Whoa this is a long chapter...
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Chapter Three: Corrupt Coincidences
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I woke up the next morning in my closet with my headphones still on. My back was all cramped not to mention my right leg was asleep. I got up shakily and nervously crept out of my room. I peered in Ethan's room, planning to apologize, but he wasn't there so I went downstairs, where the rest of the family, plus the ornery old dress-fitting lady, plus the maid of honor were running around like frantic doing this and that. The wedding, apparently, was still on.
Ethan glared at me as I sat down at the kitchen table, I wanted to apologize right then, but by the If-You-Mention-Anything-About-Last-Night-I'll-Kill-You look n his face, I decided it wasn't a good time. Lila was there too, and she seemed to be on ok terms with Ethan, which should have made me happy, but... I wasn't.
"Honey, you got something on your cheek, ink or something," My Mother said after she noticed I was up. I rubbed my cheek, before going into the bathroom to see what it was. The numbers 546 were pretty clear on my lower cheek, along with some other smeared spots. I looked down at my hand, the hand that had been pressed to my cheek all night as a pillow. The number Ron had written on my hand. I turned on the water turning the knob all the way to the maximum heat. I put my numbered hand in the water and rubbed it with my other hand and then rubbed my cheek, I watched as the ink ran off my cheek leaving it clean, then looked down at my hand. The numbers were still there, dark and clear. I tried soap, I scrubbed, I tried make-up remover, I tried spells, I tried everything I could think of but it was still there:
546-2728
Ron's Number
"Maybe it's a sign," I jumped looking up. It was Charlotte.
"Or maybe he used permanent marker," I said cynically.
"You want to go to the place before the wedding? Lane and Nicole are going," I shrugged and said:
"Why not."
~
"So what's the count for last night?" Nicole asked when Charlotte and I got there.
"I had one guy buy me a drink, and we danced, but then he left, and this other guy who was really cute who was hanging around the dance floor, but not dancing, that I asked, but he said he was waiting for someone," Lane said.
"I danced with a few guys, but that's mostly it," Charlotte said. They all turned and looked at me.
"Nothing," I mumbled.
"Liar, I saw you with that tall hottie," Nicole said grinning knowingly.
"Tall pervert," I corrected.
"Still," Nicole insisted.
"Fine, I got one," She smiled triumphantly.
"And I got seven," Nicole said proudly. We all gaped, which is probably what she wanted.
"No question how," Charlotte said striking a model pose which involved hiking up her imaginary skirt and sticking out her chest. Nicole scowled.
"Your just jealous."
"Jealous that I have dignity? Sure am, you caught me their Nic," Charlotte said sarcastically. They generally got in little spats like that after going to the club. Mostly because Nicole was one of those thin, blonde haired, tight clothes types, and Charlotte was more the athletic, laid back whatever is comfortable type.
"God, stop the dramatics already," Lane yelled after they mocked and criticized each other for a few minutes. "I'm thirsty. Let's stop at the Gas station and get some cokes."
~
We went to the gas station right next to the book store/Coffee shop that I worked in. We all got the regular Charlotte, got a coke and chips, Nicole, a diet coke, Lane, a diet coke and jelly beans, and me, a mars bar and regular coke.
"That all?" the girl who worked there, Beatrice, asked, even though she new it was. We nodded throwing down the appropriate amount of money, which, we had memorized.
"Can I help you?" Beatrice asked after we had picked up all of our stuff and were headed towards the door.
"I was wondering if I could have a job application," a familiar voice asked. I turned to see Harry standing there.
"Sure Hun," She said handing him one.
"Hermione," He said smiling at me and walking towards us.
"Harry," I replied hugging him. "How are you?"
"Ok," He said forcing a smile. "I missed you, we both did, Ron and I."
"Yeah, I missed you guys too." His face looked kind of solemn and he took a deep breath.
"Will you call or come over or something?" He asked. I felt my stomach drop.
"I can't tonight, I'm busy, but maybe tomorrow, or the day after."
"Ok," He said nodding at me. It was different. It was scary. Harry had been so quiet, and withdrawn since everything. It made me feel even guiltier then I had with Ron. I kissed him on the cheek and he hugged me again and then he waved ad said he hoped he'd see me soon again. If I didn't have the wedding later, and if Charlotte and the rest hadn't been standing there watching with interest, I might have just gone with him then. But I didn't, and I wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not.
"And that was...?" Charlotte asked as I followed them out of the gas station.
"An old friend,"
"Boyfriend?" Nicole asked.
"No, but if you go near him I'll kill you," I said seriously. Nicole gave me a sour look and Lane said:
"He looked familiar," And then shrugged.
~
"You have got to stop crying," My Mom said firmly to Lila who was bawling, in one of those So-Happy-I'm-Crying ways.
"It's just so, wonderful everything is just what I imagined," She sobbed. I sighed knowing that in a few months she'd be crying again for entirely different reasons. My mother patted her encouragingly on the shoulder and the other bridesmaids gathered around all in the same matching deep red dresses, patting and encouraging, and fluffing, and everything.
I looked at myself in the mirror hanging in the bathroom that we were all sitting in. My hair was soft and smooth like it had been at the Yule ball in my forth year, with most of it up on top of my head but with a few tendrils ringletting down the sides of my face and the back of my neck. Someone came in to say the ceremony was starting and I went out to watch.
The music started, the organ playing the same droning song that I had already heard twice before at my brother's previous weddings. Dum, dum, dee, dum. The flower girl, Lila's niece and the ring bearer one of my younger cousins, started down the aisle. Then the groomsmen came out and hooked arms with all of us bridesmaids. A particularly cheeky one pinching me in a place that made me jam my high-heeled foot on his toe.
It was a nice ceremony, all of them had been, and as I watched everyone crying happily it almost made me want to cry, for entirely other reasons. Weddings just seemed so depressing. And only more, depression, I would come to find, would come later that night.
~
The food at the reception was good, but I didn't eat much. I kept trying to catch Ethan's eye, to see if he was still angry at me, but even sitting at the wedding party table, only two seats from him, he seemed too busy to notice me. The best man made his speech, and then the maid of honor, and then the band came out.
There were four guys in the band, all wearing too big black suits with brightly colored ties. And top hats. Except for the lead singer, who was wearing a cowboy hat.
"Omigod!" Nicole shouted running over to me. "It's that guy!" I was out of my seat unsure of what to do. Just staring open-mouthed at the band. I noticed the guy behind the drum-set was Harry, and Seamus was on bass, with Dean on lead guitar.
And then the first notes rang out. The first notes to a sappy love song I'd heard before on the radio. And my brother and Lila walked out majestically to the floor and then this deep pure voice sang out the first words, and I was frozen.
I was walking towards the stage in a daze, seemingly unaware of anything but the voice and the person it was coming from. I caught myself before I stepped onto the dance floor and just stood there my body torn against turning and running and staying and watching what Ron would do next.
The song ended and the cowboy hat clad singer spoke into the microphone.
"I'm Ron, the lead singer of The Marauders, and drums is my mate Harry, On bass is the Irish man Seamus, and Our lead guitarist is none other then Dean. We'd all like to congratulate the newly weds, Mr. And Mrs. Ethan Granger!" Everyone cheered and Granger seemed to echo through out the room. Ron's eyes wandering up and down the crowd.
"The next dance is the mother/son father/daughter dance," He said and my Father came over and pulled me out onto the floor along with Lila and her Dad and my Mum and Ethan.
Ron nodded at Dean who pulled the first note, a note I recognized so well. The beat started and I felt hot, and cold, and frozen and restless. The bass came in deepening the sound and then the voice:
'This lullaby
Just a simple run of chords...' My mom and Ethan looked over at me sheer terror on their faces, my father looked down at me sympathetically and then I ran. Straight outside only stopping when I couldn't breath. I hated myself for crying, but even more I hated myself for wanting to hear that song again. Needing to hear it. Wanting to hear it and keep it to myself, not letting anyone else know.
The song was for me. All those dumb people dancing to it, listening to it, they had no idea, they didn't know that when it said 'I will let you down,' that he meant it. That he was letting me down every day of my life. They didn't know that the lullaby not only played on, but never ended. That nightmare of a song haunted me, telling me that I would be let down my entire life, from everything, and there was no avoiding it.
I started walking back afraid my mother would get worried about me, and hoping she hadn't tried to follow me. His voice still rang in my ears. His beautiful voice, that he had never let me hear in any way other then a yell, or a joke, or a sneer. His beautiful voice that was hurting me.
I leaned against the brick wall between two dumpsters, wondering what everyone inside was doing, when the band came out for their break.
"God we have got to stop doing weddings and get some real gigs like, that club, that was cool, we could actually do our real songs, instead of using other peoples stuff," Deans voice said as he slumped into a chair that was set up next to a card table, that had some food on it. Seamus went over and they started talking animatedly about the Shitty-ness of performing at weddings.
Ron and Harry wandered further out, walking right past the first dumpster, I leaned back as far as I could crouching down, and hoping they wouldn't see me in the shadow. They kept walking and past the second dumpster, stopping on the other side.
"Did you see her? How she ran?" His low beautiful voice asked. I figured Harry had replied but not loud enough for me to hear.
"Do you think she ran because she realized it was us?" Another reply, from Harry that I couldn't make out and then Ron hit the side of the dumpster hard enough to make it roll slightly, squishing me between the two. I strained my hearing wondering what he'd say next, but no voice came and next thing I saw he was walking in front of the two dumpsters and toward Dean and Seamus. Harry followed, only when they the others called and told him that the break was over. He wandered out in front of me slowly, tossing something into the garbage, I didn't breath, afraid for him to spot me. He did.
"Hermione? What are you doing back there?"
"Came for some air," I half-lied.
"We were worried when we saw you run," He said sweetly.
"I'm ok. Your in a band?" I asked.
"Well, Ron can sing, but he's the only one with real talent, the rest of us just charmed our instruments, it's mostly just for fun, and money," He said as I squeezed out from between the dumpsters.
"He'll never give up now," Harry said slowly.
"What?" I asked.
"Now that we've found you, he'll never give up," Harry said before Dean came out and yelled:
"Oy! Harry, what's taking you? You taking a piss out there or something?" He gave me a smile and then went inside with a little wave.
~
"Are you ok?" Charlotte asked once I had gone inside again. I nodded. "I can't believe she requested THAT song!" Charlotte said glaring at Lila who was completely oblivious.
"Maybe she didn't know," I suggested.
"Well, don't you think Ethan would check on the song list?"
"To tell you the truth I kind of doubt he would check, he probably just let Lila control it," I said seriously.
"Still," Charlotte said. I smiled slightly, it was nice to have someone to be mad at Lila so I didn't have to be the one. Nice to have a friend who was illogical at all the right times, my automatically went up to Ron's, he was watching me from where he stood, singing. For a second I wished things hadn't changed between us, I wished he could still be the illogical friend who was only that.
"This is the band we were telling you about, the Moraders," Charlotte said seeing where I was looking.
"Marauders," I corrected before I thought twice. Charlotte gave me a questioning look.
"I talked to them, outside," I explained, Charlotte nodded.
"You know, I was thinking, about how you described that friend of yours, Ron? Yeah, well how you described him, kind of reminds me of the lead singer." I froze. I don't know why it was so important for me to keep it secret that, that WAS Ron, but some reason it was.
"I guess maybe a little, but the Ron I know is much more..." I struggled to find a lie that sounded like it could be somewhat true, "Well, Ron would never sing in public, ever, at least not the one I know," that was true, I'd never known Ron to sing, anytime, let alone in front of hundreds of people.
"Why won't you let me meet him? You've been talking about Ron and Harry, ever since you got back, and now there here and it's like... Well, I don't know, it's weird," Charlotte was trying to catch my eye at this point.
"I left school early, I didn't even stay for graduation ceremonies, to get away from them. From that life. I don't want to be the same Hermione I was back then," I whispered
"Her-mi-on-EE" Charlotte whined. I ignored her purposely. "Fine, I'm going home with Nicole and Lane, stop by later if you can." I nodded to her, knowing I wouldn't stop by, not tonight.
~
"We're going to get back home, can you get a ride with Gram and Gramps?" My Mother asked as the wedding was coming to an end and we were all helping clean up, as the band packed up. I considered going right then, just in case, to avoid any awkward moments between me and the band, but decided against it as I saw my Dad pull the car up to the curb, the whole back was jammed full of wedding gifts.
"Sure," I said forcing a smile and turning to go find Gram and Gramps, it only took me about ten minutes to find them, or at least find out where they were (back at the hotel already)
"Shit," I cursed lightly under my breath.
"Hermione Granger cursing?" A familiar voice asked behind me.
"I'm stranded, everyone left without me," I explained without turning around, I walked over to the nearest table, ready to sit down and think about the situation, think of someone that could take me home. I could tell he was following me, Ron wasn't a soft walker, he was a bit of a clomper, not to mention the fact that his shoes were untied and made a little tap-tap noise on the hard wood floors.
I sat down and he ended up sitting directly in front of me, leaning across the table and staring at me as if waiting.
"What?" I asked, a bit sharply.
"Waiting for you to ask," He said, with a twinkle in his eye, he leaned forward resting his chin on his hand, still staring, still with that black cowboy hat on.
"To ask what?" I demanded although I already knew what he meant.
"To ask for a ride,"
"Oh, I don't need you to give me a ride, I'll just have..." I looked around; the whole place was deserted, except for a janitor here, or there.
"Come on," He said standing up and grabbing my hand, I pulled it away. "Hermione, please, can we try and be adults about this?" He said in a very Percy-ish way. I narrowed my eyes at him and his stern face broke into a grin. "Let me give you a ride, so we can talk."
"Ron-"
"Look, I'm not going to jump you or something, Harry, and dean and Seamus will be there," He said with a hopeful look on his face. I sighed standing up. His face exploded with happiness and he reached for my hand again, I pulled it back giving him a stern look, which he shrugged off. We walked outside in silence, just in time to see a white van pull away.
"Damn," Ron hissed taking off the hat and running a hand through his hair, an obvious sign that something bad was happening.
"What?" I asked.
"That van, that was my ride," He said shaking his head with an I-Can't-Believe-This grin on his face.
"Great, now what are we supposed to do?" I asked.
"Well, we could walk to my place, and then I could take you home from there, it's not very far." I considered this,
'He'll never give up now,' echoed in my ears. To Ron's place... He'd take me home, alone in his car...
"Actually, I think I'll just call a taxi," I muttered.
"Ok, he said nodding. It surprised me, I had expected him to put up a bit more of a fight, but he just nodded, put his hat back on, tipped it at me like the cowboys in old movies always did, and then started walking as a waved for a taxi to stop.
As we drove away I couldn't help but stare after him down that street,
'He'll never give up now,'
Never.
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Thanks for the constructive criticism, I DID mean "foul", not, "fowl" also thanks for the people that reviewed, reviews are nice to get, especially because I put a lot of work into these chapters. It's nice to know SOMEONE is reading them, so if you are reading this and not replying PLEASE leave a review, even if you think it sucks! And if you already have reviewed, thanks! And you can review again! I won't mind :)
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Chapter Three: Corrupt Coincidences
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I woke up the next morning in my closet with my headphones still on. My back was all cramped not to mention my right leg was asleep. I got up shakily and nervously crept out of my room. I peered in Ethan's room, planning to apologize, but he wasn't there so I went downstairs, where the rest of the family, plus the ornery old dress-fitting lady, plus the maid of honor were running around like frantic doing this and that. The wedding, apparently, was still on.
Ethan glared at me as I sat down at the kitchen table, I wanted to apologize right then, but by the If-You-Mention-Anything-About-Last-Night-I'll-Kill-You look n his face, I decided it wasn't a good time. Lila was there too, and she seemed to be on ok terms with Ethan, which should have made me happy, but... I wasn't.
"Honey, you got something on your cheek, ink or something," My Mother said after she noticed I was up. I rubbed my cheek, before going into the bathroom to see what it was. The numbers 546 were pretty clear on my lower cheek, along with some other smeared spots. I looked down at my hand, the hand that had been pressed to my cheek all night as a pillow. The number Ron had written on my hand. I turned on the water turning the knob all the way to the maximum heat. I put my numbered hand in the water and rubbed it with my other hand and then rubbed my cheek, I watched as the ink ran off my cheek leaving it clean, then looked down at my hand. The numbers were still there, dark and clear. I tried soap, I scrubbed, I tried make-up remover, I tried spells, I tried everything I could think of but it was still there:
546-2728
Ron's Number
"Maybe it's a sign," I jumped looking up. It was Charlotte.
"Or maybe he used permanent marker," I said cynically.
"You want to go to the place before the wedding? Lane and Nicole are going," I shrugged and said:
"Why not."
~
"So what's the count for last night?" Nicole asked when Charlotte and I got there.
"I had one guy buy me a drink, and we danced, but then he left, and this other guy who was really cute who was hanging around the dance floor, but not dancing, that I asked, but he said he was waiting for someone," Lane said.
"I danced with a few guys, but that's mostly it," Charlotte said. They all turned and looked at me.
"Nothing," I mumbled.
"Liar, I saw you with that tall hottie," Nicole said grinning knowingly.
"Tall pervert," I corrected.
"Still," Nicole insisted.
"Fine, I got one," She smiled triumphantly.
"And I got seven," Nicole said proudly. We all gaped, which is probably what she wanted.
"No question how," Charlotte said striking a model pose which involved hiking up her imaginary skirt and sticking out her chest. Nicole scowled.
"Your just jealous."
"Jealous that I have dignity? Sure am, you caught me their Nic," Charlotte said sarcastically. They generally got in little spats like that after going to the club. Mostly because Nicole was one of those thin, blonde haired, tight clothes types, and Charlotte was more the athletic, laid back whatever is comfortable type.
"God, stop the dramatics already," Lane yelled after they mocked and criticized each other for a few minutes. "I'm thirsty. Let's stop at the Gas station and get some cokes."
~
We went to the gas station right next to the book store/Coffee shop that I worked in. We all got the regular Charlotte, got a coke and chips, Nicole, a diet coke, Lane, a diet coke and jelly beans, and me, a mars bar and regular coke.
"That all?" the girl who worked there, Beatrice, asked, even though she new it was. We nodded throwing down the appropriate amount of money, which, we had memorized.
"Can I help you?" Beatrice asked after we had picked up all of our stuff and were headed towards the door.
"I was wondering if I could have a job application," a familiar voice asked. I turned to see Harry standing there.
"Sure Hun," She said handing him one.
"Hermione," He said smiling at me and walking towards us.
"Harry," I replied hugging him. "How are you?"
"Ok," He said forcing a smile. "I missed you, we both did, Ron and I."
"Yeah, I missed you guys too." His face looked kind of solemn and he took a deep breath.
"Will you call or come over or something?" He asked. I felt my stomach drop.
"I can't tonight, I'm busy, but maybe tomorrow, or the day after."
"Ok," He said nodding at me. It was different. It was scary. Harry had been so quiet, and withdrawn since everything. It made me feel even guiltier then I had with Ron. I kissed him on the cheek and he hugged me again and then he waved ad said he hoped he'd see me soon again. If I didn't have the wedding later, and if Charlotte and the rest hadn't been standing there watching with interest, I might have just gone with him then. But I didn't, and I wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not.
"And that was...?" Charlotte asked as I followed them out of the gas station.
"An old friend,"
"Boyfriend?" Nicole asked.
"No, but if you go near him I'll kill you," I said seriously. Nicole gave me a sour look and Lane said:
"He looked familiar," And then shrugged.
~
"You have got to stop crying," My Mom said firmly to Lila who was bawling, in one of those So-Happy-I'm-Crying ways.
"It's just so, wonderful everything is just what I imagined," She sobbed. I sighed knowing that in a few months she'd be crying again for entirely different reasons. My mother patted her encouragingly on the shoulder and the other bridesmaids gathered around all in the same matching deep red dresses, patting and encouraging, and fluffing, and everything.
I looked at myself in the mirror hanging in the bathroom that we were all sitting in. My hair was soft and smooth like it had been at the Yule ball in my forth year, with most of it up on top of my head but with a few tendrils ringletting down the sides of my face and the back of my neck. Someone came in to say the ceremony was starting and I went out to watch.
The music started, the organ playing the same droning song that I had already heard twice before at my brother's previous weddings. Dum, dum, dee, dum. The flower girl, Lila's niece and the ring bearer one of my younger cousins, started down the aisle. Then the groomsmen came out and hooked arms with all of us bridesmaids. A particularly cheeky one pinching me in a place that made me jam my high-heeled foot on his toe.
It was a nice ceremony, all of them had been, and as I watched everyone crying happily it almost made me want to cry, for entirely other reasons. Weddings just seemed so depressing. And only more, depression, I would come to find, would come later that night.
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The food at the reception was good, but I didn't eat much. I kept trying to catch Ethan's eye, to see if he was still angry at me, but even sitting at the wedding party table, only two seats from him, he seemed too busy to notice me. The best man made his speech, and then the maid of honor, and then the band came out.
There were four guys in the band, all wearing too big black suits with brightly colored ties. And top hats. Except for the lead singer, who was wearing a cowboy hat.
"Omigod!" Nicole shouted running over to me. "It's that guy!" I was out of my seat unsure of what to do. Just staring open-mouthed at the band. I noticed the guy behind the drum-set was Harry, and Seamus was on bass, with Dean on lead guitar.
And then the first notes rang out. The first notes to a sappy love song I'd heard before on the radio. And my brother and Lila walked out majestically to the floor and then this deep pure voice sang out the first words, and I was frozen.
I was walking towards the stage in a daze, seemingly unaware of anything but the voice and the person it was coming from. I caught myself before I stepped onto the dance floor and just stood there my body torn against turning and running and staying and watching what Ron would do next.
The song ended and the cowboy hat clad singer spoke into the microphone.
"I'm Ron, the lead singer of The Marauders, and drums is my mate Harry, On bass is the Irish man Seamus, and Our lead guitarist is none other then Dean. We'd all like to congratulate the newly weds, Mr. And Mrs. Ethan Granger!" Everyone cheered and Granger seemed to echo through out the room. Ron's eyes wandering up and down the crowd.
"The next dance is the mother/son father/daughter dance," He said and my Father came over and pulled me out onto the floor along with Lila and her Dad and my Mum and Ethan.
Ron nodded at Dean who pulled the first note, a note I recognized so well. The beat started and I felt hot, and cold, and frozen and restless. The bass came in deepening the sound and then the voice:
'This lullaby
Just a simple run of chords...' My mom and Ethan looked over at me sheer terror on their faces, my father looked down at me sympathetically and then I ran. Straight outside only stopping when I couldn't breath. I hated myself for crying, but even more I hated myself for wanting to hear that song again. Needing to hear it. Wanting to hear it and keep it to myself, not letting anyone else know.
The song was for me. All those dumb people dancing to it, listening to it, they had no idea, they didn't know that when it said 'I will let you down,' that he meant it. That he was letting me down every day of my life. They didn't know that the lullaby not only played on, but never ended. That nightmare of a song haunted me, telling me that I would be let down my entire life, from everything, and there was no avoiding it.
I started walking back afraid my mother would get worried about me, and hoping she hadn't tried to follow me. His voice still rang in my ears. His beautiful voice, that he had never let me hear in any way other then a yell, or a joke, or a sneer. His beautiful voice that was hurting me.
I leaned against the brick wall between two dumpsters, wondering what everyone inside was doing, when the band came out for their break.
"God we have got to stop doing weddings and get some real gigs like, that club, that was cool, we could actually do our real songs, instead of using other peoples stuff," Deans voice said as he slumped into a chair that was set up next to a card table, that had some food on it. Seamus went over and they started talking animatedly about the Shitty-ness of performing at weddings.
Ron and Harry wandered further out, walking right past the first dumpster, I leaned back as far as I could crouching down, and hoping they wouldn't see me in the shadow. They kept walking and past the second dumpster, stopping on the other side.
"Did you see her? How she ran?" His low beautiful voice asked. I figured Harry had replied but not loud enough for me to hear.
"Do you think she ran because she realized it was us?" Another reply, from Harry that I couldn't make out and then Ron hit the side of the dumpster hard enough to make it roll slightly, squishing me between the two. I strained my hearing wondering what he'd say next, but no voice came and next thing I saw he was walking in front of the two dumpsters and toward Dean and Seamus. Harry followed, only when they the others called and told him that the break was over. He wandered out in front of me slowly, tossing something into the garbage, I didn't breath, afraid for him to spot me. He did.
"Hermione? What are you doing back there?"
"Came for some air," I half-lied.
"We were worried when we saw you run," He said sweetly.
"I'm ok. Your in a band?" I asked.
"Well, Ron can sing, but he's the only one with real talent, the rest of us just charmed our instruments, it's mostly just for fun, and money," He said as I squeezed out from between the dumpsters.
"He'll never give up now," Harry said slowly.
"What?" I asked.
"Now that we've found you, he'll never give up," Harry said before Dean came out and yelled:
"Oy! Harry, what's taking you? You taking a piss out there or something?" He gave me a smile and then went inside with a little wave.
~
"Are you ok?" Charlotte asked once I had gone inside again. I nodded. "I can't believe she requested THAT song!" Charlotte said glaring at Lila who was completely oblivious.
"Maybe she didn't know," I suggested.
"Well, don't you think Ethan would check on the song list?"
"To tell you the truth I kind of doubt he would check, he probably just let Lila control it," I said seriously.
"Still," Charlotte said. I smiled slightly, it was nice to have someone to be mad at Lila so I didn't have to be the one. Nice to have a friend who was illogical at all the right times, my automatically went up to Ron's, he was watching me from where he stood, singing. For a second I wished things hadn't changed between us, I wished he could still be the illogical friend who was only that.
"This is the band we were telling you about, the Moraders," Charlotte said seeing where I was looking.
"Marauders," I corrected before I thought twice. Charlotte gave me a questioning look.
"I talked to them, outside," I explained, Charlotte nodded.
"You know, I was thinking, about how you described that friend of yours, Ron? Yeah, well how you described him, kind of reminds me of the lead singer." I froze. I don't know why it was so important for me to keep it secret that, that WAS Ron, but some reason it was.
"I guess maybe a little, but the Ron I know is much more..." I struggled to find a lie that sounded like it could be somewhat true, "Well, Ron would never sing in public, ever, at least not the one I know," that was true, I'd never known Ron to sing, anytime, let alone in front of hundreds of people.
"Why won't you let me meet him? You've been talking about Ron and Harry, ever since you got back, and now there here and it's like... Well, I don't know, it's weird," Charlotte was trying to catch my eye at this point.
"I left school early, I didn't even stay for graduation ceremonies, to get away from them. From that life. I don't want to be the same Hermione I was back then," I whispered
"Her-mi-on-EE" Charlotte whined. I ignored her purposely. "Fine, I'm going home with Nicole and Lane, stop by later if you can." I nodded to her, knowing I wouldn't stop by, not tonight.
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"We're going to get back home, can you get a ride with Gram and Gramps?" My Mother asked as the wedding was coming to an end and we were all helping clean up, as the band packed up. I considered going right then, just in case, to avoid any awkward moments between me and the band, but decided against it as I saw my Dad pull the car up to the curb, the whole back was jammed full of wedding gifts.
"Sure," I said forcing a smile and turning to go find Gram and Gramps, it only took me about ten minutes to find them, or at least find out where they were (back at the hotel already)
"Shit," I cursed lightly under my breath.
"Hermione Granger cursing?" A familiar voice asked behind me.
"I'm stranded, everyone left without me," I explained without turning around, I walked over to the nearest table, ready to sit down and think about the situation, think of someone that could take me home. I could tell he was following me, Ron wasn't a soft walker, he was a bit of a clomper, not to mention the fact that his shoes were untied and made a little tap-tap noise on the hard wood floors.
I sat down and he ended up sitting directly in front of me, leaning across the table and staring at me as if waiting.
"What?" I asked, a bit sharply.
"Waiting for you to ask," He said, with a twinkle in his eye, he leaned forward resting his chin on his hand, still staring, still with that black cowboy hat on.
"To ask what?" I demanded although I already knew what he meant.
"To ask for a ride,"
"Oh, I don't need you to give me a ride, I'll just have..." I looked around; the whole place was deserted, except for a janitor here, or there.
"Come on," He said standing up and grabbing my hand, I pulled it away. "Hermione, please, can we try and be adults about this?" He said in a very Percy-ish way. I narrowed my eyes at him and his stern face broke into a grin. "Let me give you a ride, so we can talk."
"Ron-"
"Look, I'm not going to jump you or something, Harry, and dean and Seamus will be there," He said with a hopeful look on his face. I sighed standing up. His face exploded with happiness and he reached for my hand again, I pulled it back giving him a stern look, which he shrugged off. We walked outside in silence, just in time to see a white van pull away.
"Damn," Ron hissed taking off the hat and running a hand through his hair, an obvious sign that something bad was happening.
"What?" I asked.
"That van, that was my ride," He said shaking his head with an I-Can't-Believe-This grin on his face.
"Great, now what are we supposed to do?" I asked.
"Well, we could walk to my place, and then I could take you home from there, it's not very far." I considered this,
'He'll never give up now,' echoed in my ears. To Ron's place... He'd take me home, alone in his car...
"Actually, I think I'll just call a taxi," I muttered.
"Ok, he said nodding. It surprised me, I had expected him to put up a bit more of a fight, but he just nodded, put his hat back on, tipped it at me like the cowboys in old movies always did, and then started walking as a waved for a taxi to stop.
As we drove away I couldn't help but stare after him down that street,
'He'll never give up now,'
Never.
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Thanks for the constructive criticism, I DID mean "foul", not, "fowl" also thanks for the people that reviewed, reviews are nice to get, especially because I put a lot of work into these chapters. It's nice to know SOMEONE is reading them, so if you are reading this and not replying PLEASE leave a review, even if you think it sucks! And if you already have reviewed, thanks! And you can review again! I won't mind :)