Mistakes Happen
Chapter 2
Disclaimer: Okay, if you REALLY REALLY want to see this (which I don't know why you would since if you clicked on this story, you probably want to see the STORY and not the DISCLAIMER), it's in the first chapter. Happy?
Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews! Hmm. Okay, five reviews. But, they were GOOD reviews, and I really appreciated them! So, thanks to those five people. Because if it weren't for them, I'd have no idea that anybody was reading this, and I might not add on! So...okay, this is a hint for the future...REVIEW! I know it takes a bit of time (like ONE minute!), but it really helps us writers. K? lol.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
~Ron's Point of View~
Since I hadn't seen Mum or Dad in a couple of weeks, and the idea of a visitation on Saturday was clearly out of the question, I decided to stop by the Burrow on Wednesday during lunch. It was somewhat of a tradition for anyone who was in dire need or good food and persistent attention to honor my mum with their presence. She always glad to see a new face or cook for someone she wasn't expecting.
So, when 12:00 rolled around the next afternoon, I told Fred and George where I was going before promptly apparating from the family joke shop to the Burrow's front porch. As soon as I felt my feet thud onto the aged wood in front of the door, I smiled. The sun was bright, lighting up the chipped white paint of the porch railing, and the wind was slightly chilly. What I've always loved most about the Burrow is that the weather always comes in distinct seasons. Today was no exception while the air hinted that spring was on the verge of blossoming.
However, I mostly wasn't aware of this because of the strong smell of pot roast that was wafting through the open windows. I hungrily inhaled and let myself in.
"Hello?" I heard Mum ask shrilly from the kitchen. Besides her voice, I heard a number of random people already roaming about, waiting for lunch.
Ginny poked her head into the living room from where she was helping in the kitchen, and she smiled. "Hey Ron."
"Ron?" Mum called surprised?
I walked into the kitchen, and found Harry reading the Daily Prophet at the table, Dad and Percy deep in conversation, and Penelope Weasley (the newest addition) talking quietly with Mum as she and Ginny cooked. "Well, looks like a full house." I said. "Sure you have room for me?"
Mum whipped around and ran over to me, hugging me tightly. "Well, of course sweetie! I'm glad you finally came by. I'd almost forgotten I had a sixth son." She eyed me jokingly and I grinned sheepishly.
"Sorry, Mum, I've been a bit busy." I strolled farther into the room and opened the oven to see how things were going.
"What could be so important as to keep you away from your dear old family?" She joked, swatting my arm lightly before starting to set the table.
"Oh, Mrs. Weasley, didn't you hear?" Harry asked, grinning over at me. "Ron here has big career plans."
Mum paused, then turned toward me with a raised eyebrow. "Really? I was hoping you'd finally found my future daughter-in-law." My jaw dropped and she laughed. "Just joking you, love," she soothed. "Now, what's this career that Harry's going on about?"
At that moment, a wave of silence went over the room, leaving the question hovering in mid-air. Dad and Percy paused their conversation and listen curiously, Penelope and Ginny eyes me suspiciously, and Harry put on a face of innocence and grinned guiltily. I felt a growing annoyance bubble up in my chest as I thought of how I hadn't planned to tell my family about the new job until I actually got it. I didn't want Fred and George getting all upset and deciding to use me as their new joke-tester, because if that were to happen, I'd be sure to die as a half-canary, extra-long-tongued loner. Not only that, but I didn't want Dad using his position and connections in the Ministry to his advantage and getting it for me. I wanted to get this job because of my ability and nothing else. I sighed dejectedly. Leave it Harry to ruin that!
* Scratch! Scratch! PECK PECK PECK! *
Suddenly, loud noises from the screen door claimed everyone's attention and I sighed with relief. I looked heavenward gratefully, but when I heard Harry's chair scrape hurriedly against the wood, and Ginny run over to the door, my eyes snapped back to what was happening in front of me. Ginny had just opened the door, and Harry had practically attacked Hedwig before she could fully come in the room. The piece of parchment that Harry was fumbling with came loose, and I saw him hastily stuff it in a pocket of his robes. My eyes narrowed, and I began walking over to them, until...
"Ron, could you help me with this?" Mum appeared next to me, along with Percy, Penelope, and Dad. Their eyes were frantic, and each one of them was trying to distract my attention to anywhere but Harry, Ginny, and Hedwig. I looked over their heads at the three of them and saw Harry trying to secure his robes as if to make sure the parchment wouldn't fall out.
"Hold it!" I cried angrily. What was the big deal? "What's going on?"
"Nothing!" Ginny answered rather quickly.
I pushed past the group around me and stalked over to Harry. I held out my hand expectantly. "Letter, please."
"Hmm?" he asked, eyes wide with innocence.
"Don't play dumb, Harry. Let me see it."
He looked up at me, then at the face of every other person in the room, as if searching for some sort of assistance. When he was answered with silence, he sighed angrily and rolled his eyes before stuffing his hand in his robe and pulling out a crumpled piece of parchment. "Bloody hell," he muttered.
I snatched it from him and unfolded it. Inside was neat-as-a-pin handwriting that reminded me a lot of...Hermione's. I clenched my jaw and read on.
Harry:
Hello to you too! You're right, it has been too long. Maybe you, Ginny, and I could meet up for lunch one day! As for the gathering on Saturday, I'm afraid I won't be able to make it. Because...well...Viktor and I have already made dinner plans. Thank you so much for inviting me, though, it was very thoughtful. Please let Penelope know I'm happy for her! I'm also terribly sorry if Viktor was unkind to you two when you saw him over vacation...I'm sure he was just having a bad day.
You're friend,
Hermione
PS: Tell Ginny I saw hi as well!
I glared at the piece of parchment as if it were Hermione herself. I couldn't believe she had the nerve to write to MY best friend and ask if she could go out to lunch with MY sister...and not even ask about ME! Not that I wanted to see her anyway. I would rather rot in Snape's dungeon! But Miss Know-It-All should at least have some sort of manners, shouldn't she?
Forgetting about Hermione, I crossly turned toward the group of people behind me, where Harry and Ginny had joined the rest with guilty looks on their faces, and their heads bowed in dismay of my reaction. I glared at them...something that was coming quite easily at the moment...and took a step toward them, making them all flinch.
"First of all," I said, speaking loud and clear. I felt my face heat with anger with every word. "Not one of you has any right to invite Hermione to a party at MY family's house. Not one of you! If it weren't for the fact that all of you are unstoppably determined to get us together, I would've accepted the invitation. But since, I KNOW you all too well, and KNEW you would invite HER, I declined. The only thing you're achieving by doing this to the two of us, is deteriorating your relationships with us. It's really QUITE unfortunate! However, at THIS point, I wouldn't truly want to attend knowing that you have done this." Of course, I remembered that I'd guessed Hermione was invited, but I didn't want to actually see the results of the invitation.
"And second," I continued angrily, glaring pointedly at Harry and Ginny. "You two saw HIM...little VICKY...on vacation and you didn't even have the decency to TELL me? What the hell is THAT?!" I unwillingly felt my stance changing from angry to hurt within seconds. "I thought we were friends. I even asked you how your trip went! I just don't get you guys sometimes. It's been five entire years since Hermione and I last spoke, and neither of us have any kind of desire to change that. Why can't you just accept it? All you're going to do is push me away."
By this time, everyone's expression had changed from guilty to worried. Their heads were no longer bowed, and I could tell that they were listening intently to me. At that moment, though, I didn't care. I turned on my heel, wrenched open the kitchen door, and hurried outside.
"But, sweetie! What about lunch?" I heard Mum call from behind me.
"Forget it!" I bellowed and waved my hand dismissively over my shoulder.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I stumbled out into the crisp afternoon air, and began walking aimlessly about the friendly backyard that I had grown up in. And I was fuming. I thought back on all the times in the past five years that my family and Harry had attempted to plot Hermione and I together. They seemed to forget that neither of us...however hard it was to believe...were that thick, and we both managed to avoid it.
Honestly! It was all incredibly stupid when you thought about it. I mean, if it weren't for that stupid fight in seventh year, none of this would have happened! It's not like I could've changed anything though...it wasn't MY fault in the slightest. I felt my face heat with anger once again as I thought about that night...
~It was a week before the Graduation Ball. A week. I had seven days to gather up enough nerve to ask Hermione, and I didn't see it as a possibility. Every time I was in the same room with her, my mouth would go dry, my palms would start to sweat, and the tips of my ears would heat. It was horrible, really. Harry and Hermione had known me long enough to know why my ears would heat up, and I knew that sooner or later, they would end up seeing right through my joking-not-flirting-with-Hermione image.
That night, when I approached Hermione, I overheard her reading a letter from Viktor Krum aloud to Ginny. "Ginny, listen to this," she had said. "'Hermione, your invitation to your Ball is in a irresistible, and I would adore going with you.' Did you hear that, Gin? He accepted!"
I was absolutely furious, and in a state of wild jealousy, I'd asked Lavender Brown instead.
Seven days later, after Lavender had slapped me for having such a horrendous evening, I'd waited for Hermione down in the Common Room in order to finally come clean with her, no matter how angry I was. Finally, around one o'clock in the morning, she'd waltzed in, and I had pounced on her, not caring while I took all my anger out on the most immense fight we ever had.
And then, like another slap in the face, she'd shrieked at me, "You're the one who went to our last Hogwart's event with the school's biggest slut! Everyone here will only remember you as the guy who got lucky on his last night at school!"~
I couldn't believe that she'd said that. She didn't even know why I had asked her! But now...none of it mattered. Hermione had never apologized, and even if she did, I wouldn't listen. We'd drifted too far apart, and that's how it will be forever.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Sorry it's been so long since we had Hermione's POV! That'll be first up in the next chap, though, don't worry! And now to important things:
I want to thank each and every person who reviewed! This would include five people: Celeste, miracle, Slap me silly, Athene, and ESPECIALLY Queen: )B for letting me know that I had checked the little box making it impossible for you unregistered people to review! As for that, I must apologize right now, because I had no idea I was doing that! In fact, I didn't know HOW to do it until I had to actually fix it!
Thanks again for reviewing, and if you HAVEN'T reviewed yet, please do so...NOW! Please? For me? It really helps to inspire me to keep writing. I would really, truly, immensely, appreciate it. PLEASE! That little review button...press it...
Hope you liked it! : )
More chapters are on the way...
Chapter 2
Disclaimer: Okay, if you REALLY REALLY want to see this (which I don't know why you would since if you clicked on this story, you probably want to see the STORY and not the DISCLAIMER), it's in the first chapter. Happy?
Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews! Hmm. Okay, five reviews. But, they were GOOD reviews, and I really appreciated them! So, thanks to those five people. Because if it weren't for them, I'd have no idea that anybody was reading this, and I might not add on! So...okay, this is a hint for the future...REVIEW! I know it takes a bit of time (like ONE minute!), but it really helps us writers. K? lol.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
~Ron's Point of View~
Since I hadn't seen Mum or Dad in a couple of weeks, and the idea of a visitation on Saturday was clearly out of the question, I decided to stop by the Burrow on Wednesday during lunch. It was somewhat of a tradition for anyone who was in dire need or good food and persistent attention to honor my mum with their presence. She always glad to see a new face or cook for someone she wasn't expecting.
So, when 12:00 rolled around the next afternoon, I told Fred and George where I was going before promptly apparating from the family joke shop to the Burrow's front porch. As soon as I felt my feet thud onto the aged wood in front of the door, I smiled. The sun was bright, lighting up the chipped white paint of the porch railing, and the wind was slightly chilly. What I've always loved most about the Burrow is that the weather always comes in distinct seasons. Today was no exception while the air hinted that spring was on the verge of blossoming.
However, I mostly wasn't aware of this because of the strong smell of pot roast that was wafting through the open windows. I hungrily inhaled and let myself in.
"Hello?" I heard Mum ask shrilly from the kitchen. Besides her voice, I heard a number of random people already roaming about, waiting for lunch.
Ginny poked her head into the living room from where she was helping in the kitchen, and she smiled. "Hey Ron."
"Ron?" Mum called surprised?
I walked into the kitchen, and found Harry reading the Daily Prophet at the table, Dad and Percy deep in conversation, and Penelope Weasley (the newest addition) talking quietly with Mum as she and Ginny cooked. "Well, looks like a full house." I said. "Sure you have room for me?"
Mum whipped around and ran over to me, hugging me tightly. "Well, of course sweetie! I'm glad you finally came by. I'd almost forgotten I had a sixth son." She eyed me jokingly and I grinned sheepishly.
"Sorry, Mum, I've been a bit busy." I strolled farther into the room and opened the oven to see how things were going.
"What could be so important as to keep you away from your dear old family?" She joked, swatting my arm lightly before starting to set the table.
"Oh, Mrs. Weasley, didn't you hear?" Harry asked, grinning over at me. "Ron here has big career plans."
Mum paused, then turned toward me with a raised eyebrow. "Really? I was hoping you'd finally found my future daughter-in-law." My jaw dropped and she laughed. "Just joking you, love," she soothed. "Now, what's this career that Harry's going on about?"
At that moment, a wave of silence went over the room, leaving the question hovering in mid-air. Dad and Percy paused their conversation and listen curiously, Penelope and Ginny eyes me suspiciously, and Harry put on a face of innocence and grinned guiltily. I felt a growing annoyance bubble up in my chest as I thought of how I hadn't planned to tell my family about the new job until I actually got it. I didn't want Fred and George getting all upset and deciding to use me as their new joke-tester, because if that were to happen, I'd be sure to die as a half-canary, extra-long-tongued loner. Not only that, but I didn't want Dad using his position and connections in the Ministry to his advantage and getting it for me. I wanted to get this job because of my ability and nothing else. I sighed dejectedly. Leave it Harry to ruin that!
* Scratch! Scratch! PECK PECK PECK! *
Suddenly, loud noises from the screen door claimed everyone's attention and I sighed with relief. I looked heavenward gratefully, but when I heard Harry's chair scrape hurriedly against the wood, and Ginny run over to the door, my eyes snapped back to what was happening in front of me. Ginny had just opened the door, and Harry had practically attacked Hedwig before she could fully come in the room. The piece of parchment that Harry was fumbling with came loose, and I saw him hastily stuff it in a pocket of his robes. My eyes narrowed, and I began walking over to them, until...
"Ron, could you help me with this?" Mum appeared next to me, along with Percy, Penelope, and Dad. Their eyes were frantic, and each one of them was trying to distract my attention to anywhere but Harry, Ginny, and Hedwig. I looked over their heads at the three of them and saw Harry trying to secure his robes as if to make sure the parchment wouldn't fall out.
"Hold it!" I cried angrily. What was the big deal? "What's going on?"
"Nothing!" Ginny answered rather quickly.
I pushed past the group around me and stalked over to Harry. I held out my hand expectantly. "Letter, please."
"Hmm?" he asked, eyes wide with innocence.
"Don't play dumb, Harry. Let me see it."
He looked up at me, then at the face of every other person in the room, as if searching for some sort of assistance. When he was answered with silence, he sighed angrily and rolled his eyes before stuffing his hand in his robe and pulling out a crumpled piece of parchment. "Bloody hell," he muttered.
I snatched it from him and unfolded it. Inside was neat-as-a-pin handwriting that reminded me a lot of...Hermione's. I clenched my jaw and read on.
Harry:
Hello to you too! You're right, it has been too long. Maybe you, Ginny, and I could meet up for lunch one day! As for the gathering on Saturday, I'm afraid I won't be able to make it. Because...well...Viktor and I have already made dinner plans. Thank you so much for inviting me, though, it was very thoughtful. Please let Penelope know I'm happy for her! I'm also terribly sorry if Viktor was unkind to you two when you saw him over vacation...I'm sure he was just having a bad day.
You're friend,
Hermione
PS: Tell Ginny I saw hi as well!
I glared at the piece of parchment as if it were Hermione herself. I couldn't believe she had the nerve to write to MY best friend and ask if she could go out to lunch with MY sister...and not even ask about ME! Not that I wanted to see her anyway. I would rather rot in Snape's dungeon! But Miss Know-It-All should at least have some sort of manners, shouldn't she?
Forgetting about Hermione, I crossly turned toward the group of people behind me, where Harry and Ginny had joined the rest with guilty looks on their faces, and their heads bowed in dismay of my reaction. I glared at them...something that was coming quite easily at the moment...and took a step toward them, making them all flinch.
"First of all," I said, speaking loud and clear. I felt my face heat with anger with every word. "Not one of you has any right to invite Hermione to a party at MY family's house. Not one of you! If it weren't for the fact that all of you are unstoppably determined to get us together, I would've accepted the invitation. But since, I KNOW you all too well, and KNEW you would invite HER, I declined. The only thing you're achieving by doing this to the two of us, is deteriorating your relationships with us. It's really QUITE unfortunate! However, at THIS point, I wouldn't truly want to attend knowing that you have done this." Of course, I remembered that I'd guessed Hermione was invited, but I didn't want to actually see the results of the invitation.
"And second," I continued angrily, glaring pointedly at Harry and Ginny. "You two saw HIM...little VICKY...on vacation and you didn't even have the decency to TELL me? What the hell is THAT?!" I unwillingly felt my stance changing from angry to hurt within seconds. "I thought we were friends. I even asked you how your trip went! I just don't get you guys sometimes. It's been five entire years since Hermione and I last spoke, and neither of us have any kind of desire to change that. Why can't you just accept it? All you're going to do is push me away."
By this time, everyone's expression had changed from guilty to worried. Their heads were no longer bowed, and I could tell that they were listening intently to me. At that moment, though, I didn't care. I turned on my heel, wrenched open the kitchen door, and hurried outside.
"But, sweetie! What about lunch?" I heard Mum call from behind me.
"Forget it!" I bellowed and waved my hand dismissively over my shoulder.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I stumbled out into the crisp afternoon air, and began walking aimlessly about the friendly backyard that I had grown up in. And I was fuming. I thought back on all the times in the past five years that my family and Harry had attempted to plot Hermione and I together. They seemed to forget that neither of us...however hard it was to believe...were that thick, and we both managed to avoid it.
Honestly! It was all incredibly stupid when you thought about it. I mean, if it weren't for that stupid fight in seventh year, none of this would have happened! It's not like I could've changed anything though...it wasn't MY fault in the slightest. I felt my face heat with anger once again as I thought about that night...
~It was a week before the Graduation Ball. A week. I had seven days to gather up enough nerve to ask Hermione, and I didn't see it as a possibility. Every time I was in the same room with her, my mouth would go dry, my palms would start to sweat, and the tips of my ears would heat. It was horrible, really. Harry and Hermione had known me long enough to know why my ears would heat up, and I knew that sooner or later, they would end up seeing right through my joking-not-flirting-with-Hermione image.
That night, when I approached Hermione, I overheard her reading a letter from Viktor Krum aloud to Ginny. "Ginny, listen to this," she had said. "'Hermione, your invitation to your Ball is in a irresistible, and I would adore going with you.' Did you hear that, Gin? He accepted!"
I was absolutely furious, and in a state of wild jealousy, I'd asked Lavender Brown instead.
Seven days later, after Lavender had slapped me for having such a horrendous evening, I'd waited for Hermione down in the Common Room in order to finally come clean with her, no matter how angry I was. Finally, around one o'clock in the morning, she'd waltzed in, and I had pounced on her, not caring while I took all my anger out on the most immense fight we ever had.
And then, like another slap in the face, she'd shrieked at me, "You're the one who went to our last Hogwart's event with the school's biggest slut! Everyone here will only remember you as the guy who got lucky on his last night at school!"~
I couldn't believe that she'd said that. She didn't even know why I had asked her! But now...none of it mattered. Hermione had never apologized, and even if she did, I wouldn't listen. We'd drifted too far apart, and that's how it will be forever.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Sorry it's been so long since we had Hermione's POV! That'll be first up in the next chap, though, don't worry! And now to important things:
I want to thank each and every person who reviewed! This would include five people: Celeste, miracle, Slap me silly, Athene, and ESPECIALLY Queen: )B for letting me know that I had checked the little box making it impossible for you unregistered people to review! As for that, I must apologize right now, because I had no idea I was doing that! In fact, I didn't know HOW to do it until I had to actually fix it!
Thanks again for reviewing, and if you HAVEN'T reviewed yet, please do so...NOW! Please? For me? It really helps to inspire me to keep writing. I would really, truly, immensely, appreciate it. PLEASE! That little review button...press it...
Hope you liked it! : )
More chapters are on the way...
