Disclaimer: No ownage.
A/N- I decided to put in a chapter before July 16! (I hope you all know the significance of that day. If you don't, I suggest you be thoroughly ashamed of yourself.) Anyhow, to clear things up: Hermione is not "in love" with Harry as of yet. I mean, I have not made any developments in that direction and all "love" references between the two are merely friend to friend. Don't be confused please. The mysterious element is there for a reason, mind you... Slainte. (oh, and no pun intended on the chapter title!)
Chapter 15 - The Harry Situation
"Hey Ginny!" Hermione gushed, giving her friend a hug before sitting down next to her for yet another breakfast. Harry and Ron, who were slowly following Hermione, grinned warmly at Ginny as they too were seated.
"Um, hi..." Ginny said to them all, eyeing the group curiously. They ate in silence for several minutes and Ginny could definately feel the tension in the air. Perhaps the others were anticipating something she didn't know about yet. They tended to keep things from her.
"Oh Ron, would you go get me that Potions book I lent you a while back. I have a few minutes to tutor you before classes start and we can meet out in the corridor where it's quiet," Hermione said as she smiled a bit too brightly at Ron.
"Oh yeah," Ron mumbled, not looking at anyone, but getting up and scurrying from the room.
"Do you need any help Harry?" Hermione asked in an even and purposeful tone. Harry looked up from his food, searching Hermione's expression. He glanced over at Ginny, gulped down the bread he'd been chewing on and then shook his head.
"But thanks," Harry murmured, his eyes back on his plate.
"I'll be off then," Hermione said, putting down her fork and picking up her books. "Bye Ginny, bye Harry."
"Bye Mione," Ginny replied, watching the older girl exit the Hall. Harry didn't respond however and was now looking at Ginny awkwardly. She eyed him across the table and opened and closed her mouth a few times silently. Finally, she seemed to find her voice. "Are you all right today Harry?" she asked, her eyebrows drawn together in what she hoped looked like concern.
"Oh yeah, great. I'm great. Or good, I'm good. Well I'm just fine," Harry answered quickly. Ginny raised her eyebrows and then resumed eating her food. After another tense minute, Harry spoke up. "Look Ginny," he started. "I wanted to, um... well, I wanted to talk to you about what's been happening this year. You know, no matter what I'll always be here for you and such. So, I'd just like to know what's been going on and I'd really just love to talk. Just the two of us, we need to work things out."
Ginny listened to him speak and realized that this didn't sound like Harry. Harry hardly ever thought about what he was going to say before he said it. Yes, he might think of the points he's going to make, but he never works it out line by line. His words were definately chosen with care. "Um, okay then. Let's talk," she agreed shortly, leaning forward on the table to better hear whatever he had to say.
"Could we, er, perhaps we could go somewhere else?" Harry asked, his eyes darting around.
"We're the only ones at this table Harry, we'll be fine," Ginny said. She wasn't sure she wanted to be alone with Harry.
Harry looked around a bit more and then turned back to her, leaning forward as well. "Okay, here goes. Remember when you ran into Malfoy on the train?" Ginny nodded. "Well, ever since then, things have been getting steadily worse and worse between us. I mean, you've let me get close to you a few times, but you just as quickly ditch me again. I know you were trying to help me at Hogsmeade and I really do know you don't hate me, but... well..."
"You want to know if I like you as more than a friend?" Ginny tried, studying her hands in front of her on the table.
Harry nodded shortly. "It's just been so damn confusing for me. You seem to be going through a lot and sometimes I think I'm not doing enough to help you get through it. Well I don't like to make assumptions, but all this shite seems to be centered around Malfoy. Do you like Malfoy?"
Ginny looked up at him sharply and unconsciously hugged herself as if the temperature in the Hall had just dropped twenty degrees. "No Harry, I don't like Draco," she replied, her voice coming out just above a whisper.
"What has he been doing to you then? I know something's been happening... like what about that time when you came in from the rain in the middle of the night a nervous wreck? Or that time you freaked out at me at Hogsmeade? Or that time in the hallway where you passed out in Malfoy's arms? And there was also that one time you were levitated into the ward with Draco and-"
"You remember that?" Ginny asked, cutting him off.
"Not really. Hermione told me about it. I don't really remember much from that whole experience," Harry replied truthfully.
"I do," Ginny said quietly and he knew she was remembering the time they were together.
"I remember some things," he told her.
"Honestly Harry, I have nothing to tell you," Ginny said, still hugging herself.
Ginny's abrupt exit from the conversation made Harry feel utterly frustrated and helpless. He glared across the table at her, though she was still looking down. He reached over and lifted her chin so she would look at him. Her eyes shone with such intense sadness that it alarmed him. "What is he doing to you? Tell me what he did!" he said, his eyes boring into hers.
Something clicked in Ginny's mind, a vague memory recalled. "Stop Harry," she said weakly, pushing his hand away.
Harry snorted, pointing across the room with the hand she shoved away. "Look at him Ginny. Look at him with his stupid hoard and all his slutty girls. You think he wants anything good for you? No, he can really hurt you Ginny. You might not be able to see it coming, but we all do. We see he's already hurting you somehow."
"And you think I'm still blind, just like I was back with Tom, huh?" Ginny nearly hissed, eyes narrowing.
"He doesn't love you, Ginny. He only wants to hurt you," Harry continued.
"You don't know him!" Ginny shouted. The Hall went silent immediately as her voice bounced off the walls and the high ceiling.
"You don't know him," Harry retored in a whisper, studying her expression. His eyes softened, pleading, "Please Ginny, please just explain this to me. I don't know what's happening. Maybe I'll understand..."
"I have nothing to say, Harry," Ginny rasped, eyeing him coldly.
"This is it Ginny. If you turn me away this time, I'm never coming back," he told her.
Ginny stared at him for a few moments and then turned to look over her shoulder at the rest of the Hall. Her eyes darted around nervously. Almost half the hall was still watching them. She faced Harry again and opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. Her face twitched slightly and her lip began to quiver. She closed her mouth, swallowed forcefully, and tried to speak again. A little squeak emerged from her throat and her eyes filled up with tears. "I can't Harry," she whimpered, rubbing an eye with the palm of her hand. "I'm sorry."
Harry watched her silently as she quickly got up from the table and left. Instead of feeling sadness and loss, his insides were brimming with fury and hatred. To whom it was directed, he couldn't tell for sure. His eyes flicked across the room to the Slytherin table where Draco was slowly detaching himself from his housemates. Draco glanced up to catch Harry's eye and sneered. In all the years Harry had known Draco, this was the first time that he felt the unrefined, pure hatred that his rival harboured for him. It felt like invisible hands were stretching his insides apart, like something was being dug up from deep within. Draco looked away from Harry and got up from his seat. Harry was sure the prat was going after Ginny again. Just as Harry was going to leave after Ginny as well, he noticed something nestled between everyone's breakfast dishes. His heart beat faster and he glanced over at Draco who was striding towards the door, carrying what looked like his Charms textbook and a little red journal. He turned his attention back to what was on the table and instantly realized Draco and Ginny were carrying around similar notebooks. Ginny's journal was black, however, but Harry knew at once they were connected somehow. He waited until Draco had left the Hall before snatching up the journal like it was the last piece of food on the entire planet.
Ginny stormed up the stairs as hot tears spilled down her face. She brushed them aside angrily with her robe sleeve, but they kept coming with increasing frequency. Crying like this made her feel like a weeping little ninny who couldn't ever handle anything without getting emotional. Maybe it was more than a feeling, maybe it was true. She huffed a bit through the tears to remind herself that she was angry, not sad. That, however, was a complete falsity. Ginny was, in fact, a very sad girl at that moment.
"Weasley!" someone called to her from behind. She stopped reluctantly and turned to see Draco taking the stairs two at a time to catch up with her.
"Malfoy," she replied, with a stiff nod of the head in greeting. Ginny could feel her eyelashes were still wet and her eyes were shamelessly threatening to pour out more tears. Taking a deep breath, she moved up to the landing and leaned back against the railing with her arms crossed over her chest.
Draco made it to the landing and stopped a few feet away from her. She was just looking at him dully so he decided to say something first. "What's wrong with you?" he shot at her in a mean voice, as if he was accusing her of something.
She sighed and rubbed her face with both hands. "Nothing is wrong with me Draco. As a matter of fact, my life is going quite well," she replied in monotone.
He advanced on her a step. "Is that right?" he asked with a sneer.
"Oh shut up and stop trying to get my goat," she snapped, narrowing her eyes at him.
He jerked forward the rest of the way and took hold of her arms. "Ginny..." he growled, his tone menacing and his expression mutinous.
Ginny wrenched herself free and stuck up her chin defiantly. "What Draco?" she spat. "Treating me like Pansy now, eh?" He looked at her blankly but did not make another move to capture her again. "I saw how you treat her. I saw you two here on this same landing a while back."
Draco smirked at her. "Were we making out?" he asked innocently.
"No, Draco," Ginny answered without humour. "No, you were hurting her. You broke her heart."
"Pansy doesn't have a heart," Draco shot back defensively.
"Well I suppose she could have been crying just for sport," Ginny shrugged.
"You don't know my house, Ginny, so don't get deluded," he told her with another classic sneer.
"What is wrong with you?" Ginny shouted, flinging her arms up into the air in exasperation. "She was in love with you, you snotty brat! Is that how you treat people you love?" She lowered her voice when she saw a few Ravenclaw boys on their way up the stairs. "Actually, I don't care at all. I don't care about you or your stupid little games or your stupid problems or your stupid grudges. Just stay away from me and stay away from my friends. That includes Harry, by the way. In fact, if you ever try to hurt Harry again, I will personally see that you suffer for it." Ginny spun around to leave, but before she could escape, he pulled her around and kissed her on the lips hard. She pushed him off of her and slapped him viciously across the face. Draco looked taken aback and they stared at each other in silence a few moments before Ginny stormed off.
"Ready Hermione?" Harry asked the girl who was pulling back her hair into a ponytail next to him.
Hermione glanced over at Harry as he continued to shift his weight from foot to foot anxiously. "Do you need to use the bathroom, Harry?" she inquired coolly, turning back to the mirror to check her hair.
"No no no..." he breathed, wringing his hands together absentmindedly. "No, I just think we should get going. See it's already quarter to one and we said we'd meet her at one. We must be early. I need to be early for this."
"You know I hate flying! I need to be ready for this or else I'll freak out like you wouldn't believe," she threatened.
"Look, you don't have to come. I actually don't really want you to come, no offense," he said, straightening his cloak.
"I have a feeling you're gonna screw everything up tonight. Let's just call me the backup, alright? I'm like the wingman or whatever you boys call it. I'm insurance." Hermione finished fixing her hair and turned to Harry, flashing him a big smile. "How do I look?"
"Why does it matter how you look?" Harry whined in frustration. "How do I look?"
"Like my favorite person in the whole wide world," Hermione told him, batting her eyelashes.
Harry snorted loudly and peered into the mirror to study his reflection. "There is just no getting used to this," he muttered while smoothing back his blonde hair for the forty-sixth time.
"Well we'd better get going now. The polyjuice potion doesn't last forever so stop fawning over yourself like an idiot," Hermione commanded.
"Hey, I've been waiting for you!" Harry whined again.
"Whatever, Draco," Hermione said dramatically. She put her brush back into her bag and sauntered out of the room, chuckling merrily to herself all the way.