Battle Royale
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all associated characters, places, and terms are property of J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 7: Round Six: Hermione & Daphne vs. Susan
Hermione Granger was sitting in the library across from Daphne Greengrass reading a letter from Molly Weasley. Mrs. Weasley was asking her and Harry to come to the Burrow for Christmas. Mrs. Weasley also wrote that she was happy that Hermione was dating her son Ron and asked if Hermione could be of any help in convincing Harry to get back together with Ginny. Hermione had to chuckle to herself at the former. Evidently neither Ron nor Ginny had told their mother that Hermione had broken up permanently with Ron on account of him "cheating" on her with Lavender.
Speaking of Ron, he was not having meals in the Great Hall anymore after their breakup. The entire school had heard about what had happened and, aside from Lavender, none of the girls were making it easy for him to be at the school. Hermione did feel a little bad for manipulating events so that she could break up with Ron without her looking like the villain, but at the end of the day she could live with it. Ironically she had Ginny to thank for the inspiration for her plan. After Daphne had come to the Gryffindor table and told Harry that she thought it was fascinating that she was present to witness Lavender kiss Harry, it did not take Hermione all that long to come up with a list of individuals who might pull a stunt like that. There were only two individuals on her list and both of them in Gryffindor: Ginny Weasley and Romilda Vane. Hermione hoped that it was Romilda Vane up her old tricks again, but after Hermione talked with Daphne one evening, Hermione was convinced that Ginny was the culprit.
It was shortly after Lavender had pleaded on Ron's behalf for Hermione to forgive Ron and get back together with him, Hermione had invited Daphne up to the Head Girl's room so they could talk. The fact that Ron was willing to sell out Harry to Lavender disturbed Hermione greatly and it made Hermione reflect on her relationship with Ron. She came to the conclusion that Ron never really appreciated their relationship. His insensitive comment about Harry seeming to get all the girls while he was only stuck with Hermione was evidence of that. Perhaps Tracey Davis was right; she was an utter moron for wanting to date Ron. Hermione had given up on Harry a when he started dating Ginny because the noble side of her could not betray her friend. However, Ginny's "friend" status changed after Hermione's chat with Daphne.
Hermione had been investigating Romilda Vane quietly to see if she was up to anything but Hermione was unable to come up with anything. So Hermione figured that if she talked to Daphne, she might get a better idea of what was going on. She could do it under the guise of her Head Girl's duties to investigate any attacks on students and Daphne having her memory altered would qualify.
"I'm surprised that you've invited me up here," Daphne said when the two girls arrived at the Head Girl's room.
"As Head Girl, I've been investigating the attack on you," Hermione explained. "I thought it'd be helpful if I talked to you directly."
Daphne smiled at her. "I'm surprised that you're giving a lot of attention to this but, like you, I'd love to figure out who stunned me and altered my memories."
"I think we should start with who you think would want to do such a thing to you and why," Hermione said.
"Oh that's easy," Daphne replied nonchalantly. "Unless it was Lavender herself, which I doubt because she doesn't have the intelligence to execute such an elaborate plan, I would suspect either Ginny or Susan Bones."
Hermione looked at Daphne with a raised eyebrow. "Susan? Why would she want to attack you?"
"Why? Because of Harry of course," Daphne stated. "Your friend is the most fanciful man in the wizarding world at the moment, wouldn't you agree?"
Hermione readily agreed. She had known that Harry was fanciful for a while now and had even told him that much before. It was an obvious motive and Hermione herself was also guilty of attempting to sabotage Harry's potential relationship with Hannah earlier in the year when she discretely sent a chair in Madam Rosmerta's path, tripping her. Why she did that, she had no idea. Perhaps it was Tracey Davis' fault for giving Hermione a glimmer of hope that she might have a chance with Harry. But that hope had been dashed to pieces when she remembered she was dating Ron.
"I had no idea that Susan was interested in Harry," Hermione commented. "How did you find that out?"
"She told me," Daphne replied vaguely.
That revelation surprised Hermione and she made a mental note to talk to Susan later about her best friend. In the meantime, Hermione could cross Romilda Vane off of her list because Ginny was the likely suspect here. Hermione knew that her friend had been very jealous of Harry's growing relationship with Daphne and, although Hermione also did not approve either, Harry should be free to choose who he wanted to date.
"I think that's all of the questions I have for you," Hermione said.
"That's all? You haven't asked me about Ginny yet," Daphne pointed out.
"I don't need to because I think Ginny is the likely suspect," Hermione stated.
"Mind filling me in on the details?" Daphne asked.
Hermione sighed. She did not want to tell Daphne of Ginny's previous requests to help her get back together with Harry so Hermione merely replied that Ginny had expressed strong disapproval of Harry going on a date with Daphne.
"And you? Would you approve if Harry were to go out with me?" Daphne asked.
Hermione saw that Daphne was filled with anxiety and a bit of dread. Was her opinion that important?
"Why do you care if I approve?" Hermione asked, attempting to probe where Daphne might be going with this.
"Because you and Harry are best friends," Daphne said. "You've been through so much together and I think that you come as a packaged deal. He values your opinion and any girl who wants to date Harry must be able to deal with you."
Hermione had never thought of it that way but she also wanted Harry to be happy and everything she had done up to this point had been with that goal in mind, even if it meant giving up her own happiness.
"So why do you want to date Harry?" Hermione asked after thinking for a moment.
Hermione saw Daphne begin to blush as the girl went into her explanation.
"I don't think I had ever intended to fall for him, at least initially" Daphne began. "But I've come to care for him lately. I enjoy spending time with him and he's shown that he's a very caring person because he was willing to protect my younger sister Astoria from Malfoy. I think he's very deserving of love and I'd like to be the one to give that to him."
Hermione studied Daphne for a while. The girl sounded sincere if the longing look in her eyes was any indication.
"Can I ask you a question?" Daphne said when Hermione remained silent for several moments.
"Sure."
"Why is it that you never went after Harry yourself? I mean you get along with him far better than you do with Weasel."
Hermione sighed sadly. "Oh I don't know….Harry never thought of me as someone he'd date. In between him going for Ginny in our sixth year and Ron telling me that Harry only thought of me as a sister, I gave up. After the war, I suppose that I thought it would be great if I was with Ron and Harry went back to Ginny because then we could all be one big happy family like Harry had always wanted. It really confused me when he didn't get back together with Ginny."
Daphne seemed to be deep in thought and it was a while before the girl spoke again.
"What if I offered you another chance at Harry?" Daphne asked. "I think that Harry still deserves to be happy and I think that you can do better than Weasel."
Hermione could only stare at Daphne with an open mouth and this caused Daphne to burst out laughing.
"But what about you?" Hermione asked when she had gathered herself again. "You like him too!"
Daphne flashed a mischievous grin at her. "Ah ha! I knew that you loved him! Hermione, I told you earlier that any girl who dated Harry would also have to deal with you. That means that said girl would have to share him with you. Most girls couldn't live with that, but I think I can. The question is whether you're willing to share him with me."
A lifting feeling of hope filled Hermione. Here was a chance that she might never be presented with again. Sure she would have to share Harry with Daphne but perhaps it was not too bad. Ron had definitely crossed the line when he threw Harry under the bus with Lavender and that was something that Hermione could not really forgive. After all, Harry was the most important person in her life. As for Ginny, Hermione thought that the girl had improved over the past month but the fact that Ginny was willing to go to great lengths to ensure that Harry ended up with her was disconcerting. For Hermione, the choice was not difficult.
And so the girls agreed to work together to get Harry for themselves. Daphne just had one caveat: that they would never forget about Tracey Davis if they were successful in obtaining Harry. The first order of business was to deal with Lavender Brown and Ron Weasley. The former needed to be taught not to mess around with Harry's relationships and Hermione needed an excuse to never get back together with Ron again. They would save Ginny for last.
The plan was simple. Hermione knew that Harry did have feelings for Daphne because she had talked to him about it. Lavender's revelation that Ron had traded a date with Harry in exchange for Lavender's help to get back with Hermione provided an excellent opportunity to take care of both problems. Therefore, Hermione would get back together with Ron and she would also convince Harry to go on a date with Lavender. On the day of said date, Daphne would show up and kiss Harry in front of Lavender. With any luck, Harry would drop his date with Lavender.
The next part of the plan had involved Hermione borrowing Harry's invisibility cloak. Daphne was amazed that Harry even had one because they were rare. Hermione would sit in the Gryffindor common room with Ron and put him to work – and she would make him work indeed. If the first part of their plan worked, Lavender would come back to the common room. Hermione would then give Ron enough work to keep him occupied for a while and excuse herself to go to the library. Once outside the common room, she would put on the cloak, reenter the common room, and wait for Lavender to come back down. With Ron there Lavender would likely talk to him about her date with Harry. Since the date with Harry would be a failure, Ron would probably offer the girl something else. At that point Hermione would cast a confundus charm on Lavender and direct her to kiss Ron. Then Hermione would reappear, hopefully without anyone noticing, and promptly break up with Ron.
"Everything all right there?"
Hermione was drawn out of her reminiscing at the sound of Daphne's voice and she nodded. "Mrs. Weasley is asking Harry and me to come to the Burrow for Christmas."
"Are you going to go?" Daphne asked.
"Of course not," Hermione scoffed. "I want nothing to do with Ron anymore."
Daphne grinned. "Is Harry going?"
"As much as Harry is mad at Ron for 'cheating' on me with Lavender, he's on good enough terms with Ginny and the rest of the Weasley family so I doubt he'll refuse," Hermione said.
"So what are you going to do?"
"I'll probably go spend Christmas with my parents," Hermione said, gathering her things for her next class.
Daphne also gathered her books and the two girls walked together to their Charms class.
On their way to class, Susan Bones caught up with them.
"Hello Hermione," Susan said with a smile. "How are you doing today?"
"I'm fine Susan, how about you?"
"I'm great, say...what are you and Harry doing on New Year's eve?"
Hermione shrugged her shoulders. "I don't have anything planned, why?"
"I was hoping that you'd both be able to join me here at the school on New Year's," Susan replied. "You know I don't have any family left so I thought it'd be great to spend it with some friends."
Hermione thought about the scenario a little. If Daphne was correct and Susan did like Harry then she was using the opportunity to try to get closer to Harry. But, at the same time, Susan did lose all of her family members during the war and Hermione thought it would be a good gesture to keep the girl company.
"Sounds good, I'll ask Harry about it," Hermione replied eventually.
"Great!" Susan said. "I'll owl you the details later."
As Susan walked away, Daphne turned to Hermione. "She may be using this to try to get to Harry."
Hermione smirked at Daphne. "That may be true but I think the two of us are more than enough to handle her."
As it turned out Harry was very receptive to the idea of spending New Year's eve at Hogwarts with Hermione, Daphne, and Susan. However, much to Hermione's disappointment, he was going spend Christmas at the Burrow with the Weasleys because the entire family should not receive the cold shoulder for Ron's stupidity. The day before Christmas, Hermione and Daphne were having dinner in the Great Hall when Harry came to say goodbye to them.
"Hello ladies," Harry said, grinning at them. "I just came by to say goodbye. I'll see you both before the New Year ok?"
Hermione returned his smile and stood up to give him a hug. "Now Harry just have fun while you're there and don't be too hard on Ron. I expect he'll still be upset about the whole situation."
"All right, I promise," Harry said, but Hermione could still see some concern written on his face. "But aren't you upset about the whole thing too?"
"No, I think that Ron and I weren't as suited for each other as I think some other boy is," Hermione replied, smiling coyly at Harry.
"Oh?" Harry asked, confused by his friend's actions. "And who would that be?"
"I'll leave that to you to figure out," Hermione told him. "Now say goodbye to Daphne and be on your way."
Hermione gave Harry a hug but she also decided to give him a kiss as close to his lips as she dared.
As for Daphne, instead of giving Harry a hug, she kissed him full on his lips.
"Something for you to keep in mind during Christmas," Daphne said with a smirk. "Maybe we can do more when you get back..lover."
Harry and Hermione could only gawk at Daphne's blatant flirting but Hermione decided to let it go. "Don't mind her...now on your way Harry and come back soon."
Christmas at the school could not have passed quickly enough for Hermione. She did find Daphne and Tracey Davis to be great company, but she found herself missing Harry and expressed that much to her Slytherin friends. Daphne and Tracey teased her to no end about it but Daphne agreed that she could not wait for Harry to return either.
When Christmas was over, Hermione busied herself helping Susan with whatever preparations the Hufflepuff had in mind for New Year's Eve. Apparently Susan had gone to Headmistress McGonagall and received permission to set up their party in the Great Hall. Hermione thought it was a good way to start a new year because the war was over and everyone could have a normal life again.
Harry returned to the school as he had promised on New Year's eve and was swarmed by Hermione, Daphne, and, to his surprise, Susan. Each of the girls gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. By the end, Hermione thought that they had given him a heart attack from emotional overload because the boy was too shocked by the greeting that he had to sit down for a bit. When he had recovered, Hermione took him aside and questioned him about his time at the Burrow. Harry told her that it was a pleasant trip even though Ron had pestered him a little to help him make things right. Instead of agreeing, Harry gave him back his book on Twelve Ways to Woo Witches in front of Ginny and told him that since that was how he originally got Hermione, he should try it again and see if it worked. Ginny was mad that Ron had used a book to get Hermione that she had cast one of her famed bat bogey hexes on her brother. Harry also mentioned that Mrs. Weasley was disappointed that Hermione had broken up with Ron, but she also pressured Harry to get back with Ginny. He supposed he had Hermione and Daphne on his mind at the time because, although he was able to have a good time with Ginny at the Burrow, he found that he wanted to be back at Hogwarts with them. The last statement made Hermione blush but she replied that she was glad that he was back with her and would make sure that he had a good time at the party later.
Hermione spent the rest of the day getting ready for the New Year's eve party. To her, everything had to perfect, just for Harry. Daphne was of some help, especially with making Hermione's bushy hair more manageable.
"I don't think he'll know what hit him," Daphne commented when the girls were done with their preparations."Now time to go show ourselves off."
When the two girls arrived in the Great Hall, they found Harry talking with Susan. They decided to go say hello and, if Harry's facial expression was any indication, Hermione felt that the time they spent getting ready for the night was well worth it.
"So how about a dance with Hermione?" Daphne asked once Harry had finished taking in the sight of the two girls. "She's been anxious for you to return, y'know."
Harry looked at her to verify Daphne's statement. This caused Hermione to blush but she nodded.
"Sorry ladies, but Harry's already promised me a dance," Susan interrupted. "I'll try to return him intact though."
"Unfortunately I did promise Susan," Harry said. "Can't say that I'm a wonderful dancer, but I promise that you'll get the next one ok Hermione?"
Susan pulled Harry onto the dance floor, leaving Hermione and Daphne standing there by themselves.
"Well I guess Susan's putting up a better fight than I thought," Daphne commented next to her.
"I suppose," Hermione said, the gears in her head turning. "But as long as we monopolize Harry's time, Susan isn't going to stand a chance."
"I like your thinking Granger," Daphne replied with a smirk. "You and I are going to make sure that Harry has a fun time and that no other girl can steal him away from us!"
The two girls took a seat and chatted idly for a bit while Harry was dancing with Susan. A few boys who were left at the school did come by to ask Hermione to dance but she declined each time, preferring to wait for Harry.
"How come no one's asked you to dance?" Hermione asked, a little confused as to why Daphne was not asked to dance. "You're clearly better looking than I am."
Daphne laughed at the comment. "The boys have been asking you to dance because they think you're beautiful. I think they're avoiding me because of my reputation as the school's ice queen...now I think Harry's done dancing with Susan so go get that dance he owes you."
Hermione looked up and saw Harry approaching them. He held out a hand for Hermione to take and she allowed herself to be taken onto the dance floor.
"Now Harry, don't forget that you owe me the next song," Susan said in passing as she went off to grab a drink.
"What about me?" Daphne pouted. "Don't I get to dance with you too?"
Harry glanced at Hermione as if asking for approval and she gave it willingly, commenting that if they had their way, he would never be able to get rid of either of them. This brought a huge grin to the boy's face and off they went to the dance floor.
As Hermione danced with Harry, she allowed herself to indulge in the closeness. She had insisted that he join her and Ron for meals in the Great Hall when she found out that he was training at Hogwarts because she did not want her friendship with him to dwindle. The boy had declined to join her for lunch up until her recent breakup with Ron and part of her wondered why even though she thought she had an inkling as to what the response might be.
After Hermione's dance with Harry was over, Susan once again dragged the boy onto the dance floor.
"How was the dance?" Daphne asked when Hermione returned.
"He's improved a little," Hermione replied, remembering that Harry's dancing experience at the Yule Ball in their Fourth Year. "At least he didn't step on my feet."
The girls shared a laugh over Hermione's comment. The rest of the evening seemed to be spent vying for Harry's attention for as soon as either Hermione or Daphne stopped dancing with Harry, Susan would come along and snap him up. Eventually the boy had enough and wanted a rest. Consequently, the four of them were currently seated at one of the tables.
"Harry?" Hermione heard Susan say.
"Yes?"
"You know it's a tradition to kiss the person next to you to bring in the New Year's right?" Susan asked, scooting closer to the boy.
"No, why?"
In the background, Hermione could hear that some of the students were beginning a countdown to midnight and she exchanged a panicked look with Daphne. The two girls knew exactly what Susan was going to do and neither of them were pleased with it.
"Because it's nearly midnight and if you don't, the rest of the year is supposed to be filled with coldness," Susan replied, placing one hand on Harry's chest.
"Susan I think that's - " Harry started to say before he was cut off by a kiss from Susan.
Hermione wanted to scream aloud but she knew it would do nothing. Fortunately for her, Harry quickly pushed Susan away as gently as he could.
"I'm sorry Susan, but I think that the only girl for me happens to be nearby and I wouldn't mind sharing a kiss with her. That is if she'll allow me," Harry said.
When Hermione looked at Harry again, she saw that he was looking in her direction and it surprised her and thrilled her at the same time.
"So I take it that means you wouldn't want to go to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?" Susan asked once she realized where Harry was looking.
"Sorry Susan," Harry replied. "I do hope you find someone though. At least you won't have a year filled with coldness."
Susan shook her head and smiled at Harry. "You have nothing to apologize for. As long as Hermione's in the picture, I don't think that any girl is going to have a shot at you unless they were willing to share you with her. I doubt that I could."
With a "Happy New Year" to the three of them, Susan turned and went to mingle with the other students.
"I figured it out while I was at the Burrow," Harry said. "That other boy...it's me isn't it?"
"Of course it is you daft git," Hermione cried, slapping Harry playfully on his arm.
"So how about that kiss then?" Harry asked, nervousness evident in his voice.
Hermione glanced briefly at Daphne and noticed that the Slytherin girl looked a little sad. Hermione knew it was because the girl was afraid that she would be forgotten. As much as Hermione could abandon Daphne, the girl had done her a favor. Without Daphne pushing her in the right direction, Hermione may not have ever found the courage to fight for Harry's affections, much less find a way out of her relationship with Ron, permanently.
"All right, but only if you kiss Daphne too," Hermione said finally. "I told you earlier that if we had our way, you wouldn't be able to get rid of either of us. Now you're going to give each of us a kiss or face our wrath."
Harry was speechless for a moment before he burst out laughing. Hermione wanted to slap the boy because she didn't know what was so funny. However, Harry stopped her from doing anything so drastic by scooping her up in his arms and kissing her.
The kiss created a feeling of true bliss within Hermione and she found herself having trouble standing. When it was over, Hermione sat down again feeling a little lightheaded from the euphoria. She seemed to vaguely register Harry also kissing Daphne next to her, but she didn't mind. Not when Harry had just kissed her.
Hermione couldn't think of any better way to begin a new year. She shared her first kiss with the boy she loved and she found a true friend in Daphne. Life was wonderful.
A/N: So Susan's down and now Hermione's in the mix. It may be a while before I update again but at least I didn't leave it on a cliffhanger. Feedback, as always, is appreciated. Thanks!