Loving Lupin

    "Hermione, you'll be late if you don't hurry up," snapped Lavender Brown, her short, dark blonde hair whirling around her head as she popped her face in the girl's dormitories.

    Hermione stared into her oval-shaped mirror, her eyes taking in her painted cheeks and lips. I look a little done up, don't I? she thought sadly, reaching for a tissue to wipe off some of the make up.

    "Hey-- What're you doing? Parvati took at least an hour doing all of that!" Lavender strode across the hard wood floor and snatched the tissue out of her hand. "I don't know what's with you these days, Hermione..."

    I know what's with you, thought Hermione bitterly, staring up at Lavender with her wide brown eyes. You don't trust me after the whole Lupin fiasco, do you? But then again, nobody does anymore. She brushed a strand of hair off her face, continuing to ponder Lupin and her relationship with him. After Lupin had left, people had begun to form their OWN theories about why he had left-- of course, everyone knew about him hurting Hermione after he unexpectedtly changed into a werewolf, but nobody knew exactly why Hermione was in his office so late at night.

    Nobody except for Ron and Harry, that is.

    Her two friends had been wonderful about the whole thing, though. Mind you, they didn't approve of Hermione's secret relationship with her professor, but they refused to abandon her, even after Lupin left, leaving Hermione emotionally in shambles. Ron had even asked Hermione to the traditional Yule Ball, even though she really did not feel in the mood for a school dance. With some nudging from Harry, Hermione finally decided to say yes, so she bought a new dress robe and allowed Parvati Patil to do her makeup for that night. Her hair was long, curled, and free around her shoulders, and though wild, was surprisingly tame at the same time. The bushiness was gone-- only mature ringlets were left in its place.

    "You look beautiful, Hermione," choked Ron as Hermione floated down the staircase.

    She merely smiled at him. Ever since Lupin and Hermione's relationship had ended, Ron had taken it as a cue to love and care for her, as if he were her brother. Sometimes, Hermione wished he liked her more than just as a sisterly friend... But at the same time, she was glad she didn't have to deal with the extra emotion.

    "We'd better go," he said, his ears turning crimson.

    Just then, Ginny came stumbling down the stairs, looking positively radiant. She looks much prettier than I do, thought Hermione, a touch of jealousy tainting her thoughts. Then again, she didn't just have a four-month relationship with her 32-year-old professor... It was true; Ginny looked amazingly bright and alive. Her innocent brown eyes were lined with a radiant color of mahogany, and her tight lips were a deep red shade, like strawberries.

    "You look... nice," said Harry uncomfortably, taking Ginny on his arm. The two boys hadn't really gotten over their fear of asking girls to the dance yet, and after Harry discovered Ron had asked Hermione, he went straight after Ginny.

    Ron laughed as Ginny and Harry joined each other.

     "Now shall we go?" he suggested lightly, his voice gently teasing.

    "Yes, let's go," said Hermione urgently. The quicker we go, the quicker we can get this over with, she thought gloomily.

    As the two couples made for the portrait hole, they chatted away happily. Except for Hermione, that is. She listened carefully as Ron spoke, but as they passed Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, she couldn't help but catch a snippet of their conversation.

    "--It's just a pity thing, it's not like he even likes her-- You should see the way he looks at me during Potions!"

    "Of course, Lavie, it's just because she had that awful ordeal with Lupin--"

    Lavender snorted. "Ordeal? It was her own fault for getting involved with him."

    "Lavender, I honestly don't think she--"

    "I do. She's a tramp. I wouldn't put something like that past her."

Hermione expected tears to swell in her eyes, but they surprisingly didn't. It was probably due to the fact it was well-known that Lavender had a surprisingly huge crush on Ron, and she'd probably do anything and everything to get him to like her. Being a victim of Lavender's wrath just because of Ron didn't hurt Hermione very much, even though the few words did sting a bit. She's a tramp. She shook her head to herself. No, I'm not, she thought confidently. Being in love doesn't make you a tramp.

    "Hermione, are you listening?"

    "Oh, yes, Ron," she murmured, looking back up at him.

    It was a magnificent sight in the Great Hall. Glittering streamers that almost seemed to breath and whisper hung from every corner of the room. There were small pieces of confetti floating from the ceiling, but after Ron caught a few on his eyelashes, the foursome discovered that they were actually glittering rose petals. Harry took a few and sprinkled them into Ginny's hair, causing her to giggle. For a brief moment, Hermione smiled. Maybe this will be fun, she thought hopefully.

Yes, the night seemed destined to be an enjoyable one. But then the disaster occurred. After the group was finished admiring the decorations and ready for the dance floor, Hermione looked up at the high table-- only to see a young woman sitting in Lupin's chair.

    "Who is that woman?" she shrieked, pointing to her. The woman-- well, she was actually more like a girl-- was a bit chubby, with a long, sad face, but at the moment, she was smiling. Her hair was long, wild, and a mousy-brown, and in Hermione's opinion, she was positively hideous.

    "How dare they!" she spat, glaring up at the woman venomously. "Replacing Professor Lupin that easily! How... how could they?!"

    "Aw, Hermione, don't let it get to you," pleaded Ron. "Let's go dance, shall we?"

    "I'm not going anywhere," snapped Hermione stubbornly, taking a seat at the Gryffindor table and refusing to move.

    "Fine," snarled Ron. "I'll go myself then." He stalked out onto the dance floor, where he immediately found Lavender Brown. "Want to dance, Lavender?"

    "Sure," she giggled, as Ron wrapped his arm around her waist.

    After spending almost the whole night at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, Hermione felt she needed a breath of fresh air. Ron and Harry were busy dancing; Harry was with Ginny, which was only right, but Ron was with Lavender, which caused Hermione to burn with envy. After glancing one more time at the high table to see the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, she slid her chair under the table and strode out, her long curls flying out behind her.

    Many couples were quite-- erm-- busy, she noticed when she got outside. Hermione was quick to avoid them, even though she did accidentally step on one of their feet as she hurried past. Finally, at the end of the garden, she found an unoccupied bench. Sighing loudly, she flopped onto the seat, prepared to finish up the night with a nice view of the night stars.

    She had been sitting there a few moments when a soft, tentative voice greeted her.

    "Hermione?"

    She looked up into the face of one of her best friends, Harry Potter. His green eyes were glittering with compassion, but she noticed thankfully that he was alone. She smiled at him and shifted over to make room for him on the bench.

    "Uh... So... How are you?" he asked nervously.

    "Let's see. I'm a 15-year-old girl who's in love with her professor, but she knows she'll never be with him, so she's lonely and miserable."

    "Aw, Hermione," muttered Harry. He lowered his eyes to the ground. "Aren't you ever going to... well, get over him?"

    "I don't know," she mumbled.

    To Hermione's surprise, Harry smiled suddenly. "You know what, Hermione? As soon as you can go one day without thinking about Lupin, you can go another day. And another. And another day after that. Before you know it, you'll have forgotten him."

    "But that first day isn't so easy," said Hermione softly.

    "I know," agreed Harry sympathetically. "But it will come before you know it."

    Hermione smiled faintly at him. Sometimes, Harry knew just the right thing to say at the right moment.

    "Are you going to come back inside?" he asked. "I think Ron would like a dance with you."

    "He isn't mad?"

    "He won't be, not if you dance with him."

    She laughed and grabbed the hand he offered to her.

    "Let's go," she said, a sudden warmth lighting up her voice.

    "Oh, hello," said Ron cooly as Harry and Hermione reentered the Hall. "Done sulking?"

    "Ron," said Harry warningly.

    "Sorry," he mumbled, turning his eyes to his feet.

    "C'mon, Ron, it's the last dance." Lavender appeared suddenly at his shoulder. She stared at Hermione tensely, her hand on Ron's shoulder.

    "I think I'd better dance this one with Hermione," said Ron loudly, moving away from her and towards Hermione.

    "Oh... all right," faltered Lavender, looking completely at a loss for words. "I'll... I'll just go then, I guess." She threw Hermione a vicious look, then stalked off to find her original date.

    "So, do you want to dance?" asked Ron. He was obviously trying to act as if he danced with girls all the time, but his bright red ears made him a dead giveaway as a novice.

    "All right," giggled Hermione.

    And so the night ended on a high note for the four teenagers, even though two of them were quite preoccupied with thoughts of being in love, heartbreak, and their mixed up emotions.

    One of them, as you would expect, was Hermione.

    The other was Ron.