Author's Notes:
Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far :)
This is a LONG chapter, and it's full of angst, with lots of fluff at the end. It's also an important chapter for the whole Death Eater plot development. It takes place directly after the last chapter, so it takes place on the same day.
I have also written in Draco's point of view for some parts of this chapter, which is new for this story up until now.
Enjoy, and don't forget to review please :)
PS: I don't own any of J.K Rowling's characters or storylines, unfortunately.
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Chapter 4:
The air was silent as Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle walked the halls of Hogwarts, on their way down to the dungeons and back to the Slytherin common room. Goyle said the password and the passage to the common room was revealed, prompting the two boys to enter. The room was adorned with its usual sickly, green glow, and very few members of the Slytherin house were to be found as most of them were still in class. To the right of the entrance, Draco Malfoy was sunk into the side of the sofa, his left arm outstretched on the back of the sofa, and his right one propped up on the arm of the sofa as it held his head up.
After scanning the room, Crabbe and Goyle instantly moved towards Draco's sofa, spotting him sitting alone with his thoughts. Goyle joined him on the other end of the sofa, and Crabbe sat in a chair across from them. Neither of them wanted to speak first, but they could tell something was wrong.
Draco barley flinched at the realization that his friends had joined him. He continued to stare at the wall, his face etched with an expression that could only be described as pure angst. His thoughts were racing, and he wasn't sure he knew how to handle things anymore. He needed to come up with something.
He felt lost, completely astray from the morbid task that Voldemort himself had entrusted Draco with. How could he ever bring himself to kill Dumbledore? He never had that much compassion or guilt about anything, but murder was proving to be different. The thought of being successful in his mission made his stomach churn.
But what choice did he have? If he didn't do it, his family would be at the mercy of the Dark Lord, and there would be no chance for them. As much as he wished the deed had never been given to him, he still had to go through with it: for the sake of his own life, his family's, and for the sake of his mother.
His anger increased as he thought about what could happen to his mother. She hadn't done anything wrong, but if he failed to kill Dumbledore she would surely be killed, along with him and his father who had both failed. He needed to succeed. He might have already done so if certain people hadn't messed everything up.
"Harry Potter and his stupid friends…" he seethed, his eyes still locked onto the wall.
Crabbe and Goyle looked at him, their eyebrows furrowed, and then back at each other hoping that the other had any idea what Draco was on about.
"Err…, what about them, Draco?" asked Goyle.
Draco's head snapped to his left, a furious expression on his face. "What about them? They're ruining everything! They're putting everything on the line for me, and I need to stop them."
"Oh, is this about that mission you were put on?" asked Crabbe, his mind finally clicking.
"Of course it is, you stupid prat," whispered Draco harshly. He looked around with a desperate expression on his face, praying that nobody had heard, but the common room had completely emptied by that point. Just to be safe, he took his wand out from under his robes and he cast the Muffliato charm around them. He couldn't risk this getting out.
"Listen, I already know Potter is on to me. He has no way of proving it, but I know he's been sneaking around. He could find something of importance any day now, and I need to throw him off my trail, even if it's just for a little while until I get this assignment over with. He's not gonna' buy that I'm not involved in anything, but maybe I can get him to think that somebody else is involved too… get him off my case for a while and onto theirs…" His mind started racing again as he thought about who he could frame.
"Well that sounds like a good idea, but who are you gonna' frame? If you frame anyone from Slytherin he's just gonna' keep sniffing aroun' here," said Goyle.
"I know that," said Draco, anger still very prominent in his voice. "It has to be someone in Gryffindor. Someone who he'd have never expected. Someone like…" he drifted off as his frown quickly turned up into a devilish smile. "Someone like that filthy Mudblood, Granger- or even better, Weasley!"
Crabbe and Goyle broke out into their own malicious smiles as they thought about how such accusations would ruin the trio's friendship. They had no idea what Draco's mission was, but anything that caused those three to suffer had them downright excited.
Draco quickly sat up and leaned forward, a smile still looming on his face. "He'll never believe that Granger has anything to do with it, but Weasley on the other hand… that might not be such a far stretch. His father and brother both work for the Ministry, who've been campaigning against Potter and Dumbledore all year, and him and Potter have had their falling outs before. If I plan this right, I'm sure I could get Paranoid Potter to suspect him," he said with a chuckle.
He stood up, smile still on his face, and said "I've got some business to attend to boys; I'll catch you two twits later." He briskly walked towards the passage to exit the common room, a feeling of reassurance spreading through his body as he thought about what his next steps would be.
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Draco walked through the dungeons and up the castle hallways as quickly as he could. If he could get Snape to cooperate, and he had a feeling he could thanks to Snape's unbreakable vow with his mother, he would be able to plant some incriminating evidence in Ron's dorm that would lead Harry to start suspecting him in assisting the Death Eaters.
As he hastily turned another corner, he noticed one of Slughorn's Potions classes being let out from the classroom ahead of him. He saw Harry, Ron and Hermione briefly talking before he heard Harry say something about going to pick up Ginny from her class. Ron and Hermione started walking down the hall in the opposite direction from Harry, who was heading towards Draco. He decided he might as well get the fire started now while he had the chance as he continued to walk towards Harry with a smirk on his face.
Noticing the taunting expression on his face, Harry quipped "On your way to perform some more dark missions, are you Malfoy?" His face was like a stone as he glared at Draco through narrowed eyes.
Draco chuckled as he stopped in front of Harry. "You say that like I'm the biggest threat to this school right now, Potter."
Harry's eyes narrowed even more so than before. "And what is that supposed to mean?"
"All I'm saying is that, maybe, I'm not the only one." He chuckled again as he went to walk around Harry and continue to Snape's office, but he was stopped by Harry stepping to the side and blocking his way.
"Are you trying to tell me that there are more of you walking around here?" Harry's face looked as angry as ever as he stared into Draco's eyes, waiting for an answer.
"It's possible," Draco responded with a slightly devious laugh.
"Who is it?" Harry said with a frustrated tone as his fists clenched. "I want an answer. Now! Tell me who!"
Draco laughed again at his answer. He loved nothing more than seeing Harry riled up over nothing. "Oh come on, Potter, do you really expect me to rat out my own kind? Not likely. It could be anyone though, even someone right under your nose. Someone you thought you could trust…" He chuckled to himself as he moved to walk around Harry, who stood still, staring into the distance where Draco had been standing. This time he was not stopped, and he continued to walk down the hall leaving Harry behind him as smiled to himself knowing that he had planted the seed in Harry's mind.
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Draco raised his fist and knocked on the door, his head darting from side to side making sure he hadn't been followed. He didn't suspect Harry would abandon Ginny to follow him, but it's always possible that Harry's curiosity would get the best of him, especially in the mood Draco had just left him in.
He finally heard footsteps approaching from the other side of the door and put on his best intimidating face. He heard the door click and watched as Snape opened it a crack, his eyes widening slightly as he realized who had knocked on his door. His eyes darted from side to side, evidently having the same worries that Draco had about him being followed. Satisfied that nobody had followed him, he opened the door enough for Draco's body to fit through and stiffly motioned for him to come in.
Draco slipped through the door and Snape shut it behind him as Draco took a seat in front of Snape's desk. He followed suit and walked over to his desk, sitting and folding his arms over each other as they rested on top of it. He stared at Draco, waiting to hear what he had to say.
"I assume you know why I'm here," said Draco, a firm tone to his voice. He didn't have complete trust in Snape, but he needed something from him. He decided that he wasn't going to tell Snape specifically what he needed it for, but he would make it clear that he needed it for the task the Dark Lord had bestowed upon him.
Snape stared back at him, his face still cemented with the same hard expression he always wore. "If my suspicions are accurate, you require my assistance with a certain dark task. Am I correct?"
"You are. I need something, and I'm sure that you have it." Draco kept his eyes locked with Snape's, careful to keep his mind closed using the Occlumency skills that he had learned from his aunt Bellatrix.
"Funny that you need my help now after the way you reacted the last time I tried to help you."
Draco thought back to when Snape had gotten him off the hook for snooping around Slughorn's Christmas party. He hadn't wanted any help from Snape, but he was running out of time. He felt his fists clench before snapping "I think you have no choice, unless you intend on breaking your vow with my mother."
Snape's face kept its expression as his eyes stared into Draco's. "Very well. What is it that you need?"
"I need a vial of Polyjuice Potion. I had some at my disposal for a while, but I had to use it all throughout the year. I could brew some myself, but it takes at least a month and I don't have the time."
Snape kept their eyes locked as the corners of his mouth pulled up ever so slightly to form a tiny smile. "Based on the skills I witnessed from you after many years of teaching you Potions and the such, it's my guess that you probably couldn't make Polyjuice Potion… but that's not the point here. What do you intend on using it for?" His words were as slow and as gravely as they ever were.
Draco ignored his comment on his potion-brewing skills. "It's none of your business, Snape. All you need to know is that I need it to help with the Dark Lord's task, and if you chose not to help me you chose to break your vow."
Snape's smile disappeared as his face hardened once more. He continued to stare at Draco for a few more seconds before standing up from his desk and mechanically walking to a cupboard behind him that had been sealed shut. He took out his wand and muttered some counter charms before the cupboard finally opened. Inside it were many different vials, all unlabelled and of different colours. After sorting through them, he finally found the right vial and removed it from the cupboard. He sealed the cupboard with more charms before turning on his heel and walking towards Draco.
"I assume you know how to use this? You will still need to add a piece of the individual in which you-"
"I know how it works," snapped Draco, standing up from his chair and snatching the vial. Snape remained still, staring down at him with his arm still outstretched. He looked ready to snap, but he took in a deep breath and reigned his mood in.
"Very well. If you need more help don't hesitate to ask. The Dark Lord has been eagerly awaiting you to complete his task for him." He lowered his arm back to his side and walked towards the door of his office, and then motioned for Draco to leave, locking his eyes with Draco's once more.
Draco huffed as he brushed past him and stomped out the door. Relieved that that encounter was over with, he hurried back to the Slytherin common room and up to his dorm to sort out the rest of his plans. He patiently waited until the Gryffindor quidditch practice after that day's classes before sneaking down to the quidditch pitch and into the locker rooms, hoping he wouldn't be found before they came back.
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A little while after Ron's quidditch practice, he and Hermione were sitting in the Gryffindor common room, both trying to work on their Potions essays. As much as Ron wanted to be able to work on his essay, he just couldn't find the motivation in himself to write more than a couple sentences. He looked to his right at Hermione who, completely focused on the assignment, had already written 10 or more paragraphs since they had started working on them over an hour ago. Suddenly noticing his eyes on her, she looked up at him and then down at his scroll that had barely anything on it.
"You know, Ron, the essay doesn't write itself," she teased with a sly smile.
Ron let out an exasperated sigh as he leaned back into the sofa. "I know they don't. Well, not yet, anyways. Give it a few more years and I'm sure the twins will come up with some sort of essay-writing quills," he chuckled, smiling at how true it probably was.
"Well I'm sure any essay written by one of their quills would be riddled with jokes and mistakes," retorted Hermione with a slight laugh. Evidently deciding that it was a good time for a break, she laid her quill down on the coffee table and rolled up her scroll. She laid back into the other side of the sofa and crossed her arms as she threw her head backwards and looked up to the ceiling.
"How do you think Ginny and Harry's date is going?" She smiled again at the thought of how happy they both probably were.
Ron rolled his eyes and sighed. "Again with the Harry and Ginny thing? I'm sure it's going fine, they're both completely batty for each other, that much is obvious." He really didn't want to think about what they could be up to.
"I know, it's so romantic! I'm really happy for them both. I bet they're having a great time."
"First you thought their walk to class this morning was romantic, and now you think sitting in the muddy grass of the quidditch pitch and eating food is romantic? You girls are mental sometimes, I swear."
Hermione groaned at his lack of romance as she flung her head forward to look at him. "No, Ron. It's not the fact that they're sitting in mud, just like how it wasn't the fact that they were walking, it's just..." she sighed and flung her head back again. "Never mind. Explaining this to you is like trying to explain romance to a tree stump."
"Oi!" snapped Ron, his head snapping to his right to face Hermione. "I can be plenty romantic! At least more so than a bloody tree. I just don't see what's so romantic about sitting in mud."
Hermione groaned again and sat up to face him. "I told you; it's not that they're sitting in mud! It's the fact that it's their first date and they like each other so much. It's cute, Ron!"
Ron rolled his eyes again. "Fine, okay, yeah, cute," he said sarcastically, holding up his hands in a defensive position. "But it's not romantic. I'm happy that they're happy, but I'm not gonna' say that eating in the mud is romantic." His face was determined. How could eating in the bloody mud be romantic? Ron loved food as much as the next guy, but even he wouldn't want to eat in the mud.
Hermione rolled her eyes at his response. "You're so stubborn sometimes, honestly, Ron. At least the stump wouldn't argue back." She flung her head back and stared at the ceiling for the third time.
Ron scoffed with an irritated look on his face and snapped "The bloody stump can sod off for all I care! I'm a hundred times more romantic than the stump, believe me."
Hermione's head shot up again, a frustrated expression on her face, and Ron wondered how she hadn't already developed neck problems from flinging her head back and forward like that.
"Ron, the stump is an inanimate object! It doesn't actually have a sense of romance. Now you're just being silly."
Ron huffed and crossed his arms before sinking back into the sofa. "Fine," he said, realizing how worked up he was getting over a tree stump.
"But it's still probably more romantic than you…" he heard Hermione say in a low, quiet voice as her eyes rolled around in her head.
"Alright, that tears it!" he snapped, his voice getting louder and his anger bubbling up again as he sat up straight. "I'm not just being silly now! How can you possibly believe that a bloody tree stump is more romantic than me: a living, breathing, person capable of feelings and thought? You're out of your mind, Hermione, really! Completely bonkers!" He knew how much she hated being referred to as being mental or anything of the sort, but this was getting ridiculous.
Hermione, her mouth hanging open as she was startled by his expression, looked completely offended before snapping back. "Well I don't have any reason to believe otherwise, do I? You clearly don't understand the romance of walking a girl to her class, or a first date, and I've never seen you do anything remotely romantic, ever! There's not a romantic bone in your body, Ron. I'm not even sure you're capable of experiencing romantic feelings that go beyond wanting to snog. There's more to romance than that! The only thing you've ever been capable of feeling is lust and hunger. You're just a cold, insensible teenage boy, that's all you are." Hermione huffed and crossed her arms after finishing her rant, looking completely furious.
Ron looked at her, an angry yet shocked look drawn on his face. Isn't capable of experiencing romantic feelings? Why did she have to go there? She had no idea what his feelings were capable of. As much as he wished sometimes that he didn't have those feelings, as there was nothing more capable of keeping him awake at night or making him feel downright miserable, they were there more than ever. He was starting to feel hurt by her assumptions and her view of him. He decided this was more than just her teasing him, and that this was clearly her genuine opinion. The girl he'd had romantic feelings for for years was accusing him of not being able to feel romantic feelings, and he became more irritated and frustrated than ever.
His angry expression changed into that of somebody who was noticeably very hurt, and Hermione must have suddenly realized that she had gone too far. Her face softened and she looked apologetic as she quickly uncrossed her arms and leaned in towards him before trying to make-up for what she had said.
"Ron, I-"
"Forget it, Hermione," he interrupted with a low rumble as he held up his hand to stop her, unable to contain his anger. "I may not be as sensitive as you, or Harry, or Ginny, or anyone else for that matter, but I still have feelings. They may not be all out in the open like everyone else's, but they're still there!" he snapped as he leaned in a little closer and gripped his hand to his chest. His voice softened a little bit before continuing. "And right now they're hurt, to be perfectly honest. You have no idea what kinds of feelings I have for anyone, because trust me, they're there. Just because you aren't aware of them doesn't mean they don't exist." His eyes were completely glazed over and his expression softened as he lowered his hand. This was becoming more intense than he was prepared for, and now all he wanted was for it to go away. He wasn't used to talking about his feelings like this with anyone, not even Harry.
Hermione stared at him, her eyes full of sadness and pity, as she scooted closer to him on the sofa until their thighs were nearly a foot away from each other. "Ron, I'm sorry, I just took it too far. I didn't mean to say that about you. Of course you have feelings, romantic or not, and I should be more mindful of that." She placed her hand on his and pleaded "Please don't be upset with me."
Ron looked up at her, her eyes on the verge of tears, and he started to feel guilty for snapping. He could tell she felt badly about what she had said, and he couldn't bear to see the sadness in her eyes for more than a second. They had been getting along so well up until now, and he wanted to get back to that.
"It's okay… I just… well, it makes me upset to think that you don't think I have feelings like everyone else. Is that really how you see me?"
"No, of course not, Ron," she said, her head shaking. "I was just letting my frustration control what I say. I shouldn't have said any of it. That's not how I see you at all."
"Good," he said, his face softening some more as he looked down to her hand that was still resting on top of his. "Because I don't think I could deal with you thinking that way of me. Like I'm some… monster, or something. Not again." He shuddered internally as he thought about her ever looking at him in that way again, and his face started to turn red at the realization of what he had let slip out.
Hermione's eyebrows furrowed at the words "not again". A curious look was painted on her face as she asked softly "Ron, what do you mean 'not again'?"
Ron's face was full of sadness now as he thought about how disgusted she had been with his behaviour around Lavender. He looked up and said with a sad tone to his voice "Oh, come on, Hermione, the way you looked at me when I was with Lavender? I mean, I know now you were mostly upset because I was ignoring you and all… but you can't tell me you weren't also disgusted whenever we, you know… snogged or whatever. You even said it yourself a minute ago, that all I care about is snogging. But you're wrong, and I don't want you to think that way about me. She just always wanted to snog, and I might not have had the strongest feelings for her, but I do still have them... And it did upset me to see the way you looked at me. Like I'm some… horrible, awful person… who doesn't have feelings or anything. Your friendship means a lot to me and I don't think I can handle that again." He could feel the tips of his ears starting to burn hotter at his admission, but he really didn't care. All he could think about was her looking at him like some sort of cold-hearted animal.
Hermione's hand, still resting on his, gently picked his up and held it on her lap. Both of her hands started cupping and intertwining with his one as she stared back at him with a disheartened expression. Ron looked down at their hands and felt his defensive walls start to come down and his heart race at the feeling of their hands tangled together. She finally spoke and he raised his eyes to meet hers once more.
"Ron, I'll admit I was a little put off by seeing… that… every time I rounded a corner," she said as she looked down at their hands and started playing with his fingers. "But I never saw you as some sort of monster. It's not like you're the first boy to have ever snogged. And I could never see you as a monster. We've been friends long enough by now for me to know that there is a lot of good and amazingly wonderful things about you… even if you drive me completely insane sometimes," she said with a slight smile as she raised her head again.
Ron couldn't help but smile a little at the last part and Hermione giggled lightly at the sight of him smiling again. He started to feel better as the anger and hurt flushed out of him at the sound of her laugh.
"So, you don't see me as just some 'cold, insensible, teenage boy', then?" he asked in a mocking tone, a small smile still on his face.
Hermione let out a light gasp and bit her bottom lip to try to keep from laughing as she smiled at his joking tone. "I can't believe I called you that!" she said, still trying to suppress her laugh as her face started to turn pink and she bowed her head to look down at their hands again. Ron chuckled at her reaction as he gripped his fingers tighter around hers and looked down at her. She looked up again and he stared into her dark eyes, desperately waiting to hear her answer.
"Ron," she started, their eyes still locked, "I need you to trust me when I say I didn't mean that. At all." She smiled up at him reassuringly and he nodded in agreement and smiled back. His breathing hitched as he felt her soft thumbs gently stroking his hand, and his eyes remained fixed in hers as he soon found himself completely lost in them. He braced himself for when she would eventually look away and carry on with what she was doing like she always did, but to his delight her eyes stayed where they were, looking back into his. The smile still lingered on both of their faces and he thought about how comfortable he felt just staring into her gaze.
After what felt like an eternity, they were suddenly interrupted as they heard someone quickly fling open the portrait hole and enter the room. Hermione and Ron both jumped at the sound of the portrait swinging and hitting the wall and they quickly detangled their fingers as Ron pulled his hand out of hers. Their faces were both red as they hoped that whoever it was that had entered hadn't seen the position they had been in, and Hermione scooted over a little bit to put some distance between her and Ron. She folded her hands together in her lap and stared ahead at the fire as Ron's face grew impossibly redder and he began rubbing the back of his neck with the hand he had pulled away from Hermione. He cleared his throat and turned his head around to see who it was that had burst into the room with such force and interrupted one of the best moments in his life so far.
Seamus Finnigan was walking through the entrance and into the common room. He stopped to look around for a second, almost as if he had never been in the common room before. Spotting the stairs, he started heading towards them with a quick pace and began climbing them.
"Seamus!" cried Ron, a little confused at his behaviour. "What in the bloody hell are you doing smashing through the portrait hole like that? You almost scared us half to death!"
Seamus stopped in his tracks and turned around to look where the voice was coming from until he saw Ron and Hermione sitting on the sofa. "Oh… sorry, Weas- err… Ron. I was just err… heading up to the dorm. Long day and all…" He quickly turned on his heel and continued back up the stairs. Ron narrowed his eyes at him as he disappeared. He thought maybe Seamus had seemed a little bit off. Nervous about something, maybe? Or maybe he was just overly tired? Something was different, whatever it was.
Clearing his mind of those thoughts, Ron turned his head back towards Hermione who was still staring at the fire with a pink tint in her cheeks. Normally he would tell himself that everything that had just happened between them was of a friendly nature, but for some reason he was thinking differently this time. If he hadn't known any better, he would have thought that she was just as happy to be staring into his eyes a minute ago as he was hers. He was used to staring into her eyes and drooling over her whenever he had the opportunity, but what he wasn't used to was her not looking away. That, combined with her current embarrassment and the way she had been holding his hand earlier, had suddenly given him a tiny sliver of hope that maybe, she might actually be starting to return the feelings he had been harbouring for her for years. It was like Harry had said to him the night earlier: anything was possible.
He felt somewhat more confident than he had before as he thought back to what she had told him moments earlier. She had assured him that she never thought of him as a monster, which made him feel over the moon to hear, but she had also mentioned that there were a lot of "good and wonderful" things about him. Emphasis on the "wonderful".
His curiosity peaked as he wondered to himself what it was that she thought was so wonderful about him. His confidence picked up again and he suddenly felt very mischievous. He smirked as Hermione continued to stare at the fire, obviously trying not to make eye contact.
"Hermione?" he asked, a sinful tone in his voice, as he sat up straight to look at her closer.
Hermione, a little confused by his sudden change in mood, turned her head to meet his with a furrowed brow. She smiled a little bit at the sight of him smirking at her. "What?" she asked, her eyes narrowing at him.
"Oh, nothing…" he said, his left elbow resting on top of his knees as he used his left hand to prop up his head. "It's just that earlier, you said something about me that's sparked my curiosity." His smile turned into a devilish, lopsided grin as he watched her eyebrows furrow some more and the pink flush back into her cheeks. He couldn't help but feel more confident in his theory of her returning the feelings.
"Oh, really?" she said, clearly acting as though she had no idea what he was referring to. "And what would that be?"
"I was just wondering what these 'good and wonderful' things are." He continued to stare at her with a grin still plastered on his face and raised eyebrows as he watched her eyes start to dart around the room. Watching her squirm was surprisingly satisfying when he knew that it could mean she might have similar feelings for him to what he had for her.
"Oh, that. Right…" she said softly as she trailed off. Her face grew hotter as she tried to come up with something. "Well, I don't know, really... I guess I could say that you've always been able to make me laugh, even when I'm upset. That's a good quality."
Ron stared at her, smile still dancing on his face, as he waited for her to continue. After a few seconds of silence he chuckled and asked jokingly "So is that it then? I'm funny?"
Hermione giggled and turned her body on the sofa to face him again as her embarrassment fizzled away. "Well, no, that's not all, if you'd let me finish…" she teased, rolling her eyes.
Ron chuckled again. "Alright, sorry. Go on then! I'd love to hear more."
Hermione laughed. "Of course you would. Well, let's see… you're loyal… you've always been a great friend to Harry and me… and, err…"
"Oh, please, don't strain yourself trying to come up with something else," Ron joked, laughing at her struggle to come up with more things.
Hermione laughed again. "Oh, stop, Ron. There are plenty of things I could name; you just kind of put me on the spot is all! Now where was I…" she said, ignoring Ron as he rolled his eyes and laughed again. "Well, you're very brave, that's for sure. I don't know many people who would stick out a friendship with Harry Potter after everything you two have been through."
Ron felt the need to cut in for a third time. "Oi, don't sell yourself short in that department. You've been with us through most of it as well!" he exclaimed with a smile.
Hermione smiled back at him. "I suppose, but even I wouldn't go into a dark forest full of spiders like you did in second year. And you're absolutely terrified of spiders!" she laughed.
Ron scoffed in a mocking way and gripped his chest as he pretended to be offended. "Oi! I'm not terrified; they just creep me out! They're evil, those things." He shuddered at the thought of the excessive amount of spiders that had been in that forest all at one time.
Hermione laughed at his shudder. "Fine, whatever you say Ronald." Ron chuckled and rolled his eyes at the use of his full name as he propped his head up again with his hand.
"But my most favorite thing about you would have to be how much you care about your friends and family," she said with a sweet smile as she looked back into his eyes. "The way you're always trying to look out for Ginny, or sticking up for your brothers, or your parents… and especially the way you've always had Harry's back with everything he's been through. Kidnapping him with a flying car, sacrificing yourself on that chess board in first year, letting him stay with you at the Burrow to get away from those awful family members of his, the list could go on and on really." She began moving closer to him on the couch again as she spoke. "You've always had my back as well. Remember the time you tried to curse Malfoy with your broken wand for calling me a Mudblood in second year?" she asked as she giggled at the memory.
Ron laughed with her. "Ugh, how could I not? Those slugs tasted absolutely disgusting. Bloody wand…"
Hermione laughed with him. "Yes, well I do appreciate it. It was very sweet of you." She smiled back at him as her hand found his for the second time that evening, and this time it was his turn for his face to turn red as he felt the blush seep through his cheeks.
"Well, err… you're welcome," he said softly, suddenly feeling very shy again as it occurred to him how close they had gotten for the second time that evening. "You know I'd do it again in a heartbeat, Hermione." His blush deepened in colour as she continued to look at him with that heartwarming smile that seemed to melt him inside.
"I know, Ron," she said softly, keeping their eyes locked. She started to rub the back of his hand again and he felt his heart swell as they stared into each other's eyes for another while longer.
A sudden thumping down the stairs caused them to nearly jump out of their skins as they pulled their hands apart once more and looked towards the stairs to see who it was. The sight of Seamus had Ron's frustration growing impossibly larger. Twice in the span of 10 minutes had he ruined things!
"Seamus?" he questioned loudly, suddenly remembering that he had just claimed to be going to bed a few minutes ago. Seamus ignored him and rushed towards the portrait hole. Becoming even more frustrated, Ron shouted again. "Oi! Seamus, where are you going mate? You just said you were going to bed 10 minutes ago! Now you're leaving again?"
Seamus didn't acknowledge him as he rushed for the entrance and out of the portrait hole. Ron stared at his departure in disbelief before turning to Hermione once more.
"I wonder what the bloody hell got up his arse and died! I get that he had a 'long day', but completely ignoring me like that, honestly? That's just rude." He crossed his arms as Hermione tried to supress a giggle.
The sound of the portrait being opened again caused them to whip back around to face the entrance. "Coming back already? What the hell's gotten into him?" asked Ron, a completely baffled expression on his face.
They waited for Seamus to come rushing back into the common room, but to their surprise they found it wasn't Seamus at all. Harry and Ginny had come back from their date, both laughing at something they had been talking about.
Suddenly realizing who had walked in, Ron and Hermione stood sat up straight trying to look as innocent as possible as Hermione put some distance between them on the sofa once more. Ron knew they had been sitting fairly close to each other for a sofa that only had 2 occupants, but he was hoping Harry hadn't noticed.
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A/N:
OUUU, what is Draco planning? How did Harry and Ginny's date go? What will happen with Ron and Hermione? And what is up with Seamus? Well I already know the answer to all these questions, but you guys don't! :)
So that was Chapter 4! I hope you guys liked it. I know Ron had a particularly angst-y moment there, but I felt like it was important for this chapter so you guys can get an idea of what he thought Hermione's view of him was. It's will be a common theme in this story ;D
Don't forget to review, it means a lot to hear what you guys thing about my first story! :)
-ArticulateFiction