Heavy is the Head That Wears the Crown
Heavy is the Head That Wears the Crown
Everything that happened next was a whirlwind. Krum had helped Hermione to sit down while Neville and Ginny had run to get Madame Pomfrey. Snape inspected the punch for alcohol. McGonagall had flown across the ballroom, livid, and forced Fred and Angelina apart with a small clearing of her throat. The two sixth-years broke apart and straightened their rumpled clothes with quickened hands. Fred’s eyes darted from McGonagall to Angelina and around the room to see who had also caught them snogging. When he saw Hermione, his face paled and he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, ridding his lips of Angelina’s lipstick. Hermione mirrored his action and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand to rid herself of any spittle from vomit. Her eyes hardened and grew cold when she gazed into his. Fred gulped and averted his gaze. Only when he and Angelina set their eyes upon McGonagall once more, did the Scottish witch lay into the both of them. Her tone was level and sharp, calm but formidable.
“Never in all my years has the House of Godric Gryffindor been so embarrassed… The shame you two have just brought upon this school… There is a time and a place for your activities but in the Great Hall during the Yule Ball is not one of them! What’s that, Ms. Johnson?” Angelina had murmured something and cast her eyes to the floor. McGonagall snorted in response. “Oh yes, you can rest assured that I will be writing to both of your families. Disgraceful behaviour, I can’t imagine…”
Hermione’s head spun. She vaguely registered when Viktor handed her water and gulped it down slowly. Over the ringing in her ears, Hermione heard the grumblings of Mr. Filch as he hobbled over and started mopping the floor in front of her. She grimaced and faltered over her words, trying to apologize. Filch waved her off with a grizzled hand and rolled his eyes.
“I can never have one night to myself,” he muttered. “It’s ‘lright, Miss Granger,” he said in a gruff tone. He had the floor cleaned in no time and walked off without another word, Mrs. Norris trotting behind him.
Fred and Angelina were still being told off by Professor McGonagall. She had deducted 100 points from each of them for their behaviour. Professor Snape now inspected the punch bowl for signs of tampering and alcohol. Based on his expression, he couldn’t find anything. Hermione watched him cross across the ballroom to Professor Dumbledore and whisper in the Headmaster’s ear. The two then began to converse. Hermione’s head throbbed and she winced. She looked down at her cup of water and sighed, drinking deeply from it again. When she looked up, at last, she noticed that McGonagall had left Fred and Angelina alone. And while Angelina was looking at Fred wistfully, Fred continued to watch Hermione. She let her gaze harden again. She had seen everything. And she was furious. That’s why she had been sick. And she wouldn’t let him get away with pretending otherwise.
Her animosity towards Fred broke when Ginny and Neville re-entered the Great Hall at a run with a bustling Mme. Pomfrey in tow. When the Healer reached Miss Granger, Hermione found that she was poked, prodded, charmed and evaluated with everything Mme. Pomfrey seemed to have in her medical kit. In summation, she wasn’t feverish, drunk and hadn’t been poisoned either. Mme. Pomfrey tried to get Hermione to stick out her tongue for a tongue depressor with a soft coo of, “Come on, dear, just one last thing. That’s a good girl.” She brought the tongue depressor closer to Hermione’s firmly shut mouth. “Come on, Miss Granger.”
With a sharp intake of breath, Hermione snapped at the small swarm of people that surrounded her. She had had enough.
“Enough!” she cried and she stood up from her chair in protest. Her head spun but she fought to keep her composure. And to stay upright. “Look, can I please just go to bed? I am fine! I must have just eaten something bad. Please!” She swayed where she stood and Krum stood up. He rested a supportive hand on her shoulder but said nothing. Hermione lifted her shoulder so that his hand was shrugged off. She was a proud young woman and didn’t want to seem weak. “Really, Viktor, I appreciate the help but I am going to be alright.”
Krum didn’t look convinced. Neither did Ginny or Neville to be honest. And Mme. Pomfrey just looked shocked from her outburst. Hermione held firm. When no one moved after a moment, the brightest witch huffed. “Now really, are you going to let me pass so that I can go to bed?” she asked. Krum’s mouth set in a hard line as did Mme. Pomfrey’s.
The Healer shook her head once. “Miss Granger, I really think you should come to the hospital wing overnight.”
Krum nodded as well. “I think so, too,” he seconded. Ginny and Neville also nodded, almost imperceptibly. Hermione groaned.
“And I think that I am tired of having everyone acting as if they know what’s best for me!” she retorted. She stepped backward, away from the lot of them. “Look, I’ve caused enough of an upset, it’s time I went to bed. This night has been horrible enough as it is,” she said. Her voice was much softer now. She looked to each face and stopped on Ginny’s last. “I promise I’ll see you on the train tomorrow, okay?”
Ginny nodded and closed the space between them to give Hermione a sisterly hug. “Do you want me to walk up to the dormitory with you?” she asked in Hermione’s ear. “I can, you know. Neville and I both could.”
Hermione shook her head. “No, I want to go alone.” She released Ginny from their embrace and turned to Viktor.
“Thank you for trying to make me feel as special as you did. The night wasn’t fully horrible. I’m sorry I said that.” Her hands at her sides, fingers played with the hem of her skirt’s layers, nervous at his reaction. “And I’m sorry about your boots, I hope they’ll be able to be cleaned.”
Krum’s stubborn grimace from earlier had faded away and he smiled down at her instead.
“Do not worry about the boots, it is you that we are worried about. I’m sorry that the night didn’t end so well. Can I have a hug before you go to bed? Is that alright?”
Hermione sighed and walked forward, letting herself become encased in his solid embrace against his firm chest. Her head tucked easily under his chin. There was a comfort to being friends with Krum, a solace that Hermione hadn’t known she needed. She allowed herself to enjoy the peace only for a moment and then forced herself to withdraw. Krum chuckled.
“Thank you for being my friend, Herm-own-ninny.”
Hermione returned Krum’s small smile and then she bid her goodnights to everyone. She apologized to Mme. Pomfrey for her outburst earlier and received a gentle pat on her cheek as a response with a “Think nothing of it, dear.” Hermione then left the Great Hall, heading up to the Gryffindor dormitory alone. She could feel that Fred’s eyes were fixated on her but she didn’t look back. He didn’t deserve a look back, a glance, not even a sniffle in his direction. This one action had ruined it all. Her heart no longer fluttered at the thought of him.
How quickly the butterflies die, she thought as she crawled through the portrait hole and headed up to bed. Fred Weasley, you fucked up everything.