Previously on IYOK:
Harry is living in the States, brooding about the unfairness of life. He gets a completely unfair mandate from his boss that he has to suck it up and deal with the being assigned to a case that involves his team of Aurors going back to Jolly Old England. He throws a tantrum and asks his nanny friend Kate to watch his godson for him so he can keep the cute little tyke out of the press. The team arrives in England and Harry does something really stupid and actually goes for a walk. He, of course, immediately gets noticed and flees the scene and heads to Hogwarts. Harry magically gets in with no security issues at all-imagine that!-and runs into Professor McGonagall, now Headmistress of the school. While there, Harry learns his best pals have called it splitsville. He also runs into his old pal Neville and confesses what happened between him, Ron, and Hermione.
See, Ron was a big meanie to Hermione and the two of them got into a fight, which had her in tears and that led her straight into Harry's arms. Coitus ensued and Harry was happy in more ways than one, but then Hermione told him it didn't mean anything and Harry ran away to the US after that, which brings us back to present day.
Harry and his team of Aurors had to go into hiding because of Harry's fame so they could actually get work accomplished and Harry runs into Ron at Grimmauld Place, where he learns that, hey-Hermione's run away too! What are the odds?
The team gets called into the ministry and are forced to work with another team of Aurors-the horror!-which consists of Malfoy? W T H? Really? Malfoy?
Anyway, once Harry gets over that shock, he gets a brilliant idea that helps him find Hermione! Awesome!
He and Ron go on a mission to get her back and when they meet up with her again, they find that she's befriended a hot new wizard that makes them both really jealous, even after they find out that this wizard is not a romantic threat. Harry and Hermione get into an argument after he tells her that he's figured out the mystery of her disappearance-gosh darn that Rita Skeeter-and she storms out of the house in a huff. Really, Hermione, not cool.
Harry goes to spy on her-even less cool-and discovers that she lied! Oh no, she did not. But, apparently, she did. That pesky thing called eavesdropping. Gets you into trouble every time ...
"If You Only Knew"
Chapter 11
Hermione's brown eyes were wide and perhaps even just a little fearful. He had no doubt that his face was a terrifying sight right about then—but he felt the betrayal, the knowledge of her lies seeping through him and he wanted to know why. He deserved to know why.
"Explain," he repeated.
He was still trembling from the aftermath of the shock. He'd had little time to process anything that he'd just discovered and he had to keep reminding himself that despite everything, he was still in love with this woman and wished her no harm. But bloody hell, he was having a difficult time remembering that detail. He honestly didn't know what he was supposed to be feeling other than betrayed.
Alec stepped forward after he got up and brushed himself off. "Harry, is it?"
His eyes never left Hermione's frozen face. Never once did he look over at her newfound friend. "What?"
To Alec's credit, he didn't waver. While both men knew that he wouldn't lay a finger (or use his wand) on Hermione despite his boiling anger, the same couldn't be said for Alec. He was quite tempted to at least punch the man. "Come with me, please."
That got Harry's attention. What on earth could this stranger possibly have to say to him that he couldn't say in front of Hermione? The thought of doing anything except getting the truth out of Hermione once and for all was off-putting. He'd had enough games. "No," he said promptly. "Hermione and I—"
"Will talk. She's not going anywhere. You and I just have a few things we need to discuss first."
He doubted that much. There were things he needed to discuss with Hermione, sure, but not with this guy in front of him. Looking at Hermione, though, he could see that she needed time to get her bearings back. She looked like she was going to be sick. Or cry. Or maybe both. Harry felt some of the tension drain out of him and for the life of him, he couldn't understand why he was considering forgiving her so quickly. All he wanted was to gather her in his arms and erase all of her problems.
No, he told himself firmly. She had quite a bit of explaining to do before he was going to turn to mush. He was not going to make this easy for her—not when it had been hell for him. He would, however, give her the time she needed to collect herself. But if she ran, there would be hell to pay. He wanted answers.
Reluctantly, he turned to Alec. "Fine. Let's go."
He nodded and followed the bronzed wizard away from Hermione. The surrounding area was truly beautiful, so much so it made him see why she had picked the Greek Isles. The setting sunlight bounced off the Mediterranean and for a moment, he was left breathless at the sight. Children were playing down by the shore, so carefree. He'd long ago stopped feeling envy at those who led a carefree life; it was pointless and an unhealthy obsession. Instead, he found himself smiling at the sight.
Alec shouted at one of the children. The little Greek he knew told him Alec had just yelled at the little boy, Lukas, to get away from the water. Interesting. The action—in addition to the look on his face—appeared paternal. Protective. The boy, who could be no older than three, came running over to Alec with a wide smile on his face and instantly demanded to be picked up. The man laughed and immediately obliged. "Harry, this is my son, Lukas."
Son? Hermione had told both him and Ron that Alec was gay. Yet there was no mistaking the resemblance. Now that Harry had gotten a closer look, Lukas looked like a little mini-me version of Alec. "Son?" Harry asked stupidly.
But if Harry thought Alec would take offense to the question, he'd be wrong. He smiled. "I didn't always realize my preferences. I met Lukas's mother about four or five years ago. We had a brief relationship before I discovered who I really was and, while I regret how it ended, I can't regret the relationship itself. Being with her gave me this young man right here and I wouldn't trade him for anything."
Harry couldn't imagine how they got everything settled out. He had a hard enough time juggling Teddy and work, even with the help of Kate. At least he didn't have the added relationship troubles that Alec had with his child's mother. And as much as he didn't want to, he developed a new respect for Alec at handling the situation wit the finesse that he was. He knew quite a few men who wouldn't be up for the responsibility. "Sounds quite complicated."
Alec shrugged. "We work it out. His grandmother is just over there watching him, but I can't help but get overprotective. Hermione is a big help with him, too. Lukas loves her." At the name, the little boy's eyes lit up and he began speaking in rapid Greek. Alec laughed and shook his head. "Sorry, kid. She's not here right now. We'll play later, okay?"
At Harry's questioning look, he explained. "I'm teaching him English. He can understand a little bit, but he can't quite master speaking it yet. He's getting there, though." He nodded, unsure of what to say. The discovery of the young boy left him feeling slightly awkward. Thankfully, Alec picked up on it and turned his attention to the child in his arms. "Go to γιαγιά. And don't get that close to the water again."
The young boy squirmed out of his father's arms and Harry instantly felt nostalgic. Lukas reminded him of Teddy—certainly not in looks, but in everything else. Or maybe there was nothing similar there at all; maybe he was just missing his godson because this was the longest he'd ever been separated from him. He held in a frustrated groan. All he wanted was to solve this stupid case and get back home to that little boy, even more so now with Kate's note still running in the back of his mind. But there were no leads. He and his team were no closer to finding who was behind the attacks than they were when they'd first arrived. And Jerry had given them no updates on anything, which was just swell.
Frustration ate at him for numerous reasons. He missed his godson and he missed Kate, he couldn't find the right information that he needed to put together the pieces of the puzzle, there was a giant elephant standing between him and his best friend—add that to another problem he couldn't fix—and then, of course, there was the whole mess with Hermione to put the icing on the proverbial cake. Splendid.
"You are angry," Alec stated.
Harry rolled his eyes and couldn't bite back sarcasm. "Really? I hadn't noticed that."
"And I understand your anger, I truly do. It is correctly place. But she was trying to do the right thing, your Hermione.""
The right thing my ass, Harry thought bitterly. So the right thing included tossing away whatever they had between them to spare Ron? Granted, he knew how they'd gotten together wasn't the right way to go about it—it was so many kinds of wrong. But at this point, after finding out that a relationship between them hadn't even been a consideration for her, he was beyond caring about sparing Ron's feelings.
He tried to pull his anger in check, but it was hard to be rational when he couldn't decided whether he wanted to hug Hermione or strangle her. No other woman had ever been able to get under his skin like she could and the feeling was nearly foreign. He'd forgotten how riled up she could make him.
A fond smile lit up Alec's face, catching Harry's attention briefly. He appeared lost in memory. "I met her when she first arrived in Greece and I remember thinking that I had never seen such sadness in a woman's eyes in my life. I offered her a drink and she burst into tears." That sounded right. When her emotions were running high, it didn't take much to send her tumbling over the edge. "It took her a long time to open up to me. But when she did, she held nothing back. All she talked about was you. And Ron, but mostly you. She loves you, Harry."
"Yeah, well she has a funny way of showing it, doesn't she?"
Alec shook his head, his face eliciting sympathy. The pity was plain as day and that was the last thing Harry wanted. Who needed the pity of a complete stranger? "This is why I pulled you away from her. You need to clear your head before you talk to her. From the way she described you, it sounds like you're quite impulsive. Getting into an argument with her because of that impulse would not be a good thing. You'd wind up saying things you didn't mean. Just . . . take a step back, please."
Harry's jaw clenched. "You don't even know me. And you're telling me to step back when all I want to do is find out the truth?"
"No, I don't know you," he agreed. "But I do know Hermione. And I know that right now she is back there, freaking out because you've overheard everything that she's worked so hard to keep from you and Ron. She needs a bit of time to calm down."
A bit of time to calm down? No. It was time for answers and he wasn't going to wait a second longer. He didn't like being manipulated, he hated being somebody's puppet and Hermione of all people should have known that. Yet she played him like a pawn in a game of Wizard's Chess. Well now he was going to make his own moves. No more.
"She's had her time. And it's up, Alec. I'm going back there and I'm getting the whole truth from her. Ron deserves that much. I deserve that much. I'm going back over there and do not try and stand in my way."
Alec sighed, but nodded. "All right. Fine. Just think about what I said when you go in there. I hope you don't say things you'll regret because I've been routing for you and Hermione to find your way back to each other. It would be a shame if it was all lost in a moment of anger."
Harry watched as he walked away from him and over to his son. He turned on his own heel and made his way back to Hermione. Thankfully, she was still where they'd left her. He'd expected her to be on the defense the moment she saw him again, but instead, she looked sad. Regretful. She walked up to him and turned her big brown eyes on him. "Let's go back to my house. We'll talk there."
He said nothing as he followed her, hoping to unnerve her if he was being entirely honest. He wanted to rile her, push her buttons, get to the bottom of everything . . .
When they got to the house, which was a thankfully short distance—apparently she could have walked there when she'd left her house before, but she'd been anxious to get away from him.
They walked through the same entrance as before and this time, they arrived in the kitchen, which was complete with light yellow painted walls, small square tile, and copper pots hanging over an island counter. She offered him a barstool and brought down two glasses from her cabinets.
He was getting ready to decline a drink when she pulled out a bottle of muggle whisky. That he wouldn't turn down.
He raised an eyebrow at her and she grunted. "If I'm going to get through this, I'm going to need a stiff drink. You look like you could use one, too."
Reluctantly and very much against his will, his mouth turned up into a smile. It was true, after all. "Thanks." He accepted the drink and raised it to hers. "Cheers."
The liquid left a slight sting going down. When he'd first started drinking, it had burned terribly, but he was quite used to the sensation now. Judging by Hermione's wince, she definitely hadn't gotten used to it and she shook her head. "Ew. I hate this stuff."
It appeared to be true—the bottle seemed to have just been used once.
He held back a laugh. He had to remember that he was mad at her. "Then why did you get it?"
She grew sheepish. "I got it after we met at the café. There's a shop just down the street from it."
Hermione took another swig of her drink and poured Harry another. He quickly downed that, too and pushed the glass away from him. He wanted to be somewhat sober for this conversation, though he was thankful the edge was taken away.
He was already feeling more level-headed, despite his still present anger. "Okay. Talk."
She nodded halfheartedly and sat down, her cheeks already taking on a slightly rosy hue. Once more, he fought back another smirk—she always had been a lightweight.
"All right," she started. "So um . . . so you heard what I told Alec, then, right?"
"Obviously," he said through his teeth.
"I meant it. Harry, I don't know how to say this without hurting you and I . . ."
He shook his head and sighed. "You just choose Ron."
She protested, much to his surprise. "No! That isn't it at all."
He'd thought for sure that she was going to say that he was right, no matter how much he'd been hoping he wasn't. And then she goes and proves him wrong. So like her. But that only made him more confused. If it wasn't because she'd chosen Ron, then he was at a loss.
"Harry," she began again, "I really am truly sorry for doing what I did to you back then . . . did to us. But I did it for you."
His head shot up and he narrowed his eyes at her. Disbelief was the only thing that kept him from boiling over with rage. "Excuse me?"
"I know you probably won't believe me, but it's the truth." She took a deep breath. "That morning while you were still sleeping, I was so happy—happier than I'd been in a long time. But all that euphoria came crashing down in a split second when reality set in. I realized that the Weasleys were your family, first and foremost. I mean I'd always known that, but that night put that fact into a completely new perspective. I . . . I didn't want to take your family from you."
And suddenly, he was seeing the light. She was right; he very well could have lost his family had they found out. He had a difficult time believing that they would have gotten past a betrayal like that. But as it turned out, that hadn't mattered in the end. He ran a hand through his hair and gave her the most intense look he could muster. "Hermione, however noble your intentions were, it doesn't change that I already lost my family, does it? Ron may never forgive me. His—my family may never forgive me. I left. I abandoned them all."
"Don't say that," she said quickly. "Don't. They'll forgive you for this. They will—they have to."
"They don't have to do anything they don't want to do, Hermione."
She shook her head vigorously. "No. They will move past the shock of you leaving and staying gone. They'll understand. They just need a little bit of time to come to terms with everything. And they . . . they don't need to—"
Harry let out a bitter laugh, interrupting her. Somehow, he already knew the direction this was headed. "Let me guess. They don't have to know about anything? What—do you expect Ron to just keep his mouth shut, Hermione? He already knows the truth. It won't be long before his family finds out, too."
"I'm sure if—"
He slammed his hand on the table, causing her to jump back a bit. "Stop trying to control everything! This is out of your hands now! You cannot dictate how others feel, Hermione!" He couldn't seem to stop himself from shouting at her. "If Ron and his family toss me out because of everything, then I can't say I blame them. There would be nothing you or I could do to stop them, so get that through your head and don't you dare meddle again!"
Hermione remained speechless, something that surprised Harry immensely and he used the opportunity to his advantage.
"On some level, I understand why you did what you did. I get it. But that doesn't change that you made decisions for me that weren't yours to make. They were ours. We should have talked that out together and you went behind my back and did what you wanted because Hermione knows best," he said resentfully.
"Harry—"
"Whatever, Hermione. You know, for the longest time . . . I couldn't tell you how often I thought there was something wrong with me, that there was something in me that wasn't worthy and that was why you'd chosen Ron." Her lips parted in shock. "I honestly don't know if hearing your explanation makes anything better or worse."
She looked away and that was the last thing Harry wanted. Where was the Hermione who would fight back, who would drive him so crazy that he had to leave the room before he'd strangle her?
Once upon a time, they would have been in a place where they could talk about anything. But things had changed after the war. They'd all changed.
All he knew was that he was having a hard time being near her. The lies hurt, the manipulations . . . He understood she'd thought she was doing the right thing, but that didn't make it hurt any less.
The funny thing was that he wasn't even all that angry with her anymore. The rage at what he'd discovered had dimmed considerably. But there was a long way to go before he could forgive and forget that.
Disappointed with how the conversation was going, he stood up from his seat. It was time to do what he'd gone there to do. "Look, the reason I'm here is quite simple. You don't belong here, Hermione." She looked at him then, her eyes surprised, hopeful. "I came here earlier because I was supposed to convince you to come back to London, back home. Then all this happened," he said with a small sigh.
"I'm done with manipulating. I was supposed to do whatever it took to get you to agree to come back with us, but that would be slightly hypocritical of me, wouldn't it? It needs to be your decision and your decision alone. Nobody can make you leave here. But Ron . . . he misses you. He does. I see it in his eyes, his expression."
"I know," she admitted quietly. "I know he misses me."
"Then go back with us. Either way, I wanted to let you know I'm giving serious thought to leaving the States and coming back home myself. Ted hasn't gotten that far into school yet, so it would be a good time to move him if I'm going to." He started for the door and once he placed his hand on the knob, he turned back. "We're leaving tomorrow morning at seven a.m. We got rooms at Windermere Hotel."
When she said nothing, he started for the door again. So he was surprised when she stopped him. "Harry?"
"Yeah."
"Do you think . . . do you think you'll ever forgive me for lying to you? That we'll ever be friends again?"
He ignored the pang in his chest. Friends. She still wanted to be only friends.
"Maybe," he said honestly. "Maybe with time, we can learn to forgive each other. It's not like any of us were blameless in this. I think there was plenty of fault to go around. Besides, we're adults now, right?"
She let out a small laugh. "Right."
"Right," he repeated. "Goodbye, Hermione."
He was out the door before he heard her soft echo of a goodbye.
"You said what?" Ron shouted angrily. "You told her it was up to her to choose?"
After he left Hermione's, Harry had gone back to the hotel room. He'd expected Ron to have been asleep, snoring heavily, because they were both certainly tired enough to get some sleep. But Ron was wide awake and even more so after Harry told him how things had gone with Hermione.
The truth of it all was that Harry was feeling slightly . . . disconnected. Hermione's words hadn't quite managed to sink in; it was almost like he was feeling numb to the entire thing. Almost.
Harry nodded grimly. "I did."
His friend's face turned an interesting shade of red. "But why?" he sputtered out. "She won't come back on her own!"
"I think you underestimate her, Ron. You weren't with me when I went to go listen to her conversation with Alec, but she'd been wavering already then. I just used some of what he said to her to my advantage."
"You eavesdropped on her? That surprises me."
Harry shrugged carelessly and grabbed his overnight clothes to change into. "Shouldn't. How many times have we eavesdropped in the past?"
"But that's different—it was never on each other!" He stopped pacing and Harry fought back a grin at the horrified expression on his face. "Was it?"
"No," Harry said quietly. "It was never on each other. I never eavesdropped on you or Hermione."
Relief washed over Ron's face. "Good. But anyway, I can't believe you're leaving her to do the choosing in this. It's never going to happen!"
He was nearly at his wits end. Of course he wanted Hermione back—he wanted that more than anything despite his anger with her at the moment. But he was unwilling to try to guilt her into returning to England. It should be her choice and hers alone. "I think there's been enough manipulation to go around for all of us, don't you think?"
Ron fell silent at that, leaving Harry to ponder their other big issue. He was tired of feeling the elephant in the room, tired of the silent tension between them. He wanted it to not be swept under the rug anymore. "Look, I think we should talk about everything, Ron."
"Not now. I'm happy ignoring it for the moment," Ron said curtly.
"I'm not!" Harry said, surprising himself with the truth. "We're never going to be able to move on if we have this hanging over our heads."
"Why do we need to rehash the past? You slept with Hermione behind my back, then left for whatever reason you comfort yourself with. End of."
"Ron, come on—"
"What do you want to talk about, hmm? The fact that you knew Hermione choosing you over me was one of my biggest insecurities, but that just didn't seem to matter? Or how 'bout this one? How about the fact that you left my family behind without one single word of goodbye to them and left me to do the job for you! How 'bout you left us to deal with the fallout of your disappearance with those bloodhound reporters? How's that for talking for you? What's it solved? Anything?"
Harry swallowed roughly, but nodded. "Yes," he whispered. "Let's talk about all that."
Ron swiped a hand angrily over his face. "You don't want us to talk about this, Harry. You have no idea how pissed off I am. None."
"Then tell me. I can't fix it until you do!"
"Fine!" Ron shouted angrily. "You want me to tell you the truth, then here it is! You may have defeated the darkest wizard of the age, but you're a bloody coward when it comes down to it, aren't you?"
Fueled by his inability to see anything other than red, Harry's fist seemed to have a mind of its own and accordingly connected to Ron's face. Screw talking, Harry thought angrily. Fighting was a better remedy anyway. The connection his fist made produced a satisfying sound, but Harry didn't have long before retaliation occurred.
Ron's face contorted in his own anger and the two of them were soon in a heap on the ground, wrestling out their frustrations. Harry was quite shocked at Ron's ability to hold his own in a fistfight and his shock might have thrown him a little off guard because Ron was getting the best of him.
He began to lose track of who was punching whom. An elbow connected with his face, sending a searing pain through him. Harry saw stars and quickly shook it off, landing a hit to the back of Ron's head. His friend grunted and Harry felt another blow to his side.
Harry soon got placed in an uncomfortable position and managed to knee Ron in the stomach, earning a loud 'oomf' from him. He scrambled away, but Ron grabbed him by the ankle, bringing him back to the floor again. "Slimy, cheating git!"
"Lousy friend!"
"Lousier friend!"
After more back and forth fighting, the two of them no longer had the energy to keep at it anymore and it was soon over, much to Harry's relief. Both wizards panting and exhausted, they finally lay still on the floor, staring at the ceiling.
Harry's jaw throbbed and he was sure Ron's stomach wasn't in the greatest conditions, either. "How's your stomach?" Harry asked, out of breath.
"Hurts like crazy. I think you may have bruised a rib."
"Sorry," he said sincerely.
"How's your face?"
"I'm going to have a bitch of a headache."
They fell silent again. Though things felt a little better, both wizards were well aware that there was still an elephant, there were still hurt egos and residual pain from the past. Ron's words, calling him a coward, they stuck in Harry's mind and just wouldn't go away. Maybe they were all cowards. "I don't really know what else to say. There's nothing else I can say."
Ron sighed. "You should have talked to us, we would have tried to help you. But you wallowed in your self-pity for months and months and retreated into some dark corner of your mind that none of us could get to! We didn't know how to deal with it!"
"And you never tried, either, did you?" Harry retorted, just as angry. "How many times did you just leave Hermione to try to deal with me, huh? How many times did you just walk away, knowing that I wouldn't talk when you asked me to? Maybe I was a coward, but so were you. And I'm sorry I shut you all out. I just . . . I couldn't face you or your family knowing what I'd caused."
Some of the fight left his friend at that and confusion took over. "What on earth are you talking about? What do you think you caused?"
Harry sat up and placed his elbows on his knees. Talking about this had always been forbidden territory for him. It made everything more real. But it was time it was dealt with. He couldn't hide from it anymore. "George lost his bloody ear because of me, Ron, because he was pretending to be me! He lost his brother—you lost your brother because of a war that ended with me. I was Voldemort's prime target. Me. Those lives . . . Voldemort was defeated in the end, but not soon enough."
Ron got off the floor himself and sat cross-legged, quiet for a moment. And then he grunted, surprising Harry. "Wow. That was so egotistical, not to mention demented. You think my family blames you for all that stuff that happened? What do you think would have happened if you were just handed over to him? Nothing good, I can tell you that. We'd still likely be under Voldemort's rule, those of us that were left, anyway. You may have been the one that he wanted, but it was only because he knew you were the only real threat to him and he was right, wasn't he?
"And you think you've caused our family all that grief? Are you joking? Have you forgotten that you're the reason dad's still alive? He'd have been dead long before anybody got to him if you hadn't had that vision or whatever it was. And that war would have happened with or without you because Voldemort was a raving lunatic. Fred made his decision to fight because he wanted to help get rid of that bastard and do his part. He died a warrior, went down swinging. George made his decision to fly along side of you that night because you were—you are—family. Nobody blamed you for Fred's death, mate, and Fred would likely call you a speckled git for thinking so in the first place."
Annoying tears threatened to spill over, but, to his surprise and embarrassment, Ron had tears pooling in his eyes too. "I'm sorry," Harry choked out. "For everything."
Ron nodded. "I am, too. Sorry, I mean. And you need to quit apologizing so damn much. You've made your point, you know." Harry smiled to himself and felt amazingly better about everything. Things may have still been shit with Hermione, but at least his friendship with Ron was looking up. "Are you moving back?" Ron asked.
Harry hesitated. Just a couple weeks ago, the idea of coming to London to merely do a job had terrified him. But now he was finding that with each day that passed, he wanted less and less to return to the States. "Would your family still have me?"
Laughter echoed off the walls. "Are you kidding me? Mum will probably throw you a parade. Sure, some of them might give you the cold shoulder for a bit, but they've been asking about you non-stop since you've gotten back. Ginny prattles on and on about you, curses you under her breath, swears she'll do a Bat Bogey hex on you and starts crying all in the same breath. They want you back at the Burrow. Mum actually has presents all saved up for you and Ted."
"Presents?"
"Yeah," Ron said still chuckling. "She saved presents every year for Christmas and for your birthdays. We all knew it was senseless trying to talk her out of it, so we just let her save up. It was like she knew you'd be back one day. And none of us even got upset with her because I think we wanted her to be right."
Harry leaned back against the chair and looked over to Ron. "That was the hardest part, you know? Leaving your mum."
"Yeah, I know," Ron said. He paused and Harry heard his intake of breath. He glanced at the redhead, confused. "None of them know. About the situation with Hermione, I mean. I haven't told them."
That surprised Harry. He thought for sure Ron would have at least told Ginny. "Why?"
"I figured there were some things we needed to get straight before my family started poking around in our business. I love them, but they're a nosy lot. We would never have gotten a moment's peace if they found out."
Harry chuckled to himself, remembering the times he spent at the Burrow trying to run around and have secret conversations with Ron and Hermione. The task was next to impossible. Secrets didn't stay secret for very long with Ron's family.
"This is true. Probably better for Hermione's sake. Remember the last time your mum thought she and I were involved back in fourth year?"
The two of them winced at the memory. Poor Hermione had gotten the shun from Mrs. Weasley until she'd proven the gossip rags in the Daily Prophet wrong. Harry could only imagine what would be in store for her if Mrs. Weasley knew Hermione had cheated on her youngest son.
"They'll find out eventually, though. Somehow they always do. I really don't know what will happen when the truth comes out, either."
"Well," Harry said after a minute. "What about you . . . about us? Will we be okay?"
Ron nodded slowly, almost grudgingly it seemed. "Um, the truth is I can't exactly be mad at you for that."
Harry's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why's that?"
Ron's face flushed red and he rubbed at the back of his neck. "I, uh, sort of cheated on Hermione, too." Harry's narrowed eyes now widened disbelievingly. That hardly seemed right to him. The look on his face must have said as much because Ron hurried on. "Well, it was an accident."
The corner of his mouth lifted and he crossed his arms. "How is that an accident? You just fell inside some other girl?"
"Okay, maybe 'accident' wasn't the best word choice, but I regretted it as soon as it happened. It was after Hermione and I had our big fight before you left. I was being a jealous idiot about everything and Lavender was just there and—"
Harry burst out laughing, unable to control himself. "Ron, of all people, you shagged Lavender Brown? Are you kidding? Oh, I'm sorry. 'Won-Won—"
"Shut up," Ron muttered under his breath, his cheeks still bright red. "Believe me when I say that I won't be making that mistake ever again. Lavender is ancient history. She kept sending me owls after that and quite honestly, I'm surprised Hermione never said anything about it."
Harry had no doubts that Hermione hadn't figured out what happened herself. But he also knew that she would have kept quiet, too.
"Well she wouldn't have, would she?" Harry pointed out. "Not when she . . . well."
"Right." Ron cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Look, as much as this talk has helped things along, I think I've reached my quota for awkward pauses for the day. And I'd appreciate never talking about you and Hermione shagging each other again, please, by the way. I know I cheated, too, but I still kind of see red."
"Got it," Harry said. "And don't worry—I won't say anything to Hermione about it."
"Thanks."
Feeling more like his old self than he had in a while, he grinned mischievously at his best friend. "I'll leave that part up to you."
Ron groaned. "You would, wouldn't you?"
"You know it!"
Harry got to his feet and went to go grab a water bottle, but not before Ron chucked a pillow at the back of his head. The action didn't even bother him, if anything it made him feel better, knowing things were getting back on track. That was something Ron would have done back in their school days—something he had often done, in fact. Things felt better for the first time in a long time.
Maybe going back to England would be the best move after all. Maybe he could finally get some peace of mind with everything, even if Hermione decided to remain in Greece.
A knock at the door had his feet moving across the floor. He called over his shoulder to Ron, thinking about all the wonderful home cooking he'd been missing out on since he'd left. "Hey, Ron, do you think you could persuade your mom to make some of that stew she always used to make? I love that stuff."
"Sure," he called back. "No problem. I'm sure that will be just one of many courses for your return party."
While Harry's stomach twisted in knots at the idea of a party, it also growled at the mention of all that food. A party would be worth it if he got all those different courses.
He opened the door and was met with a surprise, causing his mind to go blank.
"Hermione."
Ron immediately came up behind him, opening the door even wider. "Hi," she said quietly. Her trunk was beside of her and Harry's heart sped up and it seemed as though Ron's was too. Her brown eyes widened. "What happened to you two?"
"Fight," they both said at the same time.
She shook her head and Harry was sure she was itching to reprimand them, but she didn't. "Can I come in?"
"Of course," Ron said quickly. "Come in."
He levitated the trunk for her and closed the door behind them after she was in. Ron gestured for her to sit down and she shook her head. Harry knew she was too nervous to even think about sitting still.
"Hermione?"
"I've made my decision," she started, pacing the room. "I'm coming back. I'm going home."
And I'm back! Tada!
Sorry for the long wait, but things happened, and ... yeah. I started having computer issues-and right during NaNo month too! Blasphemy.
So, we discover Hermione's reasoning behind everything. I hope it wasn't a complete let down and I apologize profusely if it was. But I thought there was already enough drama and angst without making it any bigger. Lol. Aaaand, this was Harry and Ron's big fight. They'll pretty much let things rest after this as far as I know. I have no plans to change that.
Anyway, things are about to get interesting after this. At least I hope they will. Next chapter will leave off in a cliffy, though-fair warning. I already know how it's going to end, I just actually need to write it now. And I'll try not to have it be so long in between updates. I may try to have this next chapter and the following one finished before I post, just so there's not a super long lag and I'm leaving you all hanging. I really hate it when I do that. Le sigh.
And omg-who here has seen the new Harry Potter? Raise your hands, come on! And how awesome was it? Best Potter film to date so far, at least in my opinion. My friends have all been squealing over it, too. I could go see this film again and again and would if tickets weren't so darn expensive. Gah.
Okay, another anyway. On to the ever-important thank-yous!
MissKayla, jafr86, pawsrule, dennisud, oceanluvr, F5Chaos, eterna-romantic03 (x5), Aries The Ram (x4), quinzy, Desertcoyote77, SorrisoD'amore, DudeFromEngland64, LordNemesis, Wind Kunai, garnett-13, Eluveitie's Slania, toooldforthis, carbon12.011, phoenixgirl23, furin-a, Petros308 (x2), ambereyes55, Done and Gone, Pratyay (x3), ooSuperBatGirloo, Joy, c im a dragon, and innovincitore.
Phew! All done with that. I can't believe how many reviews came in last time around. I was all ecstatic about it and completely happy. I still have some review replies to take care of, I think, but I cannot remember for the life of me where I left off. Oopsies. If you haven't heard from me and don't for this last chapter, just know that you get a big thank you and that you rock hardcore!
And that's all for now, I think. Happy Upcoming Thanksgiving to those celebrating and to those who aren't, Happy Harry Potter release weekend!
Also, please forgive the atrocious errors in this. I would have nitpicked some more over it, but I think I kept you all hanging long enough. - is sheepish -
A/N:
I apologize for doing this, but I've decided to disable the anonymous review function. I don't mind getting constructive feedback, I truly enjoy it in fact. But sometimes a writer wants to be able to justify his/her work and not have to do it in a public review reply at the bottom of the page. I'm a little annoyed, I guess and I may decide to enable it again at a later date. Perhaps I'm simply overreacting because I'm a little emotional at the moment. Yesterday was not a good day at all for me (or my car). Anyway, I am sorry to those who used the anonymous review function and wished to continue to do so, but I checked the numbers in my account and I actually haven't gotten that many anons. Most of you are signed in and I can't tell you how awesome that is! Thank you.
I'm sorry I sound a little snotty in this probably. Gah. I'll just feel better knowing I'll have a way to privately respond to reviews should the occasion arise (if the person's PM function is enabled, that is).
Also, thanks so much for all the feedback! I'm working on chapter 12 now and hope to make some good headway with it today!