SUPRA VIRES

CHAPTER NINE: GRYFFINDOR TOWER

6th year

"Keep your voice down," Ron Weasley scolded his friend. "Someone else will hear..." he turned back, scanning the hospital area.

"What?" Ginny asked, clearly upset. "What did you do?"

"Oh, Hermione, and you're still tormented by this?" Potter groaned, reaching for his friend's hand. "Stop it, you'll make yourself sick, put it in the drawer called the past. I know, it's hard..." he added, seeing as she opened her mouth to interrupt him. No one looked at the red-haired girl, deliberately ignoring her.

"Wait a minute, I don't think I understand something," Ginny growled, looking at the three Gryffindors in turn. "What do you mean you killed Malfoy?"

Hermione looked away. She should have told the girl about this a long time ago. After all, she had the right to know how Draco disappeared. Harry and Ron knew part of the truth, but today she felt particularly bad. As if she were an old, worn-out slipper.

"I just can't function normally knowing that his body's lying there somewhere... What about you? How can you be so calm!?" she finally said, ignoring her friend once again.

"He's definitely not lying down anymore, it's probably already laid out," Ron began, shrugging. "Besides, we are in a slightly different situation," he added to himself, but not so quietly that everyone around him wouldn't hear about his opinion.

"Thanks for comforting me so much..."

"Stop!" Ginny finally shouted, red in the face. She clenched her fists tightly. For some reason, no one thought to explain to her what was happening. The girl looked like she was about to cry at any moment. "There's something I don't know, right?"

The three Gryffindors looked at each other. Ron decided to take matters into his own hands.

"Listen, we, I mean Hermione"

Ginny shook her red head and got out of bed.

"I don't want to hear it," she muttered quietly and hurriedly left the room, slamming the door impressively. Ron looked scared. The last time Harry had seen him like this was after he asked Fleur Delacour to go to the Yule Ball with him.

"I'll go to her," Harry said, letting go of Hermione's hand.

"No," said the girl. "Please, I don't want her to know about this..."

She realized that she had almost revealed everything herself, but she suddenly decided that it would be better to keep Ginny in the dark.

"Why?" Ron asked, intrigued. "She should have known the truth a long time ago."

"I know, but I don't have the strength to explain everything to her today," Hermione groaned, falling back on the pillows.

There was so much going on in Granger's head, she was hallucinating again, only this time it had nothing to do with Draco. Various images kept flashing through her mind, flickering for a few seconds and then disappearing as if nothing had happened.

"We know you feel bad, but it's probably because of guilt," Harry whispered to his friend. He looked at her with worried eyes and his heart felt heavy. He wanted to help her so much but he didn't know how.

"No, that's not true," Ron denied. He looked as if he was struggling with his thoughts, and after a while he announced something that even he was ashamed of. "I don't think she feels guilty at all, she just misses that asshole."

Hermione looked at her friend in horror.

What is he saying...

"No, I don't mean what you thought," Ron explained, seeing his friends' surprised faces. "The only thing you miss are these quarrels and you know what... I guess I do too."