Hermione's POV

Betrayal – THBP, anytime in Ch15.

It wasn't as though he was breaking a promise or anything like that. She wasn't sure if he was even capable of making and keeping promises, so she'd never asked him to stay away from… from… well, anyway. And she knew from experience that he seized opportunities like there was no tomorrow.

Still, it hurt. Hermione couldn't help but feel as though he was betraying her.

He wasn't even trying to be stealthy about it. There he was, bold as brass, just across the Common Room, right in her line of sight. He had that wolfish, smug grin on his face as he rubbed up against that, that… Hermione couldn't think of a nasty enough word so she settled for person – he was rubbing against that person, his eyes drifting closed luxuriously as though he didn't have a care in the world.

As though he was happy she was watching.

Which, Hermione reasoned, he probably was. It was probably a show especially for her, and though that meant it was meaningless it didn't make it hurt any less. If anything, she felt even more betrayed.

It didn't even mean anything, and he was still doing it, just to spite her.

But why? Hermione couldn't think of anything she could have done to hurt him –she'd never, to her knowledge, treated him badly, and if she had it was never on purpose. It wasn't as though that person had been anything really special to him before now – sure, he'd liked the person but their relationship hadn't been what you'd call close. The person had meant more to Hermione than to him.

How could he? Hermione tried to get on with her Charms homework, pretending she wasn't watching, but her eyes kept glancing in that direction of their own accord. He was still rubbing away, his eyes closed and that smile still firmly in place. Even the person was getting annoyed by his enthusiasm, though Hermione could feel no sympathy.

Suddenly, he broke away and started walking calmly towards her, his eyes now open but the grin still in place. Hermione watched in astonishment, wondering how he could be so self-assured, when there was a movement by the girl's dormitories and Lavender appeared in the common room. Hermione braced herself for what was to come.

"Won-Won!"

Hermione pulled a face and slammed her Charms book shut. She wasn't going to be able to concentrate with Lavender and that person eating each other in a corner. She stuffed the book into her bag and risked a glance in their direction – yep, sure enough, Lavender was leaning in with that look on her face…

Hermione's sense of betrayal – already heightened by the first male to betray her tonight – was once again peaked as she saw Ron start to kiss Lavender.

"Ugh, Ron, what is that all over your robes?"

Lavender's voice carried across to where Hermione was packing away, and she looked up again to see Lavender looking revolted, and definitely not kissing Ron.

Ron frowned and looked down. His face darkened and he started brushing at his front. "It's just cat hair," he replied.

Lavender didn't look appeased. "Well, get rid of it," she said, folding her arms. "I don't want that all over me!"

Hermione jumped slightly as Crookshanks leapt on to the table and sat in front of her, purring loudly, something of a sly grin still hovering about his sparkling eyes and twitching whiskers. She grinned and bent forward to scratch his ears. "Good boy, Crookshanks," she whispered.

Crookshanks purred louder and stood up with her as she finished collecting her homework things. Hermione caught Ron glaring at her as she stood up and swung her bag onto her shoulder, and it was clear he blamed her for her cat's actions. Hermione glared back in response, lifted her chin proudly and scooped Crookshanks up into her arms.

At least she had one man in her life that wouldn't betray her.