Chapter 5 - Resolution
At first I didn't know where I was. I was on a bed in a big bedroom that it took me five seconds to recognize as Harry's. I rubbed my eyes and looked at the muggle alarm clock that Harry had on his night table. 9 a.m.
How did I got here? I was still wearing the clothes I had worn last night. I made an effort to remember. Images of myself with Ron and Elizabeth in Hogsmeade plopped in my head. I had went to Harry's apartment that night and he had comforted me. I must have fallen asleep.
I stood up and walked to the living room. The first thing I saw was a blanket on the couch. So that was where Harry had slept.
"Good morning." Harry's voice was coming from the kitchen. I went there and saw he had made breakfast: coffee, eggs, bread and sausages. He was already dressed up.
"Why didn't you wake me up last night?" I asked as a reply, yawning. "At least you should have left me sleeping in the couch instead of putting me in your bed."
Harry chuckled. "OK, first, I don't appreciate to be scolded so early in the morning, and second, I didn't mind sleeping in the couch. That couch is a royal bed compared with my old cupboard."
That was Harry. He was always joking about his miserable childhood. I felt like hugging him.
"Well at least you could borrow me a robe or something," I said. "I feel really uncomfortable with the same clothes I wore last night."
"Sure, there's one in the bathroom," he said. "Hurry up, it'll get cold." I nodded, leaving for the bathroom. "By the way," I heard him shout, "You should consider combing your hair!"
I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked as if I just had stuck my fingers in the socket. My hair was more bushy that it had ever been. I could have been confused with a Yeti. But, just to tease Harry, I decided to leave it that way. I took off my clothes and put on his big bath robe. It was white and had "Chudley Cannons" written in orange letters at the back.
I had just returned to the kitchen when we heard a knock on the door. Harry looked at me and shrugged, not knowing who could be this early in the morning. He sprinted to the door and I followed him, curious.
Harry opened the door.
I guess you already guess who was standing there.
Ron.
With a bag of donuts in his hand.
"Hi Harry!" he greeted cheerfully. "I was thinking that maybe we could share breakf-" he had just realized I was there. The smile disappeared from his face and he suddenly looked very uncomfortable. "Um, I didn't know you were busy, I can come back later," he babbled, blushing and avoiding to look at me in the eyes.
Of course. He must had thought I had spent the night with Harry. After all, I was wearing his bath robe and my hair was a mess. And I was there at 9 a.m. on a Sunday. Harry must have realized what Ron was thinking too.
"Oh no, don't worry Ron," he said. I mentally thanked him for not mentioning anything about his mistake. "Please come in, we were about to have breakfast, you can share it with us."
Ron came in, still looking dead serious. Why was he acting like that? He had Elizabeth, he didn't have the right to act that way just because I had spent the night with my fiancé. Or so he thought. Anyway, the look he gave me returned my desire to see him apart from that girl. Damn him. Last night I was so determined to forget about him. But now... Something in his eyes was telling me not to give up.
"Harry, maybe Ron needs to talk to you, if you want I can leave you guys alone," I said, hoping that it wouldn't be the case.
"No, Herm, actually I would like you to stay... Then we can have breakfast like we used to before I went to the States," said Ron. He was still a little bit red and I realized my clothing was making him uncomfortable.
"Well, since you two are already dressed, I think I'll go to my apartment, have a quick shower and come back," I said.
"But..." started Harry.
"The breakfast won't turn cold, Harry," I said, cutting him off. I used a warming spell that would keep things hot for enough time. "You can use this couple minutes to do your guy talk or whatever."
When I came back, fifteen minutes later, Harry and Ron were laughing hysterically about something.
"What?" I asked, sitting down and grabbing one of Ron's donuts.
They felt silent for a while. They looked at me for a second and started laughing again. I frowned and gave them my McGonagall look. I hated when they did that. It made me felt left out.
"Don't give us that look," said Ron, shuddering. "It's scary."
I realized they weren't going to tell me anything, so I dropped the subject.
"You know, it's kinda weird seeing you two together," commented Ron suddenly, becoming serious again and shifting his gaze from Harry to me.
Harry cleared his throat. I wasn't going to let this perfect chance pass by. I grabbed his hand over the table and squeezed it.
"Yeah, it was weird for us too at the beginning," I said. "But now it just seems like it was meant to be." Wow, that sounded so natural, even I was surprised. Ron took a sip of coffee and looked at Harry, like expecting him to add something.
"Eehr..." Harry scratched his head, not really knowing what to say. "So, tell us about today's lunch," he said quickly.
Dammit, Harry. Why did you do that? I had Ron's attention over us and you had to ruin it. I felt like strangling him.
Ron grimaced. "Don't even remember me about it."
"Why?" I asked immediately. He didn't look pleased about having to talk about it, but he put his cup down and stared at us.
"Well, it's not that I don't like Lizzie's family. In fact they are pretty nice people. The thing is..." he made a pause, obviously looking for the right words to continue. "The thing is they are a little bit snobbish. They have a lot of money, and you know I've never felt very comfortable around rich people. They are very conservative as well."
Yeah, I knew that. Although Ron's family wasn't poor anymore (ever since his father had become head of the Department Against the Dark Arts, his salary had increased considerably. Besides, they didn't have to maintain his children anymore, since they were all grown-ups.), he always felt uneasy around people with high social status. Maybe they reminded them of Malfoy. The truth is that Ron had spent his whole school life wanting to be rich, and now that he was earning a lot of money thanks to his quidditch position, he had realized he never really needed to have that much.
"That's not all," Ron added "Lizzie's mother can be really annoying - she never stops talking - and his father keeps trying to convince me to stay in the States. He has even offered me a partnership so that I would own half of the team."
Harry's jaw dropped in amazement. "What? Ron, that's incredible!" he said.
"Yeah, it is, but I don't want to live in the US anymore. I like being here, with my family and friends," said Ron.
"You're totally right," I said hastily. I knew Ron was now going to play for Puddlemere United in England and he was very excited about it.
Ron smiled at me (I love his smile!) and looked at his watch.
"Jesus, it's late!" he drank the rest of his cup of coffee and stood up "I have to pick up Lizzie. I'll see you there!" he said. He walked towards the door and I ran after him.
"Ron, you forgot your coat," I said, giving it to him. He grabbed it and opened the door. He was going to left, but he turned around an did something that knock me off my feet.
He kissed me.
Oh no, it's not what you're thinking!!!!! Come on, he's still engaged for Christ's sake! He kissed me on the cheek. But it was a kiss anyway, and Ron never does that "cute" stuff spontaneously.
I closed the door touching my cheek like a fifteen year old. I must've had a really goofy grin on my face, because when Harry got out of the kitchen and looked at me, he gave me an amused look.
"What?" he asked. "Did you won the witch-lottery or something?"
"Harry, I've made up my mind," I announced, formally.
"About what?" he asked.
"I'm going to stop Ron's wedding."
Harry's face fell. "I though after what happened last night you have decided to quit that crazy idea," he muttered.
"Well, I had, but now I'm really sure, Harry. Ron loves me. Besides, you heard him. He would never be happy with a snobbish wife."
Harry shook his head.
"Are you going to help me?" I asked sweetly.
"What? No way, I'm not going to ruin my best friend's life."
"You'll be ruining my life if you don't, and I am your best friend too!" I said stubbornly. Harry sighed. There I was, doing it again. How could I force Harry to get in the middle of this? "Fine, listen, you'll only have to keep pretending you're my fiancé, OK?"
He didn't answer, but since he rolled his eyes like four times, I knew he was going to do it.
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The "engagement lunch" was being held in the manor where Elizabeth and Ron would live after they got married. Scratch that, where they would have lived, key word being would.
It was an incredible Victorian house indeed. It must have had at least 20 rooms. But the most impressive part of it, was the garden. It was huge. I think it even had a river running through it.
"Hey Ron, are you sure the Forbidden Forest isn't hidden anywhere in this place?" I heard Fred asking just when Harry and I were arriving. It seemed that Ron was showing George and him around the place.
"Hey look!" said George, spotting us "It's the lovebirds!" he hugged us both.
"I can't believe you didn't tell us!" added Fred, pretending to be angry. "We do know how to keep a secret, you know?"
Harry and his fake grin didn't cover the crimson color in his face.
"You've finally arrived," said Ron "Lizzie's family are driving me crazy asking about you Harry." Seeing the disgusted look in Harry's face, Ron shrugged "I'm really sorry," he apologized.
Poor Harry. I knew he hated that. People staring at his scar and asking million of ridiculous questions that he couldn't answer. Ron led us to a long table with a white blanket, where a big number of people were sitting.
"You're here!!" exclaimed an excited Elizabeth hugging Harry and me. She started introducing us his vast family (and I, who thought that the Weasley's were numerous).
First, there was a tall, fat man, with a cheerful, kind face. He was William Greene, Elizabeth's father. He shook Harry's hand vigorously, muttering praises that Harry thanked clumsily. He then turned to me.
"This lovely lady must be Miss Granger," he said, kissing my hand. "Ron told us a lot about you."
A short, blonde, thin woman approached then. She was like a big squirrel, so I guessed immediately she was Elizabeth's mother. She had the same personality that her daughter and she giggled when Harry saluted her. Her name was Eve.
Next we were introduced to Elizabeth's brothers, Frank and Nick. They were nice and flirty and they both filled me with compliments, saying that "Ron couldn't put words to your beauty." Come on, does anyone say that these days?
Then I met Elizabeth's aunts, uncles and cousins. They were like a hundred of them, but five women who were around their thirties were the bride's maids along with me. They seemed delighted with Harry's presence there and I could see my friend was getting more and more uncomfortable. He grabbed my hand and excused ourselves.
Ron and Elizabeth waved us to go and talk with them when we heard a squeal from behind.
"Harry, dear, you're here!" It was Mrs. Weasley. She ran to us, followed by an amused Mr. Weasley. Through her eyes rolled happy tears. "Ron told us all about it. Why didn't you tell us? I'm so happy!"
"Congratulations, Harry, Hermione," said Mr. Weasley, politely. "I can't say I'm surprised, though," he added, winking.
I knew that Harry didn't want to lie to the Weasleys. He had a half smile on his face and gave me an annoyed look. I could read "I'm gonna kill you for this" in his green eyes.
"So when's the wedding?" asked Mrs. Weasley.
"Mom, stop it," said Ron.
***
Later, during the cocktail, I spotted Ron alone in a corner. It was my chance, since Harry was overwhelmed by two of Elizabeth's cousins that were shameless flirting with him. I knew he was going to hate me for living him alone with them. I walked to Ron slowly.
"Hi," I said, giving him a glass of champagne.
"Thank you, I needed this," he said, taking it. "So what do you think so far?"
"About what? The house, your family in law or your wedding?"
"Everything," he said, after a pause.
"The house it's magnificent. You could put all London's homeless people in here."
Ron looked down. "I know. I think that as well. It's way too big for just the two of us."
"Did you tell Elizabeth what you think?"
"Kind of. I mentioned how much it would take just to clean it. She suggested that we could bring two of her house elves." I made a face and Ron smiled. "I told her that you would kill me if I had house elves in my house."
"You really told her that? What do I have to do with your newlywed life?" I asked, trying to hide the fact that I was delighted.
"Well, actually she said I was right. But I know how much she likes this manor. She used to spend every summer in here when she was growing up."
"So, you gave in," I stated.
"Yes. I mean, I'm not going to make a fuss about something this small. If it makes her happy, I'm OK with it."
Isn't he sweet? She didn't deserve him!
"What about Lizzie's family?" Ron asked when he saw I wasn't going to say anything else.
"Her father is nice. But her cousins..."
"I know! They're just a bunch of bitches." I gave him the look I reserved for every time he said bad words and he laughed. "That's why Lizzie suggested you should be her maid of honor," he added.
I was going to say something but we were interrupted.
"Ronnie, I finally found you!" said Elizabeth, smiling. "I should have known you were hiding among the bushes. Come on, it's time to eat," she said. "Are you having a good time, Hermi?" she asked, while she took Ron's arm.
I nodded and followed them. Elizabeth took me to a seat beside Harry. We were in front of Elizabeth's parents. Harry shot me a death glare when I sat down.
"I can't believe you," he muttered in a whisper.
"What?" I asked, innocently.
"How could you leave me alone with them?" he said, pointing the two women who were looking at him and giggling.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you needed some time alone with your fans," I teased, but Harry didn't find it funny.
"I'm gonna make you pay for this, you know?" he said, frowning.
"Oh yeah? How exactly?" I asked, smiling.
"Just watch," he said.
"Oh, you two look so lovely together!" commented Mrs. Greene looking at Harry and me. "Tell me dear, how did you manage to catch such a charming man?"
I was going to answer, but Harry did it first. He smiled wickedly at me.
"Actually, Mrs. Greene, it wasn't that easy for her," he said, casually. "You see, Herm had had this crush for me ever since we were at school."
I gasped. Ron arched an eyebrow and looked at me in shock. I was aware my cheeks were turning red.
"So, she spent eight years following me until I finally noticed her." Oh my God! Harry knew how much I hated those girls who crawled in the floor for a guy. I knew he was torturing me. "Didn't you, honey?" he said, smiling sweetly at me and patting my hand.
"Yeah..." I answered, not daring to look at Ron's startled face.
"Well you do make a cute couple," said Elizabeth. "When are you getting married?"
"We don't know yet," Harry said, squeezing my knee painfully. "It took me a while to convince her that we should get married. My lovely Hermione wanted us just to live together, but I've always preferred to do things the right way."
That was it. Elizabeth's mother and her whole family as well looked at me disapprovingly. I had to pinch myself to stop from breaking Harry's neck. He knew I would never suggest anything like that, I actually believed in virginity until marriage! But he was determined to embarrass me in front of that crowd. I could even felt Mrs. Weasley's gaze fixed on me. Harry's revenge was going way too far.
I sank in my seat, wishing that this lunch could be over soon...
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"I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!" I exclaimed, throwing pillows at his head.
"Well you deserved it!" Harry retorted, ducking the pillows. "You involve me in this mess and then leave me alone!"
"Did you see Ron's look? How could you say I fancied you back in school? I went out with him in our seventh year! Now he will think I only did it because I wanted to forget about you or something!" I yelled, throwing him another pillow.
"Didn't you?" He teased with a grin, but it faded when I took my wand. He lifted his hands. "OK, OK, maybe I went too far. Don't worry, I can explain to Ron I was just joking."
We were back at Harry's apartment. After lunch I had made excuses to get out of there. My face was still red, although I don't know if it was because of the embarrassment or the anger.
"Don't you think you're overreacting a little?" Harry said. "When you told everyone I was your fiancé I didn't throw anything at you, even when you deserved it. What about my embarrassment to have to lie to people who are like my family?"
He was right, again. But I was too stubborn to recognize it, so I made an annoyed sound and dissapparated. I appeared in my own living room. I grabbed a glass of water. It wasn't that bad. I could always told Ron that Harry was mad at me for leaving him alone with those girls. And what did I care about Elizabeth's family? They could thought whatever they wanted to.
A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts.
"I see you came for an apology," I said before opening the door. But it wasn't Harry, it was Ron. "Oh, hi," I said, smiling and feeling stupid.
"Hi." I invited him to come in, but he shook his head. "No, thanks, I'm only passing by. I just wanted to invite you to have lunch with me tomorrow. And don't say you have work to do, I already talked to my father. Come on, it'll be just you and me, for old time's sake."
How could I say no? Ron and I, having lunch together? It was like my dream come true.
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