Nights in December

A night in December, part 3

Hermione walked past the statue of Barnabas the Barmy. After the Battle of Hogwarts, the Marauder’s Map had been turned over to Professor McGonagall, who had sealed off all unauthorized paths out of Hogwarts. Hermione had never taken this particular path, though she knew that it had allowed Harry to sneak into Hogsmeade in his third year, even though he did not have permission to leave the school grounds.

She continued on, and passed the massive oaken double doors that led into the Great Hall. This was where the healing had started. This was where she had begun to win Ron back. It had not been easy. She had had to swallow much of her pride in admitting that she had been at fault, but once all was said and done, she felt stronger for it.

Knowing that she would not be Ron’s first had hurt immensely. She had, for some reason, always taken it for granted that she would be the first person that Ron made love to, and vice versa. The fact that Ron had grown into not just a handsome young man, but also a rather popular one, had come as a shock, and she had been forced to accept that while she may have been both vigilant and observant in most other areas, she had made a glaring oversight here. Lavender had not been at fault either. She had simply acted, where Hermione had waited for Ron to act.

The healing had started with simply being friendly towards Ron again. She had finally realized that raging at him would only drive him further away. After a few weeks, it finally felt as if she and Ron were becoming friends again. After a month and a half, he had admitted to Harry that his relationship with Lavender was not as perfect as she made it out to be, and Harry had in turn informed Hermione. Ron had grown weary of her tendency to be overly affectionate and protective, and he had later confided in Hermione that though he assured Lavender that every gift she had given him was on display on his nightstand, he had in fact stowed them away in a box under his bed.

Lavender did not take long to realize what Hermione was trying to do, and did everything she could to prevent Ron from spending any time with Hermione at all. She could not be omnipresent, however, and Hermione took every opportunity to be close to Ron that she could. It was not gallant behaviour, but she was not interested in gallantry.

When Lavender and Ron finally parted ways, it was both uncomfortable and a relief. Ron had been poisoned, and was only saved at the last minute by Harry shoving a rock down his throat. As Ron recuperated in the hospital wing, he had moaned Hermione’s name and Lavender had fled in tears. Hermione had felt sorry for her, but felt sure that a modicum of the glee she felt must have appeared on her face as she watched Lavender disappear down the staircase. Ron was finally hers, and for a few months, everything had been as it should be.