Conversations In the Aftermath
Conversations On a Plane
By Chem Prof
Just to make it clear, Harry and Hermione are ‘just very good friends’ in this story. At least so far. At this point they still consider themselves to be going with Ginny and Ron, respectively.
“All set?”
“Yep, I just barely got that suitcase to fit. And thanks again for giving me that luggage set as a late birthday present.”
“Well, we could hardly fly to Australia with our only baggage being my little beaded handbag, now could we?”
“No, I suppose we’d get some funny looks wouldn’t we? Anyway, I can’t believe this happened so fast. Kingsley really worked some miracles didn’t he?”
“Nope. Magic.”
“Hah. That was a good one. But it was really great of him to get the paperwork done so fast, and especially to smooth things over with the goblins. For a while I thought they weren’t going to allow me any access to my vault.”
“Well, he as well as the entire wizarding world do owe you a pretty big favor. And you are still banned from Gringotts. I still can’t believe Griphook betrayed us like that.”
“Don’t worry about it. Just as long as they allow someone else to withdraw money for me, I don’t care if I ever set foot in that place again.”
“I suppose.”
“So, now what do we do?”
“You buckle your seatbelt and listen to the flight attendant tell you about the emergency exits. No, that one’s mine. See, it works just like in a car.”
“Got it. Emergency exits?”
“Yes, in case the plane crashes. Oh, don’t look at me like that, it’s not going to happen. They just have to say all of that just in case. It’s actually a very low probability.”
“But still …”
“Relax, everything will be fine. And if anything does happen I’ll just side-along apparate you to safety, just like I always do.”
“OK.”
“Look, would you like to sit by the window so you can see what’s happening?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“You’re really nervous about this aren’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t understand how a boy who routinely performs death defying moves on a broomstick can be nervous about flying in a large, well-quipped jet.”
“I guess it’s because on my broom I’m in control, but here I can’t do anything about it.”
“I suppose I can understand that. Just try to relax.”
“Harry, when my mum and dad fly my mum always holds my dad’s hand when the plane takes off. Would you like to hold my hand?”
“No, that’s all right. I’ll be OK.”
“Harry, would it be all right if I held your hand?”
“Sure.”
“There, that wasn’t so bad, was it?”
“Well, except for when it sounded like they shut the engines off just after we got into the air.”
“Oh, that’s normal. Once they get off the ground they can throttle back. It’s also for noise reduction for the people who live near the airport.”
“Oh, I guess that makes sense.”
“Harry?”
“Hmm?”
“You can let go of my hand now.”
“Whoops.”
“What’s so funny?”
“Oh, I was just thinking of the last time I held your hand. It was that morning when we decided to do this. Ginny asked me about it later.”
“Oh? What happened? You never did tell me about your conversation with her.”
“Well, if I remember right, it went something like this.”
-ooOoo-
“Harry?”
“Hmm?”
“Why were you holding hands with Hermione this morning?”
“Wh-what?”
“This morning before breakfast, you were outside with Hermione. I saw you walking back from my window and you were holding hands.”
“Oh, well, force of habit, I guess. We spent a lot of time under the invisibility cloak while we were moving around this past year, and had to stay close together, so we just got used to holding hands to keep in contact with each other.”
“I see. And Ron?”
“What about Ron?”
“Did you hold hands with him too?”
“No, but I imagine Hermione did.”
“Hmmph”
“Ginny, you don’t need to worry about Hermione.”
“Oh, of course I’m not worried. Hermione’s not exactly any competition for me. I mean, she’s not really your type. But …”
“What?”
“Well, don’t you think she’s interfering somewhat with our relationship? It’s obvious, isn’t it? Any time you spend with her means less time you can spend with me. I think you should, you know, keep your distance. It would probably help her and Ron’s relationship too, if you weren’t hanging around with her so much.”
“Ginny, that’s not going to happen. Hermione’s one of my best friends. I like spending time with her, and I’m going to keep doing it. If you can’t handle that …”
“No, no, I’m not saying that you can’t still be friends. It’s just, well maybe you could cut back on the time you spend alone with her.”
“Ginny, this morning was the first I’ve spent any significant amount of time alone with her in ages. And we both realized we’d missed it.”
“Come on Harry, you’re not living with her in a tent any more. You’re with me now and you just have to get used to …”
“Actually, I need to tell you something along those lines that you’re probably not going to like.”
“Wh … what?”
“Hermione and I are going to go to Australia to bring her parents back.”
“WHAT!”
“We talked about it this morning and we decided it was time for her to go to Australia. And I offered to go with her.”
“Harry! You can’t do that! You need to stay here with me. We’re together now. I didn’t wait for you for a whole year just to have you go running off again. And besides, Ron’s her boyfriend now. That’s his job.”
“We’ll be traveling and living as muggles the whole time. We don’t think Ron can manage that.”
“But that doesn’t mean you have to go. She can just go by herself. She managed to get them over there by herself, didn’t she? Harry, you don’t need to do this.”
“Maybe I don’t! And she didn’t need to give up a whole year of her life to help me either, but she did! And her parents wouldn’t even be over there if it hadn’t been for her connection to me. So as far as I’m concerned, yes I do need to do this. I owe her, more than anyone on earth. She’s always been there for me when I needed her and I’m bloody well going to be there for her!”
“Well, don’t you think you owe me something? What about what I gave up for you?”
Harry bit back the reply he wanted to make, pointing out that she hadn’t really given up anything compared to what Hermione had. Instead he tried to bring the argument to a conclusion.
“I’m just going to do this Ginny. It won’t be for that long, and besides you’ll be going back to Hogwarts in a few weeks.”
Ginny stared at him a long while, then responded in a cool voice. “You need to learn to consult with me about these decisions, Harry. After we’re married you won’t be able to just go running off whenever you want.”
“Who says we’re getting married?”
“What! Harry, are you saying you’re breaking up with me?”
“No, I’m not breaking up. But we’re just dating. That doesn’t mean we’re necessarily going to get married.”
-ooOoo-
“Well, you don’t really want to know what she said after that. It got kinda personal. It mostly came down to it being your fault. You have too much influence on me. So as you’ve probably noticed, Ginny and I haven’t talked much since.”
“Well yes, but in truth you’ve been very busy the past week getting ready to go. And she was quite affectionate last night.”
“Yeah, giving me something to remember her by. But now you’ve heard what happened with Ginny and me. How did it go when you broke the news to Ron?”
“Pretty much the same, but with more yelling and less understanding.”
“Didn’t think that was possible. Surprised I didn’t hear it then.”
“That’s because I had the foresight to put up silencing charms.”
“Oh. I wondered why I didn’t hear the explosion.”
“You see, unlike your conversation with Ginny, where you mostly kept your cool, my arguments with Ron tend to end up with shouting on both our parts.”
“I have noticed that, yes.
“I know. But I’d hoped that things would be different now.”
“Why? The two of you have always argued. I figured that meant …”
“Please don’t give me that ‘you argue like an old married couple, so you should be together’ rubbish.”
“Well …”
“Honestly Harry, how many married couples do you know who really do argue that much? My parents don’t. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley don’t. What about your aunt and uncle?”
“No, not really. They yelled at me a lot but not at each other.”
“That’s just one of those stupid myths that make no sense. Any couple that argues with each other all the time does not have a healthy marriage. And I have no intention of having a marriage like that either.”
“So, why are you and Ron together then?”
“Gee, I don’t know, maybe because I’m not with you?”
“Huh?
“OK, that was partly a joke. But I spent all of my time during school with two boys. It only stands to reason that I’d end up getting together with one of them. It’s not like I’m going to start going out with someone I don’t know.”
“What about Krum?”
“Harry, that was one date. It was never going to be a long-term relationship.”
“I think he wanted it to be.”
“And that’s exactly why I turned him down. I didn’t really know him, and with us living in two different countries there wasn’t going to be much chance to change that.”
“OK. I guess I sorta see your point.”
“Here’s another example. Why was your relationship with Cho such a disaster, but with Ginny it wasn’t?”
“Um … because I didn’t know Cho very well?”
“Right. You were initially attracted to both of them for the same reason. They’re both very pretty, have beautiful long straight hair, and they’re both athletic, and have similar figures. That’s clearly the type of girl that catches your eye. But when you were with Cho you had no idea what to talk about other than quidditch, because you didn’t really know her and she didn’t really know you. You and Ginny both knew each other really well before you started dating, and had even lived in the same house quite a bit. So you were comfortable together.”
“Guess I’ve never thought about it that way before.”
“No, I didn’t think you had.”
“OK, back to what happened during your and Ron’s argument.”
“I suppose I should tell you the details, since you shared your little chat with Ginny. Well, the surprising thing was that he didn’t really argue that much that he should go. I don’t think the idea of flying halfway around the world appeals to him at all. He mostly argued that I shouldn’t. And after I made it clear that leaving them in Australia and never seeing them again was not an option, he argued that you shouldn’t go with me. You know, the same old jealous thing we talked about last week.”
“You mean where he’s afraid you’re going to leave him and get together with me?”
“That’s the one.”
“That’s getting so tiresome. Hermione, have we ever done anything together that would give him that idea?”
“You mean besides all that wild, passionate sex we had with each other while we were alone in the tent for all those weeks last winter?”
Harry made some choking noises, which caused a few heads of nearby passengers to turn his way. It was a few seconds before he noticed the evil grin on Hermione’s face. “Wha…! Oh, I get it. Ha, ha. Yeah, besides that.”
“Well, we spend a lot of time together. We like to go off alone to talk. We hold hands sometimes.”
“So?”
“So, if you saw, say, Dean and Ginny doing those things would you worry?”
“Well, yeah, but … I mean … you know … OK, I see your point. So why is it different when you and I do it?”
“Because we’ve been friends like, forever, and we just enjoy being together. And he should know and trust us enough by now.”
“OK, I’ll buy that. Too bad he can’t see it that way.”
“Oh, I’m sure he does, most of the time. It’s only when he gets upset that it comes out.”
“I guess. So, was that about it?”
“Yes, if you don’t count the door slamming.”
Hermione sighed dejectedly and Harry wrapped an arm around her.
“So all the quarreling is getting to you?”
“Yes, Harry. Contrary to what you seem to think, I do not, and never have, enjoyed arguing with Ron. As I was saying before, I’d hoped that we were getting past that. Didn’t it seem like that to you?”
“Yeah, as a matter of fact, I did notice that you seemed to be getting along better. That’s what made me think that things were starting to work out for you guys.”
“Me too.”
At this Hermione fell silent and leaned her head against Harry’s shoulder, and they sat quietly together thinking about all the things that were on their minds.
-ooOoo-
“Harry, are you awake?”
“Hmm? Yeah, I guess. How did the movie turn out?”
“She finally wised up and left the rich guy who was a jerk and married the wedding singer.”
“Good. I always like stories where the nice guy gets the girl. What’s so funny?”
“Oh, it’s just that to so many people you’re the rich and famous Harry Potter, but really you think of yourself as just Harry, a simple quiet boy who just tries to do what’s right.”
“Well, yeah.”
“And there’s nothing wrong with that. I just wish everyone could know you like I do and see that you’re just a nice guy.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that.”
“Anyway, I had a reason for waking you up. Can I talk to you about Ron?”
“Er, I suppose.”
“You see, one of the reasons I wanted to get away was to spend some time thinking about our relationship. And I was hoping you could help me.”
“Well, I’m not exactly the smartest person about relationships.”
“I know, but since you know Ron so well I thought you could help me figure him out.”
“Um, OK. I can try.”
Hermione shifted in her seat and leaned closer to him, and he moved his head closer to hers to make for a more intimate conversation.
“Earlier you asked why Ron and I were together and I gave you a flippant answer. But it is something that I’ve thought a lot about. Unlike you, Ron occasionally made me think that he was interested in me like that, particularly when he’d get all protective of me. And I really do care for him, and I know he cares for me. But I just don’t understand why he does some of the things he does.”
“Like what?”
“Well, the whole Yule Ball thing was so frustrating. Initially, he made it very clear that he had no intention of asking me. Remember that conversation you two had about finding the best looking girl you could?”
Harry nodded guiltily.
“And then he did ask me after it was too late, but even then it didn’t seem like it was because he wanted to, but because he was desperate. So all of a sudden at the ball itself, he has a fit because I’m with Viktor. Like he was jealous. Do you agree?”
“Well, I have to confess that on that one I was just as stupid as Ron. When I saw you with Viktor I couldn’t believe my eyes. You looked so beautiful that night. It was the first time I ever thought of you that way, and I’d guess that was true for Ron as well. At the time I was all hung up on Cho, or I might have had the same reaction that Ron did – namely, why haven’t I ever noticed Hermione before? But he spent the whole night glaring at Krum the same way I was glaring at Cedric. I think he suddenly realized what he’d been overlooking.”
“Oh Harry, don’t exaggerate.”
“Hermione, everyone there that night thought so. You should have seen the look on Parvati’s face. And I noticed that Malfoy was stunned speechless.”
“So … you thought I looked pretty too?”
Um … yeah, that’s what I’ve been saying. But we’re talking about Ron, remember?”
“Right. So you think that was an eye-opening experience for him?”
“I really do. And remember, before that night he idolized Krum, but for the rest of the year he couldn’t stand him.”
“Because of me. And he almost had a fit when I let slip that Viktor had asked me to go to Bulgaria to visit him. See, that’s what I thought. But a whole year went by and he never did anything but sulk whenever Viktor’s name came up. So finally, in sixth year, I decided to ask him to Slughorn’s party. Remember?”
“Yeah, but that didn’t turn out very well because of Lavender.”
“Exactly. If he really was interested in getting together with me, why didn’t he jump at the chance? Instead, as soon as I asked him out he started snogging her and saying he thought my invitation was only intended to be as friends. Do you realize just how embarrassing that was? I was so angry with him …”
“That you asked McClaggen to the party just to spite him.”
“OK, so that was not the brightest idea I’ve ever had, but can you blame me? What on earth happened?”
“Oh, well I actually know the answer to that one. Remember when I told you what Ginny said about you snogging Krum?”
“Yeah. So?”
“That was when she told us. It really shook Ron up. He kept asking me if I thought it was true. Then he got all sulky and gave you the cold shoulder until after that game, and … well, you know what happened.”
“I don’t believe it! That was why he did it? Because he was getting even with me for something he thought I’d done nearly two years before? How immature can you get?”
“Well, he’s gotten better since then.”
“I suppose. Most of the time anyway. But he still seems to revert every once in awhile. And that’s the other thing I don’t understand. All of a sudden last summer he was the nicest, most considerate person I could imagine. It even got annoying at times, like when I would be talking to you and got upset and all of a sudden he was hugging me.”
“I remember that. I was about to do something to try to calm you down when he beat me to it. I thought it was pretty odd behavior … for him I mean. Then he explained it later, on my birthday.”
“What? He explained to you why he was being so nice all of a sudden?”
“Not exactly. But for my birthday he gave me a book called Twelve Failsafe Ways to Charm Witches. He’d gotten it from Fred and George and pretty much admitted he was using it to … how did he put it? … get things going with you.”
“You’re kidding me. That’s what started all the concern, compliments, and so on? Well, I don’t know whether I should laugh or cry.”
“Why?”
“Don’t you see how ironic that is? Ron Weasley, the boy who hates books, turns to a book to figure out how to woo Hermione Granger, the girl who loves books. It sounds so sweet when you think about it that way. On the other hand, it’s pretty sad that he had to find out from a book that he should be nice to me instead of arguing with me if he wanted to impress me.”
“I think you should go with the first interpretation.”
“Perhaps. But what I have to figure out is if it’s permanent.”
“What do you mean?”
“Is he just going to be like that until he’s ‘won’ me? What happens then? Will he keep treating me nicely or will he revert back to the way he was?”
“I don’t know how to answer that.”
“No, I don’t expect you to. That’s something I have to figure out for myself. But I’d appreciate any insight you have as things move forward.”
“Sure. I’ll do whatever I can to help. More than anything, I want you to be happy, Hermione.”
“I know you do, and I really appreciate it, Harry. And thank you so much for all the help you’ve given me already. Let’s see what they’re offering us for supper.”
-ooOoo-
“Hermione?” Hermione put down the book she was reading and looked over at Harry.
“Yes?”
“I’ve been thinking.”
“OK, I just thought of so many smart aleck responses I could make to that statement that I can’t pick one, so assume I just made a witty comment.”
“Right. Let’s go with ‘you’ve been rubbing off on me’.”
“Works for me. So what’s on your mind?”
“I’ve been thinking about what you said about me being attracted to Ginny.”
“OK.”
“Well, the thing is, even though you said she was a lot like Cho, it wasn’t like that. With Cho, the first time I saw her I was bowled over by how pretty she was, and I couldn’t think of anything else for a bit. That never happened with Ginny. She was always Ron’s little sister, and I just thought of her as a kid sister too.”
“Well, that’s because you knew her before she matured and became really attractive. I’m sure that you gradually noticed how beautiful she was becoming and how her figure was filling out.”
“No, not really. Even the summer before sixth year, when we spent a month and a half at the Burrow, I never thought of her that way. Fleur was the one there who really took my breath away.”
“Hmmph. You and Ron both. Practically drooling over her.”
“Hey, I wasn’t as bad as Ron. I just noticed her, I didn’t go all slack-jawed like he did.”
“I suppose you’re right.”
“So anyway, I never really thought of Ginny that way until I heard Pansy mention to Zabini how good-looking she was and he agreed. Even then, I never really noticed her until that day after we learned about Amortentia in Potions.”
“What!”
“When we smelled the Amortentia, I smelled treacle tart, a broomstick, and a flowery smell that reminded me of the Burrow. When we got to lunch, I realized it was Ginny’s perfume.”
“Oh no! She couldn’t have!”
“Hermione, I know what you’re thinking and I don’t think it was that. I didn’t suddenly wake up one day in love with her like Ron was when he ate that chocolate cauldron that Romilda Vane had given me. He couldn’t stop talking about how much he wanted her until we got the antidote from Slughorn.”
“So what did you feel for her then?”
“Well, nothing really, until I saw her kissing Dean in that corridor. Then it felt as if a monster was attacking my insides, and I wanted to hex Dean into a pile of goo. That night all I could think about was that I wished it was me kissing her. After that I kept getting that feeling every time I saw them together, and just gradually started thinking more and more about how much I wanted her.”
“I don’t understand. That’s not love, that’s jealousy, infatuation, and lust. And that’s exactly what Professor Slughorn said the Amortentia would do. But you’re right, I’m not aware of any love potion that’s as slow acting as that.”
“That’s what I thought too.”
“On the other hand, you were a hormone-crazed sixteen year old boy so perhaps that behavior is typical of them as well.”
“Hey!”
Once again, they attracted the attention of the nearby passengers, this time wondering what the laughing young couple found so funny.
“So, how long did this ‘monster inside you’ continue? I noticed a few of the looks you were giving Ginny that year.”
“All the way until the day I kissed her after the quidditch match. I’d been fretting for months before that what Ron would do to me if I got involved with his sister, but on that day I just gave in.”
“Well, that was a silly thing to worry about. He wanted you to get together with Ginny. He even hinted about it after she broke up with Michael Corner.”
“He did? I guess I missed that completely.”
“So after that?”
“Well, after that I just felt good inside being with her. It was great pretending to be a normal guy with a girlfriend.”
“And after you broke up with her?”
“Well, I missed her, and thought about her at times, wondering what she was doing.”
“I remember you used to sit there staring at the Marauder’s Map while we were in the tent.”
“Yeah. It was sort of comforting, seeing her go into her dorm at night and figuring that she was OK, even if things weren’t going that well for us.”
“But no more ‘monster inside’?”
“Not really. That seems to be gone now.”
“Do you think you love her?”
“I’m not sure. I like being with her and all, but it’s not like I can’t stand to be away from her.”
“Perhaps now that you’re not in life-threatening danger anymore you’re not so desperate for the sense of normalcy she represented.”
“I think I followed that. Maybe you’re right. What about you? Do you love Ron?”
“Well, I know I love him in the same way I love you, as a friend, but I’m not sure if it goes beyond that – if I’m in love with him. I’m certainly not to the point where I can’t imagine spending my life with anyone but him.”
There was a long pause, then Hermone sighed and whispered, “I thought I was moving in that direction, but then …”
“He walked out on us.”
“I thought my heart had broken. I was so hurt, so angry. I thought we … I don’t know what I thought.”
“You cried and cried. I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to comfort you but all I could think of to say was that he would come back, which I wasn’t sure was true, or that you should go to him. But I couldn’t bear to say that because I didn’t want you to leave.”
“I would never leave you Harry.”
“I was terrified that you would, though. I don’t think I could have gone on without you. I was so scared.”
Somewhere along the way the two of them had taken each other’s hands, and by now they were squeezing them so tightly that it became painful. When Hermione winced, Harry loosened his grip. Neither let go, though.
“I felt like that when Hagrid brought your body back from the Forbidden Forest and we all thought you were dead. It was like I didn’t want to go on living. I wanted to lie down right there and die. But I had to force myself to keep fighting. And when I realized you were still alive … I was so giddy I almost passed out.”
“That sounds just like what I felt at the Department of Mysteries when I thought you’d been killed. I couldn’t even move until Neville told me you were still alive.”
They both fell silent as they just stared into each other’s eyes, searching out and finding the truth in those statements, and accepting just how much each needed the other. Finally Hermione spoke again.
“See, that’s the problem. I couldn’t leave you, and I know you wouldn’t leave me, but Ron left us. And life went on without him and we managed just fine. I just don’t know what to think now.”
Harry managed to snake an arm around Hermione’s shoulder and pull her close. The two of them sat there pondering what they had shared while the jet aircraft streaked on into the night.
-xox-XOX-XOX-xox-