Chapter 9
A Rude Awakening
Gryffindor Common Room
Hogwarts
Past
"I don't care," shouts Hermione as she stands up from the chair, turning around to look at her boyfriend. Her shouts cause her and Ron to receive the looks of everyone in the Common Room.
"That's the problem," Ron returns the shout as he too stands up to face his irate girlfriend.
"It's all you ever talk about, Quidditch this, Quidditch that. I am sick and tired of hearing only about that stupid sport," she shouts in answer.
"What else is there to talk about," Ron asks, his voice still raised.
"That is my point, we could talk about something, at this point anything else," Hermione says angrily.
"I don't read books," Ron huffs.
"I am very well aware of that, but you could at least once pretend you are interested in something I might have to say," she points out. She receives some knowing nods from their audience though they don't realize this.
"But it's boring," he hisses.
"And you don't think I get bored hearing about how wonderful practice was six times in three hours," she returns evenly. "Time that could be spent doing homework or at least something more productive, time that could have been used to get to know each other, anything at all."
"I bet you wouldn't be having this conversation with Harry," Ron spits out unaware of the gasp the room took, the shocked silence at the mention of Harry.
"Don't you dare," she growls, "don't you dare bring Harry into this," she yells at the top of her lungs.
"Its true," he tries to defend himself.
"Yes," she admits reluctantly, "it is true. That is only because," she says cutting Ron off before he can continue. "Harry at least has more topics to talk about than just a stupid game. Harry at least listens to me," she says increasing her tone until at the end she is shouting.
"Of course he has more topics, he's always trying to get us killed," Ron shouts out without thinking.
It is at this point Ronald Lamar Weasley realizes he has gone too far. The sound resounding through the stunned silent Common Room can't even compare to the pain going through his cheek as Hermione's hand connects with his face. Ron stands there looking at her in total shock, not with the fact she just slapped him, but with the fact he, himself tried to blame everything on Harry. He knows he deserves the slap, he knows in his heart he deserves so much more. Ron looks into the crying eyes of who he now knows is his ex-girlfriend and unfortunately also his ex-best friend.
"How dare you try and blame Harry," she cries out. "If you remember correctly Mr. Weasley he didn't want us to go with him to the Department of Mysteries, he didn't want us to go with him to save the stone, he has never forced us to do anything," she points out still shouting at him. The Common Room has yet to make one sound, besides the two people arguing you could hear a pin drop. "And you damn well better know IT'S NOT HIS FAULT," she yells louder than anyone has ever heard before. "He doesn't ask for Voldemort," she is so mad at this point she doesn't realize the others in the room, including Ron flinch at the use of the name, "to come after him. If your dense brain worked at all you would realize Voldemort started after him," she shouts.
"He came for Harry when he was one," she continues. "Can you honestly believe Harry searched him out then," she demands. "Voldemort killed his parents and last year his godfather, the closest thing he ever had to a father, to a family. So don't you dare blame him," she finishes in a whisper as she realizes for the first time what all she had just said. "Voldemort has marked Harry," she whispers furiously. "He's marked him for death and he won't stop until he's dead," she continues still awed and horrified with this new found knowledge. "I will be beside him till the end," she vows, "he is my friend, but can you say the same," she demands. She breathes deeply and wipes the tears from her face and eyes. "We're through," she finally whispers to him, "we are no longer dating and we for sure are no longer friends," she finishes with a growl.
"I think I have to agree," Ron whispers back, "I didn't mean to," he starts but can't finish.
By this time in the argument, one person in particular has had enough. Ginny stands up from her place beside Dean, her boyfriend, and looks vehemently over at the ex-couple. "Does this mean we won't be forced to watch your poor excuses at attempts to be lovers," she demands of them in a cold voice.
At the tone in her voice both Ron and Hermione look over at her. Hermione instantly knows something isn't right. Ron however being the dunce he is speaks up without thinking, "what's up with you," he growls at her.
This is the last straw for Ginny, "you two are idiots," she shouts angrier than either of them, have ever seen her before in their lives. For Ron this is saying something. "You stand there screaming at each other, Ron proving to the rest of us you are no friend, Hermione being oblivious to the truth," she shout out starting to hyperventilate. "a truth," she continues to shout, "the rest of us," she says with a wave at the unusually crowded Common Room, "have known for TWO WEEKS," she shouts louder causing some to cover their ears. Ginny sees this and takes a deep breath and exhales slowly before continuing in a lower tone of voice but just as deadly. "We have known for two weeks and you two haven't even," she drifts off unable to bring herself to say it. "You two," she restarts, "call yourselves his friends, he saved my," she says hitting the palm of her right hand to her chest, "life. He didn't have to; it wasn't his fault I was there. He almost died, you don't know how close he came to dying," she shouts out unable to stop herself at the end.
"What are you going on about woman," Ron demands as a fear grows in his heart. He has never seen Ginny act like this, for her to do so now can only mean something is very wrong.
Hermione looks at Ginny as she sees the tears form in the younger girl's eyes. She quickly looks around the room to see the same look in all of the females and a look of abject horror on the males. Hermione instantly knows she isn't going to like this and she knows it has everything to do with Harry.
"He's gone," Ginny finally whimpers as she loses the battle and starts to sob uncontrollably.
"Who's gone," Ron demands taken aback by his sister's reaction and yet at the same time frightened by it.
Neville stands up and gently takes Ginny into his arms and she gratefully goes. "Hermione, Ron," he says looking back and fourth between the two of them. He can see the fear, the horror in Hermione's eyes and the confusion in Ron's. "Two weeks ago out in the Quidditch pitch, Harry was," he pauses here as their eyes widen and their mouths drop open. "He was," Neville continues, "shot in the back with an arrow and was teleported away," he tells them sadly, "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has Harry," he finally spells it out for them.
"WHAT!!!" Both Ron and Hermione shout as one.
"You two have been so wrapped up in yourselves and your own world you never noticed Harry was alone. To notice how much pain he has been going through, how he refuses to let anyone get close to him at all this year. You haven't even noticed he stopped eating with you. How he doesn't spend any time at all with either of you," Ginny shouts out from the protection Neville is giving her.
"You haven't even noticed him missing from classes," Neville adds on as Ginny once again buried her head in his chest and cries.
By this time Hermione is crying as well, she feels her legs give out and she slowly sits down on the floor where she is standing. "Poor Harry," she sobs out. Fighting against the urge to run to her dorm, the urge to run to Dumbledore, the urge to just stay here and cry she slowly stands on unsteady feet and walks slowly over to where Neville and Ginny are and she places her hand softly on Ginny's shoulder. "Why didn't you tell me," she asks in a whimper as Ginny slowly raises her head to look at her.
Ginny slowly and very reluctantly steps out of Neville's arms and wraps her arms around Hermione and cries into her shoulder, "he asked me not to tell you unless you asked."
Hermione wraps her arms around Ginny and the two ladies stand there crying, not realizing the rest of the girls in Gryffindor are crying along with them and not noticing one tall red headed boy who is crying with them as well.