And now, multiple viewpoints in one chapter. Consistency, thou hast abandoned me!

7. Mistake, Misunderstanding, and Misstep

"He made you do detention for getting a bad grade?"

The incredulous voice echoing down the hall startled Hannah awake. She was sitting against the wall next to the entrance to her common room, having forgotten the password, in the hopes that someone would come by soon and let her in. She noticed with annoyance that her bum was numb; she must have dozed off waiting. Maybe these people would be Hufflepuffs. But then the second person spoke and she recognized Hermione Granger's voice, dashing her hopes of being let in. Gryffindors then.

"Well, not just for getting a bad grade, no, the grade and the detention were for the same reason…though I do think he's taking this a bit far…Thanks for waiting for me, though."

Hannah recognized Ron Weasley's voice next; it must be the three of them.

"No problem, I didn't mind missing lunch. It's really easy to get food from the kitchens anyway, believe me."

The first voice spoke again; it had to be Harry.

"What was that detention for, Hermione? You never get detentions, even from Snape – or bad grades, either."

Hermione giggled nervously. "It was – someone drew a heart with our initials in the margin of my essay, and he took exception to it – said it was vastly inappropriate, and not the type of behavior he expected from me, of all people. He acted rather strange about the whole thing, really."

They were getting closer now, because Hannah could hear the intake of breath as Ron asked his question.

"But weren't youmad at them? I mean, the person who did it? They made your grade drop! I mean, not that it would have mattered to me at all…if someone feels like declaring their love for me all over my homework, I say let them!" – Hermione laughed again here – "But I know grades are really important to you, and all..."

There was a pause, and the three Gryffindors rounded the corner and came into view. Hermione had a pensive expression on her face.

"Not really…I know that the essay itself was fine, the grade was only because of a silly little thing. One bad grade in the whole term isn't really going to affect my final grade for the class in any significant way, it was just Snape being –"

"A greasy git?" Harry supplied.

"Yeah. And I could have taken the heart off before if I had wanted to," (Hermione was blushing now) "I just…didn't really want to…"

Ron gave a low whistle. "Sounds like she's fallen hard, this one. So, when's the nuptials? I expect to receive an engraved invitation, and for there to be plenty of food."

Hermione's mouth fell open. "No! Nothing like that's happening! That would mean that I actually have to tell them how I feel, and I don't want to do that…everything's happened so suddenly, and I don't know…" She trailed off.

"So when did this all start, then?" Ron asked, sounding very curious.

Hermione blushed again. "A few nights ago…they…um, did something totally unexpected, and I was caught off guard, and said something kind of … encouraging of such attentions, and now, I don't know what to do…I mean, it's easy to say things like that, in the heat of the moment, but acting on your feelings is a whole other story…If I even knew what they were…"

They had passed Hannah and were reaching the far end of the hallway, but she could still hear Harry mutter under his breath, "I know exactly how you feel…" before Ron started prying into the identity of the amorous stranger.

Hannah waited until their voices had completely faded away, and then scrambled up from her place against the wall, massaging her bum absentmindedly as she did so. This was News, and Ginny had to be alerted at once. Luckily, it was a Saturday afternoon, so she should be free. And Parvati and Lavender would probably be interested too. Hannah hadn't had anything important to do in the dorms, really; this was far more urgent. And she would probably have better luck finding someone to let her in after dinner, anyway.

Ginny sat down on the bed breathing rather heavily, anxious to know what had been worth dragging her to the Gryffindor girls' dormitories all the way from the courtyard at a breakneck speed. Lavender, who had done the dragging, flopped down on the bed next to her.

"Alright, I got her," she said to Hannah and Parvati, who were already assembled, sitting on Parvati's bed. "Will you tell us now?"

"Did you lock the door?" Hannah asked seriously.

Lavender got up, slid the lock shut on the door, and threw herself back down on the bed again. "Ok, she can't break in and hear us. Now will you spill?"

Parvati shook her head in amusement at her friend's impatience, but it didn't stop her from leaning in in anticipation when Hannah opened her mouth to speak.

Ginny was curious too, now; all Lavender had told her in the courtyard was that Hannah had something important to say about her, but that she wouldn't talk until Ginny was there.

"Well, I was sitting outside my dorm," she started, and the other three all unconsciously leaned in further.

"And Hermione walked by, talking to Ron and Harry – it sounded like they were on the way to the kitchens, to get a late lunch, because Hermione had been in a detention with Snape."

Ginny could feel her face turning white. She had a bad feeling about this.

"And she said it was because of an essay she turned in, which –"

Ginny let out a gasp. Shitshitshitshitshit, this was bad. "Oh no! That must be the essay that – that night, when I was playing the song for her and being seductive, I wrote our initials in a heart on her essay – I just wanted to make sure that she knew what I meant, but –" Ginny was wringing her hands so hard that it hurt.

All eyes were now riveted on her, and Lavender and Parvati both wore identical expressions of horrified fascination.

"Did she say if he took points off her grade for it?" asked Ginny miserably.

"Yeah, it sounded like she got a pretty bad grade on it," Hannah supplied, looking concerned.

Ginny was sure that any concern she felt could not remotely match Ginny's own concern – No, remorse. There was not a word to convey how bad Ginny felt right now. "Why did I do it?" she moaned aloud. "I was just trying to – and then it went all wrong, and now she's going to hate me!"

Lavender patted her back tentatively and traded helpless looks with Parvati.

"But she –" Hannah started, but Ginny cut her off, heedless.

"I came on too strong! And here I was, thinking it was going fine all these days, but it's only because she hadn't gotten her essay back yet. Why did I do it? I should never have written on her essay of all places, what was I thinking?" She buried her head in her hands. "Maybe we're just not meant for each other!"

Hannah opened her mouth to speak again, but Parvati gave her a stern look. This was a Serious Problem, one which only she and Lavender were qualified to deal with.

"I don't think you were coming on too strong," said Lavender, consolingly. "I mean, if she was really interested, I think she would have done something by now; you were sending all the right signals. It's really not your fault if she hasn't responded yet."

"Yeah," agreed Parvati, in the same tone. "It's nothing you did; she's probably just not interested. Essay or no essay. If she had been interested, the grade probably wouldn't have made a difference to her."

"It didn't," Hannah interrupted in a small voice, but Parvati wasn't done talking.

"You tried your best, Ginny, really. But there's not much you can do if there's nothing on her end…I'd say just move on and find someone else, at this point. I'm sure not everybody will be as unreceptive to your charms."

Ginny snorted. This is supposed to make me feel better? The older girls couldn't know what they were talking about; maybe they had never actually liked someone. Honestly, you'd think it doesn't matter to them who they go out with! I won't give up that easily. And I don't believe for one minute that she's not interested either.

"No, that's not right, I'm sure she was interested…" she muttered, standing up from the bed. "Anyway, I – I have to go now, actually – Quidditch practice – thanks for telling me though, I appreciate knowing…"

Parvati and Lavender shared a knowing look. Running away from one's problems was understandable, and they could give Ginny some time if that's what she needed.

"But –" Hannah started, sounding somewhat desperate, but Ginny was already out the door. She didn't actually have Quidditch practice for another half hour, but she needed to go somewhere where she could think. And somewhere where she wouldn't have heartless girls giving her bad advice that she had no intention of following.

The common room was full, seeing as it was a Saturday and cold outside, so Ginny continued past the common room and out of the dorm. She had her cloak and outdoor robes with her already since she had come straight from the courtyard, and so she headed out of the castle and down to the Quidditch pitch. There shouldn't be anyone in the locker room right now; it would be an idea quiet place to think.

As predicted, the locker room was empty, so she slipped in and let herself drop onto a bench. Resting her head in her hands, she let her thoughts spiral out.

She had told Parvati that she was sure Hermione was interested, but to be honest with herself, she couldn't be sure that the other girl was interested. What if, despite her best efforts, Ginny was still coming on too strong, and then if Hermione reacted, it would only be out of a sense of obligation? No, that wasn't right…Ginny wanted Hermione to like her on her own, for her own sake, not in some artificial, manufactured way. And if Hermione was mad at her for the grade, as she had every right to be, then Ginny especially couldn't pressure her…like she had been doing that fateful night when she drew the heart.

Ginny groaned. What was she going to do? The situation had turned out bad, yes, but she wouldn't let this be the end of it. She would just have to back off, and let Hermione take the lead for now. Ginny had made her intentions known, after all, there wasn't much more that she could do. It was up to Hermione to decide what she wanted.

Granted, she still felt immensely guilty about causing Hermione – Hermione, of all people! – to get a bad grade (and a detention!) in Potions, but what was done was done. There was nothing much she could do at this point except apologize, and hope that it wouldn't be too uncomfortable. At least now, with everything up to Hermione, she couldn't make any more mistakes like she had done before. Ginny felt comforted by this resolve, and only hoped that she would be able to stick to it.