All's Fair in Love and War
Ron stormed up to his bedroom without any lunch. No-one seemed to notice this though, they were all having too much fun, laughing and joking amongst themselves. He felt betrayed. Not by Hermione but by Bill, his brother. He flopped down onto his bed and stared at the roof. Chudley Cannons quidditch players zoomed across the ceiling, the chasers shouting silently for the quaffle and the beaters whacking away at oncoming bludgers though no sound was made on impact. The room was deafeningly silent. The sound of chattering from the garden and the old ghoul in the attic banging away on the pipes could be heard but it was all unheard by Ron, who lay back on his lumpy bed, his mind blank and his heart aching. He loved Hermione with all his heart and all of his brothers knew this and yet he found Bill out in the forest necking with her. He could never forgive Bill for doing this, taking Hermione away from him unless of coarse Hermione really wanted to be with him. In which case he would accept the relationship, as long as it made Hermione happy. If Hermione was happy then so was he.
He was brought back to reality when he heard someone approaching. He could tell that it was masculine footsteps and knew that it would be Bill. Quickly he warded his bedroom and cast a locking charm. There was a knock at the door. When no-one answered Bill shouted through the door.
"Ron, mate, I know you're in there. Just let me in so I can explain." Bill said desperately
Still Ron remained silent.
"Look, I didn't plan this or anything! I went to find Harry and Hermione for lunch and when Harry left, Hermione tripped over a tree root and I caught her. After that, well, you know what happened." Bill pleaded, "Ron, mate just come down for lunch."
Suddenly the door was wrenched open and there stood Ron with a look of disbelief on his face. Bill took a step back and waited for the inevitable blow that was sure to come, judging by the clenched fist at Ron's side. Instead of aiming for Bills head, Ron turned and punched the wall.
"Unless you want that in your face I suggest you bugger off and leave me alone." Ron said through clenched teeth.
"Look, Ron, I'm really sorry about what you saw but nothing's going on between me and Hermione." Bill said sincerely, and then at the look on Ron's face quickly added "I promise you, it was just a kiss."
Ron just rolled his eyes, took a step back and slammed the bedroom door in Bills face with all his might.
Meanwhile, in Ginny's room, Hermione was ranting to Ginny about what Harry had done but she never mentioned what had happened between her and Bill, deciding that it would have been too awkward. Hermione hated keeping things from Ginny but she didn't feel like now was the time to be telling her that she had kissed her older brother and liked it very much. Then there was a knock at the door.
"Yeah?" Ginny shouted
The door opened and Harry's head peeked round the side.
"Uhm… Ginny, do you fancy coming for a walk, I need to ask you about something?" he asked quietly.
"Yeah okay, Hermione are you coming?" Ginny said, bringing Harry's attention to her.
"Oh, I never saw you." Harry muttered, "Do you think we could maybe talk about things later?"
Hermione nodded.
Walking through the winding country lanes leading to Ottery St. Catchpole, Harry and Ginny saw no-one. Harry had, so far, been silent since they left the messy yard of the Burrow. Ginny knew that he was obviously deep in thought about something, and although she had a good idea what was bothering him, she didn't interrupt his thoughts and stayed silent too. Finally they turned into a grassy field, full of buttercups, spread out the red and white checked blanket underneath a large willow tree and sat down .
"So?" Ginny prompted, shielding her eyes from the sun.
"It's Hermione." Harry stated
"Yes, I thought it might be," she commented taking some sandwiches and pumpkin juice out of a small wicker basket, "she told me what happened."
Harry took a deep breath and blew it out upwards, making his unruly fringe flap about. He grabbed a cheese and pickle sandwich and turned to face Ginny.
"Ginny, I don't know what the hell's going on with me right now. I didn't mean to kiss her, she's one of my closest friends and I really don't want to put our friendship on the rocks."
"But?" Ginny asked, giving him a wry smile.
Harry gave a short bark of laughter.
"Well, lately I've been finding myself thinking about her in ways that certainly wouldn't be classed as platonic. I can't help thinking that maybe she feels the same and if she doesn't, then thinking of ways to make her see me as more than just a friend," he finished, looking expectantly at Ginny.
Ginny paused mid-bite.
"Wait," she asked disbelievingly, "you mean you took me all this way just to find out whether or not Hermione likes you?"
"Well yes!" Harry replied, nodding.
Ginny stood up and brushed herself down, shaking her head at the misguided boy in front of her.
"I'm sorry Harry," she said, "but I think that's something that you'll have to discuss with Hermione.
Lunch at the Burrow had passed in a series of heated looks and polite conversation. Ron, who had eventually came down from his room, was staring at his plate furiously and for once he was actually keeping his mouth shut. He didn't even glance at Bill or Hermione, who both had strained expressions on their faces while they politely spoke to the rest of the tables occupants. The lunch that Mrs Weasley had prepared was delicious as usual and after a gorgeous desert of homemade apple pie and custard everyone went their separate ways to enjoy their afternoon.
Hermione had decided to sit by the lake at the edge of the Weasley's property, to contemplate. Lying in the sun on the soft grass, she stared out across the gently rippling water and thought of everything that had happened in the last few hours. Lost in her thoughts, she never heard the footsteps approaching from behind.
Bill plonked himself down on the grass beside her, making her jump.
"Oh god! You gave me such a fright Bill!" Hermione scolded, holding a hand over her heart.
"Sorry," Bill replied sheepishly, "the thing is Hermione, after what happened today well I was just thinking that maybe we should-"
"I'd love to." Hermione cut him off, congratulating herself on saving Bill the embarrassment of asking her out.
Bill sighed, "Look Hermione, I don't think you understand. What I was going to say before you interrupted was that maybe we should keep away from each other for the rest of the holidays."
Hermione's mouth opened into a small 'oh' shape as she realised how wrong she had been. Bill stood up and began walking back towards the Burrow.
"Why Bill?" Hermione questioned suddenly.
"I'm sorry." he said sadly, shaking his head.
"Is it Ron?"
Bill nodded his head slowly, looking at the ground.
"He's my brother," he told her gently, "You're just a girl."