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“Yes! That would be another ten points for us, I believe! Thank you very much,” Hermione cheeped with a twinkle in her eye as she spun around on her broom and flew back toward Harry to give him a high-five.
That was her third goal against Ron during their four-on-four Quidditch game of the afternoon. It was Ron, Ginny, Bill and Fred against Harry, Hermione, Charlie and George.
After the fight that they had all had the morning before, Ron and Ginny had been cooped up in their rooms only to come out to have meals and give a grunt or two. Bill had insisted that they all get over the bicker and play a round of Quidditch before the wedding the following afternoon.
“Fleur will be so angry with you all if you are not getting along! You are all old enough to put it to the backs of your heads, at least for the rest of the weekend. You’re not five! Get over it and come play four-on-four with the rest of us,” Bill had said earlier that morning.
Charlie smiled and swooped down from his position at the posts to high-five Hermione.
“I’d say our little know-it-all, Quidditch-is-a-waste-of-time girl sure knows how to score on our freckly-red-headed kid brother, what’d you say, George?”
George smirked at his older brother, nodding.
“Agreed, older brother!” he shouted and Hermione couldn’t help but beam proudly.
Everyone could hear Ron grumble angrily from his post. Harry decided that his best mate needed his support at that moment. His smile quickly disappeared as he formed a more serious face.
“Did any of you consider that he was giving Hermione a break? She doesn’t really know how to play and she is a girl.”
Not able to hold it any longer, the smile reappeared on Harry’s face as Hermione screeched, not expecting this comment, and flew over to him to hit him hard on the arm.
“This game is getting really intense!” Fred observed with no hint of hilarity or mischievousness in his voice.
“Yeah, maybe we should pack it up, kids!” George commented critically as he looked around the field to see that Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were all in a bad mood and Harry was grabbing his arm in pain from Hermione’s anger.
Without another word, the entire flock of teenagers had hit the ground, all with brooms in hand, and had begun walking toward the house. Bill and Charlie stared in amusement at Fred and George. They had such power.
“Who won, dears?” Mrs. Weasley asked the group of teens as they one-by-one entered the back door and went their own ways all over the house.
Harry walked into the living room and slumped into a spot on the sofa. He watched Ron stomp up to his room. A minuscule smile found its way to his face as he watched Ginny roll her eyes at Ron’s dramatic performance before she stepped onto the first stair to start up to her room. But she paused and looked over at Harry. He looked away quickly before she would be able to see his eyes.
Oblivious, Hermione sat down on the couch next to Harry and grabbed his hand. A sharp pain went through Ginny’s heart and she continued her way up to her room to be alone. Now she wasn’t only angry that they’d lost, but also sad that she’d lost the one she loved. In the back of her mind she knew that it was the first sign to heartbreak when you start to realize that he was serious about breaking up. He was no longer hers.
Harry watched as Ginny continued up the stairs and didn’t even try to rid his face of the heartbroken longing look on his face. He’d had a month at Privet Drive to release his heartache. Losing Ginny and Dumbledore in the same week had been a shock and he hadn’t talked about it to anyone all summer. He was just satisfied that he didn’t lose them in the same way. He would never have to worry about losing Ginny the way he lost Dumbledore just so long as she stayed away from him.
“Harry,” Hermione’s voice snapped Harry back to life and he looked over at the brown fluff of hair sitting next to him.
He noticed that his hand was now his own again. He took a deep breath in, realizing that that was how he preferred it if it didn’t belong to Ginny.
“Yeah,” he breathed out.
“That was rude! You know as well as I that it doesn’t matter who is shooting, especially in front of his brothers, Ron doesn’t take it easy on people. He doesn’t know how!”
Harry just stared at her, so she continued.
“Yes, I am very aware that I just ruined you little thing there with Ginny but we both know that I had to. You were looking away anyways. Now why were you so rude out there?”
Harry tried to smile at Hermione’s fake innocence and obliviousness.
He shrugged. “He is my best mate. He needed some support out there. Besides, we can’t have him hating us all summer. He is going to fight with us in a couple of weeks, you know.”
Hermione speechlessly blinked. She sighed lightly before getting off of the sofa.
“I’m going to go clean up before dinner. The last thing we need is to ruin this thing. The wedding is tomorrow and as much as none of us are particularly thrilled about it, Fleur wants it to be perfect. If we are all fighting then it won’t be very perfect now will it? So, you go fight it out with Ron or whatever it is that boys do to forgive each other and I will go talk to Gin. See you at dinner.”
She was so much like his sister that these directions coming from her mouth directed at him made him smile a little. He nodded because he knew it was all she wanted for him to do.
*********
“Gin, are you in here?” Hermione walked into the room she shared with Ginny and went over to sit on her own bed.
“What, Hermione?” Ginny snapped.
“Look, I know that this entire ordeal is difficult for you and I respect that you need time and space. But, Ginny, we can’t fight for long, and you know that just as well as I do,” Hermione stated confidently.
“I always thought you fancied my brother,” Ginny grumbled as she sat on her bed and faced Hermione.
“I gave up on him, Ginny. I wanted him to fight for me when I was with other people, not to fight with me. I just…I can’t…,” Hermione was speaking so quietly, Ginny guessed that it upset her and dropped the subject.
“Come here,” Ginny told Hermione and grabbed her in a huge hug.
When they pulled away, there was a big smile on Hermione’s face and Ginny decided that she’d done the right thing. But now she had to get out of the room; she had to get away from Hermione just for a small while.
“I’m going to help mum with dinner. See you down there in a bit?”
Hermione nodded and Ginny left the room. But she wasn’t headed toward the kitchen.
(At the same time Hermione and Ginny were talking)
“You didn’t have to do that, you know. Stick up for me back there, you didn’t have to do it,” Ron grumbled at Harry as he walked into Ron’s room and closed the door behind him.
Ron didn’t look back at him; he just continued to stare blankly at the photo album on his desk. He heard Harry sit on the bed and could feel the burning glare through the back of his head that Harry was giving him.
“What?” Harry asked.
“You heard me,” Ron growled as his boiling point grew when hearing Harry’s bogus obliviousness.
He spun around to find Harry looking surprised that he’d managed to anger his best friend, once again.
“No, I meant, what did I not have to do that I did?” Harry’s look made Ron start to realize that he hadn’t come to fight, only to talk.
“You know!” Ron felt his voice begin to slightly rise. “Sticking up for me out there! You and I both know that I really didn’t mean to let Hermione get all of those shots against me. Thanks for sticking up for me, but you really didn’t have to.”
Harry smiled warmly. “Ron, please just forget it, alright? I mean it doesn’t matter it was just a game. I just…I just don’t want you mad at me for this thing with Hermione. I know you’ve kind of always had an eye for her and this with me and her is a little awkward. I wish I could explain what’s really going on with me her, but I can’t. It’s just that…Ron, you never told her…you know…how you feel about her…and…she and I both…just kind of…stopped waiting for you,” Harry mumbled.
He didn’t want to give away too much, but he wanted Ron to feel the need to tell Hermione how he felt. He also didn’t want Ron to get mad at him again. Much to his surprise, Ron just sat in his seat, frozen and speechless. He seemed to snap himself out of his zone a minute or so later and offered Harry a weak but warm smile.
He placed his hand on Harry’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, mate. I guess you’re right; I should’ve told her before it was too late.” Ron’s words were a little discouraging.
Harry wanted to hear that Ron was still going to fight for her or even hear him asking his permission to have a second chance with her. Harry pushed the dissatisfaction to the back of his mind and smiled.
“Thanks mate,” Harry told him weakly.
Ron stood up and began to walk over to the door. “I’m going to go get ready for supper. See you later?”
When Harry nodded, Ron left. Harry was left with all kinds of thoughts. He didn’t want to be asking Ron for his permission to date Hermione; he wanted permission to date Ginny. He wouldn’t be going through all of this trouble if Dumbledore had lived. He would know that there was a little safety remaining in the world and would have never broken up with Ginny.
But Dumbledore had gone. And with him, he took all of Harry’s hope. The tears began to flood Harry’s eyes as memories of Dumbledore drinking that potion came back to him; memories of that night.
“Harry, it’s…Harry? Are you alright? Harry, are you…are you crying?” Ginny’s voice soothed.
Harry had been caught.
Never what it seems by Rons chick
Chapter Notes: This chapter has been edited! :)
Manda*