Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the characters I made up.
Chapter 11: Troubles
July 1, 1992
"Muzer, where are we?" Asked a girl. She looked at the building in front of her. It was a grand house. She thought that it looked like a castle. It even had the flowers she saw in the pictures. She even saw a lake on the way to the entrance.
"Juliet, we are at your uncle's house. You are going to stay here for the summer, remember?" Her mother answered. She turned to their driver and said something to him. He nodded and walked to the door before knocking on it. The door was immediately opened by a house elf, which greeted them.
"Miss, come, come. Master…" The elf started.
"Caroline," Lucius greeted the woman. He walked to her and hugged her.
"Lucius, how have you been?"
"Everything has been fine, except for the last ministry raid. Come in. Juliet, my have you grown. How old are you again?" Lucius asked, chuckling. He ushered the mother and daughter into the manor.
Juliet stared at the place with awe. It was much bigger than their house in France. She wondered if they had a Quidditch Pitch as Uncle Lucius had said. Her eyes trailed up the stairs. A boy with blonde hair ran down it. He stopped in the middle when he saw them. The boy stared at her with his gray eyes.
"Draco! Come here, greet your cousin," Lucius told him.
Draco didn't take his eyes off the girl as he walked down the stairs. Is this the girl that was going to stay with them? She looked nothing like his aunt. He compared the mother and daughter. His aunt had blonde hair, just like his mother. His cousin had black hair which reminded him of Potter. Draco scowled when he thought of the Boy Who Lived.
Juliet frowned at her cousin. Why was he scowling at her? She wondered if he was like his father. The boy looked like her uncle. There was no doubt that he was a Malfoy. When Draco got in front of her he held out his hand. Juliet stared at it.
"Hello cousin," Draco greeted her. He knew of no other way to welcome her. This was the first time he has met the girl. Draco put down his hand when she didn't take it. She looked alarmed and suddenly took it.
"I am sorry. I could not zink," She apologized. Draco shook her hand. He was actually surprised that she could speak English; she did have an accent though. He knew that she grew up in France and this was her first time in England.
"Draco, this is Juliet. Your Aunt Caroline's daughter," Lucius told him.
*_*_*_*_*_*
December 1997
Ginny cuddled closer to Draco on her bed. It started snowing last week and she still hasn't adjusted to the change. She breathed in and took in the smell of the shirt. It smelled like Ron. Ginny frowned at this. She remembered her conversation with her brother about Harry. She couldn't believe that he was being so selfish.
Draco stirred and Ginny looked up at him. She sat up to see his face.
"No," Draco muttered. Ginny immediately knew that he was having a nightmare. She was used to this. Draco would start muttering things in his sleep and there were times when he would yell out.
Ginny ran her fingers through his hair and started whispering in his ear.
"Draco, it's just a dream. Shh."
He seemed to have heard her. He stopped moving.
"Thank you Juliet," Draco muttered.
Ginny froze and she pulled her hand away from his head. She backed away from him. Juliet, she thought, who was she? Ginny thought of the people Draco has mentioned to her. He only talked to her about his mother, father and Emily. He also told her about the house elves he grew up with and that was all. From the stories Draco told her, she figured that his father isolated him from the rest of the world beyond the manor.
Draco suddenly opened his eyes and Ginny saw that he looked alarmed.
"Ginny…are you okay?" He asked. Ginny nodded.
"Did I say something?" Draco asked. Dreaming about Juliet made him remember the summers he spent with her. She was the first one to find out about his dreams. She was also the first to try and contradict what his father was telling him. That made Draco reluctant about spending time with her.
Ginny avoided looking at his eyes. "Draco, who is Juliet?"
"Oh, she's just someone my father made me spend time with during the summers. Did I say her name?" Draco asked.
Ginny nodded and she looked up when Draco chuckled. He moved towards her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Who did you think she was? Some girl I dated before you?"
"Draco, what was I supposed to think? I was trying to calm you down and you muttered her name. How would you feel if I said Harry's name in my sleep?" Ginny asked him.
"I don't know, I guess I'll have to try harder to make you forget about him. Why? Having disturbing dreams about the git?"
Ginny sighed and buried his face on his chest.
"She was just some girl?" Ginny asked.
"Yeah, she was an annoying girl. She's kind of like you. She wouldn't leave me alone with her muggle and muggleborn speeches," Draco said, in a higher voice he started speaking, "Draco, you cannot say zat. Zat word is very bad. Your fazer iz wrong, very wrong."
"Like I told you, she was annoying and French," Draco told her in his normal voice.
"Do you still hate muggles?" Ginny asked him. The way he was talking made her think he did.
"I never hated muggles. I just felt…indifferent about them. I lived with muggles for two years Ginny. I couldn't go hating them…What time is it?" Draco asked, wanting to change the subject. Ginny noticed that and answered.
"I don't know, maybe seven o'clock."
Draco kissed her forehead and held her tighter. He could sense that Ginny still wanted to talk, but he knew that she wouldn't push him.
Draco's mind wandered back to his cousin. Juliet…she was one of the people Draco hated most. Even when he showed her how he felt, she still approached him. She knew so many things about him, so many secrets, and that scared him. She was one the people Draco wanted to forget, and he succeeded. He never thought of her once, until he dreamed of her. Why he dreamed, he doesn't know.
"Ginny," A voice said. The curtain was pulled back. "Wake…oh. I'm sorry."
"Who was that?" Draco asked when the person closed the curtains and walked away.
Ginny pulled away from him, got off the bed and stood up.
"That was Mary. One of my room-mates. We should get ready. The activities are going to start in an hour," Ginny told him. Draco nodded. He took her hand and kissed it.
"I guess I'll see you in the common room," Draco said.
Ginny nodded and he left. She hated when that happened. The room would suddenly get cold as if he takes away the warmth with him. Ginny ignored the feeling and walked to her wardrobe. She picked out some clothes and walked to the bathroom to change.
*_*_*_*_*
Draco opened the door to the boys' dorm. When he stepped inside he saw Ron sitting on a chair, staring at him. Draco stared back at him. He had to admit, Weasley did look a bit creepy. The guys hair was messy and his eyes were red.
"Were you with my sister?" Ron asked.
Draco answered yes. What other response could he give him? He was wearing the guy's old clothes.
"They told me about Harry," Ron said. Draco thought that his voice sounded hoarse.
"I know that Harry doesn't have a brother, so who are you?"
"You know me as Lukas Rooke. Leave it at that," Draco told him. He walked to the wardrobe and opened it. From the mirror, he could see Ron advancing on him. Draco didn't turn around. He took out his school uniform and tie and started walking to the bathroom. Ron grabbed the back of Draco's shirt to stop him.
"Answer me," Ron demanded.
"I don't have to."
"This is not about me, it's my sister. I want to make sure she's safe."
Without turning around, Draco answered. "I told you, I will never hurt your sister intentionally. I'll keep her safe. My name doesn't change the way I feel about her, so just leave it. It's better off anyway that you don't know it."
Draco shrugged Ron's hand off and walked to the bathroom.
Ron stared after Draco. He walked to his bed, sat down and took a breathe. He really was a mess. He wasn't able to go to sleep because of Harry.
'How could one person affect the lives of so many people?' Ron thought.
Harry…maybe Ginny was right. He didn't want for this to happen. Ron smiled when he thought of all the times he spent with Harry. He remembered first meeting him in the Hogwarts Express. He was so surprised to find out that Harry was Harry Potter. He was also so happy to be his friend. There was also the time when Harry defended him against Malfoy. He wanted to laugh in Malfoy's face. Harry Potter chose him over Malfoy in their first year. Then there was the time when Harry saved him from the lake in his fourth year. He was the person most important to Harry. Ron wanted to hit himself for thinking so badly about him.
Draco got out of the bathroom and adjusted his tie. He saw Ron sitting on his bed. The guy was smiling and Draco wondered what the git was thinking about. Ginny told him what her brother said about Harry. The git was being selfish.
"Hey Weasley, you going to eat breakfast?" Draco asked.
Ron looked at Draco. If Hale is Harry, then Lukas is not really his brother. Ron wondered who the guy was. From the way Ginny was acting, he saw that she knew about all of this. He already adjusted to Rooke dating his sister, so why does his name matter?
Ron got up.
"I have to meet up with someone. Go ahead, I'm sure Ginny's waiting for you," Ron said.
Draco didn't answer him. He got his bag and put his books in it. He hung the strap on his shoulder and walked towards the door.
"See you later Weasley," Draco said.
Ron stared at the door. It was final. He was going to talk to Harry.
*_*_*_*_*_*
Harry walked in the Great Hall. He was relieved that nobody stopped talking and stared at his way. He caught Hermione's eyes. She stared at him for a few seconds and then she looked down and turned her back to him. Harry sighed and walked to the Gryffindor table. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned around. Ron was staring at him intently.
"I need to talk with you," Ron said.
"Um…Okay, talk," Harry managed to say. He couldn't think of anything else to say to the guy.
"In private," Ron added.
Harry nodded. He started walking next to Ron. He wondered where they were going. As they passed people, he could here them whispering about them.
"Hey, what's Hale doing with Ron?" A Hufflepuff girl whispered.
"I don't know. Did you hear that he broke up with Hermione Granger?"
"What? I didn't even know they were dating."
Harry looked at them and they blushed and started walking away.
"Ignore them," Ron told him. When they finally reached an empty classroom, Ron closed the door and locked it. He also put a silencing spell around the room. Ron turned to face him. He opened his mouth to say something, but he closed it without saying a word. They stood in silence staring at each other for a long time.
"What did you want to talk about?" Harry asked, breaking the silence.
"Harry?" Ron asked.
"Oh, so did Hermione tell you?" Harry asked him. He thought that she would do it. She was so mad yesterday. Harry sat down on a desk an he took out his wand. He pointed it to his head and muttered a spell. His hair started turning from light brown to a darker brown and finally turned black.
Ron stared at the guy in front of him. He really was Harry. Ron wanted to hit himself. His hair. Harry only changed his hair color and Ron didn't recognize him. He was supposed to be the guy's best friend. Ron was also surprised that it took Hermione so long to figure out that Hale was really Harry.
"Do you have a mirror?" Harry asked. He hasn't looked at his own reflection for two year. For two years, whenever he looked in the mirror, he saw Halley Rooke. The lie that he invented with Dumbledore to stay alive. The lie that made him leave behind everything he lived for, his two best friends, Sirius and Remus and Hogwarts.
Ron was startled by Harry's question. He started looking around the room for a mirror. He frowned when he could not find any.
"I'm sorry. I don't have one," Ron answered.
Harry looked into his eyes.
"I'm surprised you're still talking to me. I thought that you'd be like Hermione. She won't even look at me anymore," Harry told him.
Ron walked towards Harry.
"Harry, you were my best friend. I admit, I was mad at first. You lied to all of us and you didn't bother telling Hermione and me."
"I had no choice!" Harry yelled, "I had no choice in all of this. I would have told you that I was alive as soon as I reached Hogwarts two years ago, but Dumbledore forbade me. He told me when I reached America to cut off all my ties to England. I left behind everything, and don't you dare think I enjoyed doing so."
"Ginny told me the same thing yesterday. I wasn't able to go to sleep because of this. I wanted to say sorry. Sorry for the way I've been treating you. I admit that I was jealous that you started hanging around Hermione right after she broke up with me. I love her. I love her so much," Ron told him.
"Are you sure you really know how to love?" Harry questioned.
Ron stared at him unbelievingly. He was saying sorry to the guy and he was contradicting him.
"I have to go," Harry told him and he stood up.
Ron grabbed his hand and glared at him
"What is your problem? Don't you want the three of us to be together the way it was before you left?" Ron asked.
"During the time I spent with Hermione after she left you, I found out that things could never be the same. You need to realize that too."
Ron continued to glare at him.
"Don't look at me that way Ron. I know how much you hate me. Ginny told me about your reaction. You don't expect me to believe that you changed your mind so quickly. It's just not you."
"You said it yourself. Everything changed. I guess you did too. You aren't the same person I knew," Ron hissed and he left the room, slamming the door behind him.
Harry sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He didn't know what made him act so hostile towards Ron. Shouldn't he actually want to be friends with Ron again? Wouldn't it be better to have at least one of his best friends than none? He knew that Hermione would never approach him, she along with Ron are stubborn. With that being said, he doubted that Ron would ask for forgiveness again.
Harry yelled and slammed in fist down on the desk. He just ruined everything. He just pushed away the only thing that mattered to him in the past, Ron and Hermione. Ron was his first friend. Before, when he was still with Ron and Hermione he thought could have done anything as long as they were behind him.
He heard the door open and he turned around.
Hermione closed the door behind her and approached Harry. She was playing with her fingers out of nervousness. She replayed what she was going to say to him in her mind over again. When she was finally standing in front of him, she took in his face. This was the Harry Potter that she fell in love with. She wanted to run her hand through his unruly black hair, but she kept her hands to her side. She tried to remember the reason why she wanted to talk to him, but Harry standing in front of her distracted her.
Harry thought that Hermione wasn't aware that she was staring at him. He wondered what she was doing here with him. He thought that she made it clear yesterday that she didn't want to be anywhere near him. Harry, being disturbed by the silence cleared his throat. Hermione looked surprised. It was as if she just noticed where she was.
"Harry," Hermione said, "I need to talk with you."
"You're talking right now," Harry replied.
Hermione frowned and Harry crossed his arms.
"Why are you here Hermione?"
"Of all the questions to ask, you ask that one," Hermione said.
"What do you want me to ask? Yesterday you acted as if you wanted me dead than alive. At least when Ginny found out about Draco…"
"What did you want me to do? Jump into your arms and kiss you? You don't know how much you hurt me!" Hermione yelled. She felt the tears coming out of her eyes. She was mad at herself for crying in front of him. Hastily she wiped her tears with her robe sleeve. When she saw Harry staring at her she sighed. What was the point of trying to hide that she was crying?
Harry didn't know what to do. The last time he saw Hermione cry was in his first year during Halloween. He remembered the time Katie came to him after her stepfather tried to ruin her. The buttons on her blouse were ripped off and she had a bruise on her cheek. She ran to him and hugged him. He remembered her saying that as long as she was in his arms, she knew that nothing could hurt her, not even the bastard.
Harry took a step towards Hermione and took her into his arms. Hermione wanted to hug him back, but she pushed him away.
"Don't touch me," Hermione told him.
"Then why did you come here? Honestly Hermione, you're confusing me. You followed me here claiming that you wanted to talk," Harry countered.
"You-you just hurt me too much," Hermione whispered, looking down.
Harry let out a breathe. He took Hermione's hand.
"I don't know how many times I have to say this but I didn't mean for this to happen. If I could have, I would have told you I was alive as soon as I reached the castle. But I couldn't. I'm sorry Hermione, I never wanted to hurt you. You and Ron were everything to me and you don't know how hard it was for me to lose you two."
"It was hard for me to lose you. It was hard for Sirius and Ron. I was hard for everyone."
"Not for the Death Eaters," Harry commented.
Hermione looked up at him and frowned.
"You weren't here to see everyone mourn for you!"
"I was here for a week after the attack. I read the papers everyday. Don't tell me to feel guilty because you don't know what I went through."
"This conversation is getting nowhere. We both don't know what the other party went through," Hermione said, not happy with the way the conversation was going.
"I just want things to be the way they were," Hermione whispered.
"Things will never be the same," Harry told her. He thought that it was better to make her realize that, if she hasn't already.
*_*_*_*_*_*
"What do you think happened to Harry?" Ginny asked Draco.
"Who knows? Don't expect to see him talking to either Ron or Hermione," Draco told her.
She was sitting by the window sill in her dorm. Draco was sitting on her bed. Draco stood up and took off his tie and robe.
"Why do they make us wear uniforms on weekends?" Draco asked.
Ginny was looking out the window. She was worried about Harry. She saw the way he was looking at Ron and Hermione yesterday. She saw that he wanted so badly to be with his friends.
Draco saw that Ginny wasn't paying any attention to him. He wondered what she was thinking. For a moment there he wanted to be his cousin. Draco shook his head at that thought. He remembered how much he dreaded her visits. She always invaded his mind. She was reading his thoughts without permission. Draco knew that after everyday, she was finding out more things about him.
Draco didn't want to think about Juliet any longer. He walked to Ginny and sat across from her. She still hasn't noticed him. Draco watched her for a while.
"What are you doing for Winter Break?" Draco asked breaking the silence.
Ginny was shaken from her thoughts. She saw Draco sitting in front of her. She couldn't believe that she forgot that he was in the room. Before Draco, she would sit by the window for hours, lost in thought.
"Ginny?" Draco asked. She was taking time to answer.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Ron and I are staying here. My parents are scared because of the attacks. Why do you ask?"
"I'm going to go to some Death Eater camp," Draco answered.
"You're going where?"
"Actually I'm just going to the manor, but it's the same thing. Probably going to teach me how to torture people and keep them alive as long as possible," Draco said dryly.
"Why are you joking about this? Draco, it's not funny. Do you mean Malfoy Manor?" Ginny asked.
"Yeah, I'm spending the winter with my father and some girl Voldemort set me up with."
Ginny's attention was brought to Draco. Some girl?
"What girl? Draco, what haven't you told me?"
Draco moved towards Ginny and took her hand.
"Voldemort knows that I'm dating you, but he thinks it's only so I could get information. That's all he knows. He wants me to meet a girl. I don't even know who she is."
"What do you have to do with this girl?" Ginny asked. From what she has heard so far, Draco is going to spend the entire Winter with his father and a girl. Just the three of them. She didn't think that Voldemort just wanted Draco to date the girl. There was some other motive behind it.
"They wouldn't tell me," Draco answered. He looked into her eyes. "Ginny, are you okay with this?"
Ginny nodded, but she didn't feel comfortable about the idea of Draco seeing someone else. She couldn't object anyway. He has to do this. She saw Draco watching her. He really cares about me, she thought.
"Ginny, I love you," Draco told her.
Ginny smiled. Draco caressed her cheek. She didn't have to worry about any girl getting his attention. Ginny was everything to Draco. He wasn't going to let a girl ruin them.
"Draco, can you kiss me?"
Draco leaned into her and brushed his lips against hers and pulled back. Ginny frowned. Draco looked alarmed when he saw this.
"What's wrong?" Draco asked.
"It's just that whenever you kiss me it's usually on the forehead and it's a quick kiss. Sometimes whenever I see Dudley and Lavendar kissing, I can't help but feel jealous," Ginny explained.
Draco pulled Ginny into his arms.
"I'm not Dudley. I can't kiss you with everyone watching."
"Draco, we're alone," Ginny informed him. Ginny sighed and rested her head on his chest.
Draco looked down at her and he ran his hand through her hair. He wondered if she read romance novels. He once found one of those in Katie's room. He read it and thought that it was horribly wrong and had way too many details for his liking. He thought that those things were for people that were not satisfied with their lives.
Draco leaned back against the wall. Why was he so afraid of kissing Ginny anyway? He knew the answer. He looked down at Ginny's hair. Why did all of the girls he had relationships with have to look similar? Ginny's hair reminded him of Katie's and Emily's. All three of them have red hair.
Ginny was playing with the button on Draco's shirt. Sometimes when Ginny is with Draco, she has the feeling that he's afraid to touch her.
Draco decided to take his chances. He leaned down to kiss her on the forehead. Ginny looked up at him. Draco smiled and covered her mouth with his. Ginny was surprised but pleased at this. The last time he had really kissed her was by the lake, and that didn't really end up well. She started kissing him back.
Draco was trying hard to think of Ginny, but his mind was wandering off. He was afraid that this would happen. Draco pulled her closer and deepened the kiss. He felt Ginny's hands in his hair. Then a hand trailed down his face. Draco brought his lips down to her neck.
"NO!"
Draco froze. It was happening.
"Don't touch me!"
Draco pulled away from Ginny and saw that she looked confused.
"Katie…"
"Get away from me! NO!"
Draco got up and took a step away from Ginny.
"I'm sorry Ginny. I…I have to go."
"Draco, wait," Ginny said, but Draco already ran from the room.
*_*_*_*_*_*
"Hermione, I'm sorry about all of this," Harry told her, "I should go now."
Harry changed his hair color back to brown. He walked to the door and opened it. He left without looking back. It was probably better off this way. If he suddenly starts becoming friends with Hermione and Ron, it would look suspicious. Hermione, Ron and a third party, might seem like the friendship they had two years ago.
Harry bumped into someone. He saw Draco. Draco's face looked flushed and his hair was disheveled. He didn't have to ask to figure out what he was doing.
"Hey, where's Ginny?"
"She's in her room," Draco answered and he tried to get past Harry, but he grabbed his arm.
"Is everything okay between the two of you?"
Harry saw that Draco didn't want to answer.
"How did you get Katie to sleep with you without screaming?" Draco asked. He could still hear her screams in his head.
"What happened?" Harry asked. When Draco didn't answer, he repeated his question again.
"Draco, tell me what happened."
"Why don't you just answer my question?" Draco yelled. People walking by turned to look at them.
"Come on, I don't think it's a good idea to talk about this out in the open."
Harry started walking and Draco reluctantly followed him. He had no idea why he went to Potter about this. He never talked to him about his problems and he wondered why he should start now. Draco guessed that he needed to talk about this. Maybe Potter could give him some advice. He couldn't go around with voices in his head. Also, he had to fix this problem for Ginny. This is for Ginny, Draco thought.
*_*_*_*
Ron was sitting on his bed. He was replaying the conversation with Harry in his mind.
"What went wrong?" Ron asked himself.
He didn't think that he offended Harry in any way. He apologized to him and admitted that he was wrong. What else did he need to do? Ron thought bitterly about the way Harry treated him. If Harry doesn't want to mend their friendship, then so be it.
Ron heard the door open and he saw Harry and Lukas enter the room.
"Ron," Harry greeted him, "Draco and I just need to talk in private."
Ron's ears perked up at this. Draco? He stared at Lukas. Did Harry mean Draco Malfoy?
"I didn't tell him who I am yet," Draco told Harry.
"Oh," Harry managed to say.
Ron was debating about what to do with Malfoy. He wanted so much to go over there and punch him. Ginny had to know about this, Ron thought. If she knew about Harry then she would know about Malfoy. But still, why would she date Malfoy?
Harry saw Ron clenching his fist. He prepared himself to stop a fight if Ron decides to start one.
"Weasley?" Draco asked.
Ron got up and walked to him.
"Take care of my sister," Ron told him. Draco nodded. He was a bit unnerved about Ron's behavior. Ron was famous for his uncontrollable temper.
Ron nodded at Harry and left the room. After Ron closed the door, Draco turned to Harry.
"That was weird. He sounds as if he's going to die. He's not the suicidal type, is he? What did you do to him?" Draco asked. He heard that Ron pulled Harry away from the Great Hall.
"We just talked," Harry told him. He changed the subject. "Tell me what happened to you and Ginny?"
Draco walked to his bed and sat on it. "I…she loved you. Katie loved you so you didn't go through what I did when I was with her. You know what the bastard did to her. She…I could never touch her, except her hands and even then she was tense around me. You don't know what it was like to hear her screams every time I look at her. I could never kiss her after that."
Harry sat across from Draco. He knew about Draco's relationship with Katie. Katie told him everything that went on with her and Draco. Harry actually felt sorry for the guy. He tried hard to get Katie to return his feelings.
"You're right, I never went through what you did. But…" Harry weighed out what he was going to say to Draco, "What does this have to do with Ginny?"
"I…I can't hurt Ginny the way I hurt Katie."
"But you never did anything to Katie," Harry countered.
"I don't know, it feels as if I did."
"Malfoy…" Harry started.
The door opened and Ginny peeked into the room. When she saw Draco she entered.
"Draco…" Ginny started. She saw Harry across from him.
Harry got up and walked to Draco.
"Tell her. Nothing will happen if you don't talk to her."
When Harry past Ginny he smiled at her and left the room. Ginny walked to Draco and sat next to him. When she looked at Draco, she didn't know what to say. Draco didn't want to talk. They sat in silence. Ginny was playing with the hems of her blouse. Draco watched her, not knowing what to do. He put his hand over hers.
"I…I saw Ron," Ginny said. "He knows about you."
"Really? What did the git say?"
"Please don't call my brother that. He actually surprised me. He said that if you hurt me to come to him and he'll kill you for me. Besides that, he doesn't mind me dating you. He wasn't acting himself. I was expecting him to argue or talk me out of seeing you," Ginny told him. She turned to him.
"Draco, what happened in my room?" Ginny asked, bringing up the subject she came to see him. "Did I do anything wrong?"
"No, you didn't do anything. It's me," Draco said, looking down. "Do you remember Katie?"
"Katie?" Ginny asked, confused. "You never mentioned a Katie before. Who was she?"
"I dated her in America." Draco paused. He didn't know how to explain this to Ginny. "She…we were close, I guess. I couldn't touch her. Couldn't kiss her and I was her boyfriend. Her stepfather raped her and she…I know she thought about it whenever she was with me. I don't want to hear you scream."
Ginny tilted Draco's chin to face her.
"Did you hear her when you were kissing me?" Ginny questioned.
"Yes. The reason I never really kiss you is because I don't want the same thing that happened with her to happen with you. For the longest time I thought that something was wrong with me. I thought that I was the one hurting her. She wouldn't talk to me. She acted as if nothing ever happened. She acted as if everything was fine between us."
"Draco…" Ginny pulled Draco into her arms. He laid his head on her lap and hugged her waist.
"I don't want to hear you scream. I don't want you to push me away."
"Draco, I'm not going to push you away. I'm not Katie."
*_*_*_*_*_*
Hermione somehow found herself by the lake. She has been walking around the castle, without a destination after Harry left. She thought back to her conversation with him. Things didn't go the way she planned. She wanted to at least restore the friendship she had with him when she thought that he was Hale. When she thought about Hale, she suddenly felt lonely. After she broke up with Ron, she started spending time and getting close to Hale. She never really had any friends except for Ron and Harry and now both of them are gone.
Harry was behind a tree near the lake. He could see Hermione from where he was standing.
"Are you going to talk to her?"
Harry turned and saw Ron.
"How did you get here?" Harry asked.
"I walked. What do you really feel for Hermione?"
"She my best friend. You were too."
"She loves you," Ron told him.
Harry looked down at this. He knows that already. When he told Hermione that things could never be the same, he saw that he hurt her. It broke his heart to see that. He never wanted to hurt anyone.
"Are you going to go to her?" Ron asked.
Harry looked up at him.
"Why are you being…nice? Shouldn't you be mad at me?"
"I don't know. I lost Hermione because I could never control my temper."
"Just yesterday, you were telling Ginny how I stabbed you on the back."
Ron inhaled at that. What was he supposed to think at the time? He was shocked. Ron looked at Hermione, he didn't know how to respond to Harry.
Hermione could feel eyes on her. She knew that she was being watched. She turned and saw Harry and Ron. The two boys looked shocked when they saw that she was looking at them. The shocked feeling was washed away from Harry's face as he started walking towards her. Ron followed him.
"Hey," Harry greeted her.
"Hey yourself."
Harry gazed at the lake and he saw the giant squid near the surface of the water.
"Sorry for leaving you like that," Harry apologized.
Hermione sighed and she didn't say anything. Ron greeted her and stood next to her. He looked at Harry and back at Hermione. She gave him a small smile. From what she's hearing at least Ron still cares about her.
"What's going to happen now?" Ron asked. "Did you two talk yet?"
"Yes," Harry answered. "Hermione, about this morning…"
"It's okay Harry. I understand."
"Do you?"
"What happened?" Ron asked.
"I think that it's better if the three of us stay away from each other," Harry said.
Ron stared at him. Why does he want to push them away?
"Is that what you want?" Ron asked.
Harry was still staring at the lake. "Yes. It's better that way."
"How is that better? You keep saying it's better, why? Don't you want the three of us to be friends again?"
Harry breathed in. "I don't want to lose you two again."
Ron was confused. What was Harry thinking? How is he going to lose them? They're the ones approaching him and he's pushing them away.
Hermione suddenly understood. She was listening to their conversation to figure out what Harry's intentions were. She thought of the one reason that Harry used to tell them to stay away from him. He didn't want them to get hurt because they were Harry Potter's best friends.
"Nobody is going to think you're Harry Potter," Hermione told Harry.
Ron turned to her. He looked at Harry and saw that he knew what she was talking about. Was that what he was worried about? Other people finding out that he was alive all this time.
"I can't risk it," Harry whispered.
"So you're just going to push us away?" Ron asked angrily.
Hermione put a hand on Ron's arm. He looked at her and saw that she was asking him to calm down.
"That isn't good enough of a reason to hurt to the two of us today," Hermione told him. She knew that he talked to Ron and by the way he was acting, she guessed that he had the same results as her.
"What can I do?" Harry asked.
"No one will guess that you're Harry Potter. No one else knew you the way we did, and look how long it took us to figure it out."
"Three months," Harry whispered, "It took you three months. Even then it's a short time."
"I only found out because I heard Snape," Hermione told him, "I never would have thought of you being alive if I didn't hear Snape."
"Me too. Hermione told me. If she didn't, I wouldn't have guessed who you are," Ron told him.
"If you don't want to restore our friendship because you're afraid of Voldemort, then…" Hermione didn't finish.
"I'm not afraid of Voldemort. I never was."
"Then don't let him dictate our lives. He's the reason isn't he? He's the reason you went away and now he's the reason you're pushing us away. Isn't he?" Hermione asked.
Harry nodded. He wondered why Hermione was telling him all of this. Are they trying to convince him to restore their friendship?
"After all I've done would you still accept me?" Harry asked.
Ron put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "It's been hard without you mate. She's in love with you too." Ron pointed at Hermione. She frowned at Ron.
"Yes, I would accept you. Why wouldn't I?" Hermione asked, "Harry, just take our friendship. Don't go all Malfoy on us." Hermione was referring to the incident in their first year when Malfoy offered Harry friendship.
Harry seemed to have understood. He smiled and pulled Hermione into a hug. This time Hermione didn't push him away. Harry turned to Ron and opened an arm to include him in the hug. Ron smiled and joined the circle. The three friends were smiling and holding on to each other, neither one wanting to be apart again.
A/N: Well that's all.
Thank You's: Big thanks to Blazefury for betaing.
Muirnin: More fluff and stuff? Is the Harry and Company scene considered as fluff? Sorry I can't really put in any fluff right now.
hpdancer: I hope you liked this chapter.
Sokorra Lewis: I hope you did well on your finals.
harrys girl: You'll find out who the girl is in the next chapter.
Next Chapter: It's Winter Break and we finally find out who the girl Voldemort is talking about is.