Sorry for the long wait between chapters! I've been unwell again this week, fucking hate winter...
The pain of the breakup still felt raw over the next few days, despite the bravado I showed to everyone else. I did my best to act like it wasn't affecting me, but it really was. Harry was the only person I'd ever felt anything romantic towards, I'd had him, and then I'd lost him. A second close brush with death at Lillian Avery's hands and being told that the Gryffindor Quidditch teams had to be reformed at Umbridge's permission only exacerbated my sadness. Angelina had asked her permission right away of course.
The day after the bathroom fight, I met up with Hermione during lunch break. We were sitting on a low wall in the grounds, with some chicken legs and chips we'd bought outside from the Gryffindor Table.
"How are you holding up, after, you know, Monday?" she asked cautiously, swinging her legs.
We had told Demelza about the previous nights events at breakfast, but as Harry was deliberately sitting away from me and Hermione was with him, we hadn't been able to tell her. She had been out late the previous night studying in the library. I sighed, biting my lip.
"Not well mate, I'll be honest. I might have been pretending not to care to everyone else so far, but it has really cut deep, you know?" I said
"Harry didn't take it well either. Even though he's the one who made it happen. He seems to have this idea that you're this completely reckless idiot now"
"Oh really?!" I clenched my fists and my face reddened "as if he can talk. Didn't he go and try to duel Malfoy in the trophy room at midnight once?"
"Yes. I tried to bring that up to him but he wasn't having it"
"Let me guess, he said it didn't count because he was a first year, like that matters. And yeah, sure, I'll admit, what I did was very reckless, but it shouldn't redefine who I am in his mind"
"You know what, he did, and you're right" said Hermione. "I'll tell you what though, he's been angry with pretty much everyone this entire year so far, even when none of it is our fault. His anger is perfectly justified, but he's taking it out in the wrong way, and on the wrong people. I would give it till the summer, hopefully Umbridge will be gone by then, he'll be feeling better and then re-consider how he thinks about you"
"Amy said something similar. Speaking of relationships though, how's things with Ron?"
"It's alright at the moment. Sure we fight sometimes but as they say, opposites do attract. Hey, look, there's something important you need to know"
Hermione took a bite of chicken and re-adjusted her seating position, moving her right leg up to sit on and leaving her left one dangling. I was quite intrigued by what she had to say here.
"So, it seems like Umbridge is watching all forms of communication in and out of the castle"
"That doesn't surprise me in the slightest, but what makes you say it?" I said
"Well, Hedwig showed up injured at the window during our History of Magic class today. Harry took her to Grubbly-Plank, and McGonagall was there too. McGonagall said that communications were being watched, though obviously not everyone's at once, that would be too difficult and would look too suspicious. Obviously Harry was going to be a target. The letter was from Snuffles, saying when the three of us should next meet to speak with him"
"That's just wonderful" I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm "Now I can't even send Savannah out for some mundane purpose without worrying that she won't make it back fully healthy"
"I know" Hermione tapped my knee sympathetically "she's bang out of order, Umbridge, bang out of order"
"How are you even going to meet Snuffles now? If she's watching the owls, surely she's watching the fireplaces too?"
"Yes, that does make me anxious. Hopefully all goes well"
We sat there in silence for a while, eating some more, before I said something that made Hermione choke on her chips.
"Lillian Avery nearly killed me again last night"
After I had cleared her throat with Anapneo, she laid down her half eaten pile on the edge of the wall and burst out "why wasn't that the first thing you said?!"
"I, uh- well, you bought up my breakup first, and I didn't really want to relive it, but then I realised I owe it to you to tell you something important like that"
Hermione glared at me for about 10 seconds, then closed her eyes, sighed, and relaxed. "What happened?"
"She, Mulciber and Yaxley stalked Amy and I to a bathroom. After we had emerged from the cubicles, all hell broke loose. Amy was knocked out pretty quickly, I managed to subdue Yaxley, and Mulciber indirectly, but Avery tied me up with Incarcerous. She would have suffocated me had I not revealed my breakup with Harry at the last second"
"Why did that make her hesitate?"
"It was more out of curiosity than anything. I managed to convince her we were even now that we'd both lost our BF's. Yeah, Selwyn broke up with her cause he was fooled by our joke"
"That won't last long, I'm sure the Slytherins will realise eventually"
"Yeah, I just hope that they consider Avery's revenge enough, though I doubt it"
"Thank Merlin she has a little bit of mercy in her"
"I know right. I'm sure that will be trained out of her by the Death Eaters eventually though. I'm really starting to worry about what she will become. If she's capable of twice attempting murder before she's even 16, then I dread to think what she'll be like as an adult"
"We can't even try to get her expelled either. You tried that when she put you in hospital, and it didn't work, so if it can't then, there's no chance it will work now with Umbridge around"
"Tell me about it"
"Hey look, Quidditch practice tonight!" Hermione smiled and tapped me on the back. "There's something positive to think about!"
"Yeah, you're right, I can't wait to get back to it, thanks for the reminder!"
If only life was that simple.