taking control

Chapter 16: A Dual-Pronged Attack

Hermione blushed and stammered out, "Th-thanks."

Something about her reaction puzzled Ron. She looked nervous and almost...guilty? It was a foreign look on Hermione because she hardly ever did anything to feel guilty about, but Ron had seen the look enough times on his siblings and other people to recognize it. He wondered why she should possibly feel guilty. After all, it was only a necklace. His curiosity began to get the better of him. "I don't think I've ever seen you wear it before. Was it a present?"

She nodded uncomfortably. "From your parents?" he assumed.

She hesitated a moment before shaking her head. "No."

Ron puzzled over that for a moment. If not from her parents, then who? "Who gave it to you?" he asked curiously.

Hermione squirmed uncomfortably under Ron's questions, only making him all the more curious. She did not respond right away. "Hermione?" Ron asked tentatively, wondering what was bothering her so much.

She sighed. "It was a present from Viktor," she finally answered.

Ron froze, and Hermione had no choice but to stop dancing as well. Ron's face flushed a deep shade of red in anger and resentment. "So Vicky sends you presents then, does he?" he spat. He could just imagine that Bulgarian pillock slipping his arms around her neck to clasp the necklace.

"Most friends tend to do that for each other," Hermione retorted, her face reddening in indignation.

"Oh yeah?" Ron returned, his voice rising. It felt like his face was on fire, and his chest felt constricted. Images of his fourth year flooded into his mind. Hermione and Krum were out on the dance floor. His arms were wrapped tightly around her waist; she wore a bright smile as she looked up into his eyes. Ron vigorously shook his head to clear the images. "And do all your friends give you jewelry?" he demanded. "I don't know why you agreed to even come with me. You should have just asked Vicky to come with you. I'm sure he would have dropped everything to come be with you."

He did not wait for her response but stormed off the dance floor and out of the Great Hall. Ron moved through the halls in a long stride. He was not particularly paying attention to where he was going. He went up several staircases, down several corridors. He eventually stopped in front of a suit of armour, turned, and punched the breast plate with all his might. The action did nothing to soothe his anger. In fact, the pain now throbbing through his hand only served to make him angrier and more frustrated.

Why did he ever let himself think he stood a chance with her? What could she possibly see in him, especially when she could have someone like Krum? What could he ever offer her? He was upset with Hermione and furious with Krum, but he was mostly just angry at himself. He should have known better. He did know better; he just let his feelings for Hermione cloud his better judgment. He paced back and forth in front of the suit of armour for a couple minutes before stopping and leaning against the wall across from the armour. He slowly sank down the wall until he was sitting on the cold, stone floor. He cradled his right hand in his lap, wincing at the pain. He remained sitting there for a while, he had no idea how long, before he finally stood up and trudged his way back up to Gryffindor Tower.

OoOoO

Dumbledore watched his students dancing and laughing and enjoying themselves and smiled to himself. The Yule Ball really had been an excellent idea. He would have to remember to thank Minerva for thinking of it. He had made a point to keep a close watch on Harry throughout the night to gauge how he was handling things. He was most happy to see that the boy was able to lay aside his worries and enjoy himself. Indeed, he and Miss Weasley seemed to be having quite a time together.