Another chapter, a lot sooner than the last one.

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Chapter 12 Clear stream

The doorbell rang, but Hermione didn't answer the door. Her eyes were closed. She was lying on the couch. Actually she had been lying there for the past four hours.

After Draco send her away, she wandered around in the hills around the Manor, thinking about what went wrong. She remembered what he had told her about his father. How Draco hated him and what Malfoy sr. had done to Draco. She began to understand how much Draco must've hated his own father. Hermione didn't know why Draco killed him, but he had enough reasons to do it, she thought. And perhaps, perhaps he hadn't done it on purpose.

But he's still a murderer! This time Draco killed someone without being forced to. But he couldn't kill me, I don't understand. It's driving me crazy!

Hermione continued like this until she reached a small stream. First, she didn't notice it, far away as her thoughts had taken her. But then she heard the sound of the water that dripped on the stones. Her gaze focused on the water, so her head ran empty. All of her worries were forgotten for that one moment.

Without really knowing what she did, she sat down in the grass next to the small stream. The grass was just as green as the trees surrounding her, only a little darker. Hermione sat there without keeping track of time. She just listenend and looked at the beauty around her. But after a while, her worries sneaked back into her empty mind and filled it, worse than they were before.

At that point, she returned to her house and that's where she has been lying on the couch until that stupid bell rang! She wanted it to stop, but it wouldn't.

"Oh, cut it out!" she said pissed.

Hermione rose and walked to the door. Who dared to interrupt her while she was busy feeling miserable? The doorbell rang again.

"It'd better be an emergency!" she shouted at the door while she opened it, Harry was standing there.

"Hi Hermione, I --" he stopped talking at the moment he saw Hermione's face. "What happened to you? I've never seen you this horrible before."

Oh my, how was she going to talk her way out of this? Harry couldn't be entrusted with her secret. What would she tell him? Then she remembered what happened between her and Ron. That'd be an acceptable explanation.

She held the door open so Harry could come in. He put his arm around Hermione's shoulder.

"Whatever it is, I'm sure I can help you", he tried to comfort her.

Hermione shook her head, Harry was the last person who could help her with her problems. But because she had to tell him a lie, she quickly added "perhaps".

"Now will you please tell me what happened?" Harry asked a little impatiently.

"Relax, Harry!" Hermione snorted. "I will tell you when I've got my thoughts straight."

Harry, who immediately felt sorry about what he had said, murmured "sorry".

"Okay", Hermione started her partly fake but still half-true story. "Ron and I had a fight." It wasn't a good idea to tell Harry the fight was about Draco, because Harry would be able to figure out what really happened. "And he lest slamming the door shut", she continued. "So I followed Ron, however, when I came outside, he was already gone. After I pondered for a moment, I decided to look for him. But I wish I hadn't done so..." This part was still mostly true, apart from some gaps. But the difficult part still had to come.

Harry's attention was focused on her story, Hermione noticed. This was a good sign, because it meant Harry believed her so far.

"After a two-hour search I found Ron, he was clearly drunk. I walked over to him and tried to apologize for what I had done, but it ended in another fight. Ron started shouting at me, so I told him we should talk when he was sober. But then he hit me in the face. That hurt more than anything he could've ever said. I turned around and ran away. And now I'm here..." One tear escaped Hermione's eyes. There was nothing she could to about it. It was all so difficult. Why did she have to lie to her best friend? It was all one big mess.

Harry thought Hermione was crying over Ron. How could Ron have hit her? It was clear to him that he had to talk to Ron about his behaviour. There was a chance Hermione was going to forgive him, but Ron would have to work hard for it, and Harry would make sure he did.

"It's okay, Mione. I'll help you", Harry whispered. He put his arm around Hermione's shoulders again. "I will go and talk to Ron about what he has done. He will have to explain everything to me."

Hermione closed her eyes. Harry was way too good to be her friend. She was just a liar, betraying her own friends. But if she'd tell them, they'd hate her. And even worse, they'd be hurt and feel betrayed. And that was even worse. She could suffer, she could bear it. It was her punishment for being so stupid. She'd have to stop thinking about Draco and make it up with Ron. No one else should ever find out. From now on, all anyone would know was that she was sad about Ron and still in love with him.

"Thanks, Harry", Hermione said softly. "That's more than I deserve." She really meant it.

"I'd do anything for you, Hermione, you know that. And right now I'm going to make you a cup of tea to help you cheer up a little. Then I'll go to Ron."

Harry stood up and went to the kitchen to make Hermione some tea. He'd never seen Hermione this vulnerable. He'd make Ron apologize! This was the worst thing Ron had ever done.

Hermione had made her decision. It was time for her to stop crying and get ready to leave with Harry to find Ron. She'd be there to confront him about what he had done to her. Hermione hated it that Ron hit her and he'd know, he'd regret doing it!

When Harry came back into the room, he thought he saw a glimpse of hell's fury. Hermione looked furious for just a second. Then she turned back to herself. No doubt Ron would really regret hitting her ...

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Hope you enjoyed it. I'll write again as soon as I can.