Awkwardness is the word of the get-together. Harry agreed to accompany Hermione so as to help facilitate as necessary, but there's only so much one uncomfortable and unqualified third party mediator can do. No one is yelling, at least, and the pair has not resorted to petty insults and name-calling, so he counts that as something of a win. But, on the whole, it feels as successful as watching paint dry on a cold winter's night. Instead of worrying about how to diffuse explosive fights, Harry should have apparently been preparing to solve the issue of the complete lack of things they had to talk about.
"How's work going?" Ron asks as he scratches at the side of his nose, seemingly unable to sit still under her scrutiny.
Harry's gaze immediately slides over to Hermione, wondering how she'll handle the conversational Quaffle Ron just threw at her.
"Good. Things are going great." Looking at the wall just left of Ron's head, she sucks her bottom lip into her mouth before slowly releasing it. "It's normal, really. I was promoted a little while ago, which was… good."
Ron seems to mull that over. What Harry wouldn't do to get inside his head in that moment... "That's great."
"Yeah," she says, quietly dragging the word out as if trying to make it into a conversational piece of its own. "How about you? Fred and George, um, said you're still at the shop."
"Yeah. I still want to leave, but… maybe not yet." His fingers wander down to fiddle with the tablecloth dangling near him. "It's going alright," he continues to Harry's relief. "I've been doing more front of house stuff lately. I'm getting better at it. Still not sure what else to do, though."
"I'm glad it's going well," she says sincerely.
Ron shoots her a grateful, albeit still tense, smile. "Thanks."
The problem, Harry decides as they fall into uncomfortable silence once more, is that nothing is safe anymore. Talking about Hermione's work risks stirring up Ron's feelings of inadequacy and inferiority. Discussing Ron's time at the shop while he tries to work out his future hits a little too close to home for both of them, reminding them of that final fight all over again. They're so wary of potential conversational minefields that neither of them want to make any real, decisive attempt at motion. While that lets them avoid fighting, however, it just leaves them both stuck in place on opposite sides of a large plain of uncertainty and hurt. Trying to step across that field is a risk, but not doing so just means that their only option is to walk away entirely.
He is determined not to let that happen. Their friendship survived trolls and convicts and Death Eaters; he is not going to let it fall apart because of a bad breakup.
"Have you heard from Bill and Fleur lately?" Harry asks, his tone cautious. The last he heard, the couple are both doing well, and, as far as he is aware, his friends have never had a major argument about them.
"Yeah. Fleur's pregnant again."
Harry frowns as he notes how mechanical Hermione's voice sounds as she replies, "That's exciting. How far along is she?"
"Not sure. She only told us the other day, though, so it must still be pretty early."
"I'm sure Victoire will love to have a little brother or sister."
"She is excited about it, yeah. Seems to think she's getting some kind of oversized doll to play with." After another particularly long pause, Ron adds, "This isn't working, is it?"
"Yes, it is," Harry immediately intercedes, feeling that part of his job as mediator is to steer the conversation away from any defeatist talk. He's supposed to facilitate success, not failure, after all. "It's a massive improvement from where you were yesterday. We should keep trying. Victoire's excited; that's cute. We can talk about cute things."
"No, Ron's right; it's too forced. Since when do we all sit down drinking tea in a café? It's not us. Besides, this is going to have to be done in baby steps. One get-together isn't going to make everything sunny again, no matter how much we might like it to." Turning back to Ron, she adds, "You're going to be at your mother's luncheon tomorrow, right? I'll go too and we can try to talk some more then. That should feel more natural."
Harry wants to protest, but Ron's face lights up in relief, and it strikes him that this is the first time they have agreedon something in a long time. "Sounds great," Ron says. "Dad's missed having you there. If you want, I can even tell my mum we'll clean up afterwards."
"Perfect," she replies.
"I'll head off, then, and let her know." Ron counts out enough galleons to cover his share of the bill. "See you tomorrow."
"See you then."
"We're going to be alright," Hermione murmurs to herself as she watches him leave. And, after all the three of them have been through together, Harry can't help but believe her.