Hermione woke up the following day, feeling exhausted. The emotional blow she had suffered was one she had never expected to deal with so early. Eventually, she knew, some decades far away, the same thing was supposed to happen, but only after a very extended period of happiness. Not so soon, not so quickly after such horrors and traumas as they had gone through the previous year.
Hermione rolled out of the bed she was in and smiled. Her trunk for school and all her belongings that had been left at The Burrow were in the room. She had not even heard them come in. She wondered if they had used a silencing charm to slip in her stuff, or if she had just been that out of it, she never heard them.
Regardless, the first order of business was to use the bathroom and then get herself showered. As she looked at her own reflection in the mirror, Hermione's fingers gently undid her scarf she always wore around her neck. It covered up a scar that was left there by Bellatrix Lestrange's knife. Hermione had been so close to death that day, she could almost feel his cloak nearby. She shuddered to recall the events.
Hermione could not avoid the still fresh and painful memories though as she undressed. Her arm, carved with the word 'Mudblood', while not hideously red, still bore the mark. There was nothing that could be done about it either. Dark magic left its mark permanently. Her hand moved to her now bare stomach, and she looked down at herself.
There were other invisible damages, ones that were also permanent. The curse she had been hit with by the Death Eater Dolohov had left her infertile. She had not been able to tell Ron or anyone, for that matter. Ron's stinging words came back to her too.
"…just forget this place and start a family."
Those words had been wholly devastating to hear, knowing he would be disappointed. The moment she would have told him he would have become inconsolable. She knew what that was like too. Trauma always had a way of catching up to a person, no matter how long they ran or how they tried to stave it off.
Hermione stepped into the shower and let the hot water run over her body. She let out a small gasp, as the water almost seemed to heal her. She felt its warmth penetrating her, easing her, washing away her anxiety and fear. Her head rolled back under the flow, letting the warmth, and feeling work on her. Hermione never knew if she cried in that shower or not, she could not tell. She would have believed she did though with how good it felt.
After a very therapeutic and lengthy time in the bathroom, Hermione changed clothes and came downstairs to the kitchen. She found Harry there, reading the Daily Prophet and finishing some food for lunch.
"Hey Hermione." Harry said very quietly.
"Hey yourself." She replied and sat down opposite him at the table.
"Do you want something to eat?" Harry asked. Hermione nodded with an appreciative smile. Harry quickly made her something to eat as she pulled over the paper.
"How did you get this?" Hermione asked, seeing the paper.
"Hermione…you were asleep for two days straight." Harry said, having figured out that she had looked at the date on the paper.
"What?! Oh, I can't have been! Why didn't you wake me!" Hermione half scolded him and herself at the same time.
"I figured you needed the rest." Harry said. "You look loads better now though!" he said and handed her a plate of toast.
Hermione knew it was a partial lie anyway. The shower may have helped but she was sure she did not look nearly that good.
"How-how is, everything?" she asked, hesitantly.
"Well…" Harry began. "Ron's furious. He says he still think Matt's mental and trying to kill us all. He won't talk to Ginny at home, and we barely speak at the Ministry."
"Oh, Harry! I didn't mean to drag you and Ginny into this. It's Ronald and my problems. Not yours and Ginny's too."
"It's ok, Hermione, really. We're both on your side. I talked to Matt, well, during your – er – you know…and he seems genuine. I don't think he's a threat. He's honestly a good guy.
And…"
"And what?" Hermione pressed.
"And…he seems to care about you. You've got a friend in him, it seems." Harry seemed to be leaving something out. Hermione did not question it, but she wondered what he could possibly be not saying.
Hearing that Matt was concerned about her made her feel both good and bad. It felt nice to know that she was slowly building out more friendships as time had passed. She had struggled with that when she was younger. Hermione was always ahead of the other students in the Muggle schools when she attended them. Her thirst for knowledge was always insatiable but she had not made many friends.
It was not until she had gotten her Hogwarts letter and had come to the famous school for witchcraft and wizardry that she had made friends with Harry and Ron. She deeply cared for them but now one of them may be lost to her forever. It saddened her to know that one of her oldest and dearest friends may never want to speak to her again.
Then again, Hermione glanced down at her wrist. She had put on a short-sleeved shirt, this was one of the rare times she still wore them, and she could see the angry bruise left there.
Ron had not gripped her scar, but he had held her so tightly it hurt, and his mark was left. Hermione thought that, maybe, just maybe, it was better this way.
Despite their lengthy relationship, Ron had chosen to all but attack her, he hurt her in not just the usual emotional way but the physical way as well. She could put up with most of his bad or toxic qualities, mostly out of sheer stubbornness. But he had never gone this far ever before.
"Hermione." Harry reached across the table and took her right hand in his. "What Ron did… was not okay…" He was struggling with the reality of it too, it seemed. "I never thought he'd be capable of it." She spoke. "I know we bicker…"
"Like you were married forever." Harry said.
"But this wasn't that…" Hermione said.
"I know. I thought it was, you know? When it first started. But I saw him grab you and you hit him. You were justified." Harry told her. "No one thinks less of you. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley aren't even talking to him about it. Mrs. Weasley wouldn't even give him ice for his face when he got back, and she asked what happened."
Hermione smiled at this, even though she was not one of their own, she sometimes felt like the Weasleys were a secondary family to her. The loss of her parents' memories stung harder now that she could not go back to them.
"You'll be happy to know, Ginny has taken over tutoring Matt." Harry continued. "That's also why Ron isn't speaking to her."
"Oh? And how is that all going?" she asked, curiously.
"Well, after the blow up, Ginny felt like actual spells in duels might be a bit much. She wanted to dial things back a bit."
"Okay?" Hermione was almost amused at this point. "So, what are they doing then?"
"Well, it seems Ginny's decided that he could use practice dodging a bit. Said, he could have avoided our spells in our duel with hm, and he should be improving his agility. So, she apparently taken to throwing pies at him." Harry explained. Hermione's mouth fell open and she laughed.
Images of Matt diving out of the way of flying pies as Ginny furiously launched them at him were incredibly funny.
"It's quite a sight. Although, apparently, she did trap him yesterday and he managed to stop himself from getting hit, but he turned the pies back on her. She was a mess coming home." Harry said as he grinned at Hermione.
"I want to see that! It's so hilarious." Hermione said she could feel herself lightening with the laughter. Like she almost felt better to a degree; more herself.
"I've got to get to work, we can talk more when I get home. You'll be alright?" Harry asked, he seemed to be ready to take her with him if she said she needed it.
"I'll be fine Harry. Really. I just need a little more time. That's all." Hermione said. Harry nodded and left Number Twelver Grimmauld Place for the Ministry of Magic.
Hermione cleaned up their plates and put them away before returning to her room. She sat on the bed and decided to rummage through her trunk. As she looked through her books, she took out an old favorite. Even though she had read it several times over, throughout the years since she got it, she decided to refresh herself with Hogwarts: A History.
It felt good to return to a standby book as reliable as this one. Even though she knew it was not entirely up to date, she was sure she had seen an updated version of it at Flourish and Blotts when she was in Diagon Alley with Matt.
Her mind wandered to that trip as she laid down on the bed, the curtains behind her open so she could read by the daylight. It had felt so weird being on the other end of Diagon Alley. Her first trip there was with Professor McGonagall, and she was incredibly knowledgeable about all the shops, parlors, and businesses. Matt had been just as surprised as she had been all those years before.
He had told her about how things were in America, it was so widespread it was less convenient. He told her he had to make multiple trips, on occasions even three or four, to get all his necessary supplies over the years at Ilvermorny. Part of her was so curious about it, she wanted to see it for herself.
Hermione loved the wizarding world so much, she wanted to know all about it, even the places that were distant. Maybe after graduating, she could ask Matt to take her there. She frowned. There was still danger though, wasn't there? No one knew what happened at the school. He was the only one who could tell, and his memory was damaged.
Once the danger was gone, that would be when she would be able to ask him to show her what it was like. Surely, it would pass quickly if it were even there anymore. Logically, there was a good chance that whoever was responsible was caught or dead. She was sure
Voldemort was tied to it, and his forces were broken and scattered. Most had been captured or killed already.
Hermione held onto the hope, small as it was, that the danger had passed, and they just needed to confirm it. It was a small cloud that could have already passed while everyone was not looking. Maybe.
Hermione's thoughts returned to her book, and she read the rest of the day until Harry came home. Ginny showed up shortly after, bits of cream and crust stuck in her long red hair. After she got a shower herself, the three of them sat down to eat dinner.
"You know, I expect Matt'll be pretty decent in a food fight, should we ever need him." Ginny declared after they had finished dessert.
"Are they doing something new at Hogwarts this year I don't know about?" Harry asked. "Never can be too prepared!" Ginny said with a smile.
"Have you gotten him to fly?" Hermione asked, genuinely curious. That was the one thing she never did, as she did not like flying or heights very much.
"No, he absolutely refuses. Says he 'likes his feet like he likes his grass, planted firmly on the ground.'" Ginny said doing her best to do an American accent. The three of them shared a laugh, knowing that was more or less a direct quote.
"I should come help." Hermione said guiltily.
"Oh, he's fine! You'll see him Tuesday!" Ginny reassured her.
"If you're sure…" Hermione said.
"Yes! He's fine, you need to rest and get ready for the next year! It's our final one after all!" Ginny said excitedly. Hermione grinned; Ginny's enthusiasm was wearing off on her. Since she had finished reading Hogwarts: A History, she decided that it would be a good idea to get a head start on their course material. She should have already been through it all by now!
What on earth had gotten into her?