Title: Bend and Break
Rating: Strong Teen
Summary: "If only I don't bend and and break / I'll meet you on the other side / I'll meet you in the light..."
Fandom / Pairing: HP, R/Hr
Notes: Part Five of Seven. (Part One here, Part Two here. Part Three here. Part Four here.) During HBP, missing moment. 30 Kisses sequel.
Notes II: headdesk


Some part of her felt guilty.

(A small part, mind, but some part of her did nonetheless.)

She could hear Lavender yelling at him through the walls, even up here in the dormitory.

"Ron? What were you doing up there with Hermione?"

Ron had blanched, looking back at her. Dimly, she noted that his freckles stood out sharply when his skin turned that pallor. Otherwise, she betrayed nothing; an ultimate poker face.

This was his fight, not hers.

The wait was killing her. After Lavender dumped him, how long should she wait before she made her move? Hermione paced across the dorm room, skirt swishing about her knees. There was a rule for this, wasn't there? Something like three months or when she has another beau.

I can't wait that long! She paused. Will I really have to wait all that long? She shook her head; now was not the time to be cynical.

The yelling ceased sharply. Lavender had been shouting near non-stop for a good half-hour, her voice growing screechier all throughout. For the yelling to stop suddenly...something must have happened. Did Ron...?

No, she thought. He'd been complaining about Lavender since the hospital, even asking her how to dump the girl. Even he wasn't so stupid as to stick with a girl that was being as annoying as she was. Was he?

She collapsed on the bed and sighed heavily. She could hear rapid footsteps on the stairs. Someone was coming up.

The door to the dormitory burst open, revealing a very upset Lavender and an unsure Parvati. Lavender was sobbing, the sound muffled by the pillow she clutched to her face. Parvati, looking as though she felt useless, sat beside her, rubbing her back and murmuring soothingly.

"It's all...her fault!" Lavender looked up from the pillow and noticed Hermione, sitting expressionless on her bedspread. "You! I blame you! If it wasn't for you, Ron and I would still be...still be...!" She threw the pillow aside and sat up completely, managing to look formidable despite the bloodshot, puffy eyes. Parvati stepped back, realizing this was a necessary outcome for both of them.

"We didn't do anything!" She protested, but her defense was half-hearted at best.

"Yeah, right. Do you think I'm stupid or something? I saw the way you looked at him. You wanted him from the second I had him you bitch!" The gauntlet was thrown.

"I didn't do anything! And if I wanted him, I wouldn't have had to try to steal him away, anyway." Challenge accepted.

Lavender glared daggers at her. "That's a lie!" But her arms tightened around a pillow, nails digging into the case.

"Come off it, Lav-Lav," she rolled her eyes, sliding closer to the edge of the bed. "Everyone could see that he'd have broken up with you sooner or later."

Lavender's lower lip quivered. "I guess I wasn't any match for you," she spat.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I saw the way you looked at him when you guys weren't speaking...but I also saw the way he looked at you." She drew the curtain shut sharply, casting an Imperturable Charm and a Silencing Charm in quick succession, and leaving Parvati and Hermione alone.

"Parvati, you know we didn't do anything, right?" She looked beseechingly at the Indian girl.

She hesitated. "Harry's probably still upstairs or something, yeah. And Lavender's really upset right now, so you should take what she said with a grain of salt...But, Hermione?"

"Yeah?"

"Just because nothing happened...doesn't mean you didn't wish it had."

The candles flickered suddenly, signaling an hour until curfew. Quietly, Hermione stood and walked to the door, past Parvati.

"You're going down there, to him, aren't you?" She paused, hand on the doorknob, at Parvati's quiet words. "I won't stop you, but...don't do anything stupid." Hermione met her gaze and nodded once, sharply.

She could see him as she descended the stairs. His form sat on the floor by the sofa, knees bent into twin mountain peaks. The room was bright yet, students milling about the fringes. Most of them seemed to be avoiding him.

She sank down next to him. "Hey." It was simple and neutral.

His eyes flicked to her before returning to rest on the fireplace. "Hey back." There was a pause. "I guess this is where you say, 'I told you so'?"

She smiled a small smile. "I could, but I won't."

There was another silence between them.

"So." He started, turning to face her at last. "I guess I'm a free man now."

"And?"

"And you're a free woman."

She blinked at him innocently. "What's a pair like us to do?"


Ta-daa.

The next few weeks are gonna suck for all parties involved, so expect an unusual influx of new material (mostly one-shots) for a couple of days and then a dry spell of about two months.

Aside from that, R&R is ♥.