A Third Wheel and an Impasse
Written for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges and Assignments) Arithmancy Assignment #3
Task: Write about someone being a third-wheel to a party of two.
It was a sunny day in Hogsmeade, and Harry and Ron were waiting in the Three Broomsticks for Ginny and Hermione to arrive. Ron was talking Harry's ear off about his plans with Hermione while Harry pretended to listen, lost in thoughts about Ginny.
The door opened, and Hermione walked in excitedly, reminding Harry of a five-year-old about to open presents on Christmas morning. She looked around the room eagerly, looking for Ron. Hermione's eyes lit up when she spotted him and rushed over to their table. Ron stood up to greet her, and she threw herself into his arms and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up, oblivious to the looks of amusement they were receiving from everyone in the pub. 'Just like their first kiss all over again,' thought Harry as he rolled his eyes. 'All that's missing are the Basilisk fangs.'
He looked around to see if Ginny had arrived, but he couldn't see her anywhere. He looked back at the two lovebirds and cleared his throat loudly. "Sorry to interrupt, but have you seen Ginny anywhere, Hermione? Hello, by the way."
Ron placed Hermione back on the ground while glaring at Harry for intruding. Hermione turned to look at Harry and hugged him, looking flushed. "Hello, Harry. Ginny was walking with Luna and Neville last time I saw her. She said she wouldn't take long."
Harry tried hard to hide his annoyance as he answered. "Oh, okay." They had not seen each other since Christmas, and she was off with her friends instead of rushing to see him? He suddenly felt jealous of the passionate greeting that Ron and Hermione had shared. It had been a long time since Ginny had shown such enthusiasm towards him. Ron and Hermione sat down and started talking about how much they had missed each other, while Harry sulked and looked out of the window, keeping an eye out for Ginny.
"I'm top of the class in every subject, Ron," Hermione said happily as if this was a surprise.
"I knew you would be, Hermione. I don't know why you get so nervous about doing badly. I bet you're the best Head Girl Hogwarts has ever had."
Harry didn't have to look at her to know she would be glowing with delight at his compliment. "I wish you and Harry had returned with us. It would have been nice to have a proper final year with you both."
"There are too many memories at Hogwarts, Hermione," Ron answered, his voice tinged with sadness. He leaned in to whisper in her ear, "It would have been great to see you in your uniform with your Head Girl badge, though. You don't know how many fantasies I have about you in your school uniform. Most of them take place in the library…."
Harry tried his best to block out the rest of Ron's words by reciting the lyrics to 'This Is the Night' in his head. He did not want to imagine his best friends getting up to who knows what in the library, or anywhere else for that matter. Harry looked forward to the end of their honeymoon period and hoped that they would be able to function properly without gazing into each other's eyes every ten seconds. He was happy for them, but there was a limit to his patience. He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Hermione giggle.
"Ron! Harry is right here!" She sounded like she couldn't care less but wanted to pretend at least to be proper. Harry rolled his eyes as he turned to face them.
"Don't worry about me. I've been reciting songs from The Weird Sisters in my head. Carry on." Harry looked out the window and saw Ginny with Luna and Neville. She hugged them both and Harry felt a stab of rage while he watched her. Was there something going on with Ginny and Neville? Didn't she want to be with him anymore?
The door opened, and Ginny walked in and sat down. She beamed at Harry, leaning in to kiss him. "Hi, Harry. I've missed you so much."
Harry couldn't stop himself from snorting. "You've got a funny way of showing it."
Anger, hurt and confusion showed in her eyes as she stared at him in disbelief. Without a word she turned away from him and greeted Ron.
Ron gulped down his butterbeer in record time. "Right, well now that Ginny's here, Harry, we'll be off. See you later."
Hermione smiled at his enthusiasm and quickly followed suit. "Bye, Harry," she said while hugging him. "See you later, Ginny."
Ginny hugged them both goodbye, and they walked out holding hands. She sat down again and turned to Harry once more. "Honestly! Can't keep their hands off each other, can they?"
"Where were you?"
"Didn't Hermione tell you? I was with Luna and Neville."
"I saw you from the window. You looked nice and friendly with Longbottom."
Ginny gaped at him. "Well, that explains the frosty welcome I got when I came in. Harry, you're ridiculous."
Harry's eyes flashed with anger. "So I'm ridiculous now, am I? Why did you walk with them instead of with Hermione? Didn't you want to come and see me?"
"Merlin, Harry, one question at a bloody time, if you please. Yes, you're acting crazy. I walked with Luna and Neville because Luna wanted me to distract him while she sneaked off to buy his birthday present. She knows that his birthday is two months away, but she wanted to get something from Hogsmeade while she had the chance. They are dating now, you know. I did want to come and see you earlier, but Luna begged me to help her. She has been a good friend to me, so I agreed."
The dragon that had been breathing fire inside Harry seemed to stop abruptly at her words. A rush of shame came over him as he realised he had jumped to conclusions.
"I'm sorry, Ginny. I miss you so much, and I was hurt when you didn't turn up with Hermione. Seeing Ron and Hermione all over each other didn't help."
He was shocked when he looked into Ginny's eyes and saw the famous Mrs Weasley glare. The girl did take after her mother, and it was somewhat frightening to see. "So you say sorry, and I am expected just to forgive you with no hesitation, right? Well, Harry Potter, sorry just isn't good enough this time! You dumped me to go off for nearly a year on that Horcrux hunt, and I sat patiently waiting for you all that time. Now that I am at Hogwarts for my final year and can't be with you all the time you have the nerve to…"
"Ginny, please calm…"
"DON'T YOU DARE INTERRUPT ME AND TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!"
A hushed silence fell over the Three Broomsticks, and Harry cowered under his girlfriend's wrath.
"I had no choice but to wait for you, hoping that you would come back alive! At least you get letters from me all the time and know where I am!"
Ginny stopped to take a breath and seemed to remember where she was. Her cheeks went slightly pink, but overall she kept her cool pretty well and didn't show her embarrassment. "Perhaps we should go outside." She said to Harry casually, as if they had been merely talking about the weather.
"Good idea."
They walked outside, and the usual chatter started up before they had even shut the door. Ginny spoke first. "I shouldn't have lost my cool like that, Harry. I'm sorry, but it just had to come out. I love you, and I want to be with you, but I'm still hurt by the fact that you left me behind. You allowed Ron and Hermione to go, but not me. Why? I am only a year younger than you, and I wanted to help."
"I wanted to protect you, Ginny! I thought you understood that. I love you, don't you realise how much danger you would have been in if you had gone with us? Voldemort would have used you against me!"
"It was a war, Harry! We were all in danger anyway!"
They stood staring at each other, both refusing to back down. Once again, it was Ginny who broke the silence that had been smothering them. "Well, I guess we are at an impasse."
She looked at him sadly, and a tear slid down her cheek. She wiped it away quickly and seemed frustrated at her show of weakness. "I'm not in the mood to talk about this right now, Harry. We should discuss this when I get back home."
Ginny leaned forward and kissed him tenderly on the lips. "Never forget that I love you, Harry James Potter, and I want us to get through this."
His heart soared at her words. For a minute there he had been worried. He kissed her on the forehead and whispered in her ear. "I love you too, Ginevra Molly Weasley, and we will get through this."
She nodded as she pulled away, looking happier at his words. She walked away silently, and Harry cursed himself for messing things up so badly. They could have been together in the Three Broomsticks, having a wonderful time. Maybe they could have sloped off for some alone time as Ron and Hermione did.
Harry decided he needed to go for a walk to clear his head. Ginny had left him with a lot to think about, and he needed to see her point of view. 'This is for the best,' he told himself. 'Time apart will do us good. We will sort things out and be stronger than ever.'
He carried on walking, dreaming about the delightful sweets and chocolates that could be found at 'The best sweet shop in the whole world.' A handful of everything they had was just what he needed right now. When he arrived at Honeydukes, he was almost drooling as he pictured Fizzing Whizzbees and Chocolate Frogs. Maybe he would get Ron some as well while he was here.
A familiar laugh got his attention, and he looked up to see Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom holding hands as they walked past. Luna looked radiant with happiness as she gazed at Neville in adoration. Neville was basking in the warm glow of her affection and only had eyes for her. Harry grinned as they narrowly avoided crashing into a witch and wizard walking the other way. Some things never changed.
Guilt washed over him as he remembered his previous accusation. He did have an awful lot of making up to do.