Disclaimer: I'm only playing with the characters of J.K Rowling.
A/N Ah beautiful reviewers! I have a few things to reply to:
Chocolat Elf: I think the reason why people portray Cho as a bitch is because of the way she rejected Our Harry by going out with Cedric. I'd just like to tell everyone that I have the utmost respect and affection for bad girls, as they are the most fun ones to read about and write!
KaranteKitty: I can't tell you who Hermione ends up with, I don't know. Maybe neither of them will end up with her and she'll live in a "Far From Heaven" style marriage with Seamus!
I avoided being alone with Harry for the next few days. I knew that if we were on our own, I would spurt it out somehow, and Harry, being completely naïve when it came to Ms Chang, would think I was lying in some sort of jealous girlfriend way. But when (if) he found out that she had a boyfriend, he would probably know I'd lied (A lie of omission is still a lie…)
Plagued by guilt, I kept my mouth shut and tried to dig my head in a book whenever Ron wasn't around to distract Harry.
On our first Hogsmeade weekend, Harry pulled me into the Three Broomsticks while Ron went to Honeydukes. I tried to protest, but he insisted, pulling me inside and ordering two Butterbeers. We took a table.
"What is it Harry?" I asked as I took a sip of Butterbeer. The warmth spread through my body.
"I have to talk to you about something really important" he said and took a huge gulp of his drink. Reeeally don't want to be here…He looked at me with a worried face.
"What am I going to do Hermy? Sirius said he'd be here when I came back. Where is he? Why can't I have a normal godfather? Why does he have to do all this espionage stuff? He keeps putting himself in danger, and he's the only one I have left…" he drifted off, his eyes downcast. I grasped his hand across the table.
"You have us," I said, trying to look into his eyes. He raised his head, his green eyes piercing my heart.
"Do I? Do I have you, Hermione? I haven't even been able to talk to you alone for the last few days. I hope it's not because of the Ron thing"
I laughed awkwardly.
"Ron's an idiot if he thinks there's anything going on between us".
Bad, bad timing. A few seconds after Ron had spotted us from the door and started walking over, Harry withdrew his hand from mine, hurt. And Ron had seen. By the time he had reached us, his jaw was jutting out. He addressed me coldly:
"Ready to go look for robes, Hermione?"
I blushed furiously. Idiot, idiot for getting yourself in situations like these. Why couldn't you just have female friends? Stupid puberty. Stupid hormones. Stupid testosterone…
I glanced at Harry sympathetically.
"Sure Ron, let's go" I muttered and got up from the table.
Cho walked over (is she everywhere?) and directed her focus to Ron and I.
"You two leaving poor Harry by himself? He's lucky I'm here to keep him company," she said, shooting Harry the most sinful smile I'd ever seen. I glared at her as he smiled back. She sat down and looked back and Ron and I dismissively.
"See ya," she said in a falsely sweet voice.
"Bye", Ron muttered. I simply walked out the door. Bloody harpy. Why does Harry have to be such an idiot when it comes to women?
Ron and I were shopping for robes together. I knew if left to his own devices, he'd buy something that clashed horribly with my dress (yes, I'd decided to wear a dress instead of robes this year). Luckily his brothers had given him enough money to buy a decent set this year with Harry's winning from the Tri-Wizard Tournament.
I had seen some gorgeous dresses in the Muggle magazines over the holidays and had some ideas in my head when we arrived at the robes shop. After all, I actually had a figure now; there was no need to hide it under robes.
I talked to the owner, Madame Pularche, about my idea. We agreed on a black fitted silk bodice and voluminous sleeves and skirt, to give it a robe-ish look. I was pleased to hear that some of the older girls had also been requesting dresses. I didn't want to get I trouble if I was the only one.
Madame Pularche, Ron and I agreed that basic black robes for him would be good as they would match my dress and he'd be able to keep using them. She took our measurements and instructed us to pick up our garments in two weeks. We had six weeks until the Ball.
Ron seemed keen to lead me anywhere but back to the Three Broomsticks. We entered Quidditch shops, bookstores, ice-cream parlours and clothes shops before I tugged him to the tavern, at which point he fell silent. When we entered the door, Cho happened to look up, and seeing us, stood up and whispered her goodbye to Harry.
"She was eager to get away from us," I muttered as I sat down. Harry appeared to ignore me, which was probably for the best.
"Did you ask her to the Ball?" Ron asked, although he didn't seem terribly interested.
"Yeah, but she's already got a date"
"Who?" I asked. Maybe she'd told him herself about the boyfriend?
"She didn't say specifically. Said he was no-one special, a guy in her year who happened to ask her first" Harry said.
This can't be the boyfriend. She said he wasn't 'here'. How many guys does this woman have scattered around?
"So she just goes with the first person who asks her?" I said scornfully. Harry and Ron looked at me with blank expressions, and then Harry broke into hysterical laughter.
"Hermy! You bloody hypocrite!" he yelled. I blushed, realising what he meant and then grinned at Ron. He rolled his eyes.
"So Harry, who are you going to go with?" I asked. Time to get the attention off me.
"I dunno. Definitely not another Parvati," he said, looking out the window, "I might just stag it".
A/N Please review! I've started the next chapter so it should be up soon!
Ooh, big typo mistake, I typed, "I hope it's because of the Ron thing" instead of "I hope it's not because of the Ron thing" Sorry! All fixed now