A/N: Guess who's back? Sorry for the VERY late update (it's been like 2 weeks)! I hope you guys like the Ron and Fred moment! Anyways, thanks to JeanAndBilius, heronlove, loverhr, and ScarletProphecy14 for the fabulous reviews! On with the chapter!

As always, feedback is appreciated! :D

Swearing: Warning (see what I did there)

Disclaimer: I don't Ron or Hermione or any of these characters used in this chapter! All characters and the plot that corresponds with the Harry Potter book series does not belong to me!

Chapter 43 ~ A Misunderstanding

The two sat on the molding wood, leaning against their heads on the peeling wallpaper. They both sat there in utter silence, thinking of each other's fears.

"I thought we talked about this," Ron said in a deep voice. "I thought you knew that I'd never harm you, 'Mione."

"I do, Ron," she responded briskly, looking up at him. "It's just that-"

"What?" he cut her off. "You're ashamed aren't you? You wish that I wasn't a werewolf."

"And I thought we talked about this," she retorted hotly.

That seemed to shut Ron up. He sighed out a shaky breath and went to sit up. He brushed the sawdust on his jeans off in one swift motion. Hermione was about to go after him, but she knew better. He just needed a breather, and so did she too. The Weasley walked out to the backyard and sat against a tree near the mansion. He closed his crystal blue eyes and breathed out all the pent up stress he held for far too long.

Ron grabbed a twig and wrote on the dirt. He reminisced on how he would write on the dirt, when he was six. The red-orange haired boy drew himself and Hermione holding hands. He felt so outcasted by everyone. No one really knew how it felt like to be an outcast, well other than Harry. He just wanted Hermione to understand his undergoing anger and stress that's been a burden to him for years.

Years of fear and digression.

The teen shook his head and went back to see that he had crossed the whole drawing he made. Feeling frustrated with all of these emotions, he broke the twig in half and threw it away. Ron ran his lean fingers through his shaggy red-orange hair, massaging his scalp.

After what seemed to be a minute to cool off, he went back inside and went to clean out the room in which he was going to sleep in tonight. Ron was just one floor above Hermione by the looks of it. He felt so relieved that he was close to her, just in case if anything were to happen.

As Ron walked in, she spotted Hermione looking through his mother's box full of potions.

"Hermione?" he called out her name.

She jumped by his voice and almost made a vial of a potion shatter into pieces. Hermione clumsily attempted to put it back with little success, "Oh - uh - hi, Ron."

Ron crossed his arms with a suspicious expression from his face. He tapped his foot impatiently for Hermione to spill out what she was about to do. Hermione looked flustered from his glare; she managed to put the potion back to where it belonged to. His eyes were narrowed into dangerous looking slits, making him look eerie.

"Don't 'hi, Ron' me," Ron scowled. "What were you just doing?"

"I was just trying to find a potion for your mother," she said, sweat glistening on her forehead.

"As if," retorted Ron, looking angry that Hermione was obviously lying to him.

Hermione went to grab the potion and left the fuming Ron to himself in his own pondering thoughts.

"Don't think this is over, Hermione," he said to her. "I know you're up to something, and I think it would be bloody smart for you to just tell me."

She simply ignored him, making his blood boil to it's limit. He angrily stormed out of the kitchen and went straight to his room. The Weasley started to unpack his clothing and hung them, trying to shun his pesky little thoughts. Soon, he surrendered to them.

She's probably hiding something because she doesn't trust me.

She's realized that I'm useless.

Hermione doesn't love me anymore.

He blinked back unshed tears and went back to hanging his clothes. Ron punched his pillow with irritation and laid there, letting the wave of his insecurities cover him up like a bunch of slithering snakes crawling all over him. He felt sweat on himself, figuring the summer breeze seeped throughout the mansion. Ron started to twist and turn on his bed, trying to find a comfortable position.

He grunted out in defeat and just laid there.

Ron was busily scrubbing the flooring, when he spotted Hermione walk to her and Ginny's room. He shook his head and went back into cleaning the filthy polished floor. Using his enhanced strength, he managed the clean the up the dust and dirt in a matter of seconds.

"I wish I had super strength like you, Ronniekins," Ron turned to face Fred's goofy grin.

Ron grinned back, "Too bad."

Fred chuckled in response. He went to wash the table that was located near a broken glass window. "George's gone off helpin' Ginny and mum clean out the ruddy library. I suggest bringing Miss Bookworm over there to a date, once it's clean."

Ron could feel his ears and cheeks heat up. He spotted scrubbing and looked down, embarrassed. The twin started to take notice by his sudden stop of action and grinned.

"Don't tell me that you two actually got togeth-"

"No! No we didn't."

He simply laughed, "C'mon, you can tell me. I won't tell anyone, I promise."

Ron looked at him with suspicion, "Me trusting you? Like hell that would happen."

Fred had a sad smile on his face, "Yea, I guess that wouldn't happen."

The youngest Weasley son felt the sudden change in Fred's mood. He could feel with feeling uncomfortably sad and guilty. Ron smiled up at him.

He said, "Fine. Hermione and I are together."

"Oooo!" Fred awed. "How lovely. Looks like George owes Ginny and I a couple of sickles."

"The hell? You guys had a bet on Hermione and I?" he fumed.

"Cheer up, Ron," Fred smirked. "I'm actually relieved that you and Miss Granger's finally realized your feelings for each other."

He shrugged and they went back into cleaning and dusting the furnitures in the room. As Ron went to lift up a heavy dresser to move it and clean whatever the hell was under and behind it, he heard part of Hermione and Ginny's conversation.

"Do you have the molds, Gin?" Hermione asked her with happiness evident in her voice.

"Yup," said Ginny.

The hell is she up too? And why and why is Ginny a part of this, Ron felt angered at how Hermione was now being secretive. The brunette said that they would never keep anymore secrets from one another. He was enraged at how hypocritical she was. Maybe, she was even planning for their breakup surprise. Feeling his blood boil to the point, he carelessly punched the already broken wall.

"Holy shite!" Fred jumped out, not expecting his younger brother to suddenly punch the wall out of nowhere. "Where in Merlin's left saggy bollocks did you do that, Ron?"

"She - she doesn't trust me!" he spat at him. "She just wanted to bloody use me. She hates me! She hates me!"

"Woah - woah - calm down little bro," the other Weasley went over to his younger brother. "What are you talking about?"

"Her-Hermione," Ron breathed out her name in anger.

She just wants to use you, Ronald! Can't you see?

She will never love you.

You are nothing.

Ron grasped onto his hair, as Voldemort's spine chilling creep along his back. He cringed at his voice and started to shake uncontrollably. He shut his eyes tightly, trying to subside his pain with little success.

"Ron," came Fred's uncharacteristic soft, concerned voice. "Hey. Look up here."

Ron slowly looked up to face his older brother and looked at his brown eyes that were filled with worry and concern for him. They hugged each other in a brotherly embrace. Ron accepted his hug full of love and smiled along with him.

Right after dinner, Ron ran up stairs to only see Hermione's beaming face. Being grumpy and oblivious to her evident mood, he grunted out rudely to her, making her mad a bit. Though, Hermione simply brushed it off and went to hold her sweaty palms into his.

"I'm so glad you're here," said Hermione, giving him a polite smile.

"Sure you are," he grumbled and pushed her out of the way.

Feeling angered and perplexed by his mood swing, she ran after him, letting the increasing stairs an analogy for her beating heart and the sweat that glistened on her apprehensive face.

"Ron, where are you going? We need to talk!" Hermione cried out for him.

He simply shunned her. As he was about to slam the door right then and there in front of her face, she managed to catch the door before it made an echoing slam that would hurt the eardrums of anyone.

"Ron, please let me speak," she said in a whisper, knowing that Ron was hearing her. "I made a gif-"

"You made a what?" he finally spoke out. His voice and eyes were dripping with grimace and anger. "A present for us to break up?"

"Wh-what are you talking about?" her chocolate brown eyes ignited with anger and perplexity. "Ron, why would you think of that?"

"Oh, I don't know," he spat hotly at her, meeting his dark blue eyes to pierce through her's. "Maybe because of your suspicious behavior! You know Hermione, you promised that we wouldn't lie to each other anymore and to not keep any secrets! I don't understand anymore."

Hermione stepped back slightly and felt ashamed that she had the lie to him, "I lied to you because-"

"You know what," he had cut her off, not wanting to hear her excuse. "The last time you lied to me - actually to bloody everyone - you set us off into danger! You lied because of Vicky!"

"But - That's all in the past, Ron," she breathed out, feeling like she was losing conscious. Her grip onto the little box she was holding was used as an uncomfortable comfort object. "I lo-"

"I don't want to hear anymore, Hermione. You've lied to me again and again and AGAIN! I hate it when we fight. I hate it when you lie. I hate that I feel so left out of everything. I hate it that you don't love me anymore!"

That's right, Ronald. She's just playing around with your emotions, Voldemort said in his head. You are nothing.

"Ronald Weasley!" she shrieked out. "How - how dare you think of something so maddening like that! I love you! I love you! I love you!"

"If you love, then you should know that his relationship isn't going to work out as I have dreamt of for years," Ron said to her, darkly. "I feel like we were never meant to be."

Her lower lip was trembling with sorrow and heartbreak. She took a step away from him, as if he was a monster. She covered her agaped mouth, as her eyes traveled down to the ground. Hermione tried holding back all her tears with little to nothing success. The brunette's bushy locks fell around her, as she shaked and sobbed uncontrollably.

I feel like we were never meant to be.

"L-looks like we won't be needing this," Hermione threw him the small present she was about to give him and the card that came along with it.

The present was the reason she had avoided and lied to him. If Ron hadn't been so insecure, none of this wouldn't really happen. Hermione ran for it, leaving a fuming and regretful Ron all by himself in his Chudley Cannon top and shorts.

Ron looked at the sunset orange box and then at the colorful card that was painted with light pastels. In cursive it said, 'To the Most Wonderful Person I've Ever Met.'

He slowly opened the card with shaky hands and read it while he went to find a place to sit and read the card with intent.

To My Favorite Prat (that's you Ron),

I'm so ecstatic and wonderstruck that we've finally confessed to one another. You are honestly the most wonderful person I've ever met, and I'm so grateful to have someone so funny, caring, fiercely loyal, and courageous as you are. My heart belongs to you, Ron. Please never think that I don't love you.

With all my love, Miss Know-It-All Hermione

Ron couldn't help but to have a teary, warm smile appear on his face. He opened the box to see a necklace. He had the left side of the heart and it was a picture of Hermione. He has guessed that she had the other half which contained a picture of him. The picture was animating to make her smile broadly at him, making her chocolate brown eyes stand out. He held it as if it was his own.

The Weasley was about to stand up and thank her to only realize that dreaded moment and he was the cause of it.

I broke Hermione Granger's heart.

A/N: I'm selling pitchforks and a Voldemort voodoo doll for anyone who is interested! I hope you enjoyed the chapter and have a great day, pal! :)