Chapter 6- Love Hurts
The team entered the Common Room to a large crowd and a very eerie silence. All eyes were on Harry, and his stomach plummeted as he realized that so many of these people would sulk up to their bedrooms, disappointed.
"Oh hell," he cursed under his breath. With his eyes determinedly set on the ground in front of him, Harry made his way to the Bulletin Board and stuck the list up there. He paused, and with his Seeker agility, darted out of the way of the stampede of people rushing towards him.
Harry made it safely back to Ron, who was looking on in bewilderment.
"This is going to get messy," his friend whispered, noticing how Ginny had taken refuge behind Hermione and Dean was almost close enough to see his…lack of position.
"If he gets mean we'll curse him, yeah?" Harry said, walking over to the girls with Ron. Ron's ears burned slightly, and he didn't have to answer out loud for Harry to understand.
There were groans and cheers heard from the crowd, and Harry expertly avoided the eyes of the students that didn't make the team. He felt bad, of course, but it wasn't as if they didn't know how many positions were available. If they did the math, they should have clearly realized that they couldn't all have made it.
"Easy for you, you've never tried out for a team," his conscience reminded him, and suddenly taking the blow to the ego wasn't as easy as he thought it should be.
As the crowd dwindled, Harry saw Dean brush people angrily away, sending him a not-so-nice look.
"Ouch," Ron said, sitting on the arm of Hermione's chair. Ginny jittered in her seat, and with a frustrated huff, she pushed herself away and hurried towards Dean, who was looking mighty upset.
"This is not going to be pretty…" Harry muttered, taking Ginny's spot. The two looked to be in a heated argument, but their quiet hisses couldn't be heard,
"It's not polite to stare," Hermione scolded, but she was watching the two more intensely than the boys.
There wasn't more to watch, though, because in the next second the couple decided to let everyone in on their conversation,
"I'm sorry! It was the best decision!" Ginny protested, looking ready to cry. Ron tensed and took a few steps towards them but Harry and Hermione grabbed onto him. "Best decision?" Dean said, sounding scandalized, "Well, maybe WE weren't the best decision! IT'S OVER!" He brushed away Ginny's hand a bit roughly and stormed up the stairs towards the dormitory. She stood, completely in shock, her face a ghostly pale."Oh dear," Hermione whispered, but as soon as she got up to go and support Ginny, the girl rushed through the Common Room and out the portrait hole. Everyone else was silent for a few seconds after, but then a gossiping whisper spread throughout, and the crowd seemed to go back to normal.
"I'm going to slaughter him," Ron growled trying to pull away from his friends. Harry and Hermione held on strong, though, knowing that he literally would tear Dean apart.
"They just had a fight, it happens," Hermione said calmly, and Harry found it rather odd that she was giving Ron advice about fighting. "Just let him cool down and then we'll let you go. How about some chess?"
It seemed that Ron was willing to give the couple some time to relax, because he agreed and the trio took turns in playing games until it was too late to say they were just 'wasting time.'
The tension had certainly diminished, but there was still the fact that Ginny hadn't come back to the Common Room. Ron had wanted to take the Invisibility Cloak to go find her, but Hermione had insisted that if Ginny wanted to be alone, to let her be alone and not to worry. Harry agreed, but he couldn't shake the anxious feeling residing in his chest.
It took a little pushing on Hermione's part (and physically, on Harry's) to get Ron up to the dorm, but they did. Dean's curtains had been pulled completely shut, and Seamus quietly warned not to go near it; their roommate had set up some kind of jinx that splashed paint all over you if you go to close, poor Neville figured it out the hard way.
A few minutes after they arrived, all the candles were blown out and the curtains drawn, though Harry didn't feel like sleeping. He wondered if Ginny was okay, and thought about where he would have gone if he wanted to be alone. Anyplace was really okay for Harry, he was one that could zone out in the middle of a duel if he was sad enough, and block every curse that headed his way with just a tremendously sad thought.
Hermione would have to comfort Ginny, if the fight really meant the end of her relationship with Dean. She was a girl, and she knew about those sort of things, so Harry had no sense in wondering how he would make her feel better…actually, Hermione wasn't the best.
She hadn't had a boyfriend (at least, he didn't count Viktor Krum as one) to know what it was to fight and feel bad. Sure, his relationship with Cho hadn't been the healthiest or…most fun relationship, but it was still the closest thing any of the trio had had, and Harry had ended up with a heart that was perfectly in tact.
So maybe he could help Ginny.
With a determined grunt, Harry rolled out of bed and shuffled towards his trunk, not realizing how long he had been contemplating the fight. He lit his wand up and rummaged through the trunk to find a blank piece of parchment he hadn't used in a while. Clambering back into bed, Harry opened the Marauder's Map and searched for Ginny Weasley.
Surprisingly, she was sitting alone in the Gryffindor Common Room. Harry gulped. She was probably crying, how on Earth was he supposed to help that? He had never helped a girl besides Hermione, and Cho was just…well, Harry had just been there when Cho cried, so Harry's usefulness was kind of low in this situation.
But…no one knew she was down there besides him. She could be there all night if she wanted, and no one would come to help her. Not caring if Hermione's hero complex theory was right again, Harry made his way out of the dormitory and down to the Common Room.
He saw her on the couch, her shoulders shaking and her ponytail swishing in the firelight. His stomach clenched, and he suddenly wanted to punch Dean in the stomach.
"Ginny?"
She jumped, using her sleeves to wipe at her face. She didn't turn to face him she just kept her head bowed. Harry came around the couch, trying to look at her face
"You alright?"
Her hair was loose around her face but Harry could see the redness around her eyes. She avoided him, though, and kept her sleeve-covered hands under her chin.
"I'm just…sad," she whispered, her voice cracking. Harry saw her lip quiver and he didn't hesitate as he sat on the couch and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Ginny froze for a second, but her eyes watered again and she leaned into his shoulder, releasing silent sobs. Harry's other arm wrapped around her, and he held her close as she cried.
"You know Potter, if I had known that you were going to be fainting like a little girl at every single attempt, I wouldn't have agreed to starting up the lessons again!" Snape roared, slamming his hands down onto his desk.
Harry growled from his position on the floor, but he managed to keep his smart aleck remark to himself. True, today's lesson was going far off the progress he had been making, but he had a reason for that, and that reason was a redheaded friend of his who had cried her heart out to him the night before, preventing him from getting little to no sleep.
"Sorry Professor," he muttered, standing up and straightening his robes. Snape didn't seem to hear him as he began to stalk back and forth behind the desk,
"It's as if we've never done this before!" He stopped his pace and turned to Harry, sneering, "Am I going to have to cut you off from everyone to make some progress? Maybe stop that sport you like to play?"
"No!" Harry exclaimed, noticing the flash of jealousy flickering in Snape's eyes. "It was just last night—I'm sure you know by now…"
"I suppose being the cause of Weasley's breakup might be a slight burden," Snape responded sarcastically, making Harry narrow his eyes.
"I didn't cause it! It was the Quidditch team, Dean didn't make it…"
"Yes, that's it, Potter—though it's really not surprising, considering your father was the same way." Snape rolled his eyes and continued to glare at Harry. The young wizard felt his face flush and he clenched his fists angrily,
"You know that I'm not like—like that memory of my father!" Harry wished he could say that his father had been a good person, with a kind soul like he had always imagined, but he had no proof of it, he couldn't say it because now he knew why Snape hated him so much…"I always defend my friends and, and when others are being picked on!"
"Unless it's a Slytherin, of course. But that's not the wonderful aspect of your father that I'm talking about—"
"Please, Professor," Harry hated that he had already had to beg Snape for something once, he didn't want to have to do it again, "I don't need any more horrible images of him, I've had enough!"
Snape released something like a growl and with the flick of his wand, flung the door open,
"Today's lesson is over, go ask Lupin if you want to know what I really meant."
Harry took a deep breath and nodded towards the Potions Master, silently fuming for the constant reminders of how cruel his father had been. Snape must know that Harry wasn't like that, he couldn't miss it—so what on earth was he talking about with the similarities?
And what did Professor Lupin have to do with any of it? He shook his head, hoping that there wasn't anything else about his father that he didn't need to know, that would completely ruin his already shattered vision of him.
Harry checked the hallway to make sure he was alone and then he pulled out the Marauder's Map to check to see where Ron and Hermione were. They waited at the end of the hall, and with a hiss, he stuck the map back into his bag: Professor McGonagall was heading his way.
Without waiting to be seen, Harry rushed towards his friends, and when he finally caught sight of them, they seemed to be in a heated argument. Harry closed his eyes and took another breath; he really didn't want to deal with their bickering at the moment.
"Seriously Hermione, she looked horrible, why aren't I allowed to send him a curse or two?"
Harry flinched, knowing immediately that they were discussing Ginny and Dean's breakup, like the rest of Hogwarts was. He had noticed the forlorn and far off gaze the girl had been in the entire day, but she always seemed to manage a smile for him and her friends, even when Harry knew how much her heart had been broken.
"You'll embarrass Ginny so much more than she already is," Hermione exclaimed, though she looked like she wanted to send a hex Dean's way too, "Can you imagine having your relationship fall to pieces in front of the entire Gryffindor tower?"
Ron opened his mouth for a second and let his lips move like a fish out of water. Harry smirked.
"It's…it's my duty as a brother, Fred and George would be most displeased with me…" he argued, making Hermione raise an eyebrow. Ron huffed, looking extremely put out, "Oh fine, but if I see her cry one more time…"
"Then I'll help you make him pay," Harry interrupted, making both Ron and Hermione jump out of surprise.
"Oy Harry, you scared the daylights out of me!" Ron laughed, putting a hand to his heart.
"Constant vigilance, Ron," Harry said disapprovingly, making Hermione giggle, "though I suppose that should be Dean's new way of living," he mused as they began down the hallways toward the Library.
"Isn't it funny?" Hermione quipped, slinging her bag to her other shoulder.
"My sister getting her heart broken is funny to you?" Ron said, completely shocked. Hermione sighed and shook her head, pushing the doors of the Library open,
"No, I was talking about…well," she waved a hand at the three of them, "us. It's ironic how we can discuss something so pointless as a teenage love story while we have a war raging on outside the castle walls."
"Thanks for killing the mood, Hermione," Ron muttered, plopping down into his seat. Harry agreed silently, he had begun to cherish the times where his mind wasn't completely focused on the war, and the prophecy…
Avoiding the prophecy was easy enough, seeing as Ron and Hermione had absolutely no idea that he had heard it—if they had, he was sure that Hermione would be spending all of her energy figuring it out or trying to find a way to fulfill it in the safest manner…
Not that Harry hadn't been doing that himself, he knew that he would have to…would have to kill, and even though it was Voldemort who was destined to be his victim (or the other way around) it still made his stomach lurch with the familiar flip it had when he had placed the Unforgivable on Bellatrix…he had failed at that, it had made him sick and twisted inside for even attempting…how was he supposed to summon the energy to kill someone?
Shouldn't be that hard, Harry thought grimly, as he pulled out all the papers from his bag, he killed your parents easily enough, didn't he?
"Oh no, here he comes again!" Hermione hissed, propping up a rather large book to block her face, but it didn't succeed in hiding her hair. Harry turned around to see Theodore Nott heading their way, a cheesy grin on his face.
"I'm really sick of this, Hermione," Ron muttered, flipping his book open, "every time we come in here, he manages to be here too."
Harry opened his mouth to tease Hermione slightly about how her stalkers seemed to always linger in the library, but the girl shot him a deathly glare, and he clamped his mouth shut.
"Hullo everyone," Theodore said, pulling out the chair next to Harry and dropping his parchment and books on the table. Ron's eyes widened significantly, apparently Nott hadn't dared to sit at the same table before, "Potions was rough today, but I guess you wouldn't know, Weasley."
"Shut it, Nott," Ron snarled, trying desperately not to reach over and knock the senses out of the Slytherin. The boy just ignored him and seemed to be ignoring Harry as well as he poked Hermione's book with a long and skinny finger.
"Hermione, why do you hang out with such characters that are so below your caliber?"
Harry bit his tongue and pushed out his seat, ready to leave but also very ready to stop Ron from pummeling Nott. His friend's face had gone furiously red, but surprisingly Ron hadn't moved an inch off of his seat. Hermione, sighing exasperatedly, put her book down and sent a loathsome look at Nott,
"Theodore, why do you bother talking to me?" She closed up her book and began to shuffle her papers into a pile. She stood up angrily, putting her hands on her hips, "You know our conversations always end up with yelling or you being…rude."
"What? Asking questions is being rude?" Nott responded innocently, making Harry grip his wand.
It was quite fine for Hermione to have admirers, he couldn't stop that, but when he knew that they were taking it too far, that they were making her uncomfortable…Harry immediately began to think of Hermione as the sister he never had, so of course, he had to act like the brother he never was…
"You know Nott, I don't think Hermione appreciates you following her around like a deranged shadow," Harry shot, praying that the Slytherin would get the picture. Nott didn't, unfortunately, and stared at Hermione with something that seemed like relish.
"Oh," Nott said, standing up and gripping the table. His eyes looked her up and down, "there are many ways I could get her to appreciate it…"
Hermione gasped and sat down abruptly, looking furious. Harry was pulling his arm back to pummel Nott (forgetting about his wand completely), when Ron stood up slowly and silently.
The young wizard watched as Ron's eyes narrowed, his fists clenched and his shoulders rising slowly as he tried to control his breathing. Ron looked furious, but was using all of his might to keep himself from exploding. As quick as a Snitch disappears, Ron's arm shot out, and he grabbed Nott by the neck of his tie, pulling him across the table so that the Slytherin's face was centimeters from his.
"Don't you ever look or talk to her like that again," Ron hissed, his voice even with fury. Nott only seemed slightly miffed at the threat, and he released a long breath through his nose,
"What are you, her bleeding boyfriend?"
Harry flinched slightly, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Hermione groaned silently and put her face in her hands. Ron didn't seem fazed, though, his face was neutral for the first time in his life,
"Stay away from her, Nott, or you'll regret it."
It seemed that not all Slytherins were as slick as they were supposed to be, because Nott just grinned and shot another look at Hermione,
"Well, since he's not your boyfriend, would you mind meeting me in that broom closet I mentioned before—umph!"
Harry winced as Nott flew across the floor and into a shelf of books. Not because he felt bad or anything, but because he knew the strength of Ronald Weasley's arms, and they weren't arms you wanted to get slammed with.
"Ron!" Hermione semi-shrieked, still having the right mind to stay quiet in the Library. She grabbed his sleeve before he could go around the table to beat up Nott even more, though it was painfully obvious that he wanted to, badly.
Nott seethed with anger and stood up with a flourish, taking brisk steps to the table and swiping up all of his belongings, throwing back one of Harry's books he had mistakenly swept up.
"You'll pay for that, Weasley," he spat, huffing off and kicking the table of Mark Evans; the boy had been sitting quietly, watching the entire transaction behind his rather large quill.
"Ron, did you have to hit him so hard?" Hermione grumbled, though she only seemed slightly frazzled.
"Yes, he did, Hermione," Harry interjected sitting back down and looking quite pleased at the fact that Madame Pince hadn't scurried over and kicked them out.
"I'm going to go," Ron croaked, avoiding their eyes as he pushed himself far from the table. The redness of his face had disappeared and now his cheeks were a pale green, his hands shaking as they tried to grip the table.
"Ron, what's wrong?" Hermione asked worriedly, shooting a glance towards Harry. Ron shook his head and stood, wavering slightly as he tried to maintain his balance. He looked as if he was going to throw up, and Harry caught his eye for a brief second before Ron looked away, startled.
Harry had never seen Ron look so truly terrified, his eyes were glazed over as if he was recalling a terrible memory or dream…
Oh.
Had the altercation with Nott been a reminder of what had gone on in the Department of Mysteries? Was Ron reliving a memory that he had kept hidden from his friends, one that he hadn't dared to share?
"Ron, let's go back to the dorm," Harry said soothingly, shooing Mark Evans away (he had approached the trio when Ron had faltered).
His friend clenched his teeth as if in pain and nodded slightly, putting a hand to his forehead. Hermione looked completely distressed and stumbled to the desk, trying to put all of their belongings away as Harry took over helping Ron.
"You look bad," Mark Evans commented as they passed.
"I'm fine—" Ron argued, though he put his hand on a nearby shelf and leaned onto it, his eyes shut tightly and a large grimace on his face.
"Ron, you are not fine!" Hermione said in her shrilly 'I'm-not-liking-the-fact-that-I-don't-know-what's-going-on' voice. "Not being able to stand up without wavering is not fine!"
"I'm dizzy!" he exclaimed, not noticing, or caring, that Madame Pince was storming towards them. Ron looked frantically between the two of them, his shoulders scrunched, "I'm dizzy! I get like this—I can't," he groaned, bending over with his palms pressed tightly to his temples.
"What's going on here, what's wrong with him?" Madame Pince asked, looking only slightly concerned about Ron's behavior.
"He's nauseous, we have to get him out of here before he…well, you know," Hermione said in her sweetest and most concerned voice, hoping that the Librarian would believe her.
Madame Pince's eyes took on a wild, terrified look and ushered the trio out quickly, muttering something under her breath about her dear books.
A/N: Sorry that this chapter is a bit shorter than the rest...I had to cut it off there because if I didn't, it would've been a twenty page chapter, lol. Chapter 7 makes up for this length, so stay tuned! Hinthint, reviews will definitely bring the next chapter faster, mwuahahahaha! :-)
