'Cause I Am With You

chapter three: leaving

Ron walked downstairs, too angry to shout, too shocked to talk. He shoved past Ginny, who was heading upstairs to her room, and he stormed out to the back garden. The reception party was still going on, so no one noticed Ron, who made his way to the broom shed near the edge of the woods.

He slammed his fist into the side of the shed, but he didn't make a sound. What pissed him off the most was that those two didn't even have the common decency to even tell him they were together!

"Those bastards," he muttered. "Those fucking bastards..."

Harry was in a daze. He was sitting up in the cot, hair messier than before, dress robes wrinkled, and Hermione was laying back on his pillow, her hair and robes in an equal mess. Her legs were slung over his lap, and Harry rested his hands on them.

"Wow," he sighed. "That's all I can say. Wow."

"I knew I was right," she said, beaming. "You aren't a bad kisser."

Harry squeezed her leg. "You aren't so bad yourself."

"D'you two know what's wrong with Ron?" Ginny asked walking in. Her face fell when she saw the positions Harry and Hermione were in. "Oh...um, sorry."

As Ginny turned to leave, Hermione quickly jumped to her feet. "Ginny, wait!" She ran out in the hall after her.

Ginny bit her lip and spun around. "You're a backstabbing bitch! I confided in you! I trusted you! You KNEW how I felt about Harry!" She shoved Hermione back, and she ran downstairs.

Hermione managed to keep her footing, and she ran after Ginny. Ginny had ran in her room and locked the door behind her, but Hermione unlocked the door with her wand and walked in.

"Ginny, listen--"

Ginny was pacing around her room. "Listen to what? How the only good friend I have went behind my back and snogged my ex who I still care about? Who she knew I still cared about?"

"Harry and I never wanted to hurt you."

"A lot of good you two did there! In my brother's room on my other brother's wedding day! And, if you haven't noticed, Hermione, Ron still has feelings for you! He cares about you, too!"

"Harry loves me," Hermione said, quietly.

Ginny pursed her lips and crossed her arms. She looked down at the floor. "Did he love you when he asked Parvati to the Yule Ball? Did he love you when he was snogging Cho? Did he love you when he was snogging me?"

"No," Hermione simply said. "But he loved me when he saved me from that troll. And he loved me when he stopped Riddle from attacking more Muggle-borns. And he loved me when he trusted me to help him save Sirius. And he loved me when I believed him in fourth year. And he loved me so much, when he thought I had been killed in the Department of Mysteries, he was sick with guilt." Hermione stepped closer to the fuming Ginny. "And I love him. I was there for him, through thick and thin, and he has saved me in more than one way."

"That only shows he's a good friend," Ginny snapped.

"Maybe, but love isn't just about physical attraction and snogging," she said calmly.

Ginny opened her mouth to retort, but Hermione had already walked out.

Ron hit the shed with his fists a couple more times to let off his anger, and despite his knuckles feeling numb with pain, he knew he wanted that shed to be Harry's face. He walked back to the house, hands pounding, and he met Harry halfway.

"Ron! Ginny said--"

Before Harry could finish, Ron punched him in the mouth. Harry stumbled back onto a table.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Ron shouted.

"Tell you what?" Harry asked, standing up, holding his jaw where Ron hit him.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley!" they heard Mrs. Weasley gasp.

"You and Hermione! I saw you two snogging!" Ron threw another punch, but Harry was ready for it. He dodged Ron's fist.

"Ron, calm down," Harry said. "Look, we'll talk about this inside, you're making a scene."

"No!" Ron yelled. "I was the fucking world to know that HARRY FUCKING POTTER WAS SNOGGING THE GIRL I LOVE!"

Charlie and Fred came over and grabbed Ron by the arms. "Ron, calm down," Charlie snapped. "You're upsetting everyone!"

"Good! Then maybe everyone will know how it feels when their bleedin' so-called best friend snogs the one person they love!"

"Ron, we didn't mean to!" Harry yelled back at him. "Will you calm down and listen to me?"

"Boys! Boys!" Mrs. Weasley roared. "You two will stop this at once!" She turned to Ron. "Ronald, your room. Harry, the living room."

"No need to, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said, looking at Ron. "I'm leaving."

"Going off then?" Ron barked at him. "To be the world's fucking hero?"

Mrs. Weasley turned around and slapped Ron across the mouth. "You will watch your mouth, Ronald Weasley!"

Harry was already up the stairs to Ron's room. He changed into jeans and a shirt, and he packed his trunk. He told Hedwig where to meet him, and he shrunk her cage and his trunk and put them in his pocket.

"You're not leaving without me," a voice said behind him.

Harry turned to see Hermione standing there. "No, you stay. It'll be worse if you take off with me."

"Harry, wait--"

But he was gone.

note: Yes, there will be a chapter four, so don't worry. :)