Disclaimer: You know the drill by now. I don't own 'em.
A/N: First of all, thanks so much to the people who have reviewed, especially RonsInnerVoice, CurlsofGold, and Jishka. I really wouldn't be writing this if it weren't for all your support. Second, I know that last chapter wasn't very fluffy, and you're gonna have to wait for more Ron/Hermione fluff. . . sorry about that. But don't worry, there's always Lavender and Seamus! So anyway, onward!
Hermione sat in the common room, completely zoned out, ignoring everyone else. Ron must know, she thought. It was the only possible explanation for why he hadn't met her like he had promised. She closed her eyes and put her head down on the table in front of her. Their relationship had barely begun, and already she had messed it up.
Hermione sat back up, finger-combing her hair. She'd meet Ron at lunch and apologize straight away, before any more damage was done. Until then, she decided to find Harry. He wasn't his dormitory, she knew, because she asked Neville on his way out the portrait hole, and she couldn't find him in the common room. So, she decided to set off for the library, although she had no idea why he'd be there.
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"And he gave me this," Parvati squealed, showing Lavender a pretty silver bracelet. Lavender nodded, feigning disinterest. She had been listening to Parvati talk about every single romantic thing Dean had ever said to her, and she was starting to get rather jealous and extremely annoyed with Parvati for bragging. She was quite glad when she saw the team descend and dismount their brooms.
"Right then," Harry said loudly. "Practice every afternoon this week, four thirty to seven thirty, and dinner afterwards." The team all nodded, the Creevey brothers groaning loudly.
"That's three hours a night, Harry," Dennis piped up. Colin nodded.
"Come on, you know we're going to win," he said.
"You're working us like madmen, Harry," Seamus complained.
Dean added, "You're starting to remind me of Wood."
"Listen, all of you!" Harry roared. "Do we want to win the Cup or not? It's my last year here, Dean, Seamus and Ron's, as well. We haven't got another chance. This is it. Take it or leave it. Are you in?" Slowly, everyone nodded, even the Creeveys. The team then headed to the Gryffindor locker room to change, and met Parvati and Lavender at the entrance to the castle.
"Nice practice, guys," Parvati said enthusiastically, taking Dean's arm. He smiled at her, and Lavender felt a pang of jealousy. She smiled bitter- sweetly. If only I were half so lucky. . . she thought, sighing. Parvati didn't understand at all. Every time she tried to talk about her chances with Seamus, Parvati cut in, talking about her and Dean's romantic kisses and walks by the lake, dismissing Lavender's troubles as frivolous.
Suddenly, Lavender didn't want to have lunch with Parvati and Dean anymore. She had a strong urge to run up to her dormitory and cry, and then talk to Hermione. Lavender wondered why the two of them had never really been friends up until the night before. It was most likely because of Parvati, Lavender decided. Parvati was the one with the pretty hair and beautiful dress robes, the laugh that attracted the boys, and the love for gossip. Lavender was just her sidekick. She was always being stereotyped as the "girly girl". And she was tired of it. In truth, Lavender was quiet, shy, and wanted a friend she could really talk to. She gave good advice, but she wanted some back every now and then. Hermione seemed like someone who would do that, and Lavender promised herself that she would try and hang out with Hermione a lot more in the next two weeks of school.
However, for now, she was roped into eating lunch with Lavender, Dean, and probably the rest of the Gryffindor team, including Seamus. Lavender groaned inwardly. She just wanted to stay away from him. She liked him SO much, but she knew she didn't have a chance with him. It hurt every time she saw him, and when he smiled at her, totally unknowing, her heart broke. Every time she looked at him, she felt a deep ache in the pit of her heart, like someone was twisting a knife through her heart. Her eyes would fill up with tears, and she'd want to cry, but wouldn't be able to. And just as she thought she was finally over him for GOOD, he'd laugh, and she'd fall for him, all over again. It would just be better if she never saw him again, Lavender decided. She would avoid him for the rest of the year, and then leave him WAY behind after their seventh year was finally over.
"Lavender? Lavender? LAVENDER!" Seamus hollered, waving a hand in front of her face. She stumbled, jolted out of her daydream, and he grabbed her arm and held her upright.
"Thanks," she muttered, smiling at him and going red in the face. You're never going to get over him if you think of him like THAT, she shouted at herself inside her head. He let go of her arm and they continued to walk, Seamus looking at her strangely, one eyebrow raised, as if to ask 'what's wrong?' You, Lavender answered silently, but outwardly only grinned at Seamus.
"So, did you all see my spectacular maneuvers?" Seamus asked, wiggling his one raised eyebrow. Parvati looked at him.
"WHAT spectacular maneuvers?" she wanted to know. "You looked like a toddler out on his daddy's broomstick," she said, joking. Seamus mock- cried.
"I thought you looked excellent," Lavender told him, then mentally hit herself. Stop flirting and sucking up to him! She told herself. Give him the cold shoulder or something. "Not," she added coldly. He looked at her again and opened his mouth to say something, but she walked quickly ahead.
"I'm starving," she announced, and rushed into the Great Hall and sat down, sighing in relief. She only hoped Seamus wouldn't sit by her. She didn't know if she could keep snubbing him for a whole meal. No such luck. He sat right across from her.
Parvati helped herself to egg salad, while Seamus took shepherd's pie. Dean was sitting across from Parvati, who was next to Lavender. Harry, Ron, Ginny, and the Creeveys had disappeared.
"Guess they weren't hungry," Dean said, shrugging, taking a bite of his corned beef sandwich.
"What, we weren't good enough for them?" Seamus said, putting on a pouty face and sounding hurt.
"Since you're here, no, we weren't," Lavender said, and then burst out laughing. She just couldn't contain herself. Seamus laughed too. At last Lavender managed to sober herself and stop giggling like an idiot. That's it, she thought. I've had enough, I can't do this. She got up to leave.
"Wait!" Seamus caught her arm, a lock of his sandy hair falling into his face. She bit her lip. He's so sweet, she thought before she could stop herself. Seamus cleared her throat. "It's impolite to leave the table while others are still eating," he told her. She scowled. She had thought it might be something a little more than THAT.
"I suppose I must be pretty impolite then," she said, turning on her heel and walking quickly out of the Great Hall. Once in the corridor, she sprinted up to the common room to her dormitory, where she collapsed on the bed, wanting to cry, but she found she couldn't. After all the weeks of wanting to cry, now that she had the opportunity, she couldn't bring the tears to her eyes.
Lavender pounded her pillow with her fist. "I hate you, Seamus," she whispered, but she knew in her heart that it wasn't true. She still loved him, fool that she was.
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Hermione stormed into the Great Hall, hungry, frustrated, upset, and nearly sick with apprehension. Harry hadn't been anywhere that she'd looked, not in the library, his dormitory, the common room, Hagrid's, or even the toilet (she'd yelled in for him, and no one had answered, although one first year came scuttling out, looking frightened.) And Ron wasn't anywhere to be seen either. Hermione was starving and tired after running all over the castle all morning, and she had just resigned herself to lunch alone when she spotted Ron and Harry, eating with the Creevey brothers. She rushed over.
"Ron, can I have a word with you?" she asked tensely. She hated apologizing, especially to Ron, and she felt especially guilty about this. Ron looked up worriedly at her, before standing up himself, and following her to the library. No one was there on a Sunday at lunch time, so Hermione figured they wouldn't be overheard.
"Look, I'm really, really sorry about all of this," she said. Ron looked at her, confused, but Hermione didn't notice this. She plowed onward, barely pausing for breath, trying to get it all out. "I'm terribly sorry, and I just feel so guilty. I don't normally cheat on tests, it's just that I knew you wanted to win so badly, more than I did, and I know I shouldn't have let you win, but I couldn't help it! I had to, or I would've been sorry for the rest of my life!" Ron looked at her, bewildered and shocked, unable to say a word. He gaped like a fish. At last, he managed to find his voice.
"You- you LET me win?" he croaked out. Hermione looked down, ashamed, and nodded. "You mean, you should be the winner. Not me. I'm- me- it's all. . . .just a mistake?"
"I'm so, so sorry," she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. A sudden thought occurred to her. She looked up at him. "I thought you knew, and that's why you didn't meet me in the common room, like you said you would." Ron took a step away from her.
"I didn't meet you because I remembered about my Quidditch practice. But don't worry, if I had known about this, I definitely wouldn't have met you. I can't. . . I just can't. . . believe it. I. . ." he swallowed. "I hate you for this, Hermione," he said quietly, his voice full of loathing.
"I'm sorry-"
"I don't deserve those galleons, and you know it. And then you have the nerve to embarrass me with your so-called 'nobility' in front of Dumbledore, trick me into having to accept the money, and, and, I hate you! You're anything but noble. You're. . .you're just as bad as Malfoy!" Hermione gasped, and Ron smiled grimly. THAT had struck a nerve.
"I said I was sorry, Ron, but I guess that just wasn't good enough for you, was it," Hermione spat furiously. "You can forget what I said this morning. I take it back!" She stormed out of the library, running up to her dormitory. She turned to fling herself on her bed, but at the last second caught sight of someone else sitting on it. She caught herself before she fell.
"Lavener?" she asked. The other girl was sitting, staring at the wall, clenching her hands, glassy-eyed and upset-looking. "Are you all right?"
"No," Lavender said, swallowing, and taking in Hermione's tear-filled eyes, red cheeks, and obvious anger. She swallowed again, before bursting into tears.
"Finally," Lavender gasped out. Hermione followed suit, letting the tears flow freely, sitting down and putting her arms around Lavender. They sat together, crying, not caring about anything else but their own sorrows. At last they both managed to stop and sit back, drying their eyes and wiping their cheeks.
"I'm sorry," Hermione said between short breaths cause by her sobbing. "It's just. . ." she stopped, trying very hard not to cry again, and failing. The tears streaked down her cheeks, silently, as her body shook, but she didn't make a sound.
"It's all right," Lavender whispered. "I promise, it has to be. It has to be, it has to be. I don't know what is wrong, but it's going to be all right." Hermione shook her head.
"No, it's not, I've completely ruined everything, and Ron hates me now! I don't blame him," she muttered the last sentence, but Lavender caught it. She sniffed, then placed her hands on her hips.
"All right, Hermione, 'fess up. What have you done?" Hermione sighed, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand. She told Lavender the whole story, starting with the cheating on the test, and ending with the argument in the library. Lavender gazed at her, wide-eyed. She took a deep breath, as if she had a lot to say.
"Listen, Hermione, I'm not going to deny that you shouldn't have cheated to let Ron win. . . .it was just wrong, but you know that, and it can't be fixed now, so I suppose we'll just have to let it slip. And I'm ALSO not going to deny that he's going to stay mad for quite awhile. You've just got to apologize again and again, and I guess sort of avoid him- you know, don't be hanging on him- and he'll eventually come around." Hermione looked at her.
"Promise?" Lavender nodded.
"Promise." She sighed, looking at the wall. She had forgotten her own troubles while giving advice to Hermione, but they all came rushing back now. She let out a light, tremulous whimper, and Hermione turned to her.
"What's wrong?" she asked concernedly. "I'm sorry, I know you were crying when I came in, I just got. . . preoccupied."
"It's okay," Lavender sniffed, wiping her eyes. She looked at Hermione forlornly, and then it was her turn to spill her entire story. When she finished, Hermione put her arm around Lavender.
"Lavender," she said seriously. "You KNOW you're not going to get over him. Oh, come on," she said, as Lavender opened her mouth to protest. "You really, really like him, so. . . ."
Lavender interrupted her. "How about I crystal-gaze, and find out if I really will get over him," she suggested excitedly. "THEN you can give me your advice. Hey, and we can look at your and Ron's future, too!" Hermione looked doubtfully at her.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive," Lavender declared, getting her crystal orb out of her trunk. She set it down on the bed and looked into it, both girls' faces lit by the foggy glow.
"I can see something. . ."
A/N: Oooh, don't you just love me? Hate me? Or both? Sorry to leave you hanging, I'll fill you in on what they see soon, never fear! Review, please, I need more reviews!
A/N: First of all, thanks so much to the people who have reviewed, especially RonsInnerVoice, CurlsofGold, and Jishka. I really wouldn't be writing this if it weren't for all your support. Second, I know that last chapter wasn't very fluffy, and you're gonna have to wait for more Ron/Hermione fluff. . . sorry about that. But don't worry, there's always Lavender and Seamus! So anyway, onward!
Hermione sat in the common room, completely zoned out, ignoring everyone else. Ron must know, she thought. It was the only possible explanation for why he hadn't met her like he had promised. She closed her eyes and put her head down on the table in front of her. Their relationship had barely begun, and already she had messed it up.
Hermione sat back up, finger-combing her hair. She'd meet Ron at lunch and apologize straight away, before any more damage was done. Until then, she decided to find Harry. He wasn't his dormitory, she knew, because she asked Neville on his way out the portrait hole, and she couldn't find him in the common room. So, she decided to set off for the library, although she had no idea why he'd be there.
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"And he gave me this," Parvati squealed, showing Lavender a pretty silver bracelet. Lavender nodded, feigning disinterest. She had been listening to Parvati talk about every single romantic thing Dean had ever said to her, and she was starting to get rather jealous and extremely annoyed with Parvati for bragging. She was quite glad when she saw the team descend and dismount their brooms.
"Right then," Harry said loudly. "Practice every afternoon this week, four thirty to seven thirty, and dinner afterwards." The team all nodded, the Creevey brothers groaning loudly.
"That's three hours a night, Harry," Dennis piped up. Colin nodded.
"Come on, you know we're going to win," he said.
"You're working us like madmen, Harry," Seamus complained.
Dean added, "You're starting to remind me of Wood."
"Listen, all of you!" Harry roared. "Do we want to win the Cup or not? It's my last year here, Dean, Seamus and Ron's, as well. We haven't got another chance. This is it. Take it or leave it. Are you in?" Slowly, everyone nodded, even the Creeveys. The team then headed to the Gryffindor locker room to change, and met Parvati and Lavender at the entrance to the castle.
"Nice practice, guys," Parvati said enthusiastically, taking Dean's arm. He smiled at her, and Lavender felt a pang of jealousy. She smiled bitter- sweetly. If only I were half so lucky. . . she thought, sighing. Parvati didn't understand at all. Every time she tried to talk about her chances with Seamus, Parvati cut in, talking about her and Dean's romantic kisses and walks by the lake, dismissing Lavender's troubles as frivolous.
Suddenly, Lavender didn't want to have lunch with Parvati and Dean anymore. She had a strong urge to run up to her dormitory and cry, and then talk to Hermione. Lavender wondered why the two of them had never really been friends up until the night before. It was most likely because of Parvati, Lavender decided. Parvati was the one with the pretty hair and beautiful dress robes, the laugh that attracted the boys, and the love for gossip. Lavender was just her sidekick. She was always being stereotyped as the "girly girl". And she was tired of it. In truth, Lavender was quiet, shy, and wanted a friend she could really talk to. She gave good advice, but she wanted some back every now and then. Hermione seemed like someone who would do that, and Lavender promised herself that she would try and hang out with Hermione a lot more in the next two weeks of school.
However, for now, she was roped into eating lunch with Lavender, Dean, and probably the rest of the Gryffindor team, including Seamus. Lavender groaned inwardly. She just wanted to stay away from him. She liked him SO much, but she knew she didn't have a chance with him. It hurt every time she saw him, and when he smiled at her, totally unknowing, her heart broke. Every time she looked at him, she felt a deep ache in the pit of her heart, like someone was twisting a knife through her heart. Her eyes would fill up with tears, and she'd want to cry, but wouldn't be able to. And just as she thought she was finally over him for GOOD, he'd laugh, and she'd fall for him, all over again. It would just be better if she never saw him again, Lavender decided. She would avoid him for the rest of the year, and then leave him WAY behind after their seventh year was finally over.
"Lavender? Lavender? LAVENDER!" Seamus hollered, waving a hand in front of her face. She stumbled, jolted out of her daydream, and he grabbed her arm and held her upright.
"Thanks," she muttered, smiling at him and going red in the face. You're never going to get over him if you think of him like THAT, she shouted at herself inside her head. He let go of her arm and they continued to walk, Seamus looking at her strangely, one eyebrow raised, as if to ask 'what's wrong?' You, Lavender answered silently, but outwardly only grinned at Seamus.
"So, did you all see my spectacular maneuvers?" Seamus asked, wiggling his one raised eyebrow. Parvati looked at him.
"WHAT spectacular maneuvers?" she wanted to know. "You looked like a toddler out on his daddy's broomstick," she said, joking. Seamus mock- cried.
"I thought you looked excellent," Lavender told him, then mentally hit herself. Stop flirting and sucking up to him! She told herself. Give him the cold shoulder or something. "Not," she added coldly. He looked at her again and opened his mouth to say something, but she walked quickly ahead.
"I'm starving," she announced, and rushed into the Great Hall and sat down, sighing in relief. She only hoped Seamus wouldn't sit by her. She didn't know if she could keep snubbing him for a whole meal. No such luck. He sat right across from her.
Parvati helped herself to egg salad, while Seamus took shepherd's pie. Dean was sitting across from Parvati, who was next to Lavender. Harry, Ron, Ginny, and the Creeveys had disappeared.
"Guess they weren't hungry," Dean said, shrugging, taking a bite of his corned beef sandwich.
"What, we weren't good enough for them?" Seamus said, putting on a pouty face and sounding hurt.
"Since you're here, no, we weren't," Lavender said, and then burst out laughing. She just couldn't contain herself. Seamus laughed too. At last Lavender managed to sober herself and stop giggling like an idiot. That's it, she thought. I've had enough, I can't do this. She got up to leave.
"Wait!" Seamus caught her arm, a lock of his sandy hair falling into his face. She bit her lip. He's so sweet, she thought before she could stop herself. Seamus cleared her throat. "It's impolite to leave the table while others are still eating," he told her. She scowled. She had thought it might be something a little more than THAT.
"I suppose I must be pretty impolite then," she said, turning on her heel and walking quickly out of the Great Hall. Once in the corridor, she sprinted up to the common room to her dormitory, where she collapsed on the bed, wanting to cry, but she found she couldn't. After all the weeks of wanting to cry, now that she had the opportunity, she couldn't bring the tears to her eyes.
Lavender pounded her pillow with her fist. "I hate you, Seamus," she whispered, but she knew in her heart that it wasn't true. She still loved him, fool that she was.
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Hermione stormed into the Great Hall, hungry, frustrated, upset, and nearly sick with apprehension. Harry hadn't been anywhere that she'd looked, not in the library, his dormitory, the common room, Hagrid's, or even the toilet (she'd yelled in for him, and no one had answered, although one first year came scuttling out, looking frightened.) And Ron wasn't anywhere to be seen either. Hermione was starving and tired after running all over the castle all morning, and she had just resigned herself to lunch alone when she spotted Ron and Harry, eating with the Creevey brothers. She rushed over.
"Ron, can I have a word with you?" she asked tensely. She hated apologizing, especially to Ron, and she felt especially guilty about this. Ron looked up worriedly at her, before standing up himself, and following her to the library. No one was there on a Sunday at lunch time, so Hermione figured they wouldn't be overheard.
"Look, I'm really, really sorry about all of this," she said. Ron looked at her, confused, but Hermione didn't notice this. She plowed onward, barely pausing for breath, trying to get it all out. "I'm terribly sorry, and I just feel so guilty. I don't normally cheat on tests, it's just that I knew you wanted to win so badly, more than I did, and I know I shouldn't have let you win, but I couldn't help it! I had to, or I would've been sorry for the rest of my life!" Ron looked at her, bewildered and shocked, unable to say a word. He gaped like a fish. At last, he managed to find his voice.
"You- you LET me win?" he croaked out. Hermione looked down, ashamed, and nodded. "You mean, you should be the winner. Not me. I'm- me- it's all. . . .just a mistake?"
"I'm so, so sorry," she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. A sudden thought occurred to her. She looked up at him. "I thought you knew, and that's why you didn't meet me in the common room, like you said you would." Ron took a step away from her.
"I didn't meet you because I remembered about my Quidditch practice. But don't worry, if I had known about this, I definitely wouldn't have met you. I can't. . . I just can't. . . believe it. I. . ." he swallowed. "I hate you for this, Hermione," he said quietly, his voice full of loathing.
"I'm sorry-"
"I don't deserve those galleons, and you know it. And then you have the nerve to embarrass me with your so-called 'nobility' in front of Dumbledore, trick me into having to accept the money, and, and, I hate you! You're anything but noble. You're. . .you're just as bad as Malfoy!" Hermione gasped, and Ron smiled grimly. THAT had struck a nerve.
"I said I was sorry, Ron, but I guess that just wasn't good enough for you, was it," Hermione spat furiously. "You can forget what I said this morning. I take it back!" She stormed out of the library, running up to her dormitory. She turned to fling herself on her bed, but at the last second caught sight of someone else sitting on it. She caught herself before she fell.
"Lavener?" she asked. The other girl was sitting, staring at the wall, clenching her hands, glassy-eyed and upset-looking. "Are you all right?"
"No," Lavender said, swallowing, and taking in Hermione's tear-filled eyes, red cheeks, and obvious anger. She swallowed again, before bursting into tears.
"Finally," Lavender gasped out. Hermione followed suit, letting the tears flow freely, sitting down and putting her arms around Lavender. They sat together, crying, not caring about anything else but their own sorrows. At last they both managed to stop and sit back, drying their eyes and wiping their cheeks.
"I'm sorry," Hermione said between short breaths cause by her sobbing. "It's just. . ." she stopped, trying very hard not to cry again, and failing. The tears streaked down her cheeks, silently, as her body shook, but she didn't make a sound.
"It's all right," Lavender whispered. "I promise, it has to be. It has to be, it has to be. I don't know what is wrong, but it's going to be all right." Hermione shook her head.
"No, it's not, I've completely ruined everything, and Ron hates me now! I don't blame him," she muttered the last sentence, but Lavender caught it. She sniffed, then placed her hands on her hips.
"All right, Hermione, 'fess up. What have you done?" Hermione sighed, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand. She told Lavender the whole story, starting with the cheating on the test, and ending with the argument in the library. Lavender gazed at her, wide-eyed. She took a deep breath, as if she had a lot to say.
"Listen, Hermione, I'm not going to deny that you shouldn't have cheated to let Ron win. . . .it was just wrong, but you know that, and it can't be fixed now, so I suppose we'll just have to let it slip. And I'm ALSO not going to deny that he's going to stay mad for quite awhile. You've just got to apologize again and again, and I guess sort of avoid him- you know, don't be hanging on him- and he'll eventually come around." Hermione looked at her.
"Promise?" Lavender nodded.
"Promise." She sighed, looking at the wall. She had forgotten her own troubles while giving advice to Hermione, but they all came rushing back now. She let out a light, tremulous whimper, and Hermione turned to her.
"What's wrong?" she asked concernedly. "I'm sorry, I know you were crying when I came in, I just got. . . preoccupied."
"It's okay," Lavender sniffed, wiping her eyes. She looked at Hermione forlornly, and then it was her turn to spill her entire story. When she finished, Hermione put her arm around Lavender.
"Lavender," she said seriously. "You KNOW you're not going to get over him. Oh, come on," she said, as Lavender opened her mouth to protest. "You really, really like him, so. . . ."
Lavender interrupted her. "How about I crystal-gaze, and find out if I really will get over him," she suggested excitedly. "THEN you can give me your advice. Hey, and we can look at your and Ron's future, too!" Hermione looked doubtfully at her.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive," Lavender declared, getting her crystal orb out of her trunk. She set it down on the bed and looked into it, both girls' faces lit by the foggy glow.
"I can see something. . ."
A/N: Oooh, don't you just love me? Hate me? Or both? Sorry to leave you hanging, I'll fill you in on what they see soon, never fear! Review, please, I need more reviews!