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Chapter 2- Harry's Offer
A few weeks later, Hermione was finishing up an assignment for work when Ron suddenly came home. She set down her quill and sat up looking at her boyfriend. He looked worried about something, and since he was home hours earlier than usual, she was worried too.
"Everything okay?" She asked, noticing he was carrying a large cardboard box.
"Fuck... I... Hermione… I just got fired..." He said, avoiding eye contact and dropping the box on the kitchen counter.
"What!? Why?" Hermione shoved her parchment to the side and rushed over to him.
Ron sighed heavily and began to explain, I…fired isn't the right word, I guess. The shop hasn't been doing as well since the end of the war. George didn't want to, but he couldn't fire himself, could he?"
Hermione didn't know what to say or do. She had never seen her boyfriend so distraught.
"Fuck!" Ron was pacing around the room now, pulling at his hair. "Quidditch tryouts aren't for a few months, and we don't have any savings. This is not good..."
We'll think of something," Hermione said reassuringly, not really believing her own words.
That night, Ron and Hermione broke the bad news to Harry.
"Well, what are we going do? You can't break this new lease on me already?" Harry asked, looking less calm than his usual self. "I was counting on your guys' portion until I could work out a deal with the goblins."
"I don't see any other option. There's no way we'll be able to afford rent right now. We really are sorry, Harry..." Ron apologized.
Harry fell silent for a minute or so, his eyes darting back and forth, when an idea occurred to him. "Tell you what, I'll cover your share of the rent until you get back on your feet."
"Huh? No... No, you can't do that," Ron brushed off his friend's proposition.
"I can. I'd rather just front you the money for a bit than deal with trying to find a new roommate. Way too much of a hassle," Harry argued.
"Harry, I appreciate the offer, but that's asking way too much of you...I don't even know how long it will take me to land another job."
"I'm sure it won't take that long. Besides, where would you even go? Everywhere in London is just as expensive if not more, and where would you get the galleons for a new security deposit and all that shit? As far as I can tell your options are here or back to the Burrow."
Harry's words hit both of them hard. They hadn't even had the time to consider how desperate their situation was. He was right. As of right then, they didn't have enough money to live anywhere, let alone even be approved as tenants with their current situation.
Hermione chimed in first, "I could try to find a part-time job or something..."
"No, you need to focus on your internship at the Ministry. I don't want this to fuck up our future. Plus, a part-time job wouldn't be enough income anyway," Ron shot the idea down.
Hermione watched Ron's face twist up like he'd sucked on something sour. She knew he'd always hated when Harry threw his money around. Even back when they were at Hogwarts, Ron didn't like when Harry bought them snacks on the train or at Hogsmeade.
"I guess... since there's no other option..." Ron sighed. "We'll have to take up on your offer, Harry. I'll pay you back when I can of course."
"Don't worry about the money. You guys can start paying me back right away, in fact," Harry said, grinning smugly. "Hear me out… You won't owe me a dime for the rent I cover while you're out of work, but... Hermione has to sleep in my bed three nights a week."
The room fell dead silent, the couple doubting they had heard him correctly.
Ron simply muttered, "What?"
Hermione felt her blood boiling, and stammered, "You must be fucking joking..."
Harry chimed in again before they could process his ridiculous demand any further. "I'm not joking, and before you get any ideas, it's not a sexual thing at all. I would be spending a great deal of galleons to help you guys out, and I would need something big in return that makes me feel like it's worth it-"
"Not sexual my ass! What in the hell are you talking about?" Hermione interrupted, her face bright crimson. She shot a glance at her boyfriend, shocked he wasn't more outraged.
"Well, for one, I just prefer having a woman's company. It helps me sleep better, but it's getting a little tiresome having to go on all these dates just to find a new bed buddy. They always want a relationship, and I'm not interested, so I have to go out and find someone else all over again. It's expensive too, and since I'll be a lot shorter on cash in the near future, having Leah around will make that whole situation a lot easier on me," Ethan explained calmly.
"...Sleeping buddy? You expect us to believe that!?" Hermione challenged him. "There's a lot more than sleeping going on in there, which we are forced to listen to all the time by the way."
"Sure, we usually end up fucking, but my point is that I want a break from all that without having to sleep alone every night." Harry continued his level-headed explanation of his terms, despite the mortified look on his best friend's faces. "Plus, it bothers me that you hate me so much, and this will give us some time to be friends again. It's honestly a great deal for you guys. Just think it over and let me know."
With that, he turned for his bedroom and left the dumbfounded couple standing awkwardly in silence.
"So... we're obviously not doing that," Hermione said finally.
"Yeah, no way. We'll explore our options more tomorrow," Ron agreed, far less enthusiastically.
"Why didn't you say more?" Hermione demanded. "You just stood there while he suggested the most degrading thing! Some fucking boyfriends you got there..."
"I know... I'm sorry... I mean it is a lot of money. Harry just wants us to take it seriously, I guess. And ever since the war he hasn't been able to sleep right," Ron pointed out. "Even before, he was always having nightmares."
"Are you actually defending him? What part of how we're handling this isn't fucking serious? To suggest that we pay him back like... ugh... like I'm some fucking whore..."
"Let's just go to bed. We'll figure something else out." Ron muttered, feeling overwhelmed.
"I can't believe you. Both of you!" Hermione shouted and stormed off towards her bedroom, slamming the door.
shameless Pa-atreon plug. I've got one, go by the same username on there. Support me if you want, or if you would like to read the chapters ahead of release, but don't feel pressured, I'll be uploading my stuff outside it regardless and not keeping it all behind a paywall or anything like that.
