Wow! I have a lot to say. But first…woo hoo! I have over 100 reviews! I'm so very excited, I really wanted to get 100 for this story. And it's all because of you! Thank you so so so much to my reviewers, particularly to holmesdata, alex, Fan-Freak-Hp4ever, great marauder, Dark Child Productions, cyberfrogX, Yami's Girl Forever, Tripgrl3, oneiros lykos, ears91, Another, Ramy, krazymelmo5385, Silver Fawkes, jeangab057, Fatima, RocketSolarCat and clyde, who reviewed chapter 10. If anyone else reviewed recently but I didn't list you, I'm sorry!!
This story took a turn I did not plan for and this chapter is the result. But oh well. It'll take me a while to write the last chapter, since I changed the original story a lot. I hope you all like it.
I admit, That 70's Show gave me an idea for this chapter…if you've seen the last few episodes, you'll understand what I'm getting at.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K Rowling does, lucky her. And the title is yet another Led Zeppelin song, which I also don't own.
Please r&r and enjoy!
*
A few days passed, yet nothing had changed. And as much as she hated the thought of it, it was time for Hermione to continue on with her life. She couldn't avoid him forever. She couldn't afford to miss any more classes.
"I'm glad you're coming back to class, Hermione," Lavender said one morning.
Hermione smiled slightly. "Thanks. I don't really want to, but I have to. I can't hide up in my room forever."
"No, you can't."
"Ready to go?"
"Yeah."
Since the break-up, and since the downfall of Lavender and Parvati's friendship, Hermione and Lavender began to grow close, and Hermione was grateful for it. It was nice having someone to talk to, since no one else was there for her.
They walked in silence to Snape's cold dungeon. She observed the classroom and saw that Harry was sitting in his usual spot. Hermione decided to pull a chair up to Lavender's work station, but Snape put a stop to that one in a hurry.
"Miss Granger, I believe you sit over there, with Potter and Weasley."
"Professor, I—"
"Miss Granger, there is a seating plan in this class, and if you don't follow it, I will be taking ten points from Gryffindor."
"Professor—"
"Silence, Miss Brown."
Lavender shrugged helplessly as Hermione slinked to the back of the classroom. The entire class watched as she took her seat beside Harry.
She glanced at him slightly. He was pretending she wasn't there by means of searching for something in his bag. The Slytherins noticed this and began to titter with amusement.
Hermione's eyes stung with tears as she tried to ignore the Slytherins. It was too hard to be sitting next to Harry and not talking to him. Worse, he didn't even want to talk to her. They hadn't spoken since she'd whispered, "I love you," that fateful night.
"Ooh, look, Granger misses her boyfriend!" taunted Pansy Parkinson from a few seats away.
Hermione's face burned with humiliation as the Slytherins laughed louder. She turned away from Pansy, all the while thinking Don't cry in front of them. Don't cry. Don't cry.
She didn't want to admit that Pansy was right.
*
Harry was convinced that no one could be as miserable as he was. He had been dumped. By the girl he loved. Everyone in the entire school—teachers included, it seemed—knew his business. He wasn't friends with Ron anymore. Or any of the Gryffindors, for that matter.
As mad as he was at Ron for causing the split, he missed him. He missed having someone to talk to, someone to laugh with. He wanted to be friends with Ron again, especially if it meant that he could have Hermione back.
I can't have Hermione until I'm friends with Ron. But I don't see myself being friends with Ron until I have Hermione back.
I'm in trouble either way.
Harry rounded the corner, not paying attention to where he was going. Which is why he nearly crashed into somebody.
"Whoa! I'm sorry, I wasn't—"
It was Hermione.
"Oh. Um, hi," he mumbled, trying to avoid her eyes.
"Hi."
They stood there, trying not to look directly at each other without feeling awkward. But it didn't work.
"So, how have you been doing?" she asked finally.
"All right, I suppose. You?"
"Okay."
He nodded, then looked up straight into her eyes. They were their familiar brown, but there was definitely something missing. The spark was gone.
So she's just as miserable as I am, he realized. This brought him neither satisfaction nor grief.
"Well, I have to go to Arithmancy now, so, I'll see you later."
"Yeah. Bye."
"Bye."
He watched her go, knowing that a few weeks ago, he would've walked her to her class, given her a quick good-bye kiss and run to Divination.
But now, he realized sadly, the only thing that he actually got to do from that list was the latter.
It's over. Get over it. Get over her, he thought to himself sharply. Then he sighed, knowing that getting over Hermione would be next to impossible.
*
That evening, Ron decided that it was finally time to confront Harry. After days of not wanting to speak to him, it was finally time to make amends.
Ron took a deep breath, then turned to Harry.
"Look, Harry, I know you hate me right now."
Harry glanced up from the Quidditch diagrams he was making. "I wouldn't say hate. Exactly."
Ron took this as an invitation. He sat down across from Harry. "I deserve it. I've been acting like a huge git."
"Can't argue that."
"It's just that…well, I was really, really mad. You guys lied to me. You betrayed me. I think I was allowed to be a little mad."
"A little?"
"I know I went overboard."
Harry sighed and dropped his quill to the table. "Ron, we've told you a thousand times, we're sorry. I'm done apologizing, all right? That's pretty much all I have to say to you."
"I'm sorry, too. Really. I was just so mad…I didn't know how to react. But I didn't mean for you guys to break-up."
"Yeah, well, we did."
"And it's nobody's fault but mine."
"Yes, it is."
"And I'm sorry."
"You already said that."
"But I am."
"See how annoying it is to apologize to someone over and over again, but it doesn't make a difference to the person you're apologizing to?"
Ron considered this. "Yeah, it is."
Harry gave him a half-hearted shrug, then picked up his quill.
"I didn't mean all that stuff I said before. I want us to be friends again," Ron said quietly.
"I do too, Ron. And I guess we can. But it'll take a while. You know?"
"Yeah, I understand." Ron stood up to leave; then, struck by a new thought, he sat back down.
"If you two love each other, then you should be together."
Harry looked up and said sharply, "I don't love her anymore."
Ron's jaw dropped open. "What?"
"I don't love her anymore," Harry repeated.
"Oh, come off it, you prat. Of course you love her."
"Okay, maybe I do. But I shouldn't. If she and I can't be together, then what's the point in loving her?"
"But—you don't really—how could—" Ron sputtered, completely at a loss for words.
"You see? There isn't a point. She broke up with me, Ron. We're not together anymore. Why bother loving her still if it's all going to be for nothing?"
"You can't be serious."
"I am."
"So that's it, then? You're just going to give up, just like that?
"Yes."
~*~
So here's chapter 11!! I was flip-flopping between the title I have now and "He Stopped Loving Her Today." I don't know which is better. If you want to tell me which you like better, that'd be way cool. See? I kinda got inspired by T7S with the whole I don't love her anymore thing But my way's different, kinda. Still…here's another disclaimer: I don't own anything from T7S, but really, I wish I did. Hope you all liked the chapter, the next one is the last one!
