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Hermione didn't know where exactly to look. How could Lavender stand there and act so entitled when Ron had just been terribly poisoned?
Sure, Hermione hadn't been on speaking terms with the youngest Weasley boy lately, but that didn't mean she didn't care about him. He was her friend, and she had every right to be concerned for his life. Watching Lavender try to monopolize his bedside only irritated her further.
And then Lavender stated a fact—a stupid, irrelevant fact that pushed Hermione over the edge. With her head tilted upward, her chin pointed at Hermione, and her eyes cast down in sheer arrogance, Lavender said it. "I happen to be Ron's girlfriend!"
Is Lavender being for real right? What in the Bloody Hell? Hermione refrained from saying something rude to her at the moment.
It was a surreal, melodramatic moment. This was neither the time nor the place for such a display, especially not in front of the professors, and certainly not in a room where their friend lay practically in a coma. And Lavender's boyfriend no less.
Before she even realized it, Hermione’s lips began to move. She ignored the looks of annoyance on Snape’s and Ginny’s faces, the stoic mask of Albus Dumbledore, and the completely absent look on Harry’s face as they all stood around the bed.
Puffing out her chest, Hermione folded her arms. Like a bomb dropping, she began, "I happen to be..." She paused. The frustration vanished from her face, replaced by a sudden, sharp playfulness. Her voice dripped with a mix of sarcasm and smugness as her lips curled with a mischievous glint in her eyes "...Harry's girlfriend."
Well that shall clear things up eventually and Ron and Luna would end up together. Having Luna and Ron think that she has feelings for Ron was annoying and horrible. Hermione thought blissfully.
The silence that followed threw Hermione off. She felt her face burn and pressed her lips tightly together. From the corner of her eye, she caught the sudden, sharp tension tight across Ginny’s face.
It was too late to take it back now, but quite frankly, Hermione didn't care. With the way Ginny had been treating Dean, and the way she had used both Neville and Michael Corner in the past, Hermione had started to view her in a different light. When Hermione told her to date other people, it wasn't for Ginny to use them to make him jealous. They were hurt because they had genuine feelings towards her. But then again Harry does like Ginny... He has absolutely no sort of romantic feelings towards me which means I created a problem for Harry.
Now that the lie sunk in, it left Hermione’s stomach churning. She kept telling herself that any romantic feelings she had for Harry were long gone. Ginny and Harry belonged together, didn't they? Lost in thought, her arms still crossed tightly, she glanced over at Harry.
That was when she noticed it. Harry, who had been awkwardly trying to blend into the background, stood frozen by her side. A dorky, sweet smile was growing across his face—the exact look he used to give Cho Chang in the early stages of his crush.
The look on his face and his lack of denial along with not a single stammer had been self-evident. Harry had taken delight at this situation and he wielded like a sword. And he did something very unHarry-like. Harry Potter hated being the center of attention, yet Hermione had just thrust him into the spotlight right after their friend wound up in the hospital. And Harry Potter hadn't shied away from it this time.
What Harry did next caught her completely off guard. He slowly slid his hand around her waist, pulling her flush against his side.
“Yes, it's been about a few days,” Harry said smoothly, addressing the room. “Rather new and all. Considering everything that has been happening, we didn't want a repeat of Hermione getting harassed like she was during our fourth year. It was best to keep it under wraps.”
Hermione was shocked by his quick thinking, but she recovered instantly, offering a bright smile. If Lavender wanted to play high school melodrama in front of her unconscious boyfriend, Hermione was more than happy to meet her level. More importantly, she wanted to make it undeniably clear that Ron was never on her radar to begin with.
After some time, the professors filed out. Lavender and Ginny left shortly after, thoroughly deflated by the revelation—especially after Ron, still semi-conscious, muttered Luna’s name. With that groan and Harry and Hermione's sudden proclamation, the room had cleared out. At the very least, one thing was proven to everyone in there. Ron and Hermione had no romantic feelings for each other.
Hermione gulped, looking down at Ron as silence filled the room once more. "Right," Harry said, clearing his throat and stepping forward. "So... girlfriend? Did I miss a chapter of my own life, Hermione, or were you hit with a confundus charm?"
Hermione stiffened in her seat, avoiding his eyes. The blissful wave she had been riding quickly evaporated. It had been a lie, no matter how much she secretly wished it were true—wished that he would look at her the way he looked at Cho or Ginny. Her smile faded. She hid her crimson face in her hands, her hair falling forward like a protective curtain to shield her from his gaze. She needed to play it off as nothing deep.
"Oh, shut up, Harry," she muffled into her palms, her hands trembling slightly. "It was tactical. It was the only way to make her stop shrieking!" Shoving her hair out of her face, she stared firmly at her lap, her heart pounding violently against her ribs. “I just needed her to finally understand that I don't like Ron. Not like that, anyway.”
"Right," Harry murmured, reaching out. His fingers brushed against her wrists, gently but firmly pulling her hands away from her face so he could force her to look at him. "Tactical. Because out of all the things you could have said to shut her up... that is the one that came out?"
Hermione winced. “Right um. We should probably tell Ginny the truth before anything else.”
“Why?” Harry asked, his voice suddenly tense.
“Because you like her, and she likes you.” Hermione felt a sharp pang in her chest, kicking herself for pushing him toward Ginny. It was slowly killing her from the inside. Playing his girlfriend had been beautiful while it lasted. She swallowed hard, biting her lower lip, still refusing to meet his eyes.
“You know, for someone so smart, you sure are dumb.” His bluntness caught her completely off guard. Hermione finally looked up, her warm brown eyes wide, filled with a raw vulnerability. Unshed tears welled up, making her eyes glossy, causing Harry's heart to clench. Sitting before him, the usually put-together witch who always had an answer was completely gone.
He saw it. He knew the look in Hermione's eyes, and he felt it in the way she melted whenever he was near.
"Harry, I..." She swallowed hard, her gaze flickering down to his lips for a fraction of a second before snapping back to his bright green eyes. There it was. The exact confirmation Harry needed he picked his lips giving her a wet smile.
“The look on Lavender's face was brilliant. Absolutely poetic, even,” Harry said, taking a deep breath to steady his own racing nerves. “But I can see right through you, Hermione. I can see it. You want it to be true.”
Hermione froze. He saw her stillness and chose to go in for the kill. “You want it to be true the same way I do,” Harry pressed on. “When I saw Ron get poisoned last night, everything felt way too fast. It made me realize how quickly things can change. I became an orphan when I was a year old, and the family my parents built was just gone in an instant for Godric's sake.”
The room grew entirely still. Hermione looked up, meeting his steady, resolute gaze. Reaching out, she took Harry's hands in hers, her fingers tracing the back of his knuckles to reassure him.
Harry's shoulders sagged, and he moved closer, pulling her into the quiet alcove of the room. “When I saw you fall at the Department of Mysteries, something snapped inside me. I knew deep down that you meant more to me than anyone else. And then we went to the Burrow, and it felt like you were constantly pushing me toward Ginny. I was so confused by it all.”
Hermione let out a wet, breathless laugh. Hiding her face in the crook of his neck, she clung to him. “I thought you had feelings for her,” she gasped out, looking up at him. “I kept alluding to you being jealous over Ginny and Dean because... well, she is Ginny. She's bold, pretty, and strong. Everything that I'm not. You deserve to be with someone like her. Not me.”
Harry shook his head. His fingers hooked under her chin, lifting her face so he could bear witness to her eyes—the ones that filled his dreams, acting as an escape between his nightmares and reality. His gaze dropped to her lips, his thumb gently brushing against them.
Hermione's breath hitched as Harry leaned in.“Hermione, it's you I see by my side. Not Ginny. Not ever. Ginny only sees me as the boy from her childhood stories. Not the person I am in the life we actually live. She is with Dean, and I simply want you. All of you, my bookworm witch.”
He leaned in closer, brushing his lips against hers. Hermione’s hand pressed against his chest, her fingers twisting into his shirt as his arm snaked around her waist, pulling her flush against him.
When Harry finally pulled away, a radiant smile curled on his lips. “Hermione, your tactical thinking is very effective.”
“It was rather effective, wasn't it, Harry?" she whispered, a matching smile breaking across her face.
"Terrifyingly so," Harry hummed, looking down at her.
She leaned up to brush her lips against his once more, but they broke apart when another low grunt came from the hospital bed. Ron stirred, muttering Luna’s name yet again.
Harry and Hermione shared a look, smiling. “Well, we are going to help them get together, aren't we?” Hermione asked.
“Absolutely, Hermione loves. Though I am still a bit pissed at what he did. Which reminds me to ask, why were you so mad at Ron, anyway, if you didn't like him like that?” Harry asked, curious.
“Simple. He asked me for help with Luna, and then turned around and acted like I was the problem, implying I was secretly in love with him. That was never the case, and I have no idea where that rumor started. Now this time, me and you? This one will be much better gossip than that. I really hated it when Luna was trying to comfort me because she thought I liked him. Whoever put it in his head that I like him is ticking me off.”
“Yeah, definitely not his finest moment,” Harry agreed, wrapping his arm securely around her shoulders.
“Not at all,” Hermione sighed happily, leaning into his side.
“But hopefully, him calling out her name will break things off with Lavender for good. Also I might know who pushed the idea into his head.” Harry said with an annoying voice. He pulled away rubbing his face.
“Really? Who loves?” Hermione asked curiously.
“Ginny.” He groaned out. Hermione’s eyes grew wide.
Hermione puffed out with annoyance, “Oh that girl. I swear. Then it is a good thing she was in the room when I said it.”
“You were feeling bad for her because she had feelings for me?” Harry grimaced at the thought. “Well now that we are here it is clear it is you I only have eyes for.”
Hermione chuckled at this, “Well now it is official. I am your girlfriend.”
“Yes you are. Thank Godric for Lavender's timing.”