Disclaimer: None of these wonderful characters belong to me.
Chapter eight: New feelings among friends
Harry, Ron and Hermione sat at a table in the dining hall with Sirius and the Hogwarts teachers. Looking around, Ron noticed that both Snape and Hagrid were missing. He wondered where they were...well, to be truthful, ho wondered where Hagrid was. He was grateful not to have to deal with Snape with everthing else that was going on. His gaze returned inevitably to Hermione, who was absently twirling her fork on her nearly full plate, to Harry, who made no pretence of eating at all, but was instead staring off into space. Ron was at a loss. He wanted to help, he really did, but how was he to help when neither of them would SAY anything?
"So, um..." Ron was about to break the silence with a typically Ron-like comment that probably would not have helped the situation at all, when he was interrupted (thank goodness) by Dumbledore.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,"he said, smiling. "It is wonderful to see you,"his gaze took in Harry, Ron and Hermione, although it is most unfortunate it is under such tragic circumstances. We have many challenges to face this coming year, but I am confident we can get past them if we face them together. A toast, then, to our continued success in all our ventures," and he raised his glass. They all raised their glasses as well, and murmered a toast. Ron was looking at Dumbledore then, and noticed he did not look fully confident, which made him more afraid than anything so far." Ron raised his glass and drank with the rest. His pumpkin juice tasted bitter to him,somehow.
So they sat in their common room, that night, the three of them. Harry and Ron played a game of chess, while Hermione watched. Ron won without even trying, and smirked to Harry,,"Maybe Hermione won't lose as easily as you. Want to give it a go, Hermione?," he asked, inwardly praying she would.
Hermione looked about to refuse. She was pale and drawn, and hadn't really been paying the least attention to the half-hearted (on Harry's part at least)
chess match. As she opened her mouth to refuse, she caught sight of Ron's eyes, which were unconsiously pleading. "Alright, then," she said. "Let's see if I can finally beat you."
Harry got up from his seat, and sat in a chair by the fire. "Don't sit there all by yourself, Harry, " said Hermione. "You need to be here to give me moral support when Ron beats me."
Ron's eyes narrowed. There she went again, flirting with Harry. Well...he thought to himself, he should be fair, they were good friends after all, and he did always beat her at chess.
The match began. Ron was fascinated how Hermione's hair glistened in the firelight, how her hands moved so deftly among the chess pieces. Really, she was brilliant. Hermione shot him a few strange looks throughout the game, but this didn't bother Ron in the slightest, as he was to busy counting the many fascinating colors Hermione's hair was turning. He really didn't pay any attention at all to the game...until..."Check!" said Hermione is disbelief.
Ron looked at the board incredulously. She was beating him! At his own game! What kind of catastrophe was this? He glanced at her quickly, and realized she was smiling. Well...maybe losing wasn't so bad, if it could make her happy, even for a second.
"What's with you tonight, Ron?" Harry asked. "I don't remember you ever losing at chess before. You'd think you had something else on your mind." Ron looked at Harry suspiciously. Was it just him or did Harry look like he had laughter in his eyes? Did Harry know how he felt about Hermione? Did Hermione know? He jumped up quickly, knocking over the chess board in the process. "Oops, sorry," he mumbled, the tips of his ears turning red.
"Didn't want to be beaten, did you Ron?" Hermione said smugly. "I knew it was only a matter of time before you lost your touch."
Ron said nothing, and began slowly picking up the chess pieces, who were looking at him with mingled shock and horror. "Let a girl beat you, Ron?" they asked incredulously. "Too busy flirting to win?" Ron threw the pieces at the fire and stormed out of the room.
"Ron!" Hermione called, but he didn't answer. He was far too busy feeling humiliated. She had to know, now, if even his chess pieces could figure it out. He lay in his bed and attempted to sleep, when he was interrupted by Harry pulling aside the curtain to his bed.
"What was that all about?" Harry asked. "Hermione's really upset, you know. I think she's been going through enough without you acting like a prat about losing."
"I'm not acting like a prat! I'm just...I'm just tired, that's all. It's been a long couple of days."
"Is something going on with you, Ron?" Harry questioned, looking at him closely. "Anything you want to talk to me about?"
"No, nothing. Nothing important."
Harry looked doubtful. "Well, if you're sure...I think you should apologize to Hermione, though. She looked like she was ready to cry when I left. She asked to to talk to you."
Ron's feelings of guilt at upsetting Hermione were overshadowed by a much uglier emotion, jealousy. "Why don't you just talk to her then!" he shouted. "The two of you seem to get along well enough without me! Leave me alone!" He pulled shut his curtains and threw himself down on the bed. he heard Harry quietly leave the room. Probably going to comfort Hermione. Well, that was fine. He would just leave them to it.
A mere twenty minutes later, Ron was sitting up in bed, drumming his fingers over and over again on his night stand. What could they be doing? They didn't really like each other that way, did they? What if they did? He'd better go see what they were doing, he decided, and rushed down to the common room.
Hermione was alone by the fire, and looked up when he entered. She had been crying. "Have you come to yell at me again, then?' she asked tearfully. "Well, you can just save it, because I'm really not in the mood for your nastiness right now." She turned her back on him.
Ron felt horrible. He didn't know what had come over him. Even if Hermione and Harry did like each other, what business was it of his? Why was he being so immature as to make Hermione feel worse about things than she already did? Silence reigned for a few minutes, and was interrupted by a sniff from Hermione, who still had her back to him.
Oh no, he thought. She wasn't crying again, was she? He moved to her side. "Hey..." he said awkwardly putting a hand on her shoulder."Don't cry..."
Hermione stood up, shaking his hand off. "What shoudn't I cry about,Ron? My parents are dead, I didn't even get to go to the funeral, and neither you nor Harry has barely said a word to me since I got here. Every day there's news in the Daily Prophet of more killings, and I'm a Muggle, Ron! If I had been home when the Death Eaters came..." here she took a shuddering breath, "I would have been killed right along with my parents. So you look me in the eye, Ron , and you tell me what I shouldn't cry about." She ended her sentence with a sob.
Ron didn't even think, just pulled Hermione to him and let her cry on his shoulder for a few minutes. When her sobs seemed to have subsided somewhat, he said, very slowly and carefully, "I'm sorry, Hermione. I've just been tired lately, you know I'm here for you, and Harry, too."
She lifted her head. "Yes, I know you've been going through a lot too." she said softly.
"Don't say that! I've gone through nothing compared to you and Harry! And the fact that you could go through this so bravely and umcompainingly, while I sit here and whine about losing a chess match...well, I really admire you Hermione."
He stopped, wondering if perhaps he had gone too far.
Hermione looked at him in wonderment. "Do you really admire me, Ron?," she asked.
Unbidden, his hand went to her face. "I've always admired you. I've just been too much of a jerk to admit it."
They stared at each other wide eyed for a few minutes. Ron suddenly noticed their faces were very close together and Hermione had her eyes closed.
He leaned forward almost unconsiously and was very close to meeting her lips with his own, when the portrait door opened, and Harry came in.
"Um...am I interrupting something?"
To be continued
A/N Uurg... I'm not really all that happy with this chapter. Teach me to write when I'm tired, I guess. I just love getting the reviews so much that I try to get everything out as soon as possible. My goodness, the panic I caused when Hermione hugged Harry first! Not to worry, everyone, this will definitely be an R/H story. I wouldn't dream of writing anything else, I'm just moving them rather slowly because I think that's how they would act in real life. (Well, not really REAL life, they don't actually exist, as much as I would like them to.)
Thanks to all my loyal reviewers, I have to go back to sleep now. Next chapter will be out soon.
Nikalee
Chapter eight: New feelings among friends
Harry, Ron and Hermione sat at a table in the dining hall with Sirius and the Hogwarts teachers. Looking around, Ron noticed that both Snape and Hagrid were missing. He wondered where they were...well, to be truthful, ho wondered where Hagrid was. He was grateful not to have to deal with Snape with everthing else that was going on. His gaze returned inevitably to Hermione, who was absently twirling her fork on her nearly full plate, to Harry, who made no pretence of eating at all, but was instead staring off into space. Ron was at a loss. He wanted to help, he really did, but how was he to help when neither of them would SAY anything?
"So, um..." Ron was about to break the silence with a typically Ron-like comment that probably would not have helped the situation at all, when he was interrupted (thank goodness) by Dumbledore.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,"he said, smiling. "It is wonderful to see you,"his gaze took in Harry, Ron and Hermione, although it is most unfortunate it is under such tragic circumstances. We have many challenges to face this coming year, but I am confident we can get past them if we face them together. A toast, then, to our continued success in all our ventures," and he raised his glass. They all raised their glasses as well, and murmered a toast. Ron was looking at Dumbledore then, and noticed he did not look fully confident, which made him more afraid than anything so far." Ron raised his glass and drank with the rest. His pumpkin juice tasted bitter to him,somehow.
So they sat in their common room, that night, the three of them. Harry and Ron played a game of chess, while Hermione watched. Ron won without even trying, and smirked to Harry,,"Maybe Hermione won't lose as easily as you. Want to give it a go, Hermione?," he asked, inwardly praying she would.
Hermione looked about to refuse. She was pale and drawn, and hadn't really been paying the least attention to the half-hearted (on Harry's part at least)
chess match. As she opened her mouth to refuse, she caught sight of Ron's eyes, which were unconsiously pleading. "Alright, then," she said. "Let's see if I can finally beat you."
Harry got up from his seat, and sat in a chair by the fire. "Don't sit there all by yourself, Harry, " said Hermione. "You need to be here to give me moral support when Ron beats me."
Ron's eyes narrowed. There she went again, flirting with Harry. Well...he thought to himself, he should be fair, they were good friends after all, and he did always beat her at chess.
The match began. Ron was fascinated how Hermione's hair glistened in the firelight, how her hands moved so deftly among the chess pieces. Really, she was brilliant. Hermione shot him a few strange looks throughout the game, but this didn't bother Ron in the slightest, as he was to busy counting the many fascinating colors Hermione's hair was turning. He really didn't pay any attention at all to the game...until..."Check!" said Hermione is disbelief.
Ron looked at the board incredulously. She was beating him! At his own game! What kind of catastrophe was this? He glanced at her quickly, and realized she was smiling. Well...maybe losing wasn't so bad, if it could make her happy, even for a second.
"What's with you tonight, Ron?" Harry asked. "I don't remember you ever losing at chess before. You'd think you had something else on your mind." Ron looked at Harry suspiciously. Was it just him or did Harry look like he had laughter in his eyes? Did Harry know how he felt about Hermione? Did Hermione know? He jumped up quickly, knocking over the chess board in the process. "Oops, sorry," he mumbled, the tips of his ears turning red.
"Didn't want to be beaten, did you Ron?" Hermione said smugly. "I knew it was only a matter of time before you lost your touch."
Ron said nothing, and began slowly picking up the chess pieces, who were looking at him with mingled shock and horror. "Let a girl beat you, Ron?" they asked incredulously. "Too busy flirting to win?" Ron threw the pieces at the fire and stormed out of the room.
"Ron!" Hermione called, but he didn't answer. He was far too busy feeling humiliated. She had to know, now, if even his chess pieces could figure it out. He lay in his bed and attempted to sleep, when he was interrupted by Harry pulling aside the curtain to his bed.
"What was that all about?" Harry asked. "Hermione's really upset, you know. I think she's been going through enough without you acting like a prat about losing."
"I'm not acting like a prat! I'm just...I'm just tired, that's all. It's been a long couple of days."
"Is something going on with you, Ron?" Harry questioned, looking at him closely. "Anything you want to talk to me about?"
"No, nothing. Nothing important."
Harry looked doubtful. "Well, if you're sure...I think you should apologize to Hermione, though. She looked like she was ready to cry when I left. She asked to to talk to you."
Ron's feelings of guilt at upsetting Hermione were overshadowed by a much uglier emotion, jealousy. "Why don't you just talk to her then!" he shouted. "The two of you seem to get along well enough without me! Leave me alone!" He pulled shut his curtains and threw himself down on the bed. he heard Harry quietly leave the room. Probably going to comfort Hermione. Well, that was fine. He would just leave them to it.
A mere twenty minutes later, Ron was sitting up in bed, drumming his fingers over and over again on his night stand. What could they be doing? They didn't really like each other that way, did they? What if they did? He'd better go see what they were doing, he decided, and rushed down to the common room.
Hermione was alone by the fire, and looked up when he entered. She had been crying. "Have you come to yell at me again, then?' she asked tearfully. "Well, you can just save it, because I'm really not in the mood for your nastiness right now." She turned her back on him.
Ron felt horrible. He didn't know what had come over him. Even if Hermione and Harry did like each other, what business was it of his? Why was he being so immature as to make Hermione feel worse about things than she already did? Silence reigned for a few minutes, and was interrupted by a sniff from Hermione, who still had her back to him.
Oh no, he thought. She wasn't crying again, was she? He moved to her side. "Hey..." he said awkwardly putting a hand on her shoulder."Don't cry..."
Hermione stood up, shaking his hand off. "What shoudn't I cry about,Ron? My parents are dead, I didn't even get to go to the funeral, and neither you nor Harry has barely said a word to me since I got here. Every day there's news in the Daily Prophet of more killings, and I'm a Muggle, Ron! If I had been home when the Death Eaters came..." here she took a shuddering breath, "I would have been killed right along with my parents. So you look me in the eye, Ron , and you tell me what I shouldn't cry about." She ended her sentence with a sob.
Ron didn't even think, just pulled Hermione to him and let her cry on his shoulder for a few minutes. When her sobs seemed to have subsided somewhat, he said, very slowly and carefully, "I'm sorry, Hermione. I've just been tired lately, you know I'm here for you, and Harry, too."
She lifted her head. "Yes, I know you've been going through a lot too." she said softly.
"Don't say that! I've gone through nothing compared to you and Harry! And the fact that you could go through this so bravely and umcompainingly, while I sit here and whine about losing a chess match...well, I really admire you Hermione."
He stopped, wondering if perhaps he had gone too far.
Hermione looked at him in wonderment. "Do you really admire me, Ron?," she asked.
Unbidden, his hand went to her face. "I've always admired you. I've just been too much of a jerk to admit it."
They stared at each other wide eyed for a few minutes. Ron suddenly noticed their faces were very close together and Hermione had her eyes closed.
He leaned forward almost unconsiously and was very close to meeting her lips with his own, when the portrait door opened, and Harry came in.
"Um...am I interrupting something?"
To be continued
A/N Uurg... I'm not really all that happy with this chapter. Teach me to write when I'm tired, I guess. I just love getting the reviews so much that I try to get everything out as soon as possible. My goodness, the panic I caused when Hermione hugged Harry first! Not to worry, everyone, this will definitely be an R/H story. I wouldn't dream of writing anything else, I'm just moving them rather slowly because I think that's how they would act in real life. (Well, not really REAL life, they don't actually exist, as much as I would like them to.)
Thanks to all my loyal reviewers, I have to go back to sleep now. Next chapter will be out soon.
Nikalee