Disclaimer: This chapter includes lyrics from "Underneath" by Jessica Simpson. They are not my lyrics, and I am not claiming to have written them. They just suited R & H so well, I couldn't bring myself to not use them.
Chapter 27: Ron's Apology
Harry had an unbelievably difficult time saying goodbye to Katie the next day. You'll see her in six days, he kept thinking to himself, but for some reason he just wanted to stay. It wasn't until Mr. Weasley told Harry that it really was time to go, that he gave Katie a final kiss goodbye and left.
The journey from King's Cross to the Burrow had been a highly uncomfortable; Ginny and Harry had tried to up a good flow of conversation to disguise the silence between Ron and Hermione. It seemed that neither one of them was angry anymore; they were both just too scared to say anything to the other one. Mr. Weasley kept glancing curiously at the four of them, clearly wondering what the source of the discomfort was. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they arrived. Mrs. Weasley came running out, throwing her arms around Ginny.
"Oh, thank goodness – you had me so worried..."
After Ginny was freed from her grasp, she spotted Harry and ran for him.
"And you...so brave, rescuing her – again – and the dementors. Are you alright?"
"We're both fine, Mrs. Weasley – it was ages ago..."
"Still..." she said, pursing her lips. She looked at Ron and Hermione, who were standing on opposite sides of the garden, with their arms crossed. "And you two..." she just shook her head.
"Alright, come inside – the others are waiting for you..."
Upon entering the Burrow they were bombarded with greetings from Fred, George, Bill, and Charlie. Ron turned to Harry –
"I'm going to bring our stuff up to my room, alright Harry?" he said.
Then turning to Ginny he whispered, "I need to talk to you..."
Ginny nodded and grabbed her belongings, along with Hermione's, and followed Ron upstairs.
"What do you s'pose that's about?" Harry asked Hermione as he sat down at the table. She just shrugged her shoulders, taking a seat next to him. Fred and George immediately joined them.
"So, Ron finally admitted he likes you," said Fred.
"I'm glad. Thought I was going to ask you out for him myself," said George.
Harry shot them a warning look.
"What's wrong, the honeymoon's over already?" asked Fred.
"It's nothing..." sighed Hermione.
"Ron's just being an idiot I suppose..." said George.
"Don't worry about it Hermione, we'll give him a few good kicks up the – "
"FRED! GEORGE! I NEED YOU IN THE KITCHEN!" they heard Mrs. Weasley shout from the next room.
"We'll see you in a bit," Fred said, as they both left.
Harry turned to Hermione, ready to change the subject.
"I need your help, Hermione."
"With what?"
"Well... Katie's asked me to meet her in Diagon Alley on the 20th – it's our 'three-month anniversary.'"
"And?"
"Well – I don't know. I think I'm supposed to do something about it – I think she thinks it's a big deal. She asked me last night how I 'felt about her'."
This seemed to spark Hermione's interest.
"What did you say?"
"I told her I cared about her, a lot."
"Well, you should probably get her something, for your anniversary I mean. It might be good to bring her flowers. You want to dress nice, too."
"That's what I thought," Harry sighed.
"Don't worry so much," Hermione said, laughing at his fatally serious expression.
"You should take your own advice," Harry said. "That's the first time I've heard you laugh in a week."
"Yeah, well. I don't know, I've been thinking – maybe I should just forgive him now."
"I don't know – I think you'll feel better if he apologizes first. And that's going to happen any day now..."
"I hope you're right..."
Then, Mrs. Weasley entered the room, levitating plates and bowls in front of her.
"Dinner's ready, someone call Ginny and Ron," she said as the rest of the family joined Harry and Hermione at the table.
"GINNY! RON! DINNER!" called Fred, taking a seat next to Bill.
"I could have done that myself, Fred..." she scowled. She sat down, then turned to Harry with a softened expression.
"Alright, Harry – so tell me about your girlfriend – Katie, isn't it?"
"Yes Mrs. Weasley..."
"You're going with Katie? Katie Bell?" asked George, choking on his mashed potatoes.
"From the Quidditch team?" said Fred.
"Yes..." Harry felt his face grow hot.
"How'd you manage to get her?" they asked together.
"What do you mean, how'd I manage to get her? I asked her out and she said yes..."
"Blimey, Harry – you're good with the ladies," George said, impressed. "Cho Chang wasn't bad either, a bit whiny – but still..."
"Katie now, that's a catch," said Fred.
"She's an excellent Chaser," said George.
Ginny and Ron entered the room from upstairs, interrupting the conversation.
"What were you two up to?" asked Charlie.
"Nothing," Ron said – but he glanced nervously at Hermione, his ears turning pink. Ginny just giggled and took a seat next to Fred.
"I heard about the Veritaserum incident," he said to her, quietly so Mrs. Weasley wouldn't hear. "Impressive."
"Thank you," Ginny replied cordially, as though accepting praise from the Minister of Magic for being awarded the Order of Merlin.
They all ate the rest of their dinner happily, discussing how Fred and George's business was going, and how the school year had gone for the students. Harry and Ginny told them all about the incident with Lucius and Bellatrix, almost giving Mrs. Weasley several acute heart attacks. When they were all finished, everybody was full to the brim and exhausted, so most of them headed to bed. When Harry and Ron got upstairs, Harry immediately began asking about what he and Ginny were up to.
"Well I've decided that if I want Hermione back, I'm going to have to really deserve it. So I've asked Ginny to help me with an apology."
"Why don't you try 'I'm sorry I've been such an idiot Hermione, please take me back,'" Harry said.
"Not good enough, it has to be big. Ginny's a pretty good writer – so she's going to help me write a poem."
Harry couldn't help but laugh.
"It's not funny – " Ron scowled.
"Of course it's not funny. I'm sorry I shouldn't have laughed."
"You're not sorry – you're still smiling..."
"Because I'm happy that you and Hermione will be together again," he said innocently.
Ron glared at him and climbed into bed.
"I don't care what you think – Hermione deserves something special."
This should be good, Harry thought to himself before falling asleep.
The next day, Ginny spent the day with Ron outside in the backyard, talking in hushed voices, writing over a piece of paper. Anytime anyone approached them to ask them what they were doing, Ginny pulled out her wand and threatened to hex them. Knowing that she probably would do it, everyone stayed away. Hermione spent most of the day coaching Harry on how he should act on his upcoming 'anniversary' date with Katie. Harry couldn't help thinking about how complicated girls were. After dinner, Ron stood up at the table – looking very nervous – and cleared his throat.
"I have something I want everyone to hear..." he said.
Everyone looked up, curiously. Ron walked over to where Hermione was sitting.
"I wanted to say I'm sorry for being such a git. I should have never chosen Quidditch over you – and I've written something, with some help from Ginny, to show you how much you mean to me."
He gulped loudly, pulling out a piece of paper and got down on one knee. His face was as red as Harry had ever seen it, and Hermione's eyes were already brimming with tears. Ron began to read, his voice trembling.
"Sometimes it's hard when you're so deep inside,
To see all you can lose in the blink of an eye.
Dreams could be shattered, you could be gone
How would I survive, cause you're where I belong.
My sole believer, without you, I don't know who I would be.
Sometimes I listen to a voice that isn't mine,
I disconnect from everything inside
And I have made choices and wasted all the days
I could have been with you, when my heart has stayed.
And I know you've waited, faithfully blessing our love even stronger.
Underneath I feel you move through me
Inside out, you surround me
I breathe you like I'm taking my last breath
You're everything I know
So how could I let you go?"
Ron stood up, and Hermione immediately burst into tears and threw her arms around him. Mr. Weasley, Charlie and Bill clapped, while Fred and George were respectful enough to put their heads under the table to laugh. Mrs. Weasley was wiping tears away, as was Ginny.
"I'm sorry, Hermione," Ron said.
"It's okay..." she replied, smiling – still sobbing.
"You're definitely your father's son," Mrs. Weasley said, smiling nostalgically at her husband.
After everyone had finally settled down, except for Hermione, who it seemed would be crying quite awhile, there was a knock at the door. Mr. Weasley looked around.
"Who could that be?" It was very uncommon for wizards to call on each other using the front door. Mr. Weasley got up and went to the door – everyone else was quiet with curious anticipation. The door was opened.
"Hello, dad..." a voice said.
It was Percy.