Becoming Beta

Chapter 29

A/N: Beta love to brownlark42. She's like the first glass of wine out of a surprisingly good bottle.

I make a manip for every chapter, find me on tumblr at crochetawayhpff.

As always, I love to know your thoughts!

Hermione took a deep breath as she walked through the doors of the Great Hall; she briefly squeezed Draco's hand as students began to notice them. It started with the Hufflepuffs. The table at first fell silent, but then soft, urgent whispers emerged. The Ravenclaws were next, followed by the Slytherins. The Gryffindors were last, of course, but their table had the loudest explosion of whispers. Draco returned the squeeze and dropped a kiss on the top of her head before releasing her hand and sauntering over to the Slytherin table. Hermione envied how cool he looked. As they faced the first dinner back after the Christmas hols, she was sure he felt as much turmoil as she did. He didn't show it.

Hermione squared her shoulders and headed toward the Gryffindors. She slid into a seat next to Harry, who patted her back. Ron was across from her and he didn't look happy. Lavender was nowhere in sight.

"Here, now. What's this?" Ron asked. His face was red and he had his wand clutched in his hand.

"What's what?" Hermione asked as she grabbed a dinner roll and began tearing it apart in her hands. She was too nervous to eat. The whispers continued and she could feel hundreds of eyes on her.

"Don't play dumb, Hermione. You were holding hands with Malfoy. Malfoy!" Ron exploded.

"Ron!" Hermione hissed. "I know his name, no need to shout it."

"I thought you were gathering information, not holding his bleeding hand! Are you dating him?" Ron asked. He was redder than Hermione had ever seen him.

"And if I am Ron? What's it to you?" Hermione sighed. They were going to have it out one way or another. Better to get it over with now than try to placate Ron and have him blow up again later.

"You can't! You just can't! He's a Slytherin! A fucking Death Eater!" Ron shouted as he stood from the table. He pushed away violently and looked across the hall at Malfoy.

"Ron, sit down," Hermione said tiredly and began to stand. She really didn't want to have this conversation in the Great Hall, but she wasn't looking forward to forcing Ron to leave. She gestured for Harry to help her get Ron out of the Great Hall.

"No, Hermione — I'll get him —" Ginny whipped her wand out and hexed Ron with her infamous bat-bogey. Bats started flying out of his nose as Ron tried to knock them away with his hands. Hermione gave Ginny a brief smile in thanks. Ginny nodded back and crossed her arms, looking satisfied with herself.

"Ginny! What'd you do that for?" Ron grumped. Hermione took her opportunity. She nodded at Harry and the two of them hustled Ron out of the Great Hall, into the Entrance Hall, and toward the Room of Requirement.

Hermione paced in front of the troll tapestry, trying to focus on Ron and avoid thinking about Draco. She didn't want her and Draco's room, but something similar would be good for a private conversation. When the door began appearing in the bricks, she grabbed Ron's arm and pushed him through in front of her, while Harry trailed behind. They stepped into what looked like a smaller version of the Gryffindor common room. Red and gold curtains hung on the walls and there was a roaring fire in the hearth with a couch and two armchairs clustered around a coffee table. Hermione dragged Ron to the couch and pushed him down on it. He was still fighting the bat-bogeys flying out of his nose.

Hermione twirled her wand and whispered the counter-curse. Hermione was one of the lucky few that Ginny had shared it with.

"Ugh, that is just vile," Ron complained as he cleaned his hands with a Scourgify.