Disclaimer: This fanfiction is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
In disbelief, Harry reread the letter. Sure enough, it had said that Ron and Hermione had broken up. He just couldn't believe that this had happened.
Ron and Hermione seemed so happy together; they were always talking with each other...and disagreeing...and fighting...then not speaking for a day, thought Harry.
These thoughts swirled around in Harry's mind until finally, it hit him like a bludger to the head.
Wait a minute, thought Harry. They really weren't happy together, were they? It seemed that all they did was fight and not speak while they were dating. It was a notorious pattern with them. In that case, maybe it is for the best that they aren't together anymore - maybe they'll fight less and get along more, pondered Harry.
Harry stared blankly at the letter, still thinking about Ron and Hermione. Now what was he to do? Ginny would eventually find that the letter was missing. She would want it back for sure - no one knew about the break-up except for Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and now Harry, unbeknownst to the latter, and Harry was sure that Ginny would want to keep the break-up secret...at least until Ron and Hermione were ready to let it out. Hogwarts was famous for spreading gossip faster than a disarmament spell, and Harry knew that a certain few students in a certain house - none other than Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle from Slytherin - would just love to stick it to Ron and Hermione.
Harry considered just putting the letter back where he found it, but then he thought of the possibility of someone else finding and reading it, and that was no good. He also thought of stuffing it under Ginny's dormitory door, and then realized that one of the other girls in her room could easily pick it up and read it. Running out of options, Harry decided that honesty was the best policy, and that he would just find Ginny and return the letter to her in person.
Harry stuffed the letter into his robe pocket and set out to find Ginny. He figured that she would be in the library, seeing as she was in the middle of writing something, and that she probably wanted to finish it in peace. Just as Harry turned the corner into the library, he spotted her. She was in the far corner of the library's quiet study room, which was empty, and was hunched over a piece of parchment. Her quill was dancing madly about the page, and she seemed to be very taken with her writing.
Ginny looks exactly like Hermione when she's writing her essays, thought Harry, as he chuckled lightly.
Harry approached Ginny's table and sat down on the chair across from her. Right as Harry sat down, Ginny jerked her head up swiftly and gasped. She quickly threw her arms over her parchment so that Harry couldn't read what she had written. Her face began to redden as she opened her mouth to speak.
"Hi, Harry, w-what's up?" Ginny said in a shaky, hushed whisper. Her face was now almost as red as her hair, and she looked very nervous.
"I need to talk to you, Ginny," whispered Harry. "Can we go to the common room?"
"O-okay, let me gather my things," Ginny replied. She closed her ink bottle tightly, put away her quill, and folded the parchment in thirds, so that it was folded like a letter, Harry noticed.
It must be the reply to Hermione's letter, thought Harry.
After Ginny put her things in her carryall, they headed out of the quiet study room into the library's main study room, which was occupied by a good number of students. As they walked through the room, a round of giggles soon followed. Harry wondered what was so funny, but his question was soon answered by a second-year Slytherin's hushed remark, "Look at Weasley's arms, she's got ink all over `em!"
Ginny's face became even redder, if that was possible.
Harry surmised that the ink was from the parchment that Ginny had been writing on. Ginny had laid her arms on top of the wet ink on the parchment when Harry sat down. Now he felt bad - he didn't mean to make a spectacle out of her in front of the whole library, that's why he asked her to come to the common room.
As soon as they exited the library, Ginny's face contorted as she started scrubbing at her arms, trying to get the ink off. She excused herself to the nearest restroom and emerged ink-free in minutes. As Harry and Ginny made their way to the common room, not a word was spoken between them. Apparently, she was still embarrassed about the ink incident. Once they had entered through the portrait hole, Harry asked Ginny to sit down at one of the tables. The room was empty, thankfully, so Harry had the perfect chance to return the letter to Ginny. She sat down, pensively, wondering what Harry had wanted with her. She hugged her carryall closely to her stomach, as if it was her security blanket. Harry sat down - his back to the portrait hole - and reached into his robe pocket. He pulled out the letter and brought it into sight. Holding it out over the table, he presented it to Ginny. Looking at him oddly, she took the letter, unfolded it, and began to read. It didn't take her long to realize what it was.
Perplexed, Ginny looked up at Harry. Her mouth slightly agape, Ginny set the letter down on the table.
"Harry, h-how did you get this letter?" Ginny was flabbergasted.
"When you left the common room earlier you must've dropped it, because I found it underneath the couch after you had left," replied Harry. He knew what Ginny wanted to ask him next, and he noticed by the look on her face that she was unsure of how to ask him. After a lengthy pause, Harry decided that he would go ahead and give her the answer to the unasked, looming question.
"I-I read the letter. I'm sorry, I didn't know it was yours when I picked it up," blurted Harry. "I...I'm really sorry about Ron and Hermione," said Harry quietly. He looked down at the table, then at Ginny. She looked down at her carryall, twisted its handles, and then looked back up at Harry.
"Me too," said Ginny, her voice barely audible.
Just then, Ron burst through the portrait hole. Ginny saw him first, as she had a clear view of the common room entrance. She quickly confiscated the letter off the table and stuffed it into her carryall as Harry turned to see who it was, as he had his back to the portrait hole. He saw Ron walking toward him, wearing a relieved look on his face.
"Ah! There you are, Harry! I've been looking all over for you!" Ron exclaimed. "I've got to talk to you about the trip to Hogsmeade tonight," said Ron. "Will you excuse us, Ginny?" Ron beamed at his sister with a questioning look.
"S-sure, I've got to get ready for the trip, anyway," replied Ginny. She glanced at Harry as she stood and proceeded up the stairs to her dormitory.
Harry looked back at Ron. "Have a seat. What's up?" said Harry.
"I was wondering if you could help me with something, Harry," replied Ron, thoughtfully.
"What is it, Ron?" inquired Harry.
"I want your help in winning back Hermione-" Ron was cut off abruptly as Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas stepped through the portrait hole.
`Winning back Hermione?!' But she wants to be his friend, not his GIRLfriend! How can I help Ron win her back when I know that Hermione doesn't want a relationship! thought Harry.
A/N - Well, that's the second installment. I have a lot planned for this fanfic, so stayed tuned! I appreciate all of the reviews, thank you to all of you. Just as a reminder, this is an H/Hr fanfic. Please keep reading and reviewing!