Hermione never would have dreamed that Ginny had seen it.
She did not know how much Ginny had seen, but judging from how she felt like her whole body was about to catch fire, there was no way she could convince herself that Ginny had only seen a little.
She saw all of it, did she not?
Hermione parted her lips slightly.
She had wanted to ask that, but in the end, the sheer embarrassment made her swallow the question.
At the same time, she was annoyed with herself for forgetting Ginny had even been there.
If she had remembered, she could have stopped Draco's shameless and audacious behavior.
Probably. Maybe she could have stopped him.
In any case...
Hermione rubbed her forehead helplessly. "There is no point saying anything now."
Maybe she was in a decent enough state of mind, or maybe she had simply given up and accepted it. Once Hermione realized the outcome was already fixed, she was instead able to face Ginny, who was still pretending not to know anything, with surprising calm.
Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, the tips of Hermione's ears still faintly pink, she asked her question again in an irritated tone...
"What I meant to ask was, why was Draco there in the first place? Did he go because he got an invitation from Lovegood?"
Ginny froze for a second.
Then she turned to look at Hermione beside her with a very strange expression.
You can steer the conversation back to that?
Ginny's look almost shattered the composure Hermione had only just recovered.
Annoyed, Hermione shot a fierce glare at her friend, who had suddenly become so dense.
Were they really supposed to start discussing that philosophical question of tongue against tongue?
"Why are you staring at me? I am asking you something!"
"Invitation? Oh, right... that."
Ginny had no idea how, after going in circles for so long, she had somehow ended up as the one in the wrong, but for the moment she shoved those complicated feelings aside.
And so...
The two girls who, just moments ago, had not even been able to hold eye contact for long were suddenly whispering head to head under the strange gazes of the people around them.
And honestly, this warm little scene was what things should have looked like all along...
...
Come to think of it, after Ginny parted ways with Draco that day, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had taken her back with them.
For safety reasons, Ginny had not returned to the home called the Burrow, but had instead been taken to the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix.
But when it came to the matter Ginny had always wanted to understand, what exactly had gone wrong with Ron, she ran into an unsolvable obstacle. Almost everyone, including her own family, seemed to be deliberately hiding it from her.
In fact, during the entire holiday, she had not had a single chance to see Ron.
As for her brothers, every one of them claimed not to know anything.
Whether they really did not know or simply did not want to tell her was impossible to say.
In other words.
Although Ginny had indeed been staying with the Order of the Phoenix during that time and had seen several familiar faces coming and going, she really had no chance to come into contact with any deeper secrets.
Perhaps, in the eyes of the members of the Order of the Phoenix, Ginny was just a young witch who needed their protection.
In short.
The only thing Ginny could be sure of right now was that something had definitely happened to Ron...
"You mean that guy... I mean, your brother. He really seemed like a completely different person?"
For various reasons, Hermione did not think much of Ron Weasley, but at least she had not forgotten that Ginny, sitting right in front of her, was his family. The moment she realized she had let something slip, Hermione hurried to patch it up.
Ginny, who more or less knew what was going on, only rolled her eyes helplessly.
To be honest, Ginny had already given up on the idea of helping Ron's chances along. His opponent was simply too strong, and Ginny genuinely could not see any opening at all.
So when it came to Hermione's attitude, Ginny had no intention of speaking up for Ron either...
"Mm. Actually, that article was already detailed enough. Even the dialogue in it was basically no different from what I remember."
"Then you..."
Knowing what Hermione wanted to ask, Ginny shook her head. "I do not know. And no one is willing to explain it to me."
"I see."
"If there is anyone who really knows what is going on, it is probably only my parents and... Dumbledore and the others."
"And George and the others...?"
"I do not know about them, but you probably will not get a chance to run into them. With my parents' permission, George and the others already graduated early. I heard they are planning to open some kind of joke shop."
"They graduated early?"
At Ginny's reminder, Hermione finally realized that over on the Gryffindor side, she really had not seen the Weasley twins or heard their laughter anywhere.
It seemed that, just as Ginny had said, they would not be appearing at Hogwarts this year...
Just as Hermione thought the trail had gone cold, Ginny's slightly hesitant voice reached her.
"But if there is still someone else who might know the truth, then maybe..."
"Maybe?"
"Maybe Harry knows something?"
"Potter..."
That was true.
If there was still someone who knew Ron's current situation, then the most likely person was Harry Potter, the one Dumbledore valued, and also Ron's best friend.
If it was Harry Potter, then maybe he really did know something.
Still, compared with that information, Hermione was even more curious about Ginny, who had suddenly and inexplicably grown dejected.
That conflicted expression on her face made it seem as though she wanted to say something but was holding herself back.
"You have not tried talking to him?"
"...I have, but..."
"If it were you, he would probably tell you. Besides, you care a lot about Pot..."
After Ginny shot her a glare, Hermione quickly stopped with an awkward expression.
Just as Ginny cared about Hermione's love life, Hermione also knew very well which wizard Ginny cared about.
Though Hermione did not think it was a good idea.
Then, just as Hermione was still feeling puzzled, Ginny quietly voiced what she had noticed...
"I feel like Harry has seemed a little off lately."
"Even if you say that, I am not that close to him."
Things in this world really were strange.
A few years ago, they could still be called friends, but now they did not even get the chance to speak.
Hermione could not help feeling a strange mix of emotions at that thought.
Ginny, who had no idea what Hermione was thinking, spoke in a hesitant, uncertain tone.
"It is just... he gets angry more easily?"
"....."
Seeing Hermione's speechless expression, Ginny rubbed her cheek with a bitter smile.
Was she really supposed to say that she thought Harry might be jealous of Draco...?