A/N: Happy Easter, everyone! *blows kisses to all who reviewed* Thanks especially to: Alan Sloat, meme30, The Fionna, hpchk86, star429, srox4690, and many others, you know who you are, sorry I couldn't list you all by name.
Here it is, what you've been waiting for, the reconciliation. I hope it satisfies.
~Part IV~
A Breach Mended
There was a knock at the front door.
Ron Weasley frowned, wondering who it could be, calling at this hour.
The knock came again and he opened the door.
His first instinct was to close it again when he saw who was there.
It was Harry.
Harry, alone. The same Harry with the black hair that would just not stay neat, the round glasses, the green eyes. Harry.
There was an uncomfortable silence as the two men, once so close and now worse than strangers, stared at each other.
Ron's throat seemed to have closed up. He was fairly certain he'd been able to speak as of just a minute ago, but now he couldn't have said a coherent word to save his life.
Finally, he just stepped back, allowed Harry to enter. It seemed pointless to deny him entrance, and besides, he knew Harry, knew what it must have taken for Harry to finally come here and also knew that although Harry could take time making decisions, once the decisions were made, he acted on them without hesitation. It was part of that Gryffindor courage, a trait that had nearly gotten them all killed several times, granted, but had also saved their lives as well, at other times. So, he knew that even if he denied Harry today, Harry would simply return again and again until he had let him in. There was no sense in wasting time, especially not as he himself had already decided that their stalemate of sorts couldn't just go on as it had been.
It had always been one of the strengths of their friendship that talking wasn't necessary. But now, with this huge chasm between them, the never-mentioned but undeniable presence of Hermione hovering between them, they needed to talk. He had already decided that. Now the question was simply finding the words to start.
Ron sat down facing Harry and for a moment, simply studied him. The boy he'd known for so long, the young man he'd become.
Harry looked well, happy, and Ron noticed that the sense of loss that had always seemed to be lurking in Harry's eyes, the sadness over his parents, Hagrid, Dumbledore, all the losses he'd endured over the years, had finally gone.
And even the painful knowledge that it was Hermione and her love that had effected this change couldn't quell the sudden feeling of happiness in Ron at seeing his old friend looking so fulfilled and finally at peace. They had gone through too much together, he'd seen Harry in some of the darkest times of his life, been there for too much of it to see this change now without sharing in some of his former friend's joy, as much as it hurt him to see it.
He had known it before, come to terms with it, he'd thought, but somehow now, he fully realized that whatever blame might be placed on Harry, Harry's words that painful day had been true. Harry really could not give up Hermione's love; he needed it too much. Needed the support, understanding and love that only Hermione could provide in a way that he himself would never, had never, needed Hermione. They were right together, he finally acknowledged, and really had always been meant for each other. The acknowledgment brought some pain - how could it not? - but it brought a measure of peace as well.
And suddenly he knew what to do.
Harry cleared his throat, shifting in his seat. "Ron, I - we - uh, we have to talk."
Ron had the sudden crazy urge to laugh. Trust Harry to state what was so blatantly obvious like that.
He had a sudden flashback to 4th year, Harry in the First Task, up against a Hungarian Horntail.
Ron stared at Harry as if he'd never seen him before and Harry had suddenly sprouted another head or something.
He could still see in his mind the forbidding size of the Horntail, remembered some of Charlie's warnings about that particular breed, and then Harry, looking very small against the dragon and realizing he'd been playing the role of a supreme git these past weeks. Now, facing Harry, all he could say was the main thought. "Harry, whoever put your name in that Goblet - I - I reckon they're trying to do you in!"
And Harry's response, "Caught on, have you? Took you long enough."
He inwardly flinched at this dig at his own idiocy and while knowing he had to apologize, wanted to apologize, suddenly didn't know what to say.
And then Harry, the Harry he knew, was back, saying "It's OK. Forget it," and not letting him continue.
And with one exchange of grins, somehow words really became unnecessary and everything really was OK.
Harry opened his mouth to say something and he cut him off, speaking first. "Forget it, Harry. It's OK. I forgave you and Hermione a long time ago. You don't need to explain."
Harry blinked, somehow looking younger than his 20 years. "But Ron-"
"I said, it's OK, Harry. Enough with the guilt already."
Harry still looked uncertain, hesitating before meeting his eyes, as if afraid of what he would see.
The look on Ron's face was familiar. It was one he always wore when frustrated at Harry's inability to let go of things, half annoyed and yet understanding the cause of it as well.
He tried one more time, needing to get this off his chest, to explain. "But…"
Ron cut him off again. "Shut up, Potter."
And Harry knew that it really was ok.
Relief and happiness hit him hard, so hard as to make him glad he was sitting down. Somehow Ron really did understand about him and Hermione and didn't resent him.
"How's Hermione?" Ron's voice and quiet question broke the comfortable silence that had fallen, as each came to terms with the new understanding between them.
The wounds given and received a year ago would always be there, scarred over, it is true, but still present. Both knew that the friendship now would always be different than what it had been before, a relationship needing to be rebuilt from its foundations. But at least with this reconciliation and end to the long stalemate, the rebuilding of that old friendship could begin, stronger in one sense, because now both knew just how vital that friendship was.
The question didn't surprise Harry; he'd been expecting it. "She's fine. She misses you, though."
Ron only nodded slowly in response, seeming deep in thought, and then Harry surprised himself as well as Ron by suddenly standing up, saying, "Come with me to talk to her now, Ron. She'd love to see you, you know."
Ron hesitated for a second, wary of opening the wounds that had taken so long to heal, but finally realized there really was no point in delaying the inevitable.
And the fact remained that he himself needed to finally close this chapter of hurt and bitterness. The Dream Team needed the third member to be truly healed again.
They walked in without knocking, Ron pushing away a small pang he couldn't help but feel at this concrete evidence that Harry and Hermione really were a couple.
Hermione walked out to meet them. "Harry, there you are. An owl came for you from…" Her sentence cut off as she saw Ron, standing somewhat uncertainly behind Harry.
Her mouth opened and closed several times as she stood there, staring at him as if he were a ghost or something, all color leaving her face.
He stared back at her, he couldn't help it. This was the woman he'd thought he loved, the woman he'd been on the verge of marrying, the woman who'd chosen his best friend instead. She looked better than he'd ever seen her, was positively glowing with love and happiness; it was written all over her. And again, he was happy at this further proof of the complete and utter rightness of his two best friends being together, even while squelching the small pang of hurt and disappointment that she had never looked so happy when she was engaged to him.
"Hello, Hermione, it's good to see you," he finally said, the words commonplace, the tone and the expression on his face speaking volumes.
And as if the sound of her name had finally broken through the dam of her surprise, she rushed forward to hug him, making a sound that was half-sob, half-cry, "Oh, Ron!" He hugged her back, somewhat awkwardly, as she cried and babbled somewhat hysterically into his chest. He could decipher phrases here and there, mainly consisting of "I'm so sorry" and "I missed you" and "it's so good to see you."
He sent Harry a somewhat beleaguered look, the timeless look of a man uncomfortable with a woman's tears, and Harry grinned before coming and wrapping an arm around each of them, as Hermione shifted to put her arm around Harry as well.
The three stood like that, in a three-way embrace, feeling the pieces that had been missing from their lives for so long, finally falling back into place. The Dream Team was together again, bruised and battered, it is true and not the same, but together, once more a trio. And the utter rightness of it was reassuring.
After a moment, they separated with an awkward laugh, as Hermione wiped her eyes, looking embarrassed at her breakdown.
She stepped back with Harry as he put his arm around her shoulders and she leaned against him, ever so slightly and for only a moment as Harry tightened his arm briefly, but long enough that Ron noticed, watching them as he was. The gesture was fleeting, and so natural it was clearly a habit of theirs.
And he smiled. "You guys look good together." He paused, a somewhat pained expression crossing his face, before seeming to force himself to continue. "I wondered how you were, together, as hurt as I was, wanted to see it. I really am happy for you guys, you know."
The confession seemed to linger in the air long after he'd stopped speaking, as they looked from one to the other, and Harry and Hermione seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
It was Hermione who spoke first, the look in her eyes and tone of her voice expressing heart-felt relief as well as an acknowledgment of the grief and pain of the past. "Thank you, Ron, so much."
"Just don't break down on me again like that, or I'll run away, I swear. I never could stand to see a girl cry, remember?"
At that oh-so-characteristic statement by Ron, three happy people started to laugh, as their hearts and minds shed the burdens of mutual guilt, regret and heartache that they had carried for far too long.
A/N 2: Please review, and no flames please!
Just an epilogue to go, and then this will be done.