Proving Him Wrong
It was a perfect day for a wedding. Ron could not help but notice that the sun was shining brightly. Although it wasn't bright enough that you had to squint at everything, which Ron hated. There were white fluffy clouds scattered across the light blue sky. If he stared hard enough, one of the clouds began to look like it was shaped like a heart. Corny, but appropriate for a wedding of two people so in love as his his brother and Fluer.
As he looked down on the lawn from his window, he couldn't help but thinking that everything else, not just the weather, looked perfect. The white folding chairs were sitting in exact straight lines, and the grass was looking greener than usual. Glancing in the mirror, Ron noticed that he too looked -- well, not perfect -- but much better than usual. He had his new dress robes on (lace-free), and his hair was looking quite manageable.
But best of all, he and Hermione were getting along again. Much better than before, even. Ron smiled, remembering the last few weeks. He decided he would ask her to dance at the reception, and then maybe... Well, who knew?
With everything going so well, Ron should have known that something would go wrong. But he was so happy that the thought didn't even enter his head. That was why, when something did go wrong, it came as such a shock for him.
"Viktor Krum?" Ron said incredulously upon spotting him across the crowd of guests at the reception. "What is he doing at my brother's wedding?"
Hermione brightened. "Viktor's here?" she asked, craning her neck to look for him. "He didn't tell me he was coming!" She finally spotted him and took off through the crowd, her dress robes swishing behind her.
Hermione looked absolutely gorgeous today. He had thought she had exceeded her gorgeousness capacity at the Yule Ball, but she had outdone herself today. Her robes were hugging her in all the right places, her hair was sleek and shiny. She just looked so beautiful. But she was walking away from him.
"That git!" Ron exclaimed to Harry. "He crashed my brother's wedding just to see Hermione!"
"Er, Ron?" Harry said tentatively. "Did you ever considered that he was invited?"
"That doesn't make any sense. Viktor wouldn't know Bill." Ron's seething jealousy was preventing him from thinking clearly.
Harry sighed and patiently explained that Fluer and Viktor would know each other, since they had both been Triwizard Champions together.
"Oh," said Ron, turning slightly red. That was painfully obvious. "But he came to see her!" Ron said, pointing at Hermione and Viktor. Hermione had looped her arm through his, and they were walking around the lawn, laughing. "Just look!"
Harry just laughed at him and went to go find Ginny.
Ron walked sullenly around the yard, not wishing to talk to anyone. He preferred to wallow. He had lost the girl again. But what chance did he have against a professional Quidditch player? He was only on the Gryffindor team because his best friend was the Captain.
He had found himself a seat by the buffet table when Hermione found him, smiling happily. "There you are!" She said as she took a seat. "I've been looking all over for you. Guess what I just saw?"
Ron grunted, which she took as a sign to continue.
"I found Harry and Ginny snogging behind the garden shed! It was pretty embarrassing, but at least they've gotten back together."
"Hermione, do you really think I want to hear about my little sister snogging?" he asked roughly, glaring at her.
"I'm sorry," Hermione said, her smile fading. It was his fault she was no longer happy. He hated it when that happened. "But you're the one who said it was stupid of them to break up now."
She was right and he knew it. He had said that to her just a few days ago. But of course he wasn't going to admit that she was right. "What were you doing behind the shed in the first place?" he asked, purposely veering to a new subject. "Looking to snog Krum again?"
Hermione stiffened, and she didn't say anything, which was surely not a good sign. Usually she'd have started yelling loud enough to distract the whole crowd.
"No," she finally said icily.
"Oh, please. I saw the way you were hanging all over him." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Ron wondered why he had said them. It was obviously the completely wrong thing to say.
"I do not 'hang all over' anybody, ever," Hermione said. "I thought you knew me better than that."
"So did I," Ron spat. "But you're obviously in love with Vicky. You've been with him this whole time. I'm just sorry Harry and Ginny stole your snogging spot."
"I was with Viktor for fifteen minutes!" Hermione replied, exasperated. "I was looking for you the rest of the time, you prat!" Tears were forming in the corners of her eyes.
Ron was finally at a loss for words. He had made her cry again. Why was it that he always made her cry when she looked the most beautiful? Ron didn't have a chance to voice the apology forming at the tip of his tongue. She had launched out of her chair and run away before he even had a chance to open his mouth.
He sat there for exactly thirty seconds, berating himself for being such an ass, before taking off after her. He had no idea where she had gone, but it was a relief to see she hadn't run off with Krum, who was chatting with Ron's mum. Hermione wasn't inside the house, or behind the garden shed (although Harry and Ginny still were). He finally found her sitting by the lake, hair undone, shoes off, tears streaming down her face.
Ron stood behind her, not sure what to say that wouldn't make her hate him more than she already did. He cleared his throat awkwardly, but that seemed to do the trick. She turned around at the sound, and upon seeing him, promptly picked up her shoe and threw it at his head. "Get away from me!" she screamed.
Unfortunately for Ron, the shoe made contact. It hurt like hell, but Ron wasn't going anywhere. She launched her other shoe at him, but he dodged it just in time. She was still screaming at him, but Ron had learned to tune out Hermione's screams long ago. He picked up each of the shoes and walked over to her slowly. "I'm not going anywhere," he said as he offered the shoes to her.
Hermione quickly snatched them from him. "Then I am," she said, and took off through the trees.
"Hermione! Stop!" he called, but she kept running. But her head start was no match for Ron's long legs, and he caught up to her in a matter of seconds. He darted in front of her, and she was unable to move quickly enough to avoid crashing into him. Ron took the opportunity to grab her arm.
"Let me go!" she said, clawing at his arm with surprisingly long nails.
"Hermione, quit it!" He implored. It was beginning to hurt, and she showed no signs of stopping. Ron took hold of Hermione's other hand, but she still continued to try to wiggle out of his grasp.
"Ron," she said, "Just let me go!"
"No," Ron insisted, "We need to talk!" When she continued to squirm around, Ron resorted to pushing her against a tree trunk and pinning her down with the weight of his body. She looked thoroughly shocked, and was finally still. Ron became instantly aware of every place where their bodies touched. The only time he had been this closes to a girl was with Lavender. But this was so much better, even though they weren't even going to kiss or anything.
"Look, Hermione," Ron said. "I'm sorry I'm such an idiot. I know you're not the type of girl to snog someone behind the garden shed. I don't know why I said it. And you've told me a thousand times that you and Krum are just friends. It's just... I don't get why. He obviously likes you, and he'd be better for you than-"
Ron choked, realizing what he was just about to say. Oh, bloody hell, he thought, Why not just say what you mean for once?
"Better for you than I would," he finished. "But it's your life, and I'm sorry for being a prat and making you cry." He stepped away from her, finding himself instantly missing the closeness. That was probably the closest he'd ever get to her again. "That's all. I just wanted to apologize. Sorry for trapping you," he said sheepishly.
He expected her to run off again, or maybe reach out and slap him, but instead Hermione stayed still, leaning against the tree. She wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. She looked up at Ron, her large round eyes burning a hole through him. "You're wrong," she said quietly.
"Of course I am," he mumbled to himself.
"A relationship with Krum would not be good for me. I've thought about it, you know. Besides the fact that I don't love him, Ron, is the fact that he lives in Bulgaria and is three years older than me!"
"Fine," said Ron. "You don't love Krum." He needed to get out of here. There was too much going on. He didn't want to hear anything else about Viktor Krum. He mumbled something incoherent and started to walk away.
"You're still wrong!" Hermione called, her voice strained. She ran up from behind him and he stopped walking, staring at the sight in front of him. Hermione was visibly upset again, and he had no idea what he had done now.
"He's not better than you!" Hermione said, grabbing him by the collar of his dress robes and shaking him gently. "Can't you see that you're amazing? Don't you know that you would be perfect for me?"
Before Ron could register the words, she had shoved him against the wall of the garden shed, where they had now found themselves, and which was thankfully free of a certain other couple. She pinned him to the wall and pressed against him, as he had done earlier to her. "You're wrong about something else, too," she said. "I'd be willing to snog behind the garden shed, if the right person comes along."
Hermione pressed her lips to Ron's, and in a combined effort thoroughly enjoyed by both, they proved Ron wrong, yet again.
A/N: Apparently, fluffy oneshots are my life. Who knew?
