A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed the first chapter! I'm glad you liked it, and here's the second part of this angst-filled fic. Enjoy.
Kudos to Jacy for guessing the quote from Lori's fic. J It was that line that Hermione says to Harry about how he could have made her hate him but made her love him instead, after he says he doesn't deserve her, for those who care.
This chapter is dedicated to Shenney, for unofficially beta-ing this as well as my other fics, and for getting me into H/Hr fanfiction in the first place. You rock! J
~Part II~
Moment of Truth
He was going to be sick. He knew it.
He didn't think he'd ever been so nervous in his entire life.
Even during that Last Battle against You-Know-Who when he hadn't been sure who would live or who would die. When fighting for your life, you don't have time to be nervous.
Only now, half an hour before his last wedding, he was nervous.
The judge who would be performing the ceremony was looking at him with some confusion as he paced. Apparently, most grooms didn't pace like this at their own wedding.
He was happy, he knew that. He loved Hermione, always had. And though he would never admit it, there was a small part of him that was feeling triumphant that finally, after a lifetime of being seen as The Boy Who Lived's sidekick, he was getting something Harry didn't have, a wife, a girl, THE girl, Hermione.
And if there were occasional doubts about how much she loved him, he ignored them, pushed them to the back of his mind. If he occasionally noticed the way Hermione's face lit up at the sight of Harry, he dismissed the fleeting pang of jealousy as paranoia.
He trusted Hermione. He knew her. She wouldn't lie to him and she had told him she loved him.
And he did love her. She was still a bookworm, still a know-it-all, and Merlin knew he would never understand her preference for being in a library rather than on a Quidditch pitch…
No, he shook his head, as if to clear it of all these doubts. He was sure it was normal.
He looked around the room, at his family. They were all there, his parents, although Molly had lost weight and was looking pale, as she always did these days, Charlie who had left his beloved dragons for his younger brother's wedding, Bill who'd Apparated up from Egypt where he had returned to curse-breaking after being part of the force against You-Know-Who in the Last Battle, the twins, Ginny, who'd grown up now to be really quite pretty.
The only one who was missing was Percy. He would always be missing now.
He felt the familiar sadness in him at the thought of his older brother, the one he'd appreciated least and now missed so much. Percy, always trying so hard to be perfect, so proud of his Prefect badge and his Head Boy badge, and yet with the same love and loyalty to all his siblings that Molly and Arthur had cultivated in all of their children.
He was glad Hermione had agreed to a small private wedding, attended only by their nearest and dearest, Harry, of course, as best man, his family, her parents.
It was still too short a time since Percy for a large celebration.
He looked up and smiled at his soon-to-be mother in law as she came up to him.
He liked Claire Granger, who reminded him of Hermione in so many ways.
She looked agitated, as if she'd been crying. "Ron, Hermione wants to talk to you," she faltered.
Ron blinked. "Now?" He glanced at his watch. "Less than half an hour before the wedding is supposed to start?"
She nodded, blinking back tears, before hurrying away.
He looked after her, frowning, before turning towards the small dressing room that Hermione and Claire had taken over when they arrived.
He knocked softly. "Hermione, is everything alright?"
Hermione took a deep breath, gave Harry one last look, before opening the door.
Ron stepped in, faltering as he saw her. "Wow, Hermione, you look gorgeous."
She forced a smile as she said, "Thanks, Ron."
He looked around, seeing Harry. "Oh, there you are, Harry. I was wondering where you'd disappeared to."
Harry was pale, his green eyes standing out in the white of his skin. He looked like he was going to be sick. Hermione felt a pang of hurt at his ghastly appearance, knowing that Harry was remembering all those years of Ron's loyalty, meeting him on the Hogwarts Express that first day, in the Shrieking Shack when Ron had stood up against Sirius, despite his broken leg, Ron's stubborn refusal to allow Harry to distance himself from them during 5th year… So many memories, from so many years of friendship…
And it was about to be ended.
For a moment she wavered again before she remembered reading something many years ago… Marrying one man when you're in love with another is just as much of a sin as adultery is.
She looked at Ron and Harry, the two men in her life, her two best friends. She loved them both, she truly did, but Harry was part of her. He was in her heart, in a way that Ron wasn't and never would be.
She knew that Ron's easygoing good humor were good for her. That she had brought out the responsible side of him. In that sense, they were a good match.
But the heart follows its own rules and her heart had always been Harry's.
She looked at Ron who was smiling at her, his blue eyes shining with love and her heart broke again, for the hurt she was about to cause him.
She had to do this.
She opened her mouth. "Ron, I - we - I mean, Harry and I - have to tell you something."
Silence fell and suddenly she understood the expression of a pregnant silence. She'd read it before many times and always rather scoffed at it. Silence was silence. It was her way and her nature, being brought up with two very matter-of-fact parents to doubt figurative speech and clichés but now she understood. The silence was pregnant, hurt, heartbreak, anger all about to burst forth.
Harry opened his mouth to say something but she hurried on before he could, wanting, no, needing to get this off her chest. "Ron, I love you, I really do, but I can't marry you." She finished in a whisper. "I can't marry you because I'm in love with Harry."
Ron just stared at her. And the look in his eyes… She flinched and looked away, knowing she would never, until the day she died, no matter what happened, forget that look.
"Ron, mate, I-I swear on- on our years of friendship that I never meant for this to happen. I loved Hermione and I was prepared to be your best man and watch you marry her and I was happy for you both. But Hermione's too important to me, and now that I know she loves me too, I can't give her up. I can't." Harry's voice cracked a little and he looked away, blinking rapidly.
Merlin knew he'd had more than enough time to think about this over the past year and more since he'd realized his feelings for Hermione weren't just friendly. He hated hurting Ron and part of him was beating the inside wall his chest, screaming that he should just give Hermione up. But he couldn't do that. Ron was his best friend, his dearest friend. But Hermione was everything to him.
He reached out, intending to put his hand on Ron's shoulder, seeking some sign that Ron understood, but Ron jerked back.
"Don't!" His voice was raspy, his skin the color of cottage cheese. Only his eyes were still alive and they were filled with hurt, betrayal, and now some anger.
Hermione stepped forward, tears streaming down her face. "Ron, please, please believe that I never meant to hurt you. I just had to tell Harry the truth before I married you. I wanted to have some closure, so I could put it behind me."
She fell silent. For once in her life, Hermione Granger had absolutely nothing to say that would make things any better. If the situation had been less serious, she would have laughed at that. The one time she could have used it, all the books she'd read, all the words she knew just failed her completely.
But there was no need for words now. No words that could try to heal this breach. There were just three people crying as a friendship that had saved the world broke into little pieces around them.
Ron had still not said anything since his repudiation of Harry. His face and eyes said it all, though.
For a moment, time seemed to stand still as Ron looked from one to the other, his former fiancée and his best friend, his former best friend.
Two men and the woman they both loved, three best friends whose relationship was crumbling to dust around them, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, the Dream Team…
And then before either of them could react, Ron Weasley turned on his heel and walked out of the room, shutting the door with unnecessary firmness behind him, as he went to rejoin his family.
On the clock on the wall, the time read 15 minutes before the scheduled wedding that would now never take place, was supposed to have begun.
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A/N 2: Comments, constructive criticism, reactions? Any and all feedback will be appreciated! (Besides, the more reviews, the quicker the next part will be posted. And yes, there is going to be more of this.)