Chương 10: Something going around?
As Hermione had rightly expected, both girls were amazed at how the phones worked without magic, since it very well seemed like it.
"So I can talk to Astoria." Pansy's voice was tinted with awe.
"Yes."
"Even if I'm not with her."
"Yes."
"Astoria, go to the kitchen. I wanna see if it works." Astoria grinned, and left. She had gotten grasp of how to use it fairly quickly, whereas Pansy was still sure that she'd press the wrong thing. Even so, both were quicker to learn than yesterday's boardroom, for which she was grateful.
"Okay so now what."
"Press the white curvy thing in the green box, then touch my name." Pansy did so, and the phone started buzzing. Pansy nearly dropped it into the tub (Hermione was thankful she'd put an charm on it earlier).
"What is it doing?" Pansy shrieked, causing Astoria's laugh to be heard from the kitchen.
"Calling Astoria."
"But why does it make that noise?"
"It's to let you know that it's calling the person."
Astoria picked up, and Pansy put the phone to her ear.
"Astoria?"
"Yes?"
Pansy dropped it (for real this time), Hermione only just catching it with the tips of her fingers.
"It works!" She exclaimed in amazement. Astoria returned to the hot tub, grinning. "Yeah, but I'm not sure if I heard Pans the phone or not." Pansy flushed, the other girls having a laugh at her expense. "This is amazing! If we could market this through the wizarding world-"
"It would be, but I doubt many wizards and witches would be willing to change over to Muggle technology." Hermione sighed. "Despite having a war about it, there are still blood supremacists, and despite efforts, I'm afraid there always will be. People will always educate their children that their blood makes them better than someone else, and that will severely affect their mindset in spite of attempts to change it, since that's what they're taught from a young age. Not to mention that a lot of people are still very old-fashioned and closed minded."
"How do you know this?" Pansy scrutinized Hermione's face, wondering how she'd know when she wasn't part of the pureblooded mania. The latter grinned wearily. "I spent the day trying to teach a stubborn, maniac lot of old wizards and witches how to use computers to maximize efficiency in the company I'm working with. It took the whole day and someone getting fired to do so."
Pansy was puzzled. "But didn't you work at the Ministry? You were the Deputy Head of the Auror Department."
Hermione sighed, and wrung her head in her hands. Ought she to tell them? Just the thought of Ron's betrayal brought the dull ache to just under her fifth rib. She held up a hand. "
"Sorry- I just- I just need to use the loo." Rushing to the washroom, she slammed the door shut. Looking in the mirror, she took in her now slightly haggard appearance. Even the simple thought of his betrayal had dulled the light in her eyes and she looked paler, as if she were ill. She sank against the tile wall. She couldn't tell them yet; even the thought of him could reduce her to a mute and sickly-looking girl. How could she tell two people that had bullied her during school, and had just started over barely two weeks ago, let alone two people she doesn't even know.
***
As Hermione ran off, Pansy turned to Astoria, her face covered in a confused expression. "What did I say? I only said that I had thought she worked at the Ministry, didn't I? Have I screwed up somehow? Oh Salazar, how have I fucked up now?" Pansy bemoaned her pureblood parent's expectations of being the perfect daughter.
"Pansy, I don't know, but I- I'll just go talk to her, okay?"
"Oh, Merlin. Please ask her if I've done anything wrong." Astoria smiled softly at her friend, happy to see that she really and truly had turned over a new leaf. Softly gliding over to the washroom door, she knocked on the door.
"Hermione?"
No answer. Pressing her ear to the door, she heard quiet sobs and hiccups coming from the other door.
"Hermione? Can I come in?"
The girl didn't respond, again letting out quiet sniffles and Astoria knew that whatever had happened, it had been bad.
"Um... Pansy wanted me to ask if she did anything wrong." Astoria let a small, weak, chuckle.
"No." It was barely audible, but Astoria relayed the short message to her friend, who sighed in relief, but still had her eyebrows furrowed out of concern for her newly-made friend.
"Hermione, I'm going to come in." Pansy looked at her friend in surprise, then plastered a look of 'no, that's a terrible idea' on her face. Astoria just turned the doorknob, gliding in, and closing the door behind her. Pansy tensed, waiting for the hex to explode the wooden door, for Astoria to fly out unconscious or bleeding from the torso.
But nothing happened. The washroom was silent. For a long while.
***
As I'm at the Burrow, waiting for dinner, I notice that people are giving me quite a bit of the cold shoulder. No one's really talking, everyone's just kinda silent, which is really weird 'cause the Burrow is like an explosion of noise at all times. I'm a bit surprised, it's a little more than I expected from the shock factor, but I brush it off as I didn't realize how sensitive my family was.
But Ginny- Ginny's attitude was the worst. I thought maybe she'd be the easiest to talk to about how Hermione had left me alone. But she didn't. She didn't talk to me at all. Gave me weird looks, and stuff. What is going on?
"Ginny?"
She just gives me a hard glare before turning around, sliding into a nearby hallway where the stairs are, almost storming up to her room.
"Gin, are you okay? You're kind of... mute?"
She turns around again, gives me another glare, and continues on, making her way up the many flights of the Burrow to where her room is located. Throwing me another death glare, she marches into her room, where I know I can't go, because she's charmed it so that the only person- the only person who can go in is Harry, because they're now. I scrunch up my face, still confused about all the attitude. Is there something going around, that I didn't realize?
***
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