fred&hermione - doing just fine on your own

chapter six

hermione's pov.

the warm, salty summer breeze hit me immediately. i could feel specks of sand graze my face gently as my cheeks warmed in the sunlight. the sun created this golden ambiance that seemed to surround us, but i couldn't help but feel that the company amongst us all made that soft, warm ambiance so much stronger. i was at peace, as i softly smiled to myself.

ginny crouched down in the sand, laying out a cream coloured woven blanket, made by molly's own fair hands, and placed the picnic basket on top. she settled herself in the sand and the rest of the group quickly approached, chattering and laughing. harry cosied up next to ginny, not to anyone's surprise, those two really were inseparable.

"any chance you two could ever leave each other alone?" george chimed, nudging harry gently.
"as if," fred piped up, "harry's 'the boy who lived', ginny wouldn't miss that for the world!"

fred fluttered his eyelashes flirtatiously, announcing harry's title in a posh voice. ginny smirks, trying to contain her laughter, blushing as she chucked her shoe at fred in an attempt to shut him up. i chucked myself, sitting down next to harry and unbuckling my sandals.

i watched everyone settle themselves on the beach, bill and fleur curling up next to one another a little further off from the group, the bunches of marram grass hiding them slightly from view. those two were so in love, it was romantic to watch them just be in each other's presence. their adoration for each other was so pure.

fred pulled a ball from his backpack and held it up like a prize, an enticing look on his face, "game of football, anyone?"

i had recently introduced harry and the weasley boys to the muggle sport of football, shortly after the battle when days at shell cottage were cripplingly boring. i exclaimed how it was similar to quidditch, although it didn't involve flying or chasing dangerous objects like the dreaded snitch. they admired the idea that they had to score into a net, which was similar to the hoops, in order to earn points. it added to their thriving nature for competitiveness and sportsmanship.

george, ron and harry followed fred excitedly further down the beach, where they used two wooden poles as goalposts and began to kick the ball about in the sand, chanting and cheering with one another competitively. bill soon joined in as well after george managed to convince him to have some fun.

it was fun to watch them enjoy a muggle game so much, i had been so used to hearing about football games on television back home.

home. the word sounded so empty now as it echoed through my head. the memories of my parents, the smell of our little town house...gone. i shook the thoughts off, steadying myself as ginny nudged me slightly.

"you okay?" she asked, a concerned look in her eye.
"i'm alright, just thinking." i answered quietly, shaking my head.
"thinking about things you regret won't help them get any better," she advised, as if she already knew what i had been thinking about, "we've all made huge sacrifices recently. but especially you, and you shouldn't give yourself such a hard time for choosing to sacrifice something you love for something worth saving. it didn't go to waste, you aren't to blame."

wow. ginny too must occasionally feel this pang of guilt over what happened before, during and after the battle. it was such an escapade of frightening events, it hurt my head to think about it. we all had put ourself at risk to protect harry and ourselves from the dark forces, and ginny had suffered just as much as the rest of us. she understood, and i appreciated her words of wisdom and comfort so much.

she extended her arm and pulled me close, cuddling me in her warm embrace, before pulling away and opening the picnic basket, offering me a sandwich.

"now, we have ham and cheese...or...ham and cheese?" she repeated, rolling her eyes at the lack of variety harry had prepared for the picnic.
i laughed, "i think it's going to have to be ham and cheese."

i nibbled on my sandwich, watching the waves soar smoothly over one another, whilst the boys distracted my view with their frantic running, tackling and arguing over points. i shook my head, smiling.

those weasleys could never agree on anything. typical.