*A/N* I really, really love this chapter. Even if some of you R/H shippers don't... :-) When you're reading this, look for symbolism. There's already been some in previous chapters, but this chapter's just chock full of them. You can thank my English teacher, Miss Doerr, for that. :-) I love you Miss Doerr! Anyways, look for symbolism and motifs and such and tell me if you find any!
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"Hi. You must be Annabelle."
The pretty blonde looked up from the novel she had been reading at the sound of Ron's voice. All she needed was a quick flash of red to know exactly who it was. "Hi Ron." She said with a smile.
Ron grinned at the sight of Annabelle. He couldn't help it really. Her own smile radiated and seemed to bring out the good in everything around them.
"So," said Ron casually. "Mind if I sit down?"
Annabelle shook her head and motioned to the spare space of bench beside her. Ron sat and thought of something to talk about so as to avoid any awkward moments with his new found friend. "Umm... you're in Ravenclaw, right?"
"Yeah." she said absently, pulling at the thread of the binding of her book. "Yes, I'm in Ravenclaw."
"Oh. That's nice..." Ron muttered.
"Mhmm." Annabelle nervously twirled a strand of champagne-colored hair. "Hey Ron?"
"Yeah?" Ron looked up expectantly. Suddenly, Annabelle gently grabbed hod of Ron's shoulders and started shaking him slightly. "Ron." she said. "Come on, Ron, get up."
Ron cocked an eyebrow. "Er... is everything okay, Anna?" he asked worriedly. Annabelle shook a little harder and started to raise her voice. "Ron! What is wrong with you?" she looked over her shoulder at the empty Quidditch Field. "Did one of you guys drug him or something?" she looked back at Ron now. "My God, what'd you do last night?"
Ron's eyes widened in astonishment as Annabelle's face began to change before him. Her hair seemed to grow short and darkened as her eyes turned greener than the grass around them, but even that was changing. It died and blew away in a great gust of wind, showing familiar hardwood floors beneath. The trees and goal posts sunk below the surface and the sky was wiped clear and replaced by gold and scarlet banners.
"RON!" Harry screamed.
Ron's eyes flew open and was greeted by harry's shimmering emeralds no more than two inches away from his own face. "AHH!" he screamed and jumped backwards to create distance between the two of them, but failed to realize there was no couch left to be had and toppled over onto the floor in a heap.
Harry and the rest of Gryffindor burst into laughter as they watched Ron muttering profanities while trying to tear his way out of the twisted quilt and climb back onto the couch.
"Ron," Harry said breathlessly after the roar of laughter had subsided. "What happened last night? Why'd you sleep down here?"
Ron scowled. "Where's Hermione?" he asked, avoiding Harry's questions.
"I don't know." Harry said. "No one saw her come down this morning... she must've gotten up early."
Ron sighed. "Of course..."
Harry sat next to Ron on the couch and looked at him with concern. "Something happened... didn't it?" he asked tentatively.
Ron shook his head vigorously. "No, nothing happened, Harry." he swallowed the big lump in his throat.
Harry rested his hand on Ron's shoulder. "It's not nice to lie, Ron. Come on then, tell me what happened. It'll help you feel better."
Ron looked up at Harry's understanding eyes and then over his shoulder. No one was paying attention to them any more and had gone back to their previous activities. Ron sighed resignedly and turned back to face Harry.
"Okay... something happened..." he said quietly. Harry nodded and prompted Ron to continue.
"It's Hermione..." Ron said, his voice cracking. He cursed under his breath and wiped away an unnoticed tear. "Me and Hermione... we had a... a sort of romantic moment."
Harry gaped. "You... you and- and Hermione? That's great Ron!" he said happily.
Ron shook his head and swallowed another persistent lump. "No Harry. She turned away. We were so," he gulped. "So close, and she turned. She turned her head and ran up the stairs, Harry. She ran. She didn't even walk. She could've walked, but she chose to run. What does that tell you?" Ron looked away. He knew his emotions were clear on his face and he didn't want Harry to see them.
Harry looked at his friend with pity. "It doesn't mean anything, Ron. You haven't talked to her since then, right?"
Ron nodded wordlessly.
"Well then you have no idea what she was thinking or feeling at that point."
Ron traced the patterns on the quilt with his finger. "You didn't see her face though, Harry. You didn't see how she looked at me."
Harry sighed. "You still don't know how she was feeling. The only way you'll know for sure is to talk to her."
"I don't know where she is though." said Ron pointedly.
"So?" said Harry "Go find her. You know her better than any one else, you should know where she is most of the time."
Ron thought it over a moment, but quickly exclaimed "Of course!" and rushed out of the portrait hole.
"Where's he going?" questioned Neville when he saw Ron's hasty depart.
Harry smiled. "The library."
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Hermione sat in the darkest corner of the library at the oldest table. She was hidden behind a massive pile of books to keep from view of any living thing. She didn't want anyone to see her like this; trembling and shaking under the overwhelming sorrow that that crashed down upon her.
She felt comfort here. Away from pestering girls like Lavender and Parvati and insensitive boys like Fred and George. Here she felt safe. No one could see her weeping here.
She hadn't wanted to hurt Ron like she had. That's the last thing she wanted. She cherished Ron and their relationship and never wanted to change that by any means. That's actually why this all happened. Why Hermione had run out on Ron last night and left them both hurt and confused.
Hermione was smart. She thought things through and knew the consequences. The consequences of kissing Ron and starting a whole different relationship with him. They were too risky. Way too risky to even take the chance.
Sure, being an item with Ron could mean a happily ever after, but what if they broke up? It'd be so uncomfortable around him afterwards and maybe even with Harry. She couldn't, she wouldn't take that chance of losing the only two friends she'd ever had.
Hermione wiped her eyes and opened the closest book to her. "Read." she thought. "Reading relaxes you."
"...Hermione?"
Startled, Hermione looked up. "Seamus? What are you doing here? Isn't it lunchtime?"
The Irish boy sat in the seat next to Hermione. "Yeah, it is, but I needed a few books for Charms before I went down. That doesn't matter, though. What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing." Hermione lied and looked back down at her book. Seamus gently pushed her hair back behind her ear so he could see her face clearly.
"Hermione, you're a terrible liar. And also, it doesn't help that your eyes are all red and puffy.
Hermione's lip started to quiver as she began to cry again. "Oh Seamus..."
Seamus inched towards Hermione and wrapped his arm around her. "It's okay Hermione... it's okay... shh... calm down..." Hermione waled and buried her face in the front of Seamus' robes. "Seamus..."
Seamus wrapped his other arm around her in a comforting embrace and rested his chin on the top of her head. "Poor Hermione..." he whispered. "Do you? I mean, do you want to talk about it?"
Hermione shook her head against Seamus' chest. "No." came her muffled voice.
"That's okay." Seamus said as he began to rub her back softly to calm her cries.
"I know this kind of heart ache." Seamus said suddenly after a few silent minutes had gone by, broken only by Hermione's occasional sob. When Hermione didn't respond, he continued. "No one cries like this unless they lost someone they love. I don't know if he broke up with you or cheated on you, but let me tell you something." Seamus pushed Hermione back at arms length and looked at her tear stained face. "You're beautiful Hermione. You're one of the most beautiful girls I know. And you're definitely the wittiest. There are just so, so many good qualities about you."
Hermione looked away.
Seamus gently took Hermione's chin between his thumb and forefinger and turned her head to face him. "Hermione." he said softly. Hermione resisted, but eventually gave in and looked up into Seamus' hazel eyes. "My point, Hermione," he said as he cupped her face in his hands. "Is that you deserve better than that guy."
Hermione sniffled. She was really quite dumbfounded by Seamus' maturity and understanding. She always saw him as just a silly boy. But now...
"Seamus?" Hermione said shakily. Seamus brushed away one of Hermione's tears with his thumb. "Yeah Hermione?"
"Kiss me."
Seamus stopped short in his tracks. He wasn't used to this kind of fowardness by anyone let along Hermione, but didn't miss a beat as he leaned in and captured Hermione's lips in his own.
Watching fiftly feet away, Ron Weasley felt a piece of his heart wither and die.
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It was a lovely day. It was one of those days where it actually hurt to be kept inside. The sun was shining so brightly down upon the luscious green grass, the glistening metal goal posts, and the ancient billowing trees. In the background you could hear bubbly laughter and gleeful voices shouting playfully at their friends. Sometimes the shouting was returned by more shouting. Other times by giggling or laughter. Every once and a while though, the shouts were followed by silence.
"Silenced by a kiss." Ron thought bitterly. He started to imagine two people, laughing and playing. Just joking around until one pins the other to the ground. Slowly, the giggling would subside as they would realize how close they really were. Their faces would inch closer... then, after years of denying their feelings, they would share their first kiss. They'd kiss long and passionate and neither would turn away. Neither would put their whole former relationship in jeopardy just because they didn't want to open up and admit how they really felt. And neither, neither would run off and kiss Seamus Finnigan.
"How dare she." Ron thought. "How dare she kiss him! Doesn't she see that nothing will be the same after this? After the moment we shared, the intense feelings we felt. You can't just forget those things. They just don't go away." He spat at the ground. "Well if she can find a replacement, so can I."
Ron looked up at the sound of someone barely clearing their throat. "Ron?" said a voice made of bells. "Hi, I'm Annabelle."
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*A/N* I'm so happy! I love this chapter! Did you find any symbolism or motifs? Write a review and tell me!