Chapter 22 The Love That Was Borrowed
“Professor, is this yours?” Hermione snapped coldly at Aria, waving a red handkerchief at her as she marched angrily inside the room and banged the door shut.
“Miss Granger, what…”
“I asked you a question. Please answer me. It’s yours. Isn’t it?” Hermione spat and narrowed her eyes.
“Yes.”
There was a moment of deafening silence as Hermione gaped at her with utter disgust and disbelief. Shaking her head profusely, her body was shivering uncontrollably from rage and she felt like her veins were going to pop out. She had finally discovered the identity of Harry’s other girl and she was standing right in front of her eyes, but she wasn’t just any other girl; she was a professor.
“You and Harry? It’s you? HOW CAN YOU??” Hermione finally broke the choking silence and roared on top of her lungs, her voice thundering across the room like a loose cannon. Hermione’s fiery expressions were greatly magnified by her reflections from the mirrors. Aria gasped, opened her mouth widely in shock, and took a few steps back.
“HOW CAN YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS? WITH A STUDENT? YOU ARE A TEACHER HERE! AND YOU KNOW HARRY IS WITH GINNY!!” Hermione pointed fiercely at her and continued barking as she marched furiously towards her.
“No, it’s not what you think. Let me explain. Let me__” Aria muttered fearfully, frantically waving her hands. But Hermione immediately cut her off and refused to listen. Her hands were in balls of fists. In her eyes, Aria was not a professor now; Aria was a backstabbing woman who had hurt her two very best friends. She really wanted to punch her, for all the anguish that Ginny had to cope with this semester.
“DON’T LIE! In the hospital wing… when I saw you and Harry’s jacket together in the same room, everything finally made sense to me! I finally… and unfortunately connected the dots…” Hermione cried furiously.
“That night… that night when it was raining, Harry stormed back to the common room… soaked to the bone. His glasses were broken and the buttons on his shirt were torn…
“I was waiting for Ron in the common room that night… because I wanted to apologize… for yelling at him in front of the whole class… AFTER YOUR STUPID FLOWER GAME!
“But I only saw Harry, and when he rushed in looking like a complete mess, I asked him what happened and he acted all weird on me… I’ve never seen him like that before…
“On that same night, I… I saw you drenched EXACTLY like Harry was and YOU WERE DRAPED IN HIS JACKET when you came to the common room with Ginny!
“No wonder the jacket looked so familiar to me! It’s because it’s Harry’s jacket! That’s why I was looking at you up and down, feeling very strange for some reason…
“You were together that night! WEREN’T YOU?”
Aria was standing motionless in shock, unsure of what to do because this was happening so suddenly. She wanted to respond but nothing was coming out. Already drained and overwhelmed by Ginny’s visit earlier, she wasn’t ready to deal with this type of confrontation.
“WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM THAT NIGHT? DID YOU PLAY WITH HIS MIND? DID YOU RIP HIS SHIRT OFF THAT NIGHT? ANSWER ME!!”
“Please…” Aria begged and covered her ears. She had tried to suppress the memories of that rainy night because it was so painful. That was the night when Harry rejected her and abandoned her by the trees.
Seeing Aria covering her ears, Hermione screamed louder and marched closer to her again, making sure that every single word that was blasting out of her mouth was heard.
“I have been observing you this past week. I saw the way you look at Harry with those teary yearning eyes of yours! You… YOU…
“FLOOZY!”
“Please watch your__”
Hermione ignored her. She grabbed Aria’s arm and angrily tore it off her ear as she continued screaming on top of her lungs.
“And I recognized those red handkerchiefs that you’ve been using to wipe your face! YOUR TEARS! WHY? Were you crying because you can’t stand the sight of Ginny caring for Harry? Are those crocodile tears?”
“No! That’s not true…” Aria yelled, trying to break free of Hermione’s grip. But she refused to let go.
“Ron found it in Harry’s jacket when he came back one morning acting strange and smelling like flowers. It was in the same jacket you had that rainy night!” Hermione’s nails were sinking into Aria’s arm as she threw the handkerchief into Aria’s face.
Then Hermione suddenly gasped and froze in her steps in shock. Blinking very quickly, she had just remembered something more deplorable: the hickey on Harry’s neck.
“That day when you said you were going to resign… that same night… Harry never came back to his room and returned only the next day smelling like flowers…
“He lied about going to see Hagrid…” Hermione lowered her voice substantially and muttered very hesitantly, taking very deep controlled breaths because her entire body was shaking. She was hoping that what was piercing in her mind right now, images of Harry and Aria together, had not happened.
“But he never went to see Hagrid. He was… with you? Wasn’t he?” Hermione was choking on her words and asked very tentatively.
Her grip on Aria loosened and she unknowingly released her arm. But Aria did not back away or try to cover her ears again. She pulled her head down and tears were rushing out of her eyes.
“What. Did. You. Do. To. Him?” Hermione’s eyes were now flooded with tears, hoping Aria would say something to refute all the disgusting images that were playing in her mind right now. But Aria did not respond. She continued sobbing and she kept her head down.
Hermione waited anxiously for Aria to answer, hoping desperately she could refute her. But it was not to be. Stumbling back a few steps and swallowing very hard, her jaw dropped to the ground and her mouth was hanging open in shock. To her horror, what she thought happened between Harry and Aria that night had indeed happened.
In a thrust of utmost rage that she had never experienced before, Hermione leaped forward with all her might and punched Aria in the face, sending her crashing into the student tables.
“Hannibal, YOU TART! YOU BITCH! YOU DISGUST ME! HOW CAN YOU?” Hermione shrieked and raised her voice to the maximum again, stomping the floor heavily.
Tears were now flooding Hermione’s cheeks. The idea of Ginny finding out about this, the hurt and pain that her best friend would have to endure because of this, because of the woman in front of her eyes, was too much for Hermione to bear.
“You have no right to…” Aria whimpered weakly as she struggled to get up from the pile of tables. She shook her head violently, trying to clear her vision.
“And to think that Ginny actually likes you… thought of you as a friend… She said you are kind… and you… and you…
“YOU GO CRAWLING BEHIND HER BACK WITH HER BOYFRIEND???
“I never liked you! Not because you’re a telepath of anything like that! But something was always wicked about you…
“And I can’t even tell Ginny about this because… because Harry needs her now… I can’t get her upset at him… especially now…
“Well, for your information, Ginny is the one that Harry loves!! Ginny is the one! THE ONLY ONE!! DO YOU HEAR?”
“STOP…” Aria finally pulled herself out from the pile of tables and barked defiantly as she covered her bruised cheek.
“Harry doesn’t love you!! He never has and HE NEVER WILL!! He will never love someone as repulsive as you!”
“SHUT UP…” Aria shrieked fanatically.
“WHAT? DID I STRIKE A NERVE? DID I JUST UNCOVER ALL YOUR DIRTY SECRETS?
“HOW COULD YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS???
“YOU MUST HAVE MANIPULATED HIS MIND WITH YOUR MIND GAMES, DIDN’T YOU? YOU DISGUSTING MONSTER!! HARRY WOULD NEVER DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS!” Hermione shakily picked up the handkerchief and raced out of the classroom.
“Where are you going?” Aria demanded furiously.
Hermione stopped her heated footsteps, took a deep breath, and glared angrily at her, “It’s time I put an end to this madness! I regret I didn’t catch up to your sick games sooner. This has gone too far! Too many people have gotten hurt because of you!
“I’M GOING TO TELL DUMBLEDORE AND HE’S GOING TO HAVE YOU FIRED! SO YOU’LL NO LONGER BE ABLE TO RUIN HARRY’S LIFE, GINNY’S LIFE, OR ANYONE ELSE’S! I’ll put an end to your games!”
“NO! PLEASE DON’T!” Aria roared with her arm outstretched. But Hermione ignored her and stormed towards the door.
In a moment of desperation, Aria grabbed her wand from the floor and aimed it at Hermione as a red beam of light shot towards her, hitting her in the back. Hermione let out a scream and collapsed to the ground.
Aria walked shakily towards the unconscious Hermione and kneeled down, rubbing her bruised cheek and the blood in the corner of her mouth.
“You don’t understand me, Hermione Granger,” she whimpered tearfully, her hands now in balls of fists.
“I’m sorry. But you’ve left me with no choice…
“You don’t understand me. No one understands me at all…
“I can’t leave now, not yet. I have to stay. I have to save him…
“I’m sorry…”
******
Ron suddenly bounced up from his bed when the hospital door slammed open in the middle of the night and all the lights were abruptly turned on.
“What’s happening? What happened to Ginny?” he yelled anxiously when he saw an unconscious Ginny being rushed in by McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey. She was still wearing Harry’s jacket. They rested her on the bed next to Harry’s and were whispering nervously to one another.
“Professor, what happened to Ginny? What’s that on her head?” he dashed towards them.
There was a black slimy substance on her head that engulfed her red hair. Madam Pomfrey was trying to rip it away but it was gripping her head tightly.
“Please calm down, Mr. Weasley,” McGonagall gestured him to sit. But Ron continued to push forward.
“Where’s Hermione? Where’s everyone? Where’s Professor Hannibal?” Ron looked around the hospital wing worriedly but all the beds except Harry’s were empty.
No one answered. McGonagall hurriedly pointed her wand at the black substance. Suddenly, the substance turned into a black bat and it flew out the window, screeching loudly.
“Cursed objects?” McGonagall stared at it in disbelief as Madam Pomfrey ducked at the sight of the bat.
“Ginny Weasley…” Madam Pomfrey mumbled, shaking her shoulders, trying to wake her up. But her eyes remained closed.
“TELL ME WHAT’S HAPPENING!” Ron demanded. “WHAT’S WRONG WITH MY SISTER??”
“It appears she got herself a cursed object and somehow it did something and knocked her unconscious,” Madam Pomfrey replied worriedly.
“Cursed objects?” Ron asked blankly.
“Her roommates discovered her lying on the floor in the dorm. I don’t know how to reverse the curse unless I know what the cursed object is and where it comes from,” McGonagall added nervously.
“That pin… that butterfly pin… That’s it! That thing flutters its wings. I thought it was enchanted! She was wearing it all week!” Madam Pomfrey hollered loudly.
“Ron, do you know where your sister got that pin?” McGonagall pressed.
“Hermione told me Harry gave it to her. Where’s Hermione?”
“Harry gave her the pin?” McGonagall and Pomfrey both stared at him in disbelief. They couldn’t believe that Harry would give her something to hurt her.
“Do you know where Harry got it from?” McGonagall demanded. But Ron shook his head. In his mind, he was blaming himself for not paying more attention to Hermione because he was certain she did mention all the details to him.
“Hermione would know. Where is she? Where’s Dumbledore?” Ron asked in frustration. “Maybe Dumbledore can help!”
“I haven’t seen Miss Granger. After visiting Harry earlier, the Headmaster had just left for the night… to the Ministry to help with the investigation about the Hogsmeade attack. I must tell him to come back immediately. I sense something is terribly wrong!” McGonagall hurried out.
“I have to look for Hermione…” Ron snapped.
“Mr. Weasley, please… I don’t want to lose another student! Too many things have gone wrong lately! Stay here with Potter and your sister where you’ll be safe. I’ll ask Professor Snape and Hagrid to look for Miss Granger,” Pomfrey quickly ran out.
Seeing Ginny unconscious, Ron felt completely helpless without Harry and Hermione. He quickly approached Harry’s bedside, longing for him to wake up, but Harry was still lying motionless in his bed.
“Harry, please wake up. I need your help. Ginny is in trouble. Something awful has happened to her. I don’t know what to do…
“And Hermione is missing! They need your help. They’re in trouble,” Ron cried hopelessly.
Harry’s finger twitched but Ron did not notice.
“Harry, tell me where you got that stupid pin! It’s a cursed object and McGonagall thinks it put a curse on Ginny. Tell me so McGonagall can bring her back. Tell me please,” he pleaded but he realized it was fruitless because Harry wasn’t responding.
Ron unknowingly slammed his fists on Harry’s bed, sending Harry and his mattress shaking, but he had forgotten that his arm still wasn’t completely healed.
“AARGH…” he cried loudly, wincing in pain.
He got up in frustration and decided he couldn’t stand here and do nothing. He must look for Hermione to find out where Harry got the pin, before Pomfrey could come back to stop him, so he immediately rushed out, leaving Harry alone in the hospital with Ginny. When he banged the hospital door shut, Harry’s eyelids suddenly flickered as if they were struggling to open. His hand was starting to close on the doves that were resting on his chest. He was gripping them tighter and tighter as sweat was pouring out of his forehead continuously.
It was less than an hour before Madam Pomfrey returned to the hospital wing after having spoken to Snape and Hagrid about Hermione’s disappearance and Ginny’s strange condition, only to discover that the hospital wing was deserted, except for the doves on Harry’s empty bed.
When I See Only You by gossipweaver
Chapter Notes: The happiness that felt so real… the dreams that felt so true… They were nothing but illusions… temporary and short-lived… nothing but pure love that was borrowed and eventually have to be given back…