Because of you

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

I hold Hermione's hand as we sit together on the train. We visited Ginny a few more times during break, but always when Ron and Harry were at training. The rest of break was relatively... normal. Hermione and I spent a lot of time in the library and we would sometimes take walks around the neighborhood. She was really patient with my intense curiosity about everything. I'm surprised that she let me leave the house at all, but she seemed to be fine with explaining even the smallest sight. Everything that was normal to her was completely foreign to me and I think she understood that. She's really great.

"We don't really have much longer at Hogwarts do we?" Ginny asks.

"I guess not." Hermione says.

"We still have several months. It seems strange to think about it though." I mention.

"Yeah." Ginny sighs.

Ginny has been acting weird since we left King's Cross. I don't know what's wrong with her. She seemed fine when Hermione and I visited a few days ago. Part of me wants to ask, but part of me thinks that asking would be the wrong thing to do so I just sit and hope that Hermione asks her what's wrong. That seems to be more of a girl-to-girl talk than a girl-to-best-friends-boyfriend talk.

"Is something wrong?" Hermione asks Ginny.

"It's nothing." Ginny mumbles.

"What is it?"

"I told you. It's nothing."

"It has to be something."

"It's nothing, Hermione."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Ginny looks out of the window and refuses to say anything else. Hermione looks at me and I just shrug. I don't know what's going on anymore than she does. It's definitely not nothing though. Something clearly has Ginny upset, but I don't have the slightest idea what it could be. Whatever it is, she clearly doesn't want to talk about it or at least she doesn't want to talk about it here. Maybe I can ask her later. Perhaps after dinner.

***

I sit beside Hermione as we eat dinner. Ginny is nowhere to be seen, which is worrying. Hermione and I keep looking around the Great Hall to see if we can find her, but neither of us can seem to locate her. We look at each other and I can instantly tell that she's worried about Ginny. I am too. Dinner just started, but I think it'd be better for us to go look for Ginny than to stay here.

"Let's go find her." I whisper.

"Okay." Hermione nods.

We stand up and leave the Great Hall. I hold Hermione's hand as we start to walk towards Gryffindor Tower. It's the most logical place to look and it's likely that Ginny could be in the common room or in her dormitory. As we get closer to the Gryffindor common room, I start to panic. What if something bad happened to her? What if she isn't there at all? Where else could she be? Why would she skip dinner? What's been bothering her all day?

I'm vaguely aware that Hermione says the password to the common room, but I'm too busy panicking to really know what it was. I just follow her into the common room and start to look around. Ginny isn't in the room. Hermione looks at me and then starts to walk up to Ginny's dormitory. I pace in front of the fire place and try to think of other places where Ginny might be. It's hard to think of any, but suddenly I realize something.

"Our room." I whisper.

I run out of the common room without thinking and start sprinting towards Hermione's and my shared room. Ginny "accidentally" found out about it about a week before break. We haven't told her the password, but I don't think it would be all that hard to guess. She followed us to the room one night just to see Fred. It would be easy for her to guess the password.

"George!" I shout as I reach the door.

Fred doesn't even say anything to me, but the look on his face tells me that something is wrong. I jump through the portrait hole and stumble into my common room. Ginny is sitting with her arms wrapped around her legs and her head resting on her knees. She doesn't look at me when I enter the room, she just stares at the fireplace. I control my breathing and then walk over to her.

"What's wrong Ginny?" I ask as I sit down next to her.

"It's Ron." She whispers.

"What about him?" There's a sharp edge to my voice and I know she realizes it, but she doesn't say anything.

"He broke up with his girlfriend."

"Okay?"

Ginny sighs and lays down. She rests her hands on her stomach and looks up at the ceiling. I'm not really sure what Ron breaking up with his girlfriend has anything to do with anything, but I decide to stay quiet and let her talk if she wants to. It's a long time before she says anything.

"We had a fight. Ron and I." Ginny finally says.

"What happened?" I ask.

"He broke up with his girlfriend because he... because he... he," Ginny takes a deep breath, "he wants to get back together with Hermione."

"What?!"

I stand up and start panicking. He's a git, but I think Hermione still cares about him. She might even still love him. If she takes him back, if she can forgive him, I'll lose her. I won't stand a chance. Everyone, except for Ginny, likes him more. No one, except Ginny, trusts me completely. They're all just waiting for me to slip up so that I'll end up in Azkaban and they won't have to worry about me. The fact that Ron wants to get back together with Hermione... I don't know what to do.

"He can't..." I breathe.

"He might." Ginny sighs.

"She wouldn't... she doesn't..."

"Are you sure?"

"No..."

I fall down on my knees and stare at the ground. Hermione doesn't love him. She can't. It's impossible. After everything that he's done to her, everything that he's put her through. She can't love him. She can't still have feelings for him. Can she? Does she? How can I possibly compare to him? I'm a former death eater and he's one of the Golden Trio. Why would she ever choose me over him?