A White Knight

Ron Weasley decided that it was time to get himself a girlfriend. It shouldn’t be hard, he reasoned, after all he was Harry Potter’s sidekick! Which, after six years, he’d decided was an excellent role. After all, he had none of the pressure of actually having to defeat the greatest dark wizard of all time, but got a nearly equal share in the glory! Yes, it was good to be Ron Weasley. Finally.

He sighed as he leaned back in his chair by the fire. All he needed now was a woman.

He knew Ginny wanted him to date Hermione but frankly, the idea was laughable. She was his best friend! Practically another sister. He loved Hermione, he would even die for Hermione if it came down to that, but he could not possibly date Hermione.

Moreover, he knew Hermione felt the same way. Ginny was just being silly. She probably had some romantic notion that she and Harry would get together, he and Hermione would too, and then the four of them would live happily ever after. He chuckled to himself. Harry and Ginny would probably never date, and he and Hermione certainly never would.

He though over his options. She would be beautiful, of course, should probably be a Gryffindor, and someone close to him in age…

Lavender Brown chose that moment to enter the common room. She did so quite loudly, gossiping “that slut Pansy Parkinson, who did she think she was?…” and catching Ron’s attention. He smiled slowly.

He like Lavender. She was certainly beautiful, and feminine, not to mention his age and obviously Gryffindor. Yes, Lavender Brown would be perfect, the perfect girlfriend. He stood.

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Hermione entered the Gryffindor common room hoping to find Harry and Ron; they would want to know all about her new suite. She grinned when she found Ron alone sitting by the fire. Perfect, maybe now that the school year was underway he would ask her to accompany him on a Hogsmead trip. She nervously smoothed her skirt and tucked her hair behind her ears.

And then watched in horror as Ron, her Ron, got up and approached Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil. Her mouth fell open as Parvati giggled and headed up the stairs to the girl’s dorm, leaving Lavender and Ron alone. And her eyes about fell out of her head when a blushing Lavender batted her eyelashes and said in a sickly sweet voice, “Of course I’d love to go out with you sometime Ron.”

Hermione slowly backed out of the common room as all her dreams came crashing down around her.

As she walked back towards her rooms, which suddenly didn’t seem so perfect she analyzed the situation, after all she was still a logical girl, even in heartbreak.

Of course she couldn’t really be mad at Ron, he’d never promised her they would ever be together, never even vocalized the idea. She had assumed. He might not know she felt the way she did about him, he might think she saw them as only friends, that he was like a brother to her. On the other hand, he might see her that way; he might see her as just a friend.

She sighed as she sat down on the black couch in her new common room that suddenly felt incredibly lonely. Maybe it was better this way, they wouldn’t have to worry about a sticky break up that would ruin their friendship. And this way the two of them and Harry were still on equal ground. This way the group dynamic didn’t change.

Tears silently rolled down her cheeks. All the logic in the world didn’t heal broken hearts.

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Draco reentered the head’s common room later that evening to find a very different Hermione Granger than the one he’d left only hours earlier.

She was curled up on the couch, crying. And Draco Malfoy froze.

He could handle a fall off a broom, being hit with a bludger, hell; he’d even dealt with Lord fucking Voldemort taking up residence in his house! But a crying female was out of his realm. Therefore he had two options; stay here, with her, and ruin the hours old truce they had forged by mocking her tears, or silently sneak by up to his room and pretend he’d never seen anything.

As much as he still disliked Granger he didn’t, for a reason that was still just beyond him, want to ruin their strange new relationship. But just as he began to silently back up the stairs her bushy little head popped up, her red eyes filled with the strangest emotion.

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As Hermione stared at Malfoy she couldn’t help but feel relieved.

She knew exactly what to expect from him. If he hurt her she would not be surprised, she had her guard up. But as painful as it was, here was a male she could totally trust to tell her exactly what she needed to hear, the truth. Draco Malfoy was definitely what her deluded heart needed.

“I need you to tell me the complete truth.” Malfoy’s eyebrows shot up into his fringe. “Did I imagine it all?”

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Draco Malfoy was very confused. Hermione Granger wanted him to analyze her relationship with the weasel? She wanted him to tell her the complete truth? About what he thought about Ronald Weasley?

“Granger, I don’t know why you ever contemplated dating the moron, but I suppose that it’s good you finally came to your senses.”

And Draco told her exactly what he thought. He explained his beliefs of worth and how she was worth about fifty Ronald Weasley’s. She seemed surprised but didn’t interrupt him as he continued on. Yes, it had been obvious what she wanted him, boarder line pathetic if you had asked him sooner. Weasley probably had just enough sense to realize that he wasn’t good enough for Hermione, and could never make her happy.

“After all Granger, you need someone with more than half a brain! You cannot be nagging your husband to do his homework! He’ll be someone you have actual intellectual discussions with, your equal! With Weasley you’ll be a full time babysitter and shag buddy!”

Draco’s rant continued for quite sometime, and the longer it went on the straighter Granger sat, seeing the absolute truth in between the insults. And the straighter sat the more he went on, until at last she even smiled, a real smile.

“I think you see my point. But honestly Granger, there is someone better for even you out there.” The sting was removed with a small smirk, and sensing his job was done Draco turned and left her to her own devices.