Era of Potter (HARRY POTTER FanFiction)

Chapter Ninety-Three-Friendship

Hermione wrapped her arms around her knees as she thought about how things had gone so wrong. When McGonagall had first told them about the ball she had been excited. She had thought that many Ron would ask her … they had been growing closer this last term and she was starting to think that he might like her. It hadn't even matter to her that he seemed to be terrified about the prospect of going to a dance with a girl, she still thought there was a good chance that they would end up going together.

It did annoy her though when he teased Harry about the girl that had asked Harry to the ball. Saying that she was cute and that they better hurry before all the good looking girls were taken. It felt like he punched her in the stomach hearing that he had only cared about the way his date looked and not about their personality. She knew that she didn't have much to offer in that department, what with her unruly hair and … well she no longer had large front teeth, but it didn't seem like he (or anyone else) had noticed. At least she had thought that until today when he said it brighten up her smile.

Thinking of that both made her inside squirm and make her want to cry. He had noticed … he had complimented her! But she had accepted to go to the stupid dance with another boy.

Of course he was partly to blame for that, she thought, trying to convince herself that she had every right accepting Viktor's offer to go to the ball. It wasn't working very well. It didn't matter if she had the right, she still wished that she had said no. She was, however, convinced after Ron had asked Fleur Delacour that he was never going to ask her. She clearly wasn't what Ron was looking for.

And it's not like she said yes to the first guy that asked her. Terry Boot had asked her, but she had turned him down because she didn't want to go to the dance with just anyone, she wanted it to be specially. Then Viktor Krum asked her and she must admit she felt a little awestruck that someone so famous … someone that could have just about any girl in the school … had asked her. It went to her head, how he said that he would go to the library just to see her and how he had been trying to talk to her for weeks but was too nervous to. That wasn't the only reason why she yes though. She had been really fascinated about Viktor and she wanted to know more about Durmstrang, and for the first time since she realized that Ron wasn't going to ask her, she felt that she could have fun at the ball.

She should have known better than to hope for that.

She wasn't a hundred percent sure if Ron had asked her to the dance as his date, or had just asked her out as a friend, but it seemed as if it was the former. The way he had looked when she said she was going with someone else was heartbreaking. The way he got angry when she had told him it was Viktor … his responds when she snapped back at him about asking Fleur out. He hadn't even meant to ask Fleur.

Yes, she had definitely messed everything up.

"Hey," someone said and she didn't even have to look up to know that it was Harry. She didn't say anything to him as he sat down next to her. "You okay."

"He asked me to the ball," she said in a whisper.

"I know," Harry said, his tone was grave.

"Everything?"

"Yeah, he told me everything," Harry sighed. He had just been talking to Ron where his friend told him about Hermione going to the dance with Viktor. He knew that it wasn't really his fault, but he still felt bad about encouraging Ron to ask her out (at the time he was sure that Hermione would say yes and they both would be happy) only for this to happen. He wrapped his arm around her and she leaned in, knowing that he was offering friendship in his embrace.

"I messed everything up," she sobbed.

"This might not be as bad as you think," Harry tried to cheer her up, but it was hard, he didn't really know what he could say to her statement.