"Hey"
"Hmmm?"
Her eyes gaze back at her book as I sat down next to her for breakfast in the Great Hall.
"Pumpkin Juice?" she asked. Without waiting for an answer, she flicked her wand and a goblet of orange liquid appears in front of me. I smile at her and sip at the cool liquid. Subconsciously, my eyes find their way to her. She always doing something, never once is she seen without a book, or, a bag full of books. If anyone thought that reading a book at least 500 pages long, and remembering every detail, per day is impossible, well, the contradiction sits next to me. Hermione Granger. And extraordinary girl or perhaps woman, would be a better term, never was she an achiever, only an over achiever…a perfectionist. But the way she treats herself nowadays, I really abhor it.
"Hermione."
Her name leaves my lips in barely a whisper. I shift closer to her, hoping to stir some reaction inside of her.
Nothing. Her eyes remain fixed on her book. Oh screw that damned book! I need her to see me, or at least acknowledge my presence. Desperate, I grabbed her left hand with my right, and entwine our fingers.
"Hermione." I say, louder than the last, but still in a whisper.
She flinches, and her eyes move towards me, her head slowly turning. Finally, I have her attention.
"Stop this" I hiss at her, barely audible, but I know she heard me.
She raises her eyebrows, so very unlike Hermione.
"Oh, don't act Hermione! You know perfectly damned well what I'm talking about! Please…don't do this to yourself. Stop the pretence."
Slowly, her facial expression changes. She looks angry. Boy, she looks hot when she's angry.
"And why do you care?!? Stop? Hah, stop yourself Ginny! Stop acting like you give a damn about me. What do you want from me really? I don't have anything left Ginny! Do you understand? It's great when we're together…or when we were together. I've nothing now Ginny. I just got…hate, hate for that fucking son of a bitch Draco, and his parents. His parents, thought it'll be fun, yes fun, to kill my parents! Just because I'm a filthy, stinking mudblood." Tears stained her face and all I wanted to do was to embrace her, at her weakest, most vulnerable moment, I wanted her to know I cared.
"Hermione…"
"No Ginny! Don't tell me you understand! Cause you don't. Don't…"
"Hermione, I don't understand. I don't understand at all. Why, why don't you let me help you? I love you, you know that."
"I'm…I'm not sure I do Ginny…I'm pathetic. You deserve someone better than me."
Muscles in my arm twitched. Though I didn't want to, I felt as though I had to. I tried to make it as painless as possible for Hermione, as the palm of my hand came into contact with her face.
"Hermione Granger. I'm here, right here for you whenever you need help. I don't care if you were being a bitch, I don't care if you ignored for no apparent reason these few weeks. I don't care if you don't know how much pain I feel when you disappear and not talk to me for days. I don't care even if you humiliated me in front of the whole of Hogwarts. But never, never, say that you're not good enough for me.As cliché as this may sound, you're more, much more than what I've ever wanted. I love you, do you understand that? I love you so much Hermione and don't you for a second forget that."
Maybe it was the sudden realization that I was right, or maybe she just wanted me to shut up. But the salty kiss we shared meant more than contact, it meant more than that detention I had with professor Snape. It meant…It meant that I loved her, and she loved me back.