Chapter Four

Continued

I knew that everyone's eyes were on me, walking out of there like that. After all, wouldn't you expect, if someone's best friend and boyfriend were fighting, that one would stay to do something?

But I was too mad to stay. If I stayed, I probably would have killed them both.

Honestly, fighting like that! Over a little something like a girl! I mean, don't get me wrong, I was flattered, but it was so undignified; I thought that that kind of behavior was below them.

Shows how much I know.

Anyways, I felt that I needed someone to talk to about it. All this pent up anger just wasn't doing me any good.

I wasn't about to tell Ron, so I settled for Ginny. Although she was younger, she was still extremely bright, and my best girlfriend.

I stormed into my dormitory, where I knew I would find her, seeing how she was sick. Or, more specifically, pretending to be sick to get out of potions.

I slammed the door behind me. I found her finishing up her Transfiguration essay. She looked at me, alarmed. "What's wrong, Hermione?"

I blurted out the entire story to her. How I had liked Harry for such a long time, how I finally gave up on him and got with Draco, and how Harry stirred everything up by finally showing interest in me.

"The thing is, Ginny," I sighed, once I had gotten most of my anger out, "I don't know if I truly like Draco, or if he's just a consolation prize, secondary to Harry, whom I've merely learned to like. And I don't know if I really like Harry, or if I'm just used to liking him."

She was very sympathetic, but offered no useful advice. However, she did say, "Hermione, you know what you have to do. You can't have both of them. You've got to pick one."

Pretty words. Only problem was, I DIDN'T KNOW HOW.

Nevertheless, she made me feel a ton better.

She hugged me and said, "I hate to do this to you in your time of need, 'Mione, but I gotta go to detention. Snape is making me do two hours of cleaning trophies, fever or no."

I smiled at her. "Go on. And thanks for listening."

She hugged me one last time and made her way out, fake- sneezing on the way.

Tuesday

It was almost dinnertime, and I had managed to avoid Harry, Ron, and Draco for the whole day. And let me tell you, I was freaking exhausted. I had to eat breakfast at 6 am, lunch in my dormitory, study in the library, and now, at dinnertime, I wanted to eat with everyone else.

Of course, I wasn't going to sit with Harry. Or Draco. I would sit with just Ron, but he was naturally going to sit with Harry, as his loyalty to him was far above his for me.

So I grudgingly sat with Pavarti and Lavender. They were a little too giggly and girly for me, but they would have to suffice for a day.

"I, for one, totally understand why you would prefer to sit with us over the boys", said Pavarti. "They behaved totally disgraceful yesterday. I would be totally angry too."

"I totally agree. Sit here anytime, Hermione", Lavender seconded.

If they weren't so nice to me, I would have gagged. That was too many "totallies" for me in one conversation. I looked around for Ginny but didn't see her. She must have gone straight to our dormitory after Snape's detention.

I finished off my dinner quickly. I saw both Harry and Draco start to get out of their seats to come after me, but I ran out of there before they had a chance of reaching me.

Later

I had looked everywhere for Ginny but couldn't seem to find her anywhere. Her detention should have been over a long time ago.

Just in case, I went down to the trophy room. If she was there, I swore to God that I would completely chew out Snape for keeping her this late when she was at the height of her sickness. Well, at the fake height of her sickness. But he didn't know that.

But she wasn't there. It was eleven o' clock, our curfew had begun, and she wasn't in our dormitory, the library, the trophy room, outside, or the kitchens; frankly, I was getting worried.

I stopped at the third floor. I was getting tired. I shut my eyes a bit and thought to myself, where is that girl? I need to talk to her! I need to find Ginny!

I opened my eyes again, and there in front of me, a door appeared where I was sure there was just wall a minute ago.

Of course! The Room of Requirement. But Ginny couldn't possibly be in there, could she?

I opened the door cautiously, peeked inside, and gasped at what I saw.

In front of me, Ginny was snogging some guy on a sofa, in a room filled with candles. My jaw was on the floor.

Hearing me, they both let go of each other's grasp and looked at me, surprised, probably that someone had found their hideout.

Seeing who she was with, my jaw dropped even lower.

I quickly closed the door behind me and leaned on it, breathing heavily.

Ginny and Blaise Zabini?

I started walking away. Blaise Zabini? I repeated it to myself over and over until I could finally find some humor in the concept.

I didn't know much about him. All I knew was that he used to be Draco's best friend before sixth year. And no, he wasn't like Crabbe or Goyle; he wasn't all that beefy. No, I was pretty sure that he was an actual friend, and not just a bodyguard.

But one rumor about him was that he was off to be a deatheater after Hogwarts, like a few others in Slytherin. That was what I was concerned about. In fact, that made me forget what little humor I found in them as a couple.

But he was really hot.

Well, they both had better hope that Ron doesn't find out.

I was contemplating these thoughts, when I heard voices talking in a nearby classroom. Actually, they sounded rather familiar…

"Well, she isn't even talking to us now, so fighting about this right now is rather pointless."

"Actually, I think we should fight about this right now."

I knew those voices. It was Harry and Draco!

I crept up beside the open door to listen more carefully to their conversation.

"Why did you have to come in now? Now that she and I are together? What have I ever done to you, man? Actually, don't answer that."

"This isn't about you! And do you think that I like feeling this for her when she's taken? I feel like a dirty rat! But I know that she feels something for me as well."

"How would you know? How would you know how she feels?"

"Because I've gotten to know her for seven years, something you've only done fore two!"

"Don't even pin that on me, Potter. You know very well that I regret those years everyday. So you just watch it."

"Well, what do you expect me to say, Malfoy? 'Oh, go ahead and have her, the one girl that I've always cared about. It's all good'!"

"Damn it, Potter, I love her so I'm not just going to let you take her away from me, because she's all I fucking care about!"

Silence. I felt tears pricking at my eyes, hearing these words.

"You know what, Malfoy? I love her, too."

My tears fell and splashed on the stone floor. I heard their footsteps come toward my way, and I quickly ran to my dormitory.

Girl's Dormitory

I was still slightly crying when I reached my dormitory. As soon as I stepped in, Ginny saw me and said, "Listen, Hermione, I can explain what happened and I'm sorry that I didn't- Oh my God, are you crying, girl?" She quickly took me by the wrist, led me to my bed, and hugged me.

"What happened?" she asked softly.

And for the second time that day, I spilled, this time involving a few tears. "So they both love me, Gin. What am I supposed to do? This is so unfair to both of them. I don't deserve them."

"Don't say that, Hermione." It was twelve- thirty now, and we were both sitting on my bed.

"But it's true!" I insisted. "These two great guys- I mean truly great guys- love me. What's wrong with them! They could probably have anyone, Gin; why on earth would they want me?"

She put her hand on mine. "Because you are a good person, Hermione. And believe it or not, you are special. You remember back when you started S.P.E.W.? Well, a lot of dense people didn't see it, but you started it because you were a good person. It was really a kind- hearted act, but it was masked behind your stern demeanor and- sorry for this- bossiness."

I smiled sheepishly. I suppose she was right. "Enough about me, Gin. What's with you and Blaise Zabini?"

She blushed. "Well, that was sort of sudden. Actually, really sudden."

I coked an eyebrow. "Exactly how sudden, Virginia Weasely?"

She blushed even deeper. "Well…today. Don't give me that look, Hermione. Let me tell you how it happened first."

I nodded, signifying that she should continue.

"Well, as you know, I had detention today. As it turned out, with him. So while we were cleaning trophies, we got to talking." She acquired a dreamy- like expression. "Oh, Hermione, he was so sweet. He's nothing like we ever expected. He's nice, witty, funny…and we just, you know, hit it off, and, well…you saw…"

"And he's got a nice arse on him, too", I offered.

She laughed at that. "True."

"So," I started. "Where do you see this going? I mean, was it purely one night, or what?"

"I don't know." She sighed. "I'm as good with man troubles as you are."

"Oh, thanks, Gin."

"No problem."

I don't know what it is about talking to a girlfriend all night. It doesn't solve any problems, but somehow, after it all, things seemed so much more tolerable.

I sighed and sank into my pillow to sleep. I wondered what I would say to Harry and Draco tomorrow. But I did know that I had to talk to them sooner or later.

Aw, hell. I'll deal with it later.