Barriers - Hermione Granger x (Slytherin) Male Reader

Chapter Twelve

(A/N): I'll be editing all of the chapters and running through some mismatching formats and grammar errors, so if you get a notification for eleven new chapters, please don't get disappointed LOL

I also apologize for not updating at all. Life's been stressful with the virus and all, so I hope everyone is safe!

Also, please don't take my story to any other "reading websites". I have not given my consent for anyone to copy and paste this story to other websites and apps, so please ask before doing so :) This story will stay on Wattpad under @The-Lost-Spartan unless stated otherwise, thanks.

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Third Person's Point of View

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"What's gotten into you?!" Hermione shouted, glaring at the redhead standing in front of her. She had just gotten back from sending a letter off to (Y/N) that morning and came back to the Gryffindor common room to find that Ron had been supposedly waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs of the girls' dormitories.

Ron pursed his lips. "You tell me what's gotten into YOU, Granger!"

Hermione crossed her arms and was about to speak before the loud sound of something falling over interrupted her. She turned to see Harry had accidentally knocked over a goblet on the floor. He picked it up gingerly and placed it back on the table. 

She then turned back to Ron again and stared pointedly at him. "Well, you tell me what you think has 'gotten into me', Mr. Weasley." 

The edges of Ron's ears turned pink from anger but he took a deep breath and raised a finger close to Hermione's face before saying quietly, "That (Y/N) Phoenix is no good for you and I'm saying this as a friend that wants the best for you, Hermione."

"Er, I think (Y/N)'s actually great." Harry spoke up, stepping up next to Hermione. He scratched the side of his face and continued, "He saved my life, Ron. If he hadn't done anything that day on the Quidditch field, I don't know if I would have made it. He even took the blame for me in front of McGonagall even though Dumbledore told us not to go to there and fly this year."

"You don't get it!" Ron hissed at him. 

Harry looked a little taken aback. "Wha-?"

Ron pushed past him, making sure his shoulder crashed into Harry's before turning around and sighed. "I'll explain." 

He gestured for the other two to follow him to the red couches and they all sat down, curious to hear what he had to say.

Ron began. "(Y/N) Phoenix's father, Luther Phoenix, helped You-Know-Who-"

"Voldemort." Harry muttered.

The redhead glared at him menacingly before clearing his throat and continuing, "He helped Voldemort-" He said the Dark Lord's name through gritted teeth. "-come to power. Not many know of this because the Phoenixes were a really respected family. Luther worked mostly behind the scenes and he provided You-Know-Who with all of the information he needed.

"So think about it! How exactly could the Dark Lord become so well-known and gather so many followers in the first place? He couldn't have gotten away with all the crimes he did if he was merely a nobody!" Ron glanced at Hermione from the corner of his eye and saw her face scrunched up in concentration as she stared at the floor. Ron felt delighted to see that Hermione had no idea regarding about (Y/N)'s family history the entire time.

Ron fought back a smirk and said, "The Phoenixes were filthy rich and they had authority over the newspapers so nothing bad about them comes out on the papers. Also, Luther had actually taught at Hogwarts as a substitute and he had fought for the position of the Defense Against the Dark Arts. Isn't that suspicious enough?"

Hermione didn't respond and neither did Harry, who was the only one that seemed intrigued by Ron's words.

"Rumors has it that the death of (Y/N)'s mother had something to do with the relations between Luther and You-Know-Who, but Luther never spoke up about it, which was very surprising to the public because he had always come forward to deny any bad rumors circulating the Phoenix family."

"How do you even know all about this?" Harry asked, amazed at the amount of information coming out of Ron's mouth.

Ron ignored him. "Seems like you don't know everything about your so-called boyfriend, Granger." Ron said smugly, but Hermione just rolled her eyes at him.

"Just because his father is like that doesn't mean (Y/N) is too. He has proven himself multiple times that he's much worthier than his father." Hermione shot back.

Ron shrugged. "I don't know about that. I've never seen that guy done a single good thing. Ever heard of the phrase, 'Like Father, Like Son'? Just look at the Malfoys! Lucius and Draco are exactly identical."

"If that phrase applies to every father and son pairing, then you definitely don't seem to have taken a part of that. You're nothing like Arthur Weasley, Ron. You're selfish, arrogant, egoistic, rude, hotheaded- Oh, shall I go on?" Hermione said.

Ron opened and closed his mouth a few times, struggling to come up with a comeback, but Hermione beat him to it.

"Well, look at the time, boys. I had promised to meet up with Ginny today, so I'll go do just that." She stood up and walked up the stairs to the girls' dormitories.

Ron turned to Harry. "Did y-you hear w-what she just-t say?" He sputtered.

Harry sighed. "Yes, Ron. Loud and clear." And then he too, stood up and walked out of the common room briskly, leaving a still shocked Ron behind.

***

"I told you that Mudblood wouldn't listen." Draco Malfoy sneered as he and Ron walked down the steps to the courtyard.

Ron heaved a big sigh. "It was worth a try." He kicked at a tiny pebble near his foot as he gripped his wand tightly in his pocket.

Malfoy felt a twinge of sympathy for the redhead, but he reminded himself that he still has a job to do and there was no way that he would ever let his own emotions get in the way. 

Remembering his father's own words echoing in his mind, he stopped in his tracks and turned to the youngest Weasley boy and said, "The third task of the Triwizard Tournament is tomorrow and many people from the Ministry will be there to spectate it and I reckon Luther Phoenix will be there too."

A grin slowly spread across Ron's face at Malfoy's words. "So..."

Malfoy nodded slowly. "That's right, Weasley. Revenge will be ours tomorrow."

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