Hermione Granger and the Time of Troubles

Harry Potter had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. He had carried it around for weeks ever since Ron had disappeared due to the Portkey meant to carry him away, but once his best mate had returned, the stomach churning had vanished. But now it was back. Ginny had returned from her prefects meeting and stopped briefly at the table Harry was studying at to inform him that Ron and Hermione had a rather public run-in with Malfoy culminating with Hermione slapping the living daylights out of the slimy Slytherin but no one had seen either of the sixth-year Gryffindor prefects since.

Normally, Harry wouldn't have worried; Ron and Hermione probably had gone to the library to study or had to patrol or were currently shagging each other senseless. Personally, Harry didn't fancy having that image pop up in his head, but in all honesty, he couldn't be happier for his friends. He had to admit, he hadn't been too keen on the concept at first but that had mainly been due to the fact they had hid it from him for so long. Now that he had time to get over that, he realized just what everyone else had known for ages: Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger were meant for each other.

But for some reason, Harry was now very ill at ease when he thought about his two friends. If they had had a fight with Malfoy that ended with Hermione hitting him, Ron wouldn't have wanted to study or patrol; he would have wanted to come straight to the common room to gloat about his girlfriend's triumph--okay, no, he would want to snog her, but knowing Hermione, she wouldn't stand for it so late and on a school night, especially since Ron had mounds of homework to finish. Anyway, Ron would have told Harry the story, Hermione would have chided him for the colorful language he would undoubtedly use, and all three of them would have a good laugh. That was what should have happened.

Except it didn't. And unless they were snogging, which Harry knew was very possible, something was wrong. As much as Harry would like to hope that his friends were off having a good time, something told him deep down inside that they weren't.

He wanted to ask Ginny more about what had happened or what had been said, but she had already disappeared with Dean. Now, Harry was certain he knew what those two were doing. This concept also didn't sit well with Harry for an entirely different reason; the idea of anyone shagging Ginny made him very uneasy due to his brotherly instincts that had been flaring up recently. Another unwanted image popped up in his head: this one of Ginny throwing herself at him, hugging him fiercely and thanking him profusely for finding her brother. He had been rather embarrassed but it was a good embarrassed, an embarrassed that left him with a warm feeling coursing through him, as if he had just taken a big gulp of fresh butterbeer and...it's your big brother instincts for her, Harry cut off the memory sharply with a sharp scolding. Nothing more. She's like a sister.

A really gorgeous sister...

The portrait hole mercifully banged open at this point, diverting Harry's unwanted thoughts in a completely different direction. Ron had yelled a phrase so loudly that Harry knew immediately that Hermione couldn't have been with him--he would have heard her scolding Ron for his language. Ron must be having trouble clearing the high step into the tower due to his stiff leg but another loud bang told Harry that he had somehow managed it. Ron hobbled into the common room a few seconds later, stooped over while rubbing his left leg. His eyes scanned the room quickly and when he didn't find what he was seeking, he limped over to the boys' dormitory without a word. Harry watched him go worriedly--Ron's eyes had passed right over him as if he had been wearing his Dad's Invisibility Cloak. Ron would never deliberately ignore him like that unless something was really troubling him.

Harry abandoned his Potions essay and followed Ron. He opened the door to their dormitory to find Ron not at his own bed, but at Harry's. Ron had just lifted the lid to Harry's trunk when Harry got over his surprise at finding Ron going through his things and alerted Ron to his presence.

"What are you doing?"

Ron jumped a foot and jerked away from his friend's bed. "Bloody hell, Harry, don't do that!" Ron snapped as he bent over again to massage his aching leg.

Harry just stared. He knew that Ron wasn't really angry with him, but he was angry at something. Harry decided to tread carefully until he found out exactly what was eating his best mate. "What are you looking for?"

"Huh? Oh--the map," Ron looked around to make sure the dormitory was empty but the only movement was the gently swaying curtains that were closed around his own, Harry, Neville, Seamus, and Dean's beds. "I can't find Ginny anywhere and I was going to take a look on--have you seen her?"

"Yeah, she came back from the meeting a while ago," Harry replied cautiously, arms folded across his chest guardedly. Ron nodded absently as he returned to Harry's trunk. "She said you and Malfoy had a row," he continued.

"Yeah," Ron held up a broken mirror. "Why do you have this?"

"Never mind," Harry said sharply in such a way that Ron, despite his daze, instantly placed the mirror back in the trunk. He didn't want anyone to know that he tried to talk to Sirius with that two-way mirror at least once a day. "So what about this row with Malfoy?"

"Oh, well, he said stuff, I said stuff, blah blah blah," Ron was randomly throwing Harry's things out of the trunk now and Harry could no longer remain still. He crossed over to the room and slammed the trunk shut before Ron could toss anymore of his belongings on the floor. Ron blinked, startled by the loud noise.

"Why do you need Ginny?"

"I--I-I have to ask her to do something for me," Ron explained.

"What?" Harry asked. Ron sighed and merely stammered as means of a response. Harry let out a slightly impatient breath; Hermione thought that he was difficult to get to open up? "Because I think she's with Dean so unless it's something really important, I don't think she's going to be the most helpful of people at the moment." He looked his friend square in the eye. "But perhaps there's something I can do."

Ron wasn't looking at him. In fact, it was as though Ron couldn't look at him. Something dreadful was eating away at Ron and it was hurting him so much that he couldn't even look at anyone. But Harry continued to watch his best mate as Ron tried desperately to get a grip on himself with little success. "G-Ginny's with Dean?" Ron finally repeated dumbly.

"Yes," Harry said firmly. He somewhat roughly placed his hand atop one of Ron's shoulder in order to force him to sit on his trunk. "Now what's up?" Usually he wasn't so forceful with Ron, but he had never Ron so out of sorts and it rather unnerved him.

Ron leaned forward and sat with his face in his hands for a long moment, fingers tightly gripping his hair. Harry frowned as he realized by the dim light that the candles in the room produced that Ron's hand was bleeding. Malfoy. Perhaps Ron had tried to take a swing at Malfoy and when he had missed, Hermione had stepped in, humiliating Ron in the process.

"Harry, I need you to do something for me," Ron said to his palms.

"Go on," Harry urged.

"I need you to go to the Astronomy Tower," Ron was still staring only at his knees but he had moved his hands away from his face so his voice was much more audible. "To the very top--the roof. Hermione's there--she wanted Ginny to come but I reckon that she would be glad to see you. She," Ron swallowed hard. "She's really upset, Harry."

"Why?"

Ron straightened up, revealing that his face was blotchy and his eyes watery. "Because I just broke up with her."

Harry gaped at his best friend for all of two seconds before letting loose. "WHAT!"

Ron lowered his face miserably back into his hands.

"Wh--w-why?" Harry continued loudly. "Why would you do something like that?!"

"It's just not worth it," Ron muttered flatly. "I mean, we're really young to be so serious, and with the war and everything..."

"Stop," Harry interrupted, abruptly deciding that he didn't want to hear Ron's rationing. "It doesn't matter because whatever you say, you're wrong; it is worth it," He gestured wildly towards the dormitory door. "Have you seen the way you look at her? And how she looks at you?" Ron didn't answer so Harry simply raged on. "Do you know that I spent half of my summer listening to Order members telling me how my two best friends remind them exactly of my parents? I happened to think they were insane at the time but when I saw the two of you arguing one night, I happened to realize that they were right!" Harry's arms were folded once again across his chest, this time in anger. "Do you know that I spent half of the time waiting in St. Mungo's hearing from your family how you two remind them of your parents? And do you know that I was downstairs not two hours ago thinking about how she is the best thing that's ever happened to you and you're the best thing that's ever happened to her--except when you were fighting, I've never seen the two of you happier than the first couple months of school this year! Which, by the way, if this matters, helps me get through all of my shit because seeing the two of you like that makes me happy!"

Ron's face burrowed deeper into his palms in a vain attempt to escape from Harry's verbal attack. Harry sighed, surprised that he was reacting like this, but his friends were his life and he knew that this was a huge mistake. If there was anything he could do to prevent his friends from feeling pain, he would do it an instant. Right now, Ron looked pretty damn dejected and Harry knew exactly why so he was going to do everything in his power to fix this, even if he was overstepping his boundaries as a friend and bordering on telling Ron what to do. But Ron didn't seem to be responding well to being berated like this so after taking a moment to collect himself, Harry continued on in a much calmer tone. "Look, mate, I don't claim to be an expert on love or anything but I do happen to know it when I see it, and I hate to break it to you, but you--two--have--it--you two are the real thing!"

"You think I don't know that?" Ron barked, hands falling away from his face, face and eyes much too red. Harry stepped back and waited--he had succeeded in arousing Ron's anger and now he knew it would only be a matter of seconds before Ron revealed why he had done this. "You think I don't know that she--I mean, I know, Harry--I know that she's the," His hand lifted up slightly with one finger pointed upwards. He couldn't even complete the sentence without his emotions choking him.

Harry studied his friend for a long moment in silence. "Who made you do this?"

Ron jerked as if he had been hit with a curse. "What?"

"Look at yourself," Harry raised his voice as he gestured towards Ron. "You're a wreck--you weren't even this out of sorts when you were kidnapped! I'm not buying it and my guess is that Hermione's not buying it either!"

Ron stared off blankly for a brief second. "No, she does," he whispered softly.

Harry shivered slightly when he realized what Ron had just done--it was rather eerie knowing that his best mate could just reach out and touch minds with people as he pleased.

"Harry, you have to go to her," Ron said as he closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Ron, I'm not leaving..."

"Harry, I know you're trying to help," Ron interrupted furiously, "but the best way to help me right now is help Hermione!" He slowly got to his feet, wincing as he put weight on his left foot, as if he had reinjured it somehow. "Look, mate, I know you think you know what's best for me, but you don't." Ron clenched his fists tightly, shoulders almost unbearably stiff. "This is for the best, honestly." He met Harry's eyes. "And as many times as I've just gone with whatever you've told me and not asked any questions, I hope that you'd do the same for me."

Harry looked slightly taken aback. He wanted to argue the point with Ron but something told him that this definitely wasn't the time. And there was the annoying fact that Ron was right. Ron had always accepted whatever he had told him and done whatever he had asked, even if Ron hadn't wanted to or didn't agree with it. He had done it because he was his best friend and friends don't let each other down. Now it was Harry's turn to do the same.

He nodded once and Ron relaxed, shoulders falling as he cradled his cut hand in his other hand and inspected the wound. Harry brushed past Ron so he could grab his cloak from his trunk. He considered pulling out the Marauder's Map to find Ginny but on second thought, he really didn't want to know where Ginny and Dean were.

"You said she's on the roof of the Astronomy Tower?" Harry asked.

"Yeah," Ron sounded infinitely relieved that Harry was finally going. Harry nodded and started to stride towards the door. Ron looked down at his bloody knuckles for a second before calling out again. "And Harry?" Harry turned back expectantly. "Just--uh--take--get her inside as quick as you can," Ron sniffed hard. "It's pretty cold outside--she could get sick," Harry could tell that Ron was on the brink of falling apart completely and therefore couldn't get the words out so Harry voiced them for him.

"I'll take good care of her." Harry said seriously. "I promise."

Ron managed a weak smile. "Thanks, Harry." Harry nodded in acknowledgement before disappearing out of the dormitory and hurrying to the Astronomy Tower. Ron waited until the door slammed before his face crumbled and he retreated into the boys' toilet to bandage his hand.

There were a few moments of shocked silence that permeated the dormitory before the curtains on one of the beds snapped backwards, revealing a couple that had been--er--studying before being so rudely interrupted by Ron and Harry's arrival.

"Holy shit!" Ginny Weasley yelled as she scrambled out of Dean Thomas' bed. "I can't believe him!"

"Whoa, love, where do you think you're going," Dean mumbled as he tried to pull Ginny back into the bed.

"Astronomy Tower," Ginny hurriedly buttoned her shirt closed while feeling on the ground with her toes for her shoes. "Hermione asked for me and I plan on being there."

"Come on," Dean cajoled, kneeling on the mattress so he could catch Ginny's wrists. "Harry can handle it." Ginny froze, mesmerized, as she stared into Dean's intense brown eyes which glowed with a power she had never seen from him before. Dean smiled slightly in triumph while he stroked her hair somewhat possessively. "Stay with me."

"Well," Ginny faltered, quite unable to look away. "I--I-don't know,"

Her attention was ripped away from her boyfriend when the dormitory door open flew open and a very confused Seamus Finnigan raced into the room.

"What the hell is going on?" Seamus demanded, panting. "I mean, first I hear that Hermione Granger slaps Draco Malfoy for bothering Ron, then people are saying that they saw Ron almost crying in the hallway, and then as I walked up here, Harry was barreling down the stairs as if he was about to save someone from the jaws of death!"

Dean glowered at his best friend while Ginny renewed the search for her shoes. She quickly found them and slipped them on as fast as she could. "Fill him in, won't you?" she wheedled to Dean before dropping a parting kiss on his cheek. "I'll be back in a bit." Ginny turned her back before Dean could protest and sprinted out of the room, ponytail swishing.

Dean groaned as he flopped back down on the bed. "Thanks a lot, mate,"

"Sorry," Seamus apologized. "But what is going on?"

Dean raised his head slightly. "Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley broke up."

"What? The dream couple!?"

"You should have been there, mate," Dean laughed. "Ginny and I heard the whole thing--well, not really, but we heard Weasley and Potter talking about it which was just as good!"

Seamus hit one of the bedposts of Dean's bed in irritation. "Damn! Why do I always miss everything!?"

"What are you talking about?" Dean sounded slightly bored now.

"I missed this," Seamus indicated the room. "I missed you and Ginny getting together; I missed the whole Hogsmeade weekend thing when Weasley got kidnapped..."

"What?" Dean sat up. "You weren't there?"

"No," Seamus sounded annoyed that Dean didn't remember. "Remember--Granger caught me drunk the night before and told me I couldn't go?"

"Oh, that's right," Dean said softly as his eyes adopted a rather glassy look. "I was you that day."

"Come again?" Seamus asked with a puzzled expression.

Dean had a puzzled expression of his own as he abruptly shook his head to clear his mind. "Nothing--I don't know what I was thinking just then," he said with a little laugh. "Seriously, though, mate, it wasn't that big of a thing--I'll tell you all about it later."

"Why not now?" Seamus pulled his curtains aside and flopped down on his bed.

Dean raised his eyebrows. "Aren't you shagging--I mean, meeting--Lavender in a bit?"

"Oh, bugger!" Seamus glanced at his watch. "I've got to get going!" He went to his trunk to pull out some of his foul-smelling aftershave. "Sorry your girl left you though," he teased with a mockingly sympathetic grin.

Dean laughed as he hurled a pillow at his friend. "She'll be back later."

"But how will you ever occupy your time until then?" Seamus batted his eyelashes in a horrible imitation of Ginny.

"I've got things to do," Dean said offhandedly as he extracted a small, thin book with a shabby, black cover from under his mattress.

Seamus shook his head in disbelief. "You and that ruddy diary."

Dean smirked as he opened the blank pages. "What can I say--it's my best mate,"

"Funny, thought that was my job," Seamus shot back before flouncing out of the dormitory.

Dean continued to laugh as he got a quill and ink. "Let's just say it can teach me things that no one else can," Dean said quietly to the blank book. His eyes wandered over to the inside cover of the book in which he had once scrawled these words in vivid red ink, although he couldn't remember doing it.

There is no good or evil; there is only power and those too weak to seek it.