Just A Harmless Joke

Chapter 18:Only One Thing Left

Harry sat at the table in the common room, watching for Hermione's return. Part of him felt horrible about this; Ron certainly wouldn't be happy, and Harry felt like he'd just single-handedly killed Ron's chances with Hermione and broken Ron's heart. Still, Hermione had to do what was going to make Hermione happy, not what would make Ron happy, and she couldn't spend the rest of her life waiting for Ron, especially not while she had feelings for someone else. Also, Ron would probably hurt a lot less if she started dating Fred now than if she dated Fred after Ron had asked her out, or—worse—if she'd gone out and broken up with Ron to be with Fred or dated Ron without really feeling very romantically about him. Besides, it would be a lot easier for Ron to get over right now, and if Hermione didn't resolve the matter with Fred, Ron's friendship with her would be on dangerous ground and so would his relationship with Fred. Harry could just see the scenarios that would arise if Hermione and Fred never finished this war and said what needed to be said—Ron would always be upset whenever the two were in the room together, and there would be all sorts of mixed signals and unexpressed feelings and, in short, Hermione and Fred would always be one big mess around each other.

Harry was jolted out of his thoughts by the return of Hermione, who was practically running down the stairs. She hurried across the common room and up the girls' dormitory staircase, not looking at anyone. Something about her manner made Harry certain that she was crying, or close to it.

Well, Harry thought angrily, that went well. Now what? Do I comfort Hermione, or go kill Fred?

It took quite a while to decide, as both options sounded very good and Harry was taking time out to berate himself for making the suggestion to Hermione. He finally decided that Hermione should come first, and he could kill Fred later; besides, it was probably a good idea to get the full story out of her before he killed Fred.

Harry threw his homework back in his bag and rushed up the stairs to Hermione's room. No one else was there; he wouldn't have known Hermione was, but he could hear her sobbing behind the hangings around her bed. She stopped the moment she heard the door open, however, probably thinking it was Parvati or Lavender, and only someone who knew her well would have been able to tell she was crying when she yelled, "Go away! I want to be alone, please!"

Harry shut the door behind him and Hermione broke out into sobs again, thinking he'd left. Harry put a spell on the door—one he'd learned a while back when he was desperate for something to get people to leave him alone, which would make everyone remember important appointments elsewhere and wander away when they got close.

Harry set down his bag, approached the bed and pulled back the hangings. Hermione gasped and looked up at him, then let out a relieved sigh when she saw who it was.

"Harry," she choked out.

Harry sat down next to her and Hermione promptly threw herself at him, crying uncontrollably against his chest; Harry put his arms around her and held her, muttering things like "shh" and "it'll be okay" and "I'm here" as she cried. When her tears had finally slowed, she pulled back to look up at him. Harry brushed some of the tears from her face and gave her a weak smile.

"What happened?" he asked, then immediately wished he hadn't, as this made Hermione burst into loud sobs all over again. This time, however, she tried to explain, but she was so upset that nothing really made any sense.

"Fred was... George and Lee... misunderstood... Charlie's gonna get me... lies, all lies! He... Fred... bathroom... lies... kill him... rude..."

"It'll be okay, Hermione," Harry told her. "I know it will."

Hermione smiled through her tears and leaned against him. "I'm gonna get Fred for this," she whispered. "He messed with the wrong person... and now there's only one thing left to do."