I Learned Your Pulse

"It's a date."

"Good luck," Lavender snickered. "He's stronger than you are, and better in bed. And he lets me be on top."

Hermione heard footsteps, and as an act of protecting her dignity, she found the nearest closet and threw herself inside, closing it as quietly as she could just in time for the footsteps to round the corner, and then pass by. She took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself down.

Her reaction was pointless and unjustified, and she knew it. He wasn't her boyfriend, he'd moved on and she'd known it, but she couldn't help wondering if she was the only virgin among the Golden Trio now. Come to think of it, she was sure she'd seen Harry and Ginny sneaking off together, cloaking themselves under James' little toy, with private smirks on their faces; yes, she was sure that she was the only one still a virgin. But the thought of losing her virginity frightened her. She didn't know who to lose it to; it was obvious Ron wouldn't sleep with her, and she'd prefer another virgin herself. And there was nobody she liked, in any sense even close to sexually or romantically.

Another set of footsteps loomed up, and stopped right in front of the door as Ron called out, "Hannah!"

Hannah? Hannah Abbott?

"Yes?" asked the voice Hermione had heard several times in D.A. practices. And then another pair of feet had joined the shadows made by Hannah's in front of the door, and Hannah gave a small cry of surprise and delight as there was a loud thud agains the door. "Ron," said the girl, "Boys don't generally ask a girl out by throwing them against a closet door and snogging them."

She heard Ron's chuckle, and she bit down hard on her lip. "Well, would you like more kisses like that or not?"

This was odd. Ron wasn't like this, not so confident, not even to her -

Oh, Merlin.

He must really, really like her. He must be so sure of his love, or lust, or even feelings, toward her that he figured she returned them, and he'd just gone for it. And it appeared that Hannah had feelings for Ron, too, because she heard a very un-Hermione-like giggle and a, "Sure," before romantic sounds began once more.

It was then that Hermione realized something.

If she really loved Ron, as she thought she did, truly did, she'd let him be happy with whoever he wanted/needed. As long as he was happy, she should be happy; but she wasn't. Her feelings were protective, almost like... a sister.

A sister.

She refrained from slapping herself, but only barely. She had loved Ron like that, but only briefly; it was sisterly. Desperate times call for drastic actions and she had kissed him when he'd shown the slightest inkling of care for the House Elves. She wondered idly if she'd do it to anyone else, and felt the disappointment weight lift from her shoulders. She did love him, of that there was no question; and if Hannah loved him too, but romantically, she'd be proud of Ron and his snagging of a wholesome and intelliget girl, who was also fairly pretty.

In her thoughts, she'd lost the track of conversation for a while, and realized that the footsteps were fading away while there were happy couple sounds disappearing with them. She smiled and wiped her face, laughing quietly to herself.

And then the door opened, revealing Draco.

"Why are you in here?" he asked her, noticing how she gave a start and choosing to disregard it.

"I walked in on an awkward conversation," she said, scrambling to her feet.

He smirked. "You're in one."

"It's not awkward," she said. "How did you know I was in here?"

His smirked transformed into a grin. "Your star. It gave off light, and it was kind of weird to see a closet glowing."