Dear Ginny
Part 2, Moving Forward
By Chem Prof
Part 2, Moving Forward
Letter 3
Thursday, 19 June
Dear Ginny,
Well, something finally happened around here besides studying. Two things actually. First, we went to G … to this house I own. (Hermione just explained to me why I couldn’t write it down.) It’s the house where you guys stayed two summers ago and had to spend a lot of time cleaning. It’s my house now because Sirius left it to me in his will. Anyway, no one knew it at the time, but some of the stuff we found there that summer was quite valuable. One thing in particular. So we went there to look for it. Okay, I guess I need to explain that better. See, one of the things we’re doing this summer is searching for special um … magical items. Sort of like weapons that we might be able to use to defeat Voldemort. It turns out that one of the things we threw away back then might be useful in fighting against him.
We were pretty worried about whether it would still be there, since Sirius was going to throw all that stuff out. But if you remember, Kreacher kept going through the stuff we were throwing out and hiding some of it. Well, Hermione remembered that he had a cupboard off the kitchen where he kept his ‘treasures’. (She found it when she tried to give him a Christmas present that year.) So she crawled into the cupboard and there it was! That Hermione is really something, the way she figured all of that out. I don’t know what I’d do without her. We were really excited that we found it. Especially Hermione. She was so thrilled that she gave each of us a hug and a kiss!
Now, that leads me to the second bit of news. When Hermione jumped into Ron’s arms and gave him a kiss, he didn’t let go. The two of them just stood there staring at each other. I swear, it was just like on the telly. Being the good friend that I am (and not wanting to stay around if they were going to start snogging) I snuck out of the room and left them there. They eventually came up to the drawing room about an hour later and they were both blushing like mad. Finally!
It’s kind of weird, though. I’ve been expecting them to get together for months, but now that they have I’m a little bit sad. I guess it’s because I’m jealous of them. I mean that they’re together but you and I can’t be. And I’m sure now that they’ll want to spend time alone together without me. That will be strange. Well, looking on the bright side, I hope this means they won’t squabble with each other so much. Maybe this will give them a better outlet for some of that tension between them.
Those are the two big bits of news. Oh, I finally gave in and let Hermione take me shopping for new clothes. I know you said you wanted to do that, but she convinced me I really needed them now, and I won’t see you for quite a while so I figured it was best if I just got it over with. Hermione says to tell you that you will really like the way they look on me. I can’t see that I look all that much different, but she says I do.
Trust me, he looks really yummy! HJG
Obviously that last line was from Hermione. Geez, she makes it sound like I’m on the menu for dinner or something. That reminds me – we’re invited over to the Grangers for dinner on Sunday. Hermione’s chance to show off the new boyfriend, right? You should have seen the panicked look on Ron’s face when I pointed that out to him. It was really funny. He’s lucky you and the twins aren’t around to tease him about it. Perhaps you might want to send along a letter or two for him the next time you write.
Yours,
Harry
-oooOOOooo-
Letter 4
Friday, 20 June
Dear Ginny,
I don’t know how, but I just seem to keep getting you upset with these letters. Maybe I should stop writing for a while (just kidding).
Look, I’m sure you would have been very helpful at … at that place the other day. You’re right, you probably would have been able to figure it out, too. Now, maybe you don’t think it would have been dangerous, but I didn’t want to take a chance. No one has been there for a while and with Dumbledore dead we weren’t sure how … how ‘protected’ it still is.
You certainly don’t have to be alarmed about Hermione kissing me. I told you she kissed Ron too, right? And what he did afterwards? Besides, it’s not like Hermione hasn’t kissed me before. She was just doing it because she was excited. Really, you don’t have to worry about it. Like I said, she’s with Ron now.
Yes, I know you wanted to help me shop for clothes. Yes, I know that’s something girlfriends do. But really, Hermione’s been my best friend for six years, so I think that probably qualifies her, too. She knows the kinds of things I like and what looks good on me. It’s over and done with, so there’s not much we can do about it now, is there?
Honestly, you don’t have to worry about Hermoine, okay? (Great, I’m even starting to sound like her now.) There’s nothing going on between us. And even if there was anything for you to worry about with us sleeping in the same room, what happened today just ended that situation. As it turns out Hermione’s not living here with us any more.
What happened was that Ron and Hermione had been looking at each other with goofy smiles on their faces all morning so I finally shooed them out of the room. They weren’t getting any studying done anyway – at least Ron wasn’t. I don’t know how she does it, but Hermione could study no matter what was distracting her. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to see her holding hands with Ron with one hand while she turns pages in her book with the other. I figured they would enjoy going out into the back yard and spending some time alone together. By the way, remember what I said yesterday about feeling uncomfortable? I’ve discovered that if I don’t have to watch them it doesn’t bother me that much. I’m actually pretty used to being by myself.
Well, the problem was that Dudley saw them snogging out in the back yard and when Uncle Vernon found out he hit the ceiling. Said she couldn’t stay in my bedroom with us any more because he’s sure there’s ‘unnatural behavior’ going on up here at night. Well, that embarrassed Hermione so much that she didn’t even try to argue with him about it. I really felt sorry for her. She had such a horrified expression on her face when she looked at me. I tried to reassure her that I knew she’d never do something like that and that it was okay and we would be all right. Then she started crying. I had to hug her until she calmed down. I'm sure she was worried that she’d let me down. You know how she is. It seems like the one thing that shakes her up the most is when she’s afraid she’s let someone down. Maybe not everyone, but she’s like that with me.
The odd thing about it is – I think Ron actually was thinking along those lines. I mean he was thinking that they might be doing some snuggling and – well, I’m trying not to think about what else he might have been thinking of – after the lights go out at night. I could see from the look on his face when Uncle Vernon went off that the thought had occurred to him. You know how easy it is to read Ron about things like that. And you remember how fast he moved with Lavender after they got together last year. I hope he realizes that Hermione isn’t going to let him climb all over her like Lavender did last year. That’s just not the way she is. Anyway, it’s a good thing Hermione was looking at me at the time and didn’t see that look on Ron’s face just then, or she might have been even more upset.
I’m not saying I blame Ron for thinking in that direction. Like I said, I’m not interested in Hermione that way but that nightgown she wears really does look good on her. I can certainly see that it would give him ideas and make it tough for him to keep his hands to himself. I guess maybe her wearing that worked a little too well. But, that’s something we don’t have to worry about any more. It’s just us two guys sleeping here now, without the distracting female.
It’s not like we aren’t still going to be with her every day. It’s pretty inconvenient though. She apparated home to her parents’ house with most of her things this evening and she’s going to apparate back in the morning. She promised to bring breakfast with her. She left all her books and research materials here, so we’ll still be researching spells and stuff all day. She’ll be going back and forth every day. I’ll just miss those evening talks we used to have. You know, how we used to sit around the fireplace in the common room after things quieted down and just talk. We’ve been doing that here at night after we put our work aside and got ready for bed.
Well, enough depressing thoughts for now.
Yours,
Harry
-oooOOOooo-
Letter 5
Saturday, 21 June
Dear Ginny,
You really need to get over this. Since you’re making such a big deal out of it, she kissed me at King’s Cross station at the end of fourth year. It was on the cheek. Satisfied? And I hugged her yesterday because she was crying. That’s all.
It’s been a really stressful day here for us today, so I don’t feel like writing much. Ron and Hermione are acting all weird around each other. Like they don’t know if they’re even allowed to touch each other without worrying if Dudley’s going to go running off to Uncle Vernon saying they’re being ‘unnatural’ again. Well, I agree it would be unnatural if that whale ever had a girl interested in him, but there’s nothing wrong with it for the rest of us! I wanted for the three of us to go down to the kitchen all holding hands just to dare them to say something, but Hermione doesn’t want to make any more trouble.
By the way, it didn’t take long for them to start arguing with each other again. I’m hoping it’s because we’re all in such a bad mood about what happened yesterday. I finally left them in the room and went out for a walk. I think they must have worked something out because when I got back they were calmed down, and I noticed Hermione’s hair was even messier than usual. With any luck going over to Hermione’s house for dinner tomorrow will cheer us up.
I’ll write more another time.
Harry
-oooOOOooo-
Letter 6
Sunday, 22 June
Dear Ginny,
What a fiasco that was! We got back from the Grangers a little while ago and Ron is lying on his bed in a foul mood, muttering and moaning about it. He’s in no mood to talk about it and I’m not about to fall asleep any time soon, so I thought I’d tell you the story.
It started out just fine. Hermione came over and side-alonged first me and then Ron to her house. It took a while for her to get there with Ron, so I figured she must be giving him some last minute encouragement. Or some last minute instructions on how to behave. Anyway, I was at her house alone with her parents for a bit. They are wonderful people. We hit it off right away and I was very comfortable with them. It’s funny how you can see some of Hermione’s traits in each of them. Maybe that’s why we got on so well. You know how Hermione and I can sit and talk to each other about anything and not be uneasy with each other? It was just like that with them. It didn’t hurt that they seemed to know a lot about me already. I guess Hermione writes long letters home and has mentioned me a lot. That’s not very surprising now that I think about it – since we’ve spent so much time together for six years it stands to reason that a lot of what she tells her parents about would involve me and Ron.
I loved their house. The amazing thing was, it doesn’t look that much different than the Dursley’s – maybe a little bigger – but the feel is completely the opposite. It has such a friendly, welcoming feel (a lot like your house does) whereas the Dursleys’ house has always made me feel unwanted. Each room I go into here makes me feel like I’m intruding. But not the Grangers’ house. Every room there is inviting and comfortable. The sitting room has these great comfortable overstuffed chairs and a sofa that are just begging you to flop down on them and make yourself at home. The kitchen and eating area is bright and cheery. Oh, and you should see Hermione’s bedroom. It’s exactly what you would picture her bedroom looking like. Floor to ceiling bookshelves along one wall. The rest of the decorations reflect her personality, too – practical but feminine. The whole place is so nice I’m amazed that Hermione doesn’t spend more time there during the summer. You can tell her parents miss her and wish she could spend more time with them, but at the same time they’re completely supportive of her and what she’s doing for me. I was going to suggest to Hermione and Ron that maybe we should consider staying there for a while after our two weeks at the Dursleys are up. At least I was before everything fell apart.
There was one kinda funny incident at the beginning. Apparently Mr. and Mrs. Granger got mixed up about which one of us was Hermione’s new boyfriend, and they started congratulating her and me for finally getting together. Hermione and Ron both turned red and Hermione was really stammering while she explained it was Ron and not me. If you remember two years ago, it was kind of like when Hermione thought I was the Gryffindor prefect and she got all excited, but then had to backtrack and think of something else to say when she found out it was Ron instead. It almost seemed that her parents were disappointed that it was Ron rather than me, but that was probably because they and I hit it off so well when we first met. Unfortunately, that whole scene didn’t help Ron’s nerves a bit and he ended up even more flustered than he already was.
Ron was really uncomfortable the whole time. Remember when I told you he wasn’t very good at being a muggle? Well, it was even worse this time because he was so nervous about making a mistake. It was like he was afraid he was going to break something. It’s really too bad, because Ron can be a charming and funny guy when he’s relaxed. It’s like it was for him in quidditch during fifth year. He would be okay sometimes when he was relaxed, but when he tightened up and got nervous he wouldn’t be able to save anything. It seemed like everything he said came out wrong – even insulting sometimes. You know, wizards really ought to learn more about muggles. I never realized before how much purebloods like your family don’t understand about the regular world. And with your dad being so interested in muggle things, I reckon your family is better than most.
Poor Hermione. She just sat there getting more and more anxious and upset and Ron just kept saying stupid things. Finally he just gave up and focused on eating. That didn’t work out all that well either. (You know how Ron sometimes gets a little ‘overenthusiastic’ when he eats.) I could see Mr. and Mrs. Granger frowning at each other at his table manners and of course Hermione picked up on that too. She started really getting frantic but I reached over and put my hand on hers to calm her down some. (She was sitting between me and Ron.) She relaxed a bit then and I managed to distract everyone by asking her parents to tell us a little about what Hermione was like as a child. That got us through dinner. (They did have some pretty funny stories, too.)
Then we went into the sitting room to talk some more, but that didn’t work out either. Ron must have been miffed about being ignored toward the end of dinner so he sat down right next to Hermione. I guess he was trying to prove something because he couldn’t keep his hands off of her. First he tried holding her hand, then he put his arm around her. She was feeling pretty annoyed with him by now so she didn’t respond and he kept pushing it. Finally she got up and came over and sat by me. By this time I could really see the worried looks on her parents’ faces but by now she and Ron were both being stubborn about it and didn’t seem to care any more. Finally I got up and said it was getting late and it was time we were going home. Since there was no way Hermione was going to want to side-along apparate Ron in the mood they were both in, I just told them that I could do it. Fortunately Hermione didn’t complain this time about me not having a license. I guess she was really in no mood to hold onto Ron just then so that she could take us back. I did catch an appreciative look in her eyes before we left, so I’m pretty sure I made the right decision. Hopefully she’ll come over tomorrow and the two of them can work it out.
Well, I really am pretty tired now, so I’ll send this off with Hedwig.
Miss you,
Harry
-oooOOOooo-
Letter 7
Monday, 23 June
Dear Ginny,
Oh Ginny, that was so mean! It was pretty funny, I have to admit, but poor Ron. I understand now why your brothers are so afraid of you! If I’d known you were going to send him a letter like that I don’t know if I would have told you about what happened. Us guys are supposed to stick together, you know. You caught him completely by surprise, too. He wasn’t expecting Hedwig to have a letter from you for him, since your letters have always been for me. He was so steamed after getting it that Hermione and I had to leave him alone for a while. We went off for a walk around the block. That turned out to be a good thing, because it gave us a chance to talk about what happened. She was in a right state at first, but I managed to cheer her up. I even got her to laugh about it a little. But I don’t think Ron will be laughing about it any time soon.
After last night, I decided that Ron needed to be able to apparate himself. So we’re practicing today. I reckon we can pop back and forth from my room to the back yard. He’s not too mad at me about last night, even though I thought he might be, especially after Hermione came over and sat by me instead of him. He said he appreciated me taking the attention away from him.
Well, time to go back to trying to get my two best friends to work things out again.
Yours,
Harry
-xox-XOX-XOX-xox-
For all you pessimists who thought Ron and Hermione wouldn’t make it past dinner — he did mess up but they aren’t quite done yet. It’s not looking too promising for them, though.