Chapter 10: Breakups, Breakdowns and a New Era
"It is nothing personal."
"Yeah right."
"Aw come on, you know that this isn't your fault, right."
"Stop fucking me around and tell it to me straight!"
"God dammit I'm trying here! Something that you never seem to do!"
"See everything is my fault! You were the one who just walked off a month ago and this is how you repay me?"
"You were fucking stifling me! What was I supposed to do just sit there and take it?"
"You can't ever accept that maybe something's are your fault!"
"I'm not Cho Chang I can't just cry on demand and beg you to forgive me!"
"See blaming it on other people. Stand up and take responsibility for fucks sake."
"Okay maybe I made the odd mistake, but we all make the odd mistake!"
"Still you're the one who shouting down the castle trying to get out of this."
"What are you saying that it's my entire fault?"
"FUCKING HELL GINNY, LISTEN TO YOURSELF."
Ginny took a deep breath trying to bring back some calm. In a shaky, yet quieter voice she managed to choke out words. "Harry, would you just be calm about this?"
"CALM? What in Merlin's name is there to be calm about?" He spat the words at her.
"You're overreacting, Harry."
"The hell I am."
"God dammit Harry what is your problem?" Ginny voice rose in volume again as her anger resurfaced.
"MY PROBLEM? My problem is that it was only two days ago we started talking again and now you want to BREAK UP!"
"Exactly, Harry! It's not normal to stop talking for a month and then continue dating as though nothing was ever wrong. As if you weren't being a pigheaded, self-centred bastard." Ginny pinched her nose, a habit she had picked up from constant fights with Percy on behalf of the twins, in order to try and regain some composure.
"Well why didn't you do this earlier then?" Harry demanded. "When a sensible person would have done it? Like when we stopped talking? It would have saved a lot of time!"
"Because I didn't know any better!"
"You can't just leave, Ginny! You can't just give up without a backwards glance."
"I'm not. This is not just a spur of the moment decision, Harry. This thing between us has been falling apart for months. I am sick of the fighting, I am sick of the shouting and I am sick of you Harry! Grow up and find a better way to deal with your pathetic quarrels rather than trying to sabotage every good relationship that surrounds you." Ginny forcefully opened the door of the unused classroom that they had sheltered themselves in when the shouting started, and slammed it roughly behind her. Glaring at all the students who had gathered round to listen to the shouting, Ginny marched away keeping her head held high.
"You don't get anything if you just give up this easily!" Harry shouted down the corridor when he wrenched the door open after the retreating back of the red-haired girl.
"I don't give up. Giving up would have meant leaving when we had our first fight or any of the millions after that." Ginny turned around and began walking back towards her ex-boyfriend. "It's always you, though. I try and talk to you afterwards but you just walk away. I have to wait until you're ready to let things go." Her voice dropped to a quieter volume as she moved closer, venom still clear in every word. "We have spent more months fighting or not even speaking than we have communicating normally. It's not healthy and I'm sick of it. Sick of having to watch my every action in case it pisses you off. If you don't like me so much why did you ever ask me out? I wish I hadn't even bothered."
"Well it was definitely a waste of my time!"
"Goodbye Harry." Ginny spat the words out and left again, leaving Harry standing in the corridor. Any passersby who had heard the raised voices and stuck around to see the latest development in the 'Chosen One's life had the sense to move silently past the Gryffindor and hurry to pass the news on, effectively spreading the latest big gossip in a long time around the castle with no time to spare.
Hermione and Ron were sat at the Gryffindor table having an awkward conversation when Harry arrived. Looking for any excuse to end their conversation, Ron immediately noted Harry's foul mood.
"What's wrong, mate?"
"Ginny just broke up with me." Harry groaned and laid his head on his arms.
Hermione stood up leaving Ron to deal with Harry and immediately headed up to the dorms to find Ginny and hear from the direct source how this had happened.
Upon arrival she found the youngest Weasley pacing her otherwise empty dorm room seemingly in frustration. "I did it, I finally dumped Harry." Ginny muttered distractedly. "Now I won't feel guilty about dating Blaise and damn him to hell if he tries to make me feel bad about this."
"Slow down, Ginny." Hermione placed a hand on her friends shoulder and led her over to the bed, imploring her to sit down. When she did, Hermione knelt in front of her. "Are you sure you've thought this through?"
"Of course I've thought it through, what is there to think through? I've dumped Harry because he's an annoying twat half the time and now I'm free to date whoever I want. I want to date Blaise."
"What if Blaise isn't looking for a relationship, Gin?"
"But you said-"
"I said theories. I don't know if that's actually the case."
"Ohhh." Ginny groaned falling back on the bed. "Can you find out?"
"Can't you?" Hermione countered. "Just ask him whether he wants a one night stand or to date. Just make sure he knows that you won't be offended no matter the answer."
"I'm not looking forward to that."
"Are you prepared for the sacrifices as well?"
"What do you mean?"
"You can't be seen in public so you can only spend limited time together."
"We'd find a way around that. You did."
"Not without stress."
"I thought you said you didn't argue."
"We didn't, but we came close to giving up."
"Right." Ginny sighed heavily. "I guess I should go find Blaise."
"Good luck."
The next morning was buzzing with gossip when Hermione sat down for breakfast. "What's going on?" She asked, expecting Harry or Ron to answer. Instead Parvati turned from her conversation with Lavender to answer her question.
"Haven't you heard? Ginny Weasley is the talk of the school. I'm guessing you must have heard about the breakup?" Parvati nodded her head towards Harry and Hermione nodded mutely. "Well, that isn't the half of it. See she was seen entering the Great Hall holding hands with Blaise Zabini, apparently they're dating. She's over at the Slytherin table right now."
"No!" Hermione said, appalled. "She wouldn't."
"She has. I don't know how she of all people managed to get Blaise to settle into a monogamous relationship."
"No. Bit of a shock really isn't it."
"I've no idea how it-" Parvati continued talking, but Hermione was no longer listening. She stood up and quickly made her way over to the Slytherin table using Ginny's noticeable hair to tell her that Parvati was speaking the truth.
When she was in sight of the Slytherin table Draco looked up and noticed her coming their way. He grimaced slightly and nodded his head towards Blaise and Ginny who were sat opposite him.
Hermione headed over and sat next to Draco, leaning over the table she hissed. "Have you even considered the ramifications of this?"
Ginny looked at her. "Good morning Hermione. Yes, I have thank you very much. We've spoken about it. It gives you two an excuse to hang out though so I don't know why you're complaining. Would you like some juice?"
"Don't you think that Harry will have something to say about this, though?"
"I rather think it's none of his business." Ginny ignored the fact that Hermione hadn't given an answer and poured her a goblet of pumpkin juice.
"What that you break up with him one day and the next morning you're sat at the Slytherin table? I think he has a right to be a little peeved. And the rumours! I'm sure about half the school will be convinced that you cheated."
"Well we couldn't sit at the Gryffindor table; I thought that would be rubbing his nose in it a bit." Ginny ignored Hermione's second comment, turning her head away to listen to Blaise.
Hermione sighed heavily. "But-"
"Let it go." Draco said softly, cutting in and ignoring the annoyed look on Hermione's face. "Have a muffin."
"Thanks." Hermione muttered biting viciously into the blueberry muffin. "What do you think about all this?"
"I think it's excellent." Draco smiled buttering some toast. "Ginny's right, we can spend time together in public as long as they are around. Plus it's their choice, we might as well be happy for them, they are going to get a rough time as it is, without us making it worse.
"Hmm. I guess they might get an easier time about this than if we went public. Blaise has always seemed to avoid the limelight."
"Definitely." Draco smiled again reassuringly, but Hermione still didn't look convinced.
"This could go very wrong."
"Don't think about it. Think about a fun potions lesson that we'll have this afternoon."
"Sarcasm?"
"Undeniably."
Hermione laughed. Potions lessons were better than when they had Snape, she had to admit that. Slughorn had been fairly happy with the pairs he had placed them in and when ever potions required more than one student or there weren't enough of the more rare ingredients, he placed them in their pairs. This suited Hermione just fine. Working with Draco was much more agreeable than working in silence next to Harry and Ron, plus their potion was always better than Harry and Terry's as Harry couldn't use the Prince's book with the straightforward honest Terry Boot.
Upon arrival in the potions room, Hermione took the empty place between Harry and Ron.
"We need to talk to you." Harry said as soon as she had placed her bag on the floor.
"Better hope we're not working in pairs." Hermione said, praying for the exact opposite.
Unfortunately when Slughorn arrived in the room and announced the potion that they would be brewing for the next two lessons, he instructed that they would be making this one individually. Putting on an overly fake smile, Hermione collected her ingredients and began to prepare them.
"What happened at breakfast?" Harry demanded.
"What do you mean?"
"You went to sit at the Slytherin table! What was that about?"
"Yeah." Ron chimed in, his tongue stuck out as he concentrated on chopping his ingredients evenly.
"I wanted to speak to Ginny. Plus I didn't think it would be fair to leave her all on her own, she may be feisty but Slytherins would still eat her alive. I figured she could use some support."
"I wanted to ask you about that." Ron said. "Did you know my sister was cheating with a Slytherin?"
"What makes you think she was cheating? You'll have to ask her yourself Ron; I don't know every detail about her life."
"Yeah but he's a Slytherin."
"They're still people, Harry."
"Not very nice people."
"Have you ever spoken to him?"
"You've heard the insults."
"Harry that started when you were eleven years old, can't you let that go?"
"They're Slytherin's Hermione; you can't just forgive and forget."
"Grow up, Harry. They have." Hermione shook her head in disgust and turned back to her potion.
Throughout the lesson both Harry and Ron still pestered her. Harry was determined that Slytherin's couldn't be anything other than bullies and Ron couldn't decide whether it was worse that Ginny had been cheating, or that it was a Slytherin.
When the bell rang at the end of the lesson, Hermione was ready to snap.
"Hermione, why would she cheat on Harry? That's all I'm saying."
"Ron would you have a little faith, she's your sister, who said she was ever cheating?" Harry opened his mouth to reply but Hermione held up her finger. "If you say anything more about Slytherins I will find a curse that neither of you know how to reverse. Now would you please shut up!"
No-one had anything to say after that and Hermione, having a free period, left for the library to find Draco.
"If I didn't know better I'd say she was the one hiding things." Harry muttered in spite.
"She's certainly prickly enough at the moment." Ron agreed, shaking his head. "Women."