Chapter 5: I realized that's how we used to be
Summary:
Hermione is stuck on her not-a-date with Cormac. Ron catches them together which ends up in another argument. Hermione realises that hers and Ron's relationship won't be the same again.
Notes:
I am 100% a Ron lover and it even pains me to write scenes in which Ron is so upset and stupid! Anyway thank you so much for the comments on this fic, I really enjoy writing muggle AU's and I find Ron and Hermione's story so easy to tell!
Hermione doesn't know where to look. She's already spent too much time looking down at her notes for the assignment. She's written down options for the two texts they can use, but Cormac has yet to even mention the assignment, no matter how many times she tries to bring it up. She feels awfully awkward, her knee bobbing up and down underneath the table, her hand fiddling with her drink. He's still talking about his dad's boat. Something about spending the summer on it and driving it himself. Hermione couldn't care less, she doesn't want to talk about him, she just wants to plan the assignment and leave.
He hasn't mentioned it being a date yet but with the way he ordered her drink (without asking her), and the cheesy smile he gave her she's not optimistic. She's only managed to nod or say the occasional 'Oh'. It's been thirty minutes now and she's terribly impatient. When he slurps up the end of his Fanta, the sound terribly familiar, she shakes her head, taps her fingers on her notebook and raises her voice.
"Can we plan out the assignment now?" she says with maybe a little bit too much conviction.
Cormac raises his eyebrows and chuckles.
"My Granger, you really are a swot aren't you?"
Hermione feels her cheeks heat up.
"Excuse me?"
"Oh don't worry, I love smart girls, very hot."
He does an odd little smirk that makes her feel queasy.
"Right. Well, can we just plan this assignment so I can get home." She realises how this sounds a bit too late and she coughs awkwardly.
"I mean- I need to get home before my parents do."
Cormac frowns slightly but quickly forgives her. He doesn't get his own notes out, he just nods towards Hermione's and waits for her to start.
Now Hermione likes being in charge, she really does, but she much prefers it when her partners take interest in their assignments, and contribute. She likes discussing and debating, but Cormac isn't giving her anything. Even with someone as subdued as Harry, she gets a little back and forth and even with someone as lazy as Ron, she normally gets a good discussion going, a little passionate at times but she prefers that than this odd silence she's getting from Cormac.
"What do you think?" She probes.
He raises one eyebrow, "Whatever you think."
She sighs and looks down at her notebook.
"We could compare t he Ideals of Romantic Love in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and Jane Eyre by Emily Bront e?" Hermione asks brazenly.
Cormac grimaces and Hermione has to bite her tongue from laughing at him.
"What about Animal farm?"
Hermione sighs because of course he's read Animal farm.
Luckily she has also read the book and she runs her finger down to the option she had jotted down previously.
"Animal farm and to kill a mockingbird? We can discuss the power of objection." Hermione's voice gets loud as she gets excited and she watches as Cormac's eyebrows crease with confusion.
"Yeah, right. Yeah, that sounds good." He nods, and Hermione wants to bang her head against the sticky table in frustration. She thought he was smart, for god's sake!
"Ok, so if you haven't already read To kill a mockingbird, I would suggest doing that first and you can make some notes about the theme of objection. Can you maybe read the whole book in say a week?"
"What? A week! No way!" he scoffs.
Hermione tries to not let the scoff get to her and she instead breathes deeply before replying.
"Ok let's say two weeks? If you haven't read it by then you can just give me the notes you have."
He frowns again but nods and then as if they hadn't been discussing their assignment he grabs Hermione's hand and smiles.
Hermione pulls her hand away but has no luck in getting him to let go. She stares at their hands clasped together and with wild panicked eyes she opens her mouth to cuss him out.
"Hey Weasley, Potter."
Hermione really thinks about hitting her head against the table now.
She pulls her hands out of his aggressively, making herself wince as her hand smacks against the table. She frowns nastily at him before facing her two best friends.
Harry looks on the verge of laughter, his green eyes wide with amusement behind his glasses whereas Ron stares at the spot in which hers and Cormac's hands were clasped together.
"Right, so shall we meet up in two weeks to go over what you've got. I'll do the same with Animal farm."
"Right, yeah." Cormac is still smiling at her friends and she really wants to slap it right off his face.
She doesn't bother saying goodbye, she's furious that he thinks he can just grab her hand and act like they were actually enjoying themselves. Instead, she gathers her notebook up and joins Ron and Harry at the door of the Diner. Harry is shaking his head aggressively at Ron, Ron's face is incredibly red, the tips of his ears pink.
"Sorry, are you ready?" She asks Ron.
Ron doesn't look at her. Instead he grunts and pushes open the door. Hermione glances at Harry to find him sighing as Ron disappears.
"Ignore him."
Hermione nods and follows Ron.
"What have you been up to?" Hermione asks Harry as they walk towards the cars.
"I met Dean in the library for the English Lit assignment and I found Ron running around the field."
Hermione narrows her eyes at that, curious as to why Ron was running laps after school.
"I don't know either, he seems really pent up." Harry offers with a shrug.
"Ok, let's hope he doesn't take it out on me."
Harry coughs, his cheeks growing pink. Hermione has no idea why, so she just sighs and walks to Ron's car.
"No Lavender?" She asks Ron over the hood.
"No, she took a ride from Pavarti." He replies sullenly, his brows drawn together, a hand running through his hair.
"Ok then. See you tomorrow Harry!" She calls out, waving to Harry as he makes his way to his own car. He waves back and shoots Ron a not-so-subtle glare.
The car is silent as they pull out of the car park and Hermione fiddles with the radio as Ron drives. She doesn't like this silence that has evolved between the two of them recently. She misses their inside jokes, their teasing and even their arguments. This is just a stalemate and Hermione wants nothing of it.
"Do you actually like that creep?"
Hermione blanches. She stares out the windscreen, her eyes lazily focused on the blurring road.
"What?"
"McLaggen, you were holding hands." His voice is brash, edges to his words that aren't normally there.
"He grabbed my hand, I didn't want his grubby hands near me." She's furious at Ron's reaction. "Why does it even matter? A boy can hold my hand if I want him to."
She looks to her side to find Ron squeezing the steering wheel, his eyes narrowed on the road in front of him.
"Fine. You can hold whoever's hand you want." he spits out.
Hermione is near to exploding. First, Cormac thinking he has a right to touch her, and then Ron being mad because a boy held her hand. Like he has a say in who holds her hand.
"What if I wanted him to hold my hand? Would you still be acting this way?"
Unfortunately Hermione has terrible timing and the car comes to an abrupt stop at a traffic light. Ron turns to look at her, his cheeks a horrible red and his eyes wide.
"Acting, what way? He's a sleaze, Mione. I don't want you anywhere near him."
"You don't even know him! You're not his friend!"
"He's in my football team, I know him well enough. There's a lot the guys talk about in the locker rooms." He cocks an eyebrow at her.
"What if I didn't like Lavender? Would you even listen to me if I disapproved?!" She's near enough shouting at him now.
He grits his teeth and Hermione has to drag her gaze away from the sharp line of his jaw.
He doesn't reply to her, in fact he doesn't say anything for the rest of the drive. When he pulls up outside her house, she grabs her bag and turns to look at him one last time.
"I don't like McLaggen like that, he is literally my partner for an assignment - that I didn't get to choose by the way! But when I do find a guy I like, you will not get a say in it! I will not be looking for your approval!"
She climbs out the car and slams the door shut. Another day, another argument with Ron Weasley.
Ron ends up texting her that evening.
Ron: I'm sorry about earlier.
Hermione isn't used to hearing his apologies by text. He used to apologise straight after, barging into her room or knocking at her window like he did the other week.
Hermione: I'm sorry too but I stand by what I said.
Hermione was not a pushover.
Ron: I know, you're right (as usual) :P
She shakes her head and a tiny smile appears on her lips.
Hermione: We ok?
Ron: Of course
Hermione's watching TV, waiting for this week's American Horror Story episode to begin. An ad for the new IT movie appears on screen. Now, looking at Hermione you would have never guessed she had a penchant for horror movies. The only way she felt getting her adrenaline up was watching a scary movie and laughing with Ron at the ridiculous ways characters got themselves stuck with a serial killer.
Hermione: IT: Chapter Two came out today!
Ron doesn't reply straight away so she grabs herself a bowl of popcorn and settles into the sofa to watch her TV show.
Ron: Looks good! Reckon it will be better than the 1st
Hermione browses Instagram absently halfway through the show. It's not quite the same when she doesn't have Ron to laugh with.
She doesn't want to click on Lavender's Instagram story but she does anyway. Instantly a photo of a box of popcorn appears on her screen, the geo tag highlighting that she's at the cinema. The next photo is a photo of her holding hands with someone, and Hermione's heart cracks a little when she sees Ron's name tagged. The hashtag is what really gets her. The words blur together as she stares at it, #ITChaptertwo.