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Chapter 6- Twisted
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Horse Back Riding with a crowd of witches and wizards proved to be more than interesting. More than once the group had to stop Mr. Weasley from "experimenting" with a horse, and also keeping Fred and George from experimenting as well. Alex did her best to stay with the group. She wanted to go full speed, but kept her cool. Harry and Ginny were near impossible to separate. Their horses were so close you would have thought they were conjoined.
Hermione came up on Alex and Ron. His ears turned a slight shade of pink and cut of Alex as soon as she opened her mouth to say something about it.
Alex smiled. Hermione had been focused on Harry and Ginny. She was glaring and hadn't noticed.
"What's wrong Hermione?" Ron asked.
She jumped a little at the sound. "Oh, nothing. Nothing. Just focusing."
Alex looked over at her.
"Hermione, you look sick." Alex noted.
"I'm fine!" She snapped.
"Just concerned jeez." Alex muttered.
"So, Hermione." Ron said trying to make conversation. "Did you know Malfoy had a girlfriend?"
Not thinking she looked at him horrified, and then to Alex.
"You told him?"
Alex's eyes widened. "No!"
Ron looked at her confused. "Yes you did. You said he was taken."
"Hermione for the love of Merlin calm down." Alex looked at her sternly. "Don't do anything stupid."
"Yea, it's not like you're dating him." Ron laughed.
Hermione stopped her horse. Her face was white.
Alex looked over at Ron with an equally pale face. Looking back she yelled, "I didn't tell him it was you, Hermione! Don't even think about blaming me for this one!" With that she took off to catch up with Ginny and Harry.
Ron stopped his horse too. His mum, dad and Fred and George were the only ones behind him. Mrs. Weasley glanced over.
"Is everything alright?" The rest of the group went ahead.
"Yea mum, it's alright." Ron nodded to get her to leave.
She shrugged and continued.
Ron looked at Hermione. She was shivering slightly.
"You?"
Hermione looked down and nodded slightly.
"Our enemy…a Malfoy?"
Hermione looked up, on the verge of tears. She held them back cautiously.
"I…I don't have to ask you for permission on who I want to date." She said steadily.
"Hermione! It's not about that; it's about betraying you're allegiance!"
"Betraying?"
"Hermione are you insane! He's OUR ENEMY. DO-YOU-UNDERSTAND-THAT?"
"I'm not stupid Ron."
"We have yet to determine that." He responded darkly.
Hermione sighed. "I knew no one would understand."
"How could you lie like this?"
Hermione looked up suddenly. "What?"
"You're lying to yourself. Thinking that you want this. You couldn't possibly want to be with him."
"Who else would I be with then, Ron?" Hermione glared at him.
He looked like he was about to say something, then thought better of it. "Never mind. You're just a traitor." Ron sped his horse up to catch up with the group, leaving Hermione behind.
Great. This is fabulous. Hermione thought. Now Ron hates me. Draco doesn't even know we're 'dating' and this lie is getting way out of hand….
Oh yea, this year would be different.
"We have a situation." Ron said quickly as he came up behind Harry.
Harry looked scared for a moment.
"Look, Ron if this is about me and Ginny…."
"It's Hermione."
Harry tried to the sigh he wanted to breathe in relief.
"What about her?" Ginny asked curiously.
Alex wanted to beat her. She was toying with Harry so innocently. She felt a wave of nausea sweep over her.
"She's…."
"Ron, don't you think this is a bad time?" Alex prompted suddenly.
He looked at her in confusion.
"We should at least wait until we get off the horses, I mean, we've been stopping and going for a while, you know?"
Ron thought about it.
"No. Too important. Hermione's dating Draco."
Harry's jaw dropped. "Our Hermione?"
Ginny began to glare.
"What?" Harry seemed to have grasped the concept faster than Alex expected.
They all turned their heads to look behind them as Hermione trailed slowly all the way in the back. Her eyes on the Horse beneath her.
"It can't be true." Harry whispered.
"That's what I said." Ginny mumbled.
"You knew?" Ron asked her.
She nodded. "Alex and I found out this morning."
Alex's mind was so tangled. Hermione liked Harry, but Harry likes Ginny, so she's dating Malfoy to get to Harry, and Ginny likes Draco so she's mad at Hermione and therefore dating Harry. Her head began spinning. This was way too complicated.
And then there was poor Ron. He liked Hermione, who is now supposedly dating his worst enemy. The saddest thing was it wouldn't work out for anybody in the end. It was just a large circle. A very interesting circle.
"What can we do?" Harry was saying.
"Alex could beat it out of her!" Ginny happily suggested.
Alex glared at her. "Now why would you assume I would beat her?"
"Cause…it'd be fun?" Ginny shrugged. Alex rolled her eyes.
"Or not."
"I guess we'll just see how it goes at school. It's the only thing we can do." Ron said sadly.
"Draco Dearest. Come down here please." Narcissa's urgent tone alerted Draco immediately. Maybe news of his father had finally come….
He stopped dead, however, when he saw his mother holding a note in her hand.
"What is this?"
"I don't know. What is it?" He tried to be coy.
"Draco, if this is some sort of joke it's not funny." Her face was paler that usual and eyebrows showed her anger was only increasing.
"Well, sort of. I'm not really dating her, it's just…." Draco stopped and laughed. "You know, I don't really know what it is, exactly."
"Draco what are you talking about?"
"The muggle girl I'm dating."
His mother fainted.
Rushing to her side he fanned her forehead quickly.
"Mum?" He looked around in panic. Noticing the letter he picked it up and scanned through it. It was an order form for Weasley Wizard Wheezes.
"Uh oh."
Back at the Burrow, the intensity of the air seemed to be growing thicker. Nobody was speaking much, and it made the atmosphere gloomier.
"Now really children, what has gotten into you all today?" Mrs. Weasley finally demanded.
"It's nothing really mum. We just don't want to talk about it right now." Ron said as he and Harry walked up into Ron's room.
Hermione, Ginny and Alex were all in Ginny's room sitting on the floor.
"So…you all hate me now, don't you?" Hermione whispered.
"You should be thankful we're even in the same room." Ginny mumbled.
Alex smacked her leg.
"Not hate, just disappointed in your lack of judgment."
"Thank you mother." Hermione said sarcastically.
Alex smacked her leg.
"Stop hitting people!" Hermione complained.
"Stop making me sit in a room with stupid people and we'll talk." Alex shot back.
"We're getting no where with this." Ginny stated as she rested her chin on her hand.
"I feel like the odd one out." Alex said depressingly.
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.
"You have Draco…Ew by the way. And now Ginny has Harry."
"Nothing's official yet!"
To Alex's surprise, it was Hermione that made the comment. The corner of Ginny's mouth upturned into a smirk.
"Don't worry about it. I hear Seamus has a thing for you." Ginny said trying to make casual conversation.
Alex gave her a skeptical look.
"I heard him talking to Dean about you once. Nothing but good things. Maybe it's your calling."
"Ew."
"What's wrong with Seamus?" Hermione asked.
"Nothing it's just…I think I like someone else. But I can't be sure."
"Who?" They both asked.
"No one." Alex smiled. Ginny could play with her brother, and Hermione could piss off Ginny to get to her brother, but Alex could top them both.
"That's not fair." Ginny whined.
"Oh well." Alex faked a yawn. "Oh look at the time, can you believe it's dark already. Better get to bed." Alex got up and lay on her cot. School would be starting next week. Alex could only imagine the mayhem that was going to happen. It would definitely be twisted beyond belief.