Author's Note:
Surgeries, Pandemics, and Earthquakes, oh my!
And no, I am not talking about what may or may not happen in this chapter. Y'all understand what's going on in the world right now. So stay safe! Be glad you are not waking up to your house possibly falling down around you. Be glad that you are alive, and safe, and get to read another delicious chapter of magical teenage drama!
And review.
SEDUCING SEEKERS
By the next day, the school was flooded with rumors.
Some were about the Death Eater in Hogsmeade, and what he had to do with Ron. The way some were telling it, he targeted everyone on that street and sent two dozen to St. Mungo's. The way Lavender and her minions were telling it, he tried to kidnap the girls but instead Ronald Weasley, great Quidditch Keeper, fought him off after a deathly battle and sent him running out of town.
Other rumors were about Hermione and Krum (several people saw them kissing by the beech tree last night). Even more were fixated on Ron and Lavender (the entire school saw them together in the entrance hall). And of course, any left-over rumors were no doubt about the supposed love triangle between Lupin, Jones, and Snape that the Weasley twins started the other day.
As it was, a chord was struck at Hogwarts by the love and lies that abounded.
Not for the first time, Ron and Hermione weren't speaking to each other; and to make matters worse, it soon became quite evident that neither of them were sleeping.
Harry could tell that the Death Eater attack had a bad effect on Ron. More than once, Harry had been woken to Ron's shouts as he started having more frequent nightmares. Guilt tore into Harry. He should have been there to stop it from happening. He should have been there to help Ron.
And the fact that he'd never even gotten Ron's Patronus…
Harry paled, thinking of what could have happened if Jones and Snape hadn't shown up.
He had been shopping with Ginny at the time. They were at Zonko's again, and it was really loud, and he hadn't...how could he have known that such an attack was happening across the town? It wasn't till they were leaving the store that they even heard the screaming...and by the time they had got there, Ron's shield was flickering and then faded, and Ron was knocked out in the street.
But still Harry couldn't get over the guilt. Voldemort was after Ron because of him. It was all his fault. Ron had almost died because of him. And now...Ron kept waking up shouting from nightmares because of him.
And it was killing Harry.
And so he had resorted to slipping some Dreamless Sleep potion into Ron's pumpkin juice when he wasn't looking just so the both of them could finally get some sleep.
Hermione as well didn't look quite like herself, although Harry didn't know if it was worry for Ron...or something else. He just couldn't shake the feeling that she was hiding something from him.
And he was determined to get to the bottom of it.
Harry had tried to talk to Hermione several times about Krum—he didn't like the fact that she was dating him if only because they knew so little about him, and she had now taken to spending all of her free time with him. They could often be seen in the library together, eating breakfast and lunch together, walking to classes together, or sitting in the Quidditch stands together.
If Harry thought that was torture, he knew he had no idea what Ron was going through...even if Ron had no idea himself.
To get back at Hermione, Ron was spending all of his time with Lavender. They could be seen every night cuddled on a couch in a snog-fest, or making eyes at each other during class—the two places Hermione could never take Krum to. And so, she had taken to avoiding every spot Ron and Lavender frequented…
Which was more than half the castle, much to Harry's horror.
Then there were the few times in which Ron, as well, had to be subject to Krum and Hermione making eyes. There was once in particular when the Gryffindor Quidditch team had gone out to the pitch for practice that Harry and Ron saw Hermione and Krum together in the vacant stands. Ron had turned right back around and marched straight back to the castle, skipping practice.
At least Hermione and Krum aren't nearly so public with their affections as Ron and Lavender are, or that scene could have turned out loads worse, Harry thought glumly.
What made matters worse was that Harry and Ginny in particular knew what had happened. Hermione as good as told Ginny that her date with Krum in Hogsmeade was going to be about rejecting him. And something no doubt happened, because when Hermione came into the entrance hall that night, she had eyes only for Ron. Just seeing that look on her face, Harry knew that she would very well have kissed Ron right there, if it hadn't been for Lavender.
Lavender.
The new bane of Harry's existence.
Ron didn't spend nearly as much time with Harry as he used to, but when he did, Lavender always seemed to accompany him. Harry could only stand so much of her shrieking and giggling and squealing "Won-Won!" like Ron was a Chinese delicacy.
He knew now why Hermione called Lavender and Parvati the Twittering Twins—but the way Lavender had taken to acting lately, she didn't even need Parvati to earn the title.
I take it back, Harry thought gloomily after a week of this. I sincerely take back what I said. Ron and Hermione getting together could never be this bad. Even if Hermione suddenly sprouted a pig's tail and took to squealing like Lavender, it could never be this bad.
"It's gut-wrenching," said Ginny, watching Ron and Lavender a few seats away from the teacher's head table as they sat down for lunch one day. She turned her head towards the doors, where Hermione had just come in with Krum. "Both of them."
"But I thought you wanted Hermione to have a fling with Viktor Krum, Ginny," Luna said, coming over. "You said so in Hogsmeade."
"Of course I did!" Ginny retorted, as Harry choked on his sausage. "But that was before Ron discovered his tongue inside of Lavender Brown's mouth."
"You—you wanted—?" said Harry.
"Well, it's not like Ron would have noticed her otherwise," Ginny snapped, then ranted on. "The only times he ever does is when she's with Krum or talking about him. I thought that it would...stir him to action, so to speak. But now she's seen him licking Lavender, and now he knows she's kissing Krum...there's no hope for them, I swear. I'd bet Pigwidgeon that she's only doing it to make him jealous, and he's only doing it to make her jealous, which means there's no stopping them and they're going to keep snogging until they choke to death from all that phlegm!"
Harry had to hand it to her for the graphic images she conjured in his mind.
"You know that's revolting, don't you?" he said, wincing.
"That's my point!" she snapped.
If Harry thought things were going to be getting better between his two best friends, he was dead wrong.
"So did you hear, Harry?" said Ron one day, as they tried to make music come out of their wands in Double Charms. (Lavender was blessedly absent from class that day.)
"Remember, you must hear the song in your head for it come out!" Flitwick cried at the front of the room.
Hermione was two rows away from them. Harry could see her straining her ears to hear their conversation.
"Currently, I'm not hearing anything, sorry. How in Merlin's name was Dumbledore able to do this in first year?" said Harry, concentrating hard on Hogwarts' theme song.
"My dad!" Ron continued. "Ever since he captured all those Death Eaters! Minister Bones offered him a new position, and he accepted!"
"Ron, that's great! What's he doing now?"
"Well, Perkins is in charge of his old office, the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts. Now Dad's in the top floor, one of the head honchos in the Muggle-born Ministration office. He works with the security for the Muggle-born families, as they don't have magical home protection like wizards do. Mum says he's in heaven—talks with the Muggles every day and assigns them bodyguards and home enchantments and whatnot. Maybe now he can learn how one of those arrow-playing doohickeys can get off the ground without magic!" said Ron.
It took Harry a minute to realize he was talking about airplanes. "That's really neat. Is the pay going to be better?"
Ron reddened a bit. "Yeah, actually. It's about twice as much. Dad's talking about putting it all in savings, though...we don't know how bad the war's going to get..."
Beside them, Harry and Ron could hear Padma and Parvati gossipping about Krum. While the rest of the class's wands were still wailing, Hermione had a smile on her face as her own wand whistled "You Charmed the Heart Right Out of Me".
Ron's ears grew red, and to drown out the girls' conversation he dedicated the rest of the lesson to telling Harry exactly how Mr. Weasley captured the ten Death Eaters at Gringotts.
Apparently, Mr. Weasley had gone to see Fred and George before going to Gringotts. They had just showed him their new Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder and gave him some. When the Death Eaters showed themselves at Gringotts five minutes before closing, he had been the only other customer. Someone shot a spell that knocked him to the floor, sending the bag of powder flying—the room was dark in an instant.
"He couldn't see anything, right? There were goblins all over the place—he couldn't send a spell anywhere for fear of hitting them. That's when he remembered, he'd been the only customer, right? The goblins only came up to his waist, which meant that if he shot a spell anywhere above four feet, he'd hit a Death Eater!" Ron explained excitedly. "So while these ugly, nasty guys are all stumbling around—the Death Eaters, I mean, not the goblins—Dad gets up and shoots this awesome spell in an arc that covers the entire room. They were completely stuck! By the time the Aurors got there, he'd already got their wands and incapacitated them! Although, those ugly midgets were really rather peeved—the goblins, I mean, not the Death Eaters—but the Death Eaters were completely caught in it!"
"Wicked! Like a fly in a spider's web?" said Harry.
Ron shuddered, and Harry quickly realized his poor comparison. Ron's wand, sprouting out a horrible screeching like a banshee, gave a sudden scream that made the entire class clamp their hands over their ears.
"No, Harry," said Ron fervently. "Not like a spider. Just...no. But the best part is—that spell he used isn't an offensive spell at all!"
"Wait...what?" said Harry.
Flitwick dismissed them and they got up to leave.
Hermione, filling her bag with books a row behind them, answered for him. "It's just an enchantment that puts up this magical wall where you cast it, Harry. Usually, it's supposed to go vertically, or even in a dome around a house, but Mr. Weasley shot it straight out, so it was level with the floor. The magic is its own force-field and it spreads out until it hooks up with another force-field or with a tangible boundary—like the walls of the room he was in—which reminds me, Ron, however did you hear about that forcefield spell you used against that Death Eater?"
Ron tried to avoid her with dignity; but this was rather hard to do as Ron's wand was screeching the entire time—he couldn't get it to stop.
"Were we talking to you?" said Ron nastily, turning on her. "Tell me, Hermione, does 'friends with benefits' only apply to Krum? Because if not, I'd just love to step in line—"
Hermione turned bright pink. "And why is that, Ron? Is it because I'm going out with an international star while you had to stoop so low that you ended up with the school's tart? Do you two work out a schedule so that she can still be shared with all the other boys she's gallivanting around with? Or do you actually think that you're enough for her?" she snapped.
The conversation about Mr. Weasley was left in the lurch as they both rounded on each other.
If Harry could have melted into the floor and disappeared forever, he would have.
His only consolation was that the Charms classroom was now empty except for them, leaving nobody but him to witness the catastrophe unfold. And no one to hear their biting words and Ron's horribly screechy wand besides Harry.
Ron was completely livid, Hermione was furious, and they were both looking to injure.
Ron's look soured. "What about you? Vicky's gone out with witches far better than you. He's got the pick of the harem! If I were you, I'd be more worried about what he's really after, because I doubt you're it!"
Hermione's hand clutching her bookbag shook. Disdaining to respond to Ron's snide comment, she cast one last withering look at him before turning to Harry.
"I need to ask you something, Harry. Are you coming?" she said.
Harry looked from Hermione to Ron, trying to determine which of them he wanted to anger more.
Ron decided to choose for him, however.
"I have an idea," Ron sneered. "Since you seem to like seducing Seekers so much, why don't you go find a different Quidditch player to shag? Harry's busy!"
It was a mark of how such good friends they've been the past six years that his words shocked and injured Harry and Hermione so much.
Harry reddened. Hermione glared tear-filled daggers at Ron. Then abruptly she turned around, bag dropping to the floor, and ran out of the empty classroom, slamming the door behind her with a bang.
Harry stared at Ron in shock, but Ron continued their former conversation as if nothing had happened.
"Anyway. That's why they wanted to put him in a department that had something to do with enchantments—he's really good at them. Well, that and he gets along famously with Muggles. You've seen our house, right? He and Mum've just built floor after floor onto the three-room cottage they first moved into after they were married. That's why it looks like that leaning tower in Italy—the one those wizards have a tough time getting not to fall over. It's only because of Dad's enchantments around the house and yard that it stays up," said Ron.
"You are an idiot!" Harry suddenly said, disgusted.
Deciding that Hermione's need was much greater than Ron's, he picked up Hermione's forgotten bag off the floor and took off after her, leaving Ron fuming behind him.
As he tried to find her, Harry's mind spun. Ron's words came back to him. "Why don't you go find a different Quidditch player to shag? Harry's busy!"
It seemed...wrong, somehow. The thought of him and Hermione. Doing...that. Not that he didn't care for her enough...if anything, he cared for her too much to even think of going out with her. Their relationship was stronger than that...to merely be boyfriend and girlfriend...they were much closer...like siblings, almost...
She's like a sister to me...I care for her deeply, I do...and if I do end up with someone, there are still going to be things I'd only go to Hermione for. We've been through too much for me not to. But for anyone to think that we're...that we've…
For Ron to think that...
It wasn't that absurd an idea, he realized. He was remarkably close to Hermione...far closer than he'd been to Cho Chang, even. And even Cho had thought there was something going on between him and Hermione. So had Rita Skeeter in fourth year...and Mrs. Weasley...and Dumbledore...
This definitely wasn't the first time this had cropped up. But for Ron to think it...
Certainly he knows how I feel about her? I couldn't ever end up with her...it wouldn't be right...she's always belonged to...well...Ron, in a way...
But did Ron know that?
It took twenty minutes before Harry found Hermione in one of the dozens of Hogwarts girls' bathrooms, and another ten minutes to coax her out of the bathroom and into a private alcove in an unused corridor; and then she kept sobbing into his shoulder about Ron, making Harry quite uncomfortable.
Finally though, her sobs died down and they just sat together, white-shirted backs against the paneled wall, one pair of tan pants stretched out and one pair of pleated skirt-topped gray tights crossed in comfortable silence. Just talking, and totally sloughing their next class.
"It's not just Ron, Harry," Hermione sobbed. "Though he's being a right foul git. I haven't been sleeping. I keep...having nightmares about...a-about...well...anyway, plus I am worried to death about Crookshanks. The last time I saw him was Hogsmeade trip, when he chased away a wer...I mean...some sort of animal in the forest while Viktor and I were picnicing. I haven't seen him since. I'm so worried for him…"
"Wait, what about that special collar you got him? Don't you just say a spell or something and you can find him on a map?"
"But I've tried that already!" Hermione's voice rose. "I-I looked at my tablet to find him the other day and, and I saw his blinking dot near the Whomping Willow. So I went to go and get him, and h-h-he wasn't there! His collar was...but not him."
Her sobs began again in earnest. Harry's brow furrowed and he pulled her closer comfortingly. "Hermione, I'm sure he just tried to nibble it off, like how he did that other one. I'm sure that's all that is…"
"It's not, Harry. Yesterday I stole the Marauder's Map and I've scoured it several times, but he's not even on there either. I just...don't know what to do anymore…"
Harry inwardly praised Hermione for stealing something, even if it was his. Really, she ought to loosen up more. All this stress was bound to be bad for her.
"Hermione, are you okay?" he asked, concerned. "I mean...you said you've been having nightmares. What...what are they about?"
Her face grew flushed, and she rather avoided his gaze, staring down at her hands instead.
And then he saw it.
"Hermione, is that a—"
He grabbed her hand and lifted the sleeve of her white button-up past her wrist, and saw the rest of the bruise come into view. It was a blackish-purple mottled shade and covered the majority of her wrist.
"What happened?" he said, growing deathly still.
"It's nothing, Harry—"
"That's not 'nothing'—!"
"Well," Hermione interrupted hotly, "Seeing as how it's already happened, it's over and done with, and there is nothing you can do about it, then yes I would say it actually is 'nothing'—"
"What. Happened?"
Hermione yanked her sleeve out of his hand, glaring at him. But his piercing stare appeared to be working, however, because she finally lowered her eyes and grudgingly told him. Everything. From when she walked away with Krum, to what she talked with him about, to Greyback attacking her, to what Moony said about the Wolflord Potion...and then to the conversation she had with Krum about Malfoy and the Love Potion.
And Harry was properly horrified.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he hissed when she was through. "Were you ever planning on telling me?"
"Because I couldn't get a word in edgewise," she said miserably. "You were telling me what happened to Ron that day, and then I was distracted by him, and then...I don't know. There never seemed a good time. How do you tell someone that? It was...embarassing. I should have...I should have had my wand. I never should have let Greyback get that close to me. I should have been able to defend myself. Like...like...like you would have. Like Ron did. Without my wand, I-I'm just...I felt useless."
Harry was taken aback.
Hermione Granger...useless?
Her guilt was quite discernible. He didn't know she felt this way...guilty for not being as good at defense as he was. She...she was perfect. In everything. How could she feel like she wasn't good enough…
And so he told her . Exactly what he thought about her, what she meant to him, how much he looked up to her. How she was the sister he'd never had. How she was everything but useless.
Hermione chuckled through her tears, and wiped them again. "Thank you, Harry. That really does mean a lot. I do try. And you...you're like the brother I never had too."
Harry smiled, but it fell off his face when he asked his next question. "What are your nightmares about?"
Hermione fidgeted, embarassed under his stare. She was sitting next to him against the wall, her skirt and long woollen gray tights keeping her skin from touching the gray stone. Her boots idly tapped against each other as she thought of her reply.
"Grayback. Attacking me...biting me...and Moony isn't there to stop him…"
Harry's hand found hers. "I'll be there. I'll be there to stop him. Every. Single. Damn. Time. All right? And if you repeat that enough, your brain will start to believe it...until you dream about me being there to help you too."
"Harry, I don't think dreams work that way—"
"Then take a Dreamless Sleep potion, Hermione. I'm not kidding. I've been giving some to Ron when he's not looking. It's really been helping him—and me —to get a decent night's sleep. Just ask Madam Pomfrey, she has plenty—"
"I still have some left from start-of-term when she gave me some after the Death Eater attack. But I hate taking it, Harry, I really do. It makes me not be able to concentrate the next day, and I need to concentrate—"
"Hermione, you sleeping is more important than getting an 'E' on every exam," insisted Harry.
There was silence at this. It was a mark of how much he knew her that Harry could tell she was vehemently disagreeing with him in her head.
He made a mental note to slip some in her drink when she wasn't looking too.
However, Harry still wasn't done with his inquisition.
"Are you sure it was Malfoy that slipped you the Love Potion?" he asked quietly. "Do you think he meant for you to drink it...or was it meant for Krum?"
"Viktor?" Hermione scoffed. "Harry, I know all the boys have crushes on him, but I highly doubt that Malfoy does too—"
"Not because of that—" Harry complained, shuddering because of the images that conjured. "I mean, what if Malfoy is going after Krum? Why even give that to him? Did Malfoy want you falling for Krum? Or was it to manipulate Krum into doing something for Malfoy? I mean, Krum is foreign and he had ties with Karkaroff who we know was a Death Eater. What if he has something that Malfoy is after? There has to be an explanation…"
They both sank into silence yet again, thinking about what it all meant. And what they could do stop it if needed.
"And what about this...this whatsit potion…" said Harry, feeling shivers from the mere mention of it.
"Wolflord Potion," Hermione corrected automatically.
"Well they sure think a lot of themselves," Harry muttered.
"I've been researching it. Obviously, it is a new concoction, so I can't find anything in the library. But Harry, Greyback had it. Which means Voldemort probably has it, or at least knows about it. And if Greyback and his pack are the ones who had the idea for it, just think! Who is the one person who is phenomenal at potions that Voldemort has in his employ?" said Hermione.
Harry's heart sank. "Snape."
"Exactly. You don't think…."
"That Snape has something to do with it? That he's the one who...who made it?" Harry asked slowly. "Yeah, Hermione...I do."
"But he...he can't have…"
"I wouldn't put it past him," Harry said shortly.
"But surely the Headmaster knows…"
"The Headmaster doesn't know everything...just like you don't know everything, Hermione."
They sank into another silence.
"You have to tell him, Harry," Hermione whispered. "What if he goes after my parents? Ron's family? You have to tell Dumbledore so that he can protect them…"
Harry winced, heart sinking at the reminder yet again that he needed to tell Dumbledore about Voldemort being after Ron and Hermione.
"I'm writing him tonight if we can meet, don't worry. I'll tell him tonight," Harry promised.
Grateful, Hermione leaned her head onto his shoulder, and her warmth was like a calming draught that Harry did not know until that moment that he desperately needed.
Then he suddenly realized why he hadn't told Dumbledore yet.
Harry was afraid. Deathly afraid. Because if he told Dumbledore...that meant it was real. That his worst nightmares were about to come true.
That Voldemort was after the ones he loved most.
He didn't care if Voldemort was after him. Hell, he'd been used to it his whole life on some level. But Ron and Hermione…
Harry pulled himself out of his dark thoughts abruptly.
Nothing was going to happen to them.
Everything was going to be fine.
And they still had classes to attend.
"Come on, Hermione. Time to go and face the world yet again."
She groaned as he stood up, then helped her to her feet. "Do we have to?"
"Shame, shame, complaining about schoolwork...whatever would McGonagall say?" Harry teased.
Hermione made a face at him.
To say that Ron was guilty about his words earlier was...a bit of an understatement.
The look on her face...the look on Harry's…
Ron was a prat. Plain and simple.
And his wand apparently agreed with that statement because it wouldn't shut up. It kept screeching something horrible, ever since the Charms lesson. Frustrated, he went upstairs to lock it in his room and went back down to lunch. Dunno what he would do during their next Defense lesson, but oh wells. Problem for another period.
He hadn't quite got to the Great Hall yet, however, when he was beckoned over by Lupin, who was standing on the balcony overlooking the grand staircase.
"Ron, I'm glad to have found you," said Lupin as Ron drew near. "I haven't been able to find Harry or Hermione. How have you been doing? I heard about the attack in Hogsmeade…"
Ron winced. Yet another reminder of his near-death experience. Great…
In low tones, he told Lupin about it.
And the more Ron talked, the more he revealed. Lupin was just so easy to talk to, he admitted grudgingly. For one thing, Lupin was quite poor, like Ron was. They weren't the best-looking chaps and were often overshadowed by their more-popular best friends. Lupin had his curse and...well, Ron had been cursed. Far too many times now to count.
Gravity on Lupin's face gave way to curiosity when Ron had finished. "That is just...your skills, Ron...they are astounding. To hold up that shield as long as you did...phenomenal…"
Ron's ears grew pink, and he smiled sheepishly. "Everyone does keep saying that. I guess I have quite a lot of stamina.
"You do...you very well do...Harry has always been great at Seeking and short bursts of energy. He's still very powerful, of course," said Lupin hastily. "But...what he does as a Seeker only needs those short bursts of energy in order to capture the Snitch. It leaves a lot for recuperation. And he fights in the same way, have you noticed? In our duel last Sunday during D.A., he would often hide and bide his time, and then when he did fight it was spell after spell in repetition after he each other before he played defense again and hid behind his shield."
Ron nodded in realization, despite never having noticed this before.
"But you...wow...you have unbelievable amounts of energy, Ron, and as long as you keep drawing it out as steady as you did with that shield, you can last a great deal of time under duress. You could even beat Harry if you worked on wearing him out like you did that Death Eater. Such stamina...you really are impressive!" Lupin said appraisingly, clapping his hand on Ron's shoulder. "Where did you learn that spell?"
Ron couldn't help the grin from breaking through at the glowing review.
"It was pure chance that I came across that shield spell," he admitted, embarassed about the illegal shield. "I read it in one of Hermione's books, actually. She had fallen asleep in the Room of Requirements last year and one of her defense books looked interesting, so I started reading it. The only reason I remembered that spell on Saturday was because I saw it worked quite well to keep Pigwidgeon from flying in to things. I'd just cast that around him over the summer and it worked like a cage. And Ginny's hexes protected me and him, so that was an added bonus...you know how girls get...she was mad I stole her broom..."
Lupin chuckled, but quickly turned serious.
And the grin was completely wiped off Ron's face, too, when he heard what Lupin said next.
"Speaking of Hermione...I must ask you about something far more concerning. I really am worried about Hermione. She survived a great deal when Greyback attacked her on Saturday, and I noticed she hasn't been sleeping. Has she been doing all right? Did she mention anything to you? Ron?"
But Ron stopped breathing.
He stopped moving, he stopped blinking, his heart stopped beating.
"What...happened to Hermione?" he finally forced out, his words sounding wooden in his ears.
And Lupin told him about the werewolf.
By the time Harry and Hermione walked down to lunch, they realized they had quite missed it, so they went on to their next lesson. Both of them were still feeling too queasy to have much appetite anyway.
When Ron came in to the Defense classroom, Harry saw that Hermione quite avoided Ron.
But it was only minutes into the lesson that he realized Ron wasn't avoiding hers. He hadn't taken a seat opposite the room from her as he had been doing all week long, and out of the corner of Harry's eye he saw Ron's face was rather red and he kept staring at them indiscernible.
Harry furrowed his brow.
In Defense Against the Dark Arts, they had another two hours of learning about Voldemort's past. When they came to the part about Tom Riddle hunting powerfully magical objects, Harry knew that something was missing from Jones' retelling of it. It simply didn't make sense, and he made a mental note in his head to ask Dumbledore why later.
"Have you noticed he's been gone more than half the time?" Harry muttered to her as they wrote down what Jones was copying onto the board.
"He and Moony both," Hermione agreed. "I overheard Moony talking with Professor Snape the other day—I think he may be in on it as well."
"Snape knows? Voldemort's going to be finding out what they're about any day now. Hope they didn't want to keep it secret," said Harry bitterly.
"If they want something known to the school, all they have to do is tell Ron," she said, still hurt about earlier. "Whether it's true or not."
"Hermione," he said, looking sideways at her. "I'm sure Ron didn't mean what he said."
"Which one? About me wanting to...to..." she trailed off, not even able to say the swear-word, face crimson. "Or about me 'seducing Seekers'? Or are you talking about Viktor not even wanting me?"
Harry saw her hands shaking with fury.
"All of the above," he said earnestly, looking into her eyes. "Look. I know he can be a selfish prick sometimes...but please go easy on Ron? He's been having a rough time of it too."
Hermione sighed. "I will. But Ron had better do me the same courtesy. It's not like he was the only one attacked that day."
He gave her a sidelong glance. "When are you going to tell him?"
Hermione cheeks turned pink, and she pulled the sleeves down over her wrists more as she wrote. "When he can stop being an idiot and I can trust him again," she stated.
"Look, Hermione…" Harry paused, unsure of what to say, but needing Hermione to know how uch he cared for her. "When somethingbig like a werewolf attacking you happens again—knock on wood—" they both rapped on the wooden table beside them "—then tell me, all right? I need you to be honest with me. No more secrets."
"No more secrets," Hermione agreed. "But that goes both ways, Harry. You know it does. Is there anything you wish to tell me? I trust you to be completely honest with us, one hundred percent of the time. Is there anything that you in turn have neglected to mention?"
Her beseeching eyes stared into his own, and Harry forced a reassuring smile.
"I've told you everything I know," he said. "I would never keep anything from you. You know this."
Hermione smiled. "I know."
He reached over and clamped his hand over hers, in a rather brotherly way. Her smile broadened and Hermione squeezed his hand in thank you. She took a deep breath, and exhaled as her head turned back towards the front of the room and the lesson before them.
Harry sneaked a look at Ron, and noticed with a start that Ron was glaring daggers at him.
Or rather...Harry and Hermione's clasped hands on the table.
Author's Note:
And there you have it! Next chapter will be "Green-Eyed Monsters". Le gasp!
And please, please review! Reviews make me remember to update! So far I have been getting about ONE review per chapter. Which I cherish dearly. But I really do need reminders to post chapters! These chapters are ALL WRITTEN! And there are FIFTY OF THEM! I just have to remember to post them, preferably one a night, before I go to bed. Only I forget and work on writing the SEQUEL instead (le gasp a second time!)
So remind me! Remind me, remind me, remind me in a review.
And you will be rewarded.
