Breaking Up with Lavender Brown
Written for the Level-Up Challenge. (Tutorial/Stage 1/Task 2) Hot-Headed and Student.
"What are you doing up there with her?"
Ron cringed at the sound of his girlfriend's voice. Lavender did have a knack for turning up at the worst times. When he exited the boy's dormitory with Harry and Hermione, he'd forgotten all about Harry being under the invisibility cloak. Now everybody in the Gryffindor common room apparently thought he'd been alone with Hermione. He looked at his furious girlfriend, who currently bore an uncanny resemblance to the fierce Hungarian Horntail that Harry had to face back in their fourth year. He struggled to hold back a laugh at the image and the ridiculousness of the situation he currently found himself in.
His amusement didn't go down too well with his hurt, angry girlfriend. She shouted at the top of her voice. "I have just caught you red-handed coming out of your dorm with her, and you have the nerve to stand there and smirk? How dare you, Ronald Weasley!"
If they weren't the center of attention before, they were now. Everyone had turned with amusement to look at the scene unfolding before them. Ron chanced a look at Hermione and was relieved to see that she looked as awkward as he felt.
"Well? I'll ask you both this time, shall I? What were you doing up there?" Lavender's voice was getting louder every time she opened her mouth. Ron cleared his throat and finally found his voice.
"We weren't doing anything up there, Lavender. You know Hermione has been my friend since our first year. Now, why don't we go and talk about this elsewhere?" He hoped to stall her for a bit so he could think of a good excuse, but Lavender was having none of it.
"I'm perfectly fine where I am, Ron. We are having this conversation right here, right now."
"Bloody hell, Lavender!" Ron was certain his face was as red as his hair. "This is embarrassing! Can we please go somewhere else to talk?"
Lavender walked towards him; her gaze had softened considerably. She stopped right in front of him and batted her eyelashes at him. Ron raised an eyebrow at her. If she carried on changing personalities like this, he would end up with whiplash.
"I'm so sorry for embarrassing you, Won-Won, but please try and see it from my point of view. How would you feel if I had been in the boy's dorm with another boy?"
Ron opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Lavender. This was probably a good thing as he doubted she would take kindly to hearing he wouldn't care too much.
"It's not that I don't trust you, Won-Won." She cast a dirty look in Hermione's direction as she said this and Hermione blushed, clearly finding this as humiliating as Ron did. "I will never mention this again if you stop talking to her and focus on our relationship. If not, we are through, Won-Won." She beamed at him, expecting him to grovel at her feet for being so generous and forgiving, before falling over himself in his rush to ditch Hermione.
Ron didn't even hesitate. "I don't want to do that, Lavender. Hermione means too much to me, and I won't turn my back on her, I'm sorry." Hermione turned to look at him, shock written all over her face. Ron's heart broke a little as he realised she had expected him to choose Lavender. He did have a lot of making up to do.
Lavender Brown was apoplectic with rage and looked to be on the verge of breathing fire. Ron was shocked by the eerily calm tone in her voice when she spoke. This scared Ron more than the shouting from earlier. "You're choosing her over me? Her? I was right, wasn't I? You were cheating on me with her!" She fixed her glare on Hermione. "I never had you down as a boyfriend stealing slag, Hermione. Were you sleeping with him? Did you give yourself up to snare him?"
Hermione opened her mouth to speak, her eyes flashing with indignant rage. However, it was Ginny that spoke. "I think you have caused enough embarrassment for the three of you, Lavender. Why don't you give your mouth a rest and retreat with what little dignity you have left?" Ron grinned at Ginny, feeling proud of his fiery little sister.
Lavender raised her eyebrows at Ginny. "What if I don't want to? I am the injured party here, after all." The tension in the room could have been cut with a knife as the two girls continued to glare menacingly at each other. "Is precious Hermione too delicate to fight her own battles or do you feel the need to poke your nose into everything even when it doesn't concern you?"
Ginny stepped closer to her. "Keep talking, Lav-Lav. I've been dying to practice the bat bogey hex on you for months now, and you are trying my patience. Also, if you didn't realise, you are insulting a good friend of mine and falsely accusing her and my brother of sneaking around behind your back."
Lavender hesitated as she knew that Ginny was brutal with that hex. During the silence, Hermione took the chance to have her say. "We were not doing anything, Lavender. I'm not a 'boyfriend stealing slag', as you so charmingly put it. Nor am I sleeping with Ron behind your back, and I would certainly never 'give myself up' to snare him. I have stood here while you have humiliated all three of us in front of everyone in Gryffindor. Now my patience has worn thin, and I suggest you stop hurling cheap insults at me." Lavender opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by Hermione. "Unless you want to find out who taught Ginny her famous bat bogey hex."
Lavender turned pale at the thought of having a hex aimed at her by Hermione, and she backed down instantly. A tear fell down her cheek as sadness replaced her anger.
Ron looked away, feeling guilty for leading her on for as long as he did. "I'm sorry, Lavender. I should have ended our relationship a long time ago, but you were wrong to have taken it out on Hermione tonight. The only person you should be blaming is me. I deserve it completely for being such a coward." He received a glare from Lavender, and more tears fell. She walked silently towards the girl's staircase and headed up the stairs, Parvati following close behind.
Ron heaved a sigh of relief as noisy chatter descended suddenly. No doubt everyone was keen to gossip about what they had just witnessed. It was more entertaining than homework. Ron turned to Hermione and whispered, "I'm so sorry about that, Hermione. Are you OK?" She nodded and hugged him.
"Thank you for picking me, Ron," she whispered back. "I don't know what I would have done without your friendship." Ginny cleared her throat, and Ron and Hermione broke apart.
"Well, now that's over with, I am going to go and break up with my boyfriend. I hope we don't get as dramatic as you three." She hugged them both and walked off towards Dean. Ron and Hermione stared at each other awkwardly.
Ron broke the silence first. "Shall we get out of here? I'm getting fed up with being stared at." He glanced around the room. People avoided his gaze and went back to their conversations. "All the times I wanted to be the centre of attention, now I am, and I feel like a goldfish in a tiny fishbowl."
Hermione smiled and laughed. "I know what you mean. I don't think we should go outside together, though. What will people think?"
"I don't care, Hermione. They can think what they want; we know the truth. Now let's get out of here quickly, before I go mad."
"Too late," she giggled. Ron rolled his eyes and grinned at her.
"Walked right into that one, didn't I?"
"Yes." They smiled at each other and stood in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Hermione spoke again. "You're right, let's get out of here." Ron didn't need to be told twice. He quickly got up and walked towards the door before she could change her mind. Many pairs of eyes followed them as they walked out, and they tried not to let it bother them. Let them talk, they both knew the truth, and that was all that mattered.
They took a stroll around the castle, admiring the beauty of Hogwarts in the moonlight. Ron sneaked many glances at Hermione as they walked together. It felt so natural and effortless being with her. At this moment he realised something he had denied for a long time. He was in love with his best friend, Hermione Jean Granger. Now he had to prove to her that he had grown up and was ready to be with her. He hoped that she felt the same way about him.
"Hermione?"
"Yes, Ronald?"
"I'm sorry for everything that I put you through this year."
"I think we were both as bad as each other, Ron, but thank you. I'm sorry too."
They arrived back at the Gryffindor common room and hugged each other goodnight.
"Wish me luck," Hermione said with a grimace as she headed up the stairs to the girl's dormitory.
"Good luck. Night, Hermione."
"Night, Ron."
Ron felt an icy cold wave of remorse hit him once more as he thought about Lavender. He had been an immature boy just enjoying the kissing and trying to prove a point to his sister and Hermione. Now she was upstairs crying because of the mess he had made of everything.
Yes, his relationship with Lavender Brown had been a complete and utter disaster. He had needed it, though, to see what was right in front of him. For that, he would always be thankful.