Chapter V

Justin let out a groan, collapsing bonelessly onto her. "It's about time. I've been waiting for that since July."

"Yea."

"It was good, right? Better-" he abruptly went silent, a blank look settling over his features.

"Shove off, I have to meet with Professor Potter in ten minutes," she said, pushing at him, eager to get his sweaty form off of hers.

The second week of classes had just started and it was safe to say that Hermione's Seventh Year was not off to the start that she'd hoped. A large part of the blame for that could be laid at the feet of the still panting and sweaty Hufflepuff in her bed; he'd been pushing her for sex practically daily since she'd brought Harry to the Muggleborn Meeting.

She'd finally given in and wished she hadn't. While it wasn't their first time together, he'd never been so… rough with her before. Possessive, rather than passionate. It was painful and horrible and felt like he'd been trying to- it was like punishment, not love-making.

Dressing quickly, she gave a careful look in his direction before leaving her quarters. "Make sure you close the door behind you."

She didn't need to be the highest-ranked student in her year to know the reason for this shift; it was because of the fabricated dalliance with Potter. With Harry, she silently corrected. He'd been right, of course - rather than make him appreciate that Hermione had options, Justin's assumption that she'd turned to her Gryffindor year-mate after he himself had cast her aside only made her boyfriend resentful.

This year was supposed to be the perfect conclusion to her time at Hogwarts. Head Girl, research assistant, graduation with honours, and starting her adult life with her incredible boyfriend. Instead, it felt like everything was falling apart.

And Justin, it couldn't be her fault, could it? Didn't she have a right to be angry, after what he'd done to her, the way he'd treated her? Hermione found, though, the more she thought about how he was today, that her own anger had dulled, the angry wound from his abandonment scarring over. She could get over it, everyone makes mistakes, after all. Maybe- maybe he just didn't want his mother to meet her in that way.

All she wanted was for things to go back to normal. To replace the sneering, coarse man she'd left in her bed with the sweet, ambitious, and gentle muggleborn she'd first started developing feelings for in Fourth Year. She needed him; her parents showed no signs of acknowledging her existence, and without Justin, who did she really have? They were just going through a rough spot, he'd change. She just had to wait it out, let his jealousy pass, and he'd go back to the man she'd fallen for.

Hermione knocked on her potions instructor's office door, unable to halt the thoughts churning through her mind despite arriving at her destination. "Professor? I'm sorry I'm late."

But it was obvious that he wasn't going to be able to move past her new friendship with Harry. It had been a pleasant surprise; true to his word, Harry had not touched so much as a hair on her head since their first day back. He was all business, focused on the lessons and notes she provided him. She couldn't believe it but Harry was quickly becoming a friend.

"Not at all, come in, come in," Professor Potter tucked away an essay she'd been marking, gesturing for Hermione to take a seat across from her desk. "Tea?"

A friend for, what, two weeks, though? She'd been with Justin for two years! It wasn't even a decision - of course she'd pick her boyfriend over Harry. And if he decided to correct the rumours that had spread since they started associating together, so what? It would be embarrassing, but hardly the end of the world. If anything, not sleeping with someone like him would probably improve her social standing. Harry would understand.

Mind made up, she smiled and nodded to Professor Potter. "I'd love some, thank you."

Waving her wand to heat the kettle, two mugs and a saucer of milk floated gently over to the two women. "And while we're in this office, feel free to call me Lily, dear."

A flush adorning her cheeks, Hermione nodded. Professor Potter - Lily - really was the best. "Okay."

"So, have you made any headway on our experiments?"

Reaching into her bag, Hermione withdrew a mound of scrolls. "Yes! Five out of the six tests performed exactly as anticipated. Here are my notes, if you'd like to go over my work."

Lily accepted the parchment, tucking them into an obviously expanded desk drawer. "Which one of the six failed?"

"Unicorn hair, just like-"

"Just like the phoenix feather, and the centaur hoof? Interesting."

Nodding her head in excitement, Hermione smiled for the first time that day. "Yes! I noticed that pattern as well. Any ingredients drawn from creatures seem to resist the essentializing process, but magical plants react just like muggle variants would."

The kettle whistled. "I daresay this may change the way potions are brewed around the world. You should be proud, Hermione."

"I wouldn't have any idea how to go about experimenting without your help, Professor," she modestly replied, accepting the cup of tea and setting it down to cool.

"Lily."

"Right, sorry."

Lily just smiled kindly, lifting her own teacup to blow on the hot liquid. "How have you been? Has everything been alright?"

"The testing process has gone smoothly. It's just a matter of scheduling, to make sure that I have time for our research and my other responsi-"

"I meant how are you doing, Hermione. You seem as though you've been weighed down, not as happy as I've come to expect."

"Oh." To give herself time to think, she took a deep gulp of the tea, burning her tongue. "I, uh, things have been okay."

Her professor looked as nervous as Hermione had ever seen her. "And what about Mr Finch-Fletchley? How is everything with him?"

"We're okay," she mumbled, eyes dropping to the desk's surface. "Just working through some things."

"Is my son one of those 'things' the two of you are working through?"

Now Hermione's eyes shot up, widening as she frantically tried to evaluate Lily's neutral tone. "Harry and I- we, we're just doing studying together every now and again."

"Studying," Lily repeated, in that same ambiguous voice. "I did suggest that he find a tutor for NEWTs, but I never expected… I'm surprised that you agreed, is all. As you said, you have quite a lot of obligations resting on you this year."

"It's okay, I'm handling it."

"Harry hasn't-" Lily's mouth worked for several seconds, as though silently testing out the words she wanted to say. "He's been a- um, behaved like a gentleman?"

'Merlin this is humiliating!' Hermione thought. "He has. It's been nice, getting to know him better."

"Is Mr Finch-Fletchley okay with this new friendship?"

Her response was immediate and forceful. "He doesn't tell me who I can and can't be friends with. It's not like that."

"That's good, I'm glad to hear that." Lily took a deep breath, clearly nervous about going on. "I want you to know that you can come to me if you ever need to talk. Just like this summer, I'll always be here for you if you need me, Hermione. I care about you, and I want you to be happy."

Hermione's lips tightened, and she whispered, "Okay," in response.

"I only say that because I'm worried about you. So if there's something bothering you, even if it has nothing to do with classes or our research, you can come to me."

The memory of Justin above her earlier, holding himself up with his arms with that angry, disgusted look on his face flashed through her mind, and she bit her lip, quickly blinking away tears.

"Oh, Hermione, it's okay sweetheart," Lily rose from her desk, crossing over to her in a few steps and wrapped her in a warm embrace as Hermione's emotion finally overflowed.

Maybe Justin wasn't all she had, after all.

Harry sat in the common room, going over the notes that Hermione had lent him from her Charms class last year, awkwardly trying to focus on the neatly printed words, and not on the eyeballs burning a hole into him from the next table over.

Romilda Vane had made it clear that she was interested, in ways that were so obvious that were he anyone else, he might have blushed. She'd sat down next to him at dinner last night and slipped her panties into the pocket of his robes, for Merlin's sake! The girl was way more brazen than any Fifth Year had a right to be.

And that was exactly the problem. She was fifteen years old. Given that he had a late birthday, Harry had never found it overly objectionable to take out girls the year below his; oftentime, they were only a few months younger than he was. But younger than that?

A familiar form sat down across from him. "Hermione!" he breathed out in relief. "Hi, I'm glad you're-"

She'd obviously been crying, her eyes red-rimmed and bloodshot. Her hair was messier than normal, looking like- 'Oh' he realized with a start. "What happened?"

"Nothing."

"It doesn't seem like nothing," he pressed.

"Just drop it, alright?" she snapped, then immediately blanched. "I'm sorry, that was- I just am not feeling my best today."

"Well," he said slowly, "Maybe we should just reschedule then."

"Listen, Harry," Hermione started, avoiding his eyes by digging through her bag. "I know we had a- made an arrangement, but I don't think I can do this anymore."

"What? Why?"

"Here's all of my notes from last year's NEWT courses. You can keep them." She held out the neatly ordered stack of parchment, gesturing for him to take it. "Go on, take them, consider it an apology."

"But-"

"I uh, I need to get going. I'm patrolling later tonight, and I have a lot of work to finish before then."

"Hermione-" She didn't linger, turning away from him and quickly exiting the Tower while he was still gathering his things.

"If you're looking for someone to study with," Vane's sickly-sweet voice commented as she approached, "I'd be happy to-"

"For Merlin's sake, Vane, keep it in your robes! I'm not interested, got it?" He snapped, ignoring the way that the entire common room went silent at his outburst.

He caught up to her in the corridor, halfway to the Head Girl's suite. "Hey, wait up!" She paused but didn't turn around.

"You were right."

"Huh?" She slowly turned around, looking supremely exhausted. "Right about what?"

"About this being a stupid plan. About how playing games like this would never work."

He was silent for a moment, eventually saying, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, I'm going to make it right. But Justin- I mean, nothing's going to get better if you and I are studying together every week."

Harry swallowed. "We had a deal, though."

"Not anymore."

She flinched when he extended one arm towards her, resting his hand on her shoulder. He didn't even want to think about what that might mean. "If there's anything I can do-"

"Just- give me some space. You're a nice guy, Harry, a lot nicer than I thought, but I'm a complete disaster right now. I have to sort that out."

"Okay. I, um, I'll find someone else to help me out with the course material."

"You should ask Daphne Greengrass. She's really smart, probably going to give Su Li a run for the number two spot this year."

Harry couldn't stop himself from stiffening at that suggestion and ignored the way her confused expression hardened into something… something else. "I'll find someone else," he repeated lamely. "It was nice getting to know you better, short-lived as it was."

Hermione smiled, a slow curl of her lips that brightened her otherwise harried features. "Yea, it was."

"Don't be a stranger, Granger." They each chuckled at his witlessness, and with one last wave, she turned and continued on her way.

It felt very unfair, he thought to himself, aimlessly wandering the corridors after they parted ways. He'd told her that it was a dumb idea, and now that she realized he was right, he's the one that has to lose out? Where was the justice in that?

'That's not the real reason I feel like this' he acknowledged. He'd been trying, really trying, but this year was miserable. It felt like everyone had unanimously decided over the summer that nothing would be the same, and he was the only to not get the owl. His roommates all glared at him suspiciously when he came into the dorm, girls that used to blush at a smile and wink now giggled and whispered to their friends.

It wasn't that he'd been popular before; at least, not for a few years. Sure, there'd been some upset witches, some jealous wizards, misunderstandings and miscommunications. But this year felt different.

Maybe it was just that he was different.

As much as he'd never have guessed it to be possible, Hermione was- she was a friend. The only one he had. She was patient, warm, and nothing like the way she'd been for the last six years.

'Because she needed something from you'

That wasn't true, not entirely, at least. And it was obvious that she was going through something, and had been since the summer.

'How is this your problem?'

If Hermione was his friend, he should look out for her. It was what his dad did for Sirius, and vice-versa. It was why Remus had stood unflinchingly before the Dark Lord, dying in front of his crib all those years ago. At the very least, he owed it to her to make sure she was alright.

Several minutes went by before the door opened in response to his knock. Surprise was evident on her face; even though they'd seen more of each other this term than previous years, he'd not come to her quarters before.

"Harry? Is something wrong?"

Stepping past her into the room, Harry ran a nervous hand through his hair. "Mum, I need to know what happened to Hermione this summer."

October 14, 1997

"Stop, that hurts," she protested, turning her head away and trying to free her hair from his grip.

"Sorry, my fingers got tangled in a knot."

It didn't feel like that, it felt like he'd been pulling her hair, but she didn't want to start another argument. Things had been better for the last month, and Hermione could see the light at the end of the tunnel from the terrible way that summer had ended and this term began.

Justin had been ecstatic when she'd admitted she was no longer studying with Harry, and he'd promised that nothing like what had happened at his family's home would ever be repeated. He'd been more attentive and more like he was in the past, though he was still rougher than she preferred when they were intimate, escalating a little more each time and apologizing after.

They'd been in Lily's quarters for another get-together tonight. Surprisingly, Harry hadn't missed a meeting since the first one that she'd brought him to, even attending the ones for younger years to get help with their studies. He always arrived on time and stayed after to help his mother clean up. He'd not approached her once since she'd put a stop to their little ploy, offering only cheerful waves and smiles to her from a distance.

She wondered whether he'd found someone else to help him with his studies. 'It really is admirable that he's so determined to make up for his poor study habits in the past' she thought idly, wincing as Justin's hand squeezed her bicep.

Her own musings aside, she guiltily wished that Harry would just go back to the way he was and find something new to distract him. It seemed as though all it took was his very presence to antagonize Justin, and they'd barely been at the gathering for twenty minutes before he'd pulled her away back to her quarters, whispering sweet nothings about how much he had to have her.

Justin despised the very sight of Harry, even though she'd told him over and over that nothing actually happened between them. At first, he'd scoffed in disbelief, and that casual mistrust had set off another row that felt like it shook the foundations of the castle. After that, he merely nodded mutely whenever the topic came up, an unfortunately common occurrence given Justin's need to denigrate Harry after each time they encountered him.

His jealousy was as frustrating as it was unattractive, but things were getting better between them. Hermione wasn't the sort to cut and run; the same determination that made her the best student of her generation was what gave her the confidence that she could fix her relationship. After all, Justin was a big part of her future, he had been for years. She couldn't just give up because of- because…

He finished, and she quickly stood and made her way to the bathroom, leaning her back against the closed door and sliding down to the cold tile floor.

"Hey babe, I'm going to head back to the party. I'm going to the quidditch match with the boys tomorrow, so I'll see you after dinner, yea?"

"Okay."

Hermione pulled herself to her feet, looking at her mussed reflection in the mirror. She reached for her hairbrush, promising herself that she'd be more attentive to getting out any knots and tangles in her curly hair from now on. As her arm extended though, her blurry eyes were drawn to the vivid red fingerprints on her upper arm.

It was taking time, but he was slowly going back to normal. She wasn't alone, she reassured herself. Things were getting better.

"What were you thinking?! Do you need new glasses, or were the numbers on the scoreboard too complicated for you to understand?"

"Look, either I grabbed it, or Hopkins would have, I delayed as long-"

"I mean, honestly, Potter, it isn't complicated. I get that seekers do their own thing, but you really only have one job - catch the snitch when you're supposed to!"

He sighed, irritation bleeding over. "Like I said, if I hadn't grabbed it, Hopkins would have. Would you have preferred to lose by 170 points, or 20?"

"I'd have preferred you use that pea-sized brain, grab his broom, and take the penalty for blagging!" 'Oh. That would have been better' "We were closing the gap, we would have tied it in another few minutes. You stupid, bloody idiot!"

"Easy, Ron," Ginny said. "I think he gets the point."

"You're staying after practice this week, Potter. You obviously need the extra work."

"Fine, whatever," he didn't bother showering, choosing instead to stow his broom in his locker and get away from his irate captain.

The worst part was, Weasley was right. He hadn't been using his head and instead just acted on instinct. He'd zoned out for most of the game, irritated ever since he'd had to watch that berk drag Hermione away from his mother's party last night.

She'd made him promise not to say anything, nor to let Hermione know that she'd told him, but his mother had confessed everything that happened to his classmate since the day she'd fire-called their manor. He couldn't believe that someone as smart as Hermione would let that low-rent Hufflepuff treat her that way and still take him back! It stung, to know she'd refused to even speak to him in favour of someone that couldn't be bothered to help her at her lowest moment.

This protectiveness was- it was a foreign feeling. He'd tried to talk to Sirius about it, but his godfather had scoffed at the notion of interfering in the relationship of 'a bird he wasn't even shagging'. Surprisingly, his father had similar advice, though stated much differently: 'No one knows what goes on in a relationship behind closed doors, best not to muck things up worse.'

As for his mother, well, he hadn't brought Hermione up again. It had been obvious for years just how much the muggleborn Head Girl meant to her, and he still smarted from the disapproval in her voice during the Sorting Feast, when he'd made a pass at Hermione.

The stadium was mostly empty when he left the Gryffindor locker rooms, but there were still groups of stragglers here and there, laughing and discussing the match, mostly Hufflepuffs celebrating their victory.

"Hey, Potter, good game."

He turned, seeing Wayne Hopkins, hair wet from the shower approach with his hand out. "Yea, you too. Congratulations."

"I don't know, feels like I should be saying that to you," the dark-skinned young man said, walking alongside him towards the path to the castle. "If I'm being honest, I'd have rather lost today if it would have meant I could have beaten you to the snitch at least once during our time playing against each other."

Harry shrugged. "It's a team sport. Getting to the snitch first wasn't worth getting chewed out for ten minutes."

Hopkins laughed. "Yea, Weasley takes the game a little too seriously. Still, the season's not over…" he trailed off in realization that Harry had stopped walking. "Potter?"

He barely heard the Hufflepuff seeker, instead gritting his teeth and clenching his fists at the words coming from a group of Seventh Year Boys just behind them.

"-tell you, if I'd known that was all it took, I would have done it years ago."

"Never would have taken Granger for the sort, you dog!"

Finch-Fletchley laughed. "Just got to fuck her brains out to keep her in line, though with Hermione's smarts, that takes some effort!" The other Seventh Years all broke out into raucous laughter.

"Uh, Potter?" He ignored Hopkins, reaching into his quidditch robes and withdrawing his wand.

"What did you say?"

Hermione's boyfriend had a red nose, too red for the mild October weather. 'Must have snuck some firewhiskey into the game' "None of your business, Potter."

"I asked what you said. You were practically shouting before, why so shy now?"

"What's the matter? Upset she threw you over for a real man?"

He could feel his body trembling, practically vibrating with the desire to wipe that fucking smirk off his face. "If Hermione finally found a real man, I'd like to meet him, because I don't see any men here."

"Hey, let's take it easy, guys," Hopkins said, and Harry could feel him tugging on the back of his uniform. "The match is over, let's just call it a day-"

"You're fucking pathetic, Potter, everyone thinks so. We all see you for what you are now, no one's impressed by that Destiny Child shite anymore. Even your own mother thinks you're a joke-"

"What did you say?"

"Justin-" Ernie Macmillan, another Seventh Year Hufflepuff, got between them and pushed his housemate backwards. "Take it easy, mate."

"Hermione deserves better than you," Harry called out, blood thundering in his ears from the adrenaline. "She deserves someone that will treat her right."

"I suppose that'd be you, then? She only shagged you because she was mad at me, you should have heard the way she'd rag on you in the old days. If you knew what she really thought of you, you'd be thanking me for bending her over and-"

There were hands pulling at him, but Harry had been training with an auror daily for a decade, and not even Merlin himself could have held him back from reaching Finch-Fletchley, the pain in his knuckles providing a sweet satisfaction as his fist wrenched the Hufflepuff's nose out of place.

An incantation and flash of light from the side gave ample warning of his housemate's interference, so Harry dodged the spell by following the tosser to the ground, driving his forearm into Finch-Fletchley's throat as he did, smashing his fist into the wanker's face three more times before the other Hufflepuffs dogpiled them, the beating quickly transforming into a brawl in the grass outside the quidditch stadium.

Hermione stormed into the Hospital Wing, searching for and quickly locating her boyfriend, unconscious on one of the beds. Seeing the state of his face and his bloodstained robes, she looked to the side, seeing Ernie rubbing a bruise paste over a black eye.

"What happened?"

"Potter came looking for a fight, and the two of them got into it."

'Oh no,' she thought. "Wait - Harry was the one to start it?"

Ernie glanced away, then seemed to focus intently on the jar of paste in his hand. "Yea. Came up on us in quite a state. We were minding our own business, we were!"

Hermione nodded, looking around the infirmary. "Where is he?"

"His mum came and took him away. Spitting mad, she was."

"Right," she replied, and set off once more. This had gone way too far; if only she hadn't been so immature, so spiteful! It was hard to believe that Harry could have done this. Justin looked like he'd been beaten to a pulp, for Merlin's sake!

Halfway to Professor Potter's office, Hermione recognized the familiar sound of her voice from an empty classroom. The door hadn't closed all the way, meaning that the latent charms that Hogwarts classrooms had weren't activated. She crept closer, ears attuned to the ongoing conversation.

"-not going to apologize! If anything, you had better tell that smarmy son of a bitch to stay out of my way, or-"

"Or what? You'll attack him again? Gods, Harry, I don't understand what the hell goes on in your head!"

"He said-"

"It doesn't matter what he said! You don't resort to violence over a disagreement! You barely made it to your Seventh Year with how poor your marks are, do you really want to not graduate because you decided to take up brawling every time you lose a quidditch match?"

"You know this has nothing to do with quidditch!"

"There's four Hufflepuffs that say otherwise, it doesn't matter what I know!" Hermione heard Lily let out a heavy sigh. "I'm tired of defending you. We told you over the summer that you had to straighten up, start acting right. I guess it's our fault, for letting you go this long without stepping in."

"Mum-" Harry's voice cracked.

"I give up. Do what you want, Harry."

There was quiet, then the door suddenly opened and Harry walked out, head down and feet dragging. His hair was sticking up at odd angles, his face decorated with a split lip, cuts over his brow, and bruises on his face.

She was standing in the middle of the corridor, there was nowhere for her to hide. His eyes spotted her quickly, the downcast look he wore transforming into something intense and wild.

"Hermione-" he breathed, and she sharply inhaled at the emotion he poured into just saying her name.

"I- I just wanted to say that I know I messed up earlier this term, with that stupid plan, and then dropping you when you needed help with your studies. I'm sorry, but please don't take it out on Justin. We're starting over, and- and I don't know if I gave you the wrong idea…" she had no idea how to finish that sentence, her rambling giving way to an awkward silence.

"I've missed you," he offered, and again she was taken aback.

"Please stop antagonizing Justin. Just… stop."

Harry opened his mouth, then glanced back at the classroom his mother was still inside, choosing instead to simply turn and walk away.

She wandered back to the Hospital Wing, somewhat in a daze. Hermione had never heard Lily speak that way towards anyone; maybe she'd been wrong about Harry, and he was much worse than she'd imagined? 'No' she told herself, 'Enough about Potter, Justin needs you'

Her desire to return to her boyfriend's side would be frustrated once more, however, by a nervous-looking figure standing outside the entrance to the infirmary, grass stains and dirt marring his casual clothes.

"Granger, can I have a word?"

"I really need to get to the Hospital Wing, my boyfriend-"

"I know, I was there," he said, and Hermione belatedly recognized Wayne Hopkins, one of Justin's housemates. "I kind of figured you deserved to know what happened."

"Ernie already told me-"

"Ernie's salty because he's had his eye on Bones for years, and Potter's the only one she's ever given the time of day to. I was there, Granger."

"You're on the quidditch team, right?"

"This had nothing to do with quidditch."

A sinking feeling she recognized as guilt made its way through her body. "Then what was it about?"

"You."

A/N: Yikes! Go get 'em Harry!

RE: Hermione putting up with her shit boyfriend - god it was so irritating to write, but I tried to be realistic. People make excuses to stay in toxic relationships every day, even when they should know better. Hermione's young, she's just been cut off from her family, I couldn't see her telling basically last remnant of her social support to 'fuck off', even though he definitely deserved that.

And Justin... I mean, we all have seen those types that take advantage of vulnerability. Once Hermione gave in on one thing (not seeing Harry anymore), he knew he had her, and from there it was all a matter of escalation. Douche! Ugh. If this were ASAoV, Harry would have killed him with a conjured cheese grater.

Anyway, stay safe, healthy, and happy! ~Frickles