Chương 35: Comfort in Darkness
Hermione Granger stared down at the letter that had just been returned via her owl. She had already read it several times, and after the first had refused to touch it, almost as if it burned her very skin.
Hermione,
Your father and I will be out of town for the Winter Holidays, hope you can stay busy at school. Remember to do your best, we expect nothing less.
-Mom
The bushy-haired Witch had never been away from home at Christmas, and yet this year she was basically being abandoned by her own parents. Wiping the tears from her eyes she quickly departed from Gryffindor tower, before wandering through the halls aimlessly for what felt like hours. Most of her classmates had already departed, and indeed it felt as though the castle was practically empty at this point.
Was this what her future would be? She had always pictured herself as a teacher while growing up and if that were the case then she would undoubtedly be spending the holidays at Hogwarts just like now. After all she didn't have anyone else to spend them with.
The only small joy she could find was the fact that most of her tormentors were also gone… but that meant that her personal savior, and only friend, was most likely home as well. The young girl suddenly stopped, and pushed open the door next to her, conveniently a girl's bathroom, before making her way to the first stall and locking herself in.
This time she wasn't crying, wasn't trying to hide from bullies or insults… she was just lonely . What was she going to do if it was barely a day into a week of empty hallways and silence? What would her life be like if…
"Good day my dear Eyre, how are you on our first official day of the break?"
The young girl fought the urge to sob in relief and happiness.
"I… I have been better… my parents…"
"Your parents?" he encouraged in a friendly tone that she had grown to love.
"They went on vacation without me. This will be my first Christmas without seeing them."
"I see… and this upsets you because it has become a comforting tradition yes?"
"Yes… it is… or was I suppose."
"Well then I suppose this means you will need to make new traditions."
"I guess so… but I don't even know how to do that, and what happens during the summer? What happens if I get home and there is just a note telling me they left? What happens if I am left alone all summer? What happens if I…" the panic was evident in her voice, her tone rising as fear mixed in.
"My dear calm yourself. I will not allow you to be left alone. Should the worst happen and they do abandon you I will come for you."
Hermione wanted to laugh, whether due to the ridiculousness of his statement or the relief she felt in that moment she wasn't quite sure. "How? You don't even know who I am…"
"Oh my dear, do you truly believe that would stop me? Although it would become a bit awkward with the sleeping arrangements seeing as I have only one bed…"
For the briefest of moments the bookworm's imagination ran rampant. How would it feel waking up next to someone under the covers? Would they be wrapped around her in a protective manner? Would she have her head on his chest, feeling his heartbeat? What would they be wearing… if anything at all?
...
"So Ginny, how has school been this year?"
"Fine…" the girl replied, her focus elsewhere as she played with the food on her plate. Why couldn't she get a certain raven-haired boy out of her mind? Sure he had saved her, restored her life and ensured her freedom, had protected her family, and even fed her while she recovered but…
"Ginny?"
"Hm? Did you say something?"
Arthur's smile dropped a bit in concern for his daughter, "I asked if you made any friends."
"Oh… yeah a few I guess…"
"Anyone you plan on seeing over the break?"
"I think they are staying at school."
Molly 'tsked' at the thought, "Staying at school… poor dears should be with family during this time of year not in some dusty old castle by themselves…"
"So Ginny… any boys catch your attention?" Bill teased from further down the table, earning a squeak and blush from the girl.
Meanwhile the twins glanced over at each other in concern. They noticed that their sister had been acting fairly strange lately, but had attributed it to the 'incident'. Perhaps the few days she had been with the Slytherin Lord had influenced her more than they thought.
"Ah ha, so who is the lucky prat? Anyone I need to rough up or…"
"NO!"
The room fell silent, as everyone stared at the young girl, whose eyes were wide with a combination of fear and… something else.
"I… I mean, of course not. Even if I did like a boy, if you beat him up then everyone would be afraid to approach me… it is hard enough making friends right now."
"Thash caush you don do girl shtuff" Ron mumbled, his mouth so full of food that few could understand him.
"I do girly stuff Ron, just because I don't wear makeup, paint my nails, and gossip doesn't mean anything. Besides he said I was 'lovely' anywa…" this time she clamped her mouth down so hard her teeth rattled.
"So Bill was right… our little Ginny has an admirer…" Charley exclaimed with glee.
"So who is it dear? Is he nice? Does he treat you right? Do you two hold hands?" Molly began.
"H-he is…" what the hell was she supposed to say? That she had a weird, pseudo one sided relationship with a boy who had saved her from a near death situation, nursed her back to health, and had seen her naked? Oh yes, that would go over well.
"Well come on Gin, tell us more about this mysterious boy you have your eyes on." Arthur teased gently.
"He is in Slytherin."
The room instantly went silent, as the girl's face turned even more red than before. Perhaps that wasn't the best fact to lead with.
"Wh-WHAT! You can't like a snake! They are EVIL!"
"Oh Ronald hush, that is absolutely ridiculous."
"Your mother is right Ron, I knew quite a few Slytherins when I was in school and most of them were very nice. Sure there are a few bad apples with people like Lucius Malfoy but overall they are just like any other House, except they get a bad reputation."
"Because they earned it!"
"Ronnikins…"
"Shut up"
"Before you"
"Say something"
"Even more stupid"
"About things"
"You do not understand."
The family turned to the twins, who were practically giving their youngest brother a death glare at that moment.
"Something you boys want to share?" Percy inquired, using his best 'adult' tone to try and mimic his father
"We… sort of know who Ginny is…"
"Interested in"
The girl's eyes widened with a slight amount of fear, before a hand gently clasped her under the table from George giving it a comforting squeeze.
"As surprising as it sounds…"
"We approve"
"Of the boy"
"He seems to care about her"
"Nursed her back from a cold we hear"
"Kept the other Slytherins away from her"
"Even told us off about pranking younger students"
"Well well well, anyone who can stand up to the 'Devils of Gryffindor' and convince them to stop pranking gets points in my book." Bill chimed in with a grin, and a wink towards his sister.
"Indeed, and it sounds like he is very kind if he took care of you dear, hopefully we can meet him in the summer."
"Yeah mom… hopefully…"
....
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