•••
Harry and the others were called for questioning. The rumors reached several people under the ministry of magic, making the situation worse.
"Could you explain why you were out of bed last night? And even started a fight with the other students !" Professor McGonagall paused waiting for a response.
"3 of my students were injured by this incident..!"
"Professor we--" Harry answered but he was cut off by Snape.
"Perhaps you are like your father, thinking that you are gonna get away with this... Rules are Rules Mr. Potter, we do not tolerate any misbehavior." He said with his usual monotonous voice.
"The 6 of you out of bed, I don't understand... Something is not adding up! Considering the massive damage you've done to your schoolmates..."
Harry looked at Hermione and she finally had enough of it.
"Professor with all due respect, (y/n) was harassed and none of you even bothered to take any action! If we didn't arrive there in time, you wouldn't know how much damaging that is for her!" She said breaking into tears, she empathized with you so much. This made everybody else in the room silent.
"Harassed?"
"Yes, by your precious Slytherins!" Hermione almost shouted she was really angry.
"It was wrong that we were out of our rooms past bedtime but if we didn't do that, would you be able to accept the guilt that you could be receiving if what they did to (y/n) went any further?" Hermione let out her frustrations more.
By this time, Dumbledore interfered and decided to let the students go. They wanted to take the matter seriously and were firm on his decision that they would investigate further.
Snape was stunned and was worried that he might end up dead if Asmodeus came to know about this. Hermione looked at him sharply as if he wanted to punch him the same way she punched Draco last year. The 6 of them went out of the room as she desperately wanted to calm down.
Everybody who was left in the room stood silent for a minute or two and then continued to discuss the matters at hand.
•••
"She hasn't left the bedroom..." Harry sadly informed Ron and Hermione as they all looked concerned.
"If only I was allowed to stay and look after her, I didn't mind at all..." Harry said full of regret in his tone.
"It's not your fault Harry" Hermione paused, "it was so unlikely to happen, considering that we are at Hogwarts and the ones who did it were prefects--bloody disgusting" she continued as she expressed how horrified she was.
"Maybe... I and Ginny can help her?" Hermione suggested.
"But she's not talking to anyone right now..." Harry answered, unmotivated.
"Let's give it a try, maybe she'll be more comfortable with us," Hermione replied. "--Not that she's uncomfortable with you, but she might just warm up with us you know... having girls around?"
"I'm with Hermione on this one," Ron said with a nod. Harry looked at Hermione and he sighed, "I guess we'll see then..." he said as hope glisten in his eyes.
"I'll probably refresh my mind as well," Harry said as he left the dormitory.
•••
Hermione opened the door gently and she took a peak at you first before entering fully with Ginny.
"We hope you're hungry... We bought you some Dinner" Ginny spoke softly.
You stared at them for a while as the two girls carried a tray toward you.
"We want you to know that we're here for you. What happened to you was traumatic and it shouldn't be tolerated, it's unforgivable" Hermione said as she walked nearer to you.
"But the other people say that I was making it up... That I, that I.... enjoyed it" you spoke as your voice cracked by at the end of your sentence, trying to hold back your tears.
"Hey, that's not true..." Ginny said as she badly wanted to hit those boys that did you dirty.
"Professor Dumbledore is already taking care of this. He intends to banish them from Hogwarts or whatever he thinks of." Hermione shared.
"I don't know what to feel, or do I even have the right to feel anything..." you said, "It's so difficult right now, I can't even talk to Harry," you continued as your tears were visibly pouring down from your eyes.
"Would you like a hug?" Hermione asked, you nodded as you desperately needed one.
The two of them hugged you and they didn't mind if you took your time crying and hugging them. All they wanted was for you to recover and regain yourself.
----
After some time, you finally decided to eat while the two girls stayed with you regardless.
Somehow the weight in your heart was slowly getting lighter the more you spent time with Hermione and Ginny. Occasionally, Cho would stop by to see how you were doing. You haven't returned to your classes however, it was starting to be a concern for the professors.
You decided to leave the walls of the Gryffindor dorms for once and wanted to stroll around the castle. You knew you had to eventually get back to your daily routine. While walking you could hear professor McGonagall talking with some students.
"I understand that she went through a lot but she has been skipping classes, she might not even move up to 5th year," she said.
"I'd bring her notes and I'll be willing to tutor her" Cho volunteered.
"Ms. Chang, that sounds lovely but you also have your things to do-- How are you going to balance that?"
"Ms. Granger as well as the other students. Even Mr. Potter has his problems to deal with, especially since he is a Triwizard champion." She continued.
"We don't mind professor, we are more than willing to--" Harry spoke but you cut him off.
"There's no need to do that... I'll be coming back to class" you truthfully said.
"But--" Cho said out of concern.
"It's alright Cho, I miss my roommates too," you said with a smile.
"Very well, I guess I'll see you in my class soon," the professor said with a smile as she walked away from the rest of you.
"Are you sure you're gonna be okay?" Cho asked for confirmation. You nodded and hugged her. From a distance, Harry stood there quietly and somehow managed to lock eyes with him for a second.
"Can I talk to Harry... privately?" You shyly asked as the girls had no issue with it at all. They've bid their goodbyes and left you alone with Harry.
"Do you wanna walk around school?" You asked him and he nodded.
You wanted to keep close to him but he was keeping a safe distance. He didn't want to trigger you in any way. Since you were tricked into believing that he was the one who did you wrong.
You were about to hold his hand but he pulled it away even before you could touch it.
"I'm sorry I couldn't talk to you," you said as you felt sad. The two of you stopped by an empty hall.
"I'm sorry too, you know I've been thinking... maybe I can't be with you" Harry truthfully said.
"What, why?" You asked in disbelief.
"I couldn't even protect you. From the moment you fainted, I wasn't there. Now you were harassed, and I couldn't be there sooner. I wasn't there to comfort you too..." he said as his emotions started to be all around the place.
Draco was coincidentally passing by as he heard you two talking. He stopped in his tracks and hid as he listened to both of you.
"How can you say that? It wasn't your fault. None of these is your fault, and I never blamed you for anything. Please don't think that way, I could never." You said as tears built up in your eyes and threatened to pour down any moment now.
"I know that, but looking at myself right now... I know I don't deserve you, maybe it's best if we cut this off" he insisted and you finally broke down into tears.
"Don't do this please, I wouldn't know how to deal with this. Harry, please..." you tried to beg. You could see that it pains him as well but he just can't trust himself. He loves you yet he had this thought about himself as not being good enough to be with you. He has been going through a lot, especially with the bullying he was also receiving upon being a Triwizard competitor.
"I am dangerous for you, I love you --I do..."
"Then why are you breaking up with me?" you asked.
"I can never forgive myself" he answered shortly but it was obvious he was holding himself back.
You couldn't handle it anymore, you ran out and didn't notice Draco as you walked past him.
Draco felt like a winner yet he pitied you, he didn't want to see you crying or hurting. He took a peak at Harry, he smirked as Harry got pissed off at the sight that stared back at him.
"Now that she's free for grabs, thanks Potter," Draco let out a snide comment at Harry and the latter tried his best to restrain himself.
Draco however, was only thinking about you, so he decided to follow you. He kept himself hidden and observed you from afar.
You decided to take a stroll near the black lake in hopes to clear your mind. You didn't understand why Harry did that, you felt hurt as you weren't expecting something like this. You had your happily-ever-after plans with him but somehow, remembering these things was making you tear up more. You stopped in your tracks and sighed heavily. You took a seat on the ground and picked up some pebbles. You weren't feeling it, so you just threw them weakly toward the water.
"I love you," you mockingly said while you threw a pebble.
"Why pursue me if you can't stick with your choice!?" you angrily said out loud and threw a slightly big rock at the water. You were about to get splashed but the droplets stopped mid-way.
"It's cold today, you don't want to get wet this season, unless..." Draco teased.
"Why are you here Draco?" you instinctively said as you faced him.
He let the droplets back in the lake and sat next to you.
"You sure you're sitting here? Your pants might get dirty..." You asked while looking at him, no sarcasm at all.
He chuckled a bit and touched your face. You slightly leaned away from his hand unexpectedly thinking you were gonna get hurt. Both of you were surprised, you didn't mean to flinch away...
"Sorry," he said embarrassed but he was trying to hide it.
"No, it's okay..." you said looking back at the water.
"Can I ask you something?" you said.
"You're already asking me, silly," he replied.
"No, I mean like seriously crackhead," you said with a smile.
"Sure," he said with a small nod.
"How can you stay with me? I push you away, like every single time... " you paused, "I don't even label you as my boyfriend, yet here you are..." you said truthfully.
"Hmmm," he was thinking of an answer.
"Well, I guess I like you that much." He replied and you looked at him.
"But why?"
"I don't know... I just like seeing you so much. At first, I thought I was just lusting but I don't think that's still the case." He answered and it pained you so much.
"I see... Ain't that hard for you?"
"Sometimes..." he said as there was a hint of pain in his voice, and he tried to avert his gaze to the water.
"-but you make something else harder so..." He joked again but you weren't laughing. He apologized for the wrongly timed joke.
"I'm sorry" you apologized back to him seriously.
"You don't have to... Whatever you do, that's on you. And what I decide to do, is on me..." he replied trying to reassure you.
There was a moment of silence from both of you as you continued to throw pebbles into the water.
"Harry and I broke up" you blurted out trying to ease the silence.
"I know,"
"Of course you do" you smirked.
"You always know where to find me..." you smiled at him.
"I'm sorry for not being able to help you that night," Draco seriously said to you.
"Oh uhm... that?"
"They did sting me up real good, had to recover for 2 days..." he explained further, that it wasn't just a spell that was cast on to him.
"Draco it's--" he cut you off.
"No, it's not! Until now, I can never forgive myself. If only I was smarter and stronger... " He muttered.
You touched his hand and held it tight.
"You don't have to blame yourself, nobody saw it coming. It's not your fault" You genuinely said.
"And don't tell me, you're gonna leave me too because that's exactly what Harry said," you said half-jokingly and he looked disgusted.
"Of all people, it had to be Potter," he said in disgust.
"What? I did like him for a long time now." you teased.
"No, no! Enough of Potter talk, I'm Draco Malfoy --You're talking to me," he said clearly jealous of Harry.
You laughed at how cute he was acting, he felt embarrassed but he was happy to hear your laughter. He held both of your hands and gazed into your eyes. You thought he was gonna kiss you so you anticipated his lips. To your surprise, he kissed your forehead.
"Not because you two broke up, doesn't mean I'm gonna take advantage of your vulnerability. I seriously want to, but I'm serious about you," He said softly.
"As much as I want you to be mine, it's not my call." He followed up in a kind manner.
You felt your cheeks heat up as you clapped your cheeks to wake yourself up from possibly daydreaming. No one could blame you, he was really sweet--your heart was fluttering. But then you were torn, you couldn't get rid of Harry in your thoughts that easy.
You knew that you might just be caught in the moment of heartbreak.
•••
From afar, Cho was able to witness you and Draco together. She couldn't believe her eyes. She was confused, she had a lot of questions in mind. Flashbacks from the Yule ball came into her mind. When she went out to have some fresh air, she also saw you and Draco go inside a classroom. And when she opened the classroom, she couldn't see anything--but she could hear the whimpers and moans, she knew it was a low attempt for a cloaking spell. She didn't want to believe it at first so she kept it to herself. Now that she saw you with Draco again, she just couldn't let herself forget it.
Cho planned to head back to the dormitory, and when she turned around, she bumped into Harry. She was nervous and very shaky, she tried her best not to make it obvious.
"Hello Cho" he greeted her.
"Uhm... I need to rush, sorry" she mumbled with slight stutters and sprinted away from him.
Odd.
Harry felt weird, but his gaze caught you and Draco. You two were talking and at one point he caressed your hair.
Harry took a step forward but he realized that he wasn't exactly in the place to tell you off anymore. He gulped and went away, frowning as he was figuring out all the emotions he was feeling.
•••