Author's note: I am sooooo sorry you guys for the long wait between updates. I should never have started this one when I was in the middle of co-writing the Dirty Dancing series. I am sorry for neglecting this one. I was stuck on what to do for quite some time. I'm not sure if I like how this chapter turned out. Please let me know what you think. I appreciate all the comments and there will be one more chapter after this, possibly an epilogue. I've already started writing that last chapter so hopefully your wait won't be very long this time. Again I really do apologize for the long wait!
Chapter 25
Mad Season
I feel stupid - but I know it won't last for long
I've been guessing - I coulda been guessin' wrong
You don't know me now
I kinda thought that you should somehow
Does that whole mad season got ya down
I feel stupid but it's something that comes and goes
I've been changin' - think it's funny how now one knows
We don't talk about - the little things that we do without
When that whole mad season comes around
So why ya gotta stand there
Looking like the answer now
It seems to me - you'd come around
I need you now
Do you think you can cope
You figured me out - I'm lost and I'm hopeless
Bleeding and broken - though I've never spoken
I come undone - in this mad season
(Mad Season by Matchbox 20)
Awkward. Uncomfortable. Tense.
Those would all seem to be great words to describe the situation that Hermione found herself in at the moment. But, as she watched her fiancé and ex-boyfriend glare at each other, she came to realize that those words didn't quite do this situation justice.
As luck would have it, it seemed that everyone in the restaurant was watching their every move, hanging on their every word. Fortunately, no words had been spoken except for a few short, but not sweet pleasantries.
Hermione and Luna's "brilliant plan" now seemed like an error of Titanic proportions. Images of a knock-down, drag-out fight with punches and hexes thrown at will, filled Hermione's mind. One look at her co-conspirator and Hermione knew she wasn't alone in her doubts.
This had all seemed like such a good idea a couple of days ago in Ginny's kitchen. Ron and Harry obviously weren't going to make up on their own, so the two women had taken it upon themselves to make it happen. With a little help from Ginny, they'd devised a plan to get the two together and Ginny had suggested the restaurant seeing as the two boys wouldn't want to make a scene.
They'll be falling on their hands and knees to thank you two, Ginny had said beaming at them.
Note to self - Never, ever listen to Ginny Weasley.
"Isn't this a nice surprise?" Luna asked, taking it upon herself to salvage the situation.
Ron snorted and Harry looked from Hermione to Luna and then back again. They both knew that this wasn't a surprise and by the expressions on their faces, Harry and Ron didn't see anything nice about this at all.
"Hiya, Harry," Luna said taking a seat. She pulled off her cloak and draped it over her chair. "It's been quite awhile, hasn't it?"
Harry stared at her for a few moments before answering. "Um, yeah. It's been quite awhile."
"And you," Luna said turning her attention to Hermione. "You must be Hermione Granger. I'm Luna. Luna Lovegood. It's lovely to finally meet you. I've heard lovely things about you from Ron's mother and his sister."
Hermione, who had never been that good of a liar, found it extremely difficult to find her voice. Her hand was trembling as she shook Luna's outstretched hand. "Nice to meet you too, Luna."
"Oh come on!" Ron exclaimed suddenly.
"What?" Luna asked turning around and giving him her most innocent look.
"This whole 'we've just met' routine," Ron replied rolling his eyes. "Nice try, Luna, but this is a little obvious, don't you think?"
Slowly, Luna turned back around. "Harry, Hermione…I hope you don't mind, but I need to steal Ronald away for just a minute. We'll be right back…"
Ron found himself being led to the back of the restaurant by the blonde. When they were out of earshot, Ron turned on her.
"Luna," he hissed, trying very hard to remain calm. "What on earth would possess you to do something like this? Did I royally piss you off? Have I come on way too strong? If I have, I will back off, because if this is how you're going to pay me back…"
Luna folded her arms.
"I know that you're a little out there," he continued pacing in front of her. "I get that. And for the most part, I really do love that about you, but this…this…takes the cake!"
Luna stood and listened as he continued on his little tirade. When he finally stopped talking---but not before waxing philosophically about ex best friends and cheating girlfriends---Luna shrugged. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Ronald." She motioned over her shoulder toward the table where Harry and Hermione were sitting. "This is a complete and utter coincidence."
Ron leaned against the wall. "A coincidence?"
Luna nodded. "Coincidences are funny things really. All these things have to happen for this one moment to fall into place. It's kind of like this one time when I was around…"
"Luna," Ron interjected in exasperation. "What are you on about?"
"Not a thing," she replied taking his hand. "But don't you think life is way too short to hold onto a grudge?"
"This isn't just a grudge-"
"I know," Luna said. "It's a silly grudge. Look, Ron…do you remember how you used to make fun of me and call me 'Loony'?"
"Are you still throwing that up in my face?" he asked. "For Merlin's sake, Luna! I've apologized for that time and time again."
Luna squeezed his hand. "I know you have. But where would you and I be, if I'd held on to a grudge? Where would you and I be if I still saw you as that crazy bloke who used to call me names and make fun of me all the time?"
Ron knew what she was trying to do. "It's not the same, Luna. Harry shagged my girlfriend. It's not as if he called me a bad name and made fun of me. This is much worse."
"Kind of like what you did to Hermione," Luna said quietly.
Ron felt like she'd kicked him in the stomach. She did hold that against him. That was probably why she hadn't agreed to go out with him as anything more than a friend. She was afraid he was going to do to the very same thing to her.
"No one is completely innocent here," Luna said gently looking intently at him, but he kept his eyes trained on the floor. "But you can't forget that you played a part in this too."
Finally, he looked up to meet her gaze. A part of him knew that she was right. The other, more stubborn part didn't want or didn't seem to be able to let this go.
"You and Harry went through so much together," Luna said softly. "You grew up together. His friendship means something to you, even now. You miss him. And you want to be his friend again, but you can't seem to make yourself take that first step."
"What is it you want me to do?" Ron asked quietly.
"Just sit there," Luna answered stepping closer to him. "Sit there and talk or at least be civil to each other. No one's asking you to pick up where you left off. That's not possible, but you can try and start again."
"I don't know if I can."
"Try," she whispered.
Ron thought about what she was asking him to do. She was right. He did miss his friend. And begrudgingly, Ron had to
admit that he did play a part in this.
"How long have you known Hermione?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Luna said with a grin. "I just met the girl…"
"Right," Ron said laughing.
"So what do you say?" Luna asked. "Will you do it? Will you try?"
Ron thought long and hard about what exactly Luna was asking him to do. Though he was loathed to admit it, he did miss his best friend. He had for quite some time. He'd thought quite a bit over the past few months about the boy he'd met on Platform 9 ¾. The same person who was now engaged to Hermione was the same boy who had been there for him time and time again. This was the same boy who had been his first real friend outside of his family. This was the same boy who he'd stood beside as he'd taken on the darkest wizard of their time. And this was the same boy he'd been afraid of watching die. In the course of one summer though, this had all changed. Or had it? Was it too late to go back? Was there too much water under the bridge to start over? Seeing him with Hermione now wasn't as painful as it had been before and Ron wasn't sure what that meant.
"Okay," he finally said. "I'll do it."
Luna beamed back at him and he held up his hand.
"This is only because of you," he said. "And because I'm bloody starving."
Luna pecked him on the cheek. "I'm proud of you Ronald Weasley."
"We haven't made it through the meal yet," he cautioned. This still had the very distinct possibility of turning out really, really badly. Nevertheless, he took Luna's hand and led her back to the table. It was obvious that Harry and Hermione must have had a similar conversation because they stopped speaking abruptly when Luna and Ron returned and sat down.
Before anyone could say anything, a waitress descended upon the table wanting to take Ron and Luna's order and to
see if she could get anything else for Harry and Hermione. Luna and Ron took a few moments to go over the menu before
both ordering club sandwiches and pumpkin juice. The waitress grinned and waited a few moments before leaving to place
their order.
"She certainly seemed nice," Luna commented.
"Nice?" Ron asked. "She's probably planning on selling this story to the Daily Prophet. I can see it now, tomorrow morning; we'll all see the big, bold, cheesy headline about 'Potter Sidekick and Boy Who Lived Have Tense Lunch'."
Luna laughed. "Don't be silly Ronald."
He stared at her.
"That's a horrible headline," she continued with a grin. "The Prophet writers aren't THAT bad."
Without thinking, Ron looked across the table and for a moment, he and Harry shared an amused, slightly bewildered expression at Luna's comment. The moment passed quickly as both men quickly looked away.
"I understand you're both teaching at Hogwarts," Luna said. "I always thought you'd be a great teacher, Harry."
Harry let out a soft laugh. "I don't know about all that. It's quite different being on the other side. The first day of classes I kept looking at their expectant faces wondering what the hell I was doing there. The first time one of them called me Professor, I turned around to see who was behind me…"
Luna laughed. "I know what you mean. But, I'm sure you're doing wonderfully."
"He's really doing great," Hermione said touching his arm supportively.
"Dare I say the curse of Hogwarts' Defense professors will now be broken?" Luna asked. "You'll last more than a year then, won't he Ron?"
"Maybe," Ron said shifting in his seat. This was the most uncomfortable he could ever remember being. He didn't know what to say or where to look.
Silence again descended upon the table broken only by the waitress' reappearance with Ron and Luna's drinks.
"Your order should be up soon," she promised giving them another look before walking away.
"She's up to something," Ron said.
"She's not the only one," Harry muttered under his breath.
Hermione knew that Ron and Harry weren't going to get anywhere with she and Luna sitting here. An idea came to her and she pulled on Luna's arm. "Hey, Luna. How about you and I check out the dessert cart, eh? They have a really delicious chocolate torte here."
Luna grinned. "I think that would be lovely."
Getting to her feet, Luna smiled reassuringly at Ron. "Well be right back."
Once they were alone, Ron and Harry just stared at each other, neither of them seemingly willing or able to make the first move. Harry looked away and picked at the rest of his sandwich.
"Did you have anything to do with this?" Ron finally asked quietly.
"No," Harry said shaking his head. "I think we know who was behind this."
Ron nodded. "What do you think they were playing at?"
"They seem to think that we miss each other obviously," Harry said looking over where it was completely obvious that Luna and Hermione were not interested in the dessert cart. Both women were staring in their direction and Ron wondered if perhaps Luna might have grabbed some Invisible Extendable Ears from his brothers' joke shop earlier.
"I'm sorry Ron," Harry finally said. "Contrary to popular belief, I do not want everything you have or had. I didn't intentionally set out to hurt you. When I met her, I didn't know who she was and by the time I found out, it was…well, it was too late."
Ron didn't say anything in response.
"I know that things are different between you and me," Harry continued. "I know they probably will be and I know we can't go back to being best friends like we once were, but maybe we could....I don't know, start over and try and be friends again."
Ron looked thoughtfully across the table at Harry. He wanted to be angry. He wanted to shout and push and shove his former best friend and tell him exactly where he could stick his apology. But he didn't. Ron didn't know whether it was because time had healed those old wounds or if it was because he didn't want to close the door completely on his oldest and closest friend. It was probably a little bit of both, if he was being completely honest with himself.
"Start over?" he asked weakly.
Harry nodded.
"I don't know," Ron answered truthfully. "You've done…"
"Ron," Harry interjected. "I never wanted any of this. I never wanted 'eternal glory'. I never wanted to have people look at me while I walked down the street or for people to point and stare and whisper about me. I've apologized for that time and time again and I'm tired of doing it."
"I know that---"
"I don't think you do," Harry continued. "Right after the war ended, I was about as low as I could ever remember being. I thought…I thought I'd finally have some peace. But I knew that it wasn't going to be that easy and it could never be that simple. In many ways, it was going to be worse than it was before. Everyone wanted to know about what I'd done. And I tried, Ron. I kept telling those reporters and the aurors and anyone who would listen what you had done to help me; what you'd all done to help me."
"You did?"
Harry nodded and leaned back in his chair. "They wouldn't listen. It's not my fault that they didn't put it in the papers or in the books or in the stories that they told. So when I decided to leave, I knew that you'd finally have what you'd always wanted. The chance to stand on your own; to make your own glory. And you've done that, Ron. Believe it or not, I'm very proud of you."
Ron let this sink in. "Wait…you left...you left because of me?"
"Partly," Harry replied. "You were my best friend, Ron. The first person my own age who actually wanted to be my friend. And if it hadn't been for you, I honestly don't know what would have happened to me. I'd have probably been sorted into Slytherin and have the ferret for my best mate for all we know…"
Ron laughed at the image. "Perish the thought."
The waitress returned with Ron and Luna's sandwiches and Ron was actually angry with her for the interruption. It also seemed to hit home for him the fact that everyone had probably heard their discussion.
"Don't worry," Harry said after she'd left. "I cast a spell to make sure no one could hear us…"
"Good thinking," Ron said in relief. "I guess Hermione's rubbing off on you."
Harry turned to look at his fiancée. "Aye, she is."
"You really do love her, don't you?"
Harry nodded. "I really do, Ron. She's the best thing that ever happened to me." Ron again looked down at the table and avoided Harry's gaze. "I'm not saying that to hurt you, Ron. I just think you needed to know that. She's not a prize or a possession that I took. She's someone that I want to start a family with; that I want to grow old with; that I want to be with all the time."
He reached down and pulled a box out of one of the bags at his feet. Ron watched as Harry pulled out a white envelope. He handed one to Ron. "It's an invitation to our wedding. I'll understand if you don't want to come, but I'd really like it if you'd be there."
Ron didn't take the invitation. In fact, he wasn't quite sure what he should do. With a sigh, Harry set the invitation down on the table. "It's charmed to reveal the location of the wedding only on the day of the event."
Ron nodded, but still averted his eyes from Harry.
Harry pulled out his wallet and placed some money on the table for his part of the tab.
"I'll see you Ron," he said quietly before picking up his and Hermione's bags.
Luna and Hermione watched as Harry came toward them.
"Ready to go?" he asked his fiancée.
Hermione nodded wordlessly and said a quick goodbye to Luna before following Harry out of the restaurant.
They walked in silence through the crowds and Hermione was dying to find out how it had gone. But, Harry didn't seem ready to talk about it. Hermione wondered if he was angry about what she and Luna had done.
"I'm sorry," she called out to him. He was walking so fast, he was nearly fifty feet in front of him.
He stopped and slowly turned around to face her. "It's not your fault."
"I should have known better…"
"It's okay," Harry reassured her. "I am angry that you didn't warn me this was coming, but I know you meant well. It's just---he's not going to forgive me, Hermione."
"Harry---"
"I gave him an invitation to the wedding," Harry said quietly.
"We saw," Hermione said softly. "I'm sorry, Harry."
Harry shook his head. "Hey, come on now. No more of that." He leaned in and softly kissed her. "We've still got some shopping to do."
**************
The wedding was to be held at a small church in Canterbury. It was the same church that Hermione's parents had married in so many years ago and Hermione had always dreamed that one day she'd get married there too. The reporters who kept hounding them thought the wedding was taking place at Hogwarts and according to Dumbledore, there was a pack of them camped out just outside the gates of the castle.
The day before the wedding Hermione was enjoying a day of pampering at the spa thanks to Lavender. Hermione was happy to spend her last day as a singleton with her best friends and bridesmaids---Lavender, Eva, and Ginny. It also kept her mind off of what Sirius and Harry were probably up to with Neville, Seamus and Dean.
At the moment, Hermione was having a pedicure while Lavender received an herbal massage. Eva was having her nails done and Ginny was getting a mud masque.
"This is the life," Lavender said happily. "I could do this every day and die a happy woman."
"This is pretty heavenly," Eva said grinning. "I haven't done something like this in ages."
"We should do it more often," Ginny said. "At least three or four times a month."
Hermione smiled and her thoughts went again to Harry. They'd agreed not to see each other today and had agreed to forego sex until their wedding night. She couldn't wait to walk down the aisle tomorrow and become his wife.
"Earth to the bride," Eva joked breaking Hermione out of her reverie.
"Hmm?" Hermione asked.
"You're awfully quiet," Eva said grinning at her. "Too busy thinking about the honeymoon, eh?"
"That's a little hard to do since I have no idea where he's taking me," Hermione said laughing.
"All you need is someplace with a nice, fluffy bed," Lavender teased. "You'll never see the light of day if you play your cards right."
"Lav!" Hermione exclaimed.
"What?" Lavender asked. "Your mum's not here. You know that's what you're going to do, Hermione. And you better not have Harry drag you off to some boring, smelly museum while you're there either. You are under strict orders to have a perfectly lovely time with endless shagging…"
Hermione blushed.
"We're embarrassing the bride!" Ginny said leaning back in her comfortable reclining chair.
"It's our duty to do that," Lavender said. "We're the bridesmaids. We can embarrass her all we want the day before the wedding and make her turn all different shades or red. The day of the wedding, we are to be the picture of decorum and support."
Hermione smiled at her friends. "Thanks you guys. I really am lucky to have you."
"So you're not still mad at me for the bright idea I had?" Ginny asked.
"I should have known it wouldn't have worked," Hermione said. "Luna and I just thought we were doing what was best."
"I wish I could slap some sense into my brother," Ginny said shaking her head. "He's so damn stubborn and proud."
"He's hurt," Hermione said in Ron's defense.
"After what that wanker did to you, he ought to be hurt," Lavender said bluntly. "Sorry Gin, but it's the truth."
"It's okay," Ginny said. "He's my brother and I love him dearly, but he is being a complete wanker. I wish that the plan could have worked."
"It wasn't easy for either of them," Hermione said. "Harry figured out pretty much what I was trying to do the moment, Ron and Luna walked into the restaurant. And when Luna dragged Ron off, he let me know that he thought I was mental for thinking this would work. But he tried. He really did try. And there's not much more he can do. The next step is Ron's."
"Luna's still working on him," Ginny said. "Hopefully, she'll get him to come around."
The women resumed their small talk and enjoying their pampering. Just as the woman finished with her feet, another woman came into the room.
"Miss Granger?"
Hermione looked up. "That's me."
"Soon to be Potter," Ginny teased.
"There's a phone call for you," the woman said handing Hermione a cordless phone.
"Thanks," Hermione said taking it. No one else knew she was here except for her mother. She hoped her mother wasn't calling because there was some last minute emergency that needed taking care of. "Hello?"
"Hey you," Harry's voice came over the line.
"Harry!"
Ginny, Lavender and Eva giggled and mimicked Hermione.
"Shut it you lot!" Hermione said over her shoulder.
"Hermione…?"
"I'm here," she said into the phone. "How did you know where I was?"
"Your mum told me," he replied. "I missed you and I wanted to hear your voice."
"Harry," she whispered. "I miss you too."
"And I was wondering," he said. She could hear the smile in his voice. "If you'd meet me tomorrow morning at that chapel around noon? I'll be the one in the suit down front…"
Hermione giggled. "How could I pass that up? You're on. I'll be the one in white with the veil."
"In white with the veil," he said thoughtfully. "Okay, I should remember that."
"Come on Harry," Dean called out to his friend.
"I've got to go," he said apologetically. "But I just wanted you to know that I love you very much and I can't wait until tomorrow."
"Me too," Hermione said softly. "Behave yourself."
"I will," he said clicking off the phone.
"Let's get going," Dean told his friend. "Sirius is waiting at the pub."
"Right," Harry said setting the phone down. "My last night as a bachelor awaits."
Harry, Dean, Neville and Seamus threw on their cloaks. Dean opened the door and all four men froze.
"Hi," Ron said quietly. His hands were in his pockets and he looked like at any moment he might be sick, but he was here. What they didn't know was why. The last thing Harry wanted was to fight with his friend again.
"Hi," Harry said. "What's going on?"
"I, um, well I was wondering if you had…if you had room for one more."