Portrait Between the Pages
Dissimilarities

"Sorry for earlier," Ron muttered as they left the room of requirement.

Hermione turned to look at him. "Why are you apologizing to us? Shouldn't you be apologizing to your sister?"

"Hermione's right," Harry said. "I mean, what did you say to us that was wrong? With everything going on, it's good to be wary of this kind of thing, right?"

"I was just worried the same thing that happened to Ginny would happen to Hermione," Ron said.

"That's sweet, I guess," Hermione said, although his worry felt slightly patronizing. "But comparing this to what Ginny went through? If she says it's not the same, it's not the same."

"I guess," Ron said. "With my older brother Percy believing the ministry instead of Harry, You-Know-Who is back…." Ron stiffened, looking around for Umbridge, almost fearing their Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher might pop out of nowhere, clearing her throat in that creepy manner while looking at everyone as if they'd done something wrong when they hadn't. "You'd think, given what happened to Ginny, he'd actually believe Harry. And then you find that diary."

"Not so loud," Harry said. "She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named might be listening."

Ron let out a laugh. "Good one, Harry. Don't let her hear that, though."

Umbridge rounded the corner as if on cue, completely dressed head to toe in a vivid pink color. She tilted her head slightly, her hands in front of her as she smiled a very fake smile. "Shouldn't the three of you be getting back to the dorms? It's almost curfew, isn't it."

Ron opened his mouth to protest when Hermione grabbed onto his arm. "We're headed back now, Professor Umbridge. We were just studying."

She looked them up and down. "The entrance to the school library is on the first floor."

"We never said we were studying in the library," Harry said. "Just that we were studying."

"Can we be on our way?" Ron asked.

She gave a curt nod and headed on her way, leaving the three to breathe a sigh of relief before hurrying to Gryffindor Tower, giving the portrait of the Fat Lady the password so they could enter the common room. Hermione bid her two friends farewell before heading to her door room, where she changed into her pajamas and climbed into bed, placing her book bag on her nightstand.

Sleep didn't come even after the other Gryffindor girls in her year retired for the night, leaving her to her thoughts of the OWLs, which would be at the end of the term, and how Umbridge wasn't teaching them Defense of the Dark Arts as she should. Hermione took a deep breath. "It's not just about doing well on my OWLs, though." A hand nudged her at that moment, making Hermione nearly jump out of bed. She turned onto her back, her eyes blinking. "Ginny?"

"Can I sleep with you tonight?" Ginny said, her mouth pushed together. "I couldn't sleep."

Hermione scooted over to the side of her bed to make room for Ginny, sitting up as she did. "Want to talk about it?"

"Do you?" Ginny asked.

"Well, you and I know what's really going on out there," Hermione said, keeping her voice low to not wake any dorm mates. "But as a Muggleborn, I need to be able to protect myself as well as my parents."

"Me," Ginny said. "I was remembering opening up the Chamber of Secrets during my first year, killing chickens, letting that snake out, and I remember him being in my head. I remember what it felt like, but I'd not dreamed of what happened in so long."

Hermione frowned, her head turning to look at her book bag where Regulus' diary was.

"Could I talk to him? Regulus?"

"We don't want to wake the rest of the dorm," Hermione said, "But why not. Our conversation with him in the Room of Requirement kind of ended in the wrong spot, and I'd like to ask why he took off after finding I was Muggleborn."

"No way," Ginny said, her eyes widening.

"Yes, well," Hermione held up her finger, indicating they should be quiet while pulling the curtains around her bed shut before using a spell to light the tip of her wand so they could see better.

Regulus blinked back at them from the painted portrait, looking at them confused, but then his cheeks flushed. "Wait. Are you two in your pajamas?"

"Shush," Hermione said, holding her finger to her mouth. "You'll wake my dorm mates up."

"I'm in the girls' dormitory?" Regulus squeaked out, his face even redder as he looked from side to side. "Why would you—are you sure you're not related to Sirius?"

"That question again?" Hermione held back a laugh.

"Silly question. You know now Hermione's Muggleborn," Ginny said. "But I thought you had a girlfriend," she teased before adding. "Who I want to know more about." Her comment made Regulus look at her, but the look on his face was far from pleased she'd brought up his girlfriend again. "And what's with dashing away from your portrait once you found out Hermione's Muggleborn like you did?"

"Oh, that," Regulus frowned, looking at the ground despite nothing they could see for him to look at. "Kind of the same issue. I mean, they're kind of tied together, you might say."

"Oh?" Hermione said, brushing back her bushy brown hair from her face.

"Well," he said, looking quite uncomfortable.

"Go on," Ginny said. "Tell us."

"It was rather presumptuous of me to say I have a girlfriend," Regulus said. "I've honestly no experience with the fairer sex. Sirius, on the other hand…."

"Okay. We get it," Hermione said. "Sirius was fond of the fairer sex when he was younger."

"But what does any of this have to do with why you took off when you found out Hermione's Muggleborn?"

"It wasn't that," Regulus said, his cheeks flushing as he looked away. "The girl I liked—I was reminded she'd already picked out what she would name her daughter if she had one. The name was from Shakespeare."

"Oh. That's why you know Shakespeare, the work of a Muggle," Hermione said. "It was to impress a girl, wasn't it."

"Something like that," Regulus said.

Hermione turned to Ginny. "And you? What is with this wanting to gossip all of a sudden?"

"I don't know," Ginny said. "I guess it's the mystery of it. But it's not like that time."

"That time?" Regulus asked. "Am I allowed to know?"

"Well," Hermione frowned.

"He should know because it's why my brother Ron dislikes him so…," Ginny said.

"It's not the only reason, though," Hermione said.

"Yes, but he should know. Shouldn't he? I mean, it's not like this diary is going to possess you like that one did me, right?"

"True," Hermione said, not noticing Regulus' mouth twisting as she looked at Ginny, feeling they should tell him. She turned to say something, only—

"I am not a Horocrux!" Regulus said firmly.

Hermione's eyes blinked, with her quite sure Regulus' gray eyes had somehow grown darker in that same scary way Sirius' could. "A what? A Horo…."

"Not so loud!" Regulus said.

"You were quite loud," Ginny said.

Regulus startled, his eyes blinking and returning to their normal color. "Sorry. Those things are really horrible, so bad you shouldn't be going around talking about them even. But what I don't understand is how you…." His eyes blinked. "What's your name?"

"Ginny. Ginny Weasley."

"Alright," Regulus said. "Weasley?"

"My parents are Arthur and Molly Weasley."

Regulus' eyes blinked. "Is Molly well?"

"She's…."

"No, no," Regulus closed his eyes. "Now's not the time for that. I need to know how a child came to get their hands on a Horcrux. It did, after all."

"You mean Tom Riddle's diary," Ginny said.

Hermione watched Regulus' facial features contort, utter horror appearing on his face. "T-t…."

"Tom Riddle," Hermione said. "As in…."

"I know who he bloody is!" Regulus snapped before muttering apologies, his eyes closing. "He bloody created more than one! More than one!"

"Not," Ginny started to say when the curtain to Hermione's bed sprung open.

"Okay! Where are you two hiding the cute boy!" one of Hermione's dorm mates said.

"Lavender?" Hermione swallowed, her eyes blinking. "What boy?"

"I know I heard him. He sounded quite handsome as well," Lavender Brown said, batting her eyes in a dreamy-eyed manner. "Where is he?"

Hermione looked down to see Regulus had disappeared again and didn't respond. Ginny did instead, grinning ear to ear. "Sorry. No cute boy here, though you can check under the bed."

"Really?"

Hermione's eyes widened as she watched the other girl duck down, only to be disappointed a few minutes later. She reached out for her bag and put the diary in it.

"No boy," Lavender pouted.

"Lavender, go to bed!" another dormmate said.

And then Lavender was climbing in bed with them, leaving Hermione quite cramped before she turned in. "You do have to tell me, Hermione Granger, how you managed to sneak a boy into the dorm, what with that spell the founders placed to keep boys out of the girls' dorms."

Hermione let out a sigh as Ginny chuckled from her other side.