Between the Cracks // 𝓕𝓻𝓮𝓭 𝓦𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓵𝓮𝔂

54. Love Declarations

Might be the longest chapter to date actually

Chapter 54: Love Declarations

The Gryffindor common room was growing stuffy, the fire roaring wildly in the fireplace sucking all the air out of the room. No one complained though, instead enjoying the rare moment of warmth which managed to remain within the stone walls.

The first day of mocks was officially over, and the mixture of relief and weariness coursing through everyone's veins was palpable in the crowded space.

Hermione sat in the sofa chair by the fire, casually reading some of her final notes for tomorrow, while both Ron and Leigh sat static in the couch, both having accepted their fatigued destiny for tonight. Nova was off to the Ravenclaw common room.

Ron, sitting in the corner of the couch closest to Hermione, nudged Leigh with his elbow. He met her gaze with a crooked smile. "Hermione's parents invited me for Christmas, did I tell you?" he asked sheepishly.

Leigh nodded, smiling faintly back at him. "You did."

"Oh," Ron spoke and smiled bashfully. Hermione had turned her gaze to them, following their conversation despite occasionally glancing back to her notes. "Figures," Ron added. "I'm really excited." His face soon fell from an enthusiastic expression to a fearful one. "And nervous."

Hermione smiled as she entered the conversation. "There's nothing to be nervous about! You've already met them."

Ron didn't seem to find solace in her words at all, still looking as nerve-wrecked as before. "Yeah for about 10 minutes. Not 10 days," he replied, emphasising his words and looking uneasy.

Hermione chuckled, placing a comforting hand on his arm. "It'll be fine. They love you."

He pushed a thankful smile upon his lips before glancing towards Leigh. "Or so we hope," he spoke. Hermione looked at him with a knowing and adoring look, acknowledging his half-jokingly frightened tone.

He stood up, stretching briefly. "I'm going to go find Harry. We were thinking of pulling some people together for some Quidditch after the break. A bit of a, uh.., de-stress thing...I suppose," he uttered and nodded at his own words.

"Okay," Hermione responded sweetly, accepting a kiss on the cheek before Ron trailed off towards the dorms, Hermione's gaze following him as he went.

Once he was out of sight she turned to Leigh. "Honestly, I'm almost a bit nervous too," she spoke quietly, voice verging on a giggle. "Don't tell him though."

Leigh returned the gentle smile. "I won't."

Hermione's eyes remained on Leigh for another moment, appearing like a thought was growing behind her eyes. Finally, she spoke again. "I'm sorry for asking, and you don't have to answer at all...but how do you do it? Keeping them obliviated? Your parents I mean. I can't even begin to understand."

Not expecting the inquiry, Leigh took a second to register the question before shrugging softly. "Used to it I suppose," she spoke, giving her friend a faint sideways smile.

Despite the vague response, Hermione's gaze remained on her, still waiting patiently. While Leigh didn't feel especially motivated to recount her whole parent situation, she still didn't really mind Hermione's curiosity. After all, she understood why she was interested – on paper they seemed to be in a similar position, both being muggleborn. But on closer inspection it seemed like they couldn't be more different.

It was what it was – what happened had happened, and she knew better than to take it personally anymore. Time went on. She didn't mind talking about it, but just wasn't sure how to delve into it here and now. After all, it had been a massive decision to keep her parents obliviated, and a lot of things, past experiences, and interactions had fed into it. It was difficult to catch someone up on something so big in such a limited time. There was always a risk that you weren't able to give as accurate a view as you would've hoped, leaving listeners with the impression that maybe, just maybe, you were the horrible person in the scenario all along. Although Leigh steadfastly knew that she wasn't, the prospect of being in such a situation was intimidating. Still, she decided to attempt to give a balanced explanation.