'Cause I Am With You

chapter five: backstabber

'Cause I am with you
Now I've got to explain
Things, they have changed
In such a permanent way
- The Strokes "Alone Together"

Bill and Fleur left for France that night. Hermione felt bad that she didn't say goodbye to them, but at the same time, she was content in staying alone in the twins' room. She could smell food Mrs. Weasley was heating up for dinner, and she felt her stomach rumble. She decided to go down for a quick bite. Besides, she figured, Ron and Ginny would make too much of a scene in front of their parents (then again, Ron did hit Harry in front of the wedding party).

Hermione went downstairs and sat down at the table between Charlie and Fred. Ron, Ginny, and George were across from them. Ginny gave her an acid stare, and Ron refused to look in her direction.

"Hermione! Oh, I am glad you decided to come out," Mrs. Weasley said, serving Hermione's plate.

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley." Hermione started eating.

"So, Dad, have you been keeping up with Quidditch?" Fred asked, trying to ease the tension.

"I hear the Tornadoes may be shoe-ins for the Cup," Charlie said. "Internationally speaking, I think the Japanese are doing brilliantly."

"Don't forget the Icelandic team," Mr. Weasley said. "They beat Ireland just last week."

"A close game it was," George said. "They're playing Australia next week."

The talk of Quidditch made Hermione think of Harry, which made her queasy with worry. She kept thinking whether is was okay. Was he cold? hungry? in pain? She knew he would have loved to talk Quidditch with the twins and Charlie, especially Charlie.

Hermione had remembered the remark Ginny snapped at her the year before about how she would embarrass herself by talking Quidditch, but Ginny didn't give her that much credit. Hermione spent the past six years watching Harry play, and she even read a few books. She knew enough to know the best broom kit to buy for him, and she knew enough to know what was going on when she watched Harry play.

"You might want to ease up on the Quidditch talk," Ginny said, still glaring at Hermione. "Hermione'll get too confused."

Hermione didn't say anything. She looked down at her food and quietly ate.

"Little sister, you really need to leave Hermione alone," Charlie said.

Ginny threw her fork down. "Easy for you to say, Charlie!" She stormed out of the kitchen, and they heard her run up the stairs.

"If I'm too much trouble--" Hermione started.

"No, dear!" Mrs. Weasley assured her.

"Speak for yourself, Mum," Ron muttered, and he, too, left the table.

"I'll leave first thing in the morning," Hermione said. "I don't want to be a bother."

"No, no, you're not a bother!" Mrs. Weasley said.

"It would be safer for you to stay here," Mr. Weasley said.

Hermione got up. "No, no, I'll go pack my trunk." She went upstairs, stomach turning because she remembered she left her things in Ginny's room.

But Ginny remembered that, too, and when Hermione went upstairs, her trunk was overturned in the hall, her shirts, pants, skirts, knickers, socks, everything was scattered about. She felt something hard under her foot, and she realized it was her wand, broken in half. She cursed herself for leaving her wand on Ginny's dresser. Ginny had broken it, she knew, and her Prefect's badge was right next to it. Ginny charmed it to say "BACKSTABBER" instead of "PREFECT" across the lion.

Hermione gathered her things up and stuffed them in her trunk, broken wand included. She picked up Crookshanks's basket, and she went downstairs to get him.

"Mrs. Weasley, do you have any Spellotape?" Hermione asked, stopping in the kitchen.

Mrs. Weasley got up to get it for her. "Yes, dear, why?"

"Oh, my wand is broken." Hermione pulled it out of her trunk.

"How did that happen?" George asked.

"How else? Ginny," Fred answered. "Perfect break right in the middle. Definitely our Ginny Weasley's work."

"Oh, here, Hermione, I'll just repair it for you," Mrs. Weasley said. She took out her own wand and repaired Hermione's.

Crookshanks came in the open kitchen door, and Hermione got him in his basket. "Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," she said, taking her wand. "I think I'll just leave tonight."

She shrank her trunk, pocketed it, held onto Crookshanks, and before the Weasley's could object, she Apparated to Diagon Alley.

Harry came back into his room after he showered and shaved, and he tossed Hedwig an owl treat. Hedwig nipped his finger, and he smiled. He looked out the window at the rising sun. Had it only been twenty-four hours since Hermione had kissed him? So much happened in one day, and Harry could barely believe it.

"Come back here!" he heard a voice outside the door yell.

He opened the door to see a flash of orange fur run in his room. A flash of brown hair was close behind it.

"Crooks! Get back here!"

Harry's jaw dropped. "Hermione, what are you doing here?"

Hermione scooped up Crookshanks, and she felt a wave of relief to see Harry was okay. "Oh, Harry! You're all right!"

Harry hugged her, despite Crookshanks hissing against his chest. "What are you doing here?" he asked again.

"I had to leave. Ginny and Ron...oh, you know they can be stubborn. Mrs. Weasley and Mr. Weasley didn't want me to go, but I couldn't stay any longer." Hermione sighed. "I wish you had stayed, just to try to talk to Ron."

Harry frowned and went over to the window. "He doesn't want to talk to me."

Hermione shut the door and put Crookshanks on the bed. "Harry, I know you don't want to, but you know we both need Ron. He's your best friend, and mine. I hate this! This...this fighting!"

Harry knew she was right. He never liked fighting with Ron, and he knew he wanted Ron back on his side again. But Ron was being a stupid git.

"And so are you," Hermione whispered, knowing what Harry was thinking.

Harry crossed his arms. "Okay, okay, we'll go back to talk to him." He sighed but smiled. "You're always right, you know."

Hermione went over and hugged him. "I know."

Ginny kicked her Quidditch shoes in anger after she threw Hermione's trunk out. She heard Hermione gather her things up, and she smiled at her work on Hermione's badge and wand.

"Serves her right," Ginny said out loud. "Some friend she was. Just be yourself around Harry. Just talk to Harry! He'll like you!" she mocked Hermione. Ginny plopped down on her bed and picked Arnold up. "And what does she do, Arn? She kisses him! No, she snogs him! I bet she's not even a good kisser."

Ginny put Arnold down and rested back on her pillow. "Good riddance to her. I don't need her friendship! I have other friends!" Ginny sighed and sat up. "But she was the first one to get me to come out of my shell, and she befriended me during my first year."

She got to her feet and paced around her room. "But who cares! She went behind my back, still knowing I had feelings for Harry, and she snogs him! 'Love', ha! What does she know? She doesn't love Harry. I love Harry! I know he still loves me."

She sighed and picked up her old Quaffle off the floor. "Why else would he have ended it? He knew I'd be in more danger." She bounced the Quaffle off the wall and caught it. "It's not like Hermione's any better than I am! She didn't curse Malfoy with the Bat-Bogey so we could get away. She was never possessed by Tom Riddle!"

Ginny threw the Quaffle down and sat down on her bed. "Then again, Ron and Harry did depend on her a lot. She did help them out of a lot of scrapes." Ginny got back to her feet and picked the Quaffle up. "Big fucking deal! So she's swotty. Book smarts isn't everything! "

She threw the Quaffle across the room in frustration. "Big fucking deal..." she sighed under her breath.