Chapter 19 – Rons return
It was a Saturday afternoon and Hermione and Draco were sitting outside the castle underneath a tree on the grounds. It was a bit too cold at this time of year for being sat outside but Hermione had put a warming charm on them both and they were just enjoying being together. All of a sudden they saw a figure walking up towards the castle from Hogwarts gates and as it got nearer they realised that it was Ron, they could only really tell from the red hair
"Ron!" Hermione shouted jumping up and running to him "god how I've missed you"
"Hermione I missed you too," he said hugging her tightly.
"Ron" Draco said
"Draco" Ron acknowledged. Even though the pair were friends they would probably never be close and there was still rather an air of formality between them,
"So how are you feeling?" Hermione asked pulling him over to where they had previously been sat
"Better" Ron said "mum ended up sending me to see a shrunk"
"A shrink Ron" Hermione said "did that help you much?"
"Yeah it did I can even talk about him now" he told her "I still miss him though"
"I know" she said and hugged him.
"Well
I need to go and tell Dumbledore I am back "he said
"ok see
you in a bit Ron" Hermione said "just come by the common room
whenever you want to"
"Ok bye, bye Draco" and with that he picked up his bag and went inside
"Mr Weasley" Dumbledore said as Ron sat down in front of him, "so glad you have returned"
"thank
you" Ron said
"I am hoping that you are feeling much better
now" he asked
"Yes thanks very much" Ron said, he didn't like sitting in the headmaster's office much it made him feel uneasy.
"Your head of house also took this whole situation extremely badly and has not returned to her teaching as yet, so should you feel that you need to speak to anybody please see either myself or professor Snape" Dumbledore said
Ron nearly choked when the words professor Snape were said, he didn't think he would be going there anytime soon.
"Thank you sir" he said and left
He went to the common room to sort his things out and decided after he had done so he would stop by the heads common room to see Draco and Hermione and maybe they could go to dinner together,
He
knocked on the door to the common room but nobody seemed to hear him,
he could hear giggling coming from inside and remembered that he had
heard Hermione use the password before "Hogwarts unite" he told
the portrait and the door swung open and to his horror Hermione was
sat on Draco's knee and he was tickling her
"Hermione" he
said and stared at her with his mouth wide open
"Ron" she said and jumped off Draco's knee quickly
"What on earth is going on here?" he asked.
Draco just sat there casually looking between the two, he wasn't too sure how this was going to pan out and he didn't want to
Step in too early and end up making a fool of himself and also as Hermione likes to remind him she can look after herself
"Well?" Ron asked "what is the meaning of all this?"
"Well" Hermione said "whilst you have been away Draco and I have found that we care for each other a lot"
"Don't beat about the bush" Ron snarled "are you shagging him?"
"Ronald Weasley!" she exclaimed "I am surprised at you, we are not shagging as you so eloquently put it, however we are a couple"
"I knew it" he said throwing his hands in the air, "it's not enough that your best friend killed himself partially because of you, now you have to go against his memory and against me and go out with him"
"Ron" Draco said "it's not like that at all, Hermione and I care for each other"
"so
what, Harry cared for her too and look where that got him" Ron
yelled
"we cant just deny our feelings because Harry couldn't
cope with it" Draco said "no disrespect to him or anything, but
you know as well as I do there were many other contributing factors
that led to his choice, but we cant remain unhappy just because
someone who isn't even here anymore wouldn't have liked it"
Ron was getting madder and madder by the minute and Draco was trying to take some of the pressure off of Hermione but it didn't really seem to be helping all that much.
"Ron come and take a walk with me" Hermione said "I will be back soon Draco, don't worry"
Draco shrugged he knew there was no sense in trying to talk her out of it, that would just antagonise the situation.
Ron followed Hermione out of the portrait and they went for a walk around the lake
"Why would you do it Hermione?" he asked
"Why would I do what Ron? Deny myself happiness because my friend was selfish" she asked "yes Ron, don't stare at me all open-mouthed like that, he was selfish, he didn't think of the pain any of us would go through, he didn't think of the fact that the wizarding world no longer stands a chance without him. He felt bad and gave in and now because of that you want me to be miserable too, well I cant and I won't"
"You did it too" Ron said quietly "or had you forgotten"
Hermione felt the tears come to her eyes, "no Ron I had not forgotten and since I tried to kill myself I have not stopped thinking I am so glad that Draco found me, I was so mad at first that he had saved me I just wanted to be dead. But since then I have realised a lot of things. I have realised that it's the most selfish thing you could ever ever do, I have realised that although my life is pretty much a shambles I don't have to deal with it all on my own, and that I am not the only one who is suffering, and you know who taught me all that? Draco"
Ron just glared at her "you know what Hermione I don't care, they way I see it your shaming Harry potters name and he would be turning in his grave if he had seen what I did, and I am almost totally sure the whole wizarding world will see it that way also, Hermione Granger, 'the girl who didn't care'
"Ron" she said begging him to talk to her, to accept what she was trying to say
"No Hermione I can never forgive you for that" he told her and walked away
Hermione returned to the common room and found a note from Draco
Hermione,
I have gone down to dinner as I am ravenous and I wasn't sure how much longer you were going to be.
See you shortly
Love Draco
Hermione sat down on her couch to think. She was glad in a way that Draco wasn't here she needed time to think on her own, she needed to be away from Ron and him. Maybe what Ron said was right, maybe everybody would see her that way. What should she do? She didn't know. Perhaps she should split up with Draco and just try and forget her feelings for him. That would appease Ron and lessen her guilt for Harry.
Yes she decided eventually that was going to have to be the solution. She didn't really see any other way around it. Sure Draco would be furious but there were other girls. Her heart saddened at this thought. She didn't want to think of Draco with other girls but what else could she do?
Hermione washed her face to get rid of the tell tale signs of her crying and went towards the great hall to get something to eat. As she walked through the door, she immediately looked for the blonde head of Malfoy and she soon found it over at the slytherin table. She didn't want to upset Ron anymore so she went and sat beside him at the Gryffindor table.
"Hermione" He said curtly as she sat down.
"Ron I need to talk to you" she said, he looked deep into her eyes, he saw a lot of sadness and knew she was planning on breaking up with Draco
"I understand" he said
Draco winked at her as he stood up from the table to go back upstairs, she gave him a weak smile. And he noticed she looked pale. She had been crying. Course she had tried to hide it but he could tell. He noticed everything about her, he always had. He decided to go and get a pepper up potion for Hermione from Madame Pomfrey for when she got back in case she was feeling a little under the weather.
Ron and Hermione finished their meals, well Hermione didn't really but she had finally tired of pushing her food around her plate.
They left the great hall and Ron found an empty classroom for them to talk in
"So have you made a decision?" he asked
"Yes" she said sadly, "your right I know you are, I just haven't been thinking very clearly lately with everything that has happened"
"Well I am glad to see you're coming to your senses" Ron said and hugged her
"Have you told him yet?"
"No she said "I am going to tell him tonight"
"Good" Ron said "and you know you don't have to be alone, Harry wouldn't have minded if you and I were a couple"
"Ron
I err I dunno" Hermione said
Ron held her hand and wouldn't
let her go "Hermione I care for you, I always have. Go and talk to
Draco tell him your decision then think about it ok"
Hermione nodded meekly and left
She cried as she ascended the stairs 'What was a girl to do?'
Hermione entered her common room and found Draco doing his homework
"hey"
he said standing up and coming over to wrap his arms around
her
"Draco no" she said and pulled away "I can't do this,
he's right, he is right about everything, what was I thinking?"
"Whoa" he said "you have lost me but I don't like the sound of this very much"
"Ron he told me what everybody would think of me, he told me what I was doing to Harry's memory. I don't want people to see me that way" she cried
"Hermione, Ron is being stupid and trying to force us apart" Draco said and tried to console her but she kept pulling away from him
"Draco he is right, I know he is" she said, she was beginning to sound a little hysterical.
"Hermione snap out of it" he said and forced her to sit down, "you are not doing yourselves any favours, you are going to make yourself ill, getting worked up like this"
"Anyway it doesn't change anything" she said standing up, she turned round to him and said "I can't be with you Draco, we are not meant to be"
He immediately remembered the dream he had had, so long ago
"Hermione I must be able to do something to change your mind" he begged "I love you, I love you more than life itself, I love everything about you and I need you"
"You need me?" she asked
"Yes" he said firmly "without you there is nothing for me, it is you that gets me through the bad times and you are the light amongst my dark, showing me the way. If it weren't for you I don't think I could have carried on this long, and if you leave me then I don't think I can carry on at all. You complete me" (A/N very Jerry Maguire I know but still good)
Hermione looked at him, he was right they needed each other they had helped each other so much and despite everything she loved him with all her heart. If it meant losing Ron then so be it. After all he hadn't been there the last month when she had needed someone. Draco had he was always there for her.
And with that she resolutely decided to tell Ron that no matter what she needed Draco and he along with everybody else would just have to accept that no matter what.
She snuggled up to Draco thinking how glad she was that he had persevered and not just given up at the first time of trouble for them.
And they fell asleep there in the common room.
