I know I'd set this as complete but I've a few more ideas I'd like to share. Hope everyone enjoys it.
Harry was suspicious. It was Saturday morning, usually he and Ron would bounce out of bed after an extra hour lie in, indulge in a leisurely breakfast and head to the quidditch pitch early. They'd fly around racing each other or practising dodges before the rest of Gryffindor showed up for full team practice.
He vaguely remembered being woken very late last night. He'd pulled back a curtain on his four poster bed and saw Ron pulling his curtains closed. Loo … he'd thought at the time. But given what was going on this morning maybe he'd only just gotten into bed. Harry'd been too tired to bother asking and fallen straight back to sleep.
This morning he could not shift Ron out of bed, making Harry think about the late night wake up. Ron slept in, barely leaving time for food before arriving at the pitch just in time for practice. Hermione had been late to breakfast too. The two of them were unusually quiet which was even more suspicious.
Besides being sleepy Ron seemed rather out of it. He was so busy day dreaming he nearly got himself killed by a rogue bludger, jerking out of the way just in time. Harry could see him wince, he'd definitely hurt himself but wouldn't admit it.
The exercise and post practice shower seemed to revive Ron. He was back to normal and they enjoyed lunch with Hermione in the Great Hall. The three of them spent the rest of Saturday hanging out. It was a nice enough day, they walked the castle grounds, checked in on Hagrid and hung out at the shore of the Black lake throwing pebbles to make ripples on the still water. This was fairly usual for a Saturday at Hogwarts but there was something else going on. He couldn't put his finger on it but he could feel it.
He realised as they sat down to dinner there hadn't been one disagreement today. Not one bicker between Ron and Hermione. Now that was abnormal. He was sitting opposite them at the long Gryffindor table. He took a moment to watch them. They were sitting rather close, Ron was joking and making her laugh, elbowing her playfully as she tucked an escaped curl behind her ear. You wouldn't have known they couldn't stand to be in the same room as one another merely weeks ago.
Harry was so relieved they'd made up and happy to be back together. The previous few months had been horrible. Still better than living with the Dursleys, obviously, but horrible by Hogwarts standards. Ron had been completely preoccupied by Lavender and Hemrione had been avoiding them like the plague so didn't want to hang out in the common room at all. There was only so much snogging he could witness and so much reading and homework he could do to fill time in the library. Yes, it was infinitely better that they'd made up. He was glad to have his best friends back together, it wasn't the same having them separately.
A shiver shot down his spine thinking of the night of the canary attack, he'd been there, he'd witnessed Hermione's fury first hand and made a mental note to never, ever, get on her bad side. He knew she'd been fueled by jealousy and must have been holding some sort of flame for Ron but then they stopped speaking and Harry'd thought Hermione had switched to hating him. Maybe it wasn't as black and white as that…girls were so confusing. The whole situation between Hermione, Ron, Lavender, the slug club party, confused him and he wasn't even involved.
The night Ron had been poisoned was even more horrendous. Harry was so thankful he found that bezoar and got it shoved down his throat in time. He remembered Hermione arriving in the hospital wing and taking over the situation. She took up residence by his bed, holding Ron's hand all night weeping. Harry had tried to comfort her but she was inconsolable. He'd wondered if she'd felt guilty over the falling out or if it was that flame reigniting. Granted he'd never asked her about any of it, he actively tried to stay out of it. He admitted to himself that he was afraid to hear the answers for fear it would change their friendships.
They'd been his best friends since he met them on the Hogwarts express enroute to first year. He was so grateful for them both. Life had been pretty shitty for him before Hogwarts and they'd taught him so much. How to have friends, confide in people, care for others and be cared for, have fun, laugh so hard it physically hurt, he finally felt like he'd a family. He'd do anything for either of them, although he'd never admit it…Ron would take the absolute piss if he ever found out. He'd grown up with these two. He'd grown in so many ways. He hadn't known what love was until he'd befriended them, or was it them who'd befriended him?
"Harry, are you quite alright?" Hermione asked.
Shit caught daydreaming…and after making fun of Ron for the same earlier. Both of them were staring.
"Yeah, yeah I was just thinking." They exchanged a knowing look. Harry laughed, he didn't know what those two thought they knew but they had to be way off.
Shaking his head he resumed eating his dinner. Harry had the feeling that his best friends were meant for each other. Someday they might figure it out. He supposed he could meddle and help them get there faster but that thought kind of scared him. What if he was completely wrong…he'd grown up without any real love until he was 11 years old. What the heck did he know? He couldn't risk being the cause of another falling out, he didn't want to lose them again or them to lose each other. He hoped they could figure it out and if they were meant for each other surely they would?
Late that night he saw Ron sneak out of the dormitory. Harry waited a while thinking through all the possibilities of what Ron could be up to. Eventually curiosity got the better of him and he crept out the room after him. He hovered at the top of the staircase leading to the common room and listened. Then he heard a giggle. A Hermione giggle. He recognised it instantly even though she never giggled like that with him. With him she laughed properly, belly laughs that made tears leak down your cheeks. No, he knew that sound to be a special giggle reserved for Ron. He was the only one who ever reduced Hermione Granger to giggling. Harry wondered if Ron knew that. He probably did, it was obvious.
What Harry wasn't sure of was why there was a special giggle. Was it because Ron had a very different humour to him or maybe…and much more likely it was just because Ron was just her person. Harry snuck back into bed. Yes, he was certain his best friends were meant for one another and was glad they were finally finding their way.