Anyone But Me

Chapter Twelve

Harry and Ron were situated at their favorite spot in the common room... In front of the fireplace. Both their heads were down as they scribbled away on the parchments spread out underneath them. Obviously, they had not gotten the essays done last night and she highly doubted that they had given any attempt to work on them yesterday. They should be thankful she had made them wait, it gave them an excuse to actually work on their assignments...

She stood there and watched as the fire made shadows play across their faces, making them seem much more frightening than they really were. Or maybe that was just the way her mind had built up the coming conversation? The good news was by Ginny's assessment they were worried. That could very well play in her favor. Neither of them were likely to yell if they wanted news that she was okay.

Hermione stepped up to where they lounged on the ground in front of the hearth and cleared her throat. It was time to get it over with... There was no good reason to prolong her agony any longer than she already had.

Her heartbeat was just as hard as it had when she thought Zabini was bringing her over to a full group of Slytherins. Maybe harder... She sat down in her usual spot, a cushy maroon chair with a winged back that reminded her of her Dad's favorite at home. It was a small connection to her previous life that provided a measure of comfort when she missed him. More and more often she found herself nostalgic for when they both would cuddle up with their respective books while her Mum did needle point.

She blinked back the forming tears, there was no time to ease the ache. Nor would she be allowed to go back to that simpler time. Harry spotted her and nudged Ron with his elbow, nodding at her when the other boy looked at him annoyed from the interruption. They both sat their quills down and sat up so they could give her their undivided attention.

Harry smiled at her reassuringly and asked. "How are you doing?"

"I am fine. Both Pansy and Malfoy have done way worse, right?" Hermione responded off-handedly. It was easier to pretend it didn't bother her and she could use the practice before having to meet the eyes of all the other students later at dinner.

"Right!" Ron said enthusiastically, probably grateful that she wasn't a sniveling mess. He never knew how to handle it when she let her emotions get the better of her. Which was admittedly too often when it came to him...

Harry wasn't as easy to fool, he never had been. Even if he didn't always call her on it, he knew when she was upset by something. Usually he had so much going on himself that confrontation over something someone did not want to talk about was low on his radar of worries. Easier to concentrate on saving the world. And she couldn't blame him, if she was in his position she doubted she would have been able to get up out of bed every morning, much less be a completely functional person.

He watched her closely for a few seconds but let it slide in favor of going back to his essay, completely ignoring the manuscript for the tiny little notes scribbled in the margins. She really thought he should turn the blasted thing into Slughorn and use his copy instead. She didn't trust that book... It was wonderful that it was helping him get better grades. Especially since he wanted to become an Auror when they graduated, but a book with a mysterious owner who knew more as a student than experts in the field was... Fishy. The resemblance to Tom Riddle's Diary and Ginny was also too much to ignore. Nothing good was going to come of it, but he wouldn't listen to her about her feelings on the matter.

Ron sat there looking pensive, as if he wanted to ask her something but was afraid of her reaction. With the way their relationship had been lately it wasn't a surprise. Both of them had found themselves hesitating before asking simple things. Afraid that something tiny would ultimately lead to another epic row between them.