Returned From Superstition

Chapter Three

Ginny and Malfoy talking in the library was the greatest news at Hogwarts that night, and, of course, Ron had heard about it. He had made a small scandal inside the common room, but he hadn't found Ginny to shout at her, which only made him angrier. "She knows she's done something wrong, and now she doesn't want to confront me," he had stated to Harry and Seamus, "But she'll see when I find her tomorrow!"

The boys were then trying to persuade him he should calm down when Parvati came in with a folded parchment on her hands. She handed it to him and smiled, turning her back and walking to the group of girls sat in the other corner of the common room.

"I never thought Ron would be so..." The group of Gryffindors all looked at Parvati trying to find the right word to describe him while taking her seat beside Lavender. "Sexual."

"Shouldn't you say 'horny'?" asked Hermione, rolling out her eyes and trying to go back to her book.

But the girls were too excited to talk about anything else since Ron left the room in a burst after reading Padma's note. The giggles brought Hermione back to the gossiping.

"Oh, come on, I doubt he's getting any action!" She tried one of her sarcastic remarks to see if they would stop.

"Actually, he is." Parvati smiled maliciously. "Padma told me some interesting things about him."

The girls all stared at her, almost horrified that she had said that.

"What?" she exclaimed, looking at them, as she couldn't understand what was the fuss about. "My sister and I have an open friendship."

The girls all went back to giggling, but Hermione felt too tired of it and decided to go upstairs. She just wished Ginny was there so they could talk. Since Ron and she broke-up, Ginny had become her confidant and now she got used to spending a lot of time talking to the girl. But the redhead was nowhere to be seen, and it was eleven at night already.

Harry intercepted her in her way to the girl's dorm. "Are you alright? You look tired."

"Yes, well, gossips are more tiring than studying. I don't know where Parvati and Lavender find the energy to do it constantly."

Harry laughed softly, "They're talking about Ginny and Draco in the library today?"

"No, they were talking about how great Ron is."

"Such a shocking piece of gossiping."

"Great in bed, Harry." Hermione flushed for saying this.

"Oh, thanks so much for the imagery." He shrugged, blushed and made a disgusted face, but after thinking for a moment, he went back to being calm about it. "Well, he doesn't snore much."

"Isn't Padma a lucky girl?" She sighed, and took her seat in front of the fireplace.

"You're not ok with it." Harry stated. "Why don't you tell me what you're feeling?"

Those words seemed so strange coming out of his mouth, although he had practiced it several times before - yes, well, he had read it in a book that Padma lent Ron, and it just seemed a nice thing to say to Hermione when she would go all strange and thoughtful again.

But Hermione also looked at him like he had said something he would never say, so he pleaded, "Just say anything. Please."

He swallowed hard, but relaxed when saw Hermione's smile. "It's difficult to say that to you."

"Do you talk about it with anyone?"

"Yes, I talk to Ginny about it, but she seems to have vanished tonight."

"Just pretend I'm Ginny!" Harry smiled, but flushed when Hermione burst out laughing. "What?"

"I couldn't do that." The look on Harry's face made her explain. "She's very gentle and understanding. She makes me talk even when I don't think I can. And she is a girl."

"I can be understanding and I can be gentle. I can't be a girl, but... I'm your best friend." He sighed. "I hope I am, at least."

"Oh, Harry!" she exclaimed before jumping to hug him. "Of course you are!"

She realized what she had done and felt Harry tense in her arms, so she let go and sat back in her seat quickly, embarrassed. After a moment, she took a deep breath. "I don't know where to start."

Harry just looked at her, afraid to ask any questions - what if he asked the wrong one?

"I really mean it when I say that I'm not in love with Ron anymore. I am not." she stressed this last sentence. "But I can't say it didn't hurt when he broke up with me. First, he didn't really break up with me. He just..." She sighed, remembering that night. "It was so strange. He was kissing me when he said that we should think this 'being a couple thing' over. He said it wasn't working out. That we were leaving you behind and he didn't want you feeling like a third wheel.

"'It's not like you really like me, do you?' he had said, and he said it in such a way that I didn't know how to deny it. Maybe I really didn't. Or maybe it was the way he said it that made me feel like that."

Harry just watched as the tears came up her eyes. "I don't know, it's such a strange feeling." She sniffed and tried to hold back the tears. "It's just that it bothers me to be left out. Ron and I were a couple then, all of a sudden, we weren't anymore. Not long after it he came asking if it was all right if he dated someone else. And I felt happy for him, I did, but it wasn't all right." She sighed, "I think it hurt my ego to be replaced so soon."

"You weren't replaced, Hermione." Harry finally said, sensing his friend had nothing more to say. "I remember talking to him about it - not much, because none of us really wanted to have that conversation but... it's weird to think of it, but Ron is different. He loves you very much, but he is not romantic. He wasn't when he was with you, and he hasn't changed. Look at how he treats Padma, I mean... It's almost like she isn't there. But it's not that he doesn't notice her, and she knows it. I think what frightened Ron was that you never understood it." He lowered his tone and said in a soft voice, "You never realized that when Ron says he doesn't care, he means the opposite. His actions usually are contrary to what he says. He has always liked you very much. Even when he was looking around, he knew you were beside him. It was enough for him just to know you were beside him."

A long silence stayed between them, until Hermione finally said, "Wow."

Harry felt the intense moment vanish after her words, and silently thanked her for it.

"I never thought you were so..." she seemed to be in a trance

"So what?" Harry smiled coyly.

"Never mind." She shook her head and smiled, grateful. "Thank you."

"Anytime." Harry answered and watched her go to her dorm quietly. And when she looked back to wave him goodnight, he muttered, "Anytime."