, and never survive. They think that all I'll do is screw up again, and I proved them right."

She lapsed into silence again, tears running down her cheeks. The way she talked was almost disturbing. To Hermione, she sounded as if she were going crazy. She decided she had to ask Ginny what she meant. She couldn't bear the curiosity any longer.

"Please," she said gently, taking one of Ginny's hands in hers. "Tell me what has gotten you so upset." When Ginny didn't answer, but only continued to stare at something on the counter, she prodded further. "Ginny? What's wrong?"

Ginny finally looked straight at Hermione, the first time she had done since she arrived that night. Her eyes were wide and full of fear. She shook her head, probably at something she had just thought, or else it was at Hermione's question. But she took a deep, shaky breath and said in a strangely calm voice for someone who was about to break down, "I'm pregnant." She shook her head again and more fresh tears fell down her cheeks. "I'm pregnant," she then sobbed. She put her head into her hands and broke down completely.

Hermione felt as if she couldn't move. Now, she understood why the air had seemed so heavy and tense, and it shocked her immensely to find out that Ginny Weasley was pregnant. She quickly got hold of her bearings though and went to comfort Ginny, taking her in her arms and letting the younger girl sob. She stroked her hair soothingly and sat on a stool beside Ginny's to get more comfortable. She rocked back and forth with Ginny in her arms, trying to think of something to say. But for once, words failed her and she fell to just comforting Ginny.