There was an air of happy excitement flowing around the castle on that crisp winter's morning for that night was the annual Hogwarts Christmas Ball and you could almost smell the Happiness that the students were feeling. It was a time for everyone, including teachers to relax and let their hair down for an evening of yuletide fun.
Hermione was in The Great Hall early that morning as she along with Ginny and Torrance Lovelle, a fellow Gryffindor who was the year above Hermione had been picked to help decorate the room with vast amounts of festive decorations. All three of them were now stood in a line charming a final piece of tinsel so that it was drooped over the statues that were behind the teachers table. They all sat down and wiped their brows, it had been tiring but everything was done.
"Phew!" Ginny said in a happily exhausted voice. "I'm glad we got that finished."
Both Hermione and Torrance nodded. It had taken them almost two hours to finish but the hall looked fantastic. Luckily they hadn't had to compete with students coming tot breakfast because it was Saturday and most students stayed longer in bed. However, The Great Hall was starting to fill up as the three of them headed over to the Gryffindor table. They sat down and began helping themselves to a well deserved breakfast.
"So who are you going to the dance with Hermione?" asked Torrance as she reached for her goblet of orange juice.
Hermione looked up and smiled.
"I'm going alone….No one has asked me, so its just me and me…." She giggled.
Ginny and Torrance looked at her with shocked expressions on their faces.
"Don't worry about it, I'll be ok. At least you two are going with people, Torrance you're going with Harry and Ginny you're going with Dean. You'll both have a great time." She smiled.
Deep inside however, Hermione was feeling far from happy, she was quite upset that no one had asked her to the ball and the fact that Torrance was going with Harry seemed to ignite a pang of jealousy somewhere in her stomach although she didn't know why. As the hall filled up Harry and Ron joined them at the table, Ron tucked into his breakfast and filled his face with scrambled egg. Harry smiled at Torrance and yet again Hermione felt, the same jealousy through her body that she had had when she thought about Harry going to the dance with Torrance. It seemed to her that Harry was avoiding her eyes with all his might; she just sighed and carried on eating.
It was just as Hermione had thought, Harry was trying to avoid her eyes, he couldn't explain it himself but he felt guilty about not asking Hermione to the dance, he just hadn't had the courage to ask her at the time so asked Torrance instead. He felt as though he'd let Hermione down, and felt awful because no one had asked her. He looked at her but looked quickly away as she caught him. He turned to Ron.
"So who are you going to the dance with?"
Ron looked at Harry and smiled weakly; he looked down and blushed before mumbling a name under his breath.
"Please tell me you didn't just say Padma Patil" Asked Hermione. "You remember last time don't you?" She couldn't help but giggle.
Ron blushed madly and nodded. He spent the rest of breakfast avoiding all of their eyes. When they had finished, they started to get up and leave one by one until there was only Harry and Hermione left at the table. Hermione looked up at Harry who smiled awkwardly at her and cleared his throat before looking back down. Hermione sighed; she didn't know why she didn't have anything to say to him.
"So….you're going to the dance with Torrance…that's nice….great…." Hermione said trying not to sound jealous.
Obviously this hadn't fooled Harry; he turned to her and stood up angrily.
"Yes I am Hermione!" He said loudly. "What's wrong? Jealous because nobody asked you?"
Hermione looked up at him her cheeks burning. She stood up and clenched her fists on the table top. She'd never ever been angry at Harry before but right now she was seething at him. Half the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables had turn to look at them both and were now staring at them.
"Jealous? of you taking Torrance!" She shouted. "She's been out with half the school!! Oh please….I wouldn't waste my breath…." She added sarcastically.
Harry puffed his cheeks out as if to say something but her just gave her an angry look and stormed out of the hall muttering angrily under his breath. Hermione watched him leave as she dropped angrily back into her seat; she threw her spoon back onto her plate as Neville wandered over to her. He sat down and smiled.
"Are you ok Hermione?" He asked. "What happened with you and Harry then??"
Hermione looked up and smiled weakly.
"I really don't know….I just….He's going with Torrance to the ball and I said some awful things….he said I was jealous" She sighed. "And I think he was right…." She looked down.
"You wanted to go with him didn't you? Hermione you should have said something to him, you've liked him for so long" Said Neville kindly.
Hermione looked at him and managed a smile, for once Neville was absolutely right, if she had have told Harry how she felt before now then maybe the situation between her and Harry would be different. But No, she'd managed to get so angry and jealous at him and now he wasn't speaking to her.
It was now twenty minutes before the start of the dance and Hermione was in the bathroom in the girls dormitories listening to screams from Ginny who was begging her to come out of the bathroom. Hermione was stood in front of the mirror putting the final touches to her make-up; her hair was already in a sleek style on top of her head finished off with a decorative white flower. She took her midnight blue halter dress off its hanger and pulled it over her head carefully. It had a low back and flowed out at the bottom. She stood and looked at herself and smiled. She thought she looked ok; she sighed and then giggled because she could still hear the frantic shouts that were coming from Ginny.
"Right I'm coming out, don't laugh." She said.
The door clicked as she unlocked it and she pulled it open, steeping out cautiously. She smiled at Ginny who just gasped and put her hands over her mouth, which caused Hermione to blush madly and look at the floor.
"You look stunning! I mean....wow Hermione, I can't believe no one asked you…you look fantastic" Ginny said in awe. "You're going to turn heads when you walk into that hall." She said smiling.
"Thanks Ginny" Hermione smiled. "We should go now though…."
Ginny nodded and they both headed out of the dormitory and into the almost empty common room. They walked down the stairs to find just Dean and Neville there. Dean was sat in a chair and Neville stood pacing, they both looked up. Neville tripped over his own feet and nearly fell flat on his face as he saw Hermione. Dean smiled and stood up walking over to Ginny giving her a kiss on the cheek.
"You look beautiful" He told her before turning to Hermione. "You look great as well Hermione….fantastic."
She grinned widely. "Thanks Dean….that's nice of you to say."
She turned to Neville and smiles as he was staring at her open mouthed. She walked over to him and held out her arm, he just blushed at her mesmerized.
"Neville, seeing as though you're meeting Luna in the Hall, I thought you could walk me to the stairs at least" She said softly.
Neville smiled and took Hermione's arm as they, plus Ginny and Dean, left the common room and were talking happily to one another as they walked along the corridor. It felt great that they were able to have at least one night off during their hectic school life. Hermione felt extremely grateful of this because it gave her the chance to forget about books and homework and for once she could show people that she did know how to have a good time. As they neared the top of the stairs, Hermione stopped and turned to the others.
"You should go in now that most people are in there, I'll be in soon….I just have to give myself some confidence before walking in alone." She smiled.
Neville set off to meet Luna, Ginny and Dean turned to walk down the stairs but Ginny turned around and ran to give Hermione a hug.
"Harry is an idiot if he doesn't regret not asking you now, you look gorgeous Hermione….It'll be fine in there." She whispered comfortingly.
She smiled once more to Hermione before turning and taking hold of Dean's hand to walk into the hall. Hermione watched them go in and sighed deeply to herself. She would walk into the Great Hall with her head held high. She did still feel sad that no one had asked her but she would go in there and have a great time. She would also try and apologise to Harry, there was no point her being jealous if he was happy being there with Torrance. She smoothed over her dress and sighed again before setting off in a slow walk towards The Great Hall.
Inside the hall the dance had gotten off to a good start, people were dancing and laughing with each other. Ron was sat with Padma, who was talking to him, he however, was not paying the slightest bit of attention to her because he seemed too interested in the fact that Dean had just kissed Ginny and was now stood holding her hand as he was talking to her. Harry was dancing awkwardly with Torrance; she seemed to be enjoying herself. Harry just felt uncomfortable with her. She was enjoying the fact that she was there with "The boy who lived", Harry was feeling slightly used and knew the only reason she had agreed to go with him was because of who he was. They stopped dancing and went to get a drink, Harry was looking around to try and spot Hermione, he hoped she'd still come and have some fun even though she was alone. Just then his stomach gave a funny jolt and he felt angry with himself for not asking her. He would have liked to be there with Hermione instead of Torrance right now. Just then the doors to the hall opened and Harry along with everyone else turned his head to look at the person who had just walked in. Harry felt his mouth drop, as did a lot of the other boys' mouths around him. He stared at the girl and realised it was Hermione, but a Hermione he's never seen before. She looked stunning, he had never noticed how slender and beautiful her body was, but he was defiantly noticing now. He felt a tugging at his shirt sleeve; Torrance was looking angrily at him, he sighed and with one last longing look at Hermione he turned and walked off with Torrance.
Hermione had seen Harry walk off with Torrance and she sighed as she walked off towards the table where Ron and Padma were, she smiled as she sat down. Ron finally looked away from Ginny and Dean and looked at Hermione, his mouth dropped in the same way Harry's had done.
"H-H-Hermione you look fantastic…I mean really, really pretty" He said as he smiled.
Padma glared at him and shook her head.
"I'll be in the gardens if you want me Ron" She said dramatically. "But I won't hold my breath"
She got up hastily and walked out of the Hall. Ron looked at Hermione and smiled.
"Ron….go and follow her, I'll be ok, I'll just sit here and watch" She said kindly.
"Ok, if you're sure….I'll see you in the common room later." He got up and leant over to kiss her cheek and smiled before running off.
Hermione giggled at him as he ran off, she got up herself and caught Harry looking at her, she held her head high and walked over to the drinks table and helped herself to a pumpkin juice. She turned around and watched the many couples dancing and smiled sadly to herself. Thinking about it at that very moment she did feel sad now as she watched every couple dancing happily, she caught Harry's eye again, she stared at him as he stared back, he looked longingly at her but managed to turn away and continued to dance with Torrance. Hermione shook her head sadly just as she heard what she thought was someone choking behind her, however, when she turned quickly around she came face to face with Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson, they continued to cough, Hermione looked at them, Malfoy grinned evilly at her.
"What do you think you're doing here mudblood?" He shouted so that most people turned and look at him. "This is no place for dirt like you…."
Hermione placed her drink down on the table and looked at him.
"Draco….I'm here to have a good time….and if you looked around there are other muggle-borns here…."She replied quietly.
"Yeah but they aren't as annoying as you, I mean lets face it….you're an a ugly know it all that doesn't have any real friends….No body really likes you….your just….there" He replied nastily.
Hermione looked down as her eyes filled with tears, everyone was staring at her and no body was helping her. She turned to look at Harry for some support but he just looked at the floor and stepped back. Draco spotted this.
"See even Potter knows when to stay out of things, you're just a stupid filthy know it all…" He snarled.
Hermione looked around the hall once and cried harder. She turned and ran out of the hall trying not to trip over her dress, she ran across the Entrance Hall and out in to the Courtyard, she stopped running and sat down on a bench and cried silently to herself. Why hadn't Harry helped her? Maybe Draco was right, maybe no body liked her. She just sobbed harder. She heard the sound of faint footsteps behind her that were getting louder. She didn't turn around though, she didn't care who it was, she just felt alone and rejected.
"Hermione?" Came a soft voice from the side of her.
She looked up and saw that Harry was stood looking down at her.
"What exactly do you to apologise for not doing anything back there? Or have you just come to laugh a crying mudblood that I am?" She said angrily through her tears.
"I didn't want to get involved; you know what Malfoy is like…." He said uneasily and avoided her eye. "He was sort of right though, you have become more and more obsessed with your work lately…."
Hermione stood up and before Harry realised what was happening Hermione had slapped him hard across the face.
"HOW DARE YOU!!! How dare you agree with that….that thing Malfoy! After all that he's put you through! And you've just agreed with him!!" She screamed. "I-I-I can't look at you right now!" She stormed back up towards the castle in floods of tears.
Harry moved his hand to the spot that Hermione had just slapped him, it was stinging badly but he knew he had deserved it. Why had he said the things he had said to her because didn't mean to say anything remotely like that? He didn't think she was like that at all and he defiantly didn't agree with Draco. Maybe he should learn not to speak, because he may have just lost someone he cared deeply for, and he hadn't meant to hurt her, all he had really wanted to do was comfort her. He could barely see Hermione now as she was running up the stairs that led back into the castle.
"Go and apologise to her you idiot!" He thought angrily to himself.
He sprinted off towards the castle and when he reached the stairs he took them two at a time, he arrived in the Entrance Hall and saw Torrance running heatedly towards him, he stopped when she stood in front of him, she opened her mouth to shout at him.
"Don't say a word!....I need to go and find Hermione, I've just upset her badly." He said. "Go back to the ball and find someone else….it shouldn't be too hard for you." He added harshly.
He then set off running again; he had seen Hermione run up the staircase towards his left that led to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. He went up the stairs and ran along the corridor. He reached the door to the toilets and pushed it open, he could hear soft crying coming from one of the cubicles, Myrtle was no one to be seen as he walked over to the cubicle that the crying was coming from. He knew it was Hermione. He tapped on the door and then opened it to find Hermione huddled on the floor with her knees up against her chest and her chin resting on them. She didn't look at him.
"What?!" She sniffed.
"You're going to ruin your dress 'Mione" He said softly. "I'm sorry for what I…."
She stood up quickly and looked him in the eye. "I told you I didn't want to look at you right now, let alone speak to you!!" She said with a fierce sincerity. " And I meant it! Leave me alone Harry!!"
She brushed past him and started to walk hastily away from him. He reached out and grabbed her shoulder; he pulled her around and close to him, so that their faces were inches apart. He looked deeply into her eyes.
"Hermione! Don't throw away five years of friendship!....Please!...I can't! I won't lose you!" He said desperately.
"You should have thought about that before you agreed with Malfoy!! I can't believe you said what you did!" She screamed through her tears. "Just leave me alone!!!"
She broke away from him, her dress sweeping behind her, running out of the toilets crying. Harry watched her go, he thought about going after her. But didn't because he knew it wouldn't do any good, She wasn't speaking to him and probably never would forgive him. He ran a hand through his hair and felt tears running down his cheeks, he wiped them with the back of his hand and cursed himself loudly. He shook his head and slid down the patrician that separated the cubicles and put his head in his hands and began crying again. He heard someone enter the bathroom and looked up quickly hoping it was Hermione, instead it was Ron, he smiled weakly at Harry and knelt beside him.
"Harry, I just found out what happened….Hermione told me as she was running back to the common room." He now sat next to him. "I know you didn't mean to agree with Malfoy mate but she's really upset. You two will work this out won't you?" He asked seriously.
Harry looked across at him and shook his head slowly.
"I don't think so mate….I really hurt and disappointed her….I can't blame her, I didn't mean to say it but I did and I can't take that back now." He sighed. "I guess It's something I'll have live with….I just….I don't think I'll cope….I really like her Ron." He said trying to hold back his tears.
"You should tell her. It might make things right between you both again if you tell her how you feel." Ron replied.
Harry shrugged his shoulders and stood up, followed by Ron.
"We'll never know now…."
They both set of out of the toilets and walked back to Gryffindor Tower; Ron was telling Harry about how he'd managed to annoy Padma again at a ball. Harry wasn't really listening though, he admired Ron for trying to cheer him up but he just couldn't take his mind off the fact that he was facing life without Hermione. They arrived at the portrait to the common room.
"Chocolate Frogs" Muttered Ron.
The portrait swung open lightly and they both stepped inside, they walked over to the chairs by the fire and sat down just as Dean and Ginny walked into the common room. Dean said goodnight to them, Ginny on the other hand sat opposite Harry and glared at him.
"I've been looking for you for twenty minutes!! I came by here before to find Hermione in hysterics!! She told me what you said!" She said angrily. "I cannot believe you even uttered that to her!" She stood up. "I'm going to try and comfort her.!"
Glaring once more at Harry, she set off up to the girls dormitories. Harry looked across at Ron, who reached over and patted his shoulder. Harry smiled weakly and got up.
"I'm going to bed" He said moodily. "I can't deal with this right now."
Ron nodded and watched Harry turn and mope up the stairs towards the boy's dormitories. Ron felt a little helpless, he wasn't going to stop speaking to Hermione or Harry, they were his best friends and the fact that they weren't speaking to one another was going to make it a very tense and awkward atmosphere over the next few days. Ron just hoped everything would work itself out.
As she was walking to The Great Hall that morning, Hermione felt alone and rejected, people were still staring at her because of what had happened at the Ball. She put her head down and kept walking; she hadn't waited for Ron or Harry, even though she knew it wasn't Ron's fault she just couldn't bear to be near Harry at the moment. She sat at the far end of the Gryffindor table away from everyone and started eating her breakfast slowly. Today was the day of the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin Quidditch match but Hermione didn't care, she wasn't going, she only ever really went to watch Harry anyway but there wasn't any point in that anymore. As she thought this, she turned her head and saw Harry, Ron and Seamus walk in the hall; she looked back down and continued to eat. She could see that they had sat just a few seats away; she looked up to see Ron walking towards her. He smiled and sat opposite her.
"Morning 'Mione" He said smiling. "How are you feeling? Listen Harry's really sorry and he wants to know whether you're still coming to the Quidditch match."
Hermione shook her head. "I'm not coming to watch the match Ron, there's no point anymore, I only went to watch Harry fly and well….I can't stand to be near him right now." She said sadly. "And I'll be ok Ron, thanks for asking." She smiled weakly.
Ron nodded and leant over the table, squeezing her shoulder lightly.
"It'll be ok Hermione….you two will be ok eventually" He smiled softly.
He then walked away and back over to Harry and Seamus. Hermione looked across and Ron say something to Harry, this caused him to turn and look at Hermione, she looked away and felt her cheeks burn because she knew he was still looking at her but she wouldn't look at him, she stay strong and not let him see that deep down, them not speaking was killing her. She chanced a look and saw that Ron, Harry and Seamus were walking out of the hall. She sighed heavily and watched them leave before getting up herself and walking to the library.
Heading towards the team tents to get changed Harry didn't feel nervous like he usually did, he felt like he didn't want to be there but he knew that he couldn't let the team down just because of his fallout with Hermione. As he changed into his robes, he could tell that the twins and Ron didn't know what to say to him so they just kept throwing him furtive looks across the changing room. He turned and faced them, looking moodily at them all.
"I don't have a disease!! You don't have to look at me like I do!!!" He said loudly.
"Harry we're just worried about you, that's all mate! Come on, the Quidditch match might make you feel better." Ron said in a friendly tone.
Harry shrugged and picked up his broom and trudged off to hear Angelina's pre-match talk. As she spoke Harry wasn't really listening or really taking any of it in, he was too pre-occupied thinking about Hermione, he would have to go and try to apologise to her, maybe get her a gift, yeah that's what he'd do. He blinked and snapped out of his daze as the rest of the team were moving around him, he got up following them, mounting his broom as he reached the pitch and soared off into the air. He had to admit that feeling the fresh air over his face as he glided over the pitch did ease his mind a little, and as the game got underway, he slowly took his mind off Hermione and on the game.
He continued to fly about dodging bludgers here and there, looking out for the snitch. He was in the air just above the stand where the Gryffindor supporters were, he looked down and his heart immediately sank, he looked around for Hermione and remembered she wasn't there. He looked blankly down, and then he saw it! A glint of gold! He could already see Malfoy speeding towards the Snitch. Harry set off on his trusty Firebolt and his mind was no longer showing him pictures of Hermione but of him beating Malfoy to the Snitch again. He got level with him and it turned into a fierce battle between the two and all Harry could think was that if he caught the Snitch, then Hermione would be proud he had beat Malfoy again, or at least he thought she would. He was getting closer now locked in a battle of pushing and shoving as he edged in front of Malfoy now and the glint of gold was getting brighter, he reached out, as he did though he felt Draco shove his broom at the back causing him to lose his balance, he made one last grab at the Snitch and hit something with a hard thud.
Harry twitched in the bed in which he was lay and jumped awake, he reached for his glasses and put them on, and he turned his head to see Ron smiling weakly at him. He propped himself up on his elbows and realised that he was in the Hospital Wing.
"What Happened to me?" He asked hoarsely.
"Malfoy basically knocked you off your broom and you hit your head as you hit the ground, you've been here nearly a week." Ron said quietly. "It's only three days until Christmas."
Harry sighed angrily. "So this is Malfoy's fault as usual? I suppose it cost us the game too…."
Ron nodded at him just as the door opened and Hermione walked in looking like thunder. She didn't smile as she walked over to the bed where Harry and Ron were. Ron looked at Harry and smiled awkwardly as he got up quickly.
"Madame Pomfrey say you can come out tomorrow, so um…I'll see you then" And with this he turned and walked hastily out of the Hospital.
Harry looked at Hermione who wasn't looking at him. She threw some books on his bedside table with a thud.
"That's your holiday homework." She said harshly. "I'll be leaving now…." She stood up and looked at the floor. "It's good to see you awake." She turned away to walk out.
"Hermione! Are you still made at me for what I did at the ball?" He asked in a hurt manner.
She turned and glared at him. "Yes Harry I am!...because I unlike you have had to endure taunts from Malfoy" She looked at him. "He says maybe you've learned that sticking up for a mudblood is the wrong thing to do….I defiantly think he hates you less now because of what you didn't do for me!" She said loudly.
"But….Hermione….I!" Said Harry trying to protest
"Save it Harry….I'll see you around sometime." She said before storming out.
He watched her leave and fell back, staring up at the ceiling. He sighed hard and closed his eyes. That had just proved it for him, Hermione was no longer his friend, and he'd lost her and lost his chance. After a while of thinking, he fell into a troubled sleep thinking about Hermione.
The following morning he woke up and dressed miserably, he remembered why he felt so bad….Hermione hated him. He trudged out of the hospital and down to breakfast. As he entered the hall he saw that the Gryffindor table was almost empty. He could see Ron sat with Hermione, she looked over at him and just seemed to look straight through him. She told Ron something, then get up and walked past him looking at the floor. Harry sighed and walked to where Ron was sat, he slouched down into his seat and looked blankly at Ron before grabbing a piece of toast. Ron looked at him.
"Harry, why don't you go after her? She's going to the Quidditch Pitch to think.." He said smiling awkwardly.
"What's the point Ron?" He sighed. "It wouldn't make any difference at all"
He threw his toast back onto his plate; he shook his head and kicked out under the table, kicking Ron accidentally.
"I'm sorry Ron…I'm just so angry at myself." He said helplessly. "I should have done something that night at the ball."
Ron looked at Harry, rubbing the spot where Harry had made contact with his leg. He opened his mouth to say something, but he didn't know how he could cheer him up. He just smiled weakly and widened his eyes suddenly.
"What?" Harry asked. "What is it??"
"Harry….Draco is at the pitch this morning, he always go for a fly around on a Sunday morning." He said worriedly. "Hermione is down there alone!"
"Yeah but…he wouldn't do anything…" Harry said anxiously. "He wouldn't….would he?"
Harry didn't wait for Ron to answer. This was Draco they were talking about; of course he'd do something if he and Hermione were alone with no witnesses. He jumped up and looked at Ron.
"Go and get McGonagall now and bring her to the pitch, I'll go and see if Hermione is ok." He said quickly.
Ron nodded and they both began to sprint out of The Great Hall.
Hermione walked out of The Entrance Hall and began walking across the courtyard, she wrapped her coat around her tightly as she shivered, it was a cold, crisp December morning and there was a soft blanket of snow bread over the grounds of the castle. She sighed deeply as she headed nearer the Quidditch Pitch. She felt like a part of her had been missing ever since the night she and Harry had stopped speaking. As she walked she couldn't help thinking about him and wondered if she'd been too harsh on him. She couldn't blame him for not getting involved that night, after all, what Draco would have said to Harry would have been a lot harsher than what he had said to her, but to put him through what she had was worse than anything Draco had ever put him through. She looked up at the cold sky as tears fell down her cheeks. She'd lowered herself to Draco's level without realising it. She had reached the pitch and began walking slowly around it. She was lost in thoughts of Harry and wasn't concentrating on anything around her, she looked up and saw a blur fly above her, she shrugged it off and continued to walk slowly forward. After what must have been five minutes she looked up and saw the same blur as before speeding towards her, she had to duck rapidly just so the blur didn't knock her head off. She turned around and heard an evil laughter, the blur was no longer hazy, it was as clear as the light of day. Draco Malfoy was grinning callously at her. She swallowed hard and looked at the floor.
"So, here you are....all alone, no friends. Not even St. Potter will stick up for you anymore; maybe I should just help you disappear." He said slyly.
Hermione looked up, her face as white as the snow that was all around her. She tried to answer but her mouth was dry with the fear that had engulfed her body.
"Maybe we should drop you off the North Tower…solve everybody's problems." He smirked and moved towards her.
Draco reached out and pulled her by the scruff of her coat collar, pulling her onto his broom untidily, tightening his grip on the collar of her coat, he leant forward so he could whisper in her ear as they sped round and round the pitch.
"So how high do we drop you from?" He asked nastily.
He then jerked the broom from side to side causing Hermione to judder dangerously on the broom. She screamed.
"Shut up Mudblood! There's no one to save you! No one to help you!" He yelled as the wind whistled past his ears.
He sped up more and more; of course he was just playing with her but just liked to see her frightened. He lowered his broom gradually and laughed evilly as Hermione shook violently with fear in front of him. But just as he lowered the broom to about twenty feet above the pitch, a gust of wind blew violently causing Hermione to slip from the broom. Draco reached out to save her but he couldn't grasp her. He watched horrified as Hermione hit the floor with a sickening thud.
"NOOOOOO!!!" screamed Harry as he ran onto the pitch.
He ran for Draco who had landed by Hermione's body. He grabbed Malfoy's collar tightly as tears ran down his face, he swung his arm back and punched Malfoy hard in the face, the punch knocked Draco to the ground. Harry leapt on him and began punching him over and over.
"YOU FILTHY, EVIL LEECH!!" He screamed as he throttled him. "What did she ever do to you?!! NOTHING!! All you did was single her out because she is ten times the wizard you are!!." He looked down at Draco who's lip and nose were bleeding.
Something pulled him off Draco and spun him around; he came face to face with Professor McGonagall. He broke out of her grip, joining Ron who was knelt crying at the side of Hermione's lifeless body. He wiped his eyes, but it didn't help much, he was still crying. He turned to the Professor.
"He killed her!!....He killed her because he was jealous of her!!" He screamed.
Professor McGonagall knelt down by the side of Hermione and put a hand on her neck feeling for a pulse.
"She's not dead Mr. Potter, but by the looks of it she's broken her arm and dislocated her shoulder." She said with a slight relief in her voice.
She turned to Malfoy and her lips became thinner than Harry had ever seen.
"MR MALFOY!! I don't know what provoked you to do this!! It was a callous attack on an innocent girl who's never done anything to you!! Now get back to the castle and go straight to Professor Dumbledore!" She yelled. "NOW!"
Harry watched him run off holding his face.
"Mr Weasley, I want you to restrain yourself now and make sure he gets back to the castle and goes where he was told too."
Ron touched Hermione's hand before running to catch up with Malfoy. Professor McGonagall turned to Harry and smiled weakly.
"Now, Mr Potter, can you lift her gently and follow me to the hospital wing." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "She'll be alright."
Harry knelt down and carefully lifted Hermione into his arms so he didn't hurt her more. As her head rested against him, he watched her as her body moved limply in his arms. He started crying again and kissed her forehead softly. He knew she was going to be ok but still felt incredibly angrily that he hadn't gotten there sooner.
"Potter, it wasn't your fault" Said Professor McGonagall consolingly as they walked up the stairs to the Entrance Hall. "She's going to be ok and that's the main thing."
Harry nodded and followed the professor up the stairs that led to the Hospital Wing, they walked in to find Madame Pomfrey waiting for them with a pale-faced Ron. Harry carefully laid Hermione down on a bed. He then sat in the chair opposite Ron on the other side of the bed, he looked over at Ron, who smiled weakly back Pomfrey rushed over and began rubbing many ointments and creams on her dislocated shoulder before popping it back into place with a sickening crack that caused both Harry and Ron to wince. She then began saying a spell to mend the broken bones in Hermione's arm. Harry watched Madame Pomfrey as she headed back to her office. Harry looked over at the professor who smiled.
"Now that Miss Granger is over the worst, I'll leave you boys here so that I can go and help the headmaster deal with Mr Malfoy, you two can spend some time with her but I want you both back in your dormitory tonight. Talk to her, she may be unconscious but she will still be able to hear you." And with that she turned and left the hospital.
Ron looked over at Harry; Harry smiled at him before looking sadly down.
"You stay here with her. She wouldn't want me here after all that's gone on. Hopefully, she'll be ok tomorrow and I might be able to talk to her then."
"But Harry, you just helped her! She'd want you here!" Ron said desperately.
"It's ok….I'll be fine….I'll see you later."
He stood up and looked down at her. He ran a hand softly through her hair before turning sadly around to walk back to Gryffindor Tower.
It was Christmas Eve and after yesterdays events Harry had hardly spoken to anyone, he didn't feel like being around anyone right now. It was a blustery evening as he headed up to the highest point of the castle, The North Tower. He could hear the wind rattling on the windows, all he cared about though was getting to the tower so he cold think, think about how hard tomorrow was going to be, he'd be spending the first Christmas in a few years not speaking to Hermione. As he trudged up the last few stairs he sighed heavily. He pushed the door open and walked miserably inside, he didn't shut the door behind him, he slid down the wall and looked out of the window at the clear, cold sky. He then looked back at the floor, sighing deeply again he turned his head back to the door. Hermione was stood in its frame with a weak smile on her face. His jaw dropped slightly and shook his head lightly. He averted his eyes away from her gaze moving them back to look out at the star filled sky.
Hermione stepped into the tower and looked down at him softly. Even though Madame Pomfrey had fixed her arm, Harry could still see a bandage protruding out of the top of her jacket.
"You found me then…."
He commented as he tried to fix his eyes on something other than her. Hermione laughed weakly and nodded.
"Yeah, Sir Cadagon said that a "Scurvy Cur" came this way so I imagined he meant you."
Harry didn't know if this was a good or bad thing so he just nodded and smiled weakly. Hermione slid down the wall opposite him until she landed softly on her bottom. Harry lifted his head and their eyes locked together. Both of them opened their mouths to speak and their words merged together.
"I'm sorry…"
"I'm sorry…"
They laughed slightly and both blushed. Harry looked up and managed a smile, his first proper smile in days.
"I'm sorry Hermione, I should have said something that night at the ball, I didn't, I'm sorry."
Hermione looked at him and shook her head.
"Harry you were right not too! Malfoy would have been a lot harsher with you, and me putting you through what I have was wrong. I lowered myself to Malfoy's level and hate myself for that."
Harry moved to his knees and shuffled across to her; he stopped just in front of her and put a hand through her hair before looking into her eyes and pulling her slightly forward.
"I don't care about that anymore, it's done….forgotten" He moved closer to her. "All I care about is that me and you are friends again….and maybe."
Hermione looked into his eyes.
"Maybe….maybe what Harry?" She whispered as he leaned closer to him.
Harry didn't answer; instead he leant in and kissed her deeply, pulling her against him. Hermione leant into the kiss and wrapped one arm around his neck. They pulled apart and smiled.
"Maybe more than friends…." He said as he touched her face, gently stroking it.
Harry stood up and pulled Hermione up with him, wrapping his arms around her waist. He looked into her eyes.
"What do you think? Because all I know is that I can't bear to be without you….It killed me when we weren't talking because I love you so, so much Hermione Granger."
Harry smiled softly and ran his hand up and down her back softly, she closed her eyes and sighed softly as he did, it felt wonderful her being there in his arms. She looked up at him and ran her hand up his chest and touched his lips gently.
"I defiantly think we can be more than friends Harry….I love you so much and not to give this a chance would be wrong."
She smiled and leant back into kiss him again, she mover her still tender arm to his waist as she slid the other further around his neck. He pulled her closer to him still as he kissed her deeper and more passionately, with each move his lips made he felt the want that he had been feeling for years gradually leave his body, he had her there in his arms and she was safe. He was never letting her go, ever. They pulled apart again and smiled, both feeling slightly breathless from the kiss.
"Wow!...I…Wow!" Hermione giggled.
"I've been wanting to do that for a long time" He smiled. "I do love you, I hope you know that."
"I know you do, that has just proved it." She smiled and took his hand. "Now come on, its getting late an we have to be up early tomorrow, after all it is Christmas"
Harry nodded and squeezed her hand. They began to walk hand in hand down form the tower and back to the Gryffindor common room. As they walked Harry put his arm around Hermione and held her tightly to him. They got to the floor where Gryffindor Tower was. They were walking along the corridor, when they saw Draco walking towards them. Harry tightened his grip of Hermione. Draco looked at them and stopped.
"You two make me sick! Potter I can see you're shacking up with that thing! It's disgusting!"
Harry and Hermione just looked at him and walked past him not even looking at him. Harry leant down and kissed Hermione tenderly.
"Just forget about him, we have each other now." He smiled.
"I know. Plus he's not worth it. He may have hurt me, but look at what came out of it. Me and you." She smiled lovingly at him.
Harry nodded and kissed her head, they had reached the common room. As Harry said the password, the portrait swung open and they both stepped inside. The common room was empty, but then again it was ten minutes to midnight. The fire was still burning brightly as they walked over to it. Harry sat on the floor and leant against one of the chairs, he took Hermione's hand and pulled her softly down into his lap so she could lean her body against his and wrapped his arms around her. Hermione tilted her head so she could look at him as she placed her hands over his and laced their fingers softly, she smiled at him as he leant down to give her a gentle kiss. They heard someone coming down the stairs, it was Ron dressed in his pyjamas; he looked at them both sat there in each others arms and grinned widely.
"You sorted things out then?" He asked happily.
They both nodded at him and Hermione squeezed Harry's hand again and looked at Ron.
"Thanks for all the advice you gave me before Ron, it really helped." She said smiling.
"Its ok, its good to see you two happy again." He grinned.
Harry smiled. "Yeah, thanks mate."
"No problem, now, I'm going back to bed and I'll leave you two here. See you in the morning for presents!!" He laughed before running back up the stairs to bed.
Hermione and Harry laughed just as the clock struck midnight; Harry put a hand on Hermione's face and stroked it softly.
"Merry Christmas Hermione." He said lovingly.
She smiled. "Merry Christmas to you too"
Hermione then kissed him deeply before laying her head on his chest and closed her eyes. Harry watched her drift off to sleep; he smiled to himself as he closed his eyes. Then there by the fire they both fell happily asleep in each others arms.