"Let her cry if the tears fall down like rain,
Let her sing if it eases all her pain,
Let her go, let her walk right out on me,
And if the sun comes up tomorrow, let her be."
-Let Her Cry, Hootie and the Blowfish.
"You what?" Ron sputtered.
"You what?" Hermione repeated, weakly.
"I love you, Hermione," Draco said again, ignoring Ron, Harry, and Ginny. Harry and Ron both looked as though they were going to pounce on him. Ginny, however, was watching him thoughtfully.
Draco picked himself up from where Ron had hit him to the ground and rubbed his jaw a bit. "You've got a nice right hook there, Weasley. Maybe I underestimated you."
Ron didn't reply. He wasn't sure what to make of the situation, but Harry was.
"Why don't you just get the hell away from us, Malfoy?" he said forcefully. Draco sighed.
"I thought I'd explained that already, Potter," he said. "I love Hermione. Do try to pay attention."
"Please stop saying that," Hermione whispered. No one heard her.
"How did all this come about?" Ginny said, much calmer than her brother and Harry.
"Well, it all started when she was giving me tutoring lessons for Potions..."
"I knew it!" Ron shouted. "I knew no good could come of that!"
"That wasn't the only thing that started it," Draco hissed. "You guys sort of brought us together, as much as you probably dislike hearing it."
"Um... no. No, see, we'd never do that," Harry said.
"Not directly of course," Draco said. "It's not as if you owled me, asking very politely for me to fall in love with your best friend."
"Please stop saying that," Hermione said, a little louder now. Draco looked at her.
"Say what, Mione?"
"Don't call her that!" Harry and Ron yelled at the same time.
"It's her name," Ginny said.
"B-but..." Ron stuttered, pathectically. "Oh, man, this blows."
"Shut up, Ron," Ginny said. "I think it's sweet."
"I don't like it," Harry said. "But it depends on Hermione, I guess..."
Draco turned to Hermione, a smile of grim satisfaction. Despite getting a punch in the jaw, he'd come out unscathed. He'd thought they'd Avada him on the spot. But Hermione was looking at the ground, either thought or anger on her face. Draco looked puzzled and lifted up her chin.
"Is something wrong, love?"
"Please stop saying we're in love," Hermione said. Draco finally heard her.
"But, I do love you."
"You don't know that. Please. I'm not ready to be in love. I care about you. But love? We're only sixteen Draco."
"You're point being...?"
"Being she doesn't love you, go away, don't come back?" Ron suggested hopefully. Ginny hit him in the arm.
"But I..." Draco stuttered. "I don't understand."
"I don't love you, Draco," Hermione said slowly, trying to be gentle, but she could tell she was breaking his heart as each word came out. "Not yet. It could come in time, but not yet."
"I... I have to go."
Draco ran off into the crowd that had been gathering. Hermione opened her mouth to call after him, but no sound came. Ron and Harry watched him run away.
"Even if it was Malfoy, I almost feel sorry for him," Ron said.
"Ouch, Hermione, that was harsh," Harry agreed.
Ginny scowled at them. "You don't know anything about it. She did the right thing being honest to Malfoy. You shouldn't be forced to say you love someone just because they tell you that they love you."
"Thanks, Ginny," Hermione said, miserably. "But if I did the right thing, why do I feel so wrong?"
Ginny touched her friend's shoulder sympathectically. "Maybe because you care about him, and you know how much it hurt him to tell the truth."
"But I..."
"Wait, before you go into your girl talk," Ron began, "I'm still really confused. You and Malfoy..."
"His name is Draco," Hermione said. "And thanks for punching him, that was great."
"Sorry..." Ron mumbled.
"Well, you have to understand his surprise," Harry said. "We had no idea. But we probably should have, we're your best friends..."
"Yeah, I feel pretty crummy," Ginny agreed. "I knew something was wrong, but I didn't think to ask. I figured... well, I figured you'd tell us."
Hermione didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say. There was nothing to say. It was all done. She felt slightly relieved to have her friends know, but now it didn't matter. Draco was probably never going to speak to her again, so all of this was in vain.
"You've been through a rough time," Ginny said, but her voice was flat, and Hermione could barely hear it. "You should go to bed."
"I'll walk up with you," Harry said, and his voice was the same. It was as if they were speaking underwater. Hermione just nodded. It would be nice to talk to Harry again. Harry grabbed her arm and lead her through the crowd of confused students.
They walked up to the castle, up the stone steps, through the doors, and into the Great Hall. Neither of them spoke, and Harry never let go of Hermione's arm. Hermione didn't mind. She felt as though she'd fall if he let go. Fall and never be able to get up.
As they walked up the steps, Hermione noticed Harry watching her. She looked at him.
"What?" she asked.
"You could have told us, Mione," Harry said, his voice hurt. Hermione looked at the ground, watching it pass slowly under their feet. "I mean, at least me and Ginny. I can understand you not telling Ron, since he'd... well, he'd react the way he did tonight. But why not me and Ginny?"
"You didn't exactly welcome him with open arms, Harry," Hermione said, finding that her own voice was just vibrations in her throat. She couldn't really hear it.
"But I would have... it was just so sudden."
"There was no way to tell you without it being sudden."
"So, what?" Harry said. "You were just going to go out with him in secret for the rest of your lives?"
"I don't... I don't know," she answered, truthfully. "I figured after a while, you'd stop caring about me."
Harry stopped and turned her to face him. He held her by the shoulders. She looked away, her eyes were teary. "Listen to me, Hermione. You're brilliant, everyone knows that, but sometimes you're really silly. Me, Gin, and Ron will always care about you. Always. You've gotten me out of more scrapes than I choose to remember. You're my friend, and I love you, okay?"
Hermione looked at him, frightened. Harry sighed. "Not love like that, love like sister, okay?"
Hermione nodded. She couldn't speak. Before she knew what she was doing, she flung herself into Harry's arms and wept on his shoulder. And he just held her. Without question, without wanting anything in return. He just hugged her on the stairs, like a brother. Like the friend she had needed, the friend she had sought for in Draco. He just let her cry.
A/N: Just one more chapter, and epilouge type thing. I wanred you guys it was winding down. :D I'm just so pleased that a lot of people like it. Once I finish this, I'm moving on to a LotR fic, but I have another Harry Potter fic idea swimming in my head, and I might just do it. Well, don't forget to review, they all count and they all make my day happy!