Ron and Harry were arguing when Hermione met them at the burrow.
“NO! We CAN’T do that because NEITHER of us knows how!”Harry yelled
Ron’s face was red. Whether it was with rage or embarrassment, Hermione couldn’t tell.
“Just leave this to them. We won’t be able to handle it.”
“Handle what?” Hermione said curiously.
Harry looked over and jumped when he realized she’d appeared.
“Er-nothing. C’mon, let’s go inside, lunch is ready.”
There was no point in arguing with Harry. She’d just weasel it out of Ron later. As soon as she reached the kitchen, Ginny came tumbling after her, gripping her into a tight hug.
“I’m sorry, Hermione!” She said.
“F-f-for what?” Hermione sputtered as she gasped for breath.
Ginny pulled away, a questioning look on her face.
“Er, Malfoy, remember?”
“Oh, right. Come on, I’ll tell you about it.”
She didn’t want to talk about it in front of Harry or Ron. They hated him enough as it is. Ginny plopped down on the couch, her hair splashing against her cheek like flames were licking at her face.
“So, was it miserable?” she asked, folding her hands in her lap. She looked at Hermione with worry in her eyes.
Hermione sighed.
“It wasn’t THAT bad. I can handle Malfoy, trust me. He just needs to be put in his place. He honestly thinks he’s better than everyone else.”
Ginny nodded and rolled her eyes.
“Did he call you a mudblood?”
“Yes, several times, actually. Reminds me of school.” She chuckled a bit.
“Don't tell Harry this, but even being such a huge jerk to everyone, I used to think he was actually kind of handsome.” Ginny admitted, red tinting her cheeks.
Hermione looked shocked. She’d never really thought of Malfoy in that way. He actually was very nice-looking if she thought about it. She shook the thought from her head in disgust.
Any physical attribute that was good was outweighed by the dreadful personality he had.
“I suppose he is.” She managed.
Ginny’s expression turned sour.
“He’s an ar*se, though.”
Hermione nodded.
“So how are you, Ginny?” she asked politely.
Ginny frowned.
“Not good, now that you ask. Harry’s been a bit…distant, lately.”
“What do you mean?”
“He hasn’t talked to me much today… now that I think about it, he hasn’t really talked to anyone.”
Hermione thought about it, then said,
“Maybe it’s the whole Malfoy business? It’s really taken a toll on all of us. He got into a bit of an argument with him today. I guess that’s going to be expected, though.”
Ginny’s frown didn’t falter, it only got bigger.
“You should talk to him about it if it upsets you that much. You guys can talk about this kind of thing, you’ve been dating for a long time.”
“I guess you’re right. I’ll talk to him after the work day’s over.”
“OH! Ginny, that reminds me. I wanted to know if you’d like to share an office?”
Ginny smiled.
“Of course! I start on Monday, I think. I don’t have a lot of stuff to bring in, but I can bring our enchanted teapot .” She giggled.
“The spell’s wearing off, but I think we can fix it in no time.”
Hermione grinned and patted Ginny on the back.
“Hermione!” Ron ran into the room.
“Ron!” Hermione shouted back at him.
“Are you ok?”
“I’m fine. It wasn’t anything I couldn’t put up with. I am an adult, Ronald. A few words don’t hurt.” She smiled. “Thank you for your concern.”
He came over to her and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. It would have been a perfectly normal, non-awkward thing if he didn’t blush after he pulled away.
“Well, see you in the kitchen. We’re having sandwiches.”
He left the room, and Ginny busted into a fit of hysterics. Hermione glared at her.
“Honestly, Hermione, my brother worships the ground you walk on.” She said, wiping tears of laughter away from her eyes when her giggles subsided.
Hermione knew. She didn’t feel for Ron the same way he felt for her. She’d much rather they just keep it at a friendship level.
“Hermione, at one point, you know he’s going to ask you.” Ginny said seriously.
“I know… come on, I don’t want to think about it. Let’s eat!”
They stood up and walked into the kitchen. Hermione grabbed two sandwiches and a cup of
pumpkin juice.
“Hermione, everything went ok today, right?” Harry asked as she sat down.
Hermione sighed and said for the third time that day, “Yes, everything was fine. I’m a big
girl, now. I can handle a few rude comments.”
Harry simply nodded and returned to picking apart his sandwich. Ginny took a seat next to him and kissed the top of his head. He didn’t notice, he just continued to absently stare at his plate. Hermione could see where Ginny was a little put off by his behavior.
“What did you two get for your assignment?” Hermione inquired.
“We got stuck with being in charge of the tip mail. When someone thinks they know something suspicious, they send it to us, and we check it. It’s the most tedious thing ever.
Half of the senders are just jokers. ” Ron said miserably.
Hermione was thankful, but she’d never tell them that. At least they weren’t somewhere they could get hurt.
“And you’re doing the patrol?” Harry asked.
“Yeah, it’s going to be boring, too.”
“No, that sounds a lot less bloody boring than our job. At least you might get to see a LITTLE action.” Ron grumbled.
“Ron, you and Harry always get to go hunt for dark wizards. I am the one who gets stuck with the paperwork. Trust me, I deserve to have a crack at it, for once.”
“Yeah, Ron, shut it.” Ginny tacked on.
Hermione threw a smile in her direction.
“Bloody boring…” Ron muttered.
The rest of their lunch was quiet. Harry didn’t say much; he looked zoned out. Ginny had to go for a robe fitting at Madam Malkin’s, so the three decided to leave to go back to the Ministry. They’d be a bit early, but with all of the extra hands for the case, there’d be a lot of people there. They disapparated, not looking forward the rest of the day.
