First of all, this chapter may suck. I haven't really been posting chapters in a while, just my pre-info page and doing some editing, and this is because I had a lot of plans for this chapter, something mighty wicked in fact. However, my chapter didn't save correctly. I retyped the whole thing, 2000+ words, mind you, and it STILL DID NOT SAVE. I'm praying that this chapter works, and I have 30% battery to type it.
She woke up ten minutes later.
Harry expected her to pounce or do something similar to what she had been doing before, but instead she just sat there for a second, taking in the atmosphere around her. A sign popped up reading Welcome to the Room of Requirement so Harry could only assume that she had been wondering where on earth she was, and what she was doing here. Something seemed to click inside her brain, and she shifted her gaze over to Draco, who looked extremely guilty and like he wanted to dig a hole and bury himself in it.
Neither of the two spoke. Hermione said nothing because she was thinking of nothing but the fact that his father had assisted in the murder of her parents. Not only that, but the Dark Lord hadn't even instructed them to kill her parents, just cause them enough pain to give them information on the location of Harry Potter.
Draco said nothing because he couldn't think of the right thing to say. What were you supposed to say in this situation? Hey, sorry my dad and his werewolf friend killed your mum and dad, but we're cool, right? So in the end it was Hermione who spoke first.
She shifted her feet on the couch they had lied her unconscious body down upon, and refused to look into his eyes until the words were flowing from her mouth. "Your father. Where is he?"
"Presently? Azkaban."
She frowns, and rather than looking relieved that Lucius was getting the sorrow he deserved, she looked angry. "And Fenrir?"
"They're cellmates."
She doesn't respond to this for a long while, and instead sits there, picking at the hem of her robe. Out of the pocket she pulls a picture, different from the one Harry had seen her looking at all those nights ago at the Burrow. This one was of the three of them, at Christmas time, in holiday sweaters and smiling at the camera. It wasn't a muggle photo, so they waved at her, even blew kisses. She wipes her eyes and speaks up. "Do you visit him?"
Draco answers the question slowly. "I have before, but it's something I'd rather avoid."
"Is your father suffering?" She says, and she almost sounds pitiful. She doesn't sound as if she wants him to be suffering however.
"I'm not sure how you want me to respond to that question."
Harry sees her knuckles turn white as she clutches one of the throw pillows tossed onto the couch. "I want you to tell me the truth."
"Well, if you want the truth, yes, he is miserable. And yes, he is getting what he deserves. That's why I'm not visiting him much." Draco twirls his wand between his fingers, and looks up to see Hermione staring at him. "Isn't that what you wanted to hear? That he's miserable, and that I think he should suffer for what he did?"
Hermione shakes her head no softly, and speaks so quietly that Draco has to lean in to hear her. "I want you to do something for me."
"I'm not killing anyone."
Hermione raises an eyebrow. "Wasn't planning on telling you to, but alright. I want you to talk to your father. And visit him. Every and any chance you get. Because yes he killed people, but no one should be alone. And no one should have to suffer."
"What about people like the Dark Lord?"
She frowns at him. "No, they don't deserve that either. Go send him an owl. Please."
Slowly, Draco gets to his feet and leaves the room, shutting the door softly behind him. Ron gets up to leave to, mumbling something about needing to catch up with Luna. And then it's just Harry and Hermione, sitting in the Room of Requirement.
Harry sits on the couch beside her. "I know being nice and not lunging at his throat must've been hard."
Hermione chuckles, and when he turns to face her, her fingers hover slightly over his scar, which hadn't pained him in months now. "Can I... can I touch it? Like will it hurt?"
Harry lets her touch his scar, and closes his eyes at her touch. Her smooth skin and fingertips run over his forehead, tracing the lightning bolt carved into his head. He suddenly fills up with a humongous and unyielding want to kiss her, right then on the lips. But, he was still dating Ginny, and to be honest, if he wanted to snog Hermione so bad, then maybe he should have broken up with Ginny at the ball instead of staying together. But she was so beautiful, and the opportunity was right there. So he did the only logical thing.
He kissed her.
What he expected for when he kissed her was for to turn out that it meant nothing, her kiss felt no different than the empty ones that he had shared with Ginny recently, but that wasn't what happened. He had also expected her to pull away, saying that she didn't like him that way, but that didn't happen either. Instead, she almost fell into the kiss, and Harry couldn't help but wonder where she had learned to kiss so well. Krum? Ron? Instinct?
But he didn't care, and her kiss made his mind to foggy to think anyways, so what was the point of trying? But Hermione's brain cleared up quicker than his did, just as she had started to run her fingers through his silky jet black hair in fact. She only thought one thing. One name.
Ginny.
She pulled away from him, and his wide eyes hinted that he was thinking the same thing that she was. She got to her feet, nearly falling out the door. "I gotta go." She mumbled before she left.
~~~~~
"Ginny."
Hermione was perched on her four poster, facing the door as Ginny came walking into the dormitory, and instead of looking angry, she looked rather tired, to be honest. Hermione swiveled around, sniffling as she did so, making sure that she was still facing Ginny when she sat on her own four poster. "I-I'm so sorry. You've been such a good friend to me, and your relationship was working and I just came and ruined it all. I'm so sorry-"
"Hermione, I'm not mad at you." Ginny says, crawling over onto Hermione's bed, careful not to wake the sleeping Parvati and the other girls.
"Well you should be. I was a terrible person." She sniffles, looking at the bedspread. Ginny wrapped her arms around her in a tight hug and shook her head, her lilac smelling ruby hair brushing against Hermione's tear stained cheek.
"No you weren't. You made a mistake, and honestly, it was a good thing. We've been talking about breaking up for a bit, and we just needed that extra shove, you know? And besides, it's hard to hold back from a kiss when you like someone."
"I don't like him."
"Don't even try lying to me, Hermione Granger, you know I'm right. All of us do, really except for Ron and Harry. They're a little slow."
Ginny's joke made Hermione chuckle, but her face still fell. "I feel really bad Ginny, your relationship could've worked."
Ginny shakes her head, smiling softly at the witch in front of her, who cared so much about things that many people would brush aside as nothing. It was one of her best qualities. "No, it wouldn't have. Try not to beat yourself up over it, Hermione, and get some sleep."
And then she climbed over to her own bed and closed the four poster, leaving Hermione alone in the darkness.