Gryffindor won! Yes, it was quite exciting; having Ron done so well in the game, but Hermione couldn't even get to him to congratulate him, not through the crowd that had gathered around him. There was a sudden quiet and renewed noise in the form of cat-calling.
When Hermione finally made her way through the crowd, she saw the source of their newfound noise; right before her eyes were Ron and Lavender kissing. Before her eyes, the horror increased as the two began to snog. Hermione sniffed and right as she turned on her toes, she caught Fred's eye. "Hermione!" Fred called, but Hermione had already sprinted from the Gryffindor Common Room.
After running behind her for about three minutes, Fred finally heard her signature sobbing around a corridor outside. Fred approached her slowly, unsure of what her reaction to company would be. He sat near her and her sobbing became more intense. It was at times like these Fred wish he had the ability to cut mentally and bleed without notice to ease his emotional strain.
"Hermione…" Fred sighed. Hermione looked to Fred, her eyes glistening in the soft light. Her lip was trembling and she looked so… broken. "Oh, Fred!" she sobbed, falling into him. He securely wrapped his arms around her and she shook silently.
After a few minutes, she leaned upward once more, still trembling. She was cold, shivering in the cool night air. "Do you want to go inside? You look freezing." Hermione shook her head, "Ron's inside, snogging Lavender, I'll bet. Can we stay outside?" Hermione asked. "Yeah, that's fine, whatever you need." Fred sighed. Hermione slipped her hands into the armholes of Fred's robes to get warm, feeling cloth bandages upon his arms.
"W-what's this, Fred?" Hermione asked, her voice hallow. Fred froze.
Oh no, she can feel the bandages.
"Fred!?" Hermione said in a panicked tone, pushing his sleeves back. She revealed two sets of tightly wrapped cloth bandages wrapping all the way down his forearms. "What happened?" She shrieked. Fred shook his sleeves back down, "Shhhhh, Hermione. It's okay. I'm okay…" Fred said, attempting to calm her down. Hermione looked into his eyes. "How long?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper as she pressed his sleeves back once more.
"Since I was eleven. It's only been this bad this year." Fred said, his voice shaken. "Hermione, please don't." but Hermione couldn't hear him anymore. Blood was pounding through her ears as fresh tears fell from her eyes. Fred had been hurting himself and she didn't even know. He'd been broken and she was too worried about her and Ron to even care. She'd been angry at him and accused him for things, not even considering how he dealt with it and everything else. As the tears stung her cheeks, she screamed in her head that she was the worst friend a person could have.
"Hermione…" Fred sighed once more, feeling horrid for not telling her sooner. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. I didn't want you to know. I didn't want you to think I was weak. All I have wanted is to be a pillar for you to lean on. That's all… but I can't. I haven't been honest…" Fred said, feeling her tears leak through the bandages.
"I have been doing worse this year because I know I am not being everything I could be for you. I just wish I could do better and I punish myself for not being everything for you, Hermione. I'm so sorry."