DOORWAYS || MARAUDERS ERA

ϟ17: NEW FRIENDSHIPSϟ

"What are you doing here?"

Rhea looked up to see Hermione standing right behind her. She scooted a little and made some space for Hermione. Hermione sat next to Rhea and looked over at the Black Lake. Just a few days ago, there was something extraordinary happening in this very Lake.

The two fourth years sat in comfortable silence for a while.

"Why are you here?" Rhea asked her. "More importantly, how did you find me?"

"The Map," Hermione said simply. "I sneaked into the boys' dorm. Nicked Harry's Map."

Rhea chuckled. "Ron won't like that."

"It's not Ron's."

"But he likes to think the Map is their property and no one else's." Rhea pointed out.

"Yeah, well, Ron is an arse, though, isn't he?" Hermione snapped acidly.

Rhea laughed. "I knew you were still bitter about the Yule Ball thing. Did you know that every love story starts with a little hate or dislike?"

Predictably, Hermione ignored this. "Let's get to the point. You know I'm not a Legilimens, so spit it out."

"Spit what out?"

"Whatever's bothering you," Hermione challenged.

Rhea smiled and stretched her hands. Slowly, she lowered her back onto the ground and looked up to the sky. 

"Whatever is bothering you is bothering me too." Rhea stated calmly.

"Nothing's bothering me." Hermione insisted.

Rhea's smile widened. "You know I'm a Legilimens, so you don't need to spit it out." 

Hermione hesitated and then muttered, "I was supposed to console you."

"How the tables have turned," Rhea taunted.

The two girls looked towards the Lake again. There was a huge tentacle lashing its way through the water.

"So it bothers you too?" Hermione asked cautiously.

"Okay, okay," Rhea grumbled as she sat up straight. "Yes it bothers me. And no, it doesn't mean that Harry doesn't value your friendship."

There was a long silence, in which the duo was trying to frame apt sentences to avoid any misunderstanding.

"But it's Ron who Harry misses the most," Hermione blurted out suddenly.

"But that doesn't mean he won't miss you, Hermione." Rhea said quietly. "Both of you mean the whole world to him. He loves both you and Ron equally. It's just... he's with Ron all the time, that he doesn't like it when he's not with Ron. And it was this year that he realized just how much he would miss Ron. When Ron refused to talk to Harry, I think that's when Harry realized he loves Ron more than he thought he did."

"Then... how come..." Hermione hesitated. "You weren't the hostage? You've been his friend for longer than Ron has."

Rhea shrugged, the weight in her chest lightening considerably. "Like I said earlier, Harry would miss you and Ron equally. He would miss me too. It's just, he never lost the two of us in the first place to understand the magnitude of how much he would miss us."

Hermione nodded, as her posture relaxed. Finally, she lay down on the grass and looked up into the sky.

Then Rhea chuckled quietly. "I ended up consoling both of us."