The common room had an odd atmosphere about it as Ginny entered, books defensively clutched in front of his chest and her hair falling messily over her face to hide her reddened eyes. Those who had been talking stopped, and almost every head turned; yet no one bothered to ask her what was wrong. Not that she would have stopped anyway; she was determined to get to the dorms undisturbed so that she could study any of her worries away. There was, of course, another member of Gryffindor missing from the common room. A sixth year, Dean Thomas, who had been dating Ginny for a couple of weeks now: although it was common knowledge that their arguments often resulted in tears, something seemed different.
As soon as she had reached the dorm the three friends turned to each other, none really sure what to do. Ron was, quite obviously, furious at the thought of his sister being upset but due to her running into the girls dorms he could do nothing about it. "I'm going to find that...that...tosspot Dean!" His shoulders visibly tensed as he spoke, his fists now clenched into two tight balls. He looked to Harry and Hermione for support, and without a moment's hesitation Harry nodded. Hermione, on the other hand, was not as quick to agree. "I don't think that's a good idea..." She paused, her hands now nervously clutching her knees as she saw Ron's rage gradually shift so that it was directed at her. "Hitting Dean isn't going to do anything to help the situation, just think logically for a moment!" And by 'think logically' she was actually implying that Dean would most certainly beat Ron in a duel, though as per usual her hint went unnoticed and her warning unheeded. Instead Ron and Harry stood up, in unison, and stared down at her before storming off to 'sort the situation out'.
Hermione sighed and closed her eyes, positive that her two idiotic friends were only going to make the situation worse; so instead she decided to go up to the girls' dorms and see if she could find out what was wrong from Ginny herself. By then the common room had returned to its usual hustle and bustle and so the walk up to the dorm was not as awkward as the witch had anticipated it to be.
"Ginny?"
Her voice timidly called out as she opened the door, her gaze automatically falling upon the sobbing red-head tucked away in the corner of the room. She only knew Ginny had heard her because the sobbing had been spontaneously quelled and the turn of a page was made painstakingly obvious. "Look, Ginny, have you told anyone about what Dean is doing?" She approached slowly and quietly, not sure how the younger witch would take to the questioning.
"What do you mean?" Ginny turned, rubbing her bloodshot eyes from any straying tears and forcing a smile. "Me and Dean are in love." Hermione could see that her body was shaking and it made her heart drop, she couldn't believe that Ginny could carry on with the relationship. They'd become close through quidditch, Dean Thomas being a Gryffindor chaser, but they didn't seem to have any apparent spark. Not like between her and Harry, anyway (there continuous flirting was so obvious, it was probably what sparked most of the arguments with Dean). She couldn't think of what to say, instead she just reached over and brushed a strand of Ginny's hair back behind her ear before allowing her fingers to brush through the soft, auburn locks. "I know it's hard but you can talk to me Ginny, you know that..?" Hermione sat down next to Ginny, her eyes only briefly glancing down at the mismatched array of text books she had sprawled out over the bed – several of each her flecked with tears.
Ginny laughed, unnaturally, before clasping Hermiones hand in her own. "It's valentine's day, Hermione. Dean is taking me out tonight; we're running off to Hogsmeade for meal and then sneaking back. Why would I be sad?" Hermione couldn't believe what she was hearing, it was obvious that what Ginny had just told her was a lie but if it wasn't it was probably the most foolish thing she could have ever done. Suddenly Hermione grabbed Ginnys hand harder and then pulled her off the bed and into a standing position, where they now stood awkwardly close to each other. "
"Stop lying to yourself!"
She couldn't contain herself and as a result her words were a little louder than originally intended, but it seemed that it finally made Ginny crack. Her smile dropped almost immediately and her eyes glossed over, instinctively Hermione pulled Ginny into a tight her, cooing and assuring her that everything would be alright as she felt tears seep into her shoulder. "I'm here for you Ginny" She whispered as she pulled out of the hug, still holding Ginnys arms she began to rock them back and forth. "You've just got to forget about him!" She smiled, hoping that her friend would laugh along with her. "How about we go on a valentines date?" At this Ginny did smile, finally laughing as her Hermione pulled her around the room and into an odd, hazardous kind of waltz.
"A date with Hermione Granger!" Ginny panted, her laughter now wispy and light due to their rather energetic dancing. "It's just what I've always wanted" the pair stopped, both smiling at each other, Hermione now brimming with relief as she managed to pull her friend out of her sorrow; seeing a Weasley sad was an odd sight, that's for sure. For once Hermione didn't really think of the consequences, she would treat Ginny like the most treasured girl in the world, like a Princess, for a night in the hopes that it will make her forget whatever Dean said to her. Friends looked out for each other, and in times like these (with Dumbledores' army now fully formed) Hermione was keen to make every friendship as strong as possible.
"I hope I don't make Harry jealous." Hermione sniggered before leaning in an softly claiming Ginny's lips in a kiss; Ginny didn't retort, simply enjoying a blissfully intimate moment between two friends.