Prompt #1
Liar
She was a liar.
The worst part was that Hermione knew it. She was lying to herself and everyone else around her.
She was not excited to be marrying her 'Hogwarts Sweetheart', Ron Weasley.
She was terrified.
She knew, deep down, that she would never be satisfied being a 'house witch', relying on spells and charms to keep her house going. Worse, Ron had visions of having a large family just like his. Hermione had no experience with multiple-child families other than the Weasleys, and she didn't want to go down the road of having more mouths to feed than money to feed them. They had their restitution from the War, and he had his salary, but it would not be enough to sustain them forever.
But worse, was the happy look that Molly had whenever she came over to the Burrow. Hermione was proof that at least one of Molly's dreams still lived. She knew that Harry had broken her dream of seeing Ginny married off to someone the whole family could agree on when he broke up with Ginny.
She understood Harry's panic, understood that he needed to find himself before he could give himself to someone else for the rest of his life. Heck, he hadn't expected to survive Hogwarts, so planning anything afterward probably scared him much more than it scared her.
But unlike Harry, she was a liar. She could not be honest about her fear. She could not bear seeing the heartbreak and betrayal on Ron's face. He would be so sure that she was running off to join Harry, wherever he was. She wasn't, she wouldn't. She loved Ron.
Sure, it annoyed her when he made decisions about things without asking her first, like the 'decision' to live at the Burrow instead of getting their own flat in Hogsmeade. Or that he still chewed with his mouth open and talked with his mouth full. But she loved his quirks. And she would be lying if she said he wasn't adorable when he pouted. He cared about her. Despite the flaws, he still found ways to impress her, to regret ever having doubts that the two of them would be good together.
But she would be lying if she said she was ready to marry Ron, to give up her independence. She would be lying if she said she didn't have doubts about how well they would do together in the long run. She would be lying if she said she wasn't sure whether or not what she was feeling for Ron was mere companionship built on nearly nine years of tension, fear, and adrenaline or that fairy-tale love that 'happily-ever-after' is built on.
She was a liar.
But as she watched Ron launch into another story about his 'adventures' as an Auror Trainee, she figured if she was going to be a liar, she might as well be one for the right reason.
Written for the Monthly Het-Tastic Drabble-A-Thon and the Ultimate Shipping Challenge Extravaganza.
Pairing: Hermione/Ron
Prompt: Liar
Notice: I don't pair Hermione with Ron, but for the prompt this pretty much wrote itself.