Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, I do not own the places. I don't own anything J.K Rowling thought up, all I own is the plot.
Chapter twelve: Happy Tears
She woke up finding herself staring onto Lavender's face.
"Lavender! Please don't hover above me like that. You nearly gave me a heart attack."
Lavender smiled. "Sorry, I was sent up to wake you. It's your last day of the holiday. You can't spend it in bed."
Grumbling, Hermione rolled out of bed and stepped into the bathroom. She took a quick shower and got dressed. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her face showed how tired she was. It had taken her a while to fall asleep. In the end she had cried herself to sleep. Thank Merlin no one had been awake. She didn't want to answer questions about why she had been crying. And she didn't want to cause worry.
"Hermione! Hurry up. The boys are starving!"
Hermione smiled. She took out the necklace Harry had sent her for Christmas. It was so beautiful. She remembered how surprised she had been when she'd opened the package.
She stroked it with a finger. Another stream of tears was building up behind her brown eyes, but she forced them back.
"I'm coming!" she yelled out the door.
She looked at herself one more time before leaving the bathroom. Merlin, she really did look tired.
Lavender smiled when Hermione came out again. "Good. Let's go down for breakfast. I'll keep Ron occupied so you and Harry will have time to…bond."
Hermione gave her a thankful smile. At the bottom of the stairs she saw her friends waiting. Her heartbeat quickened. She couldn't help feeling nervous.
"Hey…good morning." He said softly.
She blushed. He was such a sweet person. She couldn't imagine how they had ever started arguing. She took his hand and gave him a warm smile.
"Good morning." She whispered.
Behind her, she could hear girls giggle. If she hadn't been so happy to be back, she would have turned around to curse them. But she was too happy to spoil the moment. Harry lead her out the portrait hole and towards the Great Hall. Before they could enter through the big doors, Harry pulled her aside.
"Harry? What are you doing?"
But he didn't respond until he had found an empty classroom.
"I have to talk to you." He said. "I want us to start over again because I love you. But I need to know if you-"
He looked at the ceiling.
Hermione sat down in one of the chairs.
"I missed you so much during the Christmas break, that I finally realised exactly how much you mean to me. I really do love you, Hermione."
She looked at his honest face.
"I- I've missed you too…" she whispered. "I've missed you so much…and I love you…and I know that the Parvati-thing wasn't your fault. I know that now."
She closed her eyes for a moment. Her stomach turned as she remembered everything Neville had said.
'Oh, come off it Hermione. I was the one who got Parvati drunk at Halloween. I used the Imperius curse on her to make her kiss him. I told her you blamed her, I made sure you'd walk in on her hugging Harry. I got you and Harry to fight over Ron, that was all me Hermione! I made sure to spend all that time with you so Harry would get jealous. I did all that.'
"It was never your fault." She said as she looked at Harry. "And I'm so sorry that I doubted you. I know what an honest person you are…I've known that for six years. But I just forgot everything when I saw you two together. And I shouldn't have. Please, will you forgive me?"
He took her hand and pulled her up, into a hug. "You didn't do anything wrong. I'm just happy you're here, in my arms."
He suddenly noticed her shoulders were shaking. She was crying. He tenderly wiped the tears away with his thumb.
"…Hey…what's wrong…"
She shook her head. "No-nothing…just…" she sniffed and turned around.
"Shh, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to."
She smiled thankfully. Harry embraced her again. She turned around and she could see he had tears in his eyes too.
"…You're crying."
"It's nothing. I'm just happy to have you back." He smiled. "Happy tears."
She sighed with relief. Suddenly she noticed how close his face actually was. He seemed to have noticed too, because his eyes darted to her lips and back. He moved closer, but she couldn't. She pushed him away.
"…No…please, not yet."
Harry looked down. "Of course…I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"
"It's okay." She assured him. "Really, it is. Don't worry. I'm just not sure I'm ready for that again."
She gave him a warm smile. "But that doesn't mean I don't want to be with you."
He smiled broadly. He took her hand and they left the classroom. She knew how happy he was, she could see it in the way he moved. And this made her happy too. But she couldn't ignore that little voice in the back of her head, telling her she couldn't do this.
It was unfair on everyone. She would hurt Harry and herself if she allowed their bond to grow stronger again. But this happiness she felt right now was so much stronger than that little voice. Not answering this happiness would hurt everyone too and she couldn't see what would hurt the most.
Ginny yawned she was bored. Almost an entire day had passed and with nothing to do. Dean was working on an essay with Seamus and Ron was somewhere with Lavender, probably grinning like an idiot.
She smiled. Ron was her brother and she loved him as one, but that didn't mean she thought he was fantastic in everything he did. In fact, Ginny thought Ron could use a few tips about how to woo a girl.
She shook her head again and suppressed a giggle. She was actually looking forward to the next holiday. Their mother would force Ron to invite Lavender over for dinner, which would be a screening in disguise.
And then there was Harry…He and Hermione were probably somewhere out on the grounds, enjoying the nice spring sun. They had been very strange people to be around lately. They'd sit next to each other and hold hands and on rare occasions she'd allow the boy to put an arm around her.
She hadn't spotted them kissing yet, and she guessed Hermione didn't want that yet. And Ginny understood that. But somewhere in the back of her mind something told her that two weeks away from each other and another two and a half drowning in each other's company should be enough to get their relationship back in shape.
But although they were taking it slow, there certainly had been some progress. At least they didn't avert their eyes anymore and the limited amount of words they said to each other had stretched by at least two hundred percent.
Ginny looked out the window and sighed. There really was no one around to talk to. Even Neville was nowhere to be found. Not that she really wanted to talk to Neville. That boy was probably the strangest of the lot.
He had come back from his holiday, saying he felt like he always did after visiting his parents, but instead of the solemn and embarrassed boy she knew, he had a new air around him as if he was trying to say he had won.
'Won what, though?' she wondered.
She guessed his grin had something to do with no longer needing Hermione to tutor him.
Ginny got to her feet and decided to go for a walk through the castle.
That was another strange thing. Hermione seemed to spend as little time with Neville as possible these days. Completely the opposite from before the holidays. But that was because Hermione didn't want to risk losing Harry again, Ginny figured.
She passed a painting of a man in a purple hat. He was playing cards with a few friends. She noticed how he slowly let a king of spades slide down his sleeve and land on his lap. He pretended to drop his cards and picked the king up into his hand.
When he straightened up, he noticed Ginny staring intently at him. She smiled and made a gesture as if to zip her lips. He smiled and returned to his game with a wink.
"Oh, young Lady." He said. "Your shoelaces…"
She looked down and saw what he meant.
"Thanks." She said to him as she bent through her knees to tie the shoelaces together again.
As she tied them into a knot, she heard a strange noise. She jumped up as she heard a voice behind her. But when she turned around, there was no one else in the corridor. She turned around again confusedly. Then she heard it again. She listened more closely and located the source of the voice.
From behind an unlocked door she could hear two people talking.
"So, you think you're really all that fantastic now? Well, let me tell you something…"
"No! I don't need to listen to a worthless little worm like you. You've done nothing to deserve the place you have among us. You're just a spoilt little boy with influential parents. But I…I work and deserve my place."
"At least my parents still have their sanity."
Ginny's eyes opened wide with anger as she heard Malfoy's famous sneer. She jerked the door open and stared at the blond boy menacingly.
"That's low, even for you Malfoy." Her wand was pointing at his face.
She watched him go even paler than usual. It was quite a sickening sight.
"Now, get out of here before I use my bogey-bat curse. I believe you had a taste of it last year, and guess what. I improved it."
Malfoy silently backed away to the door, giving Neville a disgusted glance. Neville stared at the wall, his face stony.
Ginny stared at him. "…I don't know what just went on here, but I don't understand how you can stand up to him one minute and let him walk all over you the next. You really shouldn't let that pathetic excuse for a human being talk about your parents like that."
Neville nodded slowly and fumbled for his wand. He gave her a nervous smile as the stick slipped out of his hand and fell to the floor.
"Oh no…" he muttered as he dove to the floor.
He brushed the dust off his clothes and gave her another apologetic grin. "Sorry…"
He took his wand in a more tight grip and pointed it at his book bag at the far end of the classroom.
"Accio!" he yelled.
To Ginny's surprise it didn't go up in flames.
"You've improved." She said, obviously impressed.
"Well, Hermione was my teacher…" he said, trying to his embarrassment.
Ginny nodded. "…Yeah…"
Suddenly her eyes started to shine.
"Hey!" she said excitedly. "You're not doing anything at the moment, are you? Want to play a game? I've been bored out of my mind all day!"
Neville nodded. "O-Okay…what? Chess?"
Ginny grinned. "I thought more along the lines of Quidditch."
Neville started to stutter but she didn't listen. She grabbed his sleeve and dragged him out the door.
"Come on, you pansy. Let's see if your flying has improved too.
She smiled as she said goodnight to her friends. Ron, Lavender and Harry were still sitting at the dining table in the Great Hall, but Hermione was tired. She pecked Harry's cheek, who smiled at her in return. With one last wave over her shoulder she left the Hall to go up to the Gryffindor Tower.
Today had been wonderful. She smiled broadly as she remembered how she and Harry had walked along side the lake.
A sudden hand in front of her mouth made her scream. But the sound was muffled as she was pulled into a classroom.
"Hello Hermione." Neville whispered.
She pushed him away. "Get off me! You- you-"
He grinned. "Can't call me a traitor, princess. Because you're as much a traitor as I am."
She looked disgusted at him. "I didn't choose to become what I am now. And I hate myself. You…you chose this all by yourself. How dare you call me a traitor, just like you."
Neville just shrugged and turned away. "I only came to say that our master is getting impatient."
He turned back again to look in her eyes, but her fist collided with his face.
"Don't you ever say those words in my presence again." She breathed heavily.
Neville raised one hand to his cheek, a look of puzzlement on his face. His expression quickly changed to stone.
"No. how dare you." He grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back. "You listen to me. I tell you what to do, because I am your superior. I can have you killed."
"…But you need me…"
"I'll manage. But think of poor little Paul. He needs you.'
Hermione closed her eyes.
"Good. Now, you hurry up with it, because I want results. And I want them soon."
He let go of her arm and strode out the door, his cloak billowing out behind him. Hermione dropped to her knees and whimpered.
Hello everyone and thank you for your patience. I had a lot of trouble with internet atr home, so I had to wait till I got back to school before I could post and seeing as how I missed a weeks worth of school because of my auditions I didn't have much time to post another chapter. I've added my thanks to those below who reviewed chapter 10 as well, because I didn't have the chance to do it last time. Luckily I've got a little more time on my hands right now, so now I do have to opportunity to say thanks.
Emma Barrows: I think I reviewed Silver Lining...yeah, last night. :) I liked it. It's got a very good plotline and what I found really funny (in a very good way!) was that I can discover a certain style of writing you have. You've really got your own signature in your writing. So keep that up. I think I also read ominix till the last posted chapter, but I'll go check when I'm home. I'm glad you liked the chapter and I'll keep them updates coming.
Magic and Sparkle: Yeah, Neville was a big manipulator in this story, wasn't he? Oh well, all part of the plan. When I set off to write this story, only my decision to make Neville evil had been made. After that I thought about converting Hermione to the Dark side one way or another and the ron/lavender thing just slipped in whjen I was writing. I actually didn't want to pair up Ron with anyone but there you have it. Some stories write themselves :P Thanks for the nice review!
Lucerito-del-alma: Ah, there's the bottleneck, you see. She wants to tell someone, she would never want to hurt anyone she loves. But by telling anyone, even Dumbledore, she would endanger Paul's life. And she loves her cousin so much and she's afraid that they'll kill him. She's afraid that she'll do something that'll kill Paul and then she'll have her little cousin's death on her conscience. She's scared to endanger him and that has paralyzed her. But trust me, this decision isn't easy for her. She's breaking up beacuse she knows she'll have to hurt someone in the end and she doesn't know what to do. (Oh, and she's also afraid that someone finds out she is now a Death Eater and that they'll think she became one of her own free will)
Dark Angel's Blue Fire: She'll stay with Harry, don't worry. But that's a) because she loves him and b) because it's part of Neville's plan. And the thing about telling Harry is...that she's afraid that if she tells anyone what's going on, that Neville will find out and that he'll then kill Paul. (I've explained it a bit more detailed in the 'thank you' for lucerito. You might want to read that if this wasn't clear.) Anyway, thank you very much for the review, please breathe in...breathe out...in...and out...and then leave another review at the bottom ;) Hehe, thank you!
I can't say an awful lot more, because there's little to say and because I've got an exam coming up in...25 minutes, so I'd best be off, preparing myself. (history of art exam; I have to know pretty much everything from the medievil times up till now...Hmm...I'm doomed...VV)
See you all at the next chapter!
-Raven55