Well this is the one of three chapters I was really excited about. Can Hermione fix things with Ron and Neville? Or is it a disaster waiting to happen? Let's see shall we..
Not Beta'd so please don't start telling me about typos
Disclaimer: All recognized characters and situations belong to J. K. Rowling. I make no money from writing this and own nothing in the Harry Potter Universe.
Saturday had arrived and with it a Hogsmede weekend. Hermione and Neville were with Professor McGonagall, helping to get all the students with permission into the Thestral pulled carriages.
Draco had grumbled all morning about having to spend the day with Harry, until Hermione pointed out that she wasn't forcing him but he would have to deal with her friends eventually if he was going to be part of her life.
Now he was very grumpily sitting in a carriage with Ginny, on the way to meet Harry, where they would wait for Hermione to finish her Head Girl duties.
"Nicolas Allen" Hermione called, "don't think I can't see you sneaking into that carriage, five pints from Hufflepuff" she reprimanded the little second year that had tried to sneak into a carriage on every Hogsmede weekend since September.
As the boy walked back into the castle, mumbling to himself Hermione took another look around and got into the last carriage to go to the little wizarding village.
She settled herself in for the short journey, arranging her cardigan so as not to get wrinkled when the carriage door opened and Neville got in.
She decided not to try and start a conversation - would only get rebuffed or ignored - and sat quietly looking out of the window as the carriage started moving.
"Hey" he said quietly.
She smiled but didn't say anything, Today was going to be a good day, and that did not include feeling guilty about Neville.
"Err.. Hermione, can I talk to you for a second before we get there?" Neville asked.
"You can talk to me whenever you like, I never told you not to" Hermione replied, keeping an even voice and calm smile on her face.
"Erm yeah, well I just wanted to say sorry for avoiding you the last few months and stuff, I guess I didn't handle my feelings well" Neville told her.
Hermione resisted the urge to let her jaw drop to the carriage floor, the plan was working better than she and Ginny planned it would seem.
"Well I guess I understand, it's definitely hard to see someone you have feelings for with someone else. I don't really think moving out of the head dorm was necessary though" Hermione replied, thinking back Ron's debut as Gryffindor goalkeeper and the subsequent snog he shared with Lavender in the common room after.
"I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, I just can't stand watching him with you, I mean he's still Malfoy" Neville tried to explain.
"I know who he is Neville. It's splashed all over the Daily Prophet every day to remind me! Look how about this, we start afresh, from today no more avoiding or ignoring, we fought a war together. This cannot ruin our friendship!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Okay, starting fresh sounds good" Neville agreed.
"Good, so what are your plans for the day?" Hermione asked, even though she already knew.
Neville blushed and mumbled "Date with Luna"
"That's great!" Hermione exclaimed again, putting all the emphasis in her exclamation as if she hadn't known.
"Yeah, we're just going to Madam Puddifoot's but I think we'll have fun, she's really nice" Neville admitted.
"Of course she is, Luna is great, a little eccentric maybe, but still a wonderful person" Hermione agreed.
Just as Neville was about to say something else the carriage stopped. Hermione looked out the window and realised they were already in Hogsmede, just across from the Three Broomsticks.
Draco was standing outside, he looked furious. A look that got worse when Neville helped Hermione out of the carriage.
Hermione said goodbye to Neville and crossed to the pub.
"What are you doing standing around out here for?" she asked as she kissed him quickly on the lips.
"Weaselbee decided to join scarhead and the Weasette for the day, he almost had a stroke when he saw me standing there. What was that gormless oaf Longbottom doing with you?" Draco asked, he was clearly seething.
"Darling calm down" Hermione soothed, Draco's grey eyes were almost black and his hands were curled into fists.
"And please stop calling Harry and Ginny those names, I really hate it" Hermione told him.
"I'll call them whatever the bloody hell I want Hermione and I don't want Longbottom touching you again, I don't want anyone touching you" Draco raged.
"For goodness sake Draco, he only gave me his hand to help me off the carriage, what on earth has gotten into you?" she demanded.
"Oh screw this I don't need to sit with those self-obsessed Gryffindor 'Oh I saved the world' freaks" Draco yelled.
Hermione's eyes welled up instantly and she stepped back from him, "I see, so that's what you think of me too is it? I'm glad you told me this now" Hermione said turning her back on him and entering the pub.
Draco didn't follow her as she asked Madam Rosmerta where her friends were, and followed the older witch up to the private rooms.
She entered the room that she was directed to and upon seeing the occupants, walked straight over to Ron and punched him square on the nose.
"Bloody Fucking Hell Hermione! What did you do that for?" he screeched from the floor.
"It was for whatever stupid ignorant pathetic thing you said or did that put my boyfriend into such a bad mood that he would insult a plant pot if it was in his way!" Hermione screamed back at him.
"What did you do Ronald?" Hermione demanded.
"Just told him a few home truths, maybe he'll get the message and leave you alone" Ron replied, without any remorse in his voice at all, even with the blood flowing from his nose.
"For Circe's sake Ron, I don't want him to leave me alone. In fact the only person I really want gone is you. I can't believe I actually considered making up with you, you stupid self-centred git" she yelled, turning to leave.
Harry grabbed her hand and pulled her back just as she reached the door, he turned to Ron, "I think you should leave"
"Oh come on Harry, you know you agree with me" Ron brushed him off.
"I said, I think you should leave" Harry said again, "You've gone to far Ron"
"But we're mates, he just the son of a death eater and an arsehole to boot" Ron argued.
This time Hermione turned and pulled her wand on him "If you don't leave I will hex you so badly, Lucius Malfoy would beg me to be his daughter"
Ron growled but gave up and walked to the door, slamming it behind him.
"What did he do?" Hermione demanded immediately.
Ginny stepped forward from her spot in the corner where she had stayed quiet, struggling between family loyalty and wanting to smack Ron for being a royal pratt.
"He didn't do anything, just running his mouth as usual"
"Fine, what did he say" Hermione sighed, exasperated.
"Just the usual, that's he's a death eater and should be in Azkaban etc.." Harry told her.
"No, don't cover for him, that wouldn't put Draco in that mood" Hermione insisted.
Harry and Ginny looked at each other, silently communicating.
"Someone better tell me before I go and hex him into the next millennium" Hermione growled.
"He said that he would prove Malfoy has you under the imperious curse and that he would enjoy personally arresting and charging Draco with use of an unforgivable and rape" Ginny whispered.
Hermione's mouth dropped open and she slumped into the nearest available seat "Oh no" she quietly cried.
"I'm sorry 'Mione, I never would have let him come with me if I thought he was going to do that, he said he wanted to make amends" Harry said as he put his arm around Hermione's shoulder.
"You don't understand. When he came back to school, he was completely messed up. I used to have to talk him into eating. Being around all those death eaters and the things they used to do, he barely mentally survived as he was forced to watch them rape and kill people for fun. You really have no idea what Ron just did" Hermione said as she wiped away her tears, only to have them replaced with new ones.
Before Harry could say anything Hermione jumped up, "Oh god Neville. If Draco sees Neville he might do something really stupid" she screeched as she ran to the door.
Harry and Ginny followed her as she ran straight out of the pub and down the street towards Madam Pudifoot's.
She could see Neville and Luna sitting at the back, no Draco in sight and Hermione breathed a sigh of relief.
"Harry do you have the Marauder's Map with you?" I need to see if he went back to school" Hermione explained as Harry gave her an odd look and pulled it from his back pocket.
He pointed his wand at the blank parchment "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good"
Hermione opened the map right up until she could see the Slytherin common room, Draco wasn't there. Nor was he in her rooms, the Astronomy tower or any of his other usual haunts around the school.
"Where is he" she mumbled to herself.
"Wait, there!" Ginny exclaimed, pointing to a disused classroom, "he's got Blaise Zabini with him"
Hermione breathed deeply and calmed herself down.
"Guys, go and enjoy the rest of your day okay, you don't need to deal with this" Hermione said, pointing her wand at the map and muttering "Mischief managed"
Harry grabbed Hermione in a fierce embrace "I'm really sorry 'Mione"
"Not your fault Harry, you didn't know what he was going to do, but today settles it, I really will never speak to Ronald Billius Weasley again ad I understand if that causes a problem for you guys and you don't want to be around me anymore" Hermione said hoping with everything in her that Harry wouldn't cut her out of his life.
"Don't be ridiculous Hermione, apart from our blood you are my sister in every way, I would never do that to you" Harry assured her, before taking Ginny's hand and walking away, the longer they were on the street the more likely the press would find them.
Hermione made her way back to the carriages and back to the castle.
Once she was there she wasn't sure what she should do. She didn't want to go to Draco and make things worse, but she was desperate to see him and make sure he was okay.
She decided to go to the room the two boys were holed up in and listen outside the door to see how the land lay.
She could hear loud banging and the sound of wood cracking. She peeped through a crack in the door and could see Draco kicking a table to pieces, he looked almost possessed.
The head girl in her wanted to go in and put a stop to the destruction. The girlfriend in her wanted to go in and comfort him, but the clever witch and war heroin in her knew a death eater when she saw one and she knew it would be better to leave him alone.
Blaise was with him, that would have to be enough.
Slowly she made her way back to her rooms and sat on the couch to wait, he would come eventually.
…
What felt like days but was really only hours later the portrait slammed open and Draco stumbled in.
"GRANGER!" he screamed even though she was standing right in front of him.
"I'm right here Draco, stop screaming" she said to him, quickly checking the hall for anyone that might have seen him and closing the portrait. Warding it shut.
Draco was swaying on the spot, his cheeks were rosy and he smelt like he had been swimming in a barrel of Ogden's finest.
"Draco, I'm so sorry about Ronald, I swear I will never see that pig-headed oaf again, I'll never forgive him" she told him, trying to interlace her fingers with him.
Draco snatched his hand away and stumbled across the room.
"Why apologise, after all I am a death eater, this proves it" he replied sarcastically, raising his sleeve to show his fading dark mark.
"Draco you know that isn't true, you are not a death eater, you never really were" Hermione soothed him.
"Oh I know that. But Weaselbee is going to arrest me for raping you, can't argue with wonderboy's sidekick" he slurred.
"Draco stop it, I love you. Please, it's just Ron being a horrendous idiot"
"Well more fool you, I thought you were the smartest witch of your age, how stupid of you to fall in love with a death eater" Draco growled, picking up a book from her desk and throwing it across the room.
"Draco please, let's just go to bed" Hermione whispered as she felt tears leak from her eyes, she hadn't seen this violent side of him since the war.
"Oh bed, great idea, if I'm going to be thrown in Azkaban for rape, I might as well be in the scene of the crime when they come to get me" Draco slurred before his eyes rolled back and he promptly fell backwards.
Hermione ran and checked him over, deciding he was fine and had only passed out from the obviously large amount of whiskey he had consumed. She levitated him on to the couch and covered him with a conjured blanket.
She went up to her room and got in bed, she cried until no more tears would come and then went to sleep.
She would deal with the aftermath in the morning.
So who thinks Ron should be fed to a Hungarian Horntail right now? Don't get me wrong I love Ron Weasley in the Original, but he's the bad guy in this one, there had to be one! So who is going to review and tell me what they think huh? Huh? HUH?