Chapter Four: A Cry and A Confession

Hermione ran upstairs, past the room she shared with Ginny, and into the one Harry shared with Ron. They jumped in surprise as she burst through the door, but immediately stood up, wands raised, ready to defend their friend against whatever attacker came behind her.

She ran straight to Ron's bed and buried her head in his pillow, trying to stifle the sound of her tears. How could this have happened? It was worse than any of the scenarios she had thought up throughout the day. How could she ever face them again? What they must think of her…

Ron and Harry lowered their wands, realizing there weren't any deatheaters left to attack them. They turned to their friend and each sat next to her on the bed, laying a hand on her back in an attempt to comfort her.

"Deep breaths Hermione, deep breaths," Harry said, trying to help her calm down. He wondered what could have gotten her so upset? He looked up to see Ron looking at him and mouthing the words, "Her parents."

Her breaths started coming less quickly and the knot in her throat was loosening its grip on her vocal cords. The tears were still falling, but she was back in control. She sat up on the edge of the bed, patting her friend's hands as the fell to their laps.

"Can you talk about it, Hon?" probed Ron, not wanting to push her too much.

"Is it your parents? Are they alright?" questioned Harry, getting right to the point.

"No, no, they're alright. I mean, I hope they are; I still haven't heard anything."

"Then why the tears, babe? What could make my Hermione cry like that?" Ron asked.

"They," she started, feeling the tears well back up and taking a few deep breaths to keep them at bay, "they kissed me."

"Who kissed you?" said Harry.

"The twins."

"My brothers kissed you," Ron put together slowly, "without your consent." He stood quickly, headed towards the door with Harry in quick pursuit, when they were both pulled back, hard.

"No, no, not like that, Ron. It wasn't a forced kiss. They kissed me as a joke, as a prank, and it hurt my feelings, that's all," she said with a sniffle, trying to make it sound nonchalant.

Both men sat down again, still confused. Harry began, "And it hurt your feelings because…"

"You didn't want it to be a joke," finished Ron, solemnly.

Oh gods, she thought, I can't believe we're actually having this conversation. "Yes, okay, yes I wanted it to be real and not a joke." she said in a rush.

The room was silent. Hermione was looking down at her hands, playing with the hem of her skirt, waiting for someone to say something. Harry was looking down, confused.

Ron snorted. The others looked up to see his hand over his mouth and laughter in his eyes. "It's perfect!" he cried.

"What?" came in a surprised tone from both Harry and Hermione.

"It's a triad," he exclaimed, as if they should know exactly what this means, "I don't know why I didn't see it before."

"A triad." Hermione stated, the word feeling foreign as she said it.

"What's that?" Harry asked.

"Do muggles not have triads?" Ron replied. His friends shook their heads from side to side. "Well, that sucks," he stated, but continued, "A triad is like a romantic couple, except there's three instead of two. Happens a lot with twins, which is why I can't believe I never thought of it before with my brothers. It's pretty simple really, when you think about it."

"So wait," started Harry, "You're telling me that the wizarding world has accepted triads, but still hasn't accepted homosexuality?"

"Just because we have magic doesn't mean we're perfect," stated Ron with a shrug of his shoulders.

"But I can't be part of a triad," Hermione interrupted.

"And why not darling?" asked Ron, putting a hand on her knee, "I think you're perfect for them," he said with a smile.

"Because I'm with you dumdum!" she uttered with a laugh and a playful punch to his arm.

"Oh yeah, you're right about that," Ron muttered, his forehead crinkled in thought. A few second later, his face relaxed and he said, "I guess I'll just have to tell them."

"Tell who?" his friends asked.

"Tell them all. Tell everyone," he responded, shrugging as if this was no big deal.

"No, no, you don't have to do that Ron," stated Hermione, remembering what Ron had told Harry and her about the wizard community's thoughts on being gay. It was almost as big a political debate as being pureblood or muggle born.

"Hermione," Ron started, "I destroyed a horcrux filled with part of Voldemort's soul. I can tell my family I'm gay."