Betrayal

Chapter 14

Ron sat down next to Neville a few seats away from Harry, Hermione, and Ginny. He was unaware that Malfoy was surveying him with malicious glee. However, Malfoy remained quiet for the last fifteen minutes of breakfast, Harry hoped beyond all hope that perhaps Malfoy didn't know yet what exactly happened. He clutched his wand beneath his robes just in case.

Just as everyone was getting up to leave the hall, Malfoy stepped up onto the table, pointed his wand at his throat and muttered something.

"Attention, please! Attention! Can I please have your attention!" Malfoy's magnified voice rang across the hall and a hushed silence fell across the crowd of students as they stared up at Malfoy expectantly. Harry, in the haste of whipping out his wand, had gotten the edge of his robe pocket caught on his watch. He struggled helplessly with it as Malfoy continued to speak.

"It has been brought to my attention, that Hermione 'Mudblood' Granger has been caught whoring around Hogwarts with none other than the famous Harry Potter. As we all know, she has been dating that pathetic loser, Weasley, so this is a very difficult time for him. Betrayed by his so-called best friend and his slag of a girlfriend, Weasley will be understandably more pathetic than ever-" Crack! Hermione had flung her plate at Malfoy, hitting him square in the back of the head, but not before both Harry and Ron had hit him with different but equally disgusting jinxes. Malfoy fell from the table with a terrible thud. Enormous, blue, puss-filled boils began to spring up all over his face and he was growing a long, scaly, purple tail at an alarming rate.

Snape was the first professor on the scene as he had been only a few feet away when the whole incident had occurred. After performing the counter-jinxes for Malfoy, he sent him up to the hospital wing and then rounded on Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Ron's whole head was blazing from rage and embarrassment. Hermione was breathing heavily, visibly rattled by what had just happened. Harry was shaking with fury and hatred for Malfoy. He promised himself that this was only the beginning of payback for that little announcement. He didn't care if the whole school thought he and Hermione were horrible people, but he could just strangle the life out of Malfoy's body for embarrassing Ron like that and insulting him in front of the everyone.

"You three will serve detention with me tonight at 5pm in my office. Together." Snape gave Harry a particularly evil grin, and Harry understood that he had heard the whole announcement.

Harry turned to Hermione. "He heard the whole thing and didn't stop it! I bet Malfoy won't even get lines for what he just did." Hermione, recovering quickly from the incident, stole a glance at Ron, who was still blazing red. Dean and Neville were talking to him and guiding him out of the hall in a hurried fashion. He looked back at Harry and Hermione with loathing in his eyes.

As Hermione and Harry left for their double Charms lesson, she spoke to him for the first time. "Did you see that look Ron gave us as he left? Like he hates us? All because of stupid Malfoy!"

"Hermione, Ron has the right to blame us for any embarrassment what we did causes. It's not like Malfoy was lying, about the main part, anyways. But still, I am going to get that slimy little git for doing that to Ron if it's the last thing I do!" Harry stopped and kicked the wall as hard as he could. It hurt, and he thought maybe it had not been a good idea to kick solid things such as walls.

"Harry, there's only so much blame we can take for that." She gestured to the entrance of the great hall. She thought Harry was going a little overboard by accepting all the blame for everything. "This is going to be really bad, now that everyone knows. I'm not looking forward to detention with Snape. Knowing him, it will be to give us three some weapons and lock us up in a room for four hours." Harry laughed a little in spite of his terrible mood. That is something Snape would do with the hopes that we'd kill each other.

They arrived at the classroom and, to their immense dissatisfaction, found that the only two seats left were at a table with Neville and Ron. Ron rolled his eyes upon realizing this and turned away from them. Harry and Hermione sat down in the seats opposite them and were thankful that a plant in the middle of the table hid them somewhat from Ron's face.

"Hi, Neville," Hermione said tentatively.

"Neville." Harry nodded, trying not to be overly friendly, as Neville kept giving Ron terrified looks. The Charms lesson went pretty smoothly. Harry and Hermione had managed not to do anything that would set Ron off. Ron had managed to not go off, and Neville seemed rather relieved about all of this.

The next and final class of the day, and of the week, for it was Friday, was double Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid. The three usually liked Friday best of all because it was a short day and the end of the week, even if they did have the last class with the Slytherins. However, that mornings recent developments made Harry downright panicky with anticipation. He would have skipped it if he thought for one second Hermione would as well. But he knew she wouldn't, and he wasn't going to let her face the Slytherins alone. Upon arriving at Hagrid's hut, Harry immediately scanned the yard for Malfoy, but couldn't find him. Please let him still be in the hospital wing...

"I think Malfoy's still with Madame Pomfrey," Hermione whispered when Hagrid showed up and began to prepare for the lesson.

"Christ, I hope so," he muttered back. He turned around just in time to see Ron scowling at them. Harry took a few steps away from Hermione and shifted his eyes towards Hagrid, who was beginning to speak. Just then, Pansy Parkinson slid by them and hissed loud enough for everyone to hear, "So, Granger, you spread you legs for Potter and not Weasley? I never knew whores were so picky, but at least Potter's famous. Weasley's nothing."

"You shut your mouth, you filthy little cow, before I shut it for you." Harry had pulled out his wand and had it pointed it in Pansy's face, inches from her nose. Ron was off in the sidelines, trembling with rage. He too had his wand out. Hermione, however, looked furious, and she was tearing up.

" 'Arry! Put that wand away an' pay attention. That goes for you too, Miss Parkinson." Hagrid gave Pansy a menacing look before returning to his opening speech about breeding thestrals. Pansy sneered at them and walked over to the fence, huddling with her gang of Slytherin girls and Crabbe and Goyle.

Harry inched towards Hermione, who was shaking. He leaned in to her and whispered something Ron could not hear. Ron had mixed emotions. Pansy calling Hermione a whore was hard for him to listen to no matter how angry he was with her. And Harry was just trying to comfort her, but seeing them close together sent shockwaves of jealousy up his spine. He decided to glare at Pansy for a while.

"Hermione, she is just trying to upset you. Anyone that's worth anything around here knows you're not a whore. Don't let that stupid cow embarrass you."

"I'm not worried about that she thinks of me!" Hissed Hermione. "She acts as if Ron is the lowest scum of the earth. Like you're somehow better than him just because you're famous. 'Weasley's nothing.' That stupid little bi-"

"Hermione!" Harry almost laughed. Hermione did not swear like that. Ever.

"What?" She looked at him irritably.

"It's just...language, Miss Granger. You are a prefect, and as such, it is your duty to set an example for-"

"Oh, shut it!" And she punched him on the arm, her face cracking into a small grin.

Ron witnessed this playful interaction and decided to glare at his two (former?) best friends now instead of Pansy.

The rest of the lesson went on uninterrupted until the last five minutes when all hell broke loose.

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