Look, I'm doing better with the updating! You can thank insomnia. It's 2:30 in the morning and I just pumped out a chapter for "A Friendly Deception," and I figured I'd do the same with "SPEW." Not exactly sure where this is going, but I'm throwing around a few ideas…

I'd like to give a shout out to jasmine-leigh, who's been with this story from the beginning, and always reviews. Thank you!

And a special thank you to my Beta, Jasmine (BlueFlowerAlways). I love your procrastination, and I'm glad to have found my fangirl equivalent. School would be such a drag without you.

Sorry about the crazy long A/N. On to the story!

JK Rowling owns everything, including my soul.

Chapter 7

Hermione woke up and looked over at her side. Dobby wasn't there, but perhaps it was for the best. If people saw them cuddling up to one another, it most likely wouldn't be the most pleasant of things that could happen. In fact, it would be downright awful. She just imagined all the ridicule and the backlash that would come with it. Especially for Dobby. This would be potentially life-threatening for him. She was sure he was breaking some kind of code by being with her, and she hated putting him in that kind of position. But he seemed to want it, and so did she.

And then a thought crossed her mind. Hermione had never had much experience with relationships, if you could call her time with Ron a relationship. But though her experience was lacking, she knew that you should be proud of what you were involved in, and that you should be able to show off your boyfriend, or whatever the hell you could call Dobby at this point. It hurt her a bit to know that they could really never go public, and that she would have to keep it a secret for as long as it would last. Hermione didn't like it.

Great, we finally figure it out, and now I'm already disappointed with it? Maybe it wasn't Ron, maybe it was me…

Hermione thought for a minute. No, Ron was definitely jealous and possessive and a little too touchy for her taste. But the more she thought about it the more she realized that it might have also been her, not knowing what she wanted, and just being generally dissatisfied with everything.

Crap. I'm such a crazy person.

She managed to get herself up from the couch and go to the dormitory to change. It was a Sunday, and all her homework was already done. So what was there to do? The library again? It certainly did sound like a great idea, but for some reason she just felt really awful. All Hermione wanted to do was curl up in a ball and stay inside all day. And that was what she would do. There was no reason to do anything today.

So she went upstairs and changed into some new clothes, and got under the covers of her four poster bed, curling up to a good book about Hippogriff rights.

All of a sudden there was a loud 'pop' and Dobby appeared in front of her.

Hermione dropped her book in surprise. She would never get used to his sudden appearances.

"Dobby!"

"Dobby is sorry, Miss. Dobby wanted to see you."

Her heart swelled.

"Dobby is sorry he had to leave you this morning. Dobby didn't think it would be a very idea to get caught like that, Miss."

"No, I understand. It's okay."

"Wait one second, Miss."

There was a 'pop' and Dobby was gone again. Hermione sat there slightly confused, until a few moments later, he appeared again with a full breakfast. She smiled the brightest smile, in awe of what an adorable creature he could be.

"Dobby thought he would bring you some breakfast, Miss."

"Thank you so much!" He brought the plate over to her and she kissed his cheek. A blush creeped across his cheeks, and he began to draw circles on the floor with his foot.

"Dobby is sorry, Miss, but Dobby cannot stay. Dobby has work to do."

Hermione sighed. She thought she was going to have some company.

"That's alright. I understand."

Dobby kissed her hand, and with another 'pop,' he was gone.

She sighed again, and dug into her breakfast. Ginny came through the door, her cheeks flushed from what was most likely the cold air, and stopped in her tracks.

She raised her eyebrow. "Breakfast in bed? Since when does Hogwarts do that?"

"Erm…" Hermione stammered. What was she supposed to say? After several moments, she decided to go with the truth. Well, half anyway.

"Dobby brought it. We got a short meeting done this morning, and he just sort of brought it…yeah."

Ginny looked pensive for a moment, then shrugged it off.

"Okay, then. Hey…could you help me with this Potions essay? I have no idea what Snape wants from me."

Whew. She was in the clear.

"Sure, let me look at it…"

Hermione and Ginny spent most of the day working on her essay on antidotes. They talked lightly about things, and Hermione was glad to have the company. Ginny was one of her best friends, and it was nice to have her around.

"Hermione?"

"Hmm?" She looked up from the parchment.

"What went wrong with you and my brother? I'm just curious."

She felt like she could never escape the awkward moments.

"Do we really have to talk about this?" Hermione whined.

"It's just that he was so happy, and I know he's a real git sometimes, but I think he really loved you."

The words pulled at Hermione's heartstrings.

"He loved me?" she managed to choke out.

"Still does, if you ask me," Ginny replied. She tucked a lock of her flaming red hair behind her ear and crossed her legs.

"Look, Hermione. I'm not going to ask you to get back together with my brother. That wouldn't be right. I just think you might want to rethink what happened. And just be his friend. I think that might be best for him, for the both of you. You were friends before, and you can be friends after. I'm sorry if it's not my place to say anything, and if I made you feel uncomfortable."

"No, I'm glad you said something." And she was. She really was. But it made her even more confused. Did she really want to be with Dobby? Was he just a rebound, and a strange one at that? Did she give up too quickly with Ron?

"Thanks, Hermione. You're a lifesaver. I finally got this stupid essay done."

"No problem," Hermione mumbled.

"I'm going to meet Harry. Are you coming?"

"No, I don't want to intrude. Plus I have some reading I want to do."

Ginny chuckled. "Classic Hermione." And she left the dormitory.

Hermione sat on her bed, slightly ticked off. She envied the relationship Harry and Ginny had. They certainly seemed like they belonged together, and Hermione believed it. They fit together like two corresponding puzzle pieces. Why couldn't she have that? Why did she have to be tangled up in this, this…thing. She didn't even know what to call it. After Ginny's little talk, all these feelings started to rush back, and she realized what attracted her to Ron in the first place.

They walked hand in hand by the Black Lake, the September breeze blowing the beginning of fall's leaves around.

Ron stopped for moment, and looked into Hermione's eyes.

"You're beautiful," he said.

Hermione looked down, slightly embarrassed by his direct comment, but flattered nonetheless.

He took her chin in his hand and brought her eyes to his.

"Please don't hide your face. It's too lovely."

She smiled and kissed him sweetly on the lips. She loved it when he let his guard down, when he wasn't being a scatterbrained moron. This was the Ron she would always treasure, no matter what happened.

They sat down and stared out into the distance, and watched the Giant Squid jump out of the water. Hermione turned to Ron, and he met her gaze. He cupped her cheek and pulled her lips to his, and the familiar melting of their mouths came together, and Hermione relished in his passion. It was like nothing she had ever experienced, and she loved these sweet kisses. Not the public snogging. But this, she could never grow tired of. He continued to move his lips against hers, as they fit together perfectly with one another.

Perfect.

It was one of Hermione's fondest memories, and she found herself crying over reliving it in her head.

She wanted that closeness again. She wanted that feeling again. But she was torn. She loved the sweetness that came with Dobby, but hated the secrets. She wasn't sure if she was strong enough to withstand the harsh criticism and lying that would come with the relationship. If you could even call it a relationship. And then there was Ron, her wonderful git. She felt a little selfish, wanting that intimate closeness that she would never have with Dobby, and silently cursed herself for even thinking of being angry with Dobby for that. It wasn't his fault. It wasn't his fault that she was a total idiot.

Her mind wandered back to Ron, and her conflicting emotions. When things were good, they were great, and she missed that. But when things were bad they were just god awful. Hermione wasn't sure that she would be able to go through that again, with his jealous streak and possessive nature. She couldn't even talk to another guy, even about homework, without Ron throwing a fit. No, she couldn't deal with that.

Still, she felt pulled in two different directions. And she wasn't sure how she was going to manage it.

Why am I such an idiot?

Tired of feeling locked away in the dormitory, Hermione decided to go down to the common room and find someone to talk to. Or maybe she would just sulk in the corner.

She walked down the stone steps and was delighted, or maybe she wasn't, to see Dobby. There were others around, so she settled on delighted. It would force them to act completely professional in regards to S.P.E.W. No heavy conversations, no closeness until Hermione figured everything out.

"Hello, Miss. Ready for the meeting?"

Hermione sighed. "Yes, Dobby."

They went on and on about how to spread the word and get more people to care. To Hermione's surprise, she felt a lot better than she did before. They were laughing and sharing stories, which got a few looks from people, but nothing serious. It was one of the best meetings they ever had, and it felt nice to be so open around other people.

Maybe this won't be so bad. Maybe we can be like this from now on. Nothing wrong with that.

They finished up with the agenda, and Dobby Disapparated back to the kitchens.

Hermione was finishing gathering up her things when Ginny approached her.

"Hey, Ginny. How was your day?"

"Fine. Er, do you think we could talk? Alone?"

Her tone was confusing to Hermione, and it worried her a little.

"Yeah, sure. We can go find an empty classroom."

They walked down to the fifth floor and found a classroom that was unlocked and looked like it hadn't been used in years. Ginny shut the door and strolled over to a desk, and sat down on it. She didn't say anything for what seemed like forever, and then Hermione spoke.

"Ginny, what is it?"

Ginny seemed hesitant, unsure of what she wanted to say. Whatever it was, it looked like it was hard for her to say it. What was that look on her face? Disbelief? Hermione wasn't sure.

"Is something wrong with you and Harry?"

She shook her head.

"Then what is it, Ginny?" Hermione asked, getting increasingly more nervous.

"Hermione, are you and Dobby together?"

Woah, didn't see that one coming, did ya? Or maybe you did. Maybe I'm totally predictable. Anyway, I always tagged Ginny as a very perceptive character, and I think this adds a little twist and a little trouble for the characters, and I'm going with it.

Once again, always review, they make me happier than Hermione in that flashback.

I'm a plug whore: check out "A Friendly Deception" if you like Twilight.