Despite Ron's ridiculous outburst and ultimatums, neither Hermione nor Harry really believed he was being serious. They both thought he was just lashing out and just needed some time to calm down. As such, neither of them pressed him into further conversation at the party. After all, the last thing they wanted was another scene that might ruin the party. As it was, they were aware that their run-in with Ron was the main topic of conversation around The Great Hall.

But despite that, Hermione and Harry still managed to have a good time. Harry spent the entire evening with Daphne, and thankfully none of the Slytherins caused the same problems as Ron. In fact, aside from Pansy who very loudly told Daphne she could land a hotter wizard than Harry, everyone was very welcoming and accepting of Harry. Even Hermione spent part of her evening with the Slytherins and she even had a few dances with Draco and Blaise.

Despite the early drama, the party ended up being a roaring success, and the following day Hermione and Harry hoped that the lingering festive feeling following the party and a good night's sleep would have helped Ron calm down. Sadly, that didn't seem to be the case as Ron blatantly ignored them over breakfast and left The Great Hall without a word.

"I've had enough of this," Harry muttered to Hermione as he got up to follow Ron out of The Great Hall.

Also wanting to sort things out with her boyfriend, Hermione followed Harry and the pair caught up with Ron just as he was about to climb the main staircase.

"Ron, wait," Harry called.

"I have nothing more to say to you, Harry," Ron said, although he did stop on the first stair and turn to face his best friend and girlfriend.

"So that's it?" Harry questioned quietly. "You're going to throw away seven years of friendship simply because you don't like the fact my girlfriend is a Slytherin?"

"There's so much more to it than that, Harry," Ron shot back in annoyance. "Why can't you see why I'm so upset?"

"I've tried," Harry replied. "Really, I have. But I don't understand, Ron. I've never led Ginny on. I've never once acted as though one day we would be together. And if that was what you truly believed, why didn't you mention it sooner? I could have put you straight then."

"Why would I?" Ron snorted. "It was obvious the pair of you were heading into a relationship."

"Obvious to who?" Harry demanded. "You and Ginny? Certainly not me. I've never thought of her like that, Ron, and if I had, I would have spoken to you about it."

"Like you spoke to me about Greengrass?" Ron scoffed. "If I was truly the friend you claim I am, you would have told me about her."

"That's what last night was about," Harry said. "I wanted her to get to know my friends. I wanted her to get to know you, Ron. But instead all you did was insult her. Are you even sorry for that?"

"Are you sorry for breaking my sister's heart?" Ron countered, not answering Harry's question.

"I'm sorry Ginny got hurt," Harry replied. He didn't think it was the time to say that he didn't believe Ginny had a broken heart as he didn't believe she truly loved him. "But it all could have been avoided."

"Yeah, if you'd done the right thing and taken her to the party," Ron snapped.

"That wouldn't have been the right thing for anyone," Harry pointed out. "That would have been leading her on. I didn't set out to hurt your sister, Ron, and I'm sorry if she's upset, but it's not like I made her any promises. I can't help it if she's built something up in her head that was never going to happen. But surely this isn't worth losing our friendship over."

"Even if I could forgive you for hurting Ginny, there's still the matter of you dating a Slytherin," Ron retorted. "Or have you forgotten you picked her over me last night?"

"You backed me into a corner, you forced me to choose," Harry argued. "I don't want to lose your friendship, Ron, but you can't dictate who I date. At the end of the day, it's my choice who I want to be with."

"It still stands, Harry," Ron said, actually sounding sad about what he was saying. "She's a Slytherin, and she's trouble. I can forgive you for breaking Ginny's heart in time, but not if you're with her. As long as you're with Greengrass, we can't be friends."

"So that's it?" Harry questioned with a sad shake of his head, realising that Ron had calmed down, but his stance was still the same. "We're no longer friends?"

"That is your call, Harry," Ron replied stubbornly. "I've made my position clear. You can't have both of us. Just remember that if you say goodbye to me, you say goodbye to my entire family. Do you really think they'll want to know you after what you've done to Ginny?"

"I haven't done anything to Ginny," Harry argued. "And anyone with some common sense can see that. I'm sorry it's come to this, Ron, but just you remember that you forced my hand. I never wanted to give up your friendship."

"Then don't," Ron urged. "Dump Greengrass."

"The very fact you're even demanding such a thing proves you're not the friend I thought you were, and you're certainly not the friend I need," Harry said sadly as he took a few steps away from Ron. "Goodbye, Ron, it's been nice knowing you."

Giving Hermione a sad shrug, and a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder, Harry turned around and headed back into The Great Hall. From where she was standing, Hermione spotted him turning towards the Slytherin table, and when she turned back to face Ron, she was guessing he'd noticed the same thing as a scowl was etched over his face.

"I think we also need to talk," she said quietly. "Why don't we go outside for a walk?"

"Fine," Ron replied stiffly, stalking towards the front doors without waiting for Hermione.

Following after her boyfriend, Hermione trailed after Ron as he made his way down towards The Black Lake. Setting off on the path that ran around the entire body of water, the couple walked for a few minutes in silence before Hermione ground to a halt and gently put her hand on Ron's arm to also stop him from walking.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" she asked her boyfriend. "Harry won't come back. Even if Daphne dumped him tomorrow, he wouldn't come back. If you want to fix this, you'll have to make the first move."

"Harry is the only one who can fix this," Ron insisted stubbornly. "I won't be the one to bend, Hermione."

"Then you've just lost the best friend you've ever had," Hermione predicted sadly.

"So be it," Ron replied sternly.

"And what about me?" Hermione asked quietly. "Do you plan on driving me away as well?"

"That all depends on you," Ron answered, reaching out to cup Hermione's face in the palm of his hand. "I love you Hermione, but I expect you to stand by me. I need you to support my choices."

"Even if they're the wrong ones?"

"In your opinion," Ron snapped, pulling away from Hermione and turning to stare out over The Black Lake. "I won't change my mind about Harry. He betrayed my family, and he broke my sister's heart. I won't talk to him again until he's free of that Slytherin and ready to admit he was wrong."

"It's not going to happen," Hermione sighed.

"Then our friendship is at an end," Ron announced, turning back to Hermione. "And it's time for you to choose. We can't be together if you're going to constantly be championing Harry. You can only have one of us in your life, Hermione. So who's it going to be? Harry, who is heading for heartbreak with a Slytherin, or me, your loving boyfriend?"

"You can't expect me to choose," Hermione argued. "I love you, Ron, but I also love Harry. Why should I lose his friendship because you're dumb enough to throw yours away?"

"And I think that says it all," Ron snapped. "You say you love me, but you're not willing to give up Harry for me, are you?"

"No, I'm not," Hermione admitted. "Not when he's done nothing wrong. I won't turn my back on him just because you don't like his choice of girlfriend."

"But yet you'd turn your back on me?" Ron questioned quietly.

"I don't want to," Hermione said, stepping forward and taking hold of Ron's hands in hers. "I want us to be together, Ron. But I cannot back what you're doing with Harry. It's rash and uncalled for, and one day soon you're going to regret it."

"I need your support, Hermione," Ron pleaded. "I can't be with you if you won't support me."

"In that case, this is goodbye," Hermione whispered, her throat tight with emotion as she accepted that it wasn't just the end of her relationship with Ron, but it was the end of an era as their friendship would also cease to exist from this point onwards.

Feeling the tears welling in her eyes, Hermione pressed her lips against Ron's and gave him one final kiss. By the time they parted, slow tears were running down her cheeks, but she refused to back down. What Ron was asking of her was impossible, and his unreasonable demands just proved that they would never work in the long term.

With part of her still hoping that Ron would back down before the end of term in a few days time, Hermione turned and walked away from her now ex-boyfriend. With any luck, he would realise what he'd lost before it was too late, and even though Hermione knew their relationship could never be salvaged, their friendship just might be. But only if he acted fast and tried to make amends before they left Hogwarts and went their separate ways, possibly never to see each other again.


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Following the rather disastrous party, where not only had Harry turned up on the arm of a Slytherin, but had then proceeded to ignore her for the rest of the evening, Ginny kept a low profile. She didn't want to hear what other people were saying about her embarrassment. The only person she was talking to was Ron, and if he knew what was being said, he didn't share it with her. Instead, he shared the fact that he'd ended his friendship with Harry for good, and that he'd also lost Hermione in the process as she'd chosen her best friend rather than her boyfriend.

Ginny felt terrible for Ron, and while she loved him for standing by her, she couldn't help but feel responsible for his loss. She felt as though it was her fault he'd lost his girlfriend, and she spent a long time wondering what she could do to bring Ron and Hermione back together. That was until a few days after the party and she was heading for the library to return some books she'd borrowed to finish her final Potions essay of the year, when she spotted Daphne and realised that her brother's loss wasn't her fault at all. It was Daphne's. After all, she'd been the one to come along and lure Harry into her web, causing all the recent trouble.

"Hey Greengrass," Ginny called, rushing over to where the attractive Slytherin was just about to head down a set of stairs.

"What do you want?" Daphne asked wearily as the red-head approached her.

"I just wanted you to be aware of the trouble you've caused," Ginny hissed. "Because of you, my brother has lost his best friend and his girlfriend."

"I think you'll find, he lost them because of his own actions," Daphne corrected. "He was the one issuing ultimatums."

"He was standing up for me," Ginny spat. "You caused all this. First, you stole Harry."

"I did not steal, Harry," Daphne interrupted, sensing Ginny was going to list a whole host of grievances she had against her. "He was never yours."

"He would have been," Ginny insisted. "All he ever wanted was to be part of my family."

"But that didn't include being with you," Daphne argued. "Stop being so delusional, Weasley. There was never anything between you and Harry. It was all in your head."

"It was not," Ginny hissed. "I love him."

"You're obsessed with him, there's a difference," Daphne retorted sharply. "Tell me Weasley, when did you start picturing your life with Harry? Before you even met him?"

"I knew the second we met that we were meant to be together," Ginny protested. "It was love at first sight."

"You were what? Ten, eleven?" Daphne scoffed. "That wasn't love. I bet I can tell you more about Harry, and we've only been together a few weeks. You were never interested in the real him, all you cared about was the fact he was The Boy Who Lived."

"That's not true," Ginny objected. "I love him."

"Well, he's my boyfriend now," Daphne retorted, unable to stop herself from gloating at the irritating witch in front of her.

"You'll never keep him," Ginny predicted. "I know that Harry and I are meant for each other. And I won't let a whore like you tear us apart."

"Whore?" Daphne spat, pulling out her wand and pointing it at Ginny. "Do you want to say that again?"

"I can say a lot more," Ginny challenged, pulling out her own wand. "You're nothing but trouble, Greengrass. Because of you Ron lost both Harry and Hermione, and I will make you pay for that. I know you're only out for what you can get from Harry. You'll bleed him dry like the gold-digging slapper you are, and when you're done you'll cast him aside as if he's nothing."

"I rather think you've got me mixed up with yourself," Daphne replied in a low voice. "After all, I wasn't the one on full display at the party. You were like a cheap hooker selling herself."

"At least I didn't look fat," Ginny retorted. "That dress you were wearing was far too small for you. You looked like a pig rolled in a tent."

"Fat?" Daphne laughed, well aware that she was anything but fat. "That's the best you can do? You really are pathetic, Weasley, and not worth my time."

With a shake of her head, Daphne turned around to leave. However, before she could even put her wand away, she felt Ginny's hand wrap in her long hair and her head was harshly pulled backwards.

"Bitch," Ginny screamed. "Wizard stealing whore."

"Get off me you demented cow," Daphne hissed, twisting her body so she could aim her wand at Ginny. Once the wood was pointed at the red-head's midriff, she fired off a stinging hex that had Ginny releasing her grip on her hair and falling to the ground in pain. "Come near me again, and you'll get worse," she warned menacingly.

Gasping for breath on the floor, Ginny could only watch as Daphne used magic to smooth her hair and sooth her scalp. The Slytherin witch then strolled away without a second glance, and Ginny knew she had lost. No doubt Daphne would tell Harry about their altercation and any chance she had of him noticing her would be eliminated. After all, what sort of a wizard would want a witch who resorted to brawling like a common muggle.

"Bloody temper," she muttered to herself as she dragged herself to her feet and carried on towards the library, wishing that the year was over and she could go home and lick her wounds in private.