A/N: Okay, people, you SERIOUSLY need to review. Even if you're just stopping by, please post a little something. : ) Thank you kindly,
C.J.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine. Ron Weasley is yet to be determined. ; ) j/k.
"So what do you suppose we do, Harry?" I asked, completely frustrated and extremely tired. "Ron? Ron!"
"Huh? What?" Ron questioned, snapping out of his daze. I gazed at him warily. "I'm sorry, Hermione. Really, I am. I'm just so… tired!"
I could tell that he was telling the truth by the dark circles that formed under his eyes. "I know," I told him, placing my hand gently on his arm for moral support. "But Voldemort is… dangerous. You know that. And we can't just let this be Harry's problem. Especially since Draco…" I looked away as tears started to form in my eyes.
I couldn't tell you exactly what it was about Draco Malfoy that made me want to curl up in a ball and cry myself to death, but he most definitely did. Perhaps it was the way he always called me Mudblood, causing me to doubt my entire inheritance all over again.
Apparently, Ron understood, as he was quick to console me, wrapping his thick, muscular arms around my shoulders. "Draco what, Hermione?" he asked.
Harry and I gasped as Hermione folded back the sleeve of her cloak, revealing three purplish bruises, two of which, were new to me. "Okay, I know that that one was from Viktor," I reasoned, grazing my hand over the mark gently. Hermione jumped. "Sorry. But where did the other two come from?"
"Draco," Harry mouthed, silently scolding me for being so daft, no doubt.
Hermione nodded. "Draco," she repeated softly. "I hit him, remember. I guess he thinks that justifies what he did."
"Which is what, exactly?" Harry quizzed. Pain flashed in Hermione's eyes, and she buried her face in her hands.
"Bloody good idea, Harry," I spat sarcastically. "C'mon, Hermione." She stood up silently, taking her things and descending down the eerily vacant hallway without so much as a "Goodbye."
"You've really done it this time, Harry."
"Why'd you have to ask her such a stupid question, Harry?" Ron asked defiantly. "Couldn't you tell that she was… hurting?!"
Of course, I didn't appreciate being talked down to that way, but I had to be proud of Ron for caring so much about Hermione. Maybe I wasn't so wrong to assume that they both had feelings for each other.
"Be nice, Ron," Ginny reasoned, joining the conversation. "Hermione was just in shock when Draco hit her. And then the filthy creep tried to pull a fast one on her. I guess she was too smart for him."
"Whoa, whoa. Ginny, what are you talking about?" I asked, dumbfounded. How had she acquired this knowledge of the situation? It wasn't like she was ever involved with Draco… right?
"I know what you're thinking, Harry. And yes, unfortunately, I was involved in the situation… but not on my own will," she said, pausing briefly. "But perhaps it's not such a good idea that I share this story with you. Hermione might not approve."
I patted Ginny's shoulder reassuringly. "Hermione doesn't know this yet, but we need to know. It's for her own good. Ron and I are trying to protect her."
She shrugged away from me suddenly. "I'm not a child, Harry. You don't have to talk down to me!"
I know, I thought. You can't honestly believe that I look down on you. I love you, Ginny. Can't you see that?
"I-I know. It's just really important. Please, Ginny?"
I flinched from Harry's gentle touch. It was then that I realized just how much I had loved him, and for how long. Ever since he had been Ron's best mate, for sure. And maybe before that. Was he finally beginning to return the feelings I had always held?
""Hermione doesn't know this yet, but we need to know. It's for her own good. Ron and I are trying to protect her."
Ron looked away. Suddenly, anger and frustration coursed through my body. Why couldn't Harry love me the way Ron so obviously loved Hermione? I pulled my arm away from his hand.
"I'm not a child, Harry. You don't have to talk down to me." Was that all he could ever see me as? I had a nagging feeling that I would always be Ron's little sister to him. Perhaps that was why it was so hard for him to take me seriously.
"I-I know. It's just really important. Please, Ginny?"
I shrugged. "It's not that complicated, if you've got half a mind," I said smartly. "Draco hit Hermione. Then he tried to kiss her, of all the dreadful experiences. She smarted off at him, and he punched the color out of her poor, limp little arm. He just… cornered her. Yes, that's a good way to put it. He cornered her. There was no where for her to go."
Ron's sparkling green eyes burned red as the fire formed behind them.
"So how does that involve you, Ginny?" Harry asked.
"Well, I kind of…"
A/N: Oooooh, cliffie! Wanna know how it all turns out? Then REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!! Thank you kindly,
C.J. 3
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