Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Trust me...
Harry, Ginny and Ron were in the living room. They had a great time during dinner, but now they all knew it was time for Harry to start talking.
Harry looked at Ron and he said, "Well, I suppose I have to start from the beginning. About a month ago, I received a letter from Hermione. To be honest, Ron, for the last two years Hermione and I are sort of penpals. We send a letter to each other twice a month," he said, but Ron seemed indifferent to the information. "Well, in that letter she wrote me that she's getting married and she wanted to meet me to talk about it."
Ginny was shocked. She didn't even know that she had a relationship in the first place. She looked angrily at Harry and she asked him. "Getting married? Why didn't you ever tell me that she had a boyfriend in the first place? Why did you keep that a secret from me, Harry? I'm your wife. You should have told me."
"Baby, I didn't know either. We read those letters together and you know she never mentioned that she was seeing someone. Up until that letter I never hid anything from you. But I couldn't tell you about her wedding because I didn't understand what was happening. How could I tell you when I didn't know anything myself? I'm sorry, Ginny." Harry said and he held her hand trying to make her relax. When she calmed down, she gave him a nod and he continued his story. "I decided it was best for me to go to Boston to see her. I asked Ginny if I could go and visit Hermione, without telling her why, and she agreed. Right, baby?" he said looking at Ginny and she nodded.
Flashback
1 month ago
It was almost 1 pm and Hermione was in her office. She couldn't concentrate on her job though. Her thoughts were in London. She had sent that letter to Harry one week ago telling him about her upcoming marriage, but Harry hadn't written back yet. He must be avoiding me. I don't blame him. First I left, then I refused all his invitations to go home and see him and Ginny, and now I'm getting married without telling him in the first place that I was seeing someone. He is probably confused about me and Ron, she thought.
Memories of her life before flooded her mind. Ron… I wonder if Harry told him about me getting married. Probably. He must hate me now more than ever. I don't think he'll ever understand. Not after… she couldn't finish the sentence in her mind. The memory was too painful for her.
Right then someone knocked on the door saving her from a temporary depression. "Come in," she said.
The door opened and a short guy, with black hair and a lightning scar on his forehand stepped in. "Hello, I'm looking for Hermione Granger. I don't know if you know her. She has bushy hair and brown eyes, she reads for fun and she was my best friend for nine years. Do you know where I can find her?" said a familiar voice.
Hermione eyes widened. Standing in front of her was her best friend, Harry Potter. She quickly ran and threw herself at him hugging him very tight. "Harry! Oh my God! I can't believe you're here. It's been so long!" she shrieked.
"Really? I had no idea, Hermione." Harry said bittely. It was 2 years since he saw her for the last time.
"I missed you so much." she said with watery eyes, still holding him.
"I missed you two Hermione." he said not breaking the hug.
"Why didn't you write me back to tell me you were coming?" she asked him.
"I wanted to surprise you. You know like you did last week with that letter." he answered with a hint of sarcasm.
Hermione's smile faded. "Oh, that. Well, I suppose I owe you an explanation. But I thought I asked you if I could meet you in London. You didn't need to come here."
"I know, but I've never been to the US before. I wanted to see where you live." Harry said honestly. He always wanted to visit New York. But Boston it's not so bad, he thought.
"That was very sweet of you. How long are you going to stay here? Because it's almost lunch time and we could go together and talk." she said hoping he would say yes.
Harry nodded and he said. "Sure. Ginny knows I came to see you, but I didn't tell her why. So we have enough time to talk."
"Good. Well, let me get my purse." Hermione said with a smile on her face.
Hermione and Harry went to a nearby restaurant. After they ordered, Hermione looked at Harry and she started smiling again. She missed his face. His pale face with those weird glasses. "Harry, I told you to get eye-lances. Why are you still wearing these awful glasses?"
"I tried but Ginny said I look sexier with my glasses on." Harry said smirking.
She laughed, but Hermione knew that Harry was there for answers and not for chit-chat. After they finished their meal, she turned to him and she started talking.
"So, I suppose now it's the time for me to start explaining some things." she said nervously.
"Yeah, that would be good," Harry said preparing himself for what he was going to hear.
Hermione took a deep breath and she started talking. "Ok. His name is Joshua Norton. He's a Quidditch player."
Harry interrupted her quickly. "Wait a minute. You're not talking about Joshua Norton, the Fitchburg Finches keeper, are you?" he asked with a genuine surprise after he heard the name.
"Yes, Harry. That's who I'm talking about," she said feeling akward that her fiance was famous.
Harry was shocked. Not because of who that guy was but because once again Hermione choose one of Ron's heroes. For Ron, Norton is the best keeper in the world, but Harry was sure that Hermione didn't know that. "Wow, Parvati was right. You do have a thing for Quidditch players." he joked.
"I don't like Quidditch and I don't like Quidditch players either. It's just a coincidence." she said angrily with Harry's assumption.
"Ok, Hermione. I was joking. Just go on with your story." Harry said trying to defuse the tension.
"Remember a long time ago when you sent me that letter saying that Ron was injured in a mission? " Hermione said almost in a whisper. The memory was still painful.
Harry felt anger rising inside him. Of course, he remembered that day. Ron almost died and she didn't care at all. "I do actually. I remember your cold response. I remember being angry at you and I remember myself telling lies to everybody that I couldn't find you." He said with a voice full of hate.
Hermione couldn't help the tears rolling down her face. Now it wasn't just the memory that was painful, but seeing Harry looking at her like that was killing her. "You don't know how desperately I wanted to come, Harry, but Ron made it clear to me a long time ago that he didn't want to see me again. That's why I told you I was busy. The truth is that I would have given anything to be there holding his hand." she said with a trembling voice.
Harry felt really bad. He didn't know how to handle the situation. He didn't know with whom he should be angry. Neither Ron nor Hermione tod him why they broke up. "What happened between you and Ron, Hermione?" he asked hoping for an answer.
"This is not the time, Harry." She answered wiping her tears from her face.
Harry wanted to scream, but instead he kept his voice steady. "It's been two years, Hermione! When is the right time?"
Hermione realized at that point that it wasn't only her and Ron that broke up. Harry lost his best friends in one day and he didn't know why. "I'll tell you, but not today. I'm not ready yet." She said trying to calm him down.
That seemed to work because Harry looked more relaxed. "Fine. You were saying?" he said.
Hermione knew that Harry would be mad at what she was going to say. It was something she never told him. "Well, later that day I went to a muggle pub to get a drink. I couldn't stand the thought of Ron lying on a hospital bed injured, not knowing if he's alright and not being able to be there with him. I got really drunk and I couldn't even apparate to my flat. After I left that pub, I went outside and I start walking without paying attention to anything around me. A car hit me. I woke up the next day in a hospital. Thankfully, I didn't have any serious injuries; I just had some bruises and a dislocated left shoulder." she said.
"What? Why didn't you ever write about that in your letters? I could have come here." Harry yelled.
"I told you it wasn't anything serious. With a little magic, I was completely fine a few days later." Hermione said truthfully.
"Still, Hermione. I'm your best friend. I should know if something bad happens to you." Harry said with a hurt voice. First Ron is going on missions without telling him beforehand, and then Hermione hides things from him. He felt like Ron and Hermione are no longer his friends.
"I'm sorry. I would tell you but I thought that Ron was in worse shape than me and he needed you." She said trying to make him understand.
"Apparently, you don't know Ron." Harry muttered under his breath.
Hermione didn't hear him and she continued with her story. "Where was I? Oh yes. You see I stayed one day there, but I wasn't alone in my room. There was a handsome 25-year old man with a dislocated right shoulder in the next bed. A wizard. I knew it because I noticed his Quidditch jacket on a chair next to him. We started talking when the visiting hours were over and we were alone; he made me feel better. He told me he played keeper and he joked about playing together. He said I could hold his broomstick with my right hand and he would block any pair of balls towards me with his left. I know it's lame, but it made me laugh. And I hadn't laugh for a very long time, Harry. Before he left a couple of hours later, he asked me if we could go out, and I said yes." She said this while looking on the floor as if she was ashamed of that.
"You said yes? What the hell, Hermione? What was that speech you gave me about how you wanted to be with Ron, but you couldn't. One day you're crying over Ron and the next you go on dates with other men? A few lame jokes and that's it?" Harry was almost yelling. He couldn't believe how easy it was for Hermione to agree to go on a date with a guy she only met a few hours ago.
"I was alone, Harry. I was alone for 6 months in a different country, away from my family and friends. Everyday I went to work and then I came back and I had no one to talk to. Yours and my parent's letters were the only things keeping me sane. So yes, Harry. Maybe I'm a horrible person, but I needed human contact. I needed to have a conversation, about something not work-related. I just wanted a friend. I needed to have a friend." Hermione yelled back once again with tears on her eyes.
Harry had enough. He was very angry with her. "That's bullshit, Hermione. If you wanted a friend, then you should have come home. Yes, you and Ron broke up. What about me? What about Ginny? You left us too, Hermione. And you know what I think? You didn't want a friend. You wanted a boyfriend. You spent 2 years living in a house with just you and Ron and you missed the feeling. I think you're just too much of a coward to admit it."
Hermione looked at Harry and she felt his anger towards her. The worst part though was that he was right. She missed what she had with Ron. "Maybe you're right. To be completely honest, I think the only reason I agreed to see him again was that he was a keeper and he was funny and he reminds me of Ron a lot. I thought that he could fill the hole in my heart after…" Her voice started trembling and she stopped talking. After a couple of moments, she spoke again with a more steady voice. "Should I go on?"
"Go ahead." Harry said, fully aware of how emotional Hermione was at the moment.
"Joshua and I started spending some time together. At first, I told him that I only wanted his friendship and nothing more, and it was great. We went to see movies, visit museums, go on weekend trips. I started to live again, but Joshua wanted more. He asked me to be his girlfriend, but I couldn't. I was still in love with Ron. So I came to London to see him." she confessed.
"What? When was that?" Harry said with curiosity.
"About three months after my accident." Hermione answered.
Harry thought that the visit probably ended in another fight. "What happened? Did you have a fight again or something?" he asked her.
"No. We never talked. I went to our house first. I didn't know he moved out." she said with a soft voice. It was almost a slap in the face when she found out that he left their house- the house where they shared so many wonderful moments.
"He did. The next day after he got out from St Mungo's. He told me that he couldn't afford to live there anymore with only his wage. He lives in a small flat now." Harry said trying to explain the situation to Hermione.
"I know. I asked the new owners if they knew where he lived and they gave me his address. I went there, but he wasn't in. I decided to wait for him in a bench next to his building. I was waiting for him and two hours later he came. But he wasn't alone. He was with a very attractive woman and they were acting very…" Her hands were shaking, and she was trying really hard to hold her tears once again. "I left as fast as I could so he wouldn't see me. I cried for a week, and then I realized that he moved on with his life and I should do the same with mine." she added.
Harry was confused. Ron never had a girlfriend, and if he did, he would know. "Hermione, I think you misunderstood. Ron has not had a girlfriend since you left." he said trying to understand what she meant.
"That's not what I saw. " Hermione muttured and she thought that Ron probably never told Harry about his relationship. "Anyway, it doesn't matter now. As I was saying, I decided to move on and when Joshua asked me again to go on a real date with him, I accepted his offer. Now after a year, we're getting married," she said with a smile, showing Harry her engagement ring.
Harry looked at the ring, but he also looked at Hermione. She didn't seem happy with the whole situation. She probably just feels awkward, he thought. "I see. Well, Congratulations." He spoke with a forced smile.
Hermione smiled back and she asked him something she was afraid to hear the answer to. "Harry, did you tell Ron about me and my …wedding?"
Harry laughed with the irony. "Hermione, that would be a little difficult, since I haven't see him for almost as long as you." He said with a defeated voice.
Hermione froze. "What do you mean? Where is he? Is he gone? Is he alright? " she asked worried that something bad happened to him.
Harry saw the look on her face and he realized that no matter what she says, she still loves Ron. "Hermione, relax. He's fine. At least, I assume he is. Because truth be told, I don't know. Apparently cutting off from friends and family is something you two have in common." he said pointing out the irony of the situation.
"Ron married his job after your break-up. It wasn't that bad at first, he was just grumpy. But after that first mission that send him to hospital, he decided to change his whole life. He moved out, he stopped coming to the pub every Friday like we used to, he never comes to birthday or holiday celebration, and he never comes for Sunday dinner at the Burrow. He became a stranger. He took one mission after the other. He's one of the best aurors now, and got promoted to Captain actually. It seems that work is the only thing he cares about right now," he said with bitterness in his voice.
Hermione was almost shocked. She had no idea that Ron was so successful at his job or that he isolated himself from his family and friends. "Well, that's good for him. I mean about his job. I'm sorry about you; I'm sure you miss him a lot." she said with a soft voice, placing her hand on Harry's shoulder.
Harry snorted. "Well, you should know. Anyway, why did you ask me if I told him?" he asked.
"Because I don't want him to know." She said sternly looking at Harry.
Harry tried really hard not to laugh. "What? Do you honestly believe that you'll get married without Ron finding out?" he asked her.
"Yes, Harry. That's exactly what I'm saying. Please try to understand me. I want to get married in London with my family and friends. Well, those few people I still think of as friends. I don't want Ron to find out. It would be too painful for me and I think for him too." Hermione said trying to make Harry to understand her.
Harry was having doubts about Hermione's decision. She didn't sound so confident about her relationship with Joshua. "Hermione, I must ask and please don't be mad at me. Are you sure about this wedding? Are you sure you have moved on?"
Hermione smiled. "Don't worry, Harry. I'm not mad at you. As for your question, I must say yes, I believe so. Otherwise, why would I say yes to Josh's proposal?" she answered, but the truth was that she hadn't convinced herself yet.
"I don't know. But I'm sure you have your reasons. Listen, about Ron. I promise I won't tell him anything about your wedding. But, Hermione, come on. You are the famous Hermione Granger and you're getting married to the equally famous Joshua Norton. The whole wizarding world will know about your marriage. Do you really think that Ron won't find out?" he asked, pointing out to her that she can't escape from her and her fiance's celebrity status.
"I suppose not, but I don't want you to tell him anything, alright?" she said and Harry nodded. Suddenly a thought crossed her mind. If Harry hadn't seen Ron for so long, then he couldn't know for sure if Ron had a girlfriend or not. She had to ask him. She needed to know if Ron has someone in his life. "Harry, do you know if Ron has a girlfriend or something?"
"No, he doesn't have a girlfriend." Harry answered confidently.
"How can you be so sure? You said you haven't seen him for a very long time. Maybe he has one, but you don't know about her, right?" she asked him again nervously.
"I know it, because of Parvati. She works as a researcher in the Auror Department. She is Ginny's best friend now. That's how we actually know when Ron is on a mission or not. I asked her to keep an eye on him and she's telling us anything she can, and she never mentioned any girlfriend. Plus, Ron is always on a mission. He doesn't have time for a girlfriend." Harry said truthfully.
"Well, like I said, it doesn't matter." she said not showing any emotion. Inside, she felt better knowing that Ron was still available, even though she was not going to do anything about it, anyway.
After that they left the restaurant, they shared a long goodbye hug, and Harry went back to London.
End Flashback
Harry told Ron and Ginny what Hermione told him, hiding of course the parts about Ron. The last thing he wanted was to give Ron another excuse to hate Hermione.
But despite everything he revealed to Ron about Hermione, Harry was very surprised with the way Ron was handling the situation. Ron was acting very cool about it, like he was expecting it and the new information didn't make any difference. Harry was having a big problem trying to understand where the old Ron went. The old Ron would be already furious and on his way to the States to have a not so nice conversation with Hermione. But this Ron didn't do anything at all. He was just staring at Harry with a cold look like he didn't care anymore.
"So, what does all this have to do with the mission that my boss assigned to me? A mission that requires me personally, because I'm the only one you trust with it?" Ron asked.
"I'll tell you only if you promise me that you'll come tomorrow for dinner at the Burrow." Harry answered looking very serious.
"What…" Ron started to protest but Ginny interrupted him.
"Stop it, Ron! It's been so long since you had dinner with the whole family. And I know you, Ron. You miss that. I know how much you love your family. So, stop acting so detached and start acting like a Weasley. Because if you won't, I'll make sure you pay the concequences. You know very well what I can do to you with my wand. Understood?" she said leaving no room for argument.
Ron knew exactly what his little sister is capable of and he did miss seeing his family, so he had to agree. "Alright, I'll come. Now tell me about the mission."
"No, I'll tell you tomorrow after the dinner." Harry said as he stood up to give Ron a pat on his shoulder. "Have a nice night." He said and he walked out of the room with a grin on his face.
"Not playing fair, mate." Ron yelled at him.
"See you tomorrow, Ron. It was great to see you again." Ginny said and she kissed him on the cheek for goodnight.
Ron hugged her and then he apparated to his flat. After a quick shower he went to his bedroom. He reached down under his bed for a small dusty box. He opened it and he took out a picture. It was a muggle picture of Hermione. She was so beautiful that day and had a large smile on her face; it was Ron's favorite because he knew she was smiling at him in that photo. She taught him how to use a camera when they spent a month in the muggle world. She wanted to show him her world and Ron learned a lot. Not only how to use a camera, but he also learned about electricity, the purpose of traffic lights, muggle money and cellphones.
After allowing himself to drown in memories for about an hour, he put the picture back in the box and then put the box under the bed. He tried to sleep, since tomorrow was a big day for him. He didn't know what he was going to face. He had the same feeling that he got when he was getting ready for another mission. Only this time, he knew that no matter how much he prepared himself, he would never be ready for an angry Molly Weasley.
*I can't believe I have so many reviews. Thank you, thank you, thank, you. Please R&R.