Author's Note:
Okay. So I've always been bugged by the scene in the tent in the DH1 film where it looks for a second like Harry's going to make a move on Hermione. Those nauseating few seconds when he removes the locket from her neck are highly suggestive. I still throw up in my mouth a little bit when I think about it.
I know this scene isn't book canon, but it still bothers me. A lot. Because Harry making a move on Hermione would be an effective betrayal of both of his best friends, and Ginny.
Thought it might be fun to explore what the fallout might have been had that moment actually occurred and been revealed to Ron sometime later.
In Chapter 6, the story morphs into an extended Ron/Hermione post-war fic that's also heavy on the bromance.
NOTE: This story is book canon compliant in every aspect other than the initial premise (which is movie canon compliant).
Chapter 1: At The Burrow
Ginny stared at the glossy image in the Muggle magazine trying to work out just what it was sewn into the hem of the long white gown in the picture. Muggle frocks could be so bloody complicated, and these wedding frocks were turning out to be the worst. She frowned, lowering her head and squinting as she studied the sparkly bits at the hemline a little more closely.
It couldn't be rhinestones sewn in there, could it? Ginny moved her face so close to the picture the tip of her nose nearly grazed the page. Couldn't be. The magazine seemed way too posh for rhinestones.
It was Hermione's Mum's magazine, and she was posh. Sort of posh anyway. Unpretentious, like Hermione, but posh.
Ginny blew out a long sigh and flipped mindlessly through the remaining pages, fighting a rising tide of irritation. Fashion was hardly her thing. She'd been prepared to take a stab at it for Harry's sake, but felt a bit overwhelmed by all the choices presented in the gleaming pages of the bridal magazine.
Sod it all, she thought laying the magazine aside. I'll let Mum make my dress.
A sudden pop rang out in the Burrow's cozy sitting room, and Ginny looked up in surprise to see her brother standing before her in a vest and pajama bottoms, his face flushed, his chest heaving.
"Bloody hell, Ron, what's with you?" Ginny demanded, noting her brother's obvious agitation.
And why was he apparating about at all hours in his jammies and bare feet, she wondered. Hermione would murder him.
"Is he here?" Ron demanded, a barely contained anger snapping behind his eyes.
"Who?"
"Your prat fiancé, that's who."
Ginny stared at her brother, her confusion mounting by the second. "Ron, what-"
"IS HE HERE?" Ron bellowed.
"No!" she exclaimed. "And do you mind telling me-"
Before Ginny could finish the question, Ron had disapparated with a sharp snap, leaving his younger sister fuming in his wake. A faint pop sounded through an open window, and the front door swung open wide to reveal a wild-eyed Hermione.
"Is Ron here?" she asked frantically.
Ginny stared at her sister-in-law, wondering what in the blazes could be going on. Hermione was barefoot and out of breath-as Ron had been-and clad only in Ron's long Quidditch jumper over pajama bottoms.
"He just left," Ginny finally managed to say. "Hermione, what-"
"Did he say where he was going?"
"No. But a bunch of them were going to the pub tonight."
"Which pub?"
"Dunno. Hermione-"
With a soft pop, Hermione disapparated, leaving a flustered Ginny in mid sentence.
Ginny heard the tap shut off in the kitchen, and Molly emerged wiping her hands on a dish towel, concern etched in her face.
"Ginny, what in the world was all that commotion about?"
"No idea, Mum," Ginny replied rising from the sofa and grabbing her wand from a nearby table. "If Harry shows up, keep him here, would you? I'm looking for him."
Me and the rest of the family, she thought wryly.
"Ginny, what-"
"Just keep him here, Mum!"
"Ginny!" the older woman snapped, displeased with her daughter's tone. But the room was suddenly empty and reverberating with the sound of Ginny's disapparation.