Harry sighed and looked out the window. Was Hermione right? Should he be
with Jennifer? Harry's mind was confused. After what Ginny did, Harry found
it hard to trust anyone, including his best friends.
'How could she share something so intimate for a lousy 100 galleons?' Harry
asked himself. It seemed like a question that he would never understand.
Harry looked across the grounds. He needed time to be alone, to think
clearly without interruptions. He thought about Sirius' secluded house
outside Hogsmead, and he wished that he had a place that he could escape
to.
Hesitantly, Harry rose from his seat and went to see his housemates.
Harry walked down the stairs two at a time. Once he reached the bottom step, he felt all eyes on him. Ginny had joined the room, her eyes red from crying. Ron sat protectively near her. Once he saw Harry, however, he leapt from his chair and drew his wand and held it out infront of him. He marched over to Harry. Harry stood where he was, but he drew out his wand to meet Ron's. There was no way he was going to be wandless, even if he was facing his best friend. "What's your problem Harry?" Harry looked at Ron then at Ginny. "What's wrong with me?! Didn't she tell you.." "Yeah, she told me." Ron interrupted. "She told me that you slapped her because she wouldn't have sex with you." The whole room went silent as Ron's words sunk in. A lot of the people looked at Ginny. She looked at Harry silently, as she forced fresh tears to flow from her red eyes. Harry snorted in disgust. "I warned you Harry, if you hurt her, even just a little, I will kill you." Hermione had heard enough. She stepped forward in Harry's defence. She grabbed Ron's shoulder and tried to pull him away from Harry. "Ron, stop before you do something stupid. You don't know the full story." She insisted. Ron turned and glared at her. "What, people are allowed to hit the people they claim to love, when they don't get what they want?! Is that why we never worked out? Cause I showed you the respect you deserved." Hermione looked past Ron, to meet Harry's questioning look. She tried to speak but she couldn't control her voice. She turned back to Ron. She cleared her throat loudly. "This isn't about us, it's about Ginny and Harry, and the lies she has told you. Please Ron, before you kill your best friend, get all the facts." Hermione pleaded. Slowly Ron and Harry lowered their wands. Libby ran to Ron, glad to have not seen a duel. Ron tried his best to politely ignore her and concentrated on Harry. "Well Harry, tell me what you think happened." Harry turned to the rest of the Gryffindors; "Can we have a bit of privacy please." Slowly the remaining students filed out of the common room. Ginny made a move to follow them. "Not you Ginny." Ron said, and she resumed her position in her chair. Harry waited for everyone to leave and the portrait to close securely before addressing Ron again. " I saw Ginny kissing another guy and so I went to confront her, to work it out. At Christmas, Jennifer warned me that Ginny was seeing some else," Ron scoffed. "Yeah, I didn't believe her either, until I saw it. And so I went to see her. And what she told wasn't what I expected. I was a bet to her Ron, nothing more then a bet." Harry paused, he could feel the tears rising again but he fought them down. "Ron I didn't mean to hit her, and I didn't realise what I was doing until it was to late." He said apologetically. Ron stood silent for a moment, not recognising that he was stroking Libby's hair while he thought. Finally he turned his anger to Ginny. "Is this true? Did you use my best friend for sex?" Ginny looked up at her brother. Her innocent looking eyes filled with fresh tears "I would never do that. I told you Ron, he was pressuring me for sex. And when I said I wanted to wait till I was married, he slapped me." Harry rolled his eyes. Ginny looked from Ron to Harry to Hermione and then back to Ron. Harry could see fake tears start to well in her eyes, but when he looked into her eyes, he could see a little bit of fear, fear that her own brother wouldn't believe her. Harry smiled in satisfaction. Ron turned to face both of them; "Do you have any proof. Harry? Ginny?" Harry turned back to Ron. "I'm sure I can, Ron. By what Jennifer told me, this Ravenclaw isn't being very quiet about stealing my girlfriend." Ron nodded thoughtfully. Ron turned to Ginny. "I want you to get a list of all your friends." Ginny nodded silently, not trusting herself to talk, as she left for the girl's dormitories. Ron walked over to the window. "Looks like lunch is still on, Libby, could you go get the boy." Libby smiled and gave him a quick kiss before leaving. "Hermione, could you get Jennifer. I think she needs to be here for this as well, as a witness." Hermione nodded and followed Libby. Harry grabbed her arm gently. "We need to talk later, about you and Ron. Why didn't you tell me Hermione?" Hermione looked into Harry's eyes, feeling the love that she had craved from him since they had first met. It was no mistake that she had wondered into his carriage looking for Neville's toad. She had fanaticised about meeting The Boy Who Lived and when she did, Hermione had fallen for him. That was seven years ago and the feelings for Harry had grown. She didn't even know why she decided to go out wit Ron in the first place. And she could think of no way that she could explain it to Harry. Instead she bowed her head, pulling her arm from Harry's grasp and continued out the portrait. Harry watched her leaving, seeing her wipe away a tear before the portrait closed behind her. Harry went to stand beside Ron. He could Libby and Hermione talking together as they crossed the field. Harry sighed. "You know that I'm sorry I hit her, right?" Ron didn't say anything for a moment. To be honest, Ron had no idea whom to believe his best friend or his blood. Ron sighed, still not looking at Harry. "I don't know what is going on between you and Ginny, but I do know that no matter the circumstances, you didn't mean to hit her." Harry nodded. 'That means he is still on Ginny's side' Harry thought as he watched the activities below him. It seemed to him that the world was oblivious to what was really going on in Gryffindor tower. Ginny returned with a long list on parchment in one hand. Harry took the list from her, his eyes scrolling the list, mentally checking the list to the faces in his head. There where about 25 girls on it.
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Ron turned to Harry, "Why don't you leave Harry. I will send someone to get you after I had time to question him." Harry felt that he should be there for the questioning but one look in Ron's eyes told him that he should do as he was told. There was a mixture of pain and hurt, but Harry could also see a determination that he had never seen on his friend's face before. Harry could see that Ron was ready to hear the worst, so without looking back, Harry went to his dormitory.
Ron watched Harry leave then turned quickly back to Ginny. "You better hope for your own sake that Harry is lying." Ginny nodded, still not trusting her voice. She had nervously watched this whole drama from her chair. She could feel the tension in the air as she watched Ron standing in front of the fire. Suddenly the portrait door swung open, and Libby entered followed by a tall, athletic, curious boy. Ron recognised him as the Ravenclaw seeker, James Douglas. Ginny caught his eye and gave a small smile while Ron gathered his thoughts. Ron cleared his throat loudly. "Lets not play any games here James. I'm gonna ask some questions and you are going to answer them." Ron stopped for a moment. There was a soft creaking from the door. Ron turned to the noise. Hermione was creeping in slowly, hoping to not disturb Ron's speech. "Ahh, you're here. Hermione, Jennifer, take a seat." Hermione and Jennifer looked around the room, taking the last remaining seats around the fireplace and where Ron sat. Ron turned to James. "Answer me truly James, are you dating Ginny Weasley?" James seemed dumbfounded for a moment, then nodded. "Yep. She chose me over Harry Potter!" he said proudly, laughing. Ron smiled and waited a moment so his words would have the proper affect. "Did you know that she was still seeing Harry?" Ron asked. James instantly stopped laughing. He turned to Ginny. "Is this true? You said that it was over, that all you had to do was sleep with him once and then it was over." Ron could see the anger and pain in James face and for a moment he felt sorry for him. But then he remembered his earlier triumph he had felt about stealing Ginny from Harry, and he forgot all about feeling sorry for him. Ginny looked away from James, not able to look at him and his anger any more. Ron cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention focused again. "Did she tell you why she had to sleep with him?" Ron asked calmly, hoping that Harry was wrong, that she did it for something other then money. He prayed calmly in his mind as he waited for an answer. "Yeah, so win a bet, 100 Galileans." James spat at her. Ron stopped praying as soon as the words left his mouth. Sadly Ron turned to Jennifer, "Could you get Harry? You know where his dorm is." Libby gave her sister a curious look, but Jennifer pointedly ignored the staring on her back as she climbed the stairs.
Jennifer knocked politely on Harry's door. He opened it and pulled her inside and shut the door behind her. "What's going on down there?" Jennifer smiled and took a moment to look at his eager eyes as they searched her eyes for answers. "James told Ron everything. He came out with the whole story about the bet and everything. Ginny was mighty embarrassed." Jennifer lost her smile. "He seemed really upset that Ginny would betray him like that." Harry took her hand, and drew her closer. He kissed her hand, then looked up to meet her gaze. Jennifer looked away, feeling her face turn hot. "What? What's wrong?" Harry pulled her closer, but she backed away from him. "They want you down stairs now." She stammered before turning and leaving the room as if Voldermort had just appeared behind him. Harry watched her go for a minute before leaving his room.
As soon as Harry appeared, Ron gave him a hug. "I am so sorry that I didn't believe you mate." He said then pulled away, trying to look manly. Harry smiled. Ron turned back to Ginny, his eyes so alive and angry. "You mean she confessed?" Harry looked at Ginny. She was sitting alone; even James wouldn't sit near her. James looked at Harry for a moment, before muttering something about homework and leaving the Gryffindor Common Room. Harry caught Hermione's gaze from across the room. He wished that he knew what she was thinking. Instead he turned away from his friends. "I'm going for a walk." Was all he said before leaving his silenced crowd.
Harry walked down the stairs two at a time. Once he reached the bottom step, he felt all eyes on him. Ginny had joined the room, her eyes red from crying. Ron sat protectively near her. Once he saw Harry, however, he leapt from his chair and drew his wand and held it out infront of him. He marched over to Harry. Harry stood where he was, but he drew out his wand to meet Ron's. There was no way he was going to be wandless, even if he was facing his best friend. "What's your problem Harry?" Harry looked at Ron then at Ginny. "What's wrong with me?! Didn't she tell you.." "Yeah, she told me." Ron interrupted. "She told me that you slapped her because she wouldn't have sex with you." The whole room went silent as Ron's words sunk in. A lot of the people looked at Ginny. She looked at Harry silently, as she forced fresh tears to flow from her red eyes. Harry snorted in disgust. "I warned you Harry, if you hurt her, even just a little, I will kill you." Hermione had heard enough. She stepped forward in Harry's defence. She grabbed Ron's shoulder and tried to pull him away from Harry. "Ron, stop before you do something stupid. You don't know the full story." She insisted. Ron turned and glared at her. "What, people are allowed to hit the people they claim to love, when they don't get what they want?! Is that why we never worked out? Cause I showed you the respect you deserved." Hermione looked past Ron, to meet Harry's questioning look. She tried to speak but she couldn't control her voice. She turned back to Ron. She cleared her throat loudly. "This isn't about us, it's about Ginny and Harry, and the lies she has told you. Please Ron, before you kill your best friend, get all the facts." Hermione pleaded. Slowly Ron and Harry lowered their wands. Libby ran to Ron, glad to have not seen a duel. Ron tried his best to politely ignore her and concentrated on Harry. "Well Harry, tell me what you think happened." Harry turned to the rest of the Gryffindors; "Can we have a bit of privacy please." Slowly the remaining students filed out of the common room. Ginny made a move to follow them. "Not you Ginny." Ron said, and she resumed her position in her chair. Harry waited for everyone to leave and the portrait to close securely before addressing Ron again. " I saw Ginny kissing another guy and so I went to confront her, to work it out. At Christmas, Jennifer warned me that Ginny was seeing some else," Ron scoffed. "Yeah, I didn't believe her either, until I saw it. And so I went to see her. And what she told wasn't what I expected. I was a bet to her Ron, nothing more then a bet." Harry paused, he could feel the tears rising again but he fought them down. "Ron I didn't mean to hit her, and I didn't realise what I was doing until it was to late." He said apologetically. Ron stood silent for a moment, not recognising that he was stroking Libby's hair while he thought. Finally he turned his anger to Ginny. "Is this true? Did you use my best friend for sex?" Ginny looked up at her brother. Her innocent looking eyes filled with fresh tears "I would never do that. I told you Ron, he was pressuring me for sex. And when I said I wanted to wait till I was married, he slapped me." Harry rolled his eyes. Ginny looked from Ron to Harry to Hermione and then back to Ron. Harry could see fake tears start to well in her eyes, but when he looked into her eyes, he could see a little bit of fear, fear that her own brother wouldn't believe her. Harry smiled in satisfaction. Ron turned to face both of them; "Do you have any proof. Harry? Ginny?" Harry turned back to Ron. "I'm sure I can, Ron. By what Jennifer told me, this Ravenclaw isn't being very quiet about stealing my girlfriend." Ron nodded thoughtfully. Ron turned to Ginny. "I want you to get a list of all your friends." Ginny nodded silently, not trusting herself to talk, as she left for the girl's dormitories. Ron walked over to the window. "Looks like lunch is still on, Libby, could you go get the boy." Libby smiled and gave him a quick kiss before leaving. "Hermione, could you get Jennifer. I think she needs to be here for this as well, as a witness." Hermione nodded and followed Libby. Harry grabbed her arm gently. "We need to talk later, about you and Ron. Why didn't you tell me Hermione?" Hermione looked into Harry's eyes, feeling the love that she had craved from him since they had first met. It was no mistake that she had wondered into his carriage looking for Neville's toad. She had fanaticised about meeting The Boy Who Lived and when she did, Hermione had fallen for him. That was seven years ago and the feelings for Harry had grown. She didn't even know why she decided to go out wit Ron in the first place. And she could think of no way that she could explain it to Harry. Instead she bowed her head, pulling her arm from Harry's grasp and continued out the portrait. Harry watched her leaving, seeing her wipe away a tear before the portrait closed behind her. Harry went to stand beside Ron. He could Libby and Hermione talking together as they crossed the field. Harry sighed. "You know that I'm sorry I hit her, right?" Ron didn't say anything for a moment. To be honest, Ron had no idea whom to believe his best friend or his blood. Ron sighed, still not looking at Harry. "I don't know what is going on between you and Ginny, but I do know that no matter the circumstances, you didn't mean to hit her." Harry nodded. 'That means he is still on Ginny's side' Harry thought as he watched the activities below him. It seemed to him that the world was oblivious to what was really going on in Gryffindor tower. Ginny returned with a long list on parchment in one hand. Harry took the list from her, his eyes scrolling the list, mentally checking the list to the faces in his head. There where about 25 girls on it.
-------------------------------------------------ooOOoo--------------------- ---------------------------
Ron turned to Harry, "Why don't you leave Harry. I will send someone to get you after I had time to question him." Harry felt that he should be there for the questioning but one look in Ron's eyes told him that he should do as he was told. There was a mixture of pain and hurt, but Harry could also see a determination that he had never seen on his friend's face before. Harry could see that Ron was ready to hear the worst, so without looking back, Harry went to his dormitory.
Ron watched Harry leave then turned quickly back to Ginny. "You better hope for your own sake that Harry is lying." Ginny nodded, still not trusting her voice. She had nervously watched this whole drama from her chair. She could feel the tension in the air as she watched Ron standing in front of the fire. Suddenly the portrait door swung open, and Libby entered followed by a tall, athletic, curious boy. Ron recognised him as the Ravenclaw seeker, James Douglas. Ginny caught his eye and gave a small smile while Ron gathered his thoughts. Ron cleared his throat loudly. "Lets not play any games here James. I'm gonna ask some questions and you are going to answer them." Ron stopped for a moment. There was a soft creaking from the door. Ron turned to the noise. Hermione was creeping in slowly, hoping to not disturb Ron's speech. "Ahh, you're here. Hermione, Jennifer, take a seat." Hermione and Jennifer looked around the room, taking the last remaining seats around the fireplace and where Ron sat. Ron turned to James. "Answer me truly James, are you dating Ginny Weasley?" James seemed dumbfounded for a moment, then nodded. "Yep. She chose me over Harry Potter!" he said proudly, laughing. Ron smiled and waited a moment so his words would have the proper affect. "Did you know that she was still seeing Harry?" Ron asked. James instantly stopped laughing. He turned to Ginny. "Is this true? You said that it was over, that all you had to do was sleep with him once and then it was over." Ron could see the anger and pain in James face and for a moment he felt sorry for him. But then he remembered his earlier triumph he had felt about stealing Ginny from Harry, and he forgot all about feeling sorry for him. Ginny looked away from James, not able to look at him and his anger any more. Ron cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention focused again. "Did she tell you why she had to sleep with him?" Ron asked calmly, hoping that Harry was wrong, that she did it for something other then money. He prayed calmly in his mind as he waited for an answer. "Yeah, so win a bet, 100 Galileans." James spat at her. Ron stopped praying as soon as the words left his mouth. Sadly Ron turned to Jennifer, "Could you get Harry? You know where his dorm is." Libby gave her sister a curious look, but Jennifer pointedly ignored the staring on her back as she climbed the stairs.
Jennifer knocked politely on Harry's door. He opened it and pulled her inside and shut the door behind her. "What's going on down there?" Jennifer smiled and took a moment to look at his eager eyes as they searched her eyes for answers. "James told Ron everything. He came out with the whole story about the bet and everything. Ginny was mighty embarrassed." Jennifer lost her smile. "He seemed really upset that Ginny would betray him like that." Harry took her hand, and drew her closer. He kissed her hand, then looked up to meet her gaze. Jennifer looked away, feeling her face turn hot. "What? What's wrong?" Harry pulled her closer, but she backed away from him. "They want you down stairs now." She stammered before turning and leaving the room as if Voldermort had just appeared behind him. Harry watched her go for a minute before leaving his room.
As soon as Harry appeared, Ron gave him a hug. "I am so sorry that I didn't believe you mate." He said then pulled away, trying to look manly. Harry smiled. Ron turned back to Ginny, his eyes so alive and angry. "You mean she confessed?" Harry looked at Ginny. She was sitting alone; even James wouldn't sit near her. James looked at Harry for a moment, before muttering something about homework and leaving the Gryffindor Common Room. Harry caught Hermione's gaze from across the room. He wished that he knew what she was thinking. Instead he turned away from his friends. "I'm going for a walk." Was all he said before leaving his silenced crowd.