Chapter 34 – Victory Party
"I think I will go and get the book back." Harry said thoughtfully.
"Which book are we talking about?"
"Of course, the Prince's book." Harry stated.
"Why would you get it back?" H asked, confused.
Ron looked at all of us blankly. He was nervous about the match tomorrow. Nervousness got the best of him at practice today, so, he has been quiet ever since.
"H is right, Harry. Even after everything that happened you want to get it?" I asked him.
"Look, I'm not proud of what I did but I learnt a lot from it." Harry defended the book.
H snorted, "You sure did learn a lot."
"Stuff it, Hermione!" Ginny interrupted us.
She looked taken back. Harry looked delighted that Ginny was taking his side.
"Excuse me, since when have you started talking during our private conversations?" I asked her sarcastically.
"Since Hermione started bullying Harry about the book."
I looked at Harry. I couldn't understand his expression.
"Harry, we've been talking about this for a couple of days now." H urged Harry. "You're only asking for more trouble by doing that."
"Besides, I think he only wants it because it made he a brilliant potioneer in the eyes of Prof. Slughorn." I said rudely.
"It sounds like Malfoy was about to hit Harry with an unforgivable, aren't you glad he knew something that could help him!" Ginny yelled at H and I.
"It wouldn't have hit him hard." I said confidently.
"And how do you know that?" Ginny crossed her hands on her chest. Harry and Ron looked curiously at me.
She got me there. Darn me and my big mouth! "Have you seen him these days? You think a person like that can cast an unforgivable? To cast an unforgivable you have to have a strong and determined mind." Oh Merlin! I'm blabbering.
"Nat is right." H came to my rescue. "And shouldn't you be mad because Harry got him banned from the most important match of the year?" H asked Ginny.
"I don't think you should be talking about things you don't understand Hermione."
That was a rude thing to say. I was angry at Ginny. I was angry that the guys were not saying anything.
"You know what Harry. Please go get the book and use it to your liking." I told him sarcastically. "H, let's go." We both went up to our dorm.
"I see what you mean." H said once we had shut the door to our dorm. I looked at her inquisitively. "About Ginny."
"You're gonna have to be more specific."
"About how she'll worship anything Harry does."
"Well, there is a difference between being a fan and genuinely liking a person." We both giggled. "What are you giggling about H? She's going to be family when you and Ickle Ronnikins take it to the next level."
She hit me on my arm, "How dare you say that? Nothing has even happened yet."
H and I kept going at each other for a while before we slept.
Next morning I woke up early. I was feeling jittery. I can't believe I'm playing a final match. I took a bath and got ready. I went down to the common room. It was empty, as expected. When I looked through the window I realised it was a beautiful morning. I went out and walked up to the lake. I sat down and soaked up some sun. I pondered about Harry and I. Have we run our course?
"What are you doing here?" I heard a familiar voice say behind me.
I was startled. By the time I looked, Draco was already sitting next to me looking at the lake.
"Just admiring the beauty in front me." I gestured to the scenery in front of me.
"Nervous?" He looked at me. Those grey eyes of his see everything before I can even say anything.
"A little." I admitted.
"You'll do well. I know it." He assured me with his smile.
"How are you?" I asked him seriously.
"Been better." He looked at his watch. "It's time for breakfast. You should get something to eat before the match."
"You should too. You look like you've been eating since you got out of the infirmary."
He smiled, "Well, after I almost bled out I realised I didn't want to die." He squinted his eyes like he was thinking something. "At least, I don't want to starve myself to death."
"Good." I kissed him on the temple. "I'll be going now. You'll come to see me? At the match?"
He scrunched up his face, "I have something to take care of. I won't be there."
"Something to do with the room of requirement?"
"Don't ask me questions I won't give you an answer for." He said bluntly.
"I really should have asked you everything when you were in the infirmary."
He chuckled, "I gave you the chance but you refused. Now go. Do well out there."
I nodded and went back to the castle.
H, Ron, Harry and Ginny were already having breakfast when I entered the Great Hall.
"Where were you?" H asked me as soon as I sat down next to her.
"At the lake. It's a beautiful morning."
"Okay. Why don't you eat something? You'll need all the strength and stamina during the match." She stressed on the words strength and stamina.
"Ya, I know." Then I saw her eyeing Ron. Ron was his nervous self. His plate still had food on it, which is a rare sight. "Ron…" He looked at me, "Hey buddy! How about some toast?"
"No, I dint think I can eat." He refused me.
"Here." I shoved a piece of toast into his mouth. Once he got a taste of food, he couldn't stop himself.
We laughed. I didn't look at Harry till now. I didn't feel like talking to him. Maybe it was just nerves. It has nothing to do with Harry. But I could feel Harry eyeing me repeatedly. After a while, students from the four large tables started moving out of the great hall.
"Let's get going." H suggested.
We all agreed and got up. Harry came with us till the Entrance Hall. H, Ron and Ginny said their goodbyes to Harry and went ahead. We both were lingered, neither saying anything.
"Best of luck, do well today." Harry said and closed the distance in between us.
"Thanks. I'm sad you're not going to be there."
"Me too." He kissed me on my forehead.
"I have to get going." I put some distance in between us. He nodded and we both went our ways.
Ever since he attacked Draco, I find it difficult to be close to Harry. For some reason, I get nervous. Sometimes, I even get scared.
"I want to say something." Katie shouted in the common room through the noise. She got on top of a table and said, "I want to say something."
The noise died down, everyone wanted to hear what the captain had to say.
"I want to thank the team! You guys were awesome today. I'm glad I got to play with each one of you. Oliver would have been so proud of us. What a great way to pass out of Hogwarts! Let's not forget Harry, he made a great team this year. To the Quidditch champs of the year! To Gryffindor!"
"To Gryffindor!" Everyone roared together and took a sip from their drinks.
"You were great today, Nat." H told me for the umpteenth time.
"Thanks." I was waiting for Harry to come back. "How long to do you think Prof. Snape will keep Harry?"
"He'll be back soon."
"I'm so excited. I want to see how he'll react when he comes to know we won."
"I know." She looked over to where Ron was drinking butterbeer and dancing with the other guys from the team. "Why don't I get us one more butterbeer each while we wait?"
"You know what! Let's dance."
H and I started dancing near the window seat we had occupied so no one would take our seat. Suddenly we heard a loud shout from the other side of the room. Then there were cheers of 'Harry! Harry!'
"He's here. Let's go!" I exclaimed.
We started to make our way through the crowd, midway, the cheers turned to gasps. I made my way to the centre in the crowd. Harry was kissing Ginny Weasley. My boyfriend was kissing Ginny Weasley. My boyfriend was kissing someone else. The shock wore off with every second that passed. I was getting angry now. I felt H make her way next to me and gasp. Harry closely pulled away from her and gazed at her happily until he caught sight of me behind her.
The colour drained from Harry's face, "Nat..."
"Please…don't stop on my accord. Continue." I told them coldly and made my way to the portrait hole. I picked up a bottle of bottle of firewhisky on my way out.
I didn't know where I was going. I heard footsteps behind me. I stopped to let the person catch up with me.
"Nat, where are you going?"
"I dunno. I want you to go back, H. I want to be alone." I told her.
She opened her mouth to protest but stopped before she said anything. "Fine, I understand. Stay safe. Don't get caught." She hugged me and went back.
I nodded but getting caught by Filch was the last thing on my mind. It felt trivial compared to what I was feeling at that point. I looked at the bottle in my hand. I didn't want to drink it. I walked aimlessly. Before I knew it I was climbing the stairs to the west tower. The breeze hit me. It was nice and relaxing. The sky was filled with stars, the crescent moon shined brightly. I sat down watching the beautiful night. Tears made their way down my cheeks.
"This was not supposed to happen! All this time, I asked him and I asked him again but he refused. He called me delusional and said that I didn't trust him enough." I complained to the universe. "He said he was never going to do it again. He said that he loved me. He wanted to be with me. He wanted to get back together with me." I opened the bottle and took a big sip from it. The liquid burned the course it took in my body. The burn brought some relief. Strange isn't it?
Next day, everywhere I went, eyes were on me. Some looked at me with pity, some with sympathy, some with mirth and some with curiosity. When I looked at someone they would turn away from me. I wanted scream loudly. Maybe everyone was waiting for me to lose it.
I avoided Harry as much as I could. H told me Ron was in two minds about the whole thing. Ginny was after all his baby sister. Everyone knew how crazy she was for Harry and Ron was happy for her but I am one of his close friends. Also he is not so thrilled about Ginny kissed someone who was dating someone else.
"Oh well, Harry is not really dating anyone right now." I told H when she told me Ron's predicament.
"You've worked through this before. Maybe you can… again." She said hopefully.
"Are you kidding me? In case it wasn't clear last night, we're so done."
"He is sorry. He wanted to go after you but I stopped him."
"Thank God you did! I didn't want to be the one to murder 'the-boy-who-lived'. After this I don't think I can even be friends with him."
"Don't say that."
"This is not like you. I know you're just as angry. Then why are you saying these things?"
She sighed, "Yes, I am angry. I'm just afraid that you'll stop being friends with Ron and me as well."
"H, you're my girl. I'm not going to stop being friends with you or Ron. I just don't want to talk to Harry ever again."
"Okay."
"Besides, I doubt that Harry is sorry. I overheard Susan Bones in the library. She saw them sneaking off together."
Her jaw dropped. Then her eyes narrowed, "What if it's just a rumour? There's lot of speculations going around now. I heard someone say that Harry was cheating on you the entire time."
"Gosh, I wish there was a Hogsmeade weekend. I would love to have a butterbeer."
She raised her eyebrows at me, "Didn't you have a whole bottle of firewhisky last night?"
"I had a few sips. I didn't have to drink too much of it to get high. Then I poured the rest of it down the west tower."
She looked surprised, "I so didn't expect that."
"Ya, I am funny that way. I'm going to take a walk. I'll meet you for dinner."
She nodded and I left our dorm. I decided to walk around the slightly less crowded parts of the castle. I was around one of the unused classrooms on the sixth floor when I got pulled in.
"Woah!" I exclaimed.
"Nat, is it true? Did he really do that?" Draco asked me with concern.
"What are you talking about?" Though I had fairly good idea what he was talking about.
"Apparently, Potter had Weaslette pinned to the wall during the Gryffindor victory party."
I wondered how many versions of the incident are going around. "Well he did kiss her but he didn't have her pinned on the wall."
I felt him envelope me in a hug before I could see it. He kissed my hair. "I wish I was there for you." He didn't let go.
That's when I started to feel heavy. My eyes got prickly with the tears filling up. I started crying bitterly. I held on to him even tightly and cried into his chest.
"I can't believe he did that. He made me feel like I was wrong for not believing him. He made me look like a fool." I sobbed into his chest.
"He is going to pay for it." Draco gritted his teeth.
I looked up at him, "No. No. I don't want you involved. Let me handle it. I don't know how I'll handle it. You've got more things to worry about."
"When all this is over, I'm going to punch Potter."
"Okay." I placed my head on his chest again and started crying again and he held me tightly.
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