"You are here." Shrieked an anxious looking Ginny Weasley as Ron entered the Shell cottage. She dragged him to the upstairs to his room. "I was waiting for you for last couple of hours. Where are Harry and Hermione? Why are you not with them? Nobody tells me what's going on. I am dying with worry. Tell me what's going on, Ron? I have the right to know." Ginny asked desperately with tears in her eyes.
Ron felt a pang in his heart seeing Ginny. He doesn't know how to reveal the truth to Ginny. He knows how much she loves Harry. Harry didn't fool her even a bit when he broke up with her after Dumbledore's funeral. She knows something dangerous is coming up and Harry doesn't want her to be in the middle of it. She is still hoping they will get together when this mess is sorted out. He decided to tell the truth it better be sooner rather than later to reveal the truth to Ginny; it gives her enough time to mend her broken heart before facing Harry.
"Ginny, I don't know how exactly to say you this." Ron silenced the room with a wave of his wand trying to find the right words. "Let me start from the beginning…. I-I sort of left them a few months back-"
"What! You left them. You… You…. How can you do that?" Ginny asked cutting off Ron with shock written all over her face.
"I didn't…. It… it was not intentional. It's just we… we came across a dark artifact and it sort of influenced me it actually influenced all of us but me a bit more and under its influence I… I just left them." Ron said as his head hung with shame as he remembered Hermione shouting after him to come back.
"You are a stupid excuse of a friend, Ronald Weasley. You… You just left them, you were never a good brother and you just proved now you are not even a good friend. How can you do that to Harry? He saved your arse more times than you can count and you just left him when he needed you. I don't know how you even ended up in Gryffindor-." Ginny nothing but shouted onto Ron's face. Ron expected the shouting but what he didn't expected this. He always tried to look after Ginny but if she was saying he was a shit brother then maybe he failed even as a brother. It was like Horcrux all over again.
"Hey…Hey… Just stop it okay. You don't understand what it is like-" Ron tried to cut through Ginny's rant but was interrupted again.
"Oh really, stop giving stupid excuses for your behavior Ron. If you can't even face a stupid dark artifact then you are not worthy enough to be a Gryffindor. You were never there for me when it really mattered, you were hiding behind a wall when I was dying in the chamber and you were nothing but an extra baggage to save in the Department of Mysteries. It's not new to you to abandon your friends isn't it? You abandoned Harry during Tri-wizard tournament, you were nothing less than cruel to Hermione all your sixth year." Ginny stopped her rant as Bill entered the room.
"Griphook is looking for you Ron and whatev-" Bill stopped sensing the tension in the room. "Is everything okay?" Bill asked looking at Ron. Ron shook his head; Bill got the message and left the room quietly. Ron broke the silence,
"You know what Ginny, I am sorry; I didn't know you resented me this much." Ron paused and looking straight into Ginny's eyes, he felt something snap inside him, "but for argument sake Ginny, it is rich coming from you about not able to face a dark artifact when you were the one who got possessed and freed a basilisk onto the students. But then I didn't blame you, I tried to be there for you. Maybe it's you who is a shit sister. You better look at yourself before pointing your finger on others." Ron said furiously one thing that he learned from the Horcrux is never to let others influence you especially in the negative sense nothing good will ever come from it.
"Stop it Ron, I can't believe you brought it up. I was eleven when it happened and inside it there was You-know-who's younger self. Not many grown-ups would have escaped from it without being possessed; I didn't know I was the one doing until it's late." Ginny said angrily blinking away the tears.
"Oh, really, how about this is for a stupid excuse? It bloody pains you when somebody points out your flaws and mistakes right. You better keep it in your idiotic mind when you try to take others down with your cruel words Ginny. You are so immersed in revising my failures you forgot yours. Whenever I failed I bounced back. Whenever I made mistakes I made up for them. I always tried Ginny and I never gave up. You better have control over your tongue baby sister and if Harry and I came together here I know you wouldn't even spare a single glance at me don't even go as far as talking to me. Still I argued about you and your safety even when I was under the influence of lo—dark artifact. May be I shouldn't have cared." Ron said in a serious tone causing Ginny to open and close her mouth few times.
"You… You changed. What happened exactly?" Ginny asked without any anger in her voice. Ron is right she wouldn't have spared a single glance towards him and she is not going to admit it. She argued many times with her brother some silly, some serious but she never heard Ron speaking maturely.
"One last thing;" Ron said as if he not heard Ginny. "You better get over Harry; he is not going to come for you. Take it as an advice or whatever. I am not bothering to tell you any further and you better keep your mouth shut." Ron said and left the room, leaving a dumbfounded and frustrated Ginny.
Hermione woke up with a nightmare, panting hardly. It took her a few minutes to realize she is not in Malfoy manor but in the tent. She curled up her legs onto her chest and all the events that occurred before she went to sleep flooded into her mind.
She never even had the faintest idea about Harry's feelings towards her, she always saw him more as a brother and best friend. Hermione tried to think any instances where Harry showed her any signs but she didn't remember any or she never paid much attention.
She had to talk to Harry and solve the mess they are in. Hermione got up and came out of the tent and saw Harry taking the watch. Hermione instantly felt bad since it is her turn to take the watch. She cleared her throat to make her presence known. Harry lifted his head but didn't meet her eyes. She sat on the rock opposite to him.
Hermione waited for Harry to speak something, after few minutes when nobody spoke Hermione decided to break the silence, "Harry, it doesn't change anything between us, we are still best friends. I don't know you had feelings for me. I don't think you really do Harry. We have been on the road for months and past few weeks without… without him and we have been carrying a piece of You-know-who's soul on our necks. You had to break up with Ginny even though you love her. It must be taking a toll on you-"
"Hermione" Harry interrupted with a harsh tone. "Are you implying I am mental? Some sort of person whose head is shaken off and he didn't know what he is doing or what he is sayin-"
"No, no, Harry, you are taking it in a wrong way." Hermione cut off. "I didn't mean it in that sense, all I am saying is I… I don't think I have done anything to you to have feelings for me." Harry snorted loudly causing Hermione's temper rise. "It is not my fault if you have feelings for me Harry. I didn't do anything to initiate them." Hermione stopped trying to calm herself.
"You know what Hermione; let us forget this ever happened. We can go back how we were before. I don't blame you." Harry said standing still not meeting Hermione's eyes.
"Damn it Harry, don't be like this. Talk to me, what happened to you? You love Ginny and out of nowhere you fancy me, I don't understand." Hermione said grabbing Harry's hand and making him sit.
"Hermione, for god's sake don't act stupid. You are the smartest witch of our age and you are telling me you don't understand." Harry said in a frustrated tone.
Hermione let out an exasperated sigh, "this is your last chance Harry, you are going to talk to me and talk straight, not in circles. Otherwise I know many jinxes that makes you talk nonstop everything which comes to your mind." Hermione threatened.
"You want to hear it in my words Hermione, ok. You want to know what you did. How about kissing me in the fourth year? In fifth year you were so happy when you thought I was the Prefect and very much disappointed when you later knew it was Ron and in sixth year you are the one who told me I am fanciable. We never had to make any effort for our friendship. But Ron, he made you cry many times, he broke your heart, he left us without looking back and you are telling me you love him." Harry said with hurt evident in his voice.
"You don't know what you are talking Harry. I kissed you on the cheek just to let you know that you are not alone, your friends are there for you. I still feel guilty for my reaction to him when he became Prefect. I thought it would be you and it will lift your spirits after keeping you in dark all through the holidays and I was trying to be a good friend and let you know other girls fancy you, not that I fancy you Harry. I am telling you one more time Harry, you don't speak ill about him, if I hear you once again talking like that I am not responsible for the curse you are going to receive." Hermione said wiping the angry tears from her face.
"Oh really, tell me something Hermione, in all years at school how many times you have complemented Ron or let him knew you loved him?" Harry asked challengingly.
Hermione tried to remember; in fourth year apart from the argument after the Yull Ball she never gave him any hint, except being jealous when he pays attention to Fleur or trying to make him jealous using Viktor. In fifth year apart from her awful reaction when he got the Prefect badge, she never actually made any move, just tried to make him admit by writing letters to Viktor in front of him and when he made the move by giving perfume as her Christmas gift she played it safe letting the moment go away. In sixth year, yes in sixth year she asked him for the Slughorn's Christmas party.
"I… I asked him for the Slughorn's Christmas party." Hermione said feeling a bit off since she can't remember anything else.
"Don't make me laugh Hermione. I was there when you invited him remember. Your invitation is as pathetic as Ron asking you for the Yull ball. You thought of asking Ron as a 'guest' instead of McLaggen." Harry said stressing the word guest. "We both know Hermione you just wanted him not to be left alone since we both had to go and what did he do instead of being grateful he went out with Lavender. He never cared for you and you didn't care about him. If you have cared about him you would have been with him but you choose to be with me, that is love Hermione. You don't love him. You are just familiar with him. If I have asked you to the Yull ball instead of pining over Cho we would have been together. It's not too late Hermione; I am not with Ginny anymore and you are single. We can be together." Harry leaned towards Hermione; Hermione sensing Harry's intentions pushed him away.
"What the hell you think you are doing Harry?" Hermione shouted furiously pointing her wand onto Harry's face. "I agree I never was open with my feelings towards him which caused me almost lose him to Lavender. I was open with you because there was nothing to hide but him I loved him and was unable to express it to him. I never felt anything for you other than sisterly love and friendship, but with him it is completely different which I don't think you will ever understand Harry. I thought love is which differed you from you know who and now I am seriously doubting it. I choose to stay with you because it is the right thing to do. I know he was under the influence of the Locket when he was arguing with you but you were completely fine but still you choose to argue with him. I don't want to doubt you and your intentions Harry and you better try not to make me think otherwise." Hermione hissed through her teeth and her wand emitted sparks which caused Harry to flinch visibly but Hermione was not yet finished, "and for that last stunt you pulled Harry if it was any other time you would have been cursed to oblivion but seeing we are in the forest and no means of medical attention I choose not." With that Hermione started walking towards the tent.
Harry in a desperate attempt made a mistake of speaking again, "you… you don't even speak his name anymore but you are telling you love him." Harry knew it was a mistake as soon as Hermione turned her face.
Hermione took a deep breath, "I am backing him doesn't mean I forgave him for leaving. He is going to get his own share of hexing when he is back and one more final thing Harry, what goes between me and him is none of you business." Before Harry had the time to react he was belching slugs.
"You told you will not curse me." Harry said vomiting three more slugs onto the ground.
"I changed my mind."