Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Summary: The golden Trio are tethered together. Character Study One Shot.
Tethered
Ron understood Harry was socially tactless. Awkward. Oblivious. It was one of those things in their friendship that was very one sided. Growing up with six siblings, Ron knew when Harry needed a hug. Knew how to give him the one-armed masculine hug, how to sit a little too close on the couch during homework so their shoulders were touching, it was things that guys don't talk about, but that helped. A way to give physical comfort without going all girly and doing full on hugs and 'talks.' A way to say, hey, I'm here, don't worry. If you want to 'talk' then you can, but you probably won't and that's cool too.
When Ron needed a hug or someone to sit a little too close or an offer to talk though… well, Harry wasn't exactly the best at reading that kind of thing. And if the boy who lived actually did notice that Ron needed it, there was this awkward pause, a two-step motion Harry pulled that showed his uncertainty and lack of how to.
Ron, knowing Harry so well, relented and released him from his 'obligations.' He clapped Harry hard on the shoulder in the most 'perfectly alright' sort of way and reassured him that he was fine. Nothing to worry about. Wipe that look off your face.
And Harry would accept it.
It was just one of those one-sided things. Like when Hermione was having a hard time with an essay or assignment. What advice or aide could they give her when she'd read everything they had and come up with better conclusions? What answers could they give when hers were more efficient and expanded upon?
Ron managed sometimes, to help, mostly on opinion papers where she needed another perspective for her work. Ron could do that. Since they tended to disagree or see things so differently, he would give her his points and ideas and she could use it as a sort of counter argument in her paper. But other than that one small bit of help, there was really no way to be of assistance.
When Hermione noticed Ron's need for comfort, because she was more observant than Harry, she tried to help. Rather than a hug or a squeeze of the hand or bumping shoulders or any of those small gestures though, she wanted to fix the problem. It was all very Hermione like, straight forward and passionate, but also awkward and wrong footed.
She wanted Ron to talk about his feelings and problems, to find solutions to fix things as soon as possible, but Ron was not so good with explaining his problems and most of them were not really possible 'to fix,' but rather were things he just had to deal with.
Hermione Granger didn't understand those types of problems though. Everything could be fixed and explained. Ron, who never really was good at explaining his feelings at all, none the less in a manner that Hermione could understand, usually ended up explaining it wrong.
Which caused misunderstandings.
Which… usually, caused an argument.
And lots and lots of hurt feelings between him and Hermione that he didn't know how to fix because she didn't understand subtle. She didn't get nudges and side hugs and sitting too close and not talking.
She wanted action and words, but Ron could only give nudges and passion. It wasn't that Ron didn't understand how Hermione felt, but rather, he wasn't sure how to give her the 'talks' that she wanted. He could sit and listen and he could be comfort, but being comfort and speaking comfort were two different things. Hermione needed comfort spoken, she needed to be able to practically hold it, to quote it like homework.
She didn't need a hot cup of tea and a listening ear in the middle of the night, she needed Ron to tell her how wonderful she was and to help her fix whatever problem she was dealing with. She needed him to help sort out her feelings and to find the source for 'why' she was feeling it in the first place.
In that respect, she couldn't have chosen two worst best friends.
No one chooses their best friend's though. It's a role one falls into. It's something that just clicks together with no rhyme or reason and disregards personalities and quirks, it disregards compatibility and reason, it disregards everything except the attachment of the heart which is a fickle bitch at best and a monstrosity of complexity at its worst.
Best friends are fixed together with all sorts of one-sided roles. Some of them are so far contorted it's hard to see how it hasn't broken. Some are short and straight forward, attaching clearly and without struggle. Some pieces are not one-sided at all, but two strong lines of rope passing and interweaving with one another to connect between them. At the end though, all those lines are tethered, stretching indefinitely, disregarding both time and distance.
Sometimes Ron needed a hug he didn't get.
Sometimes Hermione needed someone to talk who couldn't talk back.
Sometimes Harry needed them to understand what he himself didn't understand.
Willingly muddling through those things was the defining trait of friendship though. When an argument breaks out and distance grows, the growing, moaning monster of loneliness and need left in its wake will always pull tight the ropes until they snap or spring back.
Spring back they do.