Sighs
Chapter 7
A/N: Well. I had a burst of inspiration. Thank you for the reviews. I wasn't too sure what I wrote last night…two nights ago, but apparently it was good. Don't worry. Harry gets his.
Warnings: ANGST. LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS AND…you get the picture.
Harry's a moron. And now he's going to PAY for being a moron.
Now. On to the story.
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Harry Potter stormed off. 'How DARE SHE?! Hermione's WAY better than Lavender can ever HOPE to be! I swear…' He was furious. But now he understood why he was furious.
Let it be said that Harry Potter wasn't the densest male to walk the planet.
Let it also be said that Harry Potter had to mend some fences.
'I hope Hermione's not going to be too mad at me. My cheek hurts from all the slapping.'
As Harry entered the Gryffindor Common Room, he was greeted by silence and stares.
"Did someone die…" Harry trailed off as he saw the stares. And the glares. Even Ron was shaking his head.
"What? What did I do? You were all hoping I'd pull my head out of my arse, and now that I've done it, you're going to condemn me for it?"
Ron walked over to Harry and, without warning, punched him in the face.
"Ron! WHAT?! WH…"
"Harry, shut your face. Lavender told us what you did. How could you?!"
Realization dawned.
"And exactly what did she tell you? That I slept with her? That I slapped her? That I broke up with her because I was a moron?"
"No. She told us how you used her. And that you think that she's useless and stupid and annoying. It makes me wonder just what you think of me." Ron finished this with a glare. "She told us the truth, Harry. Nothing more, nothing less."
"Right. HER truth maybe. I never said that. Well…YOU said she was an airhead, and I SORT OF agreed with you. And you know what I think of you Ron. You KNOW. I've told you a million times; you're the brother I never had. That I wish I could have had growing up. And now you choose to doubt me, just because my EX-girlfriend decides she wants to badmouth me?"
"Harry. Did you use Lavender to get back at Hermione? DID YOU?"
"…"
"HARRY! ANSWER ME DAMMIT?! DID YOU OR DIDN'T YOU!? WELL? WHICH ONE?!"
"…maybe. No. Yes. OKAY! FINE! GOD DAMMIT TO HELL! YOU PEOPLE, RON, ALL OF YOU, YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!"
"Right. So there we are. Did you use me too? And Ginny? And every other person you've 'befriended'?"
"WHAT? Ron! You don't understand!"
"Then why don't you explain, Harry? Hmm? Or can you? I don't think you can! THAT'S why you can't defend yourself, BECAUSE IT'S TRUE!"
"LAVENDER! SHUT YOUR GODDAMN MOUTH! I'M FUCKING SICK AND TIRED OF HEARING YOU SPEAK! ALL THAT EVER COMES OUT IS COMPLETE BULLSHIT!"
Lavender's mouth snapped shut so fast, her teeth clacked audibly.
"YOU WANT A BLOODY EXPLANATION? FINE! SHE BROKE MY GODDAMN HEART, AND DIDN'T GIVE ME A REASON! SHE LEFT ME, AND DIDN'T TELL ME WHY! THAT'S WHY I 'USED' LAVENDER! BECAUSE I DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING LEFT!"
Harry was gasping for breath at the end of that. Everyone else had backed away. Harry was glowing green again, and this time the glow of his eyes matched the aura surrounding him.
"She didn't even say goodbye Ron. It was just…over. And I was supposed to accept it."
"She did give you a reason! She had to! This is Hermione we're talking about! She never does anything without a reason!"
"No. You're right. She DID give me a reason."
Ron gestured for Harry to continue,
"She broke up with me because I didn't come to save her. Because I failed her, like I failed Sirius. Because I was too slow, and too stupid. THAT'S why, Ron. Because I wasn't who she thought I was."
The entire common room was as silent as a graveyard.
"But you would have come if you'd known! You would have! She knows that! You've SAID that! I don't get it! How could someone so smart be so stupid!?"
"I don't deserve her Ron. I don't. And don't say I do, because I don't. I failed her, when every other time, she's saved me. She's come to my rescue, to my aid, so many times, and the ONE time she needed ME, I wasn't there. What kind of boyfriend does that?"
"YOU DIDN'T KNOW! THAT'S NOT FAIR TO SAY! YOU LOVE HER DAMMIT! THAT'S ENOUGH!"
"Ron. You of all people should know by now. Sometimes, Love isn't enough. Sometimes, the Hero doesn't win. Sometimes, David gets the crap kicked out of him by Goliath. And sometimes, the right guy doesn't get the girl."
"Harry."
Ginny. Hopefully to the rescue.
"Harry, she loves you. She may be mad at you, but she still loves you. And I think that everyone here will agree with me. And you DO deserve her. I can think of no one else who would deserve happiness and peace, and love, more than you. She's it for you. And if you don't, if you…if you fail her now…"
"Ginny. I…"
"No, Harry. You're wrong! I know you're wrong, because love, especially now, is all that we have. It's the thing that's keeping You-Know-Who away. It's love that kept you alive as a baby. It's love that gives everyone hope! Our love for you, our faith, born out of that love, IN you, to change things. To bring the peace that we so desperately need."
"I'm going to die."
"Everyone dies Harry. It's how you live that matters."
"No. You don't understand. I'm going to die, or I'm going to become a murderer. I have to. And Hermione deserves better than that."
"What? I don't understand. What are you talking about?"
"Ginny, The 'weapon' that Voldemort was looking for? It was a prophecy. It foretold Voldemort downfall. It said that he would Mark the child born as the seventh month dies as his equal and that this marked person would either kill him or be killed by him. So you see? I'd become a murderer or be killed. One of the two."
"That doesn't matter Harry. You won't lose against You-Know-Who. You can't. And no one would blame you for ridding the world of its greatest threat. It's an act of mercy. Of good."
"She's right mate. You'd be hailed as the savior of the world. Again. But that's not what Hermione loves you for. She loves you because you're…you're…you're BLOODY HARRY! Around her, You're Harry Potter, The boy who was normal. The one who cares about her. The one who tries so hard to be more than he is. That's who you are. That's who you're supposed to be. Not this cynical, depressed THING you've become. If you have to kill Vo…Volde…VOLDEMORT DAMMIT! IF YOU HAVE TO BLOODK KILL HIM TO GET BACK TO THE HARRY I KNEW, THE HARRY WHO WAS MY BROTHER, THEN FUCKING DO IT ALREADY! I HATE THIS!"
Harry looked taken aback at the vehemence, quiet from Ginny, but no less meaningful that Ron's loud outburst.
"You're wrong. You're all wrong."
Hermione. And she didn't look pleased.
"That's not why I broke up with Harry. I didn't break up with him because he didn't walk into a trap to rescue me. That's not why."
"Then please, oh great and wise Hermione, explain WHY you've created this shell. This THING that's standing next to me."
"Because I was tired. I was tired of being, Harry Potter's girlfriend. I wasn't HERMIONE anymore. I wasn't known for my intelligence. I wasn't recognized because I changed the way things worked. I was know, I was recognized because I was someone else's girlfriend. Because I was attached to someone. And I was, AM, sick of it. I was tired of getting hate mail from angry females, mad at me because I loved someone. I was tired of getting stopped on the street to be asked what 'The Great Harry Potter' was like. I was tired to getting pestered for information on our private lives. I WAS FUCKING TIRED OF BEING HARRY'S GIRLFRIEND. THAT'S WHY. And I guess I got out at a good time too, because he would've USED me to get over the pain of having to kill someone. THERE'S YOUR BLOODY REASON HARRY. NOW GET OUT OF MY LIFE."
Hermione stalked back up to her room.
She missed the murmurs that started around the common room.
She missed the look of disbelief on Ron's face.
She missed Harry Potter nod his head and leave the room.
She had done something that Voldemort had never accomplished.
She had defeated Harry Potter.
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A/N: I was listening to Sarah McLachlan's "Stupid" off her Afterglow Album. It's the inspiration for this chapter. I suggest you listen to it if you have it, or to go buy the album if you don't. and THEN listen to it. ^_^
Chapter 8 is coming soon! Like, right after this! I'm beginning it as we speak. Or as I write. Or something! Less delay, more writing.
Good stuff.
I like food. They're like reviews. They're both necessary for survival! ^_^