Friends Forever....Or Not?

Chapter 9

Hermione had fallen asleep the night before and didn't wake up until the next morning. Her headache had gone away. But it was sure to be back because today Harry would arrive and she had to make sure that he got the journal ok. She figured it out that if the train left King's Cross at 11:00, then it would get here to Hogwarts at about 6 or 7 o'clock. If she put his journal back on the table at about 5:45, it would be perfect. She would stay in the common room reading a book until she heard the train come. This way, she could watch over the journal as much as possible. So, when the train comes she would leave and go to her room. Hopefully, Harry would have realized that he left his journal there and would go straight for it. She only hoped that her plan would go accordingly.

At 5:30, she was sitting in the common room, reading. She decided to come early, just in case. She was so nervous. At 5:45, she took the journal and set it exactly in the same spot she had found it. She sat back down and continued to read.

She was deep in her book. She almost didn't hear the train coming. She finished her page and left for her room. In there, she watched from the window. She could see that Harry was the first person off the train and into the castle. She had a strong feeling that everything would go all right. All she could do now was wait.

* * *

"Hurry up train, hurry up," thought Harry to himself. "I have to get to my journal." After long awaited anticipation, the train finally came to a halt. Harry jumped out of his seat and left Ron there. Harry was the first person off that train. He ran straight for his common room. He told the fat lady the password, but to his surprise, the door didn't open.

"That is not the correct password," she said.

"Oh, no. Come on. Open up!" yelled Harry. He figured that they had changed the password over the break. He should have waited by the train with everyone else. Then he would have known it. "Please, just open up!"

"What is the correct password?" she said.

"I don't know!" He was just about to give up and lose all hope when the door opened and out came Neville. Unfortunately, before Harry could get in, it closed again.

"Harry! Hi. I was, uh, just in my room. I thought I'd come out and-"

"Neville, what's the password?"

"Drofkins."

"Thank you," shouted Harry as he ran inside. He didn't take the time to notice how startled Neville had been. Neville wasn't like his usual self. Harry had a feeling that his journal wasn't there. I mean, come on. It would have been so easy for someone to take it. He just hoped for the best. And the best wasn't what he got. His worst nightmare had just come true. His journal wasn't there. He looked all over the common room for it just in case, but it was useless. He didn't find it. Just then, Ron walked in.

"Ron, my journal isn't here," said Harry.

"Well, you told me you didn't have anything too important in there anyway. So, what's the big deal?"

"Well, Ron, you see...I kind of lied a little bit."

"Harry! Why would you do that?"

"You didn't understand. I told you but you didn't take it seriously. I'm sorry, Ron, but please help me. I have to find it."

"Harry, what was in there? What didn't I understand? Tell me."

"Ok, you know when I told you about that little crush I had on Hermione?"

"Yeah..."

"I also told you that I had gotten over her, right?"

"Right..."

"Well, I lied about that too. Ron, I like Hermione. I really like her. That's almost all I wrote about in my journal. I can't stop thinking about her. And now, someone knows all of that."

"Harry, we have got to find your journal!"

"I know!"

They looked all around the common room again and everywhere else you could think of, but they still didn't find it. They knew it was useless. They knew someone had taken it.

"Harry, this is useless. It's not here. Somebody must have taken it. But the question is, who?"

* * *

Hermione was sitting in her room and wondering if he had found it yet. She couldn't resist. She had to check. She peeked her head around the corner and caught a glimpse of their conversation. "...it's not here. Somebody must have taken it..." She couldn't believe it. The journal wasn't there. Where was it? She had no idea. Someone must have taken it in that short time after she left. Her plan had failed her. She hoped that whoever had it wouldn't tell anyone. She really couldn't do much about it now.

* * *

A couple days had passed and Harry still had no idea who had his journal. No one had confronted him yet. And he knew that he had his name on it. He was getting impatient. He was beginning to think that he would never see it again. He just hoped that it was a guy who took it and not a girl, because if a girl had taken it, he was sure that Hermione knew that he liked her by now. Girls gossip way too much.

Harry was sitting in his Transfiguration Class next to Ron. He was supposed to be paying attention on how to turn a mouse into a pumpkin. He was totally confused. He hoped Ron was paying attention. Harry sighed and glanced around the room. There, he saw Hermione. She looked a bit sad. He wondered if something had happened to her over the Christmas vacation. He just wanted to talk to her. He hadn't had a normal conversation with her for a long time. He missed that. If only he could just work up the courage to talk to her again. But he couldn't and wouldn't. He sighed again and looked at the clock. "Good, there's only five minutes left of class," he thought to himself. So, after 5 minutes, McGonagall let them go. As they were waking out, Harry noticed once again how sad Hermione looked. "Hey, Ron, do you know what's wrong with Hermione?"

"No, I don't."

"Oh."

"Hey Harry!" said Seamus. He was walking right behind them and happened to catch some of their conversation. "I know what's wrong with Hermione. I heard from somebody that she broke up with Malfoy."

"She what?!" exclaimed Harry.

"She broke up with Malfoy," said Seamus. "He was pissed. He starting cussing her out, but McGonagall caught him. Snape was gone, so she took one hundred points away from Slytherin and gave him detention."

"Cool. He deserves it," piped in Ron.

"But why would she brake up with him?" questioned Harry.

"I have no idea," started Seamus, "but I sure feel sorry for her now. Malfoy will make her pay for every last bit of it. You can be sure of that...Hey, are you two still fighting with her?"

Neither Ron nor Harry gave an answer.

"Why?" asked Harry.

"Well, she could use some friends right about now...but anyway, I have to go. I will talk to you two later, ok?"

"Yeah, see you," said Ron.

"Bye," said Harry.

After Seamus had left, they decided to walk around the castle. "Harry, I have to talk to you about something," said Ron.

"What?" said a puzzled Harry.

"Hermione."

"Oh."

"I don't know what's going on with you. I know you want to be friends with her again, but you don't do anything about it. Why not?"

"Well...well, I guess because I never thought I had a chance with her when she was with Malfoy. And I don't want to break my promise with you. But now she seems so sad, but I don't get it. Why would she be sad if she's one who broke up with him in the first place?"

"I have no idea. You never know about her sometimes, do you?"

"No, that's for sure."

"Harry. I have to confess something."

"What?"

"I don't think you have to worry about breaking your promise to me."

"Why? What do you mean?"

"I mean...I guess I wouldn't care if we forgave Hermione. I have to admit, seeing her like this just now really made me think. This fight isn't getting us anywhere. I have been thinking about this the whole last class. And oh, by the way, I really hope you were listening to all that stuff McGonagall was saying, because I sure wasn't. But that's beside the point. So, Harry, if you still want to forgive her, I will be right behind you."

"But what are we going to say to her?"

"We? No, you mean, what are you going to say to her. This was your idea in the first place. Like I said. I will be right behind you."

"But Ron, I don't know what to say to her!"

"Well, I thought you had this all planned out."

"No, not really."

"I don't want to look like an idiot in front of her!"

"Neither do I!"

"What are we going to do, Harry?"

"Well...I don't know."

"I have an idea," said Ron suddenly.

"What?"

"Well, actually, I just thought of something. Do we really want to be the ones who crawl back to her and beg her forgiveness? What are people going to say?"

"You know, I guess I never really thought about that."

"People are going to think that we can't live without her or something," said Ron.

"I know...Well, I guess I have a plan. Let's let her forgive us first. We'll give her two weeks. If she hasn't by that time, then we will think of something else," said Harry.

"You really think that she'll forgive us first?"

"Yes, actually, I do. I've been watching her. The way she looks at us. She misses us. She really doesn't have anyone else to talk to."

"She has Ginny," said Ron.

"But Ginny's a year younger than her."

"So?"

"We've been friends with her a lot longer than Ginny has," pointed out Harry.

"True."

"Trust me, Ron. I just know that she'll forgive us soon. As a matter of fact, let's make it only a week. If she doesn't forgive us in a week, then we'll figure out a way to do it."

"Harry, are you sure about this?"

"Yes. I am very sure," he said with confidence. Harry could tell just by looking at her that Hermione needed them right now. He knew the reason she looked so sad. It wasn't because she broke up with Malfoy. But it was because she missed her two best friends. "Now come on, let's go to the library and get some homework done."

"Ok."

"Oh, and Ron. There's a little something that I also have to admit."

Ron sighed and said, "What now?"

"You know how you said that you weren't listening to a word McGonagall was saying in our last class?...Well, neither was I. We're screwed."

* * *

"Hey, Hermione!" said Ginny. "Are you going to the library?"

"Yeah. I have to get some homework done."

"Do you mind if I come with you?"

"No, that's fine. I could use some company."

"Thanks."

They walked over to the library and found two seats over in the corner. They were doing homework silently for five minutes until Ginny couldn't take it any longer.

"Hermione! I have to tell you something. Something happened to me last night."

Hermione glanced up from her homework looking quite shocked. "What? What happened?" Hermione had a feeling she knew what it was. The excitement in Ginny's voice made it quite clear.

"I, Ginny Weasley, now have a boyfriend!" she squealed.

"Oh, Ginny, that's wonderful! So you finally did ask Neville. That's great!"

"Neville?...No, it's not Neville."

"What? I thought you had a crush on Neville. I thought you were going to ask him out."

"Well, I couldn't work up the courage to do that. And it's a good thing too, because just last night, someone else came up to me and asked me out!"

"That's great, Ginny, but who? Who asked you out?"

"Colin Creevey," said Ginny smiling. "It turns out that he's had a crush on me since our first year. I couldn't believe it!"

"That is pretty amazing, Ginny."

"I know. Stuff like this never happens to me."

"It never happens to me either," said Hermione.

"Yes it does," said Ginny as she clapped her hand over her mouth.

"What?"

"I shouldn't have said that!"

"You mean to say, that someone's liked me since my first year?"

Ginny nodded her head.

"Who?" Hermione had a feeling, well, more then a feeling that she knew who it was. I mean, she read it herself in Harry's journal. He had to be who she was talking about. But she couldn't admit to Ginny that she'd taken the journal. She didn't even know where it was now. But maybe...could it possibly be true? Why else would she know?...Could Ginny have taken Harry's journal?

"Well, I really can't tell you, Hermione. I already told you too much."

"Oh, that's ok. I understand. But, Ginny, may I ask how you know this? Did you just find this out?"

"No, I've know it for a while. I accidentally overheard him talking once. We made a little deal and I promised not to tell."

Hermione's hopes were gone. Ginny couldn't have taken the journal. It wouldn't have even been possible. Harry was the first person off the train. She saw him. Ginny couldn't have beaten him to the common room. She sighed.

"Hermione, are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm just...upset that you aren't going to tell me who likes me," she lied.

"Oh. Sorry. I can't do that."

"Yeah, I know," she said as she sighed again.

They continued doing there homework until Ginny had to leave. She was going to meet Colin somewhere. After that, Hermione just sat there. Surprisingly, she didn't feel like doing homework. She thought about Ginny. And how happy she was with Colin. Then she thought about Draco. And how happy she could have been with him. And then she thought about Harry. And about, hopefully, how happy she would be with him. If she ever told him. If she ever forgave them. It was just a matter of time. She wondered how Ginny had even found out that Harry liked her. And what kind of deal they made. And why Ginny never mentioned this before. There was one other thing that Hermione did not know. When Ginny said that she knew someone who liked Hermione, she wasn't talking about Harry. No, she had no idea that Harry also had a crush on Hermione. The person she was talking about was no other than...Draco Malfoy.

* * *

Ron and Harry were also in the library. They were attempting to get some homework done, but all they accomplished was a lot of talking.

"So," said Harry, "you're coming to the Quidditch match tomorrow, right?"

"Of course! Who are we playing? I forgot."

"Slytherin."

"You know, it seems like we always play Slytherin, doesn't it?" asked Ron with curiosity.

"Yeah, I've noticed that too."

"I wonder why that is..." said Ron.

"I don't know."

"Oh well. Gryffindor will probably win anyway. We always do."

"Yeah, we're going to win House Cup for sure this year. I think we've only lost, what, one game?" asked Harry.

"Yeah, against Ravenclaw."

"Oh, I remember that. That was a really close game, we should've had it."

"I know."

"You think maybe we should try to get some homework done?"

"I suppose," said Ron lazily.

"Have you finished that essay Cambridge gave us??"

"Oh no! I completely forgot about that. I haven't even started it yet."

"I have a little bit done."

"So, Harry, what do you think is going to happen to Cambridge this year?" said Ron, still trying to get out of doing homework.

"Why would something happen to her?"

"Oh, come on, you don't think she'll actually stay another year, do you?"

"I guess not," said Harry.

"Maybe she'll blow up or something. That would be bloody brilliant!"

"Blow up?" questioned Harry.

"You never know. It could happen."

"Whatever."

They continued doing their homework quietly without any more interruptions from Ron.

* * *

Hermione had just gotten up to find a new book when she noticed someone sitting over in the corner. It was Neville. And he was reading something. It couldn't have been a book though. It was much too small. She walked a little closer. She saw what it was. It was Harry's journal. She ran up to him. Neville saw her coming and quickly hid the journal.

"Neville, what were you reading?"

"Nothing," he said instantly.

"Yes you were. I saw it. And I know what it is. It's Harry's journal."

Neville's face turned a shade of red. "How do you know about that? I wasn't really reading it. I really didn't know it was Harry's. I was just, just, uhh..."

"Neville, I know about it because I also read it. I read it all. Now please, let me have it."

"Why? How do I know you are telling me the truth?"

"Neville! Why would I lie to you? I know that Harry likes me. I know everything. I know that you took the journal right before the train came back from Christmas vacation. I had just put it there minutes before, hoping that Harry would find it. But I guess you got there first."

"Now that you mention it, right when I was leaving the common room I saw Harry. He was in a bit of a hurry to do something. I guess he was looking for his journal."

"Yes. He was. Now, Neville, listen to me. Could you please just give me the journal back? I will make sure it gets to Harry without him knowing you read it. Please. This is really important to me."

Neville slowly took the journal back out. "Oh, fine. He better not find out that I read it though."

Hermione took the journal. "Oh Neville, thank you so much!!" And, in a state of happiness, Hermione gave Neville a small kiss on the cheek and left. Neville just sat there in shock. He was as red as a cherry.

Hermione quickly stuck the journal in her bag. She had to figure out another plan to safely give the journal back to Harry. She went back to her table. It was back to the beginning for her. She was really regretting that she ever took the journal in the first place. She wished none of this stuff were happening. She wished it were the start of the term again. When they were all friends. Hermione glanced around the library hoping that two certain boys would be there. They were. She sighed. "Why can't this just all be over with? Why can't we be friends again? I miss them..." she thought to herself.

* * *

Harry looked down at his essay. He hadn't gotten very far. And somehow, Ron still hadn't started his. Harry was sure that by now Hermione would've had hers' done. It all sounded so familiar...This was how the trio broke up. They were in the library, doing their homework. He remembered it so clearly. He wished it never would've happened. Ron and Harry both missed Hermione very much. And what they didn't know was that she missed them just as much. All that was keeping them apart now was their pride.