Disclaimer: I own nothing in the HP universe, not even a bottle of brown sauce.
-Hermione Granger-
I returned home, no longer angry but deflated and confused. It was definitely time to crack on with the paper work, I'd done a truly marvellous job of avoiding it for another day but the Ministry waits for no witch, except they did, but I honestly felt they did far too much waiting around without my contributions. So, with a begrudging commitment to the scrolls of work I knew awaited me on the kitchen table, I opened the door making a bee line to the electric kettle and thus not noticing the irate Weasley awaiting me.
"It's all just a game to you, isn't it?" He said, he must've been waiting until my back was turned and I rummaged for milk in the fridge. I banged my head in surprise and turned so quickly I almost lost my balance.
"What on earth are you doing here, Ron?" I tried to keep my anger in check, I'd probably had too many outbursts today.
"It's all just a game to you: Quidditch players, boys." He faltered, "love". He looked hurt, his eyes were red, his ears flushed, I had no idea how long he'd been sat there waiting on me and dwelling in the lies swirling in his head.
"Ron, don't be silly-"
"Silly?!" He roared, "silly, Hermione? I have never been so serious in my life. Tell me, did I ever mean something to you or did you just throw me aside when the possibility of Wood arose?"
I smirked involuntarily but made my voice calm and soft before I replied, knowing Ron's penchant for irrationality, "Ron, listen to yourself, don't be an idiot. We weren't working-"
"Because," he said loudly, almost yelling at me, choking on his emotions, "you were looking for something better!"
I couldn't help it, I snapped, "I wasn't happy anymore! You weren't making me happy! I wasn't making me happy! I just needed to stop and try and rediscover what made me tick!" This had been exactly the reason we didn't work towards the end, his irrationality and jealousy would drive me up the wall and I would snap, one day I'd woken up scared that I'd become bitter, angry and unloved if I let this charade continue. That was the day I decided to break my best friend's heart, unsurprisingly he hadn't forgiven me yet.
"Oh and you're happy now?" he asked me mockingly, scoffing with bitter derision. "Coming around every Sunday, 'oh works soo hard, oh everyone's so mean to me'" he imitated my voice, high strung and shrill. "But never actually fucking acting on it, Hermione! You like the drama, you like being pushed around, you search out people like me and Harry and Krum and Wood and you parade it about hoping for the drama so you can get the sympathy because poor little Hermione's life is so hard!"
He might as well have slapped me. A rational part of my mind reminded me that he was hurt and angry and ever so Ron, but, quite unfortunately, I was feeling particularly irrational too.
"I am invited, Ronald! Your mother, your father, your brothers and sister invite me! They like me, they don't feel obligated, they don't feel uncomfortable; that's just you! And don't you dare think of bringing Harry into this, we have been through so much together, how dare you, how fucking dare you think that about him and I! He's like my brother, you know this, and we've done all this before! It's old Ronald, your petty little jealousy over nothing got dull very quickly the first time around and seeing as he's happily married to your sister I'd think there's no grounds to start that crap up again, yeah?" my tirade finished and I was breathing heavily, hair in my face and stood with my fist grinding against the table between us. He was wise enough to look intimidated but disgust still coloured his eyes, he didn't believe me. He'd chosen the poison of Rita Skeeter over his friend again, I'd never been so disappointed but I couldn't say I was surprised. This was almost a routine between us.
He narrowed his eyes at me and, like a bull to a red cloth, I knew I'd just incensed him more. "You don't deny that you like the drama though? All the way through school, the mountain troll, that was just the tip of the iceberg, and you just had to go find the basilisk on your own-"
"I went to research! I didn't go looking for it! I was coming back to you-"
"Was it some inferiority complex, Hermione? Did you feel inadequate compared to me and Harry? Because we were blokes? Or perhaps because you were a mugg-"
"Don't you dare, Ronald! Don't you dare say that I wanted all this because of my pathetic little Muggleborn upbringing! You were my friends, I wanted to help and you didn't always make it particularly easy!"
He realised what he'd been about to say then, that he'd almost brought it down to my blood status and finally, he looked ashamed and somewhat deflated.
"Look, Hermione, I think it's probably for the best if you don't come to the Burrow tonight, or for a while really-"
"I'm invited, Ron-"
"I know that, but it's you or me and they're my family, they'll choose me. This'll die down soon, you'll get over your latest," he scowled his face in disgust. "Infatuation and we'll all get over it and carry on as we were. Just don't drag my family down with your indecisive forays with your latest Keeper." His voice was low and venomous, I couldn't decide if I was more offended by his abrasive hatred, his opinions on my 'love life' or if I was just washed out with the effort of the past two days.
And he was right, as much as it pained me. If they were made to choose, not that they should ever be asked, his family would choose him. I didn't have the right to pose the question to them anyway. I laughed when I realised, not a full week ago, Molly Weasley had been pressuring me to get some romance in my life, I'm sure she didn't think it would be at the expense of our friendship. I began to cry, absentmindedly noting that Ron had left, typical, I thought dryly. As soon as the waterworks started Ron was off like a shot, heaven forbid I should be weak in front of my friend.
-Ginny Weasley-
After dropping Teddy off at Bill's we went to Mum and Dad's for tea, the fact that a romantic evening for Harry and I had become a trip to the Burrow was relatively scary and, from the befuddled expression on Harry's face I could tell he'd come to the same epiphany too – we really were going to have to act on this one. With that worrying thought in mind we made our way up the path hand in hand, sharing small smiles, Harry still afraid to be overly affectionate in the vicinity of my mother; wise boy, that one.
Kisses met us at the door, mainly from Fred and George who'd seen Mum kiss Katie on the cheek and were now mimicking it with disturbing gusto; Mum was frowning but not annoyed enough to stop them and so, after Harry's fourth lingering and sloppy kiss on the cheek from George I yanked him over to the kitchen table. "Cheers," he muttered wiping his cheek and then glasses from my twin's soppy affection.
"Idiots," I told him fondly. "Complete idiots."
"Ah, but you love us Ginevra," replied Fred as he pulled a seat out for Angelina opposite us.
"Is this it then?" asked Harry, referring to the number sat around the table. Quite luckily Mum's birthday had been an anomaly, we only all showed up on Birthdays and Christmas during the winter months, otherwise it usually ended up too crowded.
"Yes," said mum indulgently, ever happy to be surrounded by family. "Bill and Fleur are coming next week and Percy and Audrey were working late," she explained, pointedly ignoring the twins nudging each other.
"Ron's on his way!" called Dad from the fireplace, "and Hermione isn't coming."
I looked to Harry confused, "says who?" I called back to Dad.
"Ron," he replied, "said he'd explain later and to not start without him."
"Typical," replied Fred.
"All he thinks of is his stomach," added George nodding in agreement with his twin.
"What about our stomachs?"
"Selfish git," muttered George darkly. The exchange went ignored by the rest of us, especially Katie and Angelina who were beyond used to it.
"Anyway!" announced Fred, "nice match, Gin."
"Shame you couldn't annihilate Oliver," added Katie with a teasing smile.
"Speaking of which, have you seen today's Prophet?" asked George.
"Has anyone not seen it? It's a bloody piss take," said Angelina. "Sorry, Molly," she added upon seeing Mum's face, smart girl.
Mum sighed, "they do lay into Hermione."
Dad took his seat at the head of the table, "Rita Skeeter's never been particularly nice to Hermione."
"Nice, Dad?" scoffed George. "She ripped her a new one! Sorry Mum…"
I eyed Mum's face she was clearly ready to yell at George. "The thing is, it wasn't like that at all," I told them patiently, hoping to distract Mum's anger.
"You were there?" she asked in surprise, bingo.
Harry cleared his throat and said wryly, "just because Rita didn't report it Molly…"
She blushed slightly, "doesn't mean it's not true, yes Harry, I suppose you're right."
The shared looks of disbelief amongst my father and brothers made me wish I'd brought a camera, none of us would have dared correct Mum but Harry can do it and just get a blush in response? I should warn Harry away from Fred and George just in case they Polyjuice him for the soul privilege of correcting mum.
It was at that moment that Ron chose to make his grand entrance, happy smile plastered over his face, giving Fred and George cause to share suspicious looks. "Well, what are we all talking about?" he asked as he took the remaining seat on my right, pouring himself a butterbeer.
"Bloody Rita Skeeter," said Fred, the three words explanation enough in our family.
"Oh, yeah, the thing with Hermione," he replied vaguely and I noticed him shifting in his seat. Harry raised an eyebrow at me, assuring me that I wasn't the only suspicious one.
Mum waved her wand in a complicated formation, more complex than I could ever manage, and the dishes of food travelled effortlessly from the counter to the table before us, "did Hermione give a reason for not coming? She's not embarrassed?"
Ron scoffed around the potato he'd already shovelled into his mouth, "Embarrassed? I should hope so, really mum! And anyway, we just agreed it wasn't wise for her to come over for a while." He was so insouciant as he said it that, for a moment, the entire table stopped eating and stared at him in disbelief.
Naturally, one of the twins broke the silence. "You what?" demanded Fred.
"Why would she be embarrassed?" asked Katie, her confusion clear.
"Well," he began, as if about to explain magic to a toddler. "It's all true."
I growled in disbelief at his stupidity, "oh come off it, Ron! It isn't true! I was there!"
"All night were you?" he asked, smugly and I began to see doubt on mum's face again as I blushed. Git. "Exactly. Anyway, I think she's out with Oliver tonight, we wouldn't want to disturb them."
Mum cleared her throat and with narrowed eyes all for Ron's benefit said, "Ronald, Hermione is always welcome here, I hope you didn't tell her otherwise."
Ron looked sympathetic, "she didn't want to come, Mum. I think she's glad to be rid of us really, you have been on at her to find a new bloke too, and you didn't know it would be in spite of us."
Harry cleared his throat obviously growing uncomfortable with Ron's descriptions of his friend but stuck, yet again, between the two of them with hardly any clue about the situation, "Ron, mate, that doesn't sound like her…"
"Women, Harry. And it doesn't make it any less true," he stabbed another potato with his fork to emphasise his point.
Harry leant across me, ready to argue her defence but I cleared my throat and shushed him, "I'll go over after dinner," I whispered eyeing the distressed look on mum's face and the disgruntled twins. "Get her side of the story, let's not upset mum."
A.N. This would have been finished at the weekend but I ended up in hospital again, can't be helped. Feedback would be lovely, I'm trying very hard not to just delete this fic. Urgh.
