Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own Harry Potter or anything from the magical world. However, I own the plot of this story!
Chapter Sixteen
Hermione sat in the Head's Dorm watching Ron and Harry ranting and raving.
"Seriously though," Harry said. "Anyone but Draco bloody Malfoy and it'd be fine. But No. She goes out with him." Harry carried on pacing up and down and Ron buried his face in his hands.
"What's mum going to say when she finds out?" he moaned.
"You can't tell her!" Harry cried, looking at Ron.
"Why not?"
"She'll go mental! She went mental when you punched me! Imagine how mental this'll make her!" Ron groaned again and rubbed his forehead.
"Let's just go down for dinner and think about it later," Ron said, standing up. Harry followed him to the door but Hermione didn't move.
"You coming?" Ron asked. Hermione looked up.
"Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking," she replied, following them. Harry frowned as she walked past him out of the room, but didn't say anything. Neville and Luna caught them up just outside the Great Hall. They stopped.
"Hi, Ronald," Luna said, coming up next to Neville.
"Hi…Luna," Ron replied, turning slightly red. Harry smiled for about two seconds before it instantly disappeared and was replaced by a scowl. Ron looked round too.
"Oh for Merlin's sake," he muttered as Malfoy walked past with his arm round Ginny. When he saw them, he pulled her closer and smirked. Both Harry and Ron clenched their fists and Hermione snorted before walking off into the Great Hall. Harry looked round briefly and then back to Draco and Ginny again before grabbing Ron's sleeve and pulling him away. Neville and Luna followed.
"Did I just see what I think I saw?" Neville asked.
"Oh yeah, you saw alright," Harry replied.
----
As soon as they were out of sight of them all, Ginny shoved Draco's arm away and stood at least a foot away from him.
"We can't keep this up if you don't want to be anywhere near me," Malfoy hissed, making sure that no one was listening.
"We only have to do it when that lot are looking, not now. I can handle it for that long. As long as it starts arguments, which we've seen it does, I'll live," Ginny shot back. Malfoy rolled his eyes and began to walk off. Ginny followed.
"What was that all about? Kissing Potter in the corridor?" Draco asked.
"I knew Hermione was coming out and I just wanted to see if it pissed her off."
"Wonder if Potty would get pissed off if someone else kissed Granger?"
"Why, are you offering?" Ginny questioned, eying Malfoy suspiciously.
"Yeah, right!"
"I can't believe I agreed to this," Ginny moaned. "Especially doing it with you, of all people!"
"I still hate you by the way, Weaslet."
"Don't worry. The feeling is mutual."
----
"Hermione, what is up with you?" Harry hissed, sitting beside her.
"Me? Nothing, Harry, absolutely nothing-"
"If this is about Ginny…"
"Why would it be?" Hermione muttered, stabbing her chicken with a fork.
"Because every time we mention her you get pissed off-"
"Because. You. Are. Jealous." Hermione hissed, jumping up from the table.
"Bloody hell!" Ron said, dropping his pumpkin juice at the sudden movement.
"Hermione!" Harry called, climbing up from the table. She ignored him and a few people turned to look.
"Come on Hermione!" Harry shouted, following her up the stairs. "You said you believed me, when I said I wasn't jealous!" Hermione spun around on the stairs and Harry stopped at the bottom.
"Oh, yeah. That's why you're the first one to come out with something every time. If she means that much to you, then why don't you give her this?" Hermione shouted, un-clipping her love bracelet and throwing it down the stairs at him.
"I'm sure you could get your one enchanted to say 'Ginny' instead of 'Hermione'" she shouted. Harry bent down and picked up the bracelet and despite himself, he was crying.
"I don't want it to say 'Ginny'. I want it to say 'Hermione'," he said. "Please." Hermione shook her head and stormed off up the stairs.
"Hermione!" Harry called, running after her.
"Leave me alone, Harry!" Hermione shouted back.
"Let's just talk about this!"
"I'm sick of just talking about it!" Hermione replied, spinning round again to face him. "You tell me you don't care and then you always say something when you see Ginny and Malfoy-"
"Hermione I don't care about them-"
"See! What did I tell you?"
"Hermione-"
"When you can prove to me that you don't give a damn, then…then I might be able to give you a chance."
"Don't do this to me," Harry begged, falling to his knees. "Please. I'll beg!"
"You're pathetic." Hermione turned on her heel and stormed off down the corridor.
"Hermione!" Ron came up behind Harry and stood there for a second before helping him up.
"It'll be alright. She'll forgive you," Ron tried. Harry looked up at him and then down at the bracelet in his hand.
"No she won't…"
"I'm going to go and talk to her, OK?"
"Whatever," Harry replied, shrugging Ron off. Ron went to walk away, and then re-evaluated the situation and grabbed the love bracelet from Harry.
----
Hermione threw herself on her bed and cried.
"Hermione, you in here?" Ron called. Hermione lifted her head up.
"Go away, Ronald!" she ordered. Ron ignored her and stepped in the room, closing the door behind him before sitting on the edge of her bed. She looked round and wiped her eyes.
"I told you to go away-"
"Doesn't mean I'm going to. Look, Hermione, don't you think that was little harsh?"
"No."
"But he loves you, you know that."
"At the minute, I don't."
"But he does. He's absolutely gutted-"
"Good."
"Hermione…"
"You're not going to talk me around and neither is he. That's it-"
"So you're just ending it because you think he's jealous-"
"He is-"
"He's reacting the same way that I am! As a protective brother. How would you feel if I started going out with Pansy bloody Parkinson?" Hermione screwed her face up.
"I don't even want to think about that-"
"Exactly."
"But…he just seems to care more about that at the moment than…me and him…"
"Well he doesn't. He loves you. I'll leave now. Do you want me to go find Harry?"
"No!" Hermione said, instantly. "I-I'll think about it first."
"Well, you better do a lot of thinking." Ron tipped the love bracelet that he had been holding onto Hermione's lap and smiled before leaving the room.
----
"Hello, Harry," Dumbledore said, as Harry stepped into his office.
"Hello, sir," Harry replied, seating himself in the chair in front of the headmaster.
"I believe you have a reasonable explanation as to why you are here?"
"I…I was wondering, sir…if I could use your fireplace to speak to Remus?"
"The Heads Dorm has a fireplace."
"I-I know, but…well…I don't really want to go back there just yet."
"Well, in that case, you may use my fireplace. Remus is at the Weasley's house."
"Thank you, sir." Harry stood up, grabbed a handful of floo powder and stepped into the fireplace.
"The Burrow!" he shouted.
"Harry!" Molly Weasley cried, running forward to hug him.
"Hi, Mrs. Weasley."
"How are you dear? Is everything ok?" she asked. Mr. Weasley and the two twins came into the living room. Harry sunk into a chair.
"Hermione broke up with me…" he mumbled, fiddling with the bracelet on his wrist.
"She did what?" Molly cried, sitting next to him.
"G-Ginny…Ginny kissed me and she saw and…and now she won't talk to me…"
"Ginny kissed you?" Fred asked. Harry nodded.
"She thinks I still like Ginny…"
"That absurd-"
"Don't be angry. She…she has a right to be angry, I suppose. She thinks I'm jealous…"
"Of what, dear?"
"Well…you see…Ginny's going out with…someone who I don't particularly like or Ron and we kind of over-reacted when we found out…"
"But she trusts you, doesn't she?"
"I thought so…I was kind of hoping to talk to Remus about this," Harry said, looking up.
"I'll go and get him for you," Mr. Weasley offered, disappearing and reappearing a few minutes later with Remus.
"We'll leave you two alone," Mrs. Weasley said, shooing her husband and sons out of the room.
"How are you, Harry?" Remus asked, sitting on the chair in front of him.
"Not that good…Hermione broke up with me…"
"She did?"
"Yes. I-I don't know what to do. Naturally I would have gone to Sirius, but…well…you're the closest friend he had, so I was hoping you'd help me out or something."
"Of course I will." Harry told him what had happened and he smiled.
"You know, you and Hermione remind me a lot of your parents. Lilly would always moan that James was going off with one girl or another, but he wasn't really. Then he would make it up to her by doing something for her. That's why he brought the cottage you know, to apologise for upsetting her." Harry looked up.
"He brought it to apologise?"
"Lilly always wanted to live in the countryside."
"I don't know what to do. I don't know how to make it up to her…"
"Well, maybe you could start by showing her that she can trust you?"
"How?"
"You're a smart lad. I'm sure you'll think of something." Harry nodded.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. Now, go and get your girlfriend back."