Together

Together

'Dear Viktor,

How are you? I'm sorry it's taken me a while to get back to you, I've been very busy with all this schoolwork and there are lots of things going on right now. Mind you, I don't think I can complain - right now Ron's trying to finish a Potions essay that's due in tomorrow morning, and Harry isn't here (I think he might be off 'talking' to Cho Chang!) Actually, there's something more that I want to talk to you about. I'm sorry I have to say this through a letter, but I won't get to see you in person.

Something just isn't right,

I can feel it inside.

The truth isn't far behind me,

You can't deny.

I think we should keep this whole 'thing' to just being friends. That's what you said when you asked me to the Yule Ball last year, and if I'm going to be honest with you, it's part of the reason why I agreed. Back then I wasn't particularly interested in anything other than my studies, and I suppose it's the same now. For a while at the end of last year, I thought it might work, that I might get a normal boyfriend like the other girls.

When I turn the lights out,

When I close my eyes,

Reality overcomes me,

I'm living a lie.

The problem is that I'm not like the other girls. And this isn't a proper 'relationship' anyway, when we never see each other and only communicate through letters. Sometimes I'll think about it for ages, because it's not that I don't want to be your friend, but something just isn't working. I always want to be open and honest, and I don't want to carry on pretending if it's just going to make things worse. You understand, don't you? This just isn't me.

When I'm alone

I feel so much better,

And when I'm around you,

I don't feel together.

Harry just came back. It turns out he and Cho did slightly more than just talking! And Ron did the male immaturity routine once again. He does it so well. (No offence, I've never seen you do the male immaturity routine! In fact, I've only ever seen Ron do it, so from now on I'll call it the Ronald Weasley Immaturity Routine!)

I don't want to go in for this whole relationship stuff. I've got too much going on at the moment to have to worry about that too. I'll still write to you, and we can meet up and be friends, but I know I'm never going to feel anything stronger for you. It's just one of those things not meant to happen.

It doesn't feel right at all,

Together,

Together we've built a wall,

Together,

Holding hands we'll fall,

Hands we'll fall.

I realise I probably should have said something before this, and I could say that I've been too busy, but it isn't true. I guess I've been putting it off because I feel bad that I can't explain it all in person. It feels horrible to be writing all of this in a letter, but I don't see any other way around it. Now I've decided I'm just going to try and get it done, so that we can both move on from this, ok?

This has gone on so long,

I realise that I need,

Something good to rely on,

Something for me.

So, I'm really, really sorry, but that's basically what I wanted to write to you about. Please don't hate me for it! I know you wouldn't because you're a really sweet guy, and I'm really pleased we can be friends, but you do understand?

Write back,

Love Hermione xx'

Hermione rolled up the parchment, carefully and skilfully avoiding Ron's sneaking gaze, sealed it and got up. Ron looked slightly put out, while Harry still had that dazed look on his face. Boys, she thought with a small grin on her face.

"Well," she said, "I'm going to bed. Night." As she climbed the stairs to her dormitory, she distinctly heard Ron's voice talking to Harry.

"What does she see in Krum?" Hermione couldn't hear Harry's reply, but Ron's words got her thinking. As she climbed the final few steps, she thought to herself. What had she ever seen in Viktor?

The fact that he thought she was beautiful. The fact that he treated her like a real human being, a girl, not just a walking encyclopaedia. The fact that he was always sweet and respected her feelings. The fact that he was the first guy to ever ask her out. The fact that he had shown interest in her, Hermione Granger, over Parvati Patil, Cho Chang, Fleur Delacour and all the other pretty girls. He had chosen her.

My heart is broken,

I'm lying here,

My thoughts are choking,

On you, my dear.

Sighing, Hermione sank onto her bed, feeling confused. Were those real feelings for Viktor? Or was it just the fact that she had felt, for a short while, that she was a normal teenager with a boyfriend? No, she thought, I'm not that sort of girl. She had written that letter for definite reasons, over definite feelings, and they were more reliable than tiny whisps of uncertainty. No, she did not belong with Viktor.

When I'm around you,

When I'm around you,

I don't feel together, no,

I don't feel together, no.

Feeling slightly happier, Hermione got into her pyjamas and climbed into her bed, picking up the large, thick book she had started the previous night and hugged it to her chest. The old Hermione Granger was back.

When I'm around you,

When I'm around you,

I don't feel together, no,

I don't feel together, no.

Yes, now she would concentrate more on her lessons. Get an 'O' in every OWL. Do what she had always planned to do, and not worry about guys. For the moment anyway.

Now grinning, Hermione Granger opened her book and settled back to read once more.