Charming
Disclaimer: I don't own HP or any of these characters. That belongs to JKR, Scholastic Books, Warner Brothers, etc.

Chapter Fourteen : Depend

There were times when Ron wanted to shake both his friends violently. Maybe that would make them come to their senses. If it wasn't one, then it was the other. It was getting ridiculous the way they danced around each other. Right now, he was more peeved at Hermione than at Harry as he sat and listened to Harry babble about what he could do for Hermione's birthday. The only good thing about Hermione agreeing to that dinner with Malfoy was that it seemed to be a wake-up call for Harry. The bad thing was that Hermione didn't stop with that one dinner and continued to see Malfoy. It was enough to make Ron scream. How could two people who were so intelligent be so stupid when it came to getting together like they both wanted to?

Another thing that irritated him about Hermione was the fact that she never did anything. She never acted on her feelings. She never did anything to find out whether Harry felt the same way as her. The only thing she ever did, that Ron noticed, was to deny the fact that she felt more for him than mere friendship. That made no sense to him. If you fancied someone, you should do something about that before it was too late. It was even more infuriating that she didn't seem to appreciate everything Harry was doing on the matter. If he didn't know better, he would say that she enjoyed turning Harry down to do things with Malfoy. He wondered if that was a trait common to all witches – to keep wizards guessing on how they feel and relish when they were able to play hard to get.

It was almost enough to make a wizard swear off witches entirely.

"So what do you think?" asked Harry, finally ending his monologue. Ron had lost track of how long Harry had been going on about Hermione, but the last time he checked, it had been over half an hour.

"I think it's a brilliant plan," he said, though if truth be told, he couldn't recall what Harry had said. "I can't see how it could fail."

"Ron, I asked if it would be better to see the opera or the ballet."

Oops. Should've paid more attention, I guess, he thought. "Oh. Right. I knew that, mate. I was simply saying that I think it's a brilliant plan over all. This is sure to be her favorite birthday ever."

"You weren't listening, were you?"

"I was, I was. To the important bits in any case."

"It was all important!"

"Yes, yes." On the other hand, there was a single bright spot to Hermione's approach. He didn't have to listen to her go on for hours on end about everything she liked best about Harry, which of course would turn out to be everything. Ron had been through enough of such speeches from Harry and his siblings to know that. In general, he didn't mind listening so much so long as he didn't actually have to pay attention to every single word said. It would be silly to expect him to be able to recite everything back, but unfortunately, people seemed to look upon that as the only concrete proof that he had been listening in the first place. Ron resented that. He always did listen. To the important parts, such as who the person liked.

"So any opinion on the subject? Or do I have tell you all about it again?"

"No, not necessary. I'm a good listener, Harry."

"Not as good as Hermione."

Ron fought to urge to groan. Of course, I'm not as good as Hermione at listening or anything else if it's up to you because you're in love with her. Hard to compete with that, he mentally scolded Harry. It was too bad he couldn't tell Harry what he really thought, but he knew Harry didn't need to hear it. Ron owed it to Harry to be understanding as Harry had put up with listening to Ron go on about his crushes. Ron knew from experience that the last thing a wizard in love needed to hear was that he was acting like a fool.

If you thought about it, acting like a fool was part and parcel of being in love. Or in lust, as was more often the case.

"I know, but it's hard for a chap to compete with Hermione when it comes to being good at listening," said Ron. "So—"

"Not that Hermione's been spending all that much time with me lately, and whenever I try to ask her out, she seems to change the subject. It's as if she doesn't want to hear me out. Do you think she hates me?"

"No, Harry. I'm pretty sure it's the opposite," said Ron. How many times have I said that in the last couple weeks? If I had a knut every time I did, I'd be rich.

"What makes you so sure? You haven't seen her, Ron. I know she doesn't want me . . . sometimes I wonder why I even try." Harry seemed to shrink as he contemplated how Hermione felt for him. "I guess I should be happy that she hasn't kicked me to the curb yet."

"Don't say that, mate. And would you listen to me? I've known the two of you longer than anyone, and I know she fancies you. It doesn't matter that you don't think so. Love is blind and all that rot, so it's hard for you to see it." Harry nodded at Ron's words, looking vaguely reassured.

Ron suppressed the urge to go hunt down Hermione and then lock her in a room alone with Harry until he heard them snogging. I would do that to, except I know Hermione would set herself to getting out of the room instead of paying attention to Harry. That would make him feel even worse. Ron sighed. He couldn't blame Harry for feeling depressed about the whole matter. It was hard to keep up your spirits when all your efforts went unacknowledged.

"So have you told her out right that you fancy her and would like to date her?" he asked.

"No. I told you, Ron, that she doesn't seem to want to hear it and she always changes the subject—"

"That's because you let her change the subject. You need to learn how to take charge of a conversation, mate. It would really help." Ron rubbed his hands together, trying to think of what he could do to get them together for both their sakes. "You ought to blurt it out. In the middle of a regular conversation. Then it'd be hanging out there, where she couldn't very well ignore it."

"And what if she did?"

"She wouldn't."

"I don't know about that." Ron didn't think that it was possible, but Harry managed to slump down even more. Harry did have it bad, and Hermione wasn't making things any easier on him. That only made Ron feel more frustrated.

"Fine, fine. Then let's go back to the subject of her birthday. It's only a week away," said Ron. "You have nothing planned, right?"

"Right."

"Good." Ron tapped the table with his fingers as he organized his thoughts. "Leave the rest of our friends to me. I'll take care of them so you don't have to worry about any parties for her—"

"Hermione wouldn't want a party anyway. She's not a big fan of them."

"I know. That makes my job easier. So like I said, leave everyone else to me and you'll get your alone time. I'll tell her that I have inventory again or something like that." Ron frowned. He didn't like the idea he had just had, but unfortunately, it was a good one. "I'll nip over to Hermione's parents' house during the week and try to talk to her mum to see what's her favorite restaurant. Once we know that, we can get a reservation there."

"That's an excellent idea," said Harry. "Meanwhile, I can see about getting tickets to an opera or ballet—"

"Or both if you can swing it. The more money you spend, the harder it'd be for her to refuse you."

Harry nodded eagerly. "Both then, if it's possible. Maybe one on Friday, and then one on her actual birthday? As I doubt she'd want to go to both on the same day."

"Yeah, that sounds good." Ron clapped Harry on the back. "See? It's not that hard to plan for her birthday. You only had to stop worrying about what she'd like best."

"I . . . I don't know how to put this, but sometimes, it seems as if she's happy to turn me down when I ask her to go out to dinner with me. It's . . . well, it makes me worry that I'm suggesting restaurants she doesn't like or . . ."

Ron frowned. That worried him. He had been as mad as hell when he heard what had driven Hermione out of the original flat she had shared with Harry. That had been so bloody insensitive of him – and to think that people thought Ron was the more insensitive one. Ron had felt like cheering Hermione on for not accepting Harry's apology right away, especially after Ron had to listen to Harry go on about how Harry didn't understand why Hermione would be upset at him. But over time, he had thought she had taken it too far. She hadn't done anything to get Harry to be hers, so she didn't have a legitimate reason to be raging mad at him for finding someone else. Not that it made what Harry did all right, not by a long shot, but he would have thought that it would push her into action. Yet, the exact opposite seemed to have happened. She seemed to be reacting to his fling by looking to have one of her own. And that was perhaps the most awful idea he had had the entire day.

Ron hoped Harry was wrong. He hoped that Hermione didn't enjoy refusing Harry. Because that would be incredibly stupid, to enjoy hurting someone simply because they'd hurt you in the past. The Hermione he knew would have more sense than that.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Harry paced the floor of the living room, waiting for Hermione's return. He had everything ready for her. The plan hadn't gone off perfectly, but he had been able to compensate. Ron was unable to talk to Hermione's mum, by reason of the fact that her dad answered the door. Whatever was said then, it must have been downright horrible, as Ron refused to speak of it. However, Harry had decided that instead of taking Hermione out to a fancy restaurant, he'd make her dinner.

That had to score him points in the romance department.

Harry had gone so far as to ask Angelina, Fred's girlfriend, to give him pointers on how he could decorate the flat for the evening. He was glad that he did so as evidently there was more to making a dinner romantic than simply cooking the food and lighting a pair of candlesticks.

He stopped in his tracks when he heard the front door creak open. Hermione came in, looking lovely as usual, if somewhat tired. "Long day at work?" he heard himself asking.

"Isn't it always?" she replied. She crossed the room and sank down into the couch. "I don't feel like moving for the rest of the night."

"Have you eaten yet?" She shook her head no. "There's some soup that I made earlier. If you'd like, I could bring you a bowl."

"If you could add a cup of tea, that would be perfect," she said.

"Done." Harry ambled towards the kitchen, taking his time. He doubted that Hermione was in any rush, and he needed the time to think of how to approach the whole subject of her birthday. Not being able to think of any suave way to bring it up, he settled on the direct approach as the tea kettle started to whistle. He grabbed a bowl to fill with soup while the tea leaves brewed. When everything was finished, he piled it onto a tray and made his way back to the living room.

"Here you go," said Harry, placing the tray on the table in front of Hermione.

"Thank you." She sat up and placed the tray on her lap. "Have I ever told you how much I love living with someone who can cook?"

"No, you haven't." Harry turned red, feeling shaken from the way she threw about the word 'love.' He had to keep telling himself that she didn't mean it the way he wanted her to mean it . . . yet. He took a deep breath and said, "About Saturday . . ."

"Yes," said Hermione, looking up. "What about it?"

"It's your birthday and—"

"I know," she said with a smile. "I'm surprised every year when it comes around again. You think I'd be used to it by now."

"Yeah," he said, smiling uncertainly. "I . . . well, I managed to get a pair of tickets so we could see La Boheme on Saturday. I don't have anything planned for dinner, but I thought maybe I could make it for us?" Hermione remained silent, leading Harry to babble on. "Is that fine? If it's not, if you can tell me where you'd rather go, let me know and I'll get us reservations." Harry suddenly remembered that he was supposed to make an excuse for Ron. "And it'd be only us because Ron says that he has to deal with inventory again and—"

"Harry," she interrupted him. She returned the tray to the table and clasped her hands together, as if she were nervous. "I appreciate you doing this for me, really I do. But I . . . well, there's no good way to say this. I've already agreed to go out to dinner with Malfoy."

Harry took a deep, shuddering breath. "You have plans already?" he asked.

"Yes, I do. I'm awfully sorry about this. If you had let me know that you were—"

"Hermione, it's your birthday. I have to let you know that I'm planning to do something for it?" He could feel his chest tighten as he grew angry, angry at how she never had any time for him but always had time for that bastard. "I thought that as smart as you are you'd be able to figure out that your friends would want to spend it with you."

"We never made a big deal of it before," she said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Yes, there'd be gifts and you'd acknowledged it, but we never really celebrated it."

"If I remember correctly, that was only because your birthday was during the school year and you would rather study rather than spend time with your friends celebrating."

"Yes, but you see . .. we never did anything. Anything at all. I'm not complaining as I didn't mind – and I don't mind now – but you can see why I'd not expect anything. A little advance warning would have been nice," she told him.

"I didn't tell you before because I wasn't sure if I could get any tickets. I didn't have any luck with any other show, and I was lucky to get these." Harry clenched his fists, trying to rein in his resentment. It would not do to let everyone know they were arguing by him shouting at her. " Besides, that brings us back to the fact that you should have known that your best friends would want to do something with you. But no! You prefer to keep company with a ferret!"

"Harry!" Hermione stood up, matching him glare for glare. "You're being a gigantic prat right now! What right have you to assume that I'll make time for you? I'm not going to sit around waiting for you to notice me and ask if I want to do anything for my birthday. All you had to do was to let me know to keep my weekend free so we could spend some time together. But you can't even give me that courtesy."

"I shouldn't have to say anything! It should be bloody obvious!"

"It's bloody obvious to me that you think you have some sort of prior claim on me. That's not the case, Harry. If you want to do something with me, I'd advise you to not make plans until you've asked."

"I can't believe this. This is fucking unbelievable!"

"What? That I'd have a life that doesn't include you?"

Harry stood stock still. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, though he thought it had been ripped out of it by Hermione a second earlier. It hurt, what she had said, and . . . he didn't want to think about this any longer. "I hope you enjoy yourself," he snarled as he stomped off to his room. He slammed his door shut, before crawling in to the bed. That hadn't gone well.

In fact, you could say it was a complete disaster.

Author's note: The next chapter will be up on Friday once again. I hope everyone has enjoyed this one. I'd be very grateful if you could let me know what you think by leaving a review.

Also, thanks to everyone who left a review for the last chapter. Shawn Pickett, Rebeca, cmt0125, Carolyn, bamaslamma29, Star19, Mikeus, abbeysroad, malu, Animagus-Steph (it's been fixed, and I must C&P more carefully. Sorry about that) , ILUVRONWEASLEY (I so get your reasoning there. ^_~ ), Star-Angel23 (yes, they do give in to their fears too often . . . silly H/Hr), Megan, Fire-bound Heart, korine, Devinj2000, sinta1, Pinku-koneko (alas, this one was not fluffy), Bulma Queen of Saiya-jin, Tiffie101, vanessa, avada kedavra, minute majesty (thanks! D/Hr is a great ship to read to contrast with H/Hr), Emma-Lee14, ears91, Megan (another one! ^_^), Jen, Crinos-X, wildchild8, sally, EuphoniumGurl0, TheWraith1, spacey-me90, Leslie-Glady, Disco Duck, TheSilverLady, monkeychika2006, Elizabeth M. Potter (Thanks! And I've not forgotten that fiancee story either. ^_~) , Hplover, Ramy, tOmLoVeR17, athipsou, Sam8, Blood57 (gah! I thought you left one since you left a signed review -- sorry about that), ravenclaw's heir (writing a chapter a week is hard enough as it is, especially given that I'm writing two other things as well. Though I do hope people prefer smaller updates more often than a large update once a month), Fatima, x0x0gLaSsHeArTx0x0, Melissa, Psy_Girl (Ron has his hands full already. He doesn't have time to pursue his own witch, and Luna is still in school anyway), Nimue, Harpee-Lady (that'll be answered in the next three chapters), Chibster 088, hpfanmelissa, Daintress, and Aurora Rehona, I really enjoyed reading all of your comments. Thanks!