Author's note: Here's the third and final chapter. There is a possiblity of an epilogue, and I'm thinking of a follow-up. Thanks go to Laura for being an excelent beta, to anyone who reviewed, and to my brothers for being pains in the butt.
My Favourite Brother
Chapter Three
Ron was at a loss of what to do. One of his best friend was currently crying in his arms, after revealing a secret to him that she had kept for more than four years now, and a rather big secret at that. She had had an older brother.
How Hermione had managed to keep a secret like that for so long, Ron didn't know. But he did know that he was going to remain calm, no matter how hard it was for him, and just wait for her to tell him in her own time… Whenever that was…
For now, all he could do was comfort her. Gently stroking her bushy brown hair he whispered nonsense words in her ear, and gently rocked her. His mother always used to do it with him and Ginny when they were younger and it seemed to be working with Hermione too. Her sobs were becoming quieter, and her breathing more regular.
"Thanks." Hermione said nervously, sitting up and furiously wiping the tears out of her eyes. Ron leaned over and wiped a few stray ones away from her cheek. He left his hand on her cheek for a moment longer than necessary, and then realized and quickly withdrew it. He wasn't sure but he thought he saw a faint blush pass over her cheeks briefly, although in the end he just put it down to embarrassment.
"For what?" he asked softly.
"For not laughing at me, for letting me cry all over you. And for staying here with me, even though I know that I disgust you." She replied just as softly, as she reached over for the letter again.
"Disgust me? Why would you think that you disgust me?" Ron looked at her, confusion blatant.
"Well, I kept this from you for five years. We've been best friends for ages now, and today is the first time that you found out about Andrew. I thought you'd be angry with me. You had a go at Harry the other day, because he didn't tell you about his latest nightmare." She looked down at her feet.
"But that's different. I admit that I am a little upset that you didn't tell me… or Harry," Ron added as a little afterthought, "But I'm not angry. If you didn't tell us, it was probably because it hurt too much to think about it, let alone talk about it."
Hermione stared at him for a few moments, and then broke into a small smile. "Thanks again."
"For what, again?" He asked, smiling
"For being so understanding." She looked out to the lake and then back at the letter. "I guess I should tell you a bit about him."
"Only if you want to." Ron replied, laying his hands on hers, as he tried to keep the curiosity out of his voice. She smiled slightly, at how sensitive he was being.
"Well, it said in the letter how old he was when I was born, twelve. There were twelve years between us, but we were so close it never seemed like that. He always had time for me, even if he had homework to do, or something. When mum started back at work, just after I'd began school, I saw more of him than I did my own parents.
"Then when I was seven, mum got pregnant again, and I was so excited. I was going to have a little brother or sister. I couldn't wait for the nine months to be up. But six months into it mum miscarried. I cried for a week. All I wanted was for my parents to wrap me up in their arms and tell me that everything would be alright, but they didn't. Mum was too upset herself, so dad was comforting her. But I had my big brother Andrew to look after me, so I knew I was going to be alright.
"It wasn't until I was ten, that he started to get ill. He was a dancer, you see, and all of a sudden, he couldn't dance. His limbs would feel too weak, and he'd easily catch colds. And what mad it worse was that we didn't know why.
"At first we thought it was emotional stress, as he had just broken up with his girlfriend of three years, and was taking it badly. But then he got back together with his girlfriend Jamie, and he didn't get any better. Eventually he went to the doctors and they ran some tests on him.
"It wasn't until the day after he had proposed to Jamie and she'd accepted, that he found out the results. He had cancer. Terminal cancer of the heart. The doctors said he had a maximum of three years left to live. He didn't even last that long…." And with that comment, Hermione broke down into Ron's arms again.
***************
Meanwhile, Ginny and Harry were sitting up in the Gryffindor tower, waiting for news of their friends. Every once in a while Ginny would get up, walk to the window, look out of the window, look at the clock, sigh and return to the seat by the fire, to pick up the book that she was currently not reading. Harry smirked at her as she left her chair for the fourteenth time in half and hour.
"Good book?" he asked, his grin increasing at her blatant confusion.
"What?" She looked at the book placed on the chair. "Oh that. I'm not really reading it."
"That's obvious. You've been walking over to the window so often, that I'm getting dizzy. Look, don't worry about it. I think that after five years of friendship Ron would know how to handle Hermione by now." Ginny raised a neatly plucked red eyebrow at him, and smirked in a smug way.
"Don't look at me like that!" Harry continued. "You know the only reason that he argues with her, is because he thinks that 'she looks like an angry goddess and her eyes sparkle with the fire of a thousand suns.'" Ginny giggled as Harry deepened his voice slightly, and did a very good impression of her brother.
"He actually said that?"
"Yup. I got him to confess the day that he partnered Neville in Charms. We were doing truth charms and Neville's was a little too over enthusiastic. What was meant to last five minutes, actually lasted five hours." Ginny giggled again, unable to stop herself.
"Anyway, not only did I find out enough childhood information to keep Fred and George from getting me with their Wheezes for a good few years at least, but I also discovered that little Ronnikins has had a slight crush on our own dear friend Herm-own-ninny since the day he met her. He won't argue with her, when she's already upset over something else. He does have some sense, even if it is incredibly limited."
"So, who do you think Andrew is?" Ginny asked, changing the subject.
"Dunno. Cousin? Old boyfriend maybe?" was the reply.
"For Ron's sake, I hope not." Ginny said as she walked over to the window seat, and gazed out to the couple sitting by the lake. Harry joined her and wrapped a friendly arm around her shoulders, as he followed her gaze and silently agreed.
***************
"He was twelve when you were born? That would make him the same age as Bill."
"Yeah, Bill reminds me of him too. Not in looks, but his attitude. He always seems so calm, and relaxed about everything. Andrew was like that too." Hermione said.
She had her head resting on Ron's lap and was gazing out towards the lake, as if she could see her late brother in the middle. Ron was looking down at her face, and his hands were ideally playing with her hair. It was comforting to the two of them, though neither was sure why.
"I think I would have liked your brother." Ron stated, smoothing a curl and tucking it behind her ear. Hermione nodded slightly and there was a long pause before anyone said anything.
"I think he'd have liked you too." She paused again and then burst out a sudden, "I'm sorry for not telling you sooner." Ron opened his mouth to speak, but Hermione continued before he could get a word in. "I wanted to tell you, but it was never the right time. First year, you wouldn't even talk to me to begin with, and I didn't want to bring it up anyway, as the memory was still too fresh. When we eventually did become friends, it just seemed wrong to bring it up. And every year since, it just got harder. And it just seemed wrong to suddenly burst out of the blue and say 'By the way, I've been keeping a big secret from you for years. I used to have an older brother, but he died two months before I began Hogwarts.' It's not really casual conversation, is it?"
"Hermione, don't worry. I understand." Ron replied sympathetically. "I've lost relatives too, and I know how hard it is to even think about, let alone talk about, even years afterwards. My mum still gets all teary when she thinks of her dad, even though it's been almost eight years since he died."
Hermione was silent for a while. Then she looked up, smiled at Ron, and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Thanks again. I think I'm ready to go in now. I really should go and tell Harry and Ginny, before either of them gets too worried."
Ron and Hermione stood up and began the journey back to the castle. Their hands unconsciously joined together, and when the two of them realised, they did nothing to stop it. The walk back to the gryffindor common room was a quiet one, as both were too occupied with their thoughts to make any conversation.
All too soon, they were standing in front of the Fat Lady, looking towards her portrait with trepidition. Although they knew that Harry and Ginny were waiting for them, neither really wanted to end the time when it had just been the two of them.
Hermione looked up at Ron, and gave a weak smile. "Thanks." She whispered, as she gave him a short peck on the lips, before giving the fat lady the password and hurrying into the common room, quickly, in the hope that Ron wouldn't see the blush that now streaked her cheeks.
"You're welcome." Ron replied, his fingers on his lips and eyes following after her, shocked at her small action.
"Are you going to follow her?" the Fat Lady asked kindly.
"Wherever she goes." He replied, before giving the password, and entering the hubbub that was the gryffindor common room.
