Risking True Feelings

Tuesday

Ron avoided Hermione all day on Sunday and Monday by keeping to his dormitory, and making excuses to get away from her when he was out of dormitory.

By Tuesday, Hermione was fed up. "Ron! Stop running away from me!" she yelled down the hall as they walked to class.

Ron slowly came to a halt. He knew he couldn't avoid her forever.

"Ron, why are you avoiding me?" she asked crossly.

Ron stared at his feet. Why was he avoiding her? She technically didn't ask him to say he loved her. He had no reason to reject her.

"Dunno," Ron mumbled.

"Ron, you've locked yourself in your dormitory, talked to every one of your teachers about our homework, and gotten to classes ten minutes early. You're running away from me!"

"You wouldn't understand; it's a guy thing," Ron lied.

"Oh, Ron, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to invade your privacy," she apologized, looking on the verge of tears. "Let me know if there's anything I can do to help."

Ron nodded. He could feel his ears turning red, the way they did when he lied. Luckily, Hermione didn't notice as she turned to leave.

Ron stood in the middle of the hallway, not knowing why he had just lied to his best friend and, more importantly, his girlfriend.

Thursday Night

Hermione had not confronted Ron since Tuesday. Ron felt guiltier than ever, and couldn't even look at Hermione.

Hermione was very curious what was wrong with Ron. She asked Ginny, but Ginny refused to tell her. Then, she asked Harry. Harry, of course, was oblivious that anything was wrong with Ron.

It was time for the Midnight Madness meeting to begin. Everyone met in the Room of Requirement.

They had gotten in the habit of playing Truth or Dare, and no one was complaining, so they continued.

"Hermione, truth or dare?" Harry asked.

Hermione thought for a moment before answering, "Truth."

Harry glanced at Ron, smirked, and then asked, "Do you love Ron?"

Ron's eyes widened and his ears turned red.

Hermione blushed slightly and stared at Ron. Her eyes seemed to fill with tears. Ron wasn't sure whether this was a good sign or not. She rose to her feet, walked across the circle to Ron, grabbed his arm and led him out of the room.

The members whistled and cheered as they left the room, thinking that Ron was about to get something good.

Hermione shut the door, and lead Ron down the hall to an empty classroom.

Hermione sat down on a desk and buried her face in her hands.

Ron wasn't sure whether to comfort her or let her be.

"Ron?" Hermione murmured.

"Yes?" he answered.

Hermione raised her head out of her hands and said, "I'm sure you know, but I asked Ginny and Harry to talk to you."

Ron nodded. Tears were streaming down her face.

"I had asked them to change you. I really fancied you, and I still do," she added. "I know Harry and Ginny misunderstood; thinking that I love you."

Ron stared at her, totally in awe. Did this mean she really didn't love him?

"You don't love me?" Ron asked, making sure he understood what she meant.

"Ron, I'm sorry!" she wailed, throwing her arms around him.

"Hermione! It's okay!" he yelled over her sobbing. "I don't love you either!"

"What!?" Hermione yelled, pulling away from Ron.

"I don't love you. I fancy you!" Ron said cheerfully.

"Why not?" Hermione asked.

"I'm just not ready to tell anyone I love them. I don't think you should do that until you're ready to spend the rest of you life with that person," Ron explained. "But, wait, why don't you love me?"

Hermione thought about it. Why didn't she love Ron?

"I guess I'm just not comfortable with saying it. I can say it to my parents because I've known them my entire life. I just don't think I can say it to anyone until I feel like I've known them my entire life."

Ron nodded, indicating that he understood.

"C'mon," Hermione said. "Let's get back to the game."

"Give me a kiss," Ron said, moving forward to kiss her.

Needless to say, they did not return to the game, for a long time.

Back in the Room of Requirement, the other members had continued the game. "Draco, truth or dare?" Ginny asked.

"Dare."

"I dare you to find the teachers in the teachers lounge and ask Madame Pomfrey if she could check if you have herpes," Ginny commanded.

"I know I don't have herpes!" Draco protested.

"Too bad," Ginny said with a grin. "You chose dare; you face the consequences."

"All of you Weasleys are the same," Draco muttered.

"What do you mean!?" Ginny yelled, incredibly insulted.

"You're all a bunch of arses!" Draco roared.

Ginny rose, ready to kill him, but Harry grabbed her arm and pulled her back down into her seat.

"How are we going to watch him to know if he does it?" Neville asked.

Harry and Ginny both thought for a moment, before Harry realized something.

"The invisibility cloak!" Harry said, pulling it out of his bag. "But only a few of us can go, there's not enough room for everyone."

"Let's see, how will we decide who can go?" Ginny asked.

"I think you and Harry should go," Neville suggested. "I mean, you dared him, and it's Harry's invisibility cloak!"

The members all agreed as Harry and Ginny, under the invisibility cloak, followed Draco down the hall to the teacher's lounge.

They arrived in front of a door that read 'Teacher's Lounge'. Draco cautiously knocked on the door.

The door opened. Snape stood in the doorway, looking very angry. Before Draco could say anything, Snape bent down and kissed him.

When they broke apart, Snape turned around and said, "Are you happy, Albus?"

Dumbledore was smiling and clapping his hands happily. Draco, looking quite disgusted by the kiss, asked, "Is Madame Pomfrey here?"

"You're lucky I'm not giving you detention for that comment, Mr. Malfoy," Snape sneered.

"No, sir, you don't understand, I need to, er, speak with her. It's a medical problem," Draco tried to explain.

Snape glanced at Malfoy, trying to find out what was wrong. "Poppy!" he called.

Madame Pomfrey walked out of the Teacher's Lounge as Snape entered.

"Well, what is it, Mr. Malfoy?" she asked impatiently.

"Er, could you, could you..."

"What, Mr. Malfoy?" she asked, sounding a bit annoyed.

"Draco glanced at where Harry and Ginny were standing under the cloak, and asked, "Could you check if I have herpes?"

"Of course, Mr. Malfoy," she answered pleasantly. "If you would just drop your pants."

"N-now?" Draco gaped, not expecting her to do this now.

Ginny and Harry had to cover their mouths to keep from laughing.

"Well, yes, if you think there is a possibility that you have herpes, then we need to find out so we can treat it," Madame Pomfrey informed him.

Blushing horribly, Draco dropped his pants. His knickers were covered in snitches.

"Now your knickers, Mr. Malfoy," she commanded.

"Don't get any ideas," Harry whispered to Ginny.

Draco dropped his knickers. Ginny's jaw dropped. Now she knew why Draco didn't like this dare. He had nothing to be proud of. Ginny wondered if Pansy knew.

"No, Mr. Malfoy, you do not have herpes," Madame Pomfrey told him. "But if you and Miss Parkinson engage in any more sexual contact, please, feel free to contact me."

Draco's jaw dropped as he pulled up his pants.

"You night also ask Miss Parkinson to visit me, we don't want her to have any STDs either," Madame Pomfrey said before she closed returned to the teacher's lounge and closed the door.

Ginny and Harry took off the invisibility cloak, stared at Draco for a few seconds before bursting out laughing.

"I'm going to kill both of you!" Draco yelled.

Ginny and Harry ran down the hall, not stopping until they were safely inside the Room of Requirement.

Draco followed them, very angry about his dare.

The other members stared at Ginny and Harry, waiting for an explanation. "Well?" Luna finally said.

"Susan, you don't want to be shagged by Draco," was all that Ginny could manage to say.

"And Pansy, you need to see Madame Pomfrey. She wants to make sure you are free of STDs also," Harry added.

Pansy's face turned the shade of a beet.

"Well, Draco, who will it be?" Ginny said, still laughing hysterically.

"Potter, truth or dare?"

Ron and Hermione entered the room after a long snog.

"Truth," Harry answered.

"Name all of the girls you have ever fancied, in the order you fancied them," Draco ordered.

"Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, Pansy Parkinson, Ginny Weasley, Cho Chang, Ginny Weasley, Luna Lovegood, and Ginny Weasley," Harry answered honestly.

"You fancied me?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, didn't you know?" Harry asked, thinking it was obvious.

"No."

"Wait, you fancied me?" Pansy said, looking totally confused.

"It was in our third year, when you first started dating Draco," Harry told her.

"When did you fancy me?" Luna asked, just realizing that her name was on that list.

"Last year, after I got over Cho," Harry said. "You were pretty impressive in the Department of Mysteries."

Luna smiled to herself and zoned out like she usually did.

"You fancied me all those times, and you never told me?" Ginny said.

"Well, yes, but I couldn't tell you," Harry told her.

"And why not?" Ginny asked, not knowing any reason that he couldn't have told her.

"Because the first time was during my second year, and I was too young to date anyone. Then, I liked you again in the end of my third year, and it was a little awkward between us after I saved you in the Chamber of Secrets. Then, again in fifth year, but I was dating Cho. And the last one is now," Harry clarified.

"Now, Ron truth or dare?" Harry asked, before anyone else could ask him anything else.

"Truth," Ron answered absentmindedly.

"If you could change anything about Hermione, what would it be?" Harry asked.

"Nothing," Ron said, gazing at Hermione.

"C'mon," Hermione said. "There has to be something you'd change about me."

Ron thought and said, "I would make her a little more laid back; she would stop caring about school so much."

"Now, was that so hard?" Hermione said.

"And I'd make her stop being an 'insufferable know-it-all'," Ron added.

"Ron, I recommend you stop before Hermione hexes you," Ginny whispered.

Hermione was gripping her wand, glaring at Ron.

"Er, Pansy, truth or dare?" Ron asked, trying to avoid eye contact with Hermione.

"Dare," she answered.

"Even after what happened to Draco?" Harry asked.

"What happened?" Ron asked.

"I'll tell you later," Harry told him.

"Okay, Pansy, I dare you to ask Madame Pomfrey if she has any condoms," Ron said. "Tomorrow morning-"

"At Breakfast!" the Gryffindors chorused, remembering Seamus' dare.

"Fine," Pansy answered, not sounding at all phased.

"Guys, it's getting late; we'd better get back to the dormitories," Ginny told the group.

Everyone walked back to their dormitories. Harry and Ginny told Ron and Hermione about Draco's dare and tried to find out what happened between the two of them while they were away.