Chapter 5- Harry's Slap in the Face
"Harry, what happened?" Hermione was sitting in her favorite arm chair, reading before her next class started. She had looked up when the portrait hole opened and was not at all surprised to see her friend. Despite her bitter feelings for him at the moment, she couldn't help but feel bad for him. He had a large handprint across his cheek and looked like he had just been sentenced to death. He was holding his glasses in his hand because they were broken and the glass cracked.
"I'm not in the mood, Hermione," he groaned. "Can we talk later?"
"No, Harry, now. You lied to me about Ginny, so you owe me one. What happened?"
Harry sighed and flopped down in a chair next to the fire. Almost in a moan, he said, "I told Cho."
"You did?" Hermione perked up right away and slammed her book shut. "That's wonderful!"
"Wonderful, my arse! Look at my cheek! She bitch slapped me!"
"Oh, and you don't deserve that?"
"Well, I guess I do, but I still wasn't expecting it."
"So, what did you tell her exactly?" Hermione asked with a bright smile, relaxing back into her chair.
"Well, she came over to me right after you and Ron left and she asked me what was wrong, so I told her I hadn't been the most truthful of people lately. I told her I was still seeing Ginny when I had first kissed her and I hadn't technically dumped Gin yet. That's about when she gave me this." Harry indicated to his cheek. "She then proceeded to push me off the bench, and my glasses fell off and got away from me. She started yelling something about me being a bloody git, which I seem to be getting a lot of lately. By the time I found my glasses, they had been stepped on, as you can see." Harry held up his glasses by one stick, showing the decimated shape they were in.
Hermione took out her wand, sighed, and muttered "Reparo," fixing the glasses immediately.
"Thanks," Harry mumbled, putting his glasses back on. "Now I won't have to give the password to every portrait I pass."
"I still can't believe you, Harry," Hermione said, charging right back into the subject at hand. "It's disgusting that you would cheat on Ginny and just save her for a backup girlfriend. Ginny's my friend, and so are you, but right now, I don't know what to think of you."
"I'm sorry! Sheesh, what do you people want from me? A letter written in blood? I apologized to Cho already!"
"Yes, and now you owe Ginny an apology as well. I think you hurt her more."
"And you think Ginny will talk to me?"
"No, but you should at least make an attempt at amends. Harry, I think she loved you."
"No," he said, laughing, "she didn't love me. She just..." Harry got a thoughtful look in his eye and scrunched up his forehead in thought. "Did she love me?"
Hermione gave Harry a somewhat sympathetic look on her face and nodded her head.
"Aw bugger!" Harry slouched even further into his chair and began massaging his temples.
"Oh, come off it Harry! Just go apologize to her! You never know if she'll listen or not, but you have to give this a shot! Don't you at least want to be on friendly terms with her?"
"Would you ever be on friendly terms with the person who broke your heart?" Harry practically screamed at her.
"Well, you don't know that you broke her heart."
"Well, doesn't it usually work out this way? You dump the person who loves you, you break their heart? It's not that complicated."
"The heart is a very complicated thing, Harry," Hermione practically whispered.
Harry cocked his head at her and raised an eyebrow. "What's up, Hermione?"
"Nothing," she said, more to herself than to Harry.
"There's something. Come on, you can tell me."
"Really, Harry, it's nothing." She was looking him in the eye now, as if she were trying to convince him she was not lying.
"Is this about Ron?" he asked quizzically.
"Really, Harry, that's none of your business." Hermione was biting her words, trying to get him to drop the subject.
"All right, all right. But don't think this won't come up again." Harry stood up, giving Hermione a knowing glance and headed for the portrait hole, leaving for his History of Magic class.
"Hey Gin! Wait up!" Harry had just left his History of Magic class, and was on his way to Divination when he saw Ginny in the halls. 'Now's as good a time to apologize as any, right?' he reasoned with himself.
Ginny spun on her heal and glanced at Harry briefly, before turning back to her conversation with Colin. Harry ran to catch up with her and was about to grab her shoulder to turn her around, but then thought better of it. Instead, he stepped in front of her, blocking her path.
"Gin, can we talk?"
"I'm sorry Harry, but I must be off to Care of Magical creatures. Maybe you could talk to Cho? You two seem to have gotten a lot closer lately." Ginny was glaring at him like one would glare at their worst enemy.
'Like I would glare at Malfoy,' he thought to himself. 'Well, maybe not how Ginny would glare at Malfoy, but how Ron or I would. Merlin, Ron is going to kill that bloke. What was Ginny thinking?'
"Gin, I just want to explain myself to you. It's all-"
"It's all a big misunderstanding, is that it? Is that what you were going to tell me, Harry?" Ginny's words were practically dripping with malice. "Well let me tell you something, Harry Potter; I don't need you. You heard me, I don't need you. I should have broken up with you weeks ago, but you seemed needy, and I pitied you. We all pity you! You have no parents and Sirius died, who doesn't pity you? My reaction was due to surprise only, nothing else. Not love, not revenge, not jealousy. So stop thinking of yourself so highly, Harry. You're only human." Ginny spun around and headed for the front doors. "Come on, Colin," she called over her shoulder.
Colin gaped at Harry for a moment before looking to Ginny, and then back at Harry. He shrugged and ran to catch up with Ginny. "What was that about, Gin?" he asked, just loud enough for Harry to hear.
"I'll tell you later Colin." They walked out of earshot, leaving Harry staring at their retreating backs.
'Well Hermione,' he thought, 'I tried. I really did try. But I'll have to try again.'
Author notes: Thanks to Sleepless and SniperTeamTango for their reviews! Thanks for your support!
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