This whole chapter is Hermione's POV. I have my own reasons. There's an important AN at the end, but I'm gonna give you guys the chapter first.
:)
HERMIONE
Draco hasn't talked to me for months. But I've left it at that. Sure, I tried to catch his attention at first, but then I realized that he most probably needed space.
Actually, I was mad at him at first because he hadn't contacted me to tell me that he was alive, or explained later that he just couldn't, even though I knew that that was probably the case. And I suppose me being mad at him wasn't precisely fair...
He's been getting worse. Missing classes, he's paler than ever, his cheekbones are more defined... it's as if he's starving himself. It's horrible. And, the worst part of it is that I can't comfort him, when I could have months ago, but just decided to leave it and propose to think it over, when there wasn't much to think about. The main thing to think about was: do I want to be with him or not? And I can honestly say yes. But all those months ago was the only time in which it was possible. Because now he avoids me purposefully and apparently he disappears from Harry's map for hours at a time. He's stopped hanging out with Crabbe and Goyle, even Blaise. And I'm worried. I'm horribly worried, and he won't let me help him.
I haven't shared my thoughts with anyone, since Ron wouldn't be really sympathetic with Draco Ron got poisoned around his birthday and he and Harry are placing the blame on Draco, which I find perfectly understandable. But, like I said, I couldn't do anything... It's so annoying! The not really being able to do anything! Slytherins are amazingly good at hiding! Even Blaise has skulked back into the shadows! Oh, that sounded mean... And then, something happened whilst Ron was ill, because Lavender broke up with him. Yes, he actually dated that annoying girl. I was extremely surprised, and honestly, kind of disgusted. I mean, those are perfectly good reasons to not be able to stand in the same room as him...
And then, Harry has his own dramas. Not that I'm saying that they're not important! They're very important! Extremely important!
He's been learning things about Voldemort's past, and he's had to do a whole lot of things, like try and get a vital memory from Professor Slughorn. He did it. And then there's been Quidditch... they've been doing fine at that, I suppose. I wouldn't really know – and I can't say that I really care...
There was one match, the final or something along those lines, in which Harry couldn't play, because of detention with Snape. Ginny had had to play for him, and at the party, I actually thought that he was going to kiss her! Oh, alright, that's what I've been wanting to get to.
Dean broke up with Ginny a while ago... or Ginny broke up with Dean, I'm not completely sure who broke up with who, but the point is, they broke up around March, before Ron got poisoned and all of that. And this is the strange part... Dean started fighting with her because he had claimed to have seen her 'making out' with Blaise. I don't really blame him, because they had seemed pretty close... but Ginny had sworn to me that she had done nothing of the sort. Naturally, she had also sworn this to Dean, but he hadn't believed her. He had even said that if she fessed up and apologized he would have forgiven her, but she had been very insistent that there was nothing to apologize for. Very loudly. In the middle of the Gryffindor common room. I hadn't been there, I had been trying to find Blaise, or Draco, or... someone that would help me help him. I can't help people if they don't let me, but I still feel just as rotten.
oOo
"Harry... I can't believe that you're going with... to find an actual..." Ron tried to say more words but they failed him. Harry looked at us, business-like, but I could see the fright in his eyes.
"You guys need to be alright," he said.
"Harry, I think that you're the one-"
"No, Hermione," Harry said. "I have this really horrible feeling... it's hard to explain." He didn't say more, but I know what he was thinking. He had spoken to Ron before he had come up, and Ron was handing the Marauder's map wearily. "I'll be with Dumbledore," Harry assured us, "I'll be fine. You and the DA are all going to take what's left of this," he said, holding up the small golden bottle that contained the Felix Felicis.
"Harry! No!" I protested, looking at Ron, who still hadn't said a word since they had failed him. "You need it-"
"No," he said sternly.
"I'm not going to take it!" I said, annoyed.
"Yes you are, Hermione. You all are and that's final."
He got up and ran his hands through his hair.
"I'm going to be fine. I'm going to be with Dumbledore. But with Dumbledore gone, the castle might be-"
"We'll take it," Ron said. I looked at him, eyes wide. "If he wants to risk death to save us, I say we let him," he said. I'm still not completely sure whether that was a joke or not.
"Thanks," Harry said to him. I closed my mouth and refused to say another word on the subject.
When it was finally time for him to go, Harry stopped pacing the dorm and looked at us both.
"I'll be fine," he assured us automatically.
"Just make sure that you actually are this time," Ron said, getting up off of his bed.
"Yeah," Harry managed to say. Then he paused. "Ginny's in the DA."
My face fell.
"Oh, Harry-"
"I've got to go. Dumbledore will be waiting," he said shortly before putting his hand on the door. I got up off of his bed and hugged him.
"She'll be OK," I assured him quietly so that Ron couldn't hear. I think that he nodded mutely before leaving.
I couldn't believe this – more than to protect the DA, he just really wanted to protect Ginny. I'm not saying that I was angry... in fact, I was incredibly touched. And if I was touched...
Ron tapped me on the shoulder.
"We need to round up the DA," he said.
"Oh. Yes. I'll be a second. Meet you in the common room?"
"Sure," Ron said – now that Harry was gone, I could see the worry on his face.
"He'll be fine," I assured him.
"You didn't think that a minute ago," he said, raising his eyebrows.
"Fine," I said, annoyed. "Common room. Five minutes."
I went into my own dorm room, leaving Ron to frown at me by himself.
I had saved my own coin and put it in my trunk.
I sat on the floor and rummaged through it, wondering where exactly in my trunk I had put it. I brought out many books and a few undergarments before I finally remembered that I was a witch.
"Accio coin," I said, and heard a jingle as it zoomed into my hand. A jingle. One coin doesn't jingle.
I put my hand in the side pocket the coin had emerged from only to remember what must have made that noise.
I brought out the chain and looked at it.
I had put it back there, distraught, ages ago, when I had found out that Draco was a Death Eater. I stared at it guiltily when I heard the door open. I hid the necklace and spun around to see Ginny, and I calmed down.
"Hey, 'Mione," she greeted, closing the door behind her. "I just saw Harry... where's he going?"
I opened my mouth to speak but she didn't let me.
"What you holding?" she asked.
"Oh," I said, choosing to ignore the sudden change in subject - we'd tell the entire DA in a second. "This," I said, showing it to her. She knew what it was, so there wasn't really a reason to hide it.
"Oh, yeah..." she sighed, taking it off of me and sitting on my bed behind me. I sighed and started putting my things away. "I'll never understand why you two broke up, you were so perfect for each other."
I paused. "We didn't... break up," I said, frowning. I closed my trunk and looked up at her. "Ginny. You're the only one that does know why we separated."
She looked at me.
"I am?"
I shook my head, confused and stood up.
"You are."
I waited for an, 'Oh!' though it wasn't a thing that Ginny would forget.
"Refresh my memory," she said slowly, frowning in deep concentration.
"Ginny!" I said, annoyed.
"Hermione!" she said, mimicking my tone.
"Do I have to say Death Eater?" I hissed quietly and hotly.
She froze. Her face fell. She looked at me.
"What?" she asked in a whisper.
I stared at her in disbelief.
"Ginny, I told you..."
"No... you didn't," she said, standing up. "Hermione... this is serious-"
"Yes, it is! We need to work out why you keep on forgetting things!"
"I haven't forgotten- If you're talking about the thing with Blaise that never happened-"
"No I am not talking about that!" I said.
The door opened and we quietened.
"Um, Hermione... Ron's waiting for you downstairs," Pavarti said.
"Oh," I said, looking at Ginny, who was still looking annoyed. "Come on, we'll talk downstairs-" I said, and she followed after me.
"Does Ron know?" she whispered as we followed Pavarti.
"No!" I hissed.
"Does anyone know?"
"You know!"
We quietened once again as we entered the common room. I gave Ginny an annoyed look before turning to Ron.
"Here it is," I said, holding my coin up.
"Cool," Ron said.
Ginny had caught on with the coin thing and was feeling her pocket as a precaution.
oOo
"Right," Ron said loudly to the group that had made it to the Room of Requirement - but it was just Neville, Luna and Ginny. I surmised that the rest of the DA had thrown them away. Hmph. "Nothing really is happening. Not yet- I mean, nothing will happen... I mean, something might happen..."
"We're just going to keep a look out, since Dumbledore has left the castle," I cut in as Ginny looked at her brother in awe and shook his head.
"Yeah," Ron said weakly. "That. So, everyone's gonna take a gulp of this, and we should probably be fine," he said, holding out the bottle.
"It's a precaution," I added, eyeing Ron, annoyed.
"Why might something happen?" Luna asked. Ron looked at her. "Why do you think we'll be attacked." And then, Ron cast a sideways glance at me.
"Well..." he started, unsure.
"They think that Malfoy's up to something," I muttered. Ron squirmed uncomfortably. "And Snape's in charge," I continued. "They also think that he's in on it."
"It's not me!" Ron protested, "It's Harry!"
"Yes, well, you believe him," I said.
Ginny was quiet.
I took a deep breath.
"And so do I."
Ron stared at me in surprise, but I refused to make eye-contact.
"So, everyone should just take a bit of this, and be ready if something happens," I said stiffly, standing up. I took the tiny bottle out of Ron's shocked hand and took a sip. "There should be enough for everyone," I said, taking my leave.
I thought that I was alone as I continued down the corridor, but Ginny must have followed me.
"Hermione... aren't you going to tell them?"
"They don't need to know, we're doing all that we can-"
"No, we're not. We're doing stuff just in case," she said.
"Yes, well-"
"Well nothing, Hermione."
"You understood," I said, turning to her. "And now you've forgotten?"
"It's not my fault, Hermione! I don't think you told me in the first place-"
"I definitely told you!" I said.
"Well I can't remember!"
My face fell.
"You can't... remember."
She stared at me.
"Yes, that's what I just sai-"
"No, Ginny! He must have found out that you knew and wiped your memory!" I said, eyes wide.
"Who?"
"Draco, of course!"
She looked uneasy.
"How would he find out about me knowing? And if he was wiping memories, why didn't he wipe yours too?"
I was quiet for a second.
"Well... I needed to know. I needed to make a decision."
She raised her eyebrows.
"What kind of decision?"
I was about to answer but Ron came after us.
"Hey... Luna's gonna hand around Ravenclaw tower... I can't believe that no one else came," he said, slightly annoyed.
"Well, there probably wouldn't be enough potion for all of us," I said, looking at Ginny pointedly. She did not look happy over this whole situation. I couldn't believe this! The only person I had confided in had conveniently forgotten all about it.
oOoOo
I couldn't believe this. Death Eaters in Hogwarts.
"W-what d-do we d-do?" Neville asked, stuttering horribly. Ron and I exchanged looks, and I felt my heart drop through my chest.
"We round up the students, get them back to their dorms," I said quickly, trying to formulate a plan. "We should all be lucky, but that's no reason to keep our guard down!" I said.
Neville tightened his grip on his wand.
"I'll go find Luna," he said, running in the direction of the Ravenclaw tower.
"Ron, go and find Ginny," I said.
"Hermione, I'm not leaving you-"
"You are! Go! I need to contact the Order!"
He managed a nod before I ran off towards the court yard. Most of the castle was asleep and unaware of what was going on, but the map never lied.
Bellatrix Lestrange, we had read. And, right beside her, Fenrir Greyback. Ron had taken the map to find his sister, but it was only a small comfort to see that Draco Malfoy hadn't been anywhere near them.
"Professor! Professor McGonagall!" I said, banging on her office's door. I waited only a few seconds before she appeared in a nightgown but with the stern expression she always wore.
"You must have a good reason to be-"
"Death Eaters, in Hogwarts," I breathed, and he stern look fell into a panicked one.
"But ... how?"
"We don't know! They're on the seventh floor..."
My thoughts trailed off. What was on the seventh floor?
The Room of Requirement.
She wasn't aware of my brain storm.
"We must round up the teachers at once," she said. "I will call the Order... Fetch Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout while I find Professor Snape," she said, closing her door behind her, wand at the ready, a grim expression on her face.
"Professor, I don't think-"
"Go, Miss Granger!" she ordered. "And you must be careful!" I bit my lip before running towards the Greenhouses, where I knew Professor Sprout's quarters to be.
oOo
"Miss Granger, I must request that you retreat to your dormitory at once!" Professor Flitwick said, running off to the battle scene. I didn't want to go to the Gryffindor tower. I wanted to help.
"Hermione?" a familiar voice asked, and I turned to see Lupin running up to me.
"Oh, I'm so glad you've came-"
"Where are they?" he asked, and I pointed. Soon after Moody and many others ran past me. I stood in the hallway, not completely sure of what to do.
And then, I heard footsteps, I saw flashes of light - I heard a scream.
Without thinking, I ran towards the source of the scream.
"Bill... Bill..." a familiar voice said over and over. I approached the corner with a filling sense of dread, to find Fluer over the form of her fiancee.
"Oh," I said, makind Fluer look up at me.
"Greyback did zis," she growled. "I will get him..."
I gasped as I saw the deep marks on Bill's face... and blood.
"You must hide!" she demanded, and I couldn't agree more. But instead, I ran up the stairs - everyone had gone up there. Even Ron.
"Avada-"
My heart fell and in panic I jumped to the floor. I stood up quickly and cast a, "Stupefy!"
The Death Eater dodged it, and I cast it again.
"Stupefy!"
He fell onto the floor with a satisfactory sound. I stared at the unconscious Death Eater, heart beating too fast for anything. He had nearly killed me. I had nearly been killed.
I looked behind me, and saw another flash of light, indicating that there was a battle down there too. It was too late to go back.
I breathed in heavily in an effort to try and calm myself down and started ascending the stairs again.
oOo
"Kids, you have to leave," Mr Weasley said, giving the barrier nervous looks. Neville, Ron, Ginny and I were refusing to move and were alongside the Order on the Astronomy tower staircase - but it was thanks to Ron and the Marauders map that we were even there - they couldn't tell us to leave - not when it was our friend, not just The Chosen One.
Ginny was thinking along the same lines.
"We're going to fight, dad!" she said fiercely, holding her wand up. I nodded from behind her, and Neville cast Lupin, McGonagall and Tonks a nervous glance - they were trying to bring down the barrier that was stopping us from ascending to the top of the tower. Mr Weasley continued to fight with his children but no one else dared intervene.
And then...
"They're coming!"
I noticed Mr Weasley and Ron immediately stand in front of Ginny and me, and we frowned. She pushed her way in front of her dad and I did the same with Ron. He was about to argue, but then there was a sudden shriek... that dissolved into a cackle of laughter.
I grit my teeth and we held out our wands as the crazed witch destroyed the barrier - suddenly, there were curses being thrown all over the place - there was yelling, a lot of it - it was hard to understand what was going on.
And then, I felt someone grab onto my arm - I followed it to find the body, and I realized with a jolt that Bellatrix Lestrange was dragging me.
"Draco!" she called, jumping up and down enthusiastically as I tried in vain to shake her off, with wand and without it. "Do it! Do it now!"
I blinked as I saw the head of blond hair through the confusion.
"Come on," Bella shrieked, defending an unwanted curse that had been directed at her with almost no difficulty.
I could see Draco up close now... he was looking between me and his aunt with desperation on his face-
"Do it! Kill her!"
He looked at me, pain in his eyes, muttered, "Avada Kedavra," at the wall behind me before getting dragged away by Snape.
All I could do was stand there and stare after them in complete and utter shock.
"Hermione!" Ron yelled, pushing me out of the way of an unfriendly curse. "What the hell are you doing?" he demanded, but he didn't wait for an answer before starting to fight off an unfriendly Death Eater.
Seconds later, Harry appeared.
I gasped out loud. "Harry, what hap-"
"He killed him!" he yelled angrily before pushing past me.
Ron and I managed to exchange glances before making to follow him, but we were stopped, and all we could do was fight off the laughing Death Eaters.
oOo
Ron, Luna and I silently watched as Madam Pomfrey cleaned Bill's wounds. Neville and Professor Flitwick were in their own beds, but they were going to be fine. Lupin sat on the bed opposite, shaking, obviously annoyed at not being able to leave. Tonks was looking out of the window quietly.
Ron cleared his throat.
"Where's Ginny?"
"She went to go and find Harry," Luna said quietly.
Ron nodded and looked back at his brother.
And then, the doors opened. I got up and ran towards Harry to hug him - Ginny walked over to Bill's side.
"Are you alright?" Lupin asked Harry.
"I'm fine," Harry said, and I let go of him. His eyes refused to meet mine as he asked, "How's Bill?" He looked over my shoulder and answered his own question. "Can't you use a charm or something?"
"No, werewolf bites are cursed-"
"Who did he kill?" I interrupted in a whisper.
Harry looked back at me.
"You said 'he killed him'," I reminded him. Everyone's interest was now place on Harry, but it was Ginny who answered.
"Dumbledore's dead," she said.
My eyes widened and my hands flew to my mouth whilst Lupin fought that it wasn't true.
"How?" Tonks asked, shaking her head.
Harry swallowed and I made my way to sit on one of the beds, my legs were shaking.
"Snape killed him," Harry said.
I suddenly felt as if a great weight had been lifted from my chest and I breathed out slowly through my nose. No one looked at me. Everyone else was listening to Harry.
It hadn't been Draco. I had assumed that it had been. I mean, he was with his aunt - he was a Death Eater. Of course his mission would be something like that... I shuddered as I remembered what had happened with Bella, and I looked at my arm subconsciously.
I was broken out of my thoughts as McGonagall entered, only to hear the news.
She had to sit down, it was too much for her...
"It's my fault," she whispered. "I actually sent Filius to get him to help us," she said. And then she looked at me and then at the floor. "Miss Granger told me that it might not be a good idea-"
"We all had our assumptions," Ron cut in. He was looking at Harry, who was looking at me too.
"How did the Death Eaters get in... I ... I don't understand!"
"Malfoy helped them in," Harry said, without looking away from me. I felt something drop through my stomach... the way he was looking at me... it wasn't right. And I couldn't actually argue this either.
"No!" McGonagall gasped.
"He was a Death Eater," Harry said quietly, but in a deadly tone. "He showed Dumbledore his arm."
McGonagall had sunk even further into her chair.
"We had security! Full security!"
"He could have easily covered it with a charm," Ron pointed out helpfully. Harry tore his gaze away from me to look at Ron blankly, and Ron sunk away from his friend's glare. Ginny's expression was unreadable the whole time.
"A student!" McGonagall said under her breath. "A student!"
My bottom lip trembled and my eyes filled up with tears. I knew what was coming, so I swallowed before saying, "I'm going to bed," quietly. McGonagall looked up, once again aware of my presence.
"Miss Granger, are you alright?"
"Yes, it's just... a lot to take in," I said with a shaky breath, refusing to look at anyone, but I still saw McGonagall's eyes widen in realization.
"I'll come with you," Ginny offered, standing up.
I was about to answer, but the door opened and in burst a distraught-looking Mrs Weasley along with a watery-eyed yet angry Fluer.
I slipped past them and made my way to my dorm.
Dumbledore was gone... it was unbelievable!
And I could have done something to stop it.
oOo
See, crazy people wouldn't tell Harry or Ron everything. Well, actually, a sane person wouldn't. So I'm a crazy person, but what else is new?
I couldn't lie to him. Not after all that had happened. It wouldn't be right! And, since at least I have a good sense about what is right and what is wrong (to a certain extent) I told him. Or both of them. I waited until the next morning - I had worked myself into a nervous frenzy, but then Ginny came to talk to me. And, obviously, she was the voice of reason, even if she couldn't remember that I had told her.
"You knew?" Harry had asked blankly. That had been terrible. Ron had just looked at me, disappointed in the background of the Room of Requirement, the only place where you can get any privacy these days.
They hadn't talked to me for days. I had moped around but hadn't said a word, because I knew that I had deserved it. I was sure that the Auror's would be knocking on the door anytime soon, coming to take me away, but it never happened.
Two days before Dumbledore's funeral, to my surprise, they took me back to the Room of Requirement.
And, the worst thing was, they forgave me.
"You should have told us," Harry said.
"I know! I know that I should have and I didn't! And now every thing's my fault!"
"Yeah, it is. But mostly, it's his, Hermione."
"I should have told you," I murmured, wiping my eyes. "I saw it! I saw it and I didn't say a thing!"
Ron swallowed audibly and sat down in the rather convenient chair in front of the sofa Harry and I were on.
"I thought that he was alright!" I said again. "I never thought it would end up... so... so wrong! I'm normally so rational! I should have told you at once! And I didn't!"
"What about when I got poisoned?" Ron asked quietly.
I opened and closed my mouth.
"I'm so, so sorry! I didn't think that it was him-"
"Yeah you did," he mumbled. I mentally slapped myself.
"I did!" I said half to myself, annoyed. "God! I'm such an idiot!"
"You're not," Harry said. "And that's why it hurts so much."
I looked between him and Ron and felt the shame beat my insides up.
"I'm so, so sorry. I don't know why I did it-"
"You did it because you love him," Ron summed up simply.
I looked at him, dumbfounded before shaking my head.
"That's ridiculous-"
"Yeah, but love makes you do ridiculous things, doesn't it?"
I blinked and felt my cheeks burn as his eyes bore into mine.
"I really-"
"We're offering you a wait out," he whispered, his lips twitching into a sly smile. My eyes widened and I tore my gaze away from him to look at Harry.
"Oh! What?"
Ron sat back.
"All you have to do is promise that you'll at least murder him the next time we cross paths..." he said, looking at Harry for approval. Harry nodded a little stiffly.
"... Yeah. That'll do."
I frowned at them both.
"No... this is wrong. You're both supposed to march out of here and refuse to talk to me ever again!"
"You're making it a bit too tempting," Harry muttered under his breath, his expression somber again.
"Well do it then!"
"We need you, Hermione. You're our friend," Ron said.
I stood up and shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. "Yes, I am, but I've done something horrible!"
"He's the one that did it!" Ron pointed out loudly.
"But if I had told you-"
"What? If you had told us, what?" Ron said. I looked at Harry, who sighed.
"We saw his arm a whole lot of times. After we - I told you to look. He was covering it-"
No, I refused to let Harry make excuses for me. "But Dumbledore could have-"
"Dumbledore didn't believe me when I told him! What would he have done about it?"
"He could have looked, he would have believed you!"
"Hermione..." Ron muttered warningly, but it was too late.
"Fine!" Harry yelled suddenly. "You messed up! A lot! And that's pretty god damn horrible of you, Hermione! I mean, did you ever stop to think of the consequences? Did you really think that dating Draco Malfoy was going to be easy? Really? Really, Hermione? Are you kidding me? You're the smartest witch, like, ever, and you don't realize that when there's a Death Eater roaming about plus a load of random attacks that you tell someone about it?"
I decided not to tell him about Ginny.
I felt my eyes burn but I refused to cry. I definitely deserved this.
"But we get it," he muttered quietly.
"I don't get it!" I complained. Why couldn't he just tell me off properly?
"Well, we looked at it this way," Ron said. "What would we have done in your situation. Honestly," he added, eyeing Harry. "And I end up dead in my scenario, so you're pretty much well off." I looked at Harry.
"I do the same thing as you," he mumbled.
"Wait... you imagined that you were dating Draco Malfoy?"
"No!" Harry said quickly.
"Oh, Merlin, no!" Ron said, pulling a face and turning green. "No!" he repeated, looking at Harry, who cleared his throat.
"We imagined, well, you know... someone we cared about-"
And that was when I just brought them both into a teary hug.
"Just... forget about it, alright?" Harry said into my hair.
"Until you have to, you know, murder him," Ron pointed out on my other side.
oOo
"I-I-I can't believe this!" I said loudly the next morning, holding the note in my hand and clenching my fist. I started pacing the room, beyond angry.
"Careful, 'Mione, you can't break it..." Ron scolded, and I shoved it into his hands. "It might be... important or something," he continued weakly, studying it. He had already seen it, of course, and I seriously doubted that he was going to find much else.
"It's useless," Harry said darkly, not looking at it.
"We'll find clues," Ron said, nodding and swallowing loudly at the same time. "I mean, we always find clues-"
Harry laughed, surprising both me and Ron. We exchanged worried looks and then looked back at Harry, who was shaking his head, still smiling.
"There's no we, guys," he said finally, grinning up at us.
This time, Ron laughed.
"Yeah, there is."
Harry's smile fell.
"No. There isn't."
"Harry, what are you talking about?" I said, annoyed. "It's always we. It was we in first year, and in second year. And in third year."
Harry looked at me, waiting for me to say more, but I couldn't. He grinned sheepishly. "Say it. It wasn't we in fourth year. Not at the end of it, anyways. Not when he came back. It's me he wants, not you guys-"
"Harry, don't you see? It's always him! He's all alone! He has no one-"
"He has nothing to lose then, has he?" Harry said, annoyed.
"You're not going to lose us," I said sternly.
"Not if I can help it," Ron said. "I mean, I'm not too fond on being lost."
"But you can't decide who I lose! He does!"
"No, he doesn't!"
"He chose who you lost!" Harry pointed out. I can't believe how long it took me to realize what he was talking about. A whole two seconds. "And I'm sorry, Hermione, but that's how it is! And I know that what happened isn't your fault, but he's a Death Eater! And you didn't tell us!" I felt horrible once more, but that just increased me wanting to go with him - I could help him, I knew that I could. "What happens when we - I - find him out and about?"
"I'll hex his face off," I said, annoyed. I wasn't lying, but I didn't go as far as Ron's 'murder him' plan.
HArry shook his head, annoyed. "You have feelings for the guy, Hermione, we worked that one out-"
"So?" I said fiercely. "I'll still hex his face off!"
"I'll bloody murder him if you don't," Ron muttered under his breath, but I chose to ignore him.
"Harry," I said, taking his hand. "I need to make this right."
He pursed his lips. "I'm doing this alone," he said sternly, taking his hand out of mine and putting it on the doorknob.
"Oh no you bloody well aren't."
Harry let go of the doorknob - which had turned a frightening shade of orange - and looked at Ron, annoyed, clenching onto his hand. "That hurt!" he exclaimed. Ron pocketed his wand, looked back at him and shrugged diplomatically.
"Like it or not mate, we're coming with you. We'll be as annoying as the Creevey brothers. Apart from the fact that I don't want your signed photo. I've had enough of your ugly mug to last me a lifetime, I don't think I'll want to have it under my pillow, thanks." I cringed at the joke but Harry just shook his head.
"Neither of you know what you're getting yourselves int-"
"We know perfectly well what we're getting into!" I said.
"I worked it out around third year," Ron said thoughtfully. I looked at him, lost. "You know, when the bad guys just kept on coming. My rat," he said thoughtfully, "was a bloke!"
I rolled my eyes.
"The point is, we know that you're not exactly safe to be around," I summed up. "But you're our friend, and we love you."
He swallowed and shook his head.
OK, I'd have to bring out the big guns.
"Dumbledore wanted us with you. He told you to tell us for a reason. If you won't listen to us, please listen to logic."
He frowned. "None of this is logical-"
"But Dumbledore was! Very so!" I reminded him. "I can't believe we're discussing this!" I then said, shaking my head. "Wherever you go, Ron and I are going to track you down," I threatened.
"That's what I said," Ron remarked. I glared at him. "But you said it a lot scarier... well done."
"Tell us when you figure out that you're being an idiot," I said to Harry plainly and I left first.
It took until dinner that night for him to admit that I was right.
"Good," I said, trying to control how happy I was feeling, and working hard on seeming indifferent and diplomatic, just like Ron had managed that morning. I cut my dinner boldly. "Because, if you hadn't realized this by tomorrow morning, I would have set Ginny on you."
Ron frowned and pulled and his face scrunched up in confusion.
"Ginny? Why on Earth would you set Ginny on him?"
My mouth twitched but I fought a smile.
"I have no idea," Harry answered for me. "Hermione's mental- ow!" I stabbed him with my fork, annoyed.
"Right, I'm confused," Ron said, sitting back and staring at us both.
"You'll probably stay that way," I said, looking at my dinner.
He lent forward. "If you could just tell me-"
"No, Ronald," I said sternly. He sighed and lent back, whilst Harry's eyes flickered towards Ginny every five seconds. Ron truly was blind.
I know, it's a sucky way to end the chapter.
Alright, first thing's first -
I GOT 300 HUNDRED REVIEWS! YAAAY!
This is so amazing, it's just crazy. I mean, 200 hundred was big, but 300? Really? YES! Thanks Chris-TheNinja8D (reviewer number 300) and every one who's reviewed - ever! XP
But there are some more things that I have to cover-
Yeah, I'm going into Deathly Hallows. Why? Because I LOVE THE DEATHLY HALLOWS!
Kidding, I do love it, but this story is most definitely going to have to go into there because there are so many things I need to put down and that can only be- wait, if I explain myself that's pretty much just telling you guys the next chapters, and that just sucks.
So, I hope you guys liked the chapter, and thanks again for all of the reviews! Even if I don't have time to reply them (I'm going to try and reply the next ones as soon as school's over) I DO read every one of them and every one of them and every single one of them makes me smile, like this: :D
