Hermione had been a wreck ever since Ron left.
She cried herself to sleep numerous times. Harry wasn't sure if talking to Hermione was the right thing to do. He probably thought that he didn't understand what she was going through, but he did. In fact, we all knew what she was going through. Harry had Ginny, I had Draco, and Hermione had Ron, even though she didn't want to admit that to anyone.
One night, when the three of us decided to go to bed early, Hermione laid in her bed, silently crying like before. Feeling bad for what she had to go through, I went over to her bed and crawled under the sheets beside her. She didn't move to face me.
"Hermione, look at me," I whispered.
She turned her body so that she was facing me. Her face was red and wet from all the crying and rubbing her eyes. "Do you think he'll come back, Max?" she asked.
I nodded. "He'll come back," I replied. "Well, he'll come back for you," I added with a chuckle.
She giggled a little. "If he really cared about me, then he would've stayed."
"He was just mad, Hermione. That locket made him say all those things. He didn't mean it."
Hermione sniffled, adding a sigh. "I miss him. I miss him so much, Max."
"I know. I'm sorry," I told her, an empathetic look falling upon my face.
"How much do you miss Draco?" she asked.
"A lot," I replied, chuckling. "More than you'll ever know."
"Do you think Harry misses Ginny?" she questioned.
I nodded my head. "I think so."
She paused, then huffed a sigh. "Where do you think Ron went?"
"I have no idea. I don't even know where Draco is at this point," I admitted.
"What was it like? Living with him, I mean," she said.
I sighed. "It was horrible."
"What about Draco?" she asked.
"He was bad at first, but he changed over the years. He began to feel guilty for what he and his family had done to me over the years."
"Wow. You never gave up on Draco, did you?"
I shook my head. "No, I didn't."
*******
I thought about my late night conversation with Hermione as the weeks went by. What she said about not giving up on Draco continued coming back to me.
There were times where I thought about giving up on him. He had done things that were just horrible. He put many people I cared about in danger. Hell, he almost killed Ron by poisoning him.
Speaking of Ron, he still hadn't come back. But Hermione was trying to stay positive, even though she didn't show it.
"He'll come back," she said to herself one night. "He always comes back."
Ron just needed some time alone. Leaving us was for the best. What he said to us, specifically me, felt like he had stabbed me in the heart. Yes, Ron had said other things to me in the past that were not pleasant, but I didn't think he would do it again. It was the locket. The locket filled him with negative thoughts and then he lashed out at us until he finally had enough.
Did I want him to come back? Of course I did. But I only wanted him to come back for two reasons:
One: We needed his help finding the Horcruxes.
Two: Harry and I hated to see Hermione upset like this.
She needed him and he needed her. But they were both too stubborn to admit that to each other.
One day, while Harry was placing the enchantments for us, Hermione was sitting by herself at the edge of the cliff that we were on. I stared at her, wondering how she would act right now if Ron was here.
I walked over to her and sat down beside her. "Hey," I said.
"Hi," she said back.
"You okay?" I asked.
She nodded and looked at me. "Your pink highlights are fading," she said.
I shrugged my shoulders. "My hair is the least of my worries right now," I told her.
"I wonder what Ron is doing right now," she said, changing the subject.
"Probably eating alone at some pub, thinking about you," I replied.
She giggled. "I'm sure Draco is thinking about you," she told me.
I chuckled. "I mean, all I do is think about him."
Hermione paused for a moment before saying, "I'm not giving up on Ron, you know."
I looked at her and smiled a little. "Tell me something I don't know, Hermione."
*******
I spent the rest of the day outside. After I braided my hair, I went through my rucksack and found another book to read: The Great Gatsby. This book did not come from the Dursley's house. This book came from Draco's bedroom. He gave it to me as a Christmas gift during our sixth year. He didn't give it to me on Christmas, though. He came back a few days after the Death Eaters attacked the Burrow.
"I'm going to bed, Harry," I announced to him.
"Okay, goodnight, Max," he said as I ascended up the stairs.
I went to Ginny's room and plopped down on my bed. I huffed a sigh, closing my eyes, trying to relax myself.
Tap, tap.
I opened my eyes and looked over at the window and gasped. "Draco?" He motioned me to let him in and I obliged. "What are you doing here?" I asked him as he climbed in the bedroom.
"I got you a Christmas present," he said in a joyful tone.
"You couldn't have waited until we got back to Hogwarts?" I asked.
"Well, I really wanted to see you again," he admitted.
"You know if Harry or one of the Weasleys catch you in here they'll hex the shit out of you," I pointed out.
"But you won't let them, right?" he questioned, smirking.
I grinned, blushing. "No. So what did you get me?" He handed me the box that was in his hand and I gladly took it from him. I opened the box and gasped, smiling at him. "How did you know I liked to read?" I asked.
"I pick up on things," he replied. "Plus, I wanted you to read my favorite book."
"You read books?" I asked in surprise, raising my eyebrows. "Even Muggle ones?"
"I mean, yeah." He let out a chuckle. "I've developed some taste over the years."
I smiled at him. "Well, as surprising as that is, thanks, Draco. I love it."
He smiled back. "So where's my Christmas gift?" he teased.
"Consider the night of Slughorn's Christmas Party your gift," I said.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, causing us to jump.
"Max?" I heard Ginny's voice from the other side of the door.
"You need to go!" I hissed at Draco.
He climbed through the window and turned around to face me again. "See you at school."
*******
I didn't stop reading the book until that night. When I was done, I wiped the tears that were falling from my eyes. Of course, Draco gave me a sad book to read. Beautiful, but still sad. Gatsby's love for Daisy was strong. He loved her more than Tom ever did. But she still picked Tom, that bastard, over Gatsby.
Daisy picked Tom because he could protect her. He gave her security. Gatsby gave her passion. Draco gave me security and passion.
After reading the book, I finally realized what Hermione meant when she said that I never gave up on him. Draco believed in the green light, just like Gatsby did. I wondered if Hermione had read this book before.
As I was wiping a few more tears, I heard music. It was coming from inside the tent. I grabbed my book and headed inside the tent.
I found Harry walking towards Hermione and sticking his hand out for her to take. She took it and stared at Harry as he pulled her up from the floor and took the locket that was around her neck and placed it on the nightstand. He led her out to the middle of the tent and began to dance. I grinned a little as Harry was looking stupid.
Hermione started to grin as well. I watched as they began to dance even more and they were eventually laughing at each other. I laughed with them and watched as they began to slow dance. Their eyes met for a brief moment, then Hermione dropped her hands and walked away from him. She walked past me and went outside. It was the first time that I saw Hermione genuinely smile in weeks. I looked at Harry and he looked at me.
"It's Ron again, isn't it?" he asked. I nodded. "How come she keeps waiting for him to come back?"
"Because she hasn't given up on him. Do you think Ginny has given up on you yet? Do you think I have given up on Draco yet?"
"Of course not. Why are you asking me all of these questions?"
"Don't you get it? Hermione will never give up on Ron. No matter what happens, Hermione will never give up on Ron."
He thought about it, then looked back at me. "She loves him, doesn't she?" he questioned.
I gave him a grin. "Now you're catching on."
A/N: Hey.
So like yeah, school is blehh, which is why I haven't updated.
Btw, The Great Gatsby is an amazing book. You should read it. XD
Annd the song Harry and Hermione dance to is at the top. :D
But I hope you like this chapter! If you're reading this Author's Note, tell me what was your favorite scene in the series (Double Trouble Series) so far. :D
Comment, vote, love y'all. :D
-A