Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Harry. Potter. Haha, if I did, the movie would be a hell of a lot longer than it is, I'll tell you what.

Chapter Twelve: What It Meant To Me

Harry's hands shook as he read the last line. He felt himself gulping and blinking, starting at the last few words of Hermione's diary. 'She's in love with…Draco? Draco Malfoy?' he thought feverishly. 'I can't believe it…' He dropped the book. The common room seemed so distant, so far away. The voices in the room began to fade into a quiet whisper. The book closed itself when it fell, and Harry, shaking, picked up book and set it on the table. 'That's what Ron saw…' Harry thought slowly. 'He saw Hermione and…Malfoy…'

Harry's stomach did a belly flop. Everything began to make so much more sense now. He saw Hermione kissing Malfoy in the common room late that other night. Hermione's and Malfoy's faces at each other…the conversation in Care of Magical Creatures class…the extended library visits…

Harry shook his head, trying to rid it of the mental image beginning to form in it. Hermione and Malfoy, they must be insane. Malfoy always called her a Mudblood. Always made fun of her, and always found a way to make her feel bad…how long has this been going on? A Gryfindor and a Slytherin--she must be absolutely nuts. And Malfoy, too. If his feeling were genuine—which Harry doubted—then Lucius Malfoy would be extremely angry. A Muggle-born witch, the love of his life? What were they playing at?

He set the book upon the table. He backed away from it slowly, as if the thing would catch on fire at any moment. He turned around, and saw Ron coming through the portrait. He had a look of determination upon his face.

"Harry, I want to talk to you," he said, coming up to him. "Not here, though—can we go to the dormitories, instead?"

"Er—sure, Ron," Harry said, not quite knowing what to reply. He was flustered about the whole diary entry…a pang of guilt settled in his stomach. He knew he should have never read it. Harry realized he would have been a lot better off finding out from Hermione herself, instead of her diary.

Ron ushered him into the room, and closed the door behind him. He heard Ron sigh, and then he turned around. He looked anywhere but Harry—to Harry, it looked like he got caught doing something.

Ron was still with his back against the door, his eyes looking around quickly, and he continuously shifted uncomfortably. He put his hands behind his back, and gripped the door handle, as if it would help him, or hold him up. Ron felt his ears turn red, and then he took a big breath. Harry watched him, uncertain of what to do. He's never seen Ron act this way, nor did he know how to contend with it.

"Er, Harry, I just want you to know that no matter what I tell you, you have to believe me that I didn't stay—" He looked up at Harry, then looked away quickly. "I saw…the other night, I saw Hermione and Malfoy. They were—" he paused, searching for the word to use here. "She was kissing him," he said simply, and Harry saw his entire face light up with a furious magenta.

"I was so surprised, Harry. I mean, as if you probably could tell," he continued, "I kind of, well, like Hermione. A lot. She's the only girl that has treated me nicely." He paused, waiting for Harry to do anything. Anything at all. It was a long silence until Harry finally found his voice.

"I kind of knew, Ron," he said quietly. Harry continued to look at Ron, whose face, if possible, went even redder.

"Er," he said slowly, "all right. And, then on my way here, Malfoy stopped me. He told me he saw me run away, and that if I told anyone, he'd kill me," he paused. Then, to Harry's surprise, he sort of grinned. "Like I keep something like that secret."

Harry was at a temporally loss of words. "Ron," he started, "do you realize that Hermione is in love with him?" Immediately he regretted saying that. He saw Ron's face contort with anger, sadness, and jealousy. A tear slipped out of Ron's closed eye.

"Ron, if it's any consolation, I've felt the same way as you," he said, walking up to him. He placed a hand on Ron's shoulder. "When I found out Cho and Diggory were a couple."

Ron looked up uncertainly. Harry took his hand off Ron's shoulder rather quickly, and stepped back.

"It's not the same," he said quickly, turning away from Harry. "Not the same at all. I have half a mind to tell the whole damn school that those two are a couple," he said darkly.

"Er—" Harry started, trying to find the right way to discourage him from doing that, "that might not be the best of ideas…"

"Damn her!" Ron cried out suddenly. "She led me on, that's what she did. Do you know that she nearly agreed to come with me when I was under the Inperius Curse or whatever? She had a sly smile on the entire time. Rita Skeeter might be right about her," he said, jerking his thumb to the door to indicate that Hermione was back downstairs, "she is a damned scarlet woman."

He stepped away from the door and proceeded to his bed. The door, unconsciously, clicked open. Harry watched as, the very little it did open, it revealed Hermione, who was standing just beyond the door. She had a face of guilt, worry and most unusual—sadness. She gasped when Harry saw her.

It was quite clear to Harry—she'd heard the entire thing.