Title: do not choose sides yet
Date: 5/14/12
Rating: K+
Pairing: DM x HG
Summary: 31 days prompt - Ron accuses Hermione of picking Draco over "them".
"You're choosing sides again?" Ron's voice cut Hermione to pieces.
"It's not that I'm-"
"Yes it is!" Ron's explosive temper cut off any attempt of explanation. "You're choosing him."
Ron's temper had finally seemed to subside into a stewing rage instead of a volatile one, as Hermione tried again to explain: "I'm not choosing anyone. Why does it have to be a choice?" She wanted to scream and rage back at him, but the fight just wasn't in her anymore. It had been this way for the past four months. It was a rollercoaster.
"You know what he and his family stand for, and you're bloody well choosing them over us."
Hermione swallowed and pushed her hair back. "Why can't you just accept that I love him?" Ron didn't notice the broken tone to her voice. He didn't notice her eyes watering as he turned from her, shutting the door on her proverbially.
"This is a betrayal," Ron said quietly before he left her, left her standing alone in her living room, the living room she shared with a man who Ron couldn't stand. Good thing he hadn't been home this time, or it would have ended so much worse.
Why was it so hard for them to see that she was happy? Hadn't she and Draco hidden their interest for long enough? She sat with a thump on the sofa, her eyes staring at the empty fireplace. It had been four months since she'd "come out" about her and Draco. And while she never regretted him (how could she regret him?) she often regretted telling anyone otherwise.
It was near Christmas however, and she'd wanted to spend Christmas with Draco. The previous year, they'd spent it separately, catching time with each other when they could.
Hermione didn't know how long she sat on the couch, thinking about how her life had changed since Draco had become such a large part of it. She hadn't meant for him to sneak into her daily routine, when he'd meet her at the coffee machine and have her latte already waiting. He wouldn't say anything, just set it in front of her and walk out with his black coffee. At first, she'd thought it'd been a survival tactic; her encounters with the espresso machine in the office had been a disaster. Perhaps he was sparing everyone by making it for her, with just the dash of vanilla and cinnamon, just like she liked it.
From those dry beginnings, something had started to change and shift, until he was handing her drink to her, his fingers catching hers and lighting up his grey eyes. It had been subtle, so subtle that she had to wonder if she'd been imagining it all. But she hadn't.
With a sigh, Hermione stood and brushed her shirt off, trying to ease the trembles in her hands. Ron would just have to get over it. Draco was a happy part of her life, and he was here to stay.
Hermione would not choose sides because in this matter, there were no sides. There was only family.
