A/N: This chapter has a lot of curse words, so if you don't like cursing, don't read.
Disclaimer: I don't have money to buy a box of Kleenex so I wouldn't try suing me over Harry Potter. And hey! I don't even own the CD this song comes off of (Puddle of Mud, Come Clean).
*** Thanks to everyone choosing to read this!
Chapter 4: She Hates Me
"Harry, I think she's avoiding me," Ron said one night a week after the "incident". They were playing chess.
"Why would you think that?" Harry asked, although he thought Ron was probably right. Hermione seemed to be avoiding everyone lately though, not just Ron.
"You know Harry; she said she was more compatible with you!" Ron exclaimed for the thousandth time. "And that I ought to be with Lavender! Can you imagine that? Me, dating Lavender Brown?"
Harry just nodded, trying to concentrate on their game. He figured Ron would win, Ron always won and he didn't know how since he was hardly looking at the chess board. Still, Harry thought he ought to give Ron a good fight.
Ron moved his queen. "Checkmate." He gave Harry a lopsided grin. "Sorry mate."
Harry grinned back at Ron, whose famous grins had been coming not often enough lately.
While Harry looked at his friend he noticed Ron's grin waver, and then completely fade. He turned around only to see Hermione completely walk past them to join her roommates.
Met a girl, thought she was grand /
Fell in love, found out first hand /
Went well for a week or two /
Then it all came un-glued /
Ron shook his head and immediately was grinning and laughing and talking loudly, kind of like the old Ron. But Harry could feel how hard it was for him to laugh and he was angry at Hermione for doing this to his best friend; to their best friend.
Hermione's glanced over to where Ron and Harry were sitting, laughing and talking, and Harry saw her frown from the corner of his eye. If they were both this unhappy, or whatever it was, being apart then why weren't they together? The solution to the problem seemed so simple to Harry. He sighed, frustrated, thinking he liked them better when they were fighting. The silence was tearing him apart.
"Hey Dean, you don't suppose when Harry and I sneak out to go to Hogsmeade tonight you could look the other way, could you?" Ron asked loudly, calling out to his roommate and the Gryffindor Prefect. Harry grinned and shook his head. Dean stared blankly at Ron, laughed shortly and then went back to talking about Quidditch with Ginny.
Ron's gaze wandered to Hermione, who was having an animated conversation with her roommates and he wondered what she could possibly be speaking about so enthusiastically with those two girls who were so opposite of her.
In a trap, I can't grip /
Never thought /
I'd be the one who would slip /
Then I started to realize /
I was living one big lie /
He shook his head, saw Harry smiling at him, and sighed. "Hogsmeade?" Harry asked. "Isn't there a Hogsmeade weekend coming up?"
"I-I dunno, I haven't really been paying attention at all, you know?" Ron asked just as Lavender clapped her hands and giggled wildly.
"Ooh Hermione! He is sooo cute! You are sooo lucky!" she exclaimed happily.
Ron stood up abruptly, angry with her. If he could have seen her face though, he would have laughed at how typically Hermione it was. She was rolling her eyes and making faces at Lavender's girlish behavior.
Ron was growing red in the face, he was so angry with her. Harry didn't say anything because he didn't think he would be able to calm his friend down. He didn't think at this point that anyone would be able to.
"I'm going for a walk," he announced abruptly before tearing out of the common room.
Ron walked quickly. He didn't know where he was going, but when he reached the Quidditch pitch he wasn't surprised. Much to his utter displeasure, Draco Malfoy was also there, polishing his broom.
"Look, it's the Weasel," Malfoy said predictably. "Where's Mudblood? What? Did you two have a lover's quarrel?"
He saw red. He hadn't thought it was actually possible but he was seeing red. He walked briskly over to Malfoy, who was smaller than him, and wrenched the broom from Malfoy's small, dainty white hands. "You call her that one more time and I swear on the grave of the Bloody Baron I will shove this up your ass!" he yelled loudly.
Malfoy's plucked eyebrows rose. "Really?"
Ron grabbed him by the front of his robes and brought him to his face. "Yes," he growled.
"Fine, I believe you," Malfoy drawled slowly.
Ron threw Malfoy back down, sending the prick onto his back.
"Mr. Weasley! Mr. Malfoy! Would you two please follow me?" Professor McGonagall's voice demanded sharply.
"Nice going, Weasel," Malfoy said under his breath.
"Shut the hell up," Ron spat out.
Professor McGonagall turned around abruptly. "Mr. Weasley! I will not tolerate that type of language! Whatever beef is between you and Mr. Malfoy, I don't want to know about it!" she exclaimed. "Detention! For the both of you," she snapped. "I don't want to see you in my office, I'm so disappointed in you Ronald; your brothers all have shown so much respect and so much talent…well, never mind about Frederick and George. Ronald, this type of behavior cannot be tolerated! I refuse to tolerate it!"
Ron had never seen McGonagall lose her temper like this before, she was like a snapping turtle that spoke sharp words. Even Malfoy had blanched considerably.
Ron hung his head in shame. "Yes, ma'am." Malfoy said likewise.
McGonagall nodded her head once. "Very well then, you shall be at Hagrid's Hut at eight o'clock this evening. He will be in charge of your detention." With that, she turned on her heel and walked quickly back to the castle.
"Good one, Weasel."
Ron glowered. He would have loved to respond to that with a cutting remark, but didn't think he could get away with it because McGonagall was still outside.
He walked slowly back to the common room, lost in his own thoughts. "Purple flying pigs," he said quietly. The Fat Lady frowned and continued to look at him sadly. She didn't like to see the usually cheerful redhead so sad.
"Ron, we heard you got detention tonight with Malfoy!" Seamus exclaimed loudly and more than one head turned in Ron's direction. Hermione looked up from her book, shook her head sadly and then returned to her reading.
She fuckin' hates me /
Trust, /
She fuckin' hates me /
La la la love /
I tried too hard /
And she tore my feelings like I had none /
And ripped them away /
"Guess this means I won't have to not catch you and Harry tonight going to Hogsmeade," Dean said with a sheepish grin.
Ron did a smirk thing with his face. "Guess not," he replied.
"I heard you gave it to Malfoy Ron!" Colin Creevey exclaimed. "Didya, didya?" he asked. The kid had always been irritating.
Ron grimaced. He didn't even want to know how they knew about Ron almost, he was so close, kicking Malfoy's skinny white arse.
Dennis Creevey piped up. "Yeah, I mean, there I was, walking along outside, minding my own business taking pictures and what do I see? McGonagall giving them detention. It was pretty cool," he finished.
Well, Ron didn't think it was very cool. He didn't want detention, especially with Malfoy. And, no offense to Hagrid, but he didn't want detention with him either because they always ended up doing something in the Forbidden Forest. As far as Ron was concerned, there was a reason it was called the Forbidden Forest, and a damn good one at that.
There were creepy things in there, like dark lords slithering around the ground drinking Unicorn blood and giant spiders that tried to eat people. There was definitely a reason it was called the Forbidden Forest, although Hagrid completely forgot to take note of that most of the time.
"Serves you right Ron," Hermione stated quietly without looking at Ron.
"Serves you right Ron." They hadn't talked in a week and that was the first thing she said to him? "Serves you right?"
She was clean for about an hour /
After that, shit got sour /
She took all I ever had /
No sign of guilt /
No feeling bad, no /
"If I didn't know you this never would have happened!" he shouted angrily. OK, so that was the wrong thing to say, but he had said it.
Hermione looked up at him, biting her lower lip. Damn, she was cute. "And how is your detention my fault?" she asked pointedly. She lowered her book, closing it shut and set it on the coffee table, rising to her feet to meet Ron's challenge.
"It's your damn fault because you aren't…you aren't…" Ron was not going to stoop that low. It didn't matter now. He would do it all over again, even knowing the consequences. It was just what you did when you loved someone.
"What the hell did you mean by that?" she repeated.
"Language, language," he reprimanded.
"Prat!" she shot back loudly.
"Uh, guys," Harry interrupted tentatively. "Guys, maybe you ought to just quit right now. Everyone's watching," he said before they said some really horrible things in front of their housemates.
They both blinked twice and then backed away, mumbling to themselves.
"Oh that's cute!" George said with a laugh. "They fight like they're married!"
"Shut the hell up!" Hermione snapped. Realizing what she said, a brilliant blush colored her cheeks. "Sorry," she mumbled immediately.
George started to say something but Hermione cut in. "I didn't mean you could talk! I just want you to shut up!"
"You need to learn to keep your girlfriend in line," George grumbled.
"She is not my girlfriend!" Ron roared.
In a trap, I can't grip /
Never thought /
I'd be the one who would slip /
Then I started to realize /
I was living one big lie /
She fuckin' hates me /
Trust, /
She fuckin' hates me /
La la la love /
I tried too hard /
And she tore my feelings like I had none /
And ripped them away /
"Why do you two deny the obvious?" Harry asked, wishing immediately that he hadn't said anything because they both turned on him.
"Shut up!" they yelled in unison. Much to Harry's annoyance, he laughed. They were so predictably funny.
Ron whirled around. Ginny was right behind him, looking up at him surprised. "Hi Gin," he said automatically. Ginny looked a little distressed as she stood on her tiptoes to tell her brother something.
He shoved her.
"Go away! Go owl Mum or something!" he told her as he stomped away. Hermione, still angry huffed her way to her own dormitory, with her roommates following closely behind.
"Stupid, stupid prat!" Ginny exclaimed as she practically jogged over to the sofa. "Those two are so stupid! I know how Hermione feels about him and I know how he feels about her!" She glared at her twin brothers. "You two! It's all your fault they are being like this!"
"Oh yeah, that's rich! Blame it on us! They would have broken up sooner or later!" Fred exclaimed in his defense.
"I don't believe that!" Ginny retorted. Then she stood from where she was angrily glaring at them and walked over to them, hands on her hips, staring them down, Harry could imagine a young Mrs. Weasley.
"And, another thing, even if they did break-up later on it would be on their own time! Not because of you two great idiots!" she said sternly. "Now it's like they can hardly stand each other and they won't even talk!"
"What do you call what they just did Gin?" George yelped.
"I call it screaming at each other, which I'm very happy they did. I hate the silence between the two of them!" she retorted.
During the Weasley argument, Harry went upstairs to find Ron lying on his back on his bed. His curtains weren't drawn shut so Harry felt like he could talk to his friend. "Ginny's down there chewing out Fred and George." He chuckled at the memory of Ginny standing over them like their mother must have done one too many times.
"For?"
"From what I gather, from being complete assholes," Harry responded.
Ron obviously tried to keep his smile from getting too wide but failed miserably. "Good. She's pretty scary when she's angry, you know?"
Harry nodded.
Ron turned his head to look at his friend. "Harry, I really liked—like, Hermione and she totally…I dunno…wasn't Hermione. I don't think she meant to hurt me, but she did," he said reasonably.
Then he launched into a short this-is-what-happened tale. Harry listened, glad Ron left out the kissing parts.
That's my story as you see /
Learned my lesson and so did she /
Now it's over, and I'm glad /
'Cause I'm a fool for all I've said /
"I don't blame her for not liking me…like that. I mean, I'm not special or anything. I'm not the only girl in the family, or the smart one, or the handsome one. I know that. I just wish someone else didn't," he admitted.
Harry had never seen his friend so honest and wondered if this is how he had been with Hermione during the Tri-Wizard Tournament last year. He had never admitted to jealousy before but now it seemed he was.
"And I'm not the wonderful Boy Who Lived," Ron said with a sigh. "Look, I don't blame you Harry. I really don't. I'm just mad at…myself? I dunno who I'm mad at. I wish she wasn't mad at me."
She fuckin' hates me /
Trust, /
She fuckin' hates me /
La la la love /
I tried too hard /
And she tore my feelings like I had none /
And ripped them away /
La la la la la la la la la love /
Trust /
La la la la la la la la la love /
Trust /
La la la la la /
And she tore my feelings like I had none /
Trust /
She fuckin' hates me /
So, what did you think of that? I won't be updating this story for a couple of days because I'm going to work on the other one I've started, which is two chapters behind this one. I hope you liked this…and don't worry; I know where I'm going with this story. Review please (and don't be too evil if you hated it!)!
