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~*Love and Rumors: Part 2*~

A/N~ Thanks for all of your reviews. From what I got you want to hear the rest, so here's a little more for now. Keep reading, and be a "responsible reader" and review! I messed up on the time frame for it. It doesn't affect anything in this part, but it's the week before Halloween, not the third week of seventh year. Harry's mad because he thinks he'll be left out with Ron and Hermione together. Thanks!

Disclaimer: If you recognize the characters in the story, then they probably aren't mine. They belong to the fantasmagorically talented writer, J.K. Rowling. However, Cassie, Bria, and Lizzy belong to me. Here's part two...

* * *

Hermione couldn't bring herself to go to her two afternoon classes: Care of Magical Creatures and Charms. Instead, she hid herself behind the curtains on her bed. She didn't even go down to dinner; the thought of the people down there made her lose her appetite.

* * *

Ron remained quiet and alone throughout the entire meal. Harry didn't even sit with him. When Ginny finally left, Ron followed her out amid laughter and vicious whispering. They were just barely out the door when Ron yelled, "Ginny!" to get her attention.

She turned to Ron, dropping the tray of food she carried when she saw the murderous look in his usually warm brown eyes. His ears were a deep crimson. Spaghetti sauce splattered onto her robes, the floor, and flecked her hair.

"Who was that for?", Ron said coldly, pointing at the broken plate.

"That," she said softly, close to tears, "was Hermione's dinner."

"After what YOU did! What, trying to make up?", Ron glowered.

"I didn't do anything!", Ginny shrieked.

"Then how is it EVERYONE knows about me and Hermione?", he shot back.

"Well, I don't know!", she shouted.

"You do too know! You and McGonagall are the only ones that saw us! And for some reason, I don't see her spreading that trash I heard in there! Give me a break Ginny! Hermione won't even go to class, and I can hardly walk down the hall! When you decide to come off your precious little cloud and admit you were wrong, I might consider listening!", Ron bellowed, turning on his heel, and retreating to the relative safety of his dormitory. Ginny stood, shocked at her brother's harshness, for a full two minutes before remembering Hermione's dinner. She went back to the kitchens for another tray, took a deep breath, and headed for the portrait hole.

"Frog Prince," she said and it swung open. She carried the tray carefully up the stairs to the seventh year girls' dorm. She tapped lightly on the slightly ajar door, entered, and found Hermione. She looked tired, and like she was trying to make herself stop crying.

Hermione looked at Ginny, and instantly, her eyes narrowed. Ginny fidgeted and smiled tentatively, setting the tray at the foot of the bed.

"Don't smile at me you little, you little," Hermione stopped herself, and sighed angrily, "What, have you come to gloat about how many people knew before lunch?"

"No, if you really want to know, I just came to bring you something to eat," Ginny said sourly, her temper beginning to flare up as well.

"Thanks for that. But I'm NOT hungry. And bringing me food isn't going to make what you did any better. I thought you were my friend. But with a friend like that, who needs enemies?", Hermione said, her voice crescendoeing with each word. When she was finished speaking, she tightly drew the curtains around her bed to end the conversation. Ginny stormed down to her room where she thought she'd find peace, but she was quite wrong.

There was something of an explosion from her roommates when she entered. All she got from their ten minutes of shrieking was that when the door wasn't properly shut when she came in the previous night, Lizzy's new kitten escaped, and was now nowhere to be found.

"And it's all your fault! Get out! We don't you in here any more than necessary!", Lizzy shouted, pointing at the door.

"Fine!", Ginny cried, now wearing a new set of robes, her toothbrush clutched in her hand. Her mouth was full of toothpaste. She spit it out into the sink and found that her teeth, lips, and tongue had been turned a nasty shade of midnight blue. Cassie, Lizzy, and Bria laughed uncontrollably. This was the last straw for Ginny. She screamed, flew out into the hall, and collapsed in a hidden corner, bursting into sobs.

* * *

Harry's pity party over the inevitable loss of his two best friends was interrupted on his way back to the common room after a late Quidditch practice by muffled sobs. He looked toward the sound and was slightly surprised at what he saw. Sitting, just barely visible in the corner with tears streaming down her face, was Ginny Weasley. Her hair looked mussed, mascara was running down her cheeks, and a shaking hand hid her mouth.

Harry walked over and knelt beside her. Absently, he asked, "Ginny, what's wrong?"

"Everything!", she choked out, her hand obscuring the word. Harry's heart went out to her, trembling in the corner. His troubles suddenly became a fuzzy voice at the very edge of his mind.

"Now, it can't be as bad as all that, can it?", he asked, concerned.

"Well, EVERYONE'S mad at me! Lizzy, Cassie, and Bria jinxed my toothbrush and did this!", she sobbed removing her hand. Harry was shocked at what he saw.

"Gin, your mouth. It's, It's blue!", Harry said, "But surely that isn't everything?" Harry instantaneously regretted his insensitive choice of words, but Ginny didn't notice.

"That's only for starters. Ron and Hermione are convinced that I told everyone about their kiss last night. But I didn't! And Colin dumped me. McGonagall caught me sneaking back in, I got detention, and she wrote my mum!", Ginny said brokenly, a new wave of sobs cutting her short, and racking her body. Harry slid down beside her and gathered her into a hug. He let her cry onto his shoulder for a long while. When her breathing returned to normal, Harry helped her up, and guided her back to the common room. He left her with a light kiss on the forehead at the base of the girl's stair, then headed up to his own room, anger at Ron rising.

He threw open the door, and immediately began yelling, awakening Dean, Seamus, Neville, and Ron.

"How could you do that to Ginny?", Harry roared while walking to the foot of Ron's bed, Ron jumped off, and placed himself squarely in front of Harry.

"What about what she did to us?" Ron shouted back, taking a step toward Harry. Neville looked, horror-struck, at Dean and Seamus, who were watching interestedly.

"You had no proof it was her!", Harry countered.

"Well, she was the only one that saw us! Who else would've told? McGonagall?"

"I don't know. For that matter, I'm not sure I even care." Harry glanced angrily at Ron one last time before falling silent, and going to bed.

* * *

Hermione finally reappeared for breakfast the next morning. She ate in silence, kept her head down and requests minimal, remaining close to Ron. Their meal was, as usual, interrupted by the arrival of the mail.

She recognized Ron's owl, Pigwidgeon, but her stomach dropped at what he was carrying. Clutched in his beak, was the unmistakable red envelope of a howler. She sat staring at it in horror while Ron opened it with unsteady hands. She later felt it would have been better had they let it explode.

As soon as the envelope was opened, Mrs. Weasley's usually sweet voice came across harsh and one hundred times louder than usual.

"RONALD WEASLEY! I HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE DISAPPOINTED WITH ANY OF MY CHILDREN! EVEN FRED AND GEORGE NEVER GO CAUGHT DOING SOMETHING LIKE THIS. REALLY RON! MESSING AROUND IN THE COMMON ROOM IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. AND WITH HERMIONE, THE HEAD GIRL! I'D AT LEAST HAVE THOUGHT SHE WOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER!" At this statement, Hermione came out of her shocked state, flushed a deep scarlet, and ran from the room. The Howler continued.

"ONE MORE STUNT LIKE THIS AND YOU'LL BE WISHING I WERE AS KIND AS THE DURSLEY'S!" Ron, ten shades darker than Hermione, got up to follow her, leaving the howler behind. The Slytherins were positively rolling with laughter. Harry, angry though he was with them, prayed they didn't get caught again, because only he knew the wrath of the Dursley's.

But the howler wasn't finished yet, "AND YOU GINNY! I'D LIKE TO KNOW WHAT YOU WERE DOING OUT OF BED AT THREE IN THE MORNING. I'M SURE EVERYONE ELSE WOULD TOO! HAVE NO FEARS, GINNY MY SWEET, I WILL FIND OUT." Ginny sat petrified as the envelope disintegrated into a small pile of ashes on Ron's abandoned plate. Slytherins were buoyant over this new material, but most of the Gryffindors were sympathetic. However, grinning vindictively, Lizzy stalked over to Ginny.

"So, what were you doing while you were out of bed?"

Cassie, Lizzy, and Bria smiled sweetly as Ginny broke down completely.

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To be continued...