At the party, which was being thrown in a different castle somewhere in the Scottish Highlands, Harry watched as Hermione attempted to tell both Ron and Viktor her secrets. She failed each time and had began to look painfully discouraged.
"Don't give up" harry muttered in her ear as he and Cho whirled by in the middle of a dance. Hermione and Viktor had danced a lot, as they had at the Yule ball so many years ago, and Ron watched sulkily just as he had so many times before. He was scarfing down his third beer when harry went to sit down next to him.
"Hi ."
"Hullo"
"Are you ...... having fun?" Harry asked.
"Loads." Ron replied sarcastically, not taking his eyes off of Viktor (who was obviously trying to make Hermione laugh or even smile), and Hermione,( who was looking like she was near tears again).
"Ron, You know that you'll never have any fun sitting here, why don't you ask Hermione to dance?"
"And you think she'd want to dance with a pathetic drunk like me?" Ron hissed. he was perfectly sober, so harry needn't have tensed up like he did. "Not when she could have Viktor Krum, an extremely rich world class seeker and all around good guy! That would be like picking the farmer's son over the handsome prince!"
"it could happen. You know, like in Beauty and the Beast."
"What are you talking about, harry?"
"It's a muggle movie. A girl named Belle chooses to marry an awful beast over the handsome popular guy that all the other girls liked."
Ron looked utterly confused. "Are you calling me a beast?"
"What? No! I'm just saying that girls are strange and do crazy, unpredictable things!"
"oh. Why did this Belle girl like that beast?"
"Because he was nice deep down inside. Oy, I'd know, I only had to suffer through it about three thousand times with Dudley when I was 5."
Ron smiled then sighed and bit his lip. "Do you think she'd dance with me if I asked her?"
"Definitely, but you'll never know if you don't try."
"All right, then, I'll do it," he got up and walked over to the table they were sitting at, just as the band struck up a new, much slower song. Ron was very pale, almost as white as Hermione, as he reached them. " Er.... Hermione? do you want to dance?" Harry heard him mumble.
"Umm... Sure..."
Harry got up and dragged Cho away from her friends so he could spy and not look too conspicuous.
"Ron, you haven't been drinking, have you?" Hermione whined. '"I smell alcohol on your breath."
"I've only had a few drinks. That's it, I promise."
"Oh.......well, that's good."
"mhm"
"Ron?" Hermione said, suddenly.
"yes?" Ron was staring absently into her eyes.
"I -I -I -"
"You......."
"I - well, I -" She began, but started coughing. Perfect, harry thought sarcastically, just wonderful. Talk about a mood killer.
"Are you all right?" Ron asked, cautiously. "Maybe we should sit down..."
"no I'm fine," Hermione said, quickly. "I'm perfectly all right. I just wanted to say.......... my shoes are untied."
Harry slapped his had to his forehead. Ron, however, was moving in for the kill. he was suddenly holding her much closer than before. "That's all right"
Hermione began to tremble slightly. Ron held her closer still. "Ron, I - "
it was one, swift movement as Ron leaned in to kiss her. Suddenly, Ron and Hermione had stopped dancing and were making out. Harry smiled in spite of himself.
"It's about time" Cho muttered to Harry. "I was wondering when they were going to stop fighting and just kiss and make up. But then, when I said 'kiss and make up,' I didn''t mean literally!"
Harry laughed. Nearly everyone had noticed Ron and Hermione. A few stopped to watch, but most just continued dancing as if they weren't even there. Unfortunately, Viktor had also noticed. Harry watched his face turn from white to red faster than a stoplight turned from red to green. Viktor, to Harry's horror, was advancing on them like a madman. The same slow-motion that had occurred when Ron hit Hermione paid a visit as Viktor pulled his fist back to punch Ron.
"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" shouted Ron from the floor, touching the swollen part of his face.
"Get away from Herm-own-ninny!" Viktor shouted, savagely.
"Stop!" Hermione shrieked as Ron and viktor got into a full out fist fight. "Stop!
Please!! Oh, this is all my fault!" She was paler than usual. Tears stained her dress robes and then the coughing began. Her eyes slid out of focus as they did during a dizzy spell and next thing they knew, Hermione was collapsed on the floor.
Harry jumped on Ron and Viktor. "Break it up, you two!" he yelled, "Think of Hermione! She's collapsed on the ground if either of you cared to notice!"
But neither of them could hear him. Blood pounded in both their ears. Nothing mattered to them except Hermione's love, and all of it. They couldn't know what Hermione was going to do next. No one could feel the pain Hermione was in, physical and mental.
She had come out of her dizzy spell but wished she hadn't. The sight of them in a fight was enough to push her off the edge, it was enough to drive her mad.
Hermione blindly pulled herself off the floor. She cast a glance around the room for a place to run, a place to hide form the world. She wanted to die. If she died, she wouldn't have to tell Viktor she didn't love him. She wouldn't hurt anybody and, for them, life would go on happy and carefree. Hermione pummeled herself through the crowd and into the entrance hall of the unfamiliar castle. She spotted a passageway. It had a sign on it that read "restrooms."
She ran into the girls toilet and began planing her death. She could drown herself in a toilet. Drown herself in a toilet... Eww. No, that wouldn't work. she could hold her breath until she passed out and died. Well, she didn't have any better ideas so she took a deep breath and sat down against the wall. She thought about everything that had happened to her over the years -- she was almost sad to die, but felt she had to. There must be an easier way, she thought, holding her breath was very painful. It was then when she saw it: A whole box of arsenic. Of course! She could poison herself! It would be swift and painless. There would be no mess to clean up afterwards, it was the perfect suicide. She locked the door to the ladies room as she opened the box of rat poison. The bottles were clear and appealing, all she had to do now........... was commit the perfect suicide.