Magpies

One For Sorrow

'Love is friendship set on fire' - Jeremy Taylor (British writer)

***

It hurt. The cruel words and the lies traveled and span round in her head; they weaved themselves into a mental rug a picture of her life in the past, present and what looked like her future outcome would be.

She turned over in her bed and stared blankly up into the roof of her four-poster bed.

Harry.

It hurt her so much to think of him. He was with her almost every moment of the day and she felt like she couldn't survive.

What was it that he had said to her? Oh yes: " I'm with Cho, and I don't intend to change that, not for now at least. I value our friendship too much to ever be with you."

All she had told him was her true feelings for him. She had finally told him the truth; she loved him.

The words that he had spat back at her had cut through her heart and soul like a dagger.

Cho.

How she hated and despised her. She knew that Cho didn't love Harry. It was obvious. She only wanted to him to make herself popular and famous. Poor Harry, he knew this deep down, but was too blinded by the fact that Cho actually wanted to be with him.]

'Cho, Cho, Cho.' That's all that Harry talked about. She was sick of it, and even more sick of her. She turned over and fell back to sleep.

***

There was a great din coming from the great hall the next morning, but then again, there normally was.

Harry entered the great hall and immediately looked up and down the Ravenclaw table for Cho.

She was sitting in the middle of a group of her friends and she, as always, looked so beautiful.

Cho glanced up and saw Harry looking at her; she waved and he waved back. Then he sat down opposite Hermione on the Gryffindor table.

"Morning!" she greeted him.

"Hi Hermione!!" he replied cheerfully.

To Hermione it almost felt like he had forgotten what had happened the day before, which she was thankful for, but he hadn't.

"Hermione, about yesterday... I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I hurt your feelings; it was spiteful and wrong of me."

Hermione, however, was speechless and angry.

He looked up at her sheepishly. She could tell he was truly sorry by the look in his eyes. She always knew what he was thinking, his face was always so open, and it was why she loved him

"Look Harry," she said, looking him in the eye. Her stomach flipped and her throat tightened, but she carried on, her expression showing nothing about her feelings. " I can't forget what you said, no matter how many times you tell me you didn't mean them. By the look on your face yesterday, you meant what you said."

"Morning!" Ron said as he plonked himself on the bench next to Hermione.

He then started chatting to Harry. Hermione lost the thread of the conversation to her own thoughts. 'If only I knew what he was thinking,' she thought in exasperation, but that was the problem, she did know what he was thinking, and it certainly and it certainly was not about her and so, without a word to her two friends, she got up and left the hall.

"HERMIONE!!" Ron shouted after her, but it was too late. She had gone.

***

"What's up with her?" Harry asked Ron

Ron shrugged.

"Hey baby." Cho came over and sat herself down next to Harry.

She planted a soft kiss on his cheek and turned to Ron. "Can you excuse us for a while?"

Ron shrugged. "Sure, I'll go and find Hermione."

***

The library was surprisingly full for that time in the morning, especially with the Christmas holidays looming up too. There was the usual group of whispering second years, bent over some ungodly essay given by Professor Binns and a few students from other years dotted round the place.

Hermione found an unoccupied table in a quiet corner of the library and dumped her bag. She then began to search.

"T...Ta ...T...Aha, here we go...Te..." She pulled several books off of the shelf.

***

"Hermione!!" Ron called out, gaining several stern looks from the students and Madam Pince.

Hermione was sitting at a table in a corner of the library; books piled high in front of her. Ron walked over and picked up a book.

"Telepathy? Hermione what are you doing?"

Hermione looked up and shrugged. "Look Ron, it's really none of your business, ok?"

Ron looked offended. "Oh, I just thought I'd...never mind," he finished.

"You thought you'd what?" she asked suspiciously.

"Never mind."

"Fine, Ron, be like that." she scowled, turning back to her books

"I will then!" Ron looked uncomfortable for a moment, before clearing his throat, his expression full of concern. "Look Herm, is there something wrong?"

"No, just go, I need to do this research," she snapped.

Ron watched his friend closely. There was something not quite right about this mood or the way she was speaking to him.

"I'll see you in DaDa then?" he said carefully.

"Yeah, bye." She didn't look up.

Ron threw her one last worried glance before standing up and leaving.

***

"Harry, we need to talk." Cho turned to him when Ron had left.

"Ok, do you want to go for a walk?" Harry replied.

They got up and left the hall, hand in hand, and walked down to the lake. They found the little spot where they always sat and stopped.

Harry turned to face Cho. He leaned in towards her, kissing her tenderly. She responded hesitantly. His mouth tasted of the pumpkin juice he had been sipping before they had left. She pulled away. " Harry... I..."

"What is it?"

"Harry this is wrong," she sighed

"What? Us? Please explain." His expression was full of innocent confusion.

"Harry, I don't love you," she said softly

Harry sank down onto his knees, stunned. Cho sat down next to him.

"I'm sorry Harry..."

"Sorry? Is that it? Do you mean that everything we have had has been a lie?" he choked

Harry I.." she trailed off, unable to find the words to say to him.

"No. I don't want to know." He jumped up and briskly walked back up to the school.

Cho sighed and watched him leave.

***