What Rita Skeeter Knew….
It was just the little things.
She always knew when he was having a nightmare. He was the only one who could make he smile when she was feeling stressed. She was the only one who could comfort him. He was the only one who could make her bend, or break, rules. The way she was the only one he would go to for girl problems. The way he was the only one she would go to for boy problems. The way he would tell he that none of the guys she dated were good enough for her. The way she would tell him that no girl he dated was good enough for him. The way they looked at each other.
Just the little things…. That you would have to be blind not to see.
Apparently the all of the wizarding world was blind. Except for him, most likely Dumbledore, and Rita Skeeter.
Yes, she had known. Long before he had even begun to see it. Long before the not-so little signs had started showing up. She hadn't been blind.
But he had.
True, her article had been ridiculous. They had all thought it rubbish; Hermione was not a 'scarlet woman' as his mum had called them. That had been rubbish actually, but the rest, the love potion portion had been bogus too, but the rest had been true.
And he had opened his eyes enough to see it now.
Maybe he hadn't wanted to see it back then, hell, he didn't want to see it now.
But he did.
He supposed it was inevitable, a big word meaning unavoidable, or inescapable; would have happened no matter what he did, or anyone else did for that matter.
Was he jealous?
Not really.
Maybe.
Maybe yes.
Yes.
He was when he watched her touch his arm lightly to make sure he was okay.
He was when he watched him whisper something in her ear.
He was when he watched them now.
It wasn't that he wanted Hermione, or Harry for that matter, no, he was jealous because… no, jealous wasn't the right word.
He was afraid.
He was afraid as he watched them now, laughing together about something.
Afraid of losing them, losing their friendship
Afraid that after they got together they would just forget about him.
Afraid…. Some Gryffindor bravery he had.
Well as he heard someone say once, 'Better to be a live chicken than a dead lion.'
But would it really kill him to be happy for them when the inevitable happened? Wouldn't you rather be a live lion than a live chicken?
He would
Easier said than done of course.
"Ron? Ron? Hello?"
"He's gone."
"Lost him for sure."
"Huh?" I snapped out of my musings.
Hermione giggled, Harry grinned, "We've been trying to get your attention for the past 5 minutes."
"Well, not that long."
"Well it was almost that long."
"Honestly Harry, it was only like a minute."
"Well excuse me…."
Hermione giggled again, something she'd been doing a lot more he noticed.
"Hey you guys?"
The stopped making faces at each other long enough to look at him, "Yeah Ron?"
He paused, unsure of what to say.
"We lost him again."
"Yup."
"No. I just… don't know how to say this, but…"
"Honestly Ron, spit it out."
"Are you two a couple?" He blurted out before he could stop himself.
Harry and Hermione glanced at each other and burst out laughing.
This was not what he would have expected at all.
"Honestly Ron…… Who….. Have…. You…. Been….. Listening… Too? Rita…. Skeeter?" She said between laughs.
Ron smiled; they wouldn't forget him.
Ever.
Just some short ficlet I wrote when it came to the top of my head. Probably billions of spelling errors, but hey… I just needed to get this out of my head!