Harry Potter and the Founders
By: LuvFantasy
Chapter Twenty One: The Break Up
Harry had finished Dumbledore's assignment easily enough and turned it in, only to find Dumbledore give him an equally odd and seemingly pointless task.
"I want you to narrow down this list of ten to only those who listed you as one of their most important people, Harry."
So Harry had done so, which left him with Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Dumbledore, and Lupin. When he gave these names back to Dumbledore, his old headmaster seemed to have forgotten about whatever objective he had been hoping to reach with Harry's research and given him a completely new one.
"Harry, I need you to write up a list of the top three things each of these people do that bothers you and the top three things that you like about them."
The lessons had progressively gotten stranger, and Harry often found himself staring into the depths of the Common Room fire wondering what Dumbledore's point with them was.
September passed in a whirl of harsh winds and blustery rain. Harry, Ron, and Hermione threw themselves into their studies, scarcely having time for any more disagreements with each other or Malfoy. In the mornings, Ron and Hermione patrolled while Harry scheduled Quidditch practices, then they went to breakfast and classes. In the afternoons the three would then head to Number 17 Reed's Forest or (depending on the day) play Quidditch. When darkness fell, they would return to either the Gryffindor or Head Common Rooms and spend the night reading up on possible Horcruxes and their locations.
So it was with great shouts of exclamation that Ron met up with them in the hall before breakfast one Wednesday morning and told them that the first Hogsmeade trip was that Saturday.
"Which means," he added, wrapping an arm around Hermione's waist – Harry's eyes were so practiced he barely noticed how quickly he averted them and took an interest in the ceiling – "I get to hold you to your promise and bring you out for our first date."
Hermione's voice sounded slightly strained, "Oh…right. I'd forgotten."
"Forgotten? How could you forget? It's our first date!" Ron's voice sounded even more strained than Hermione's, and he was looking down at her accusingly.
"Well," Hermione slipped out from Ron's arm, "…we have been a little busy lately."
"But I didn't forget."
Hermione stopped sounding nervous. Instead, she stamped her foot on the ground, her eyes flashing menacingly. "Oh Ronald! What does it matter if I forgot or not? I'm still going with you!"
"Well if it's not important enough for you to remember, maybe we shouldn't go!" Ron said bitterly, his face flushing red. Hermione glared at him.
"If you want to call it off, then that's fine with me." She hoisted her bag up higher on her shoulder and then said coldly, "I'm off to Ancient Runes."
She stalked off down the hallway, not even sparing them another glance. Ron glowered after her for a few moments before turning back to look at Harry and giving a start.
"Oi! Malfoy! What the bloody hell are you doing here?!"
Harry whirled around in time to see Malfoy emerge from the shadows behind them, smirking, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Looks like the baboon just got dumped by the bookworm, that ought to make the front page of the Daily Prophet." He drawled.
"Stuff it, Malfoy." Harry growled, turning Ron around before he could inflict bodily harm on Draco.
"Oh! Not so friendly at all today, pothead. But then, one can't expect you to be - !"
Harry started off down the hall, ignoring the remainder of Malfoy's taunt. Ron was still clenching his fists as they entered the Dining Hall for breakfast, and he didn't speak a word throughout the meal, instead contenting himself with impaling each egg extra hard on his fork and slamming his pumpkin juice down on the table so violently it spilled all over him.
"Scourgify!" He growled murderously, pointing the sparks at himself. The pumpkin juice vanished and he and Harry headed back up to the Common Room for their free period before Defense Against the Dark Arts.
Throughout the whole day, Ron and Hermione did not speak a word to each other, instead Harry was forced into an awkward silence when he walked up to their next class with a mutinous Ron or sat down beside an irate Hermione.
When they all headed to the Head Common Room (Malfoy having disappeared mysteriously) to research Horcruxes, there was such an awkward silence, one could have heard a pin drop. Harry sat down on the couch in between Ron and Hermione (who occupied the two chairs opposite each other) and tried to focus on the ramblings of a very absent minded Ernald Fink who had been hit with a Cruciatus Curse when he was twelve (which led him to write a book on Defense Against the Dark Arts) which he mentioned whenever possible in the volume.
"If, like me, you have ever been hit with an Unforgiveable Curse, you know that the only hope of throwing one off is to retain a strong will of mind…"
Harry stared at the page wondering at the same time when Ron and Hermione would ever stop arguing and why he was reading on Unforgiveables when he was supposed to be looking up possible Horcruxes and their locations. Harry slammed the book shut, causing both Ron and Hermione to jump and look at him at the same time. Harry looked up and caught their astonished glances.
"There was nothing on Horcruxes in there."
"Oh." Ron said. He returned to 'reading' the same page over and over again. Hermione flipped over her volume to the index, her finger running down various titles and headings. Harry watched them for some time before finally blurting out what was one his mind.
"You two are so thick."
Again, they both looked at him, though this time it was with irritation.
"What are you on about?" Ron demanded, instantly on the offensive.
"That!" Harry said. He looked over at Hermione, "And that too! You both instantly take offense for the smallest things!" Harry looked back over at Ron,
"So she forgot about your date, I did too…and last week you 'forgot' completely that we were supposed to be researching and instead spent the night talking to Luna!"
Ron's ears flushed pink, "She was telling me about her summer. It was funny."
Harry ignored Ron's weak argument and looked at Hermione. "And you did forget about his date."
"Just like you did!" Hermione snapped, "Besides, there are more important things right now!"
"So you don't care about us!"
"I never said that!" Hermione retorted angrily, "I'm just saying that we should be spending our free time trying to find Voldemort's Horcruxes, not in Madame Puddifoot's!"
"That's completely mental!" Ron shouted, "We spend every night doing that! You and I never spend time together! And you're my girlfriend!"
"Well maybe we would spend time together if you didn't keep running off with Luna during our study sessions." Hermione said coldly, her eyes narrowing. Ron's face went practically livid with anger.
"So that's what this is about! Luna! You never liked her from the start! Ever since she started talking to Harry!"
Hermione's face went white. She jumped up from her chair, the book sliding down onto the ground with a crash. "That is not true! I didn't approve of her because she's so – so…" Hermione searched for a word to describe Luna's offense. Ron cut in instead.
"Exactly! It's just as I thought! You don't like me at all-!"
"That is not true!" Hermione shrieked, her voice fairly cracking with fury.
"Yes it is! Otherwise you'd act like my girlfriend!"
"I'm not Lavender!"
"Yeah, I gathered that! She at least spent time with me!"
"What do you call this?" Hermione demanded, "We see each other all the time!"
"Harry's here!" Ron bellowed, "You're always coming up with excuses not to see me in private anymore! There was never a problem before when we weren't dating, why is there now?"
Harry could see that Hermione was out of answers by the way her shoulders slumped. She stared at Ron in disbelief for some time before finally turning to pick up the fallen books and beginning to pack up her things.
"Where are you going?" Ron asked.
Hermione slung the bag over her shoulder and looked at him. "To my room. There is clearly nothing between us. We can consider this the end of our relationship."
Ron looked as if she had slapped him full in the face. Hermione turned to walk into the Head Girl's room, but Harry jumped up from his seat and grabbed her arm.
"Hermione, you two aren't done here."
"Yes, we are. I'm' tired of the arguing, the accusations, and the all too few apologies that aren't even real."
"No, Hermione. You and Ron need to sort this out," Harry said firmly, "You won't solve anything by hiding away."
Hermione looked from him to Ron and back again. "Actually, I will."
Harry didn't let go of her arm though. "I'm not going to let you and Ron destroy whatever relationship you have because of me."
Hermione gave a half laugh. "It's not because of you, Harry. It's because we just don't work together."
"Yes, you do, Hermione. Remember the good times you two had this summer? At the wedding – Number 17?"
Hermione paused and looked at the ground. Harry turned to look at Ron who gave a half shrug. "I think you two should work this out alone. I'll be in the hall when you're done."
He let go of her arm and hastened past the doorway guarded by the gargoyle, hearing it grind shut behind him. As he paced back and forth between the walls, he felt his heart hammering wildly in his chest. How had things spiraled so quickly? One second it had just been a spat about Hermione forgetting a date – and the next it was an argument threatening their very friendship. Harry walked back and forth even faster, clasping his hands behind his back. Maybe Ron and Hermione just weren't meant to be together – to be friends even. They had hated each other from the start, it was only because of a cruel insult and a misplaced troll that brought them together. Don't be thick, the sensible voice in his head said, the three of you have a great thing going. Where would you be right now without Ron and Hermione?
"What are you doing up this late, Pothead?" Drawled a cold voice from behind Harry. He turned around. Draco.
"None of your business," Harry retorted. "And what are you doing?"
Draco's lips formed into a sneer. "None of your business."
Harry opened his mouth to retort but then remembered. "You were out with Snape weren't you?"
Malfoy folded his arms, his eyes hardening, "Maybe I was – maybe I wasn't."
"Don't be thick. I heard Dumbledore asking if Snape would take you the 'first and third' days of the school week. Too bad that didn't include the whole day."
"Well at least I'm learning how to fight the Dark Lord rather than holding cozy little study sessions with the Mudblood and her boyfriend – but right, they broke up didn't they?" Draco half laughed half snorted before saying coldly, "I guess that means Pothead can finally turn the hero and sweep his bookworm off her feet."
Draco made to storm past Harry into the Heads' Common Room, but Harry jumped in front of him. "You can't go in there."
"I can if I feel like it." Draco tried to push past Harry, but Harry blocked him, accidentally hitting his left forearm. Malfoy gasped and recoiled, jumping back a few feet from Harry, grimacing. Harry stared at him in repulsion.
"So what have you and Snape been up to, Malfoy? Playing double or triple spies tonight?"
Draco didn't answer, instead he spared Harry a withering glance before turning on his heel and disappearing down the corridor. Harry turned back to the gargoyle guarding the door just in time to see it slide open, revealing Ron.
"Oh. Hi, Harry." He said glumly, avoiding Harry's glance. Harry looked at him and then peered around his shoulder, Hermione's eyes were puffy but she seemed oddly calm as she packed up her things and made for the Head Girl's room. "You two have definitely broken up then?"
"Yeah." Ron muttered. He sounded completely broken and pushed past Harry, his shoulders slumped over, making for the Gryffindor Tower.
"Ron!"
He stopped and turned around slowly, looking expectantly at Harry.
"Are you…you two are still friends though?"
Ron didn't answer and instead turned around, disappearing around the corner. Harry stared after him with a sickening feeling of dread growing in his stomach. He raced past the gargoyle and into the Common Room. Hermione's door was shut.
.xxxxxxx.
For the next two days, Ron and Hermione avoided each other's glance and didn't speak to the other at all unless absolutely necessary. It wasn't like when they were arguing though. There were no snide remarks or cruel imitations, it was a mature seclusion of the other – if there ever was such a thing.
Harry was back to being the middle man, though there was no longer any need for him to chase one down and comfort them. During Harry's two free periods and Transfiguration Ron claimed Harry's friendship, while Hermione monopolized him during Defense Against the Dark Arts and Charms. Herbology and Potions were hardest though. Harry was forced to sit between Ron and Hermione while they studiously looked in the opposite directions of each other, ignoring the other completely. He couldn't speak a word to either of them for the fear that they would think he was picking sides, and they certainly didn't speak to him for the fear of looking at the other.
By the end of the week, Harry was tired of sitting alone in the Head's Common Room being bated by Malfoy (Hermione seemed to be spending more and more time in the library) and playing the middle man. He made up his mind to have a word with Ron or Hermione – whichever one he came across first – and left the room, barely hearing the gargoyle grate shut behind him.
Ron seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Harry for they both met up in the hallway a few feet past the gargoyle. Ron instantly looked down at his feet, his ears reddening considerably.
"Um…I need to talk to you." He muttered.
Harry nodded, "I was just about to say the same thing."
They headed back into the Common Room and seated themselves down opposite each other. Ron wasted no time in getting to his point when he made his mind up on the matter.
"I can't stand not talking to Hermione."
Harry knew this had been coming. He stared into the embers of the fire. "I can't stand us not talking to each other any more."
"I need your help, Harry."
Harry hadn't been expecting that. He looked up. "What do you mean?"
"How can I get her to like me again?" Ron mumbled, looking anywhere but at Harry.
"Apologize?"
"I did."
Harry didn't answer. If he was Hermione he wouldn't have forgiven Ron either. He stared back into the dying embers. "You need to do something great then."
"I can't afford anything special enough."
"It doesn't have to be expensive, Ron. She just needs to know you care, and that you're not just saying you do."
"So what should I do?"
Harry pondered it for some minutes, trying to think of something that would make Hermione forgive Ron. "What exactly did you two say to each other the other night?"
Ron shrugged, staring at the ceiling. "She said she couldn't take it anymore, the arguing, the meaningless apologies. She told me it was over."
"What did you say?"
Ron seemed to think about it for a long time before finally mumbling, "I asked her to give it another go. I told her I'd be better."
Harry looked up from the fire and over at Ron. "Go to the Three Broomsticks then, Ron. Get a table to yourself. I'll make sure Hermione meets up with you in there and you two have a chance for your first date."
Ron laughed bitterly, shaking his head. "She'll never settle for it."
"Then maybe I should go too."
Ron shook his head. "No, I'll try. I'll do it myself. I need to."
Harry turned back to the fire. "Okay."
They sat silently, both staring at the flames for some time before Harry looked down at his watch and cursed under his breath. "Quidditch! We have Quidditch practice today Ron!"
Ron didn't seem to comprehend what he was saying for about three seconds. Then his face paled and he jumped up from his seat.
"Damn it! How could we forget?"
They tore down the halls, clasping their brooms and out onto the Quidditch Pitch in time to meet up with their irritated teammates.
"What took you so long?" Ginny demanded, dismounting her broom and looking furious. "Our first game is in two weeks!" She jabbed a finger in Harry's chest. "You're our captain!"
"Yes, I do realize that." Harry said coldly. The rest of the team was gathering around, looking just as annoyed as Ginny. Harry sighed, "Look, it slipped my mind. It won't happen again. I'm sorry."
Dean shrugged, "It's okay I guess. We still got in some practice without you."
"Where were you?" Ginny demanded, looking extremely suspicious.
"In the Common Room with Ron, if you must know. Not that it's any of your business." Harry mounted his broom, motioning for the others to as well. "Let's get in some practice before it's too dark out."
The rest of the afternoon went badly. Ron's keeping was horrible, and throughout the afternoon he kept getting paler and more sullen as the sun sank. After the fifteenth goal, Harry called for the end of the practice.
"That was really good everyone!" He called as the wind picked up. Ginny rolled her eyes and stalked into the changing rooms. Dean gave him a commiserating look as he passed Harry with the rest of the team. Harry looked back towards the pitch. Ron was still on his broom, hovering about two feet above the ground.
"Ron!"
Harry walked over to him. Ron didn't look at him.
"Ron, this is stupid. You got dumped. So what? We've already figured out what you're going to do tomorrow."
"It's not that." Ron muttered.
"So what is it?" Harry demanded, his patience wearing as the first raindrops splattered down on him.
Ron sighed and dismounted his broom. "I'm a jerk, Harry. I really am. I was given the chance of a lifetime this summer at Bill's wedding, and all I've done is mess it up and hurt Hermione."
Harry didn't answer. It was true after all.
Ron picked his broom up and slung it over his shoulder. "If she takes me back, I promise to do better. I'm never going to argue with her or hurt her again."
He made off in the direction of the changing rooms. Harry stood alone on the windy Quidditch Pitch with his Firebolt as the stormy heavens poured out their tears, lost to his gloomy thoughts as they swirled through his mind.
A/N:
I swear, one of these days I'm just not going to be able to access a single internet site. It's taken me two days to get onto fanfiction! I'm going to make my parents buy a new computer one of these days, because this is just ridiculous. Anyways, before I start screaming.
Spartan Eragon Thanks, I personally enjoy plot twists a great deal, and I try to incorporate them as much as possible in my stories (fiction and fanfiction). Sorry about the "ASAP" part. See above for explanation.
PzkwVIb Sorry, I realized my spelling errors as soon as I put up the chapter when I was looking at it in "Live Preview" mode. I'll try making sure the typos go down from now on. But then…I am the Typo Queen. Thanks for reviewing!
Winnipeg: Yes, Harry as a basilisk is extremely odd and I assure you that he will not be one in my story. Nor will Ron be a spider (I'm still contemplating Ron's form as a matter of fact). What do you mean JKR "led us to believe the Weasleys will marry blondes"? Did she say something, or is it just referring to the relationships between the Weasleys and possible romantic interests in the books? In terms of HHr, I completely believe they will end up together in the end. The Prisoner of Azkaban is proof of it. Ron has never been alone with Harry when they go on a mission together (unless you count CoS when Ron got caught in a rockslide) and she was even with Harry in OotP when they went to the Ministry. It's so obvious! But now I'm ranting. I do hope they have divorce courts though, because as obvious as it is that H/Hr are perfect together, JKR might choose to be idiotic and make it R/Hr. Which means – TO THE COURTS (laughs evilly). Anyways, thanks for reviewing!
lordchandler: I'm definitely considering the lion of Gryffindor for Harry, though I am not 100 percent sure of it yet. R/Hr? Well, I was completely sold to the idea of having this chapter be their first date in Hogsmeade (that'll have to be next chapter) but this argument literally just sprang up when I was writing it and I couldn't fit in the date. They'll get back together thanks to Harry in the next chapter. Sorry if I got your hopes up. They'll officially and permanently break up in February though. I promise no more false break ups. I'll try to read your story if my bloody computer ever starts working I'm currently typing this in word, I have no idea if I'll even be able to post. Thanks for reviewing!
emeraldthefish: Rowena's heir will be revealed possibly in December (I'm hoping to do it by then) but until that date we'll just have to wait and wonder! Thanks for reviewing!
harry'n'mione4ever: Thanks for the opinion. I'm constantly getting overly critical of my work. I always think it's substandard or completely jumpy/too fast. It's nice to know it's not. Thanks for the review!
grannyHPfan: Yes, Harry's "stirrings" will get more pronounced as the story progresses...and maybe even become something more. (grins evilly) Yeah, 'bout the computer. It's been two days of trying helplessly to upload and FINALLY (!!!!!!) today, on Tuesday, I have successfully uploaded to FFN. My email is still not working though. But anyways. Thanks for reviewing, and I'm hoping to reveal Ravenclaw's Heir 'round Dec. Until next chappie!
Renevatio: Alright, I vill try. (Why did I use Krum's accent? scratches head while thinking) Dumbledore still has more up his sleeve, which Harry will begin to realize as story progresses. And maybe there will be some friction ocurring...haven't decided. It would be a good chapter though (thanks for the idea)
Warning: (1) My computer is subject to malfunctions etc. which makes it quite possible that my updates will be slower. I apologize for the inconvenience, believe me I understand perfectly how irritating it is. (2) R/Hr is not over yet. Sorry if I got up any hopes. As an official notice, it will not end until February, though there will be several road bumps along the way. I also promise no more "fake break ups" in the future. This one just popped out of nowhere while I was writing. (3) Until next time (hopefully one week) Adieu!
Right. Sorry, the replies to your reviews were typed up half in Word and half on FFN Edit/Preview mode (when I finally got to upload) so if there was any confusion as to why I'm screaming about my computer and then placated about it, it is not because I am bipolar. There was just a lapse of time and my computer began to work. Imagine that. It's finally doing what it's been programmed to do. (Alright, so maybe I'm not "placated" yet, but I'm getting there...)