Secrets

No one spoke for what seemed like an eternity. Ron was still frozen in his spot. Harry had frozen in his own. Hermione was waiting for someone to do something with a look of anxiety expressed clearly on her face.

"Let go of me, Weasley. These are new robes." Malfoy's comment seemed to awaken Ron from his stupor. Once again, his eyes lit with anger. His grip on Malfoy tightened. He shoved him harder against the wall.

"What are you doing with my sister?" Ron demanded furiously. He was barely controlling himself. Hermione shot Harry a distressed look.

"Ron, don-" she tried.

"Shut your mouth, you filthy little mudblood." Malfoy's lip curled. "No one asked you to speak." His last word was slightly disfigured. Ron had slammed him into the wall so hard his head snapped back and hit the stone with a sickening smack. Ron's left arm restrained Malfoy while his right prepared to strike.

A pair of small hands caught his arm, holding it back. Ginny. Harry had forgotten she was there.

"Ron, don't." Her voice was quiet and pleading. "Let him go. Don't hurt him."

Ron's face once again took on a look of disbelief. " Wha- You're protecting him? After what he said to Hermione? To you?" He tried to shrug her off, but Ginny held firm. "I mean it, Ginny. Let go."

"Ginny, move," Ron ordered in a barely controlled voice.

"No." Her voice was quiet but very firm. Behind Ginny, Malfoy smirked.

"What now, Weasel? Going to punch your sister?" He nodded at Ron's arm, which was still poised.

Harry could almost see Ron's brain scramble, trying to figure out if he could damage Malfoy without hurting Ginny in the process.

He couldn't. Ron's arm dropped. He sighed and released Malfoy. He took a deliberate step around Ginny.

"Good doggy." His smirk deepened. Ron would have lunged, but at that moment Hermione slipped in between them and, placing her hands on Ron's shoulders, held him back.

"Now really, mudblood," Malfoy laughed darkly. "If you can't control that idiot animal, I'll have to put it out of its misery." He drew his wand. Hermione, Ron, and Harry drew theirs in rapid succession. Harry saw Ginny bite her lip anxiously.

"Please-" she began, but was quickly cut off.

"And you," Malfoy turned on her, stepping angrily towards her, "I thought we discussed that you would keep your mouth shut about our situation."

"I- I did-"

"You lying little piece of filth!" Malfoy roared. "How do you explain the thick threesome?"

"Her-Hermione f-found us-"

"I don't give a-" he stopped abruptly and fell to the ground, unconscious. Ginny was the first to respond.

"Ron!" She dropped to her knees next to Malfoy and grabbed his hand, holding it tightly in her own. "What did you do to him?"

"I just stunned him-he'll be fine, unfortunately. He deserves a whole lot more. Now put down the garbage and let's get out of here, you've got a lot of explaining to do." Ron offered his hand to Ginny. She didn't take it.

"Ginny, let's go." His voice was firmer now, and slightly irritated. She wouldn't meet his gaze. She slowly but firmly shook her head. "Ginny-"

"I'm not coming, Ron."

Ron shot Harry an exasperated look.

"Can't you do something?" Ron asked him. "She'll listen to you."

Harry felt as if a giant spotlight had been turned on him quite unexpectedly. He was too unsure of the entire situation to feel like he could do something about it. Nevertheless he stepped forward and dropped down to Ginny's level. She still wouldn't look at him. Harry had no idea what to say.

"Is this where you've been going all the time?" He wanted her to look at him.

A pause. She nodded slowly.

"To see Malfoy?" Look at me.

Another nod.

"Youve been seeing Malfoy?" Please just look at me. It'll be OK if you just look at me.

But she only nodded.

"I'm going to wake him up." She pulled out her wand. "He's going to be very angry. It'd be better if you weren't here."

"Ginny-" Hermione tried.

"No, Hermione. We've already talked about this," she said firmly. "Please leave."

Hermione looked down for a small moment and when she looked up Harry saw a trace of grim acceptance in her eyes.

"If you think I'm just going to leave you down here with-" Ron looked furious.

"Ron." Hermione stepped over to him and looked him directly in the eye. "We're not helping anyone by staying here arguing. This isn't any of our business. We're leaving."

Ron opened his mouth as if to say something, and closed it again. Then, as if he couldn't believe what he was doing, he turned away and stormed out of sight.

Hermione watched him leave and then turned to Harry, who was still on the floor next Ginny and Malfoy. The look in his eyes was painful.

"Harry," she called in a much softer voice than the one she had used on Ron. "Please come."

Harry turned to look at her for a moment. He looked back at Ginny. And then wordlessly he stood and walked away.

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"Harry?" Hermione asked tentatively from the door to his dormitory. She had been standing there for a while. Harry didn't answer. There were too many things swimming through his head.

Ginny. Malfoy. Meeting together. It didn't happen. It couldn't happen. Why did this happen?

"Harry? Are you OK?" She sounded worried. Of ourse I'm OK, Hermione. I just found out the Ginny and Malfoy were-are-

"Harry, would you please talk to me?" No. That wasn't Ginny. That was someone else. It couldn't have been Ginny. Ginny wouldn't let him talk to her like that. Ginny would've hexed him, she would've slugged him. Ginny doesn't let anyone talk to her like that. But she did.

"Well if he won't talk to you, I certainly will." Ron's voice. He was the only other one in the dormitory. He had been lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, just like Harry. Now he had stood and was glaring accusingly at Hermione. "You knew about this?"

Hermione's gaze traveled guiltily to the ground. "Yes." Ron looked like he was going to explode.

"AND YOU NEVER TOLD ME?! YOU KNEW SHE WAS SNEAKING AROUND WITH THAT-THAT-FERRET- AND YOU JUST LET HER GO ON-"

"Sh-She made me promise." Hermione's chin lifted defensively with an air of feigned confidence.

"I DON'T CARE IF SHE MADE YOU CAST A DRUID CURSE OF SECRECY ON YOURSELF-DID YOU HEAR THE WAY HE TALKED TO HER?! AND YOU-"

Why? Why did she protect him? Why wouldn't she look at me? Why didn't she tell me? She told Hermione. No, she didn't. Hermione found out. Why didn't I find out? She should have told me. Maybe then it wouldn't hurt so much.

"-CAN BET I'M NOT GOING TO KEEP MY MOUTH SHUT-I'M OWLING MUM STRAIGHT AWAY!" Ron stormed past Hermione and left the dormitory. Hermione was blinking rapidly, and her eyes looked very wet.

"H-Harry?" She glanced at him desperately. He continued to stare at the ceiling. "I-I thought-I'm s-sorry-I..." Her voice drifted away, and her shoulders slumped. She slowly turned and left.

***********************************************************

The next few days passed in somewhat of a blur for Harry. Classes, meals, and practices all ran together with very little distinction.

Hermione and Ron seemed to have made up, as they were no longer ignoring each other. Ron was little bothered by the situation, having sent his letter. He was certain an angry word - perhaps even a Howler - from Mrs. Weasley would snap Ginny back to her senses. Hermione seemed unaffected as well, but Harry reasoned she had had much more time to adjust.

They had both tried to talk to him about - about her, but Harry had ignored their attempts. She was too painful to think about, let alone talk about.

But he was thinking about her. He didn't try to. He didn't want to. But he couldn't help it. She was all he thought about. And it wasn't the way he had expected. He had expected to feel angry and betrayed, but those feelings were quickly replaced by a deep ache in his chest.

He missed her. No matter how hard he tried to fight it, he couldn't stop. He missed talking to her, and laughing with her. He missed her face. She was avoiding him. And if he took the time to admit it, he was avoiding her.

Malfoy. Harry had seen him. Smirking, sneering, gloating. Always just out of reach. The thought of him made Harry want to smash something or rip something - preferably Malfoy.

Every time Harry saw him, those conversations from down in the dungeons flooded into his head. He couldn't get them out.

And every time he heard those conversations, that ache in his chest hurt just a little more.