((Chapter 10! I love writing this story so much. Please review! I love reviews!))

Chapter 10::
Falling for Her

Christmas holiday had turned out great for Hermione. Her parents went back to work together, but still took some days off to spend time with her. Even when they didn't spend time together, Hermione enjoyed the alone time. It gave her the opportunity to make plans. Plans, she knew, her parents would need. On Christmas, after exchanging gifts, her and her parents had sat on the couch under a blanket watching old movies together until the next morning. It was perfect in every way.

Well, unless she counted the letter she had received from Harry and Ginny the day after Christmas holiday started. That had taken down her joy a notch or two. When she had first received it she was touched. Her two best friends had finally taken the time to notice her. Granted, they always noticed her, but it must have taken a lot of thought to realize how sick she was. The signs really weren't that obvious. However, at the end of the letter, the sentimental feeling evaporated into pure terror. They had noticed and expected her to tell them what was going on. That left her one option. She had to tell them. Otherwise, they wouldn't stop prying and pushing.

Besides, how could she possibly lie to her best friends?

So, now, as she ran through the barrier to Platform 9 ¾, she could feel her knees shake. Perhaps she should've taken her parents advice and just stayed home. Instead of being nauseas with fear, she could be sitting on her couch right now and getting her fill of her favorite television shows. But, no, she had to be a glutton for punishment and telling her best friends was certainly punishment. Even as she crossed the platform, her new boots clicking across the concrete, she could hear her knees shake. She didn't even think that was possible, but it was.

She boarded the train and walked anxiously to the compartment they usually occupied. Shaking the whole way, she felt like she was on the way to face her demise. That certainly made her feel odd, it did. Normally, her friends evoked a pleasant response. Now they were having the opposite effect. Instead of being happy at the thought of seeing her friends, she was mortified. She was about to tell two of the most important people in her life that she was dying.

Nothing in the world was harder than that.

Reaching the compartment, her hand touched the cool medal of the door handle. Through the glass, she saw Harry and Ginny cuddled together on the seat. Hermione watched as they laced their hands, Ginny resting her head on her shoulder; a sweet and loving smile on her face. Her heart ached when she saw Harry rest his chin on the top her head, playing with the ring on his fiancé's finger. The pure contentment she saw in his eyes about broke her heart. They were a picture of ease and love; a sight that—though she would never admit it out loud—she would give anything to be a part of someday.

Knowing it was now or never, Hermione slid open the door and stepped in to interrupt the couple. While it pained her to know she was about to ruin their perfect world, she couldn't help but feel relieved that Ron wasn't there with them. "Hey, guys."

Ginny lifted her head at her voice, her hand still in Harry's. "Hermione!"

Harry, noting his best friend's anxious appearance, felt a pull to comfort her. So, giving into the urge, he detached himself from Ginny and pulled Hermione in for a fierce hug. When he felt her squeeze back, he buried his face in her neck. Every inch of him was still feeling the intense guilt that was brought on by his realization of neglect. After everything that this wonderful witch had done for him, he didn't notice that she needed him; that something was wrong. How could he do that and still call himself her friend?

Hermione, graciously returning the hug, felt the sudden urge to cry. After all of these months, Harry and Ginny figured her out. All of this time, she thought she was so careful. She thought she could pull it all off. And yet, as she wrapped her arms around his waist, only to feel Ginny hugging her from the back, part of her was glad she no longer had to. These two loved her and had a right to know. If anything, they could help her through it; help her cope. With that thought fresh in her mind, she gave into temptation and started to cry.

Ginny didn't know what possessed her to hug Hermione from behind. Maybe it was just the look on her best friend's face when she walked into the compartment; the look that was filled with pain and sorrow. Even hugging Harry didn't fully take the pain away from her eyes. So, instead of waiting her turn to hug Hermione, she walked around the two and hugged her from behind. Hermione looked like she needed a lot of human contact right now. She would give it to her. Whatever she was going through must have been terrible.

Breaking away, Hermione was led to a seat by Harry. He sat next to her, holding her hand as Ginny did the same on her other side. Neither of them spoke as they waited for Hermione's tears to subside. She would talk when she was ready. They were just happy she was going to tell them what was wrong. Whatever it was, they would work through it together and everything would be fine.

Too bad they were wrong.

Wiping away her tears, Hermione turned her blurry eyes to Harry and then to Ginny. "Sorry to get all weepy on you two." Her voice cracked.

Ginny laughed lightly. "Oh, it's quite alright. We can handle a good cry here and there."

"That's right. You can cry on us whenever you need to." Harry wrapped his arm around her shoulders, his other hand in hers.

Trying to put off the inevitable, she asked, "Where's Ronald?"

Ginny and Harry exchanged a glance. "He won't be coming back until a little later, Mione." Harry said, unsure as to how she will react.

Raising an eyebrow, curiosity took a hold of her. "Why is that?"

Ginny giggled lightly at the irony. "While we were visiting WWW, he ate a piece of candy George had in the stockroom."

"Ok?"

"Well, what he didn't know was that they were candies made by George." Harry said, thinking she would understand.

She didn't. "Ok. What does that have to do with him not being here?"

Ginny laughed at the memory of Ron's face right before they left that morning. "Well, the candies were invented by George for the shop. They're meant to transform the person eating them into a Kneazle for a few hours."

At this, Hermione had to laugh. "So, let me get this straight. Ron is sitting at home as a Kneazle?"

Harry nodded. "The formula wasn't complete. George and Percy have only been working on them for a few weeks so they haven't worked it out yet. So, instead of being a Kneazle for a few hours, he'll be stuck as one for a few weeks."

Hermione was laughing so hard, at this rate, that she had to be careful to not fall out of the seat. "That's bloody brilliant!"

The three friends enjoyed laughing at their furry little friend. The irony was not lost on them either. After being such a git the last few weeks, it was about time he got taught a lesson. Even if it was just an accidental lesson, it would work for them either way.

"Thanks for that, you two." Hermione said, smiling at her two friends. "I needed it."

At hearing her crestfallen voice, Ginny couldn't help but ask. "What's wrong, Mione? What have you been keeping from us?"

Harry just took Hermione's hand again. She didn't need to hear the question twice.

Hermione nodded her head. It was time they were told. She just hoped that they didn't treat her different. "Can you two promise me something?"

Harry nodded, Ginny following suit.

"Promise me that you won't treat me any different. Promise that you will still treat me like the same old Hermione." Her voice was strong, unwavering. What do you know?

Harry, exchanging a glance with Ginny, nodded his head. "Of course. No matter what it is, you'll still be Hermione."

Ginny just nodded and watched her friend's face.

"Very well." She clutched their hands tighter.

"I have leukemia."

Here was the moment of truth. She was finally going to tell them the hardest part of all. Hermione prayed they wouldn't fall apart.

"I'm dying."

No words were spoken as Hermione finished her story. She told them everything; the doctors, the treatments, Malfoy, all of it. They never interrupted, never yelled. All they did was hold her hand and listen. She loved them for that. It was by far the best thing they could have done for her.

Now, as she stared at the floor, she waited for them to speak. Ginny's head was on Hermione's shoulder, her hand rubbing her arm. Harry was silent, though he had continued to squeeze her hand. They were trying to let it all sink it, to believe it. After everything, this was nothing like what they had expected her to say. This was different, a silent killer. It was one that they couldn't fight and Hermione knew that that was going to be the worse part for Harry.

The silence seemed to stretch on as the train continued towards the school. Hermione was comforted by their squeezes and touches. It kept her from having yet another crying fit. "I'm really sorry I didn't tell you two. It's just not something that's easy to say."

Ginny sighed and Hermione could hear the silent cries her best friend was trying to obscure. With tears in her own eyes, she leaned her head against Ginny's and clutched her hand. "It's ok, Gin. I right here."

Nodding her head, Ginny wrapped her arms around her best friend, clutching her tightly as she let the tears fall. This just could not be true. This just couldn't be possible. Hermione meant the world to Ginny. She was her best friend, the girl that she could talk to about everything. Feeling Hermione circled her arms around her as well, Ginny cried her heart out.

Harry was frozen and unable to speak. Nothing felt real to him since Hermione came clean. This had to be false. It just had to be. The three continued to hold onto each other, Hermione trying really hard not to cry and she felt Harry hug her back, tears falling from his own eyes. She had known that this would be the hardest part of her cancer. Telling those she loved was proving to be the worst experience in her whole life.

"I'm so sorry, Mione." Harry whispered against her back.

Hermione just nodded and didn't say anything. There was nothing to say. She was dying and they knew it. They had nothing to be sorry about; she'd made peace with it.

Ginny pulled back, wiping the tears off of her face. "How long, Hermione?"

Hermione knew that question was coming sooner or later. That didn't make it any less painful, however. "Less than two years."

Ginny started sobbing harder this time, her harsh cries echoing through the compartment. Since she couldn't reach her wand, Hermione was glad when Harry cast a silencing charm around them. They didn't need to worry about being heard. They just sat there, clutching onto each other for dear life… or what little life Hermione had left.

Draco was walking down the small hallway of the train when he first heard the cries. They were loud and full of such pain that Draco was almost knocked into the wall. Pulling out his wand, he raced down the hall, only to get confused when the crying suddenly stopped. Coming to a halt, he put his wand away, kind of annoyed that he had gotten so riled up to begin with. Whoever was crying didn't concern him. Therefore, he didn't care enough to rush to their aid.

Rolling his eyes, he made to turn; his eyes falling on a compartment. Looking inside, what he saw nearly took the breath right out of his lungs. In the compartment, where he suddenly decided the crying had come from, were Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, and the Weaselette. It wasn't Hermione who was crying like he had thought when he first glanced. It was Ginny Weasley, who had her arms clutching around Hermione with a death grip. Thinking she must have gotten hurt or something, he made to turn away. As he did so, he noted Harry Potter clutching onto Granger as well, from the back. Unsure of what to think, he finally understood what he was seeing.

She had finally told them. The know-it-all stubborn bookworm had finally told her friends that she was dying. Feeling the urge to go comfort her, he shook it off. He had managed to spend the majority of Christmas Holiday without thinking of her. Well, ok, maybe only a fourth of the time not thinking about her, but it was all the same to him. It didn't matter if he thought about her until deep into the night. It didn't matter that his heart would clench whenever he thought of her suffering. And it really didn't matter that he was falling for her, but refused to admit it.

No, it didn't matter at all.

Hermione saw Malfoy looking at her; saw the torn look on his face. She knew that look. He was stuck between asking what was wrong and just walking away. He'd had that same face before. Several times, in fact; each time being when she was in some sort of tangle; when he'd followed her before she collapsed, when she saw him for the first time after awaking, and several other times after that.

Part of her wanted him to walk in; to tell her that he was sorry for running out and ignoring her for months. Although, the other part of her wanted nothing more than to turn her back on him. He wasn't a good guy and she knew it. But, why couldn't she get his face out of her mind when she was falling to sleep at night? Why couldn't she stop wondering if he was thinking about her?

She knew the answers to these questions, she did. She just didn't want to think about them. If he wanted to act as if she didn't exist, that was fine. She could play that game. As she met his eyes in a defiant way, he walked away, without even throwing a smirk at her. That in and of itself was odd to her. His smirking was like her love for books or roses. It was an ingrown characteristic. He must have really been peeved. But, she didn't want to think about that. Instead, she focused her attention of her two best friends; clutching onto her tightly. They were both still crying, still fighting what she had told them. They would let go eventually. Until then, she held onto them both.

All the while, she was unaware that the Black Magic in her hair was glistening.