Sighs
Chapter 5
A/N: Wow. Chapter 5. Longest thing I've ever written. And it's going to be longer still. ^_^ Lavender is resolved. And no I will not drop anything heavy on her. I'm not that nice. And remember. Ron and Luna are swapping spit. So no Ron/Lavender here. I was thinking about Malfoy…
Birthday's coming up, getting a new computer. Yay!
Warnings: None. Well. Angst galore. A little bit of language.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I also don't own any other characters from the books. Those belong to J.K.R. and her wonderful imagination.
Now. On to the story.
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Ron and Draco looked at each other and sighed. Both were in complete agreement:
Harry Potter is a flaming IDIOT.
Ron looked over at Hermione and sighed. 'Dammit Harry! Why can't you see what you're doing to her? And they call ME dense. HA! I've got nothing on Harry. Four bloody years and STILL nothing between them. BAH!'
Draco looked over at Hermione and sighed. 'Stupid, useless, good for nothing POTTER! He's got everything he's ever wanted RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIS NOSE AND, AND…BAH! Hey!'
"Checkmate! HA! You suck Weasley!"
"WHAT?!"
Ron looked down at the board. Sure enough, a rook was demolishing his king.
"DAMN YOU HARRY! I LOST TO A MALFOY!"
Malfoy smirked.
Ron's fist hit Malfoy's smirk again.
Malfoy's smirk won.
"Are you two done?" Hermione whispered. "If you are, you should get to bed. Draco, you should head back to your dorm. You too Ron. I'm going to bed."
With that said, Hermione trudged up the stairs her head down and her feet heavy. Ron and Draco looked on as she disappeared.
"Well, I've got to get going. They're sure to miss my sparkling presence in the Slytherin Common Room. See you around Weasley. Good game."
"Right. I'll beat you next time. I was distracted."
Draco walked out the portrait hole and Ron was alone. Well…not completely alone.
"Ron!"
The whisper came from nowhere and Ron whipped out his wand.
"Whoa! Easy mate, it's me! Harry!"
Harry appeared out of thin air as he whipped off the Invisibility Cloak.
"HARRY! You scared the bejeezus out of me. What are you doing down here, with your cloak?!"
"I needed to talk to you, alone. I don't think Malfoy would have left if he saw me coming down the stairs. He's been meaning to yell at me for a while. I'm not in the mood right now. I need to talk to you, but not here."
Ron shrugged and got under the cloak. Together they walked to the North Tower.
When they reached it, Harry pulled off the cloak and spoke.
"Look. Something's wrong with Hermione. I don't know what it is, but it's been bothering me for a few days. She doesn't speak as much, and yesterday was the first time I've heard her laugh in a long time."
Maybe Harry wasn't as dense as Ron thought.
"I mean, I know she fancies you, but you have a girlfriend. It's not because of that is it?"
Okay. Maybe he was.
Time for megaphone that is Ron Weasley.
"HARRY YOU GREAT PRAT!"
With that said, Ron smacked Harry on the back of the head.
"HERMIONE DOES NOT FANCY ME! I'VE GOT LUNA AND SHE'S FINE WITH THAT! SHE FANCIES SOMEONE ELSE!"
"RON! Keep it down! Filch'll hear and then we'll have detention! Maybe she fancies Malfoy."
Ron gagged. Hermione with Malfoy? Ewwww…
"NO. She does NOT fancy Malfoy. I know this for a fact. You know what? I don't care if Hermione hexes me for the rest of my life for this, it needs to be said. SHE FANCIES YOU! SHE ALWAYS HAS AND SHE ALWAYS WILL! WHEN WILL YOU PULL YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR ARSE LONG ENOUGH TO NOTICE!?"
That being said, Ron's duty was done. Sure, he had betrayed a friend, but it was for a good cause. It was for love! And his nerves. But mostly for love!
Meanwhile, Harry was doing a rather good impression of a fish.
"Me? ME? WHAT?!"
"I don't know WHY, for the life of me. YOU'RE the one who had to go RUNNING to Lavender, and immediately start sucking face. She broke up with you for a reason. Did you ever stop to ASK the reason? Or were you too focused on the fact that you no longer had to answer to anyone?"
"That's not fair. She never TOLD me the reason. And I did not go running to Lavender. I walked. And it took a while for me and her to get together."
Ron scoffed, "Oh yes. All of a WEEK. Do you want to know WHY she broke up with you?"
Harry scowled. "Pray tell."
"She broke up with you because she didn't think she was good enough for you."
Harry and Ron whipped around so fast their necks cracked.
Ginny.
"It's KILLING HER to see you with Lavender, Harry. And you're to busy sucking up and sucking face to notice. THAT'S why she doesn't laugh anymore. THAT'S why she hasn't been herself. Because YOU'RE too busy to be her friend."
Harry, again, could have been mistaken for a fish.
Ron sighed.
"Finally."
"WHAT? Why would she think THAT?! She's TOO good for me! Who told her she wasn't good enough?! WAS IT LAVENDER?! THAT…"
"NO, Harry. It wasn't Lavender. And no one had to tell her. She figured it out on her own. You weren't spending any time with her anymore, you hardly ever kissed, or hugged or anything. You didn't buy her flowers ONCE. And not once did she hear the words, 'I love you', come from your lips. What was she supposed to think?"
"I didn't think she needed all of those things. I mean, I loved her, I thought she knew that!"
"She's a GIRL Harry. We like to hear those things. Men may think it's weird, but we like to hear verbal affirmation of affection."
Harry looked confused.
Ginny sighed.
"Words, Harry. Flowers. Letters. Random presents. DATES for god sakes. The words 'I love you'. We need these things. Believe it or not, we're very sensitive creatures. And Hermione may seem like a know-it-all, but when it comes to love, she's as inexperienced and unsure as you are. Did you ever take her out for a date. AND NOT A TRIP TO HOGSMEADE WITH RON AND ME. Just the two of you. Did you? I didn't think so."
Harry looked shocked.
Ron looked pleased. His sister was doing what he and Malfoy together, couldn't do. He was rather frightened though, because Ginny was doing a very good impression of their mother.
Harry opened his mouth to respond but nothing came out.
Ginny scowled.
"Well? I'm waiting to hear you defend yourself. If silence is al I hear, then it means that I'm right, and you've been an arse."
Harry glared at Ginny.
"I didn't know that! We're MALE for crying out loud. We're DENSE." At this, Ron squeaked out a protest. "Ron, you KNOW we are. You especially. We don't know everything, and when it comes to women we are utterly LOST. You mean that girls like to hear all those things, and do all those things, but never tell us? We're just supposed to assume that we're to be sappy cuddly teddy bears? That's not how it works Ginny. Whoever told you that is a moron. We CAN'T know all that."
"Harry. She was your GIRLFRIEND. What do you think that entails? Free sex with no strings? NO! SHE LOVED YOU! IF YOU'D PAY ATTENTION, YOU'D KNOW THAT SHE STILL LOVES YOU. SHE WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU."
"You know, Hermione and I, we never…you know."
"That's not the point! The point is that you had exactly what you wanted right in front of you and you tossed it away because you were a dense, stupid, oblivious MORON. You say that all you want is a family? A place to call home? You HAD that. It was Hermione! She's all the family you'll ever need! She's the only HOME you'll ever need. We Weasley's? We're your family too, but not like Hermione. You'll always have a place with us, but YOUR place, where YOU belong, is with HER. Everyone around you can see it. Why can't you?"
"She wanted more than I had to give. She wanted my heart and I can't give that to ANYONE."
"Bullshit."
Harry turned and stared at Ron. "What did you say?"
"You heard me. That's the biggest load of crap I have ever heard. Why can't you give that to anyone? Because you'll get hurt? WHAT DO YO THINK HERMIONE DID? LOCKED HER'S AWAY IN A LEAD BOX SO NO ONE COULD TOUCH IT?! NO! She gave it to you! She gave it to you, and when she got it back, it was in a million pieces. You think you got hurt? Hermione had to have a relationship with someone who refused to try. I think she would have been better off with Malfoy than the you right now."
"Ron, what right do you have to speak? You HAVE a girlfriend. You'll have a huge family, and…"
"I HAVE a girlfriend because I tell her that I love her. Because I come up and hug her whenever I can. Because I buy her flowers and write her letters. Because I TRY to have a relationship. You? You sat back and watched it die. You didn't even FIGHT to save it."
Harry looked stricken. But then his expression changed.
"She said some horrible things! I would have saved her if I knew! And that comment about Sirius…"
"She didn't MEAN it Harry. You know that! And she knows you would have been there. She didn't mean any of it! Hermione's too, too…HERMIONE, to say anything like that and MEAN it! You're running out of excuses."
Ginny Death Glared Harry. Which was the last straw.
"FINE! Fine. What am I supposed to do now? I'm with Lavender, and Hermione probably hates me right now. So WHAT am I supposed to do? Oh geniuses. Tell me."
"Okay. Now we're getting somewhere." Ginny sat down next to Harry, "First off, she doesn't hate you. It's very hard to hate the one you love. Secondly, Break up with Lavender." Harry looked like he wanted to protest, but Ginny covered his mouth with her hand. "I know that you don't like hurting people, at least not overtly, but this is one of those times where you're going to have to. Just tell her that it's not going where you were hoping, and that you weren't really into it. In fact, you can probably tell her it was a rebound thing. I hope you have a hard cheek, because it's going to get slapped."
Harry grimaced and nodded, "Then what?"
Ron spoke up.
"THEN you're going to go to wherever Hermione is and apologize. Grovel. Beg. Bring flowers, chocolate and a very nice piece of jewelry. Also, try to make yourself look neat. WHAT? Why are you looking at me like that? It's what I do when Luna gets angry with me! It works!"
Harry closed his mouth and nodded, almost disbelievingly. RON WEASLEY, giving HIM tips on women? What kind of parallel universe had he stepped into?
"Good. Now. You'll need your sleep. And besides, it's awfully late."
"Wait, wait. Tomorrow we have classes. Potions and DADA. When should I do it?"
"Do it at dinner. In the Great Hall. In front of the whole school."
"RONALD WEASLEY! Don't plot to embarrass your friend. Do it after dinner in the common room. Less people then."
Harry grinned at Ron's expression, and nodded.
"Thanks Ginny. I guess I really did need some sense beaten into me. Thanks for everything."
Harry gave Ginny a hug, and swatted Ron on the arm.
"Ron, your mom's not going to pop up anywhere. Stop looking so scared."
Ron shook himself and grinned.
"Good. Now that THAT'S resolved, I can finally get some peace and quiet. Luna's been bothering me for days about this. Yeesh."
With that, the three Gryffindors huddled under the invisibility Cloak and headed back to the Common Rooms.
Hermione had stopped crying, sleep had taken her at last.
Peace reigned in the night at Hogwarts.
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A/N: Okay. So not too much angst. Things are coming together. Lavender will be in the next chapter, so this is a warning. And, again, NO, I will not drop anything heavy on her. I may have her trip and fall. I've decided that Malfoy will NOT be in a relationship with Lavender. Ginny's a MUCH better match. Besides. I'm not THAT evil. Right? Right? HEY! Where'd everyone go?! ^_^