Fallacy

Hermione cast a nervous glance at Harry's silent but fuming form.

'Great. Way to go, Granger. You broke him. You just had to believe everyone instead of asking your best friend, didn't you? And Ron and Ginny of all people! How could they lie to us?' Hermione thought.

"I'm sorry for believing them, Harry. I should have known better to ask you first. Don't be mad at me. Please say something," she said aloud, anxiety coursing through her veins.

One of her worst fears since childhood was to make Harry mad at her and cause her to lose his friendship. She valued their friendship too much, the thought of losing that special bond with him was killing her. Harry was her first true friend. Although she met Neville first, she hadn't even considered him a friend yet, given the fact that after the train ride, they hadn't talked that much until that fateful night.

Harry had shown her the value of friendship when he had risked his and Ron's life to save her from that troll. To be honest, if Harry hadn't dragged the prat there, she was sure that he wouldn't have cared if anything happened to her unless she died. She was so afraid that time, she was almost close to death until Harry came to her aid. And he offered his friendship to her. Then Ron after that.

She had vowed to herself that she would always be there for Harry the way he was always there for her. He never fought with her or called her any foul names, he had always agreed with her no matter how outrageous the idea was, and he was there to comfort her when she was down. Although when it comes to her and Ron, he would never choose sides lest he would further anger one of them, she felt deep down that Harry agrees with her though he would never show it. She values his friendship too much- she values him too much.

She was disgusted with herself when she actually had felt something for Ron. She was sure that if she ever did fall for someone, she would fall for Harry (that much she won't deny). Come to think of it, she recalled having woken up one day to find out she actually liked Ron- loved even. It felt strange.

'That was strange indeed. Love doesn't just come out of nowhere, it takes time to develop- I never felt any development with Ron. I better investigate about this later,' she thought, frowning.

She was brought out of her musings when Harry finally spoke up.

"It's not you, Hermione. I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at Ron and Ginny. I'm mad they betrayed me like this, spreading lies about me. I don't blame you for any of that, Hermione. You were only one of the victims that believed their story. And how could you not believe them since we have known them all our lives and trust them enough not to destroy our friendship? With the way they think, I'm surprised the Sorting Hat put them in Gryffindor instead of Slytherin," Harry said.

Hermione giggled at the last part. Harry smiled at her, loving how she giggles.

"Yeah, I don't suppose even the Sorting Hat was deceived," she joked.

Harry laughed out loud for the second time that day with Hermione following him a few seconds later. How he wishes life was this easy.