Author Notes: Phew. I'm back. I know this one took quite a while, but I've been very busy. Good news is I'm going on winter break this Friday, so I expect to have the next two chapters (which are the last ones) soon.
Thanks: to all the reviewers, for being so understanding. And to answer to a couple of you, I'm not planning on abandoning this story, just didn't have time to work on it.
To Kris for being such a little bugger :P And to Nitya, for her beta read and support.
Chapter 13 - Two Steps Back
"Okay, Alan, what did you want to talk about?"
We were in a secluded spot in the pitch. It was an office, it seemed. Alan had insisted he had to talk to me in private and I really didn't want to be seen with him and appear in another tabloid. I hadn't missed Ginny's glare when I had excused myself. I was hoping that I could explain everything to her later. I didn't know if Harry had noticed I had left my seat, but at least he wouldn't go thinking there was something between Alan and me.
Alan stared at me. Suddenly, he was nervous and seemed loss at words.
"Well... It's complicated."
"Complicated how?" I asked impatiently. I just wanted to go out there and talk to Harry and choke Cho to death.
Alan sat down in a chair. "It's not easy for me to tell you this..."
"Well, you'll have to say it eventually, won't you. What is it?"
"You're right." He took a deep breath. "You see, I like... this girl. A lot, actually."
"You like a girl?" I blinked. I stared at him trying to forget about Ginny's words. It's not you, Hermione, don't be stupid. "And how can I help you there?"
Alan let out a chuckle and stood up. "I think this girl is out of my league," he said, folding his hands in his pockets and looking at me in the eye.
"Why?" was the only thing I could ask. I had the feeling this conversation would mean trouble and the urge to get out was increasing by the second.
"Because..." he trailed off. He felt silent and became very interested in a trophy that was on a shelf.
"Do I know her?" I asked, trying to bring this to a point quickly.
He turned to look at me. "Yes, you do. Very well, actually. It's-"
He didn't get to tell me, though, because in that moment the door of the office opened and none other than Harry entered. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw us and his mouth dropped slightly. I spotted Ron's head behind him, staring at us confusedly.
Alan looked at them nervously. He had gotten pale all of a sudden. A long silence came when no one said anything. I realized how stupid it was, I wasn't doing anything wrong after all. But before I could talk, Harry spoke.
"Alan, Oliver was looking for you."
His voice had that cold calm that was definitely more frightening than when he was yelling. Alan nodded and left the office so quickly, I barely noticed. Harry stared at me for a moment and then entered in the room. Ron followed, still looking at me strangely.
"Congratulations, Harry," I said. "And I'm sorry, Ron..."
"Ah well, I guess it's fine considering I'll probably be part of the Cannons next year," Ron said, grinning and obviously trying to lighten the mood. Harry cleared his throat.
"I'm very tired so I won't be going to the party tonight... I'll go home."
"I'll go with you," I said quickly.
"Are you sure you don't want to stay? You looked like you were having fun," he said, smiling, but I could notice the reproach in his tone.
I glared at him.
"Oh, here it is, the thing we came looking for Harry!" Ron said, walking over to the desk and picking a piece of paper. "It's the... uh... list."
I looked at Ron and his pitiful attempt to disguise the fact that probably Ginny had told Harry I had left with Alan and they had been looking for me. Honestly, it wasn't as if I was snogging the guy! Harry was still looking at me with that typical "there's-nothing-wrong-with-me-really" expression he used to hide what he was actually thinking.
"Bye, Ron, talk to you later," Harry said. "Hermione, are you coming or staying?"
"Coming, I mean going," I said. "Just a minute."
He nodded and disapparated. As soon as he was gone, I turned to Ron. "Did Harry believe what that article said?"
Ron look taken aback. "I... well... he... no..." He sighed in defeat. "He said he didn't believe it, although you've been acting very strange lately... He said you don't seem yourself anymore."
"I have been acting strange? He's the one that's hiding things from me!"
He sighed and leaned against the desk. "Look, I know I usually don't caught up to things as fast as you do, but this time I'm really having a hard time to get what is going on..."
"I'll tell you when I figure it out myself," I said.
"What were you doing with that Wagner bloke here anyway?" Ron asked, with a frown.
"We were just talking, Ron."
"Locked in an office?"
"It wasn't locked... And what exactly are you implying?" I asked in an angry tone.
He looked at me sheepishly. "Nothing. But you know that Harry didn't exactly like the fact that you and him were at some place, together and alone."
"Harry really has some nerve to get upset when he's the one meeting Cho Chang while pretending to having lunch with you."
"He wasn't doing that!" Ron said defensevely. "He was-"
"He was what?" He bit his lip and shook his head. "Ron, you know that if I want to, I can make you tell me whatever it is that you're not saying, right?"
"I think my wife is calling me," he said hastily. He walked to the door and turned to look at me before going out. "You two need to talk this out."
"I know," I said. He winked and left.
I apparated back in Harry's apartment. He was waiting for me, sitting in the living room. He had a stern look on his face and hadn't changed from his Quidditch robes.
For a moment, none of us said anything. Harry seemed to be debating what to say and I guess I was doing the same. There was a lot I needed to discuss with him and I wasn't sure where to begin.
"What's the deal with you and Alan?" he asked suddenly.
"What?"
"I'm asking," he said, slowly, "what is going on between you and Alan Wagner."
I let out a laugh. And it was a very sarcastic one. Harry looked at me with raised eyebrows. Finally, when I stopped laughing I turned to him. "I can't believe you're asking me that."
"He doesn't talk to anyone and suddenly starts approaching to you at parties and at the pitch and even goes to your office, then a tabloid publishes pictures of you two and now I find you locked in an office with him, alone... How can I not ask what the hell is going on?" he blurted, frowning.
"Alright, first of all, we weren't locked in an office... He just wanted to talk to me, he needed help with someone... Since when I am not allowed to have friends?"
"Of course you are allowed to have friends," he said, standing up, "but you can't deny that he wants something else from you."
"Look, Harry, I barely know Alan, we've just talked a few times... You can't be jealous of him!"
"I'm not jealous!" he exclaimed and I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Okay, maybe I am a little," he granted, with a frown. "I don't see why he's suddenly so interested in you."
"I could say the same thing, you know? How can you even mention Alan when you have Cho all over you all the time?"
"She has nothing to do with this."
"She has everything to do with this. Since she arrived we've only have trouble--"
"Our troubles have nothing to do with Cho!" Harry interrupted me. "I don't know why you insist on bringing her up in every conversation we have..." he looked at me with a mixture of confusion and irritation. "I mean, Cho is just a member of the team--"
"She's much more than that! She's your first crush-"
"I was thirteen!"
"-And your first kiss-"
"I was fifteen for Heaven's sake! That was eleven years ago, you can't be jealous of Cho now..."
"Harry if you weren't so bloody dense you'd notice that for her it doesn't matter how many years have passed... She still wants you."
Harry looked at me if I had grown two heads. "That's abs-"
"Don't say it's absurd like I'm only being paranoid, I know what I'm seeing!" I spat angrily.
"Of course it's absurd! I've never given you motives to be jealous in the first place!" Harry yelled, pointing his finger at me.
"Oh, but I have, haven't I?" I yelled back. "Because you can make an scene because of a guy that I have talked to a couple of times and I can't say anything about your ex-girlfriend that is obviously trying to get you back!"
"Trying to get me back?" Harry asked, with a hint of sarcasm. "She must be doing quite the poor effort, because I don't feel the urge to jump to her arms yet."
I ignored his comment. "She knows she can't do that with a bat of her eyelashes, Harry. That's why she's being so sneaky-"
"Right, so now she has this master plan to break us apart, huh!? Doesn't that sound a little too familiar? Like you trying to..." he trailed off when he saw the look in my face.
"I can't believe you're bringing that up," I said in a low whisper.
He stared at me for a long moment. For a moment, I thought he was going to apologize, but when he frowned, I realized this wasn't over yet. "You're no one to complain about bringing things up."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Of course you don't remember... I believe your exact words were that I was too cowardly to actually tell you how I felt about you--"
I didn't recall saying that. I didn't even remember thinking that Harry was a coward... I was angry at him for not telling me how he felt about the marriage thing, though. Maybe that night I had let my frustration show...? Suddenly, I was very scared of what I had said. I remembered Hary's reaction the morning after...
"What else haven't you said, Hermione?" Harry asked, probably noticing my troubled look.
"You say it as if it's me the one hiding things," I retorted. "What about you and your "I-was-having-lunch-with-Ron" little story?"
"That again!? I told you there was a reason for that!" he exclaimed, his glasses slipping to the tip of his nose. He didn't bother to adjust them.
"Well I haven't heard it, so why should I believe it?"
"So now you don't trust me? Is that what you're saying?!"
Before we knew it, we were screaming at each other like we never had. Usually, our arguments are either one of us yelling and the other calm, or just quiet exchange of opinions. I don't think we'd ever argued like that before, and a few minutes later the road of the conversation didn't have anything to do with why the argument had started in the first place. I don't think we were even listening to what the other was saying... Or what we were saying in the first place. Aquiles started barking and Hedwig flipped her wings nervously while we went on and on...
"-you said that-"
"-it was you!"
"OY!!!"
"Stop yelling!!"
"You're the one that's yelling!!!!"
"STOP IT, YOU TWO!!!"
Harry and I shut up at the same time, staring at each other surprised, wondering which one of us had said that. It took us a few moments to realize it was neither, and we turned to look at the fireplace, where Ron was staring at us with his face red and a ver annoyed look.
"For Merlin's sake, I've been trying to call your attention for more than five minutes!" Ron exclaimed, looking at me and then at Harry with widened eyes. "What the hell is wrong with you two!? You were about to kill each other."
Harry and I were breathing hard, and our faces were red because of the anger mixed with embarrassment. None of us could answer.
"Whatever," Ron said with a glare. "I'm flooing to let you know that we're at St. Mungo's. Liz is about to have the baby."
* * *
When Harry and I apparated in St. Mungo's, the whole Weasley family was already there. So was Liz's mum, sitting right next to Molly. The two of them were talking excitedly, probably about their mutual grandchild.
"I'm glad you're here," Mr. Weasley said, greeting us with a huge smile. "Ron and Liz just went inside."
Harry sat down in a couch a little afar from the Weasley family. I wasn't sure if I should go and sit with him after the argument we had just had. I couldn't help but feeling even more crushed that the reasons for that fight were so weak. It was all misunderstandings, rumors and unsaid things... And also because of that woman...
"So what did Alan want?"
That question came from Ginny. She was standing by my side, not really looking at me. When Ginny is jealous or angry (in this case, both things) you really can tell she is Ron's sister. I sighed.
"He wanted to talk."
"About what?"
"I don't know, he didn't tell me."
"Why not?"
"Because Harry and Ron interrupted him, and I would really appreciate it if you stop interrogating me as if I had done something wrong," I said, in an annoyed tone that wasn't really because of Ginny, but because I was still jumpy after my fight with Harry.
Ginny remained silent for a while. "You had another fight with Harry?" I nodded. "Why this time?"
"The same reasons as before, plus Alan, something I apparently said to him when I was "drunk," what I did last year before Ron's wedding... Want me to continue?"
Ginny shook her head. "Shouldn't you be talking to him now?"
"It seems that we can't talk without fighting lately," I sighed.
"Well, they say that arguments are good for couples," Ginny commented, with a comforting tone.
I didn't think that anything in that argument was good for us. But I appreciated that Ginny at least was putting our friendship before her jealousy, so I smiled at her.
We spent the next couple of hours waiting. I was trapped by Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Greene and their talk about babies, weddings and cooking tips... Harry was in the corner with Bill, Fred and George. I caught him looking at me more than once. He didn't look angry, but he didn't seem happy either. I was afraid to go over there and confront him. I didn't want to start arguing again. For that reason or any other, he stayed away from me too.
Finally, when I was starting to think I wouldn't be able to stand it anymore, Ron came into the waiting room. He had a huge smile plastered in his face. We all stood up and surrounded him.
"They are both fine," he said. "Liz is resting now."
Between the squeals and hugs, I heard Mr. Weasley asking if we could see the baby and the mother. Ron nodded. "Of course... But don't come all together. The nurse will go nuts."
Harry and I stepped back and let the family go. After all, it was their grandson and nephew. We went back to the waiting room and sat down in silence. It was very uncomfortable. Neither of us was saying anything and we were avoiding looking at each other. I hated that situation, I was still a little upset about the things he had said, but it didn't feel right to be like this. We were Harry and Hermione. Not this pair of strangers strangling each other.
Harry had his eyes fixed on the floor. He didn't seem willing to talk to me, and I guessed he was angry too. I didn't think it was fair that I had to apologize when he was the one that had started the whole thing. And knowing him like I do, I bet he was feeling the same way. So we waited in silence, alone in the waiting room, in an uncomfortable silence until the Weasleys came back, with big smiles and talking animatedly. Ron was among them and he approached to us.
"Aren't you two going to meet your godson?" he asked, looking at Harry and then at me with a reproachful look I could swear he copied from me when I used to scold them back at Hogwarts.
We both stood up and followed Ron to the room where Liz was. Ron opened it softly and motioned us to come in.
"Are you sure this is alright?" I whispered. "Liz must be tired, she probably wants to get some sleep..."
"Yes, but she asked me to brought you two here first," Ron said, closing the door behind us.
Liz smiled at us from the bed. She looked exhausted, but incredibly happy. Beside her, was a small cradle with the most beautiful baby I've ever seen (call me biased, if you want). I could feel my eyes watering at the mere sight of him, and all of the sudden I was turned into sappy Hermione.
"Do you want to hold him?" Liz asked in a soft voice, exchanging a happy glance with Ron.
"Can I?" I asked, uncertainly.
"Of course," Ron answered for her. "I think Brendon would like that."
I approached the cradle and slowly picked up the new Weasley. I knew I must have looked really weird lifting Brendon with so much hesitancy, but I felt as if it would broke as soon as I touched it. I heard Ron's chuckle when Brendon made a noice and I gasped. It wasn't the first baby I ever had in my arms, but it was certainly the smallest.
While I held him and looked at him, I felt Harry coming from behind to look at him better. We exchanged a look and Harry smiled at me warmly... I didn't know if my lip was trembling because of that or the emotion of seeing my best friend's son... Or maybe both. Harry carressed Brendon's cheek and then his hand lingered in mine.
I left Brendon in his cradle and kissed Liz on the cheek. "Congratulations," I said. "I'll come to see you tomorrow, okay?"
Harry kissed her as well and followed me to the door.
"Harry, Hermione," Ron said before we left. "Could you please wait outside for me a bit? I need to talk to you."
We nodded at the same time, knowing very well what he would say.
* * *
Ron waited until Harry and Hermione had come out to let out a sigh.
"What is it?" Liz asked, from the bed.
"Nothing." His wife raised an eyebrow. "Okay, something is going on, but it's not time to talk about it... you have to rest now."
"I'm not tired," Liz protested. Ron smirked. "Maybe a little... But if this is about Harry and Hermione, the sleep time can wait."
Ron sat at the edge of the bed. "When I flooed them today to let them know we were here, I found them screaming at each other. I mean really screaming. Not even my mum could reach that volume. I've seen Harry angry like that, but Hermione too? God, you should have seen them, Liz."
"Well, sometimes couples argue, Ron. Even Harry and Hermione. They are not different just because they were best friends before..."
"I know. But this was so weird... Everything is so weird now with them. I don't get what is going on between them. Harry and Cho, Hermione and Alan, Harry who wants to get married but then Hermione doesn't and the Hermione calls Harry a coward---" Ron stopped when he realized how confusing all that sounded. "I wish I could do something to help them, I'm used to be one of the fighters, not the mediator."
Liz grabbed his hand. "Ronnie... Can I tell you something?"
Ron looked at her and nodded.
"Swear to me that you won't tell anyone about this."
Ron looked at her suspiciously, but nodded again.
"Swear to me that you won't do anything about it either."
"What with all the swe---"
"Just swear," Liz said, serious.
"Alright. I swear."
* * *
Only Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Mrs. Greene and Ginny were still in the waiting room when Harry and I went back. We exchanged a few words and then we silently headed to a couch in the corner. We sat down and we both waited for the other to say something.
Five minutes passed.
How incredibly absurd the whole situation was.
Hermione, who cares who started it? Just finish it. Now.
"I don't think there's anything between you and Alan," he spoke suddenly.
I turn to look at him.
"I know there isn't... I'm sorry about what I said. I was a jerk. I shouldn't have brought up those things up, let alone yell to you..."
"I'm sorry too," I said, swallowing. "I wasn't very nice myself." My voice shook a little.
Another silence followed. "Do you really think I would cheat on you with Cho?" Harry broke it.
"I never said that. Of course I don't think so, Harry."
"Good. Because I can't see why you'd think I would want to be with her when I have you."
I looked in his eyes and I knew he meant it. He smiled again and grabbed my hand. He kissed the back of it and then squeezed it. I moved closer to him and kissed him softly on the lips. Harry stole a glance at where Mrs. Weasley was with the rest and then kissed me again. Then, he backed away and sighed.
"Hermione... There's something I need to ask you."
* * *
A/N: Okay I know! You hate cliffies! But I promise I won't leave you waiting too long for this!!
Thanks to Nitya for suggesting me Ron's son name!