Chapter 12

"It's me," came a voice from the other end of the table.

All eyes snapped to the speaker, wide with shock. A deafening silence descended upon the garden. Even nature seemed to recognize the gravity of the moment.

Mrs. Weasley's left eye twitched slightly as she clutched tightly to the bowl of potatoes.

"Percy?" She whispered.

He answered her wordless question. "Yes, Mum."

Mrs. Weasley trembled a little, and then her eyes rolled into the back of her head.

Noting that she was listing dangerously to the side, Mr. Weasley called out. "Bill, your mother… the potatoes."

Bill quickly took the bowl from his mother's hands as she fainted into Mr. Weasley's waiting arms. Arthur guided her to the ground, and started to fan her gently with his napkin as the family came rushing about them.

Roberto moved in as well until Charlie caught sight of him, and reared around aggressively.

"Back off you little…" He started advancing on Roberto, but Percy jumped in between them.

"Don't you dare!" Percy seethed.

Charlie was shocked. Percy could be a pompous git at times, but he had never been so overtly hostile before.

"I'm just going to leave." Roberto mumbled starting to retreat.

"Please don't." Percy pleaded chasing after him, and grabbing his hand.

Roberto hazarded a glance at everyone goggling at them then looked back into desperate blue eyes.

"I shouldn't be here." He said in a lowered voice.

Percy added his other hand to the grasp he already had on Roberto's hand. "Then I'll go with you."

Unable to resist, Roberto reached up and brushed his thumb along Percy's cheek. "No, you need to stay. You should have this out with your family."

"I need you with me to do that… Please."

Roberto dropped his hand, and tore his eyes away from Percy's for a moment to assess the overall disposition of the family. They didn't look overly angry, just stunned. Even Charlie seemed merely dumbfounded more than anything else. Squeezing Percy's hand, he finally nodded slightly, and Percy let out a long, relieved breath.

Molly had slowly been coming to, and was looking around confused.

"What? What's going on? Why am I on the ground?"

On hearing her voice, Percy and Roberto rushed over to rejoin the huddle. When she looked up and saw them standing closely together however, it all came flooding back, and she let out a soft, heartbroken whimper.

Percy swallowed hard at the look on his Mum's face. He could tolerate a lot - anger, ribbing, cruelty even - but not the disappointment and sense of betrayal in her eyes.

Throughout all this, Ron and Hermione had remained at the table tied up in their own inner turmoil. Hermione watched in dread as Ron's eyes darted about, his mind putting the pieces together. His breathing increased at an alarming rate until he was nearly hyperventilating, and then without warning, he stilled completely as comprehension struck.

"Ron?" She called out tentatively.

His eyes flew to hers, and the unmitigated rage she saw couched there made her breath catch.

"No…" He started quietly.

"Ron." She pleaded with him, her voice quivering with emotion.

"No. No. No." His voice grew progressively louder as he stood up abruptly sending the chair he was sitting in tumbling backward.

Everyone turned around quickly silenced at his thundering protestation.

Hermione jumped up. "Ron, please…"

His hand shot out and he silenced her with an extended finger.

"Don't you even… You… You lying…"

"Ron." She started to become desperate.

He shook his head back and forth frantically, and backed up. Unaware of the fallen chair behind him, he tripped over it but righted himself quickly.

"I just can't..."

With that, he bolted inside.

Hermione looked around anxiously taking in the stares of the entire family. She swallowed hard, took a steeling breath, and tried to walk slowly toward the Burrow.

As she passed by Roberto, she stopped and took his hand in a tight hold. Silently, they smiled to one another acknowledging the hard hours that lay ahead for them both. She gave his hand one last squeeze then moved off into the house to find Ron.

Still seated on the ground, Molly turned to Mr. Weasley, and said under her breath. "Arthur, can you please cast a silencing charm on the house. Those two need their privacy, and I have a feeling dinner is over."

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Hermione cautiously peeked round the door into Ron's room to find him pacing like a caged animal. She had a choice , she could do this one of two ways. She could be meek and apologetic, or she could stand up and fight for him. Making up her mind, she marched boldly into the room.

Spotting her, Ron flew into a rage. "Oh no, you bloody well don't. Get out! Get the hell out!"

"I'm not going anywhere until we've talked this through."

"There's nothing to talk about. You're a lying, conniving, manipulative…"

"That's rich!" she cut him off. "You did exactly the same thing to me with Lavender."

"That was different."

"How so?"

"I only did that because you were rubbing your i 'amazing' /i relationship with your Italian boyfriend in my face. I didn't know it was all a bloody lie."

"I tried to tell you. I've been trying to tell you for days now, but you just wouldn't listen."

"When? When did you try?" He barked at her.

"Twice at the club, by the pond, and in bed this morning." She counted them off on her fingers but blushed profusely when she came to the last one.

In the back of his mind, he knew that she had in fact tried to tell him something, but he was just so incensed by her apparent need to hurt him that he refused to acknowledge it.

"Did you mean any of it? When we…" His eyes strayed toward the bed, but he ripped them away when it became too painful. "Or was it all a part of your bloody scheme?"

"Of course I meant it, you prat. I could never be with you, and not mean it. You know that."

"No, I don't. How the hell would I know something like that? You've been gone for three years, Hermione. I don't know you anymore."

"What are you talking about?"

"The girl I knew wouldn't try to hurt me like you did."

"The girl you knew was hurt beyond words by your desire to be with someone else."

"What? Someone else? Who?" He sputtered completely confused by her accusation.

"Lavender, you git. I left because of her! Because you chose her over me!"

"The hell I did. I never wanted her!"

"Then why did you say that you did, and why didn't you come after me?" She screamed. "I waited for you. For an entire bloody year, I waited for you to try and get me back, but you never came. I went crazy trying to figure out why… why you hadn't come after me, and do you want to know what I came up with?"

She paused to catch her breath, and to push back the tears that were threatening to fall.

"That I obviously meant nothing to you. Lavender, me, whoever… It didn't matter. That one chippy was just as good as the next. It was horrible. I was devastated, and hurt, and angry. Angry because here I was madly in love with you and… and you couldn't have cared less!

"That's total horseshit! I never loved you? How could you possibly have thought that?" He ranted.

"What was I supposed to think?"

"That I loved you more than anything!" He railed.

"Your last words to me before I left were that you were breaking it off with me, and going for something with the likes of Lavender. I hated you for that." She spat viciously at him. "I despised you for using me, and then tossing me aside like I was nothing even when you knew how much I loved you."

"Are you kidding me? How could you think that you were nothing to me? Are you daft? After seven years of being my best friend, and another two years of being my… my everything. God, you must be completely blind. Losing you nearly killed me. I was a mess. I had nothing to live for." He stopped abruptly and looked away.

"It's not important. Not anymore anyway." His voice was chilling now devoid of any emotion.

She was paralyzed with shock as he brushed past her to get to the door. He stopped with his hand on the doorknob, but did not look up to her.

"For your information, the only reason I didn't come after you was because I realized you didn't think I was good enough for you. I knew other people thought it, but you…"

"What? That's ridiculous, Ron." She was starting to sound hysterical.

He still didn't raise his eyes to hers knowing he would cave if he saw her face. He wasn't going to let himself be deceived again.

"Is it? You didn't think enough of me to even consider that I might have something to lose by going with you, a job prospect of my own… a life of my own. You only saw what you wanted to... what was good for you. You didn't know, and you didn't care what was going on with me. Do you understand how much that hurt? The one person I loved more than anything in the world, and she doesn't even know the first thing about me. Not even about the scout from the Cannons who had approached me. You didn't think about my feelings then, and you obviously don't care about my feelings now. You played your bloody games, and used me to make yourself feel better."

"Ron, I'm sorry. Why didn't you say anything?"

He chose this moment to meet her gaze. His eyes were scorching with derision.

"I did. I'm not the only one with a listening problem it seems. I loved you… for three years… all this time… I never stopped. But you're obviously not the same girl I fell for. Maybe she never existed."

He turned briskly, and left the room. She stood frozen on the spot for a moment before crumpling to the floor in tears.

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The family minus Charlie and George sat around the table in abject silence. Charlie had needed to clear his head after the shock, and a worried George volunteered to keep him company.

All of a sudden, a child's wonderful giggle broke through the somber mood injecting some much-needed levity. A small girl of three with strawberry blond curls came bounding happily up the path.

"Papa… Papa… Je suis ici, Papa!" And the little heartbreaker launched herself into her father's arms.

"Bonjour! Allo! Sorry we are late!" came Fleur's voice from just down the hall.

Bill stood, and walked over to greet his wife with a kiss.

"Little Miss 'ere refused to put on 'er dress. Just like 'er fazer. Loves to be naked."

Bill blushed profusely, and cleared his throat to get his wife's attention.

Ignoring his attempts to pull her focus, and taking in the grave looks of the table, Fleur just had to ask. "Is somesing ze matter? Did I miss dinner already?"

"Well love, you remember Roberto here from the Stag and Doe." Bill supplied.

"Oh oui, 'Ermione's boyfriend. Eet iz lovely to see you again. Where is 'Ermione anyway?"

"Upstairs with Ron, but that's a completely different story. Um… You see, Percy just told us all… that is…"

"He's a poof." Fred interrupted flatly.

"Fred!" Mrs. Weasley shouted.

"Pardon?" Fleur stuttered.

"Percy is gay." Bill said giving Fleur a knowing look, which she caught immediately. "And Roberto here is apparently his new… boyfriend."

Understanding washed over Fleur's features, and she walked over to Percy.

Not caring what anyone thought, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders from behind, gave him a quick kiss on the crown of his head and mumbled into his hair. "Finally told them, hmm?"

He smiled shyly and focused on his clasped hands.

"Wait a sec there." Fred interrupted. "You knew? Bill, how long have you known?"

Bill shifted his daughter to his other hip, and anxiously eyed his family's questioning looks.

"I… Well…"

"It's alright Bill. You can tell them. It's all out in the open now anyway." Percy encouraged.

Taking a nervous breath, and scanning his very attentive audience, Bill gathered his courage to relate a very traumatic moment in his young adult life.

"Um… I went to visit Percy just after he'd moved into his first flat, and I apparated right into his living room without flooing first. What I found… I… Well he was in a… he was with Oliver Wood on the couch. After Oli left, we chatted about it for an hour or so, and decided it was best to leave off telling the family for a bit."

He was met with dead silence from the entire family.

Suddenly, a voice pierced the quiet. "Oliver Wood is gay?"

Everyone craned their heads to look at Ginny.

"Apparently." came Bill's tight-lipped response.

A monstrous silence swallowed them, and everyone cast about for an escape until Fred turned to Roberto, and said. "So, you're gay?"

Everyone groaned. Leave it to Fred to make an uncomfortable situation absolutely unbearable.

"Yes, I am." Roberto answered guardedly.

"Fred!" Ginny reprimanded.

"What? We have to make sure he's good enough for Percy!" He turned back to Roberto, and continued on undeterred. "And you're in love with my brother, yeah?"

"Sod off, Fred." Percy growled.

"This is no time to tease, Fred." Mrs. Weasley scolded.

"I'm not teasing, Mum." Fred answered deadly serious.

"Yes, I am." Roberto interjected quietly as he caught Percy's eye and gave him a playful smile.

For his part, Percy's blush rivaled one of Ron's best in intensity.

Fred took a moment to consider this answer.

"Why?" He finally whined, and Roberto stiffened.

Fred threw his arm around Percy's shoulder. "I mean he's such a snotty, pompous git, and you seem like such a nice bloke…"

Fred watched for the joke to sink in.

"Now, I'm taking the mickey out of you." He tried to explain to Roberto.

"Oh, Fred." Ginny rolled her eyes trying not to giggle.

"Who's Mickey?" Roberto asked truly confused.

They all stared at him blankly, and then broke out into uncontrollable fits of laughter.

"I like him Perce. Great sense of humour." Fred patted Percy's back amicably.

Percy couldn't help but smile. All things with Charlie aside, this wasn't going nearly as bad as he thought it would.

After everyone seemed to calm, Mrs. Weasley cleared her throat decisively.

"Can you boys, and Gin and Fleur of course, excuse us for a bit. Your father and I would like to have a word with Percy alone if we may?"

Everyone vacated their seats sending Percy a varying degree of looks ranging from apprehension to loving support.

Harry and Ginny moved off to the lounge chair a ways away, Fred left in search of Charlie and George, Bill took to entertaining Simone, and Fleur wrangled an uncertain Roberto to the other end of the garden.

The three adults left at the table shifted uncomfortably in their seats trying desperately to find a common ground.

Finally growing too overwrought, Molly took the bull by the horns and asked the question she'd been waiting nearly a quarter of an hour to.

"Are you sure?"

Percy's eyes snapped to hers. "I've never been more certain of anything in my life Mum."

She nodded and looked down at her clasped hands.

"Is there any chance you're just confused?"

"Mum, I was confused when I was trying to date girls and be straight."

Another long drawn out silence passed between them.

Close to tears, Molly finally asked her most pressing question. "Was there… was there anything that I said or did that…"

Seeing her struggle, Percy interrupted her gently. "You didn't do anything wrong Mum. It's just who I am."

She nodded again, and swiped at her eyes.

"I don't know exactly how to take this, Percy."

Misconstruing her meaning, Percy leaned back and away from his parents distancing himself but Molly grabbed for his hand before he could retreat into himself completely.

"We still love you no matter what. We're just going to need some time to get used to the idea."

She hesitantly reached up and brushed his cheek lightly with her index finger. Her thoughts ran back to his childhood. When she reflected on her intelligent, sensitive Percy, he was her middle child and she took extra care to include him. Even though she had six boys, she always considered the twins very much like a single unit.

She always knew there was something inherently different about Percy that set him apart from the other boys, but it was never anything that she could pinpoint with any great certainty.

Now she knew. Now she understood. She wasn't completely at peace with the knowledge, but it definitely explained a lot.

She shook her head of these thoughts, took a cleansing breath, and laughed nervously.

After several awkward seconds, Mr. Weasley who had remained silent for the entire conversation finally spoke. "Well, at least you brought home a nice boy even though he did initially come with Hermione. Really nice chap, and a great cook too."

Both Percy and Mrs. Weasley gawked at him.

"What? Have you tasted his gnocchi? Molly Wobbles, your cooking is amazing, but there's nothing like Italian cuisine."

They continued to gape at him for a few more seconds then both broke out into peals of laughter.

"Really, Mr. Weasley? Italian cuisine." Molly continued to titter.

Suddenly the screen door swung open, and a red-faced Ron burst into the garden.

"Ron?" Mrs. Weasley called to him with no lack of concern in her voice.

Ignoring everyone, he trudged on through and made his way up the path toward the pond.

"Harry?" She queried gently.

He nodded, and got up from the warm comfort of his fiancée's arms to accept the unspoken request. ""I'm on it."

"I'll go see how Hermione is doing." Ginny offered.

He leaned down and they gave each other a quick kiss then went their separate ways to deal with the obvious fallout.

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Ginny ventured into Ron's room, but found it empty. She then cautiously made her way down the hall, and glanced into Percy's old room. She knew Hermione and Roberto were placed in there, and she found herself chuckling at the irony.

Inside, she found Hermione frantically moving about gathering and folding her clothes, and placing each item neatly into her trunk.

"What are you doing?" Ginny asked confused.

"Packing."

"Why?"

"I can't stay here, Gin." She continued to move about the room collecting her things.

"I know you're mad, and Ron can be a real prat sometimes, but…"

"You're wrong Gin. I'm not angry. I'm ashamed of myself. Your brother has every right to hate me."

"So you lied about Roberto. So what? He'll get over it. Besides, he's not allowed be that mad. He pulled the same stunt with Lavender… or tried to at least."

Hermione seemed to be ignoring her now opting instead to focus on her packing.

"Stop it!" Ginny bellowed.

For the first time since Ginny's arrival, Hermione stopped dead in her tracks, jumping slightly at the anger in the other woman's voice.

"When were you planning on leaving?" Ginny finally asked in a deceivingly calm voice.

"Tonight."

"Were you going to go back to Italy just like that?"

Hermione hesitated. "Um… yes."

"Don't you dare! Don't you dare abandon me on my wedding day." Ginny ranted angrily.

"Oh Gin, I'm sorry. I just wasn't thinking straight."

"Yeah, that's becoming a really bad habit of yours."

Hermione shifted awkwardly where she stood. Sighing deeply, Ginny walked forward, took her hands, and led Hermione to the bed to have a seat.

Once comfortably situated, Ginny began. "What happened?"

"Weren't you at the table?"

"After that."

Hermione took a moment to consider her words.

"Ron and I had it out… all of it... three years' worth."

Ginny shuddered. Knowing their history, the idea of that kind of argument between Ron and Hermione was truly terrifying.

"What's been going on with you two these last couple days? You've been so strange with each other."

Totally defeated, Hermione answered. "Everything, but it doesn't matter anymore."

She then stood up, and listlessly moved about the room collecting her things.

"Did you two shag?" Ginny asked seemingly out of nowhere.

Hermione stared at her for a moment, but finally nodded. "Several times. All last night in fact."

"Oh Sweet Merlin, I didn't need that much information, Hermione."

Ginny put her head in her hands, and briefly thought on this new revelation.

"All right, you have to stay for the ceremony and the dinner, but if it gets to be too much you can leave after that."

Hermione launched herself into Ginny's arms and cried out her thanks.

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Harry wandered down the dock, and took a seat beside his best mate. Several minutes of companionable silence stretched out between the two friends as they stared out over the water.

"I hate her." Ron finally muttered.

"No, you don't." Came Harry's steady reply.

"Yes, I do."

"No Ron, you don't. You're madly in love with the girl, and that's why you're so pissed off."

"I can't be in love with someone I don't know, Harry."

"You can't hate someone you don't know either, Ron."

Ron shot him a scathingly black look.

"Listen Ron, you know her probably better than anyone." Harry bravely continued.

"You don't understand Harry."

"You're right, I don't understand. I can't possibly begin to know what you're going through. But try to imagine how you're going to feel in a week when this isn't so raw, and she's gone. It took three years for her to come back. How long do you think it will be until the next time? Are you willing to lose her again because you're hacked off at her?"

Ron just stared at him dumbfounded by this insight and unable to answer. After a moment, both men looked back out over the dark pond.