Responsibilities

8. The Horrors of the Average Pureblood Slytherin

Okay, so I know I'm not usually an A/N type of person, but I just wanted to let all my readers know that I just got a HUGE wave of inspiration, and so there will be longer chapters, and hopefully, much quicker updates. Enjoy!

HPOV:

              The next morning, as Hermione sat down at the Gryffindor table, she couldn't help but feel as if a heavy weight was on everyone's shoulders.

"Hey, Harry. Hey, Ginny! Umm, hi, Ron." Hermione stuttered a little as she greeted Ron.

Harry and Ginny smiled, and Ron just grunted, as he was in the middle of finishing off a rather large slice of pie.

Hermione smiled at him rather sadly, and turned back to Harry and Ginny. "So, how was your morning?"

Ginny smirked. "Well, ours was absolutely amazing-" Hermione winced as she understood the implied meaning- "but how was yours, with the Slytherin Prince?"

Harry chuckled. "Not anymore, looks like he's fallen from his throne. Look."

            Hermione looked over her shoulder at the Slytherin table as Harry and Ginny peeked around Hermione. Ron was still shoveling food into his mouth. She looked over the scene with sad eyes, thinking that Malfoy didn't deserve to be alone. He was sitting with his head rested in one of his hands, picking at his food with a fork. All the other Slytherins were sitting at the other end of the table.

Hermione turned back to her friends (except for Ron, who was helping himself to a second helping of breakfast pastry) and sighed.

"Sort of sad, isn't it?" Hermione asked softly.

Ginny nodded her head slowly. "Yeah, Malfoy has been a right git for the past few years, but..." Ginny's voice trailed off.

Harry took over. "But he switched sides. It must have taken an awful lot to convince his parents to join the Order. Especially with the whole purebloods are better thing."

Ron decided to join the conversation at this point. "Whuft htad shfis fanfda as sdio. Fans sond, Ughbetr?"

Hermione groaned and thumped her forehead on the table. "Ron! Talk with your mouth empty, I've told you so many times before!"

Ron swallowed obediently. "Sorry, mom. I was just saying, what a night it must have been. Fairly sad, I bet?"

"For who?" Harry questioned.

Ron rolled his eyes. "For Malfoy, mate!"

Hermione swallowed, hurt. "Ron, I was the one who he was with last night."

Ron didn't seem to understand how his comment had hurt Hermione, though Ginny was trying to stop Ron from saying something else.

Ron ignored Ginny, of course. "I know, but Mione, you can be a hard person to live with."

             Hermione just stared at Ron, wide eyed. He jokingly punched her shoulder, which actually kind of hurt, and then proceeded to start another helping of his pastry.