Disclaimer: I wish all these wonderful characters were mine but they aren't! Now if you'll excuse me I'll go wallow in self-pity.
Aaah it's September 2nd and school starts on September 7th. I hope that doesn't mean too much homework because that means slower updates and nobody wants that! Woot! I'm leaving really happy today partly because I've been watching the World Cup of Hockey and my country (Canada!) is doing really well! LOL in case you didn't know my two weaknesses are Harry Potter and Hockey! And I just have to thank all the people who reviewed this chapter! I love love love getting your reviews!
Silver Ice: Interesting assumptions. I hope this is as interesting as you anticipated.
QueEnfullofDrama: Haha thanks for being so enthusiastic about it! Scandal...hmm I like that...
fUnKy MaGiCk: I hope this chapter keeps you from going mad!
lindsey-31: I love getting reviews but positive ones like yours are always the best!
harryluver556: Wow I didn't know the last chapter would have that kind of affect!
airhead14: I hope this is fast enough!
BuckNC: I didn't suspect it to be too much of a cliffhanger but I guess it really did turn out that way and I hope you enjoy the coming chapter.
VioletPyro: Yeah it was kind of unsuspected. But I like it!
bncsammy: Well when you beg as nicely as you did it made me want to update sooner...
bethzc: I hope you keep on loving them!
Alassea Ancalmon: Thanks all around!
ilive4cake00: It certainly seems that way doesn't it?
ednyadove: Yes everything you said is all too true.
Well I'm glad you guys liked the last chapter so much and I hope no one died or went bonkers while waiting for this chapter. I tried to update as soon as possible! I'm glad you guys were so open to it and all so I really hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you did the last!
Hermione's flat was very neat and tidy and reflected what could only be Hermione. Bookshelves lined the walls, except for where a flare of Seamus came into view with posters of Puddlemere United. The couches were mismatched, but gave the room a cozy feel nonetheless. As Ron stepped out of the fireplace, he noticed Hermione sitting at a table in the corner writing intently. His anger bubbled over at the sight of her.
She looked up, rather dazed, when she noticed him.
"Ron what are you-?"
"How could you?" Ron said angrily.
"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked. She was pretending to be confused! Well she wasn't going to fool him again!
"Don't give me that rubbish. I know what you wrote in the Sunday Prophet," Ron said, his voice growing steadily louder.
"The Sunday Prophet," Hermione said slowly, pronouncing each syllable as if she didn't quite understand what he was getting at.
"Yes, the Sunday Prophet. You know the Daily Prophet on Sundays!" Ron retorted.
"I know very well what the Sunday Prophet is, Ron," Hermione stated, "What I don't know is what you're getting all huffy about."
"Oh, really? Are you trying to tell me you didn't read your own newspaper?" Ron spat, thinking he'd won the battle now.
Hermione only looked further dumbstruck, "No, I didn't actually. I wasn't working today, or yesterday for that matter since you know perfectly well I was at Ginny's birthday party."
The room fell silent for a moment only broken by the sounds of Ron's harsh breathing.
"Who else would know this?" Ron demanded, throwing the Prophet at her to see for herself. There was nothing left to say.
She caught it in her grasp and as soon as her eyes met with the first page she gasped. She looked up at him almost fearfully. She took in a deep shaky breath and began rubbing her forehead.
"Ron," she started slowly, "You don't believe I could have done this, do you?"
"I don't know," Ron mumbled weakly, burying his face in his hands. Hermione hadn't been at the Prophet for two days. Ron knew that. Seamus had just mentioned this morning that she was at home. But how was it possible for someone else to find out this information? It was almost like they read Hermione's mind.
Ron heard Hermione stand. She walked briskly to her own fireplace and said "Daily Prophet!" before disappearing. Ron stood up himself and decided to follow her. Perhaps he would get some answers from the source.
The Daily Prophet Headquarters was even more hectic and busy than the Ministry of Magic. Notes were constantly flying through the air and witches and wizards were rushing off to sudden places for a "big story". The multitude of flashing lights were making Ron have to blink the green dots in front of his eyes away. They all seemed to be caught up in their own business, desperately thriving to get a front page story. When they all saw Hermione however their attitudes changed completely and, while they tried steered clear of her, they also gave her gestures of welcome which she did not return today. She strode confidently through the sea of cubicles with Ron following feebly behind. This was her turf after all.
After what seemed like forever to Ron, they had reached the last cubicle and started to pace down a beautiful corridor. Portraits of ex-editors of the Prophet were all lining the walls. There were more of them than Ron could count. They each called out to Hermione and gave Ron rather suspicious looks. The door to the Editor's office was much more glamorous than Ron thought it would be. It was a finely furnished wooden door with deep carvings on it. At the top and foremost were some strange symbols and as the lines of symbols progressed they became more and more like everyday letters until finally evolution had molded them into the alphabet. The symbols in the end spelled out Editor-in-Chief.
Hermione pulled a small key out of the pockets of her robes and stuck it in the keyhole. With a soft click the door swung open. Ron was fairly bewildered to find someone else already in there. They had their back turned to Ron and Hermione, although the latter seemed to know who she was.
"I should have known," Hermione said, smiling sadly, "You took it, didn't you?"
Ron stared from Hermione to the other woman in the room. The woman had blonde hair and seemed oddly familiar to Ron. He heard her snort when she heard Hermione's voice.
"You mean this?" the woman said, holding out a key identical to Hermione's. Ron's eyes darted from the woman to Hermione again.
"That key is only for emergencies. And as my Assistant Editor, you know perfectly well the rules you have broken. How dare you undermine me?" Hermione breathed dangerously, "You know as well as I do that I could have you fired."
The woman laughed in a highly girlish way. Ron flinched. It almost reminded him of Umbridge.
"Hermione, Hermione, Hermione," the woman tutted, turning around, "When will you learn?"
Ron gasped. The woman-she was-
"Pansy "Pug-faced" Parkinson?" Ron said, aghast. She hadn't changed a bit, except that perhaps she looked a bit older. She was still the same Slytherin that had always taunted him mercilessly in school.
"Weasel King," Pansy shot back, "How nice of you to be here. I hope you liked the article I wrote about you and your idiotic muggle-loving family."
"You?" Ron gaped, "You wrote the article? How did you know...?"
"Just as foolish as the Mudblood, I see," Pansy smirked, "It was all lucky chance of course. Mudblood comes in late at night. Leaves pensieve in her office. Intelligent but under-rated co-worker breaks into office and checks it out. Finds the juicy goods. Prints story. Did you get that, Weasley, or was that not slow enough for you?"
For the first time, Ron noticed a pensieve in the middle of the room. Hermione's thoughts were swirling about in a tornado of colour and vibrancy.
"You bi-"
"Ron," Hermione said sharply, silencing him immediately, "Parkinson, you have broken the code of conduct here. Invading my privacy just to get a good story? Is it worth getting fired for?"
"You just don't get it, do you? And they said you were the brightest witch of our generation. Pah! Have you ever heard the saying the biggest fish gets that way by never being caught?" Pansy asked.
Apprehension seemed to be dawning on Hermione's face.
"You can't fire me," Pansy said, a mad gleam in her eyes, "I quit."
"That's not what I plan to put on your record book!" Hermione said, her own eyes gleaming.
"You can't put anything in my record book any longer. I've already been offered a job as Editor-in-Chief for the Daily Gazette in Scotland. They saw the articles I printed and practically begged me to come work for them. It's over Hermione. Simply put, I win. You lose," Pansy snarled and a grin spread across her face at the shocked look on Hermione's.
"Do you know how it feels to be second best to you? To a Mudblood? I shouldn't have to be Assistant Editor! I should have been Editor-in-Chief and would have been had it not been for you! I am the pureblood! I am the one who has grown up around magic! I am the one who should have gotten all the glory! I am the one who is, and always will be, better than you!" Pansy erupted.
Ron promptly pulled his wand out of his robes and was aiming it at Pansy, but Hermione held him back and breathed in. It seemed to take all her energy to stay calm.
"Accio Key!" Hermione called out and the key Pansy had been holding popped out of her hand and landed in Hermione's.
"Get out," Hermione said quietly.
"What?" Pansy blanched.
"I said GET OUT!" Hermione yelled at the top of her lungs making both Ron and Pansy jump.
"GET OUT OF MY OFFICE NOW!" Hermione shouted. Ron took a few steps away from her. Obviously she was angrier than he was right now. Pansy looked like she was a cow that had just been stamped in the rear by a white-hot poker. She scurried out of the room and Ron prayed that was the last time he would ever see her.
Hermione foraged around her desk, but ended up giving in to the velvety chair behind her. Ron was awestruck to see tears rolling down her cheeks. His stomach clenched and he felt all the anger he had been feeling towards Pansy dissolve, leaving him concerned. He flinched as the unfaltering love he'd felt for her returned at full capacity so quickly it almost hurt.
He went around her desk and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, hey, don't cry," he said softly, "She's gone now."
"It's not that," Hermione muttered, wiping her tears away impatiently, "Everyone must hate me now."
More tears welled up in her eyes and Ron could not help but notice how beautiful they looked right now. They were like liquid chocolate and Ron wanted to dive into them.
"Once they know the truth, they won't be mad anymore," Ron said soothingly. He began rubbing her back. She stood and hugged him. He felt taken aback at first and gradually returned the hug. She felt delicate in his arms and he held her gently. He pulled back a bit to get a glimpse at her. Their eyes met and, for a flickering second, Ron thought he saw her looking at him with something similar to love. He shook his head. He knew she didn't feel that way about him. After they broke apart, Ron's eyes drifted to the pensieve.
"Why'd you put all the times we were together in the pensieve?" he questioned, slanting his head.
"I don't know. I suppose I just needed to clear my mind for a moment. I've been having lots to think about lately," Hermione said shakily. Ron nodded, not quite understanding.
"I guess you probably want to go home after this," Ron said quietly, "Come on, I'll take you back."
"Actually, I was hoping we could go to the Burrow," Hermione replied, "I want to clear the air."
Ron agreed, although he doubted if it was the best idea. The Weasleys were all sure to be waiting for him, but if he brought along Hermione...He had half the right to think they would tear her apart.
Before they left, however, Hermione called upon another one of her fellow employees. A short wizard, who looked like he could still pass as a Hogwarts seventh year, came at once to Hermione's aid. Colin Creevey.
"You two know each other," Hermione said, smiling, "Ron, Colin's our best photographer. He specializes, of course, in pictures of Harry Potter."
Ron turned his laugh into a cough before anyone could notice.
"Colin, here's the key to my office. I want you to make sure no one goes in it and, if Pansy Parkinson comes in here once more, I want you to make sure she gets thrown out as soon as possible," Hermione said urgently.
"Will do, Hermione," Colin said, leaning forwards a bit. The camera he was holding seemed too heavy and big for him and Ron was surprised he managed it everyday.
"Good. See you tomorrow, Colin," Hermione said.
"Yep, later. And I suppose I'll see you around too, Ron," Colin said, winking. Ron gave him a weak smile before flooing off with Hermione.
Pandemonium hit the Burrow when Ron arrived with Hermione. Fred and George rose instantly and seemed to be deciding whom they wanted to hex first between the two. Ginny sounded like an angry cat when she gave a low hiss. But other than that, the rest of the Weasleys only turned red and cursed under their breath. Harry, Luna, and Fleur were there also, but none of them reacted at Hermione's arrival. Harry, it seemed, was giving Ron and Hermione the silent treatment.
"Listen, I'm here to explain-"
"Explain what?" George shouted.
"Well, we all know what the Sunday Prophet wrote about us today," Ron said unnecessarily, "and we all know it was a load of dung."
"If you know it was a load of dung then why did you bring her here?" Ginny demanded
"Here, here!" Fred supplied.
"Will you lot shut up and let me explain?" Ron said, growing frustrated.
"Ron, let me do it," Hermione said, moving out from behind Ron.
"I want to tell you all what really happened before you all shove yourselves down my throat," Hermione began calmly.
"We know what really happened!" Fred exclaimed, "You sold us out!"
An instant roar of agreement met this. Hermione seemed to be fighting a losing battle.
"Wait! Wait!" Luna called out, "Perhaps we should listen?"
Ron could not have felt happier for having Luna here.
"I very much 'gree with Luna," Fleur said, speaking up.
Ron loved them both! Fleur and Luna! Before anyone could shoot them down though, Mr. Weasley piped up.
"They're right. Let Hermione have her say."
Hermione smiled from their encouragement and chose to plough on with her story, "I haven't been to work for about two days but I did go there late last night to let some thoughts loose in my pensieve. But sadly my Assistant Editor broke into my office and gained access to it. As soon as she saw all the recent events like the day I had lunch with Ron-Ron looked away as a select few turned to look at him with arched eyebrows-and Ginny's birthday party, she realized she had gathered enough information to write an article. Even though most of it was fabrication, she knew that as long as there was some truth in it, she could easily publish it without me being there. I'm relieved to assure you this particular person has left the Prophet forever and I will most definitely be writing an article of apology to you all in our issue of the Prophet for tomorrow. I just wanted to let you know I'm deeply regretful of what happened and I apologize."
Hermione had said this all in one breath and everyone seemed to be hanging onto her every word. When she finished everyone looked like they felt guilty for ever thinking Hermione had been the culprit in the first place. Ron was surprised with himself for thinking she could've done something like that to them. Hermione adored his family and his friends. She cared about them all and she cared about him. He could appreciate that love even if it was just as a friend.
"Of course, we accept your apology, Hermione," Mrs. Weasley said, teary-eyed, "I'm so sorry for blaming you, dear. I should've known better."
Soon everyone came to forgive her and apologize themselves.
"Who was the old bat that did this, anyway? The Assistant Editor, who was it?" Fred inquired.
"Well, if you must know, it was Pansy Parkinson," Hemione explained. Everyone wrinkled their noses at her name.
"A troll if I ever saw one," George said.
"Yes, well, I'm glad you've all been so forgiving. I should really get going now. I'm afraid I'm terribly late to have dinner with Seamus and he made a reservation and everything. Bye!" Hermione said and, instead of flooing, she apparated.
Ron stared solidly at the spot she'd been standing in. She was going to go have a charming little dinner with Seamus. He had been hoping to ask her out to dinner tonight, as friends of course. If it had not been for the fact that Ron knew full well Seamus didn't have an engagement ring yet, he would've thought he was going to propose. Ron wondered how long he could stall Seamus in the engagement plans...
"You're in a right old twist, aren't you, mate?" Harry said, waking Ron out of his daze.
"Huh, what?" Ron said, scratching his nose.
"With Hermione. Seamus proposing to her while you love her. Why don't you tell her?" Harry suggested.
"What?" Ron laughed, "Are you crazy? I can't tell her! She'd say she didn't love me back for sure!"
"I have a feeling she'd be pleased. Seamus isn't right for her," Harry said simply, "You better stop their relationship before they get engaged because if you attempt to stop it while their engaged it's only hurting all three of you. And it wouldn't be very manly of you."
Ron snorted, "And I suppose you know about manliness?"
"Well, I am the one that's engaged," Harry said thoughtfully.
"Yeah, well, for you it was all peaches and cream. It's not like that with me and Hermione," Ron sighed, "And she's on a romantic getaway with him as we speak!"
"Haven't you heard about your romantic getaway yet?" Ginny said, joining the conversation.
"What?" Ron asked.
"Mum's told Becky you're taking her out tonight to "see the town"," Ginny said.
"What?" Ron said, appalled, "I'm not going!"
"Oh yes you are," Ginny teased.
Ron knew she was right. If his mother wanted him to go on a date with Becky, he would probably have to. Ron grumbled. He didn't like set-ups.
"Oh, come on, Ron. Becky's not that bad," Harry said.
"Yeah, you're just saying that because she was all over you," Ron grinned. Harry blushed.
"Nuh uh," Harry said.
"Yeah huh," Ron replied.
"Nuh uh."
"Yeah huh."
"Nuh uh."
"Yeah huh."
"Nuh uh."
"Yeah huh."
"Is it just me or is this getting boring?" Harry said, yawning.
"It's just you," Ron responded. He felt a cushion make contact with his face. He did not retaliate as usual because a sudden splendid idea struck him.
"Listen mate what if I go pick up Becky now and we just happen to bump into Hermione and Seamus? And Becky and I can join their table. I'm sure they'll be at Port Key to Paradise. So that way I can give Becky a lousy night and ruin Hermione and Seamus' night! It's win, win." Ron said, smiling at his own genius.
"Or you could just tell her you love her," Harry said. Ron scowled at him. His best mate obviously did not realize just how much havoc Ron could wreak.
Author's Note: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I'm surprised with how many people could easily assume Hermione to be so horrid although I'm sure most of you had a little inkling she was innocent. This chapter was much more angsty where as the next one is sure to be much more humorous. I hope you R&R!
winky