Chapter Eight: Confusion
Hermione's hand shook as she raised it. She took a deep breath before knocking on the door. A middle-aged man with a graying-brown beard answered.
"Why if it isn't Hermione Granger! How long has it been?"
She forced a smile. "Too long, Mr. Allen. Is Genvi home?"
"I think so. Come on in!"
Genvi poked her head around the corner as Hermione stepped inside. "Hey Books! What's up?"
"Not much."
Hermione fumbled with her hands. Genvi furrowed her eyebrows. "Is everything all right?"
"Yeah, it's just—do you think we could talk?"
"Sure."
Hermione followed her to her room. The witch sat on her friend's bed and stared at the ground. She didn't look up when Genvi closed the door and sat next to her.
"What's going on? You've been really quiet for the past two days."
"I've just had a lot to think about."
"That's right. You're leaving soon."
Hermione glanced up at Genvi, eyes wide. Genvi bit her lip.
"I forgot—I'm not supposed to know."
"Ron told you?"
Genvi's lips curved into an embarrassed smile. "His tongue gets pretty loose sometimes."
Hermione felt something catch in her throat, but ignored it. "How much do you know?"
"Just that he, you, and Harry are leaving soon to find something to help you defeat Voldemort. He thought you were going to leave right after you got back from Diagon Alley. I'm sort of surprised you're still here."
"We decided to wait until after Harry's birthd—" She shook her head. "I shouldn't be telling you this."
"Well, what did you come here to tell me?"
Hermione hesitated before looking back at the floor. Genvi put a hand on her shoulder and waited for her friend to speak. After a long minute, Hermione took a deep breath.
"Two days ago—when I came home from Diagon Alley—had you been over long?"
Genvi frowned. "Why?"
"Just answer me, please."
The blonde raised her eyebrows at Hermione's tone. "No, Ron had just picked me up."
Hermione was quiet for a minute. "He'd spent the morning with Harry and Gin then?"
"I don't think so. He said he'd been sleeping all day. Harry and Ginny didn't seem to notice—they were watching a movie."
"So no one really knows where he was," Hermione breathed.
"What is this about, Books?" Genvi placed both hands on Hermione's shoulders and forced her friend to face her. "You've been jumpy ever since you came back from shopping, especially around Ron. Did something happen?"
"I'm just—trying to figure out exactly where he was."
"So why don't you ask him yourself?"
Hermione met Genvi's gaze, at a loss for words. Genvi waited for her friend to say something, but to no avail. After a number of minutes, she released Hermione's shoulders with a sigh.
"I just want to help, Hermione. Something's obviously bugging you, and I wish you would tell me what it is."
Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but closed it almost immediately. She knew she should tell Genvi what was on her mind, knew she should tell her what happened in the Leaky Cauldron, but she couldn't. If she told Genvi the truth, it would break her heart, not to mention ruin their friendship.
But their friendship was ruined anyway. It didn't matter how hard she'd fought in the beginning, Hermione couldn't deny that in the end she'd given in to him. He'd forced her, yes, but she'd let him. Her mind had shut down and her body had taken over.
Tears welled up in her eyes, but she hid them well. "I lied to you."
"When?"
"When I said I didn't have feelings for Ron anymore."
"I know. You're a horrible liar, Books."
Genvi chuckled. Hermione couldn't bring herself to join her. After a minute, Genvi stopped laughing and her expression grew serious.
"Is that what this is about? Are you uncomfortable with me dating him?"
"Yes, but it's not what you think."
Genvi raised an eyebrow. "You don't want him for yourself?"
"Not anymore."
"Okay, I'm lost. You're not making any sense."
Hermione tried to gather herself. "Something happened in Diagon Alley. Something that changed my opinion of him."
"You saw him there? What was he doing?"
She buried her face in her hands. She didn't want to believe it was Ron. She wanted to find some sort of explanation, some way to make sense of what had happened. The Ron she knew, her best friend, was not the Ron she'd met in the Leaky Cauldron. But who else could it have been?
"I don't know," she whispered. "I thought it was him, but—I just don't know."
Genvi leaned forward. "What did you see?"
Hermione shook her head and tried to stand. "I never should have started this conversation. I never should have come over to talk to you. I just wanted to be sure that he—that I wasn't—but I'm not. I'm not sure of anything. I don't know what happened, Genvi, but I can't—"
She broke into uncontrollable sobs and collapsed back onto the bed. Genvi pulled her into her arms and held her as she cried. This just caused Hermione to cry more—she should be the one comforting Genvi. This wasn't the first time she'd been betrayed by a boyfriend—
But how could Ron—?
"It's late," Hermione muttered when she'd pulled herself together. "I should be getting home."
Genvi took Hermione's hand as the witch stood. "Books, you can talk to me about anything. You know that, right?"
"I know," she said, avoiding eye contact. Before Genvi could stop her, she was out the door.
Ron reached over Genvi's shoulder and scooped up some frosting with his index finger. Genvi slapped his hand and pushed the cake away from the edge of the table, hiding a smile.
"What do you think you're doing, Ronald?"
"Just tasting it to make sure it's not poisoned."
Genvi folded her arms. "You think I'm going to poison Harry?"
He shrugged. "You never know who to trust these days."
"Including who to trust in the kitchen when you're making a birthday cake."
He just grinned and licked the frosting off his finger. Genvi rolled her eyes and suppressed a laugh.
"Quiet, lovebirds. You'll wake him up!" Ginny said, poking her head into the room. "Ron, why don't you leave Genvi alone and help me and Herm set up decorations in the living room?"
Ron stole another taste of frosting before obeying his sister. The girls had already put up a number of streamers, but apparently it wasn't enough. Hermione stood on an old chair, straining to tape another one to the ceiling. The chair wobbled, and Ron hurried over.
"Let me give you a hand," he said as he put his hands on her waist to steady her.
The minute Ron touched her, Hermione dropped the streamer. She stumbled and fell backward. Ron caught her easily.
"Careful there, 'Mione! Don't hurt yourself!"
Hermione practically jumped out of his arms and to the other side of the room.
"I don't need your help," she said through clenched teeth.
She turned her back on him and continued to decorate. Ron stared at her, but didn't get a chance to say anything before Ginny came back into the room. He sighed and wandered back to the kitchen. Genvi looked up briefly as he entered.
"What, Ginny decide she didn't need your help?"
"No, Hermione sent me away."
"She's still acting strange?"
"For the past week and a half—ever since she came back from Diagon Alley a second time. Has she said anything to you about it?"
Genvi paused in her decorating and looked up at him. "Not much. Just that she thought she saw you when she was out."
"What, in Diagon Alley?"
She shrugged. "That's what she said. But she didn't sound sure."
"I just wish I knew what I did to make her mad at me. I mean, she's always mad at me, but she's been especially irritated lately."
"You haven't asked her?"
"No! Every time I try to, she leaves the room or changes the subject. She barely even speaks to me."
Genvi bit her lip. "Well, whatever it is, I'm sure it will work itself out."
"You don't sound very convincing."
She sent him a small smile before refocusing her attention on the cake. Ron sat down and watched her until she finished writing "Happy Birthday, Harry" on the top in curvy letters. Genvi stared at the cake, suddenly very quiet. Ron kissed the top of her head.
"Nice job."
She looked up at him, a sad look in her eyes. "You're leaving soon, aren't you?"
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, it's Harry's birthday today. Hermione said the only thing you were waiting for now was for Harry to turn seventeen."
Ron kissed her head again. "Let's not worry about that right now, all right?"
Genvi sighed and stood. As she carried the cake into the living room, Ron looked at his watch.
"8:30. Harry should be out of bed any time now."
Almost as if on cue, they heard his bedroom door open down the hall. Hermione and Ginny finished hanging the "Happy Birthday" banner just as he walked into the room.
Harry's eyes lit up as the four of them burst into a chorus of "Happy Birthday." The atmosphere in the room was light as they all ate cake and Harry opened presents. Even Hermione managed a smile, which was a rare occurrence these days.
When they were through opening presents, Harry went back to his room to change and the rest of them cleaned up the mess.
"I'll do the dishes," Hermione offered and started picking them up.
Ron jumped to his feet. "I can help with that."
"Like I said, I don't need your help," she spat.
Genvi and Ginny exchanged a curious look as Hermione went into the kitchen. Ron glanced at them, a look of embarrassment on his face, before following her. Even though she heard him walk in after her, she didn't turn away from the sink. He stood there for a couple minutes, staring at her back. Finally, he sighed.
"I'm sorry, Hermione."
Hermione almost dropped her plate. She set it down in the sink and took a hold of the counter with both hands, steadying herself.
"You're sorry?" she croaked.
"Well, what else do you want me to say?"
She scoffed and whirled to face him. Her piercing stare forced him to take a step back.
"There's nothing you can say," she hissed.
Without another word, she threw her dishtowel in the sink with the still dirty dishes and stomped past him into the backyard. Ron watched her go, pain written all over his face.
A/N: Next chapter will be updated soon, and it'll move the plot forward a little more, I promise. Review!
