Dudley's Discovery (More Prologue Added)

Chapter 8 ~ Hermione’s Decision

When Hermione returned to Gryffindor tower, Ron and several other Gryffindors were in the common room, excitedly talking about how Hermione had kicked Lavender’s arse. The moment she entered, everyone, with the exception of Ron, gathered around her.

”Why did you beat Lavender up, Hermione? What did she do?”

Hermione walked through the throng of students, grabbed Ron by his shirt and led him up the stairs to the hallway of the boy’s dormitory. They stopped and she turned to look at him. Ron was silent, dreading the look in her eyes.

”Ron,” Hermione said quietly, “I’ve dealt with Lavender, but now I have to deal with you, and what I witnessed. I know Lavender forced herself on you—it wasn’t right for her to do that, but—I can’t help feeling the way I do, because—because you enjoyed what she was doing to you. I know you didn’t want it to happen, Ron, but all I can see when I look at you is—is the look on your face when she was blowing you . . .”

”Hermione, Hermione, I’m sorry—I’m really sorry—please,” Ron said, his eyes watering.

”I know you’re sorry, Ron, and I know you tried to do the right thing by telling me. Most wizards would have tried to hide it, and that would have been worse—I would have found out—but it’s too much right now—“ she said.

Ron grabbed her hand.

”Hermione, please . . . don’t break up with me. I’ll do anything, anything. I’ll never go out drinking again. I’ll stay at Hogwarts every weekend until we graduate. Even when I do graduate, I’ll never go to another inn or pub. Anything. I’ll do anything. Just tell me what I have to do, Hermione. Please—“ the wizard begged her desperately.

Hermione gently pulled her hand out of his.

”Ron, I’m going to need time to see if I can get over this. Right now—I don’t know if I can,” she said softly.

”But—but you said yourself that liking what happened while it happened didn’t make a difference. That it was still a forced situation,” Ron told her, trying to take her hand again. “I couldn’t help reacting the way I did, Hermione—no wizard could.”

Hermione moved her hand away.

”Ron, I know I said that, but—it’s different when it’s someone you—you care about and trust. I watched it happen, Ron. I heard the things you said—saw how you reacted. The way you were biting your lip—gasping and groaning—it was clear how much you liked what she was doing to you when she was—was . . . “

Tears began to roll down her cheeks.

”I can’t do this, Ron. I’m sorry. I know you didn’t mean for it to happen, but for now, it’s over,” Hermione said, suddenly running past him and back down the stairs.

”Hermione!” Ron cried, chasing her. “Wait!”

Hardly able to see through her tears, Hermione ran through the common room, bumping into Neville, and then fleeing up the stairs to the girls’ dormitory. Ron tried running after her but the stairs collapsed and he slid down them. He couldn’t go up there.

He got up off the floor, staring at the stairwell longingly, his eyes wet.

He’d lost her.

”What’s going on, Ron?” Neville asked him.

Ron sniffed and wiped at his eyes and nose with his hand before turning to face his housemate. His face was very flushed and red.

”Nothing,” he said shortly, then walked across the common room and headed up the stairs to his room.

He didn’t want anyone to see him crying.

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Harry, Ginny and Dudley heard about the altercation at breakfast. Ron wasn’t in the common room when they came down, and Hermione was in Snape’s office when they arrived at the Great Hall. Everyone promptly filled Harry in.

”Why were they fighting?” Harry asked.

No one knew. All they knew is Hermione walked into the Great Hall ready to fight and jumped the blonde witch.

”You should have seen her dragging Lavender by the hair. It was awesome,” Dean Thomas said. “Lavender was screaming like a banshee.”

Harry couldn’t believe it. Hermione fighting? Actually beating someone up? But, she did punch Draco in the nose once, so she did have it in her. He wondered if Ron knew about it. He wanted to go back to Gryffindor tower and find out, but Dudley didn’t.

”Harry, we can find out later,” his cousin said. “I want to go get my stuff. I’m tired of people laughing at how I dress. I need robes. And a wand.”

Hermione getting in a fight just wasn’t that interesting to Dudley. But it was to Ginny.

”Harry, you and Dudley go on without me. I’m going to check on Hermione,” the witch said, making a quick bacon sandwich and wrapping it in a napkin. “I’ll tell you what’s going on when you get back.”

She gave Harry a peck on the cheek, said good-bye to Dudley and left the Great Hall.

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”She did what?” Ginny exclaimed.

”Trapped him in a stall in the men’s room and gave him a—a—blowjob,” Hermione said, wiping her eyes.

”Oh, Hermione,” Ginny said sympathetically. “No wonder he left so quickly when he came back. He looked sick.”

Hermione sighed.

”I broke up with him, Ginny,” she said.

Ginny went silent for a moment, then said softly, “But he didn’t mean for it to happen, Hermione. Ron is crazy about you. Really he is.”

Hermione shook her head.

”But Ginny, Ron couldn’t tell me what happened—so I looked. I used Legilimency on him.”

Ginny went pale.

”You mean, you watched it happen, Hermione?” she asked her.

Hermione nodded.

”And, even though he didn’t ask for it to happen, Ginny, it was easy to see he got off on it. It was horrible to see him—see him like it so much. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to look at him the same way again. That’s why I broke up with him. It’s not fair, I know, but I can’t help how I feel. Every time I’m with him, I’d think about him and Lavender in that stall . . .”

Hermione began to cry again, and Ginny embraced her gently, stroking her hair as she sobbed. But her brown eyes were narrowed. Wait until she saw Lavender, that slut.

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Ron was supposed to go with Harry and Dudley, but he didn’t leave his room until lunchtime. He went to the Great Hall, hoping to see Hermione, but she didn’t come to lunch. He ate his meal half-heartedly as everyone chattered about the fight. Lavender wasn’t there either. She was still in the infirmary. But Draco was there, and staring at Ron with an evil grin.

”Watch this,” he said to Goyle, standing up and walking over to the Gryffindor table. Ron was sitting at the very end, with space between himself and the next student. The Slytherin sat down next to Ron, who glanced at him.

”Get out of here, Malfoy,” Ron growled.

”I heard what happened last night. Got a hummer from Lavender, eh, Weasley? She told me, you know. I guess Granger found out about it. Well, that should work out for you after she calms down. Maybe you all can have a threesome, both of them working on your tool. Lavender could lick and Granger could suck . . .”

That was all Draco got out before Ron hit him squarely in the mouth, knocking him over the bencb and leaping on him. Draco made a grave mistake needling the Gryffindor. Ron was already upset and frustrated. It didn’t take much to send him over the edge.

”Not again!” Snape hissed as the teachers ran to break up the fighting wizards.

Snape got there first, professors Sprout and Flitwick bringing up the rear.

Ron was on top of Draco, punishing his smug, pureblood face. Snape hauled him off of the Slytherin by the back of his collar.

”Come with me, Mr. Weasley,” he hissed. “Draco, to the infirmary.”

Once again, a student made his way to Madam Pomfrey for fixing up. Draco held his head back, holding his bleeding nose with his robes.

And once again, Snape took a student to his office for a talking to and possible punishment.

Dear gods. And he thought this would be a quiet weekend.

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”Sit down, Mr. Weasley,” Snape said to Ron, pointing to the chair in front of his desk. Ron wiped his nose and sat down sullenly.

Snape walked behind his desk and sat down as well. He folded his hands and looked at Ron, who stared at the floor.

”Eyes front, Mr. Weasley. I prefer eye contact when I speak to students. It’s easier to identify when they’re telling—untruths,” he said to the Gryffindor.

Ron looked at him with reddened eyes.

”Now, what happened in the Great Hall? I imagine Mr. Malfoy was irritating you in some manner, but your reaction to him was less than stellar, Mr. Weasley. You usually tell him to ‘sod off’ or something similar. Brawling isn’t your usual forte. Does this have anything to do with Miss Granger?”

Ron nodded sullenly.

”Draco said something he had no business saying. Hermione’s not that kind of witch,” Ron said angrily.

”Whereas, Lavender Brown is that kind of witch,” Snape purred at him.

Ron stared at him, startled.

”Oh, I know, Mr. Weasley, and no doubt all of Hogwarts knows as well. On Monday, you, Miss Granger and Miss Brown will appear before the Headmistress to sort this all out and decide on Miss Granger’s punishment for attacking Miss Brown. It’s quite a mess you’ve gotten yourself into Mr. Weasley. Quite a mess, especially dallying with two witches in the same house.”

”I didn’t ‘dally’ with Lavender,” Ron hissed. “She—she took advantage of me. And Hermione, well, I won’t be ‘dallying’ with her either. She’s broken up with me.”

Snape took this in.

”May I ask how Miss Granger found out about Miss Brown so quickly?” Snape asked him.

”I told her. I wanted to tell her before Lavender found a way to do it,” the redhead replied.

Snape shook his head in disbelief.

”You told her?” the wizard asked him, just to make sure he was hearing him correctly. He then questioned Ron about just how he broached the subject. Ron told him he first reversed the situation, asking her opinion about it happening to a witch, and how she said it wasn’t cheating. Then he told her it had happened to him.

”Well, I couldn’t bring myself to tell her the specifics, so she used Legilimency on me.”

Snape’s eyes went wide for a moment. How idiotic could one Gryffindor be? Ron had done fine until he allowed her to view the act. Oh, brains were in short supply in Gryffindor house. This really took the rock cake.

”You showed her another witch performing fellatio on you, Mr. Weasley? No wonder she ended your relationship. You are an idiot,” Snape informed him.

Ron shifted uncomfortably in the chair, his jaw set. He’d done the right thing and he knew it.

”What else could I have done? Lavender was going to find a way to let her know what happened. I know she was,” Ron said.

”Have you never heard of the word ‘Obliviate’ Mr. Weasley?” Snape asked him.

Ron looked at him blankly and the Potions master pinched the bridge of his nose. Was he really that thick?

”You could have Obliviated Miss Brown, Mr. Weasley, and kept the incident to yourself,” the dark wizard said.

”But it still would have happened, professor. I couldn’t hide something like that from Hermione. My mum told me I should always be completely honest with a witch . . .”

”Mr. Weasley, never, ever follow your mother’s or any witch’s advice about courtship. It is fraught with peril and potholes. If witches had their way, every wizard on earth would be completely transparent,” Snape said. “And transparency doesn’t work. It’s infinitely worse when they actually know what we’re up to, instead of guessing.

”I couldn’t lie to her,” Ron said brokenly.

”Not revealing a situation she had no idea about is not lying, Mr. Weasley. It is concealing, and that’s what you should have done. But, I’m not your father, so I’m not about to school you on dealing with witches . . . but you are a dismal failure at it, to be sure.”

Ron wanted to say he was glad Snape’s greasy arse wasn’t his dad, but he bit his tongue. He was already in trouble.

”A fifty point loss from Gryffindor for your attack on Mr. Malfoy. It would be more, but I feel Draco has some blame. No doubt he rubbed salt in the wound. You will also serve a week’s detention with Argus Filch. He’ll put you to good use. As I told your former other half, there are to be NO more altercations with Mr. Malfoy or anyone else that gets your hackles up, Mr. Weasley, or you may be facing expulsion. You may go.”

Ron sullenly left Snape’s office. Once again the wizard was stunned by his stupidity. The oaf was lucky to have the brilliant witch as long as he did. Hermione was far out of his league, and to be honest, Snape couldn’t see the attraction . . . unless it was Miss Granger’s penchant to be ‘manhandled.’

His eyebrow quirked slightly at this as he remembered the little tear in her tee shirt. Then he pushed the image out of his mind.

”Teenagers,” he hissed again.

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Snape’s day didn’t get any better. By suppertime, he had Ginny Weasley in his office. She had walked over to where Lavender was sitting during the meal, and punched her squarely in the nose for causing Ron and Hermione to break up. Once again, Lavender was off to the infirmary, and Snape had yet another overemotional teenager to deal with. They didn’t even act as if they owned wands.

He took another fifty points from Gryffindor and assigned Ginny detention with Hagrid for a week. She was to help him care for his creatures, most of which were quite unsavory from any standpoint.

”Damn. Is it something in the air?” Snape wondered as she departed sullenly.

He’d be glad when Minerva returned and once again was glad he turned down the Headmaster position upon his return.

It was too much of a headache.

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A/N: One more chapter. Lol. Fists are certainly flying at Hogwarts. Poor Ron. He lost her. Oh, well. Sometimes, honesty might not be the best policy. Now, I need to go over Dudley’s day in Diagon Alley. Thanks for reading