Hey y'all!
Yeah, I hope you all had a nice Easter! Mine was fun, been very busy though. Reviews, please!
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I have come to terms with the fact that I don't own Ron. It's been very hard, cause I love him! But hopefully I can get over it if the 7th book/5th movie comes out sooner!
Ch 4: Everybody Loves 'ermione
Hermione slipped out of the portrait hole, glancing back just in time to see Ron come entering both the Common Room and a very awkward situation. She sighed, thinking about what Ginny told her. 'We're meant for each other.' She thought, smiling slightly. 'Great. Now what? Ron is too afraid of getting hurt to be with me.' Hermione sighed, partly wanting to talk with Ron about everything and let him know that she loved him and they could be together without getting hurt—even is she herself was afraid that wasn't true—and partly wanting to smack him for being afraid in the first place. 'Why can't at least one of us not be afraid of love? Can't he be the strong one? I certainly can't be.'
Hermione walked turned the corner right before the entrance of the Great Hall, when suddenly she collided with someone who seemed to have something distracting on his mind.
"Watcher--!" Hermione shouted and then looked up to see Malfoy's smug obnoxious face smirking back at her. "Malfoy." Hermione sighed and turned to walk around him.
"Wait!" Malfoy said, grabbing her arm.
"You're disgusting." Hermione snapped.
"No, Hermione, don't do this. About the other day—"
"About the other day? How could you dare bring up the other day? You kissed me and practically snogged me against the wall." Hermione added quietly.
"Hermione, I didn't mean to hurt you!" Malfoy cried, looking somewhat desperate.
"What?" Hermione asked, surprised. Malfoy not wanting to hurt her? "You've gone insane." Hermione said, a look of complete shock and confusion and disgust filled her face.
"No, honestly, 'ermione, I didn't!" He shouted.
Hermione stopped.
"What did you just call me?"
"Hermione."
"No, you didn't." Hermione said, millions of crazed thoughts running around her mind. 'What the hell! Who does he think he is? What is he doing, he isn't acting like himself at all. This is totally out of character for him! I'm nothing but a 'filthy Mudblood' to him!' And the thoughts rambled on. But there was one thought that scared her more then the others. 'He just called me 'ermione. That's what Ron calls me. Ron is the only person who ever calls me 'ermione. He can't be doing this. What the bloody hell is wrong with him?'
"You just called me… 'ermione." She said quietly.
"Oh. I guess I did." Draco Malfoy said quietly, looking at the floor.
"You sick bastard." Hermione said coldly, with every fiber inside of her raging with hate and fear.
"No." Malfoy said, looking confused as to why she was getting so upset that he called her "'ermione". "Listen, I care about—"
"Malfoy, I would think twice if I were you, because you have an audience." Hermione said quickly.
A small group of Slytherins was gathered nearby watching them.
Malfoy looked up at them, embarrassed.
"You pathetic Mudblood! Stay away from me, you whore!" Malfoy spat.
----
"What have you too been up to, lately?" Ron asked, looking suspiciously at them.
"Oh nothing." Ginny said very quickly.
"Really?" Ron asked casually. "What did you do yesterday? Or last night? How about you Harry?"
'He knows. But how?' Harry thought. He looked at Ginny, who was nervously staring at the ground, looking miserable and humiliated. 'I can't let him find out. Yesterday was great, and it probably made Ginny feel… well, amazing. It's obvious that she still likes me. If Ron finds out, he'll hate me. Not only that, but he'll make Ginny feel bad about it. Why did I do this? Ginny is his little sister. Of course he would be protective of her.'
"Ron, I went out to the Owlery to send a letter to… the Order." Harry lied. He had almost said 'to Sirius', but as soon as he thought of it, he remembered… 'Sirius is dead.' A foul taste came up in his mouth and a bitter, sour feeling came into his stomach. Anger. 'How disgusting is it. Sirius died. He was killed. In this bloody war. Muggles hardly have to deal with death at all.' Harry thought furiously, knowing it wasn't true. The feeling came back again, as fresh as ever, as if it was brand new, and Sirius had died yesterday. Harry wanted to punch someone. He wanted to yell. Scream that his godfather was dead and it was everyone's fault he was dead. Scream that it was Dumbledore's fault for having Sirius stay locked up in Grimmauld Place for so long. Scream that it was Ron's fault. Or Hermione's or Ginny's. Or even Kingsley Shacklebolt's fault. Bellatrix Lestrange really murdered him. Either by Avada Kedavra or by pushing him into the veil—either way, Harry wished he could kill her for it. But who Harry really blamed was himself. If he hadn't believed Voldemort already had him there…
"But right now, Ron, I have to go." Harry said quickly, feeling the anger starting to resurface inside of him. "I'll see you guys later."
Harry walked off out of the portrait hole leaving Ginny standing there in shock. She could tell Harry was mad about something. She could tell he was hurt.
"Ron I gotta go." Ginny said, and rushed off after Harry.
"Bloody hell." Ron cursed and sauntered off to go to breakfast.
----
Ron was turning down the corridor when he noticed a crowd of students surrounding two people.
"'ermione!" Ron shouted, breaking through the crowd to find a harassed and shaken looking Hermione and a nervous, yet angry looking Malfoy.
Hermione's cheeks burned red when she heard the only familiar protective voice she wanted to hear call her "'ermione" calling her name.
"Get out of here!" Ron ordered the group of people, completely outraged. Reluctantly and slowly they walked away.
Hermione stared at the ground unable to look at Ron. She looked up at Malfoy who was still standing there confused.
"Why did you call me that?" Hermione asked him again bitterly, a few tears rolling escaping down her cheeks, trying hard to ignore Ron watching her intensely.
Malfoy understood what she meant now, after Ron came in calling her the same name.
"I don't know." He said, and without looking at anyone, he walked away.
Hermione stood still unable to look at Ron, feeling he was right next to her, feeling almost as confused and mad as she was. Tears streamed down her face and there was no stopping them.
"'ermione." Ron said, taking a step closer to her defeated body. "What happened? What did he do to you?"
Hermione shook her head.
"What did he call you, Hermione?" Ron asked, his voice getting louder.
"Nothing, Ron. It's just, he called me—"
"He didn't call you a… Mudblood again, did he?"
"No Ron. Well, yes, he did, but that's—"
"I'm gonna kill him! That horrible git… How dare he call you that! I'm going to go find him and rip his head off!" Ron shouted furiously.
Hermione smiled slightly. It felt so good to hear him do that. To hear him get all angry and protective just over her. It was one of the things she loved most about him: He was always so loyal and protective of the ones he loved and he would do anything in his power to prevent them getting hurt.
"No Ron, it's fine." Hermione said quietly.
"No, Hermione, you don't have to worry about it. He hurt you, 'ermione!" Ron said turning and looking her in the eyes, causing Hermione's heart to skip a beat. Ron put his strong masculine arm around her and suddenly pulled her into a hug, catching them both off guard.
"Ron." Hermione whispered in his ear, sending chills up his spine. Hermione pulled away. "Why do you always call me "'ermione"?"
Ron looked intensely at her for a moment, considering the question.
"You're the only person who calls me that, Ron." She said.
"I don't know." Ron shrugged. "Why? Do you want me to stop?" he added nervously.
"No!" Hermione said immediately. "I just was wondering why you did it."
'Because it's kind of like my own little name for you. You're Hermione to the rest of the world, but to me, you are the world. To me, you're my 'ermione. I call you that, because I love you and this is my way of letting you know, even if you never realize it.' Ron thought to himself.
"I call you 'ermione…" Ron said, taking a deep breath. "Because I… well, because I care about you."
Ron stared hard at the ground, feeling his cheeks glow red and hoping he could die.
Hermione's heart started racing. That was everything she needed to hear from him. 'He loves me.' She thought, a big smile coming upon her face. Then it disappeared. 'But that still doesn't solve all of my problems.'
"Well, I guess I'm going to go to breakfast." Ron said sadly, walking away from her.
'Great. Here's another problem for you. You're hurting him.' Hermione sighed and followed him.
"Wait, Ron."
Ron stopped and looked at her.
Hermione's head raced with things she could say. 'I care about you too, Ron. In fact, I think I'm in love with you.' But how dumb would that sound? But it was the truth.
"I care—I mean, I like it when you call me 'ermione." She said, chickening out. "I love it, Ron. And I want to hear only you call me that. For the rest of my life." She blurted out it before she even realized she was saying it.
Ron grinned nervously. He nodded. His face was so much redder then his hair, it was crazy.
"You're sure you're ok… 'ermione?" he said after a moment.
Hermione shrugged.
"I don't know."
"Come on." Ron said after a while. "Let's go to breakfast." He said, taking her hand and walking into the great hall.
As Ron and Hermione made their entrance, hand in hand, and sat down at their Gryffindor table, Malfoy was watching them, at the end of the Slytherin's table.
'Pathetic git. Why does stupid Ron have to always come to her rescue? I can't believe she… she likes him. I guess I'm just going to have to make him choose.' Malfoy thought. He got up angrily and stormed out of the Great Hall.
----
"Harry wait!" Ginny called, running after a furious Harry. Harry stopped and looked at her.
"What Ginny?"
"What's the matter Harry? I can tell something is bothering you." She said, catching up with him.
"It's nothing, Ginny. You wouldn't understand." He said, bitterly.
"Try me." Ginny said fiercely.
Harry wouldn't look at her.
"It's Sirius, Harry. Isn't it?" she said, looking him straight in the eye. He nodded.
"Yes. But you wouldn't understand."
"Oh. I think you're wrong."
Harry stared at her surprised. 'Since when was Ginny ever this… confident? Or talkative? Or… she's not giving in, is she?'
'I'm going to fight for him. I'm not going to let him go. I'm going to let him hurt me. And I am not going to let him hurt himself.' Ginny thought, completely determined."You still miss Sirius. And you think it's everyone's fault that he's dead. I can only imagine Harry, but this makes perfect sense to me." She said simply.
He looked at her, like he was seeing her for the first time. When trying to help him with his 'grief', no one has ever been this firm. They've all been careful and telling him was right to feel that way, because they didn't want him to get angry or feel any worse. But they were all wrong. No one was this 'to-the-point'.
"Harry, I know this sucks. This probably hurts more then anything else in the world you ever felt. Sure, you lost your parents and that was most likely worse, but you were too young to feel anything then. I know that hurts now, but you had to see Sirius go yourself." Ginny said. "Harry, it's going to have to get worse, before it can get better." She looked him in the eyes. "I'm here for you though." She slowly put a hand on his wrists that were crossed over his chest.
"Ginny…" Harry said.
"Harry, no. I know I don't know how you feel, but I'm trying really hard to imagine it. You may be blaming everyone… on the outside… and I'm sure you would love to murder Bellatrix Lestrange… but, the one person you shouldn't be blaming is yourself, Harry." She said. "Now I'm going to go for breakfast. I'll see you later."
She walked off leaving Harry in complete shock.
----
"Ron, are you going to eat anything?" Hermione asked.
Ron had dished nothing onto his plate, and instead decided to stare at it.
"I don't know."
"Ron, when have you ever… well, not eaten half of what the house elves prepared?"
"I don't know."
"What's the matter Ron?" Hermione sighed, taking a long drink from her pumpkin juice.
"it's just… Harry and Ginny." Ron said.
Hermione spit out her pumpkin juice in shock and starting coughing continuously.
"What?" she asked, once she regained control of herself.
"Well, I can't help thinking that there's something going on between them." Ron said, not noticing Hermione's accident.
"Well, um, I know Harry's been having a lot of trouble dealing with… you know… Sirius still. That's probably why he's been acting really foul lately." Hermione said.
"Really?" Ron asked.
"Yes! I think he just needs a little help getting over him. Ginny's probably helping him." Hermione said.
"Do you… know it anything else has been going on?" Ron asked.
"What? Why do you say that?" Hermione asked, feeling a little nervous and guilty. She had already promised Ginny she wouldn't say anything. But she loved Ron. And if he knew Harry had slept with his little sister… Well, there'd be hell to pay.
"I don't know. I… yesterday, I think I might have walked in on them… kissing… on the sofa in the Common Room. I mean, I thought it was them, but I could be wrong, you know." Ron said, playing with his fork.
'Ok, well, Ron already sort of knows. So if I told him, I wouldn't be telling him. Technically, I would only be… confirming it. Since he kind of already knows. Awww… Screw this. It still would be breaking my promise!' Hermione thought, shifting in her chair.
"Right."
"So do you know anything?" Ron asked, looking up at her. "Has Ginny said anything to you about them?"
'Bloody hell, she has.'
"Umm… You know, I don't know, Ron." Hermione said, feeling terrible. "I don't think so."
"Ok. But if Ginny would say something… You would tell me right?" Ron asked her, looking for reassurance.
"Of course." Hermione said immediately. Now she was in trouble. 'Well, all I have to do is convince Ginny to let me tell him and then pretend I just found out… Right. Good luck with that one.' "Ron, why don't we go find them now? I mean, I'll look for Ginny and you look for Harry." 'This way, I can work on convincing her faster.'
"Alright. That's a good idea, 'ermione." Ron said, putting his hand over hers.
Hermione's stomach went into knots. This time it was from guilt.
"Thanks, Ron. Let's go." Hermione said, getting up from the table and walking off as quickly as she could.
She headed for the Common Room taking a short cut. Finally, She reached the Portrait Hole, and said, "Glumbumble", the password and walked inside.
"Oh hello, Hermione." Harry said, sitting on a chair next to a roaring fire in the fireplace.
"Oh. Hi Harry." Hermione said, a little disappointed it was him and not Ginny.
"Read the 'Prophet' lately?" Harry asked glumly.
"No. I haven't." Hermione said, sitting down on a sofa across from him.
"Well, some more Death Eaters are out of Azkaban."
"Oh. That's awful, Harry." Hermione said.
"Yeah." He nodded.
"Harry, are you alright?"
"Yeah."
"Are you sure?" she asked. "If you need to talk—"
"I've got Ginny to talk to Hermione, but thanks anyway."
"Oh." Hermione answered surprised. 'Ginny sure made progress quickly.' "That's great, Harry."
"Yeah, it is." Harry said staring into the fire.
----
Ginny headed towards the Great Hall staring at the ground. 'Where's Hermione been? I hope she hasn't told Ron about Harry and me. But from the looks of it, he already knows.'
"Well, if it isn't Ginny. Read a good hand-me-down diary lately?" Malfoy taunted her, interrupting her thoughts.
"Piss off, Malfoy." Ginny snapped.
"Oh, now that's not a very nice thing to say to me. After all, we're going to be spending a lot more time together soon."
"What?"
Malfoy just grinned.
"You're mental." Ginny said, trying to side step around him. Malfoy grabbed her by her shoulders.
"Don't call me that." Draco said, leaning close to her.
Ginny backed away from him.
"What are you doing?" Ginny asked.
"I'm just trying to get to know you, honey, seeing as though you're going to see a lot of just me for a long time." He said pulling her body against his and holding her face just inches from his.
"Malfoy, stop it! What the hell—" Ginny said, struggling furiously to push him away from her. "You horrible bastard! After what you did to Hermione--stop it!" Ginny pulled away and whipped out her wand.
"Petrificus totalus!" Ginny shouted.
But with a lazy flick of his wand, Malfoy wordlessly blocked the curse and Ginny's wand flew into his hand.
"You're rather feisty when you're angry, aren't you? Reminds me of Hermione in our 3rd year when she punched me. That was extremely intriguing." Malfoy smirked pulling her against him again. "Now, where were we?"
"You're sick!" Ginny screamed.
Malfoy learned forward and pressed his lips against hers. Ginny tried pushing him away and punching him in the stomach, but he wouldn't let go. As she felt his unwanted lips against hers, she got an idea.
Malfoy kissed her deeper and as hard as she could, she bit his bottom lip.
"Aw… Bloody hell, you Muggle-lover!" Malfoy screamed, backing away and holding a very bloody lip. He rushed towards her and pushed her hard against the wall.
"Stop it!" Ginny screamed.
"GET THE BLOODY HELL AWAY FROM MY SISTER!" Ron roared at the end of the hall.
Ginny thought she could even see steam coming out of his ears.
"Ron!" she shouted.
"Care to join the party, Weasel? Well, you're not invited." Malfoy said, holding up both Ginny's and his wands.
Ron held up his wand, but before he could do anything, Ginny kneed Malfoy in the "painful area".
"Oh my god!" Malfoy screamed.
"Leave my sister alone! You know, why don't you stop hurting all of the people I love?" Ron yelled running up to Malfoy and grabbing Ginny's wand.
"The people you love?" Malfoy asked. "So that's it. You love Granger?"
"I… what?"
"You said the "people you love". So you mean you love… "'ermione"." Malfoy smirked.
"Why'd you call her that?" Ron yelled. "What are you playing at?"
"Ron!" Ginny yelled.
"What the hell did you do to her?" Ron shouted, furiously.
"You do love her then." Malfoy said calmly.
"I—"
"Ron, you don't have to answer to him!" Ginny shouted.
"No, Gin. I do." Ron said, and then turned to Malfoy. "I love her. And I wish you would leave her the hell alone!" Ron yelled. He walked over to Ginny. "Come on, Ginny. Let's go."
Ron and Ginny turned their backs on Malfoy and walked back to the Gryffindor Common Room, praying that their lives couldn't get any worse.
A/N: Well, that's it! I'll be posting Ch 5 as soon as I can! PLEASE REVIEW! I need to know what you all think!
Muchos Amor!