Chapter One: Happy Birthday
Thinking back, Hermione didn't even know why she did it. All it would have taken was a simple "No", but she was too weak. Why, oh why did I think it was the right thing to do? Maybe it was the fact that he was the first. Maybe she was just desperate. Didn't matter. All that mattered was that Harry and Ron were now fighting. And it's all my fault. Why couldn't I just stick to the "Don't date your best friend" rule? It was supposed to be so simple. He asks me out, I just explain that I didn't want to lose a good friendship when it didn't work out. And it wasn't an "if" it was a "when". Now, when they broke up, she would probably lose both of her best friends. She would lose Ron because they broke up. She would lose Harry because she lied to him about not wanting to date either one of them. Even then, she knew that she would end up with one of them. Girls and guys were not meant to have platonic relationships that lasted seven years. Even though they were only just getting ready to enter their sixth year. Didn't matter.
"What are you thinking about, Hermione? You're not still beating yourself up about the fact that me an' Harry are fighting, are you? You know that's not healthy." Leave it to Ron to know exactly what she was thinking. Even before they started dating, he could tell what she was thinking. It was quite frightening, really.
"How do you always know what I'm thinking. You know, it is really starting to scare me. You weren't this bloody intuitive when I first met you. Then you were just Ron. The too tall, freckly, kinda stupid best friend. Well, you and Harry were both my best friend. Still are, really. When will you stop fighting? Because, frankly, if I knew it would cause this many problems, I never would have agreed to go out with you. Not that I regret it, exactly," she added hastily. "It's just that I don't want to lose my best friends. And--and--and if you and Harry don't make up soon then I'll..."
"You'll...what? Are you threatening me, Miss Granger? Because I have a few things I could threaten of my own. Like, for starters, that I will never get you another piece of jewelry for your birthday ever again if you don't stop worrying about this. How would you like that, huh? Wouldn't bloody well like it, now would you?"
As Hermione pretended to pout over the fact that she wouldn't get another birthday as good as this one if she didn't stop dwelling over the fact that her best friends were fighting, Ron made his way across the room to stand by her side. Leaning in to give her a kiss, he was surprised to see that she was deep in thought. You could always tell when Hermione was thinking. She would wrinkle her brow and start biting her thumb nail. Ron loved it when she did that. It never ceased to amaze him how completely adorable Hermione looked when she did that. " How's this...I promise to talk to Harry tomorrrow and work this all out. If you want proof, I'll even let you be right there when we talk. Would you like that? Hmmm?"
"I guess that would be all right. Just...let me talk to Harry first. If you just go up to him and start trying to have a conversation with him, he might hit you. If I talk to him first and you come up and start talking, he'll be less likely to get angry. So, can you do that for me? I would like to keep the bloodshed to a minimum."
Ron kissed Hermione lightly on the cheek and whispered "Promise." They sat down in the couch and turned on the TV. Somewhere in the middle of watching " The Village", they fell asleep. Ron's arm was around Hermione's shoulder and they looked so comfortable that when Hermione's parents came in to check on her at 3am, they just turned off the TV, and left the two to sleep.
The next morning, Hermione awoke at about 7 and looked around. Remembering the night before, she smiled. Giving Ron a gentle kiss on the cheek, she got up off the couch and went to her room. She was getting her clothes to wear for the day when she heard someone calling her name. Going back to the living room, she saw that Ron had woken up. She smiled at him and motioned for him to be quiet. He walked over to her and she whispered, "Shh. I'm gonna go take a shower. Is all your stuff packed for school? Because I won't take long. Then you can take a shower. As soon as you get dressed, we have to leave. The train leaves at eleven o'clock. We only have four hours to get there and on the train." Ron nodded and walked back to the couch. He turned the TV on and turned the volume down so it wouldn't bother anyone else.
Hermione hurriedly showered and dressed. By the time she got done, her parents were up and making breakfast. When she walked back into the living room, Ron got up to go take a shower. Reaching the bathroom door, he hesitated and turned around to face Hermione. "Should I wait to let the hot water tank fill up before I go to take a shower," he said with a grin.
"Oh, well aren't we funny today. I know that this has nothing to do with taking a cold shower. You just want breakfast first. Tell you what...You go eat and I'll gather any items that have made their way out of our trunks. By the time you finish eating, I should have everything together. While you take a shower, I can eat and talk to my parents. Then, when you get out, my parents can drive us to the train station. If we get there early, we can get an empty cabin and save a seat for Harry. That sound good? Of course it does...I said it."
Ron didn't even bother answering. He just sighed and went upstairs, following the smells of pancakes and sausage wafting from the kitchen.