Disclaimer: Credit goes to JK Rowling...(and a few other companies, people, etc. who probably own a little bit of The Boy Who Lived...)
A/N: This was my first fanfic EVER. I wrote this about two years ago, WAAAAY before OOTP, so there are a lot of things that won't fit in with canon. My writing was horrible, and I switched back and forth between plot lines...but I still think this is a pretty darn good story. However, it is the only thing I have EVER completed in all the fanfics I've ever tried to write...so I thought I'd just post it online...It is a love triangle sort of thing...Hermione likes Harry, Ron, and there's some Draco in there too...so if you don't like this...then don't read it... Well, enjoy my REALLY old fanfic...
Chapter Two - Exchange Of Words
"Harry! Harry! Wake up!"
Someone was sitting on his bed and shaking him.
"Harry! Oh...come on! Dumbledore's about to announce the new Quidditch captains! And he also said he had an important message for everyone to know about the Ball! Harry! Come on, rise and shine!"
Harry opened his eyes but it was all blurry, he didn't have his glasses on. He was still very groggy. "Ron...I'll be down in a bit." He groaned.
The person laughed at him. "No silly, I'm not Ron, it's me! Hermione..." she giggled.
Harry sat up immediately. "What are you doing in here?"
"Oh...just waking you up...I'll leave now that you're awake," Hermione got up to leave
"No, wait!" Harry blurted.
"Hmm..?"
Harry didn't know why he said that. So he had to make up something real fast.
"Um...I can't find my glasses, can you get them for me?" He began. Hermione just looked at him weird, walked over and got his glasses. She sat down on his bed and put them on his face. She smiled at him.
"Thanks." Harry said, smiling back but feeling rather stupid. Hermione left him to get dressed. They walked down to the Great Hall together, both were very nervous.
When they walked into the Great Hall, Harry noticed that the whole school was already packed into the Great Hall anxiously awaiting the news on who are the new Quidditch captains. Harry and Hermione sat down at their usual spots at the Gryffindor table. After about ten minutes Dumbledore finally stood up, the Hall was dead silent.
"I see that you are all ready to hear the good news! Well, here goes!" Dumbledore looked very excited. "The Quidditch captain for Hufflepuff is: Justin Finch-Fletchly!" Light applause came from the Hufflepuff table, and there were many boos. Apparently, Justin wasn't who most people wanted to be captain.
"Yes, Yes, very good Mr. Finch-Fletchly" Dumbledore said with a sharp look at the Hufflepuffs. "But now, the Quidditch captain for Ravenclaw is: Cho Chang!" Many cheers came from the Ravenclaw table. Harry looked over at the table and saw Cho's exuberant face alive with joyfulness; he couldn't help himself but think that she was very gorgeous indeed.
"And now, the Quidditch captain for Slytherin is: Draco Malfoy!" Harry, Ron, and Hermione had never felt more sick about the sight of seeing Draco's fellow housemates congratulate him on becoming captain.
"And finally, if I may announce the Quidditch captain for Gryffindor...." Dumbledore began, his eyes flashing in Harry's direction. Ron and Hermione crossed their fingers under the table. Harry closed his eyes, expecting to hear someone else's name. But then Dumbledore spoke, "Harry Potter!" Thunderous applause erupted from the Hall, most of which came from the Gryffindor table. Ron and Hermione, and everyone else at the Gryffindor table jumped up and started to congratulate Harry. Even though everyone's ears were ringing from the sudden ovation, each and every one of the Slytherin students made their boos, hisses, and jeers heard too.
"Yes...I congratulate all four of you who have had the distinct honor of becoming a Hogwarts Quidditch captain! Starting next week, each captain will start recruiting players for their teams!" Dumbledore had never looked more thrilled in his life. "But now I must make an announcement that will affect every student in this school and not just four." The hall went dead silent yet again. Everyone had their direct attention on Dumbledore and Dumbledore alone.
"As you very well know, there will be an opening dance this Friday. And that is in just two days! Well, It was Professor Trelawney who informed me that she has...erm...seen the fates of the Orb that the girls will ask the boys as dates to the Ball! So I have decided, with great pleasure if I might add that the ladies will have to ask the gentlemen to the Ball if they want dates!" Dumbledore sat down and started to eat again.
All the boys in the Hall were relived, yet all the girls in the hall were outraged. They didn't want to be the ones to worry about asking guys to the dance.
"So Hermione," Ron said as he stuffed a piece of bread into his mouth, "Who are you gonna ask to the Ball?" Harry looked up from his food real fast to hear Hermione's response.
Hermione looked frazzled and confused. "I dunno Ron, I really dunno."
"We have to predict what will happen every day for the next two months?!" Ron groaned as he and Harry were walking back from Divinitation, their last class of the day. They met up with Hermione outside of her Arithmancy class and walked up to the Common Room together.
Hermione left Harry and Ron alone to talk and she went over to speak with Ginny.
"So Ginny, are you asking anyone to the dance?" she asked quietly.
Ginny looked embarrased. "You know who I would like to ask...but...he'd day no." She looked away.
"Oh...Harry, right?" Hermione whispered. Ginny just nodded her head.
"Not to be rude, but I don't feel like talking about this and..." she yawned, "I'm tired, I'm going to bed. G'night, Hermione." She left for the girl's dormitories.
Hermione was very confused. She was very good friends with Ginny but she also really liked Harry. Tomorrow was the last full day left before the Ball and she would have to ask someone that day, or not get a date at all. Then suddenly, as if someone had turned on a light switch in her head, an idea came to her. She got up and ran over to Ron.
"Hey, Ron. We gotta talk." Hermione panted, completely ignoring the fact that Harry was sitting next to Ron.
"Ok, what?" Ron answered.
She sat down next to him and thought for a moment. "Nevermind." She replied after a long while.
"Well, there's something I gotta ask you anyways." Ron began.
"Um, ok..." Hermione responded.
"Ok, well...er...don't take this the wrong way or anything but...well..." Ron stuttered.
"Yes...?"
"Since the girls have to ask the guys to the ball, but....um...er...since I...I...I..." Ron faltered. Harry felt very hurt because he knew where Ron was getting at, and what made it worse, Ron knew that Harry was completely head over heels for Hermione, because they had been talking about it just a minute earlier.
Ron got the courage to talk again. "Well, if you don't find a date by tomorrow night...will you go to the ball with...?"
Hermione interrupted. "Ok, it's a deal!" Hermione answered excitedly, looking at Harry and winking. "If I don't find another date, then sure I'll go to the ball with you, Ron!" She smiled and walked to her usual chair by the fire, to start on some homework."B...bu...but...I didn't mean me...I meant...Harry..." Ron muttered. Harry just gave Ron one of those "what did you do that for?" looks and just sat there sulking in his chair.
"Oh, Harry, cheer up..." Ron said. "It's not like I am her date or anything, just her last resort..." Ron felt horrible about what happened.
"Oh yeah, thanks Ron, that makes me feel so much better!" Harry spat. "You knew I liked her...wait...loved her!"
"It's not my fault she took it the wrong way..." Ron retorted.
"Yeah but you could have said something!" Harry grumbled.
"I did, remember? She just walked off!"
"Well then it's a little too late now don't you think?" Harry was getting very angry; he was almost at the point of tears. Ron was also getting very annoyed with how Harry was handling the situation, he was fuming with rage. Ron stood up real fast, knocking over the chess set sitting on the table in front of him. Everyone in the Common Room spun around to see what was going on.
"Gosh you always get your way don't you, Harry?" Ron yelled. "Well I'm sorry Mr. Potter, that you didn't get your way this time! Famous Harry Potter gets everything famous Harry Potter wants! You always get the attention and all you care about is yourself! All I ever hear come out of that inconsiderate hole on that face of yours is 'me, me, me, me, and me!' What ever happened to the carefree Harry that I once knew and was best friends with? Why don't you ever think of others and not just yourself? Huh? Tell me, c'mon, I can handle the truth!" Ron was breathing really hard.
Harry just kind of sat there in stunned silence. Everyone in the Common Room was staring at them mutely, and a few people from the dorms had walked down to see what was going on. Ron started to walk off when Harry got up and started shouting back at him.
"You don't even understand the half of it, Ron! All the...the...the shit I have to go through every single day. The nightmares, the crazy thoughts, the pressure, the attention, the pain, the loneliness! I'm surrounded by the people who I love the most, but in reality, I'm all alone! No one understands how it feels to be a celebrity who is a half- blood orphan who everyone looks up to and is constantly being sought after by the most powerful dark wizard of all time! No one understands being haunted by the agonizing memories that I have in my past. Sure, sometimes I can be a little selfish, but who isn't? I've made my fair share of mistakes, but you're no pea in the pod either, Ron! I'm sorry if I got a little upset over the one I love more than anything else, I'm sorry if I overreacted, but that doesn't mean my best friend has to blow up in my face and make me feel horrible! If this was all about my fame...which by the way, I don't want...then why didn't you just tell me? What made you feel you couldn't trust me in the first place? God if all you want to be is famous, then go ahead, get yourself a scar so everyone can gawk at you and you can be famous, it's nothing special! If that's what you want, then don't bug me about it! It's not my fault Voldemort tried to kill me!" Everyone in the Common Room flinched at the sound of You-Know-Who's name. Harry just ignored it and went on. "God, if I knew you would be a jerk like this, then I would have never been your friend in the first place!" Harry was gasping for air at the end of his speech. His face was a bright red, almost like the color Ron's hair.
Ron just stomped off to the boy's dormitories without saying another word. Harry sat back down in his chair, taking no notice of the people staring at him. Hermione, who had been doing homework, very happily, in her chair, slowly got up and walked over to Harry, she sat down next to him.
"Are you ok?" She asked with a frown.
"Well it was a bit unexpected, but yeah, I'm fine." Harry responded soberly. Hermione just sat there twiddling with her thumbs like she always does when she's nervous. She sat with Harry in silence until people stopped staring at her and Harry. She wanted so badly to ask what Harry was talking about when he said "the one I love more than anything else," but she decided not to ask him. She knew he didn't want to talk about it.
Harry just sat there the rest of the night, doing his homework or more like thinking, but acting like he was doing his homework. Even after the Common Room was completely emptied of students, he still sat up all night thinking...thinking about Hermione...
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A/N: Please Review!