A/N: OK, as some of you have already realized, I post this fic in Fan Fiction.net a while ago. If you're really impatient, you can read it there, because it's complete. I'll be updating every two days here anyway.
I just want to make clear that you have to forget about what you saw in the movie. I said it's just SLIGHTLY BASED... And I'm really fond of plot twists, so beware!
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Chapter 2 - Little white lies
After a sleepless night, I had reached a conclusion. I was just being a selfish, lousy friend. I should be happy for Ron and support him every way I could. I was embarrassed for my reaction last night. I am Hermione Granger, for Merlin's sake, I've always been the logical, cool-minded one. I wasn't really in love with Ron, was I? In eight years I didn't pay much attention to him, and now that I know he had moved on I'm having all these strange feelings. No, Hermione. You're going to get a hold of yourself and stop acting like a spoiled brat.
"By the look om your face, I'd say you didn't sleep much last night."
I almost fell off my seat. I lifted my head to see who had interrupted my thoughts. I should've known. Harry was standing in front of my desk, with his "I-know-exactly-what-you're-thinking" look.
"Harry, you startled me," I said. We were in my office at the Ministry, and I realized I had passed the last hour thinking about Ron instead of working.
"Sorry about that," he apologized. "Do you plan to go out for lunch today, or you'll just stay here and work, like you always do?"
I looked at my watch.
"I'm a little late with these reports." I looked at him. Why was he giving me that look? "Shouldn't you be training or something?"
"Yeah, but I though I could drop by, to check if you were scolding yourself for being a spoiled brat," he said smirking.
I gave him an annoyed look. "OK, if you really want to know, I realized I was overreacting. I'm actually happy for Ron."
He looked at me, skeptical. I ignored him and kept working.
"Fine, I won't steal your precious time any longer. I just came to make sure you won't forget that today is Friday," he said, grabbing a quill from my desk and twirling it in his fingers.
"Harry, you know I don't forget things such as the days of the week. I will be at your place at 8, as usual," I said, a little angrily. Why can't I have an irrational behavior for once? I act crazy one time in my life and Harry dooms me forever for it.
"OK, see you there then," he said, dissaparating.
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Thanks to Ron and his stupid surprise, I lost very valuable work hours, so I had to stay until later. I arrived at Harry's place half past eight. I didn't bother to knock, so I just apparated in his entrance hall, like I've always done.
"Sorry I'm late, I had to keep working until now to catch up. And all because of that git," I said, my back turned to the living room while I was hanging my cloak.
"What git?" someone asked. Someone who wasn't Harry. Someone who sounded just like...
"Ron!" I said staring at him. He smiled at me and I smiled back, until I realized he wasn't the only person sitting in Harry's blue couch.
"Hi!! You must be Hermione! I've heard so much about you!" I managed to hear before someone cut my breath hugging me so tight that I thought my head would fall.
When she finally let me go, I had the time to study her. She was taller than me, thinner, prettier, blonder... She was Barbie's human incarnation. And she was Ron's fiancee...
"I'm Elizabeth," she said. Her voice was shrilly. "But my friends call me Lizzie, so you should call me that way, because I'm sure we'll be friends pretty soon!"
I was aware that my face must have look horrified. Ron had his arm around her waist and looked tenderly at her. I scanned the room to look at anything but that scene, and I happened to see Harry coming out of the kitchen with a roasted chicken.
"Herm, you're finally here!" he said looking at me sheepishly.
I smiled dangerously at him, hoping he would get the point that I was about to torture him to death for what he've done.
"Need some help in the kitchen, Harry?" I asked pushing him inside it, away from Ron and his doll's ears.
"How could you do this to me?! How could you not tell me that they would be here tonight?!" I asked, whispering furiously.
"I wanted to give you a surprise, I know that you just can't have enough of them lately," he said, but realized quickly that I wasn't in the mood for his jokes. "OK, I'm sorry. Ron called this morning and said he wanted to introduced Liz- Elizabeth to us, so I invited him. I thought you said you were happy for him."
"That's not the point!" I said through gritted teeth.
"Then what is it?"
I didn't know what to answer. I threw daggers at him with my eyes and stormed in the living room. I was going to show him and myself that I didn't care about Ron's fiancée.
"So, Elizabeth," I hoped she'd realized there was no way I was going to call her `Lizzie'. "Ron told us that your father owns a Quidditch team."
She started talking excitedly about his father's job. I wasn't really listening. All I could see was her expensive clothes and make-up, her perfect hair and nails and the beautiful engagement ring on her finger. `A ring that should be mine', I thought before I could stop myself.
I could sense Ron was studying me. So I kept smiling and tried to make smart remarks every now and then, for him to realize that maybe his girlfriend could be pretty, but she didn't have a brain. Harry interrupted us announcing the dinner was ready.
"Oh Harry, this is delicious!" complimented Elizabeth. She ate in small bites. You can't imagine how much she reminded me of a squirrel. "How did you learn to cook so well?"
"My Aunt taught me," replied Harry, simply. Of course, he avoided to mention that his aunt treated him like a house elf.
"Well, Herm, why don't you tell me what you've been up to?" Ron said, looking at me. "You never really told me about your life in your letters. Just work, work, work. And about Harry, of course," he added. Ron have always teased me for my habit of talking about Harry constantly. Doesn't matter how many times I've explained that I'm always concerned about him. I know I look like his mother. "How's your love life doing?" Ron asked suddenly.
And then it happened. I swear I don't know what got into me. My irrational part was taking the best of me, and the words just spit out of my mouth.
"I'm engaged too," I said so quickly and quietly that I didn't even hear myself.
It was obvious that the others did, though. Ron's eyes widened in shock, Elizabeth clapped her hands (God, isn't she annoying?) and Harry spitted his pumpkin juice.
"Rea-Really?" muttered Ron. I was delighted to see he was taken aback with my revelation. You just wait, Ron Weasley, there's more to come. "Anyone I know?"
I thought for a few seconds before answering. Who could I say was my fiancé? I was thinking about that, when I heard a loud cough beside me. Harry's sign that I was screwing up. I smiled inwardly.
"Sure you know him," I said, taking Harry's hand in mine. Ron and Harry himself stared at me in shock.
"What?" they asked at the same time.
Where the hell was my conscience when I needed it? I was so wrapped in my story now, that there was no turning back. Not even with a small pang of guiltiness I looked at Harry with my most lovely eyes.
"Come on Harry, love, we don't need to hide it from Ron."
Harry stared at me, his jaw dropped.
"Is it true Harry?" Ron asked, still not daring to believe it.
I squeezed hardly my "fiancé's" hand, an unmistakable sign that he better supported my story or else...
"I see you have finished eating," said Harry, standing up and picking the dishes, avoiding Ron's look. "Hermione, would you please help me with these?"
I followed him to the kitchen. Before I entered I heard Elizabeth telling Ron how cute Harry and I were.
Harry left the dishes in the sink and leaned against it. He crossed his arms and stared at me. I couldn't held his sharp gaze, so I looked at my shoes.
"I wish I could say I understand what's going on, but that's not the case," he said, slowly, like a parent talking to a small child. "Care to enlighten me, please?"
"Please Harry, please, please, follow me here, will you?
"Are you out of your mind?" he said, not raising his voice "What's gotten into you? We are not engaged!"
"I know we aren't, silly. But Ron doesn't." Harry sighed in frustration. "Listen, I said that to him as a test... Did you see the look in his eyes? He was jealous!" I exclaimed.
"He was shocked. He had just received the news that his two best friends are engaged, and he's the last one to know," argued Harry. "What am I saying? No one knows!"
"Listen Harry, I know what I'm doing. I'm just asking you a little favor."
"You are asking me to lie to my best friend just because a fancy of yours."
"It's just a little white lie. Besides, when have I denied you something?"
"That's not fair," he muttered.
"Look, I just want to test his feelings. If he really is over me, he won't care and he'll marry Elizabeth anyway. If that happens, I'll tell him it was just a wedding joke or something," I reasoned. Harry didn't look convinced. I gave him my best puppy look and started muttering "please, please, please" until he smiled weakly. It's incredible the power I have over this man.
"Fine. But just for a week," he agreed.
"Thank you! You're the best," I said kissing him on the cheek.
In that very moment, Ron entered in the kitchen with the rest of the dishes. He blushed when he saw us. Harry was blushing as well, so I took a little advantage of the situation.
"Ron, you shouldn't have bothered," I said, receiving the dishes he was holding. "Harry and I were about to serve the dessert, weren't we, honey?"
"Y-yes," muttered Harry.
Ron was pale when we went back to the dining room. I knew he wasn't pleased with our engagement. My plan was working well, then.
"So..." started Ron, clearing his throat "Since when... When did you... How long have you been... a couple?"
Harry looked at me. This was my story, so I had to answer.
"Well, you know Harry and I have always been close, but this last month we realized that our feelings were much more than just friendship," I lied quickly. God, I used to be such a bad liar back at school, what on Earth happened to me?
"Why didn't you tell me?" asked Ron. There was a hurt look in his eyes.
"We wanted to surprise you," I said, aware that my voice was hiding some sort of resentment. "We were planning to go and visit you to the States in September, but you came back before. Isn't it great?"
The only one that nodded was Elizabeth. She seemed thrilled that Harry and I were together.
"It's certainly a surprise," stated Ron. "I never thought that you, Hermione Granger, would get married," he added.
What? Say that again. I didn't like how that sounded.
"And why's that?" I asked, suddenly serious.
"Well, it's just that you are the less romantic person I know, and I've always thought that you would put your career above such things like marriage," Ron said slowly.
I could felt the anger growing inside me. So that's what he thought about me. He's always been like that, you know? That's why we fought so much when we were at Hogwarts. He always knew how to push my buttons. Thanks God, I didn't have the time to answer, because Harry spoke first.
"You're wrong, Ron," he said calmly "Hermione is very romantic, actually. And she wants to form a family more than anything."
Ron didn't reply and a kind of awkward silence filled the room.
"So, Hermi, Ron told me that you agreed to be my Maid of Honor," Elizabeth said. How she dares to call me Hermi? I hate that nickname.
"Yeah," I said a little harshly.
"It's so cool! Then you can come with me tomorrow to the dressmaker. I'm sure you'd like to try your dress. It's beautiful, you're going to love it! It will be just you an me, you know girl stuff."
Perfect. Just what I needed. A lovely day out with Princess Barbie.