A/N: This is my first post to FFN, so reviews would be great! At the moment it's just a one-shot, but I'm hoping to roll it into a longer multi-chapter Romione missing moment story. Stay tuned! Also, a huge thank you to my beta extraordinaire, the incomparable TMBlue - you're the best!
"I like really good Quidditch players," Hermione corrected her. "Well, see you...got to go and get ready for the party..."
As Hermione turned to leave the Great Hall, she caught a quick glimpse of Ron sitting on the opposite side of the table. He was still practically attached at the hip to "Lav-Lav." His grin, however, had faded, and he suddenly looked quite pale. The corners of her lips turned up slightly into a small satisfied grin as she glided between the long rows of tables and past the giant Christmas trees.
But as she walked through the corridors of the castle, her satisfaction was gradually replaced with a sense of impending dread. She actually had to go to the party with him. With Cormac McLaggen. And soon. The thought repulsed her. In reality, she could not be less interested in going on a date with Cormac. His brand of you-are-who-you-know elitism represented one of the aspects of the wizarding world she despised most. Old families and pure blood were utterly unimportant to her. She was sure his family had many house elves, and likely treated them poorly. It made her blood boil.
To make matters worse, all of the characteristics she loathed in Cormac were nowhere to be found in her favorite wizarding family. A family who had always accepted her, no matter her Muggle background. A family whose youngest son she had just hurt quite intentionally. An image of Mrs Weasley enclosing her in a big hug flashed before her eyes. She continued to climb the moving staircases in silence, turning her decisions over and over again in her mind. Her stomach was feeling even more uneasy as yet another unwelcome feeling began creeping in. Perhaps she had been too cruel, had pushed things too far. After all, she knew how much she still cared about him. She might even…
By the time she crawled through the portrait hole, guilt and panic were threatening to overwhelm her. The common room was crowded with Gryffindors relaxing and playing games of Exploding Snap, basking in the excitement of the coming holiday. She tried to move through the crowd as quickly as possible without being noticed. As she climbed the stairs to her dormitory, she felt the tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. She had barely sunk down into her soft mattress when the tears started to fall. She didn't even try to hold them in. Her entire body shook for a few minutes straight as she cried.
"I had no idea..."
Hermione tried to quickly compose herself, then turned around and found Ginny leaning against the doorway. The younger girl had a knowing look on her face as she inched slowly into the room.
"Oh, hi Ginny," Hermione said, an insincere smile plastered on her face. "Sorry, I'm a bit of a mess...trying to decide...what to wear…thought you were eating with Dean..."
"Came back when I saw that...display down in the Great Hall," Ginny replied. When Hermione remained silent, she continued, "You know, you don't have to pretend with me. I'm not that thick. And I know you better than to believe you're crying over outfit choices."
Hermione sniffed and eyed her suspiciously, trying to gauge how much to divulge. Ginny was, she supposed, the closest thing she had to a real girlfriend, someone who might be able to help her make sense of everything. But she was also related to him. And him was a large part of the problem.
"Why am I doing this?" Hermione said quietly, staring intently at the blanket on her bed and still trying to blink away the tears before they could escape.
"Going to the party with Cormac? No idea. Doesn't really seem like a choice you'd normally make. But then again, a lot of people are making abnormal choices these days, don't you think?"
"Oh yes, Harry and Luna!" Hermoine deflected. "Quite unusual! But I always did enjoy her compan-"
"That's not exactly what I meant."
Hermione fell silent. She felt her lower lip begin to quiver and tried to will it to stop, not sure how much longer she could hold it in. She opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out except a stifled sob. She quickly covered her mouth with her hands and squeezed her eyes shut. Her tears were now starting to track down her cheeks again.
"You fancy him, don't you?" Ginny asked, sitting on the side of Hermione's bed and placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.
Hermione collected herself again with a few deep breaths, still unable to make eye contact with Ginny. "I'm afraid it might be a bit more than that," she replied shakily.
Throughout a long pause, Ginny looked at her friend with wide eyes as she let Hermione's words sink in. "I see," Ginny spoke slowly, "I always suspected, but…"
She trailed off, not quite knowing how to take this new piece of information. Of course, she thought Hermione was brilliant, and strangely enough, good for Ron. In fact, now that she thought of it, they rather balanced each other out nicely.
"He's being a prat, you know," Ginny offered, trying to break the long stretch of silence. "This whole thing with Lavender is just mental. She was just...there, and he-"
"Well, I suppose that's none of my business," Hermione quickly retorted, wiping her cheeks and getting up off of her bed.
"Sure," Ginny retreated, and took the hint to drop the subject. "Well...do you need any help, you know, getting ready for tonight?"
Hermione groaned more audibly than intended. "No, thanks, I'll manage."
Ginny eyed Hermione tentatively as she walked over to her closet to pick out a dress for the party. She remembered with vivid clarity how painful it had been seeing Harry and Cho walking through the halls together, visiting Hogsmeade together, holding hands. She recalled the gnawing sensation that ebbed and flowed deep in the pit of her stomach any time she overheard him talking about his new relationship. She understood, better than most, what Hermione was going through. She certainly wasn't helping herself, of course, trying to turn the tables on Ron by going on a date with the world's biggest git. But the name Michael Corner slowly crept into Ginny's mind, reminding her that she, too, had some experience with attempting to invoke jealousy.
"Well, if you change your mind, I'll be in my room, just packing for the holiday," Ginny said quietly as she made her way to the door.
Hermione turned back to her friend, her eyes still red and watery. "Thanks, Ginny. For everything, I mean. I don't really have that many people I can...you know, talk with."
Ginny gave her a small nod and a smile and turned to leave. When she got to the doorframe she stopped, her back still to Hermione, and added, "Just...give him some time. He'll come around. He's not THAT big of a prat."
Ginny heard Hermione give a determined sigh and turn back towards her closet. As she glanced back over her shoulder, she could've sworn she saw a hint of a smile spread across Hermione's face. Ginny quietly chuckled as she padded back down the stairs.
After dinner, Ron found himself racing hand in hand with Lavender through the halls of the castle. He had a sinking feeling that he already knew where she was dragging him.
"Oi, maybe we should go see what things are like over at Slughorn's party," he offered, desperate for a change in itinerary. "Who knows, maybe we'd even be invited in!"
"Now why would we want to do that?" Lavender replied in a voice that Ron was beginning to find cloying. "It sounds awfully boring. Besides, there will be so many people there, and I'd rather be alone with you," she hinted flirtatiously through batted eyelashes.
Ron felt his stomach twist as they arrived at the empty Transfiguration classroom. He was growing a little too familiar with the room. He felt that he now knew it better in the dark than he ever did when it was occupied by Professor McGonagall and his classmates.
He used to love coming here. Slipping away from everything and retreating into the arms of his girlfriend made him feel like he was on top of the world. And it was about time, right? He knew he was no Harry Potter, but he considered himself a fanciable bloke. He was a Gryffindor prefect. He was keeper on the Quidditch team. For Merlin's sake, he'd helped fight Voldemort! A few times! Why shouldn't someone want to snog him?
But the novelty had worn off over the last few weeks. The thought of more time alone with Lavender caused his mood to become somber in an instant. He even found himself disliking Transfiguration recently, a class he actually tended to enjoy. It was like a pall had been cast over the room.
He felt Lavender's hand clasp around the front of his robes and yank him over to an empty chair in the corner of the room. She pushed him into the chair and plopped down in his lap, her lips finding his hungrily in the dark. Ron resigned himself to falling into their usual pattern; Lavender slobbering all over his face, him squeezing his eyes shut and trying in vain to delude himself into thinking she was someone else.
Hermione was nervous as she rounded the last corner approaching Slughorn's office. Her anxiety was immediately justified when she saw Cormac waiting for her just outside the office door. He was dressed impeccably in what must have been very expensive dress robes, leaning against the wall and simply oozing pretension. Hermione saw his eyes scanning down her body like a wolf sizing up its prey as she slowly made her way toward him.
"Wow, Granger, you clean up very nicely," he said, his eyes continuing to roam inappropriately in the dimly lit hallway.
"Hello Cormac. You...look nice yourself," she responded, trying to avoid eye contact.
"I should hope so, my father ordered these robes from the finest tailor in London. None of those cheap rags from Madame Malkin. After all, only the best for you, Granger."
"Oh, that's nice."
"So I saw you at the Quidditch tryouts a little while back. Didn't know you were a fan," he said as he slid his right hand around her waist and attempted to pull her closer to him, steering her towards the party.
Hermione kept her eyes on the floor as they entered the office. Trying to annoy Ron and make him jealous had put her in one of the most uncomfortable positions she could recall. All of her fears about this evening were confirmed within the first minute of this...date. She had already had to suppress the bile rising her throat on multiple occasions. She could tell this evening wouldn't be worth it. Nothing was worth this.
"Umm, sorry, yes, I was. Going to support Harry, you know," she finally answered.
"Well lucky for you I was there. That way you got to see a real Quidditch player at work. You must've seen my third save. That Ginny girl faked twice and still couldn't get it by me. That kick save? That takes skill and experience. Bloody Weasley's lucky his sister gave him an easy one, no way he would've saved the one she tried with me. He looks like he can barely stay on that pathetic broom of his, if you can even call that bundle of twigs a broom."
His hand was slowly crawling down her side towards the top of her waist. Hermione was doing her best to evade his grip but he was too strong, keeping her pinned to his side.
"I think Ron has been doing well so far," Hermione offered through gritted teeth, actively trying to remove his hand from her body. He didn't seem to take the hint.
"The whole team is dreadful. I could play any of the positions better than those tossers. Especially Weasley. Did you see how he flailed around trying to save that second shot? Miracle he got a hand on it at the last minute. See what I would've done was the same thing I did on my fourth save. You've got to be constantly circling the posts so that the chaser has no idea where you're going next…"
As he continued to regale her with tales of his athletic prowess, Hermione turned and desperately searched through the crowd for a friendly face. Never in her life would she have been so happy to see Harry standing in front of her than right at that moment. However, he and Luna were nowhere to be seen. Neither were any other friends, teachers, or remote acquaintances she could latch on to. She felt hopeless and continued in her attempt to gradually escape.
"...then reach out your other arm to protect the far post. It's really quite simple. Not that a wanker like Weasley would know."
"You know, Ron is my friend and all-" Hermione started indignantly.
"Hey Granger, take a look up there," he interrupted her, pointing up towards the ceiling. Her eyes raised and slowly registered the small plant hung above the arch they were now under. Much to her dismay, she recognized it as mistletoe. Before she had a chance to reply, Cormac was pressing his chest to hers and pushing her against the door frame. His left hand was roughly plastered to the side of her head, right hand still around her waist. She felt his lips smash into hers as she tried to push him away and wriggle free. Her lips were sealed tightly shut, but somehow she could still taste his horrible breath as his mouth continued its assault. Eventually he broke away, looking quite pleased with himself.
"Ahh mistletoe...brilliant. That Slughorn is quite cheeky. Oi, fancy a drink, Granger?"
"I'm fine," she fiercely replied, trying to rearrange her dress and wipe away the lipstick that he had smeared all over her face.
"Oh it's no problem, I'll find you something. I was thinking along the lines of…Firewhiskey? Slughorn won't mind, I'm sure."
Before she could answer, he winked at her and set off through the crowd. Hermione was left standing all alone, seething with anger. Part of her wanted to wait right there and unload all of her fury at him over his inappropriate behavior when he returned. However, she realized this was her best chance to sneak away without him noticing. She took a moment to compose herself and headed off in the opposite direction, making her way through the crowd as quickly as possible.
"Hermione! Hermione!"
"Harry, there you are, thank goodness! Hi, Luna!"
"What's happened to you?" asked Harry, for Hermione looked distinctly disheveled, rather as though she had just fought her way out of a thicket of Devil's Snare.
"Oh, I've just left Cormac," she said. "Under the mistletoe," she added in explanation, as Harry continued to look questioningly at her.
"Serves you right for coming with him," he told her severely.
"I thought he'd annoy Ron the most," said Hermoine dispassionately….
A few short moments later, Hermione found herself dashing through the door of Slughorn's office, trying to stay as low as possible. She didn't think he'd seen her, but she couldn't be sure. She didn't even want to think about what could happen if he followed her and they wound up alone together in the castle halls late at night. She shuddered involuntarily.
As she walked hurriedly through the castle, she replayed the events of the evening in her mind. It had all gone worse than she had ever imagined it could, and she had only been at the party a short time. She was furious with Cormac and his abhorrent manners. At the moment, she was furious with Harry; honestly, does he not think about anything besides the ramifications for the bloody Quidditch team? However, if she was being completely honest, she was furious first and foremost with herself for coming up with this horrible idea.
As she was climbing the staircases toward Gryffindor common room, she increasingly felt her anger transforming into despair and bitter disappointment in herself. Once again she felt a familiar prickle as her eyes began to water. She couldn't believe what a mess she'd made. Hermione Granger was supposed to be a smart, level-headed, confident young witch. Instead, she was overwhelmed with shame at being completely undone by a terrible plan of her own making. Standing at the foot of the final staircase to Gryffindor tower, she felt the weight of all of her emotions crashing in on her, and she broke down.
Her knees buckled and she grabbed the railing tightly for support, knuckles turning white as she tried to hold herself up. When she couldn't restrain herself any longer, her lungs let out a piercing sob. The front of her dress quickly became damp with tears. She ran up the staircase as fast as she could, attempting to avoid any further embarrassment and hoping that nobody was around to see her meltdown.
"Baubles!" she blubbered at the portrait, trying to force the passageway to open faster. She was eager to have this night behind her as soon as possible.
"My dear, what ever is the matter?" The Fat Lady asked delicately.
"Baubles! Baubles BAUBLES!" Hermione screamed, tears still freely streaming down her face, mixing with the lipstick that was still smudged all over her cheeks.
"Well there's no need to be rude!" the Fat Lady replied, swinging her portrait open gently.
Hermione crawled clumsily through the portrait hole, trying in futility to calm herself down. She turned to hide her face as she walked past a group of suddenly nervous second years, but her muzzled sobs gave her away. She hurried up the stairs to her mercifully empty dormitory and, for the second time that night, found herself collapsing onto her bed heartbroken, ashamed, and feeling more alone than she had in some time.
Ron finally managed to extricate himself from Lavender's tentacle-like grasp, using the need to conduct perfect rounds as an excuse to escape. He winced as, on his way out the door, Lavender told him how proud she was of his dedication to the school. Her compliments, which used to make him finally feel wonderful, to feel as though he mattered, had begun to ring hollow instead. He knew it was mostly due to his growing indifference toward the giver of the compliment. He had even found himself occasionally daydreaming about how it would feel to receive the same praise from Herm-.
Ron shook his head in an effort to force his mind to change the subject. Prefect rounds, right? Of course, might as well, he thought to himself. He knew there was no need for prefect rounds. At least half of the students had already been picked up by their parents for the holiday. Many of the rest were at Slughorn's party. Honestly, he just couldn't take being in that classroom anymore. As he made his way through the festively adorned castle, the halls were silent; all mischief was managed for now.
He trudged back to Gryffindor tower, contemplating whether going on the rounds might actually allow him to clear his head a bit or whether they'd just make things worse. Finding the common room mostly empty, aside from a few quiet second years discussing holiday plans in the corner, he went up to his dormitory. He tried to lie down in bed, but found himself up and pacing the floors in no time, mind spinning rapidly with possibilities. He wondered what was going on at the Slug Club party. Was Harry able to carry on a conversation with Luna without too many awkward silences? Was the food as good as he imagined it would be? Was...was Hermione okay?
He still couldn't believe she had agreed to go to the party with him. Cormac bloody McLaggen. Honestly, what did she think she was playing at? Ron had all but choked on his dinner when she had told Parvati about her plans in the Great Hall earlier that night. He tried not to show it in front of Lavender, but as soon as he heard it, he couldn't focus on anything else. He felt his brain swirling with anger, sadness, frustration, and, truthfully, jealousy. Stupid git doesn't deserve her, Ron thought to himself. He knew Hermione better than anyone, and he knew she didn't go for blokes like him. At least, he hoped. Now that he thought about it, though, Krum was tall and good looking and athletic as well. He and Cormac, Ron realized, actually didn't seem THAT different. Maybe he had always just falsely assumed she would prefer someone more...familiar. Someone who really knew her and understood her and loved and appreciated the fact that she was bookish and smart. Not just smart - brilliant.
As he sat there contemplating all of these things, another uninvited thought started encroaching into his consciousness. One that was starting to make him physically ill. Ron couldn't stop imagining Cormac's hands all over her, slithering up and down her back, the two of them joined at the lips. He looked down at his hands and found them, through no deliberate intention of his own, balled up into tight fists. He felt like a caged animal, racked with stress and worry. Before he knew what he was doing, he grabbed his prefect badge and bolted out of the dormitory.
Just worried about a friend, just worried about a friend, Ron thought repeatedly as he took the stairs down to the common room two at a time. Couldn't hurt to just pop over there and see how things are going.
He made his way through the portrait hole and started towards Slughorn's office, taking a detour to poke his head into the fifth floor prefect's bathroom that was known to be a good spot for privacy. Grateful to find it empty, he headed back to the staircases. Just as he was exiting the hallway and starting back down the stairs, he heard a loud cry coming from across the vast atrium. He pulled out his wand just in case and crept over to the staircase railing, slowly peeking over the top.
As soon as his eyes focused on the source of the sound, his heart broke into pieces. Hermione was standing at the foot of the staircase to Gryffindor tower, all alone, weeping. The chasm between them seemed even wider than usual. He watched as she clung to the railing, pain etched onto her face and tears cascading down her cheeks. Ron found himself frozen in place, biting his lower lip and feeling sick to his stomach. He wanted nothing more than to call out, provide a friendly face, and offer her all the comfort she needed. Seeing her like this, seeing her and not being able to do a damn thing about it, was agony. He looked down and noticed tears he didn't know he was crying splashing lightly onto his robes. His eyes followed her as she ran up the stairs, screamed the tower password, and disappeared into the portrait hole.
Once he knew she was safe back in Gryffindor tower and he had recovered from the shock and hurt of seeing Hermione suffer, fury engulfed him. Someone had made Hermione cry. He had a very good idea who was responsible. His eyes flashed with fierce determination and he continued on his way, now with a new sense of purpose. His hands were curled into fists again, this time very much of his own volition.
He barely remembered how he got there, but Ron suddenly found himself turning the corner toward Slughorn's office. Just as he did, he saw Cormac emerging from the office, looking bewildered.
"Oi, McLaggen!" Ron shouted, striding menacingly toward him and exuding rage.
Cormac scoffed. "Piss off, Weasley, I'm looking for Granger. You haven't seen her, have you?"
As Cormac tried to push past Ron and continue in his search, Ron grabbed him by the front of his robes and shoved him violently up against the wall. Cormac's head made a dull thud as it hit the stone. Ron could see the distress in his eyes as he lifted him off the ground and pinned him to the wall.
"What did you do to her?" he growled with a quiet intensity.
"The hell is the matter with you, Weasley? Not getting enough attention from your little girlfriend?" he spat, struggling against Ron's grip.
Ron glowered at him and repeated himself more slowly. "What. Did. You. Do?"
Cormac looked at Ron with growing apprehension, but continued, "With Granger? Just gave her a spot of fun for once. Looked like she could use it, always holed up in that library and all. Probably hasn't been properly snogged in years." Cormac continued with a sly grin, "Until now."
"Listen to me very carefully, McLaggen. Stay away from her," he continued, looking positively murderous.
"Or what, Weasley? What could someone like you possibly do to me?"
Ron glared at him, refusing to break eye contact, and continued speaking with a soft but deadly serious cadence. "First off, I'll convince Fred and George to bring me all of their latest Skiving Snackboxes. They're always looking for new volunteers for testing. I'm sure they'd be happy to come back to the castle and do some trial runs on some test subjects, willing or unwilling. I've heard they have a new and improved Puking Pastille, but they can't quite work out the antidote just yet. How would you like to help with that?"
"You don't scare me, Weasley," Cormac replied.
Ron lifted him higher and continued indifferently. "If that doesn't work, I'll owl my older brother Bill. He's a curse breaker. Knows a lot of curses. He always loved teaching me about all the wild things he sees at work. I'm sure he'd know something about dealing with...handsy prats."
Ron saw Cormac's eyes widen knowingly. They started darting around the hallway in a slight panic. He could feel Cormac's pulse quicken through the front of his robes. He knew that Cormac had assumed he was the stronger of the two of them, but Ron was sure he had rendered him helpless to escape his predicament.
"W-What, do you have a little crush on G-Granger or something?" Cormac teased, trying to maintain what was, in fact, a dwindling supply of bravery.
Ron continued, undeterred. "And if all else fails, I'll just come and pound you myself. You can take as many shots at me as you like, but I'll never stop coming after you if I hear so much as a whisper that you've touched her again."
Ron slowly lowered a rather disquieted looking McLaggen back down to the floor and watched as he started slowly backing his way down the hall and back towards the party. Cormac momentarily tried to return Ron's ferocious and unblinking expression, but all he could muster was a look of defeated annoyance.
"Nice chat," Ron grunted, sneering at Cormac as he tripped on the stone floor and stumbled back into Slughorn's office.
Ron turned and started walking back slowly to the dormitory. He took a few deep breaths as he passed the Great Hall in an attempt to slow his heart and stop the shaking in his hands. He didn't regret going and finding McLaggen and setting him straight. The git certainly deserved it. In the back of his mind, however, he still couldn't forget the look on Hermione's face as she practically crumbled on the staircase. He'd done his best to make sure it wouldn't happen again, but something had still happened, and it was killing him to think that he couldn't fix it.
When he arrived back in Gryffindor tower, he started across the room towards the staircase to his dormitory before an ear-splitting scream shattered the silence. Lavender came running at him from the other side of the common room where she had been sitting and talking with Parvati.
"Won-Won, you're back! I didn't know that prefect rounds took so long! I've missed you!"
Before he could say anything, she was wrapped around him, kissing his cheek repeatedly. Ron returned the hug briefly before attempting to pull away. It was no use.
"Right, well, I just wanted to make sure everything was...in order," Ron replied once his lungs were finally able to fill with air again. "What are you doing down here? Thought you would be upstairs by now."
"Well, we tried to go up to bed, but Hermione was up there wailing and moaning about who knows what. Probably lost a point on an exam or something," Lavender replied with an irritated tone. "We asked her if she needed anything, but she just ignored us! So rude."
Ron tried to keep a straight face. On the inside, he felt his anger rising. Thank Merlin we have a two week break coming up, he thought.
"Oh, sorry about that," he replied, continuing to maintain a neutral expression. "I'm sure you'll be able to get to bed soon."
"Do you want to come join Parvati and me? We were just trying to figure out which of the Weird Sisters were here tonight! We heard they were at the party!"
"You know, I'm actually quite tired, and Harry and I have to leave early tomorrow morning. I think I'm just going to go to bed...if you don't mind."
Lavender looked at him with her version of mock disappointment before her face broke out into a grin. She gave him one last long hug and one last very long kiss, then turned his shoulders around and swatted his bottom back in the direction of his bedroom.
As Lavender returned to the sofa in the corner of the common room and became instantly engrossed in gossip with Parvati, Ron made his way over to the staircase to the boys' dormitory. When he reached the bottom step, he paused. Just for an instant, his eyes glanced longingly at the staircase to the girls' tower. He wanted nothing more than to run up those stairs and hold her. He wanted to sit with her and stroke her hair and tell her that everything would be okay. That he would make it okay. He knew the staircase would fight back and try to deny him access. But Ron felt that nothing would stop him from getting to her right now. Nothing, he knew, except the mess of a situation he'd gotten himself into with the girl a few metres away.
He sighed, turned his eyes upwards, and began to climb. When he reached his room, Dean was already asleep. He kicked off his shoes and climbed right into bed himself, not even bothering to change into his pyjamas. He closed his eyes, but his brain refused to settle down. He kept thinking over the events of the evening. At one point, he heard Harry come in, change clothes, lie down, and start softly snoring. Still, sleep wouldn't take him. Worst of all, he was still unable to get the devastated look on Hermione's face out of his mind. He tossed and turned for what seemed like hours, drifting in and out of sleep, awakening with a start to the same nightmare over and over again. He couldn't remember the details, but it always seemed to end with him hearing sobbing just out of view.
By the time it was morning, he felt more exhausted than ever, and his pillowcase was wet with tears.
Unbeknownst to him, Ron wasn't the only one in Gryffindor tower who had slept poorly. Hermione, sporting dark circles under both of her eyes, finally gave up on sleep and dragged herself out of bed in the dark to pack up the last of her things for the holiday. Memories of the previous night had churned through her head all night long. She had never been happier to be leaving the castle for the holiday.
By the time she was ready to go, the Hogwarts Express was scheduled to leave for King's Cross in half an hour. She grabbed her bag and headed out the portrait hole, making her way to the Great Hall to meet up with the other students who would be taking the train home. She reached the bottom of the staircase, looked up, and let out a small gasp. Cormac McLaggen had just turned the corner and was walking directly towards her, talking with one of his friends. As they made eye contact, Hermione bravely put a small smile on her face and offered, "Hi, Cormac."
She steeled herself, preparing to defend her actions from the previous evening. However, Cormac's eyes instantly widened a bit as he looked up, and he said nothing. He turned his head and intentionally averted his eyes as he walked past her and started up the stairs. Hermione stood frozen on the spot, quite confused. She couldn't make sense of his expression. He had looked almost...regretful? That definitely didn't square with the Cormac she had experienced the previous night.
In either case, Hermione was thrilled to have avoided the confrontation, and her mood improved considerably. Unfortunately, it proved to be short lived. As she rounded the corner into the Great Hall, hoping to eat a quick breakfast before getting on the train, she found Harry sitting uncomfortably next to a jumble of grappling arms belonging to Ron and Lavender. She tried her best to ignore what was going on behind Harry as she sat down next to him.
"Hermione, great, I've got loads to tell you. During Slughorn's party, I saw Malfoy and Snape sneak-"
"That's great Harry, but can't it wait?" Hermione begged, eyes focusing deliberately and intently on a crumb of toast on the table. "I have to board the train soon. I know you think Malfoy's up to something, but he won't be here over the holiday and neither will you. Can't we just discuss it when we get back?"
Harry looked a bit put out, but acquiesced, "Sure, Hermione. By the way, I didn't see you for the rest of the party? Did McLaggen ever find you?"
"No, actually, he never managed to," Hermione replied curtly.
"Never managed to, eh?" Harry said, eyeing her skeptically. Hermione remained stone faced.
"I still say that was a rubbish thing to do," Harry continued, "And you're bound to run into him again eventually, it's not that big of a school."
"As a matter of fact, I just saw him on my way downstairs."
"...and?" Harry inquired after a long pause.
"He didn't say a word."
"Not a word? After you ditched him?"
Hermione rolled her eyes at Harry, then her expression softened. "He actually seemed...somewhat contrite."
"Honestly, I doubt that. That doesn't seem like Cormac, does it? He was quite proud of his behavior when I saw him."
A whistle sounded from the front hallway, notifying the students that the train was getting ready to depart. Hermione stood up and pulled on her coat and hat.
"Well, something must have changed. Either way, I hope you have a happy Christmas, Harry!" Hermione said as she pulled him into a hug. When she pulled back, Harry saw her glance at Ron with a momentary exasperated look before turning back to Harry, smiling and waving as she exited the Great Hall.
Harry knew Mr and Mrs Weasley would be there soon to pick him up along with Ron and Ginny. As he sat down to help himself to another piece of bacon while he waited, Ron detached from Lavender so that she, too, could catch the Hogwarts Express. He tried to keep from gagging as the couple exchanged their final goodbyes non-verbally.
Ron sat down next to Harry and continued wolfing down the breakfast he had abandoned when Lavender had shown up.
"You're disgusting. You know that, right?" Harry asked.
"Shut up, Harry," Ron said with a grin.
"By the way, you missed Hermione leaving while you were glued to your girlfriend," Harry told him.
The grin disappeared from Ron's face at the mention of her name, replaced by a look of feigned disinterest.
"Oh yeah? Well...that's okay, probably for the best."
"I wish you two would just give it a rest. You know, she could use a friend right now. She was really distraught when I saw her at the party last night. I got the sense that Cormac was being rather inappropriate," Harry said, almost hoping to draw out a reaction from his friend.
"He's a bloody git." Ron snarled, eyes suddenly narrowing and teeth grinding, "But he won't be bothering her anymore."
A look of surprise registered on Harry's face as he started mentally putting the pieces together. After a pause, Harry pressed on with a light interrogation.
"Ron? Hermione said that Cormac was suddenly... embarrassed about his behavior when she saw him this morning."
"He should be," Ron replied bluntly.
"I don't suppose you saw him last night, did you?"
Ron vacantly stared at the table, considering his answer for several moments before simply stating, "It's handled."
"You did this? What did you do to him, Ron? And wait, I thought you were with Lavender last night?" Harry asked.
"Well, I was. But, you know, I had to do prefects rounds and all."
Harry frowned at Ron, knowing full well there was no need for prefect rounds.
"Anyway, I happened to run into Cormac along the way. We had a chat, and now he knows to keep his hands to himself," Ron explained, all quite calmly.
"You didn't...Ron, please tell me...did you hex him?"
"Course not, mate! Can't say I didn't think about it. And I'm sure he would've deserved it."
"Right. But you have to know that's not what she would've wanted…"
"I know," Ron said quietly with a sobering expression on his face. "But I had to do something. Harry, you should've seen her!"
Harry couldn't quite tell, but it looked like teardrops were forming on Ron's lower eyelids. He looked away for a moment as Ron turned his head and subtly wiped his eyes with the maroon sleeve of last year's Christmas jumper.
"You saw her?" Harry asked in a small voice.
"Must've been after she left the party. She was devastated. I couldn't…I had to..." Ron's eyebrows were furrowed, and his bottom lip was trembling slightly. He sniffed quietly.
"I get it. You know, I think she'd feel better if she knew why-"
"No." Ron interrupted. "Not a word about this to Hermione, Harry, I mean it. I don't want to mess up...anything."
Harry stared straight ahead as he pondered the lengths to which Ron was willing to go to protect a relationship he clearly didn't want. Anyone who knew Ron at all knew that Lavender was wrong for him. Almost all of those same people knew who was right for him. He was almost pitiable. However, it would be much easier to have sympathy for Ron's conundrum if he hadn't done such a thorough job of mucking it up with his stubbornness.
Just then, Harry and Ron heard excited shouting from the entrance of the Great Hall. They saw Mr and Mrs Weasley coming down the aisle between tables, festively dressed for the holidays with Ginny in tow.
Ron sniffed once more and turned to Harry.
"Please. Just...leave it," Ron added quietly as he got up to greet his family.
All Harry could do was shake his head in resigned disbelief.
The Weasleys pulled Ron into a big group hug, and it wasn't long before Harry was dragged up from his chair and pulled in as well.
"We're so excited to have a full house this Christmas!" Mrs Weasley said, beaming at her two youngest as well as her adopted son. "Come, come, the house is full of Christmas cheer! Let's be off, shall we?"
Ron and Ginny followed their parents as they headed towards the portkey Mr Weasley had arranged just outside the castle grounds. Harry followed close behind, pulling his coat on as he walked. "Everyone grab on, now!" Mr Weasley said. The knit hat they were all holding began to glow around the edges, and they felt themselves being pulled into the spiraling darkness.