A Little White Lie

lockedinaroom

Rating: PG13
Genres: Angst, Romance
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 6
Published: 17/03/2006
Last Updated: 25/03/2006
Status: completed

A little white lie destroys one relationship and cements another.

Chapters

1. A Little White Lie

2. More Lies Exposed

3. The Apple of My Eye

4. Reconciliation

1. A Little White Lie

A Little White Lie

By: lockedinaroom

A/N: This was supposed to be a snarky piece with subtle hints at H/G’ers and such. However, it turned angsty. I’m surprised at myself. I’ve never been in a serious relationship and yet I can write angst…

I just realized that I’m a sprinter. I can only write short bursts of inspiration. Here’s the latest. Enjoy. Please R&R! Thanks!

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“What do you see in him?” Harry asked Hermione.

“I honestly don’t know. I guess it all started in first year when you guys saved me from that troll. Ron told me all about it later. He said that he didn’t see me in the crowd and became worried and that he had begun to feel sorry for some of the comments that he said that made me run to the bathroom in the first place. What is it, Harry?”

With every word Hermione said, Harry got paler and paler. So, this was it, was it? It was a relationship built on a lie. It all made sense. The incongruity made sense. He had been harboring a small crush for nearly seven years and the reason she didn’t reciprocate was because she thought it was Ron that saved her. Without realizing it, Harry had been pacing back and forth across the bathroom floor.

“Harry, what is it?” Hermione asked. Her face, surrounded by curls, was touched with worry. Harry had seen it all too often. It often had a sobering effect on his anger. OK, maybe not this time.

Harry let out a grunt of rage and said, “I’ll tell you what it is. I had to drag his sorry ass in here. I was the one who noticed you were missing Halloween of first year. Ron was perfectly content to let the teachers handle it. The only thing that Ron felt sorry for was that he missed the last Pumpkin Pasty.”

“Harry, maybe you remembered wrong. I remember that Ron finally mastered the levitation spell when facing the troll. He told me it was because I was in danger.”

“Oh, I’m sure it worked in his favor. I was still getting used to the magical world. Sticking its nose was all I could think of.”

“But Harry, do you realize what you are suggesting? You’re suggesting that Ron lied to get close to me. Ron is many things but a liar? Harry-“

“Look, I don’t know, OK! All I know, all that I remember, is that I noticed you weren’t in the line to go the dorms. I became worried. Neville said something about you crying in the bathroom. I had to convince Ron you were worth the trouble.”

“But… but… Oh my goodness! It makes sense! Ever since the troll incident, I’ve been looking for Ron to save me. But it was always you. Sometimes I got mad that you were always there but Ron wasn’t. Instead of drawing closer to you, I resented you for it. Especially after the Department of Mysteries adventure when I heard it was you who carried me out. That’s why I was distant from you last year. That’s why I finally hooked up with Ron. Oh no! That must’ve been why we had that huge fight during the Yule Ball. I expected him to naturally ask me first. Oh Harry, I feel so stupid.”

Harry immediately felt the brush of curls against his face. This was an infamous Hermione bear hug. However, this one was filled with tears.

“Hermione, no matter what, you’ll still be the smartest witch of our age.”

“Oh sure, books and cleverness. There are more important things--friendship and bravery and… uh…”

“Love?” Hermione’s hug tightened. Harry was sure he’d suffocate. He thought to himself. What was I thinking? Since when did I become so poetic? He looked down to see Hermione’s eyes wide with shock.

“Does such a thing exist, Harry?”

“Well, I hope so. Professor Dumbledore always said that it was my parent’s love for me that kept me alive all these years.”

“There’s no book for this, is there, Harry?”

“I don’t think so, Hermione.”

“Friendship and bravery I know about. Can you teach me about love, Harry?” Hermione said as she returned to Harry’s wet shoulder.

************************************************************************

“Oh, there you are, Hermione.” It was Ron. Harry and Hermione slowly turned to glare at Ron.

Hermione quickly let go of Harry, seemingly embarrassed. Then, “Ooh! There you are!” She said in a sing-song voice. “Don’t pretend to be concerned for me now after all the BS you’ve fed me since first year.”

“Wha… Huh? What the hell are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about you, saving me from the troll! Oh wait! You didn’t save me from the troll! You saved yourself after Harry dragged you in here!”

“But… But that was seven years ago! A little white lie seven years ago shouldn’t matter now should it?”

“No Ron, this is not just a little white lie. That lie was the reason I started going out with you. Harry and I have had an enlightening conversation. Even your friendship is a lie to me now!”

Ron went to grab her wrists but was met with a sharp, stinging sensation in his left cheek.

“Don’t touch me again! I’m sorry I ever kissed you! You make me sick!” Hermione screamed. After a few seconds, with eyes averted, she said, “Oh Ron, I’m sorry. But… Uh… We can’t see each other anymore. Don’t talk to me. Don’t touch me. Don’t sit anywhere near me during class or during meals. You got that. No contact. See you later, Harry. Ron.” Hermione then straightened her shoulders and proceeded to walk promptly out of the bathroom.

“What the bloody hell is wrong with her?! Every guy tells little white lies to their girlfriends. I often tell her that her hair is pretty even though it looks like a porcupine is sitting on top of her head.”

Harry, without Hermione’s look of worry to sober him, grabbed Ron by the shoulders and slammed him against the wall. “You try being lied to for nearly seven years. I know. I was lied to for nine of my life. You try being told you’re one thing when you’re the exact opposite. I believed I was a good-for-nothing little runt but I wasn’t. Hermione believed you were a hero when you’re the farthest thing from it. By the way, the same goes for me. No contact. And if I see you anywhere near Hermione, I will hurt you. I know how. I’m not a silly first year anymore.”

Harry pushed him into the wall one more time and left. Ron slumped to the floor, mouthing “What have I done?” He spent the night in that bathroom mouthing those words. It would take him longer to finally realize that he had lost Hermione’s love forever.

2. More Lies Exposed

“What do you see in her, anyway?” This time it was Hermione asking the questions. In fact, it was the same bathroom. And, if Harry could guess, they were wearing basically the same clothes. It was just a week ago that Harry and Hermione had told Ron to have no contact with them. It had its good points but it had many more bad points. Harry was stuck with Neville as a best friend. Hermione was sticking more closely to Harry than ever. Oh wait, is that really a bad thing? With Hermione by his side, he wasn’t nearly as angry as often. He had long memorized her face. But now, he found himself staring…

Anyway, the last meeting in this particular bathroom had been about Ron’s treatment of Hermione. Ron and Hermione had been accused of cheating by Professor McGonagall. Apparently, Ron’s essay on transfiguring humans into water-dwelling organisms was nearly word-for-word Hermione’s essay. Hermione had gotten in trouble for it. Ron had failed to defend her. The blowout from that incident could be heard all the way in Snape’s dungeons.

She had screamed, “WHY CAN’T YOU EVER SIDE WITH ME,” and left the dorm. Hermione had purposefully come to this bathroom to work through her anger. She had remembered Ron claiming to be the one and only who saved her from the troll. She had questioned herself so many times during those fights. What was she missing now that Ron saw back then? Why was it always Harry from then on that came to her rescue? Last week, she found out.

Now, Hermione hated to admit it, she was sticking closer than ever to Harry. She knew she was making Ginny jealous. She knew she should find some other sixth or seventh year girls to hang out with. However, nobody knew her like Harry and Ron and Ron was out of the picture. A part of her was scared. She had been at this school for nearly seven years and Harry is really the only person she ever really got to know. It was beginning to feel like first year all over again.

“Well, Harry, what do you see in her?” She asked again.

Harry’s face was scrunched in concentration for a full minute. “Um… She’s pretty?”

Hermione cast a sideways glance at Harry. “That’s it? You’ve been dating her for a year because she’s pretty? You’re beginning to sound like Ron.” Hermione regretted saying that. She saw the flash of anger almost before Harry realized he had made it. Harry was feeling the pain of separation just like Hermione.

“Hey! I would never lie to you, OK! I may be a clod with emotions but at least I make a conscious effort not to hurt your feelings.”

Hermione took his hand, gently squeezed it, and said, “Thank you, Harry, and I’m sorry.” She then let go of his hand. “But we’re talking about Ginny. Why did you start seeing her?”

Softened by the touch of Hermione’s hand, Harry said, “Well, I first realized my feelings for Ginny on the train ride to school last year. You and Ron were in the prefect meeting. Ginny didn’t even have time for me which I found odd. I had to spend the ride with Neville and Luna which was interesting but not what I had hoped for. At the end of sixth year, I realized that Ginny was just following your advice. Well, it worked-“

“Wait, wait, wait. What advice? I don’t remember giving Ginny any advice.”

“Huh? Ginny told me that you had advised her that the best way to pursue me would be to give the appearance of non-interest. You know, dating around and being more herself.”

Without her knowing it, Hermione was pacing up and down the row of stalls and muttering to herself.

Harry stood in front of her and said, “What’s wrong, Hermione?”

“Me? Give Ginny love advice? That’s the craziest thing I have heard. Sure I told her to be herself but only because her fangirl crush was getting annoying. I suggested she find someone that was a little more care-free. Ginny is so energetic. And you’ve always got something to think about. I can tell you, I never exactly recommended you and Ginny get together. I wonder why she thought I was helping set her up with you.” She glanced at Harry and grew concerned.

For the second time, Harry was getting very angry in this bathroom. For the second time, it was because someone had lied. This time it was Ginny who had lied to him.

“I’ll tell you why. Because she lied to me. She wanted me to believe that since you and Ron were an item that it would only be natural that Ginny and I would get together.”

“Now Harry… Ron is one thing, but Ginny a liar too? That’s a little much, don’t you think. Maybe you remembered wrong.”

Harry sighed, “Not that again, Hermione. She only just told me this at Dumbledore’s funeral which was pretty recent. Merlin, why didn’t I see it before! She thinks my life is some sort of fairy tale. Damn it! That’s why she keeps telling people about the Chamber of Secrets. She’s always saying how it was nothing for me and flashing her hair in whoever’s face. I keep trying to tell her that I almost died and it was not ‘nothing’ to me. Lately, I’ve been imagining putting her in a sewer with a hungry basilisk. In fact, that’s why I’m here. I feel horrible for these thoughts. Shouldn’t I want to save her from the snake, over and over again?”

“Well, Merlin knows you’ve saved my life enough times. Did I ever thank you, Harry? I see it in your face everyday how much the coming battle weighs on you. My grades suffer – not by much, mind you – because I’m in the Library looking spells and hexes. With Dumbledore gone, I’m the only left to search for the horcruxes.”

“I never doubted you, Hermione. And you don’t have to thank me, OK. Your willing to get within three foot of me without demanding something is enough thanks for me. In fact, I should thank you. I tell you what, don’t thank me until it’s over.”

“But, Harry, what if there’s nothing left to thank.” Hermione hadn’t meant to say it. She was just thinking out loud. Harry’s cringe made Hermione cringe.

“Hey, if I know you’ll still be around after the coming battle, then I’ll have a reason to come back.”

Harry was surrounded by another teary-eyed, Hermione bear hug. How come her close hugs never bother me but when Ginny holds my hand I get jumpy? Harry decided to think about it later. He realized that Hermione had recently washed her hair. Hmm… Apples…

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“Oh, there you are, Harry.” It was Ginny. And she wasted no time in stepping between Harry and Hermione and clasping her hands behind his neck. She reached for a kiss but missed. Harry had escaped her embrace. He had resorted to holding her hand. Needless to say, Ginny was disappointed.

When Harry saw Ginny enter the bathroom, the room instantly felt way too crowded. Harry had trouble breathing. He could swear someone had turned up the humidity. It was almost like the muggle game “which one doesn’t belong”. Something in this room didn’t belong but Harry couldn’t imagine what it was. Here was his best friend and his girlfriend. Nothing abnormal here. Except that Harry and Hermione were just talking about Ginny. Except that one Weasley relationship had already been destroyed in this room. Was it time for another break-up?

Break-up! At those words, Harry’s mind finally saw some clarity. Ginny was energetic as Hermione indicated. It was hard to keep up with her and at the same time keeping secrets from her about his training and his plans. She would never understand.

“How about a kiss, deary?” Ginny stared at him with a seeming deceptive smile. Her pearly white teeth were glistening in the light. It seemed like fire literally flowed from her head. She is pretty. But that wasn’t why Harry felt smothered in this bathroom.

“Um… Not now, Ginny. I… Uh… Had one to many pieces of garlic bread. You know what I mean?” Harry looked into her eyes, seaching and hoping she would buy it. If he had to kiss her, he was sure he’d suffocate in this steam room that was the girl’s bathroom.

“Harry, I’m standing right in front of you and I don’t smell anything.” Damn!

“Maybe another time, OK. Hermione and I have… some homework to tackle.”

Ginny took a step back and clenched her fists. “I see… You don’t want to kiss me. Does my breath smell bad?”

“Now really, Ginny, there are 24 hours in a day. I don’t see why you’re focusing on this one second.”

A look of realization dawned on Ginny’s face. “It’s her, isn’t it! Last week, Ron found you two in here and he wasn’t able to speak until breakfast the next morning and I found out Ron and her had broken up. Now, I’m here and… You’re not breaking up with me, are you? Oh Merlin, no wonder she’s always with you! She’s waiting to pounce! Maybe Rita Skeeter was right! Ugh, I’m out of here. I’m sitting with Ron from now on! You hear that! No contact!”

“Ginny, stop being so dramatic! Hermione is my best friend. It’s natural for us to stick together, unless you thought Ron might steal me away too. The truth is, Ginny, in a week, I’ll be gone for good. I will be mysteriously missing from class and meals. You know what I’ll be doing? I’ll be hunting Voldemort. I’ll be facing things much bigger than the basilisk and I will be scared. To. Death. Who knows, I may even die! Why aren’t you asking to go with me, Ginny? You’re always gung-ho when talking to your friends. What about now? Do you want to come and hunt Voldemort with Hermione, Ron, and me?” Harry took a few seconds to calm down. A quick glance at Hermione told him he was being way too harsh. “I’m sorry Ginny. Now, I’m being dramatic. But I think you see where this is going.”

Ginny’s lip was quivering throughout Harry’s speech. The color of her cheeks had approached the color of her hair. Her fists were still clenched, he knuckles white. She took a few deep breaths and said, “I’m sorry too, Harry. I do know where this is going. And, if it’s all the same to you, I would prefer it if we didn’t have any more contact. This whole thing was a huge mistake.”

“Yep,” was all Harry could muster. If she didn’t leave soon, steam would pour out his ears. However, it didn’t take her long to exit and Harry’s mind was allowed to breath for the first time in ages. He wasn’t tied down anymore. He didn’t have to feel guilty about leaving someone behind. With a quick look at Hermione, he realized that he would have all he needed when the time came.

3. The Apple of My Eye

Chapter 3

A/N: I need to work on ignoring my impulses… I really wanted to put some lyrics up front and so I did. Do Biblical song lyrics count?

“Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my lover among the young men. I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste.” Song of Songs 2:3

Ron was in the common room when Ginny came tearing through. Ron saw her white knuckles and the heaves of her shoulders and knew something had happened. He jumped up and ran to intercept her before she went up to forbidden stairs to the girl’s dormitory.

“What is it, Ginny?” Ron asked.

Her head lifted up in seeming shock with a hint of confusion and said, “You’re going with them, aren’t you. You’re going to go Voldemort hunting with Harry and Hermione. You were going to leave me all alone here.”

Now it was Ron’s turn to look shocked. “Um, well, no I’m not. I mean, I was… But after what happened last week, I don’t know. And what do you mean by ‘leave you all alone here’. You’re the most popular girl here. And I’m sure Harry will send letters.”

“Well, Harry made it quite clear that he wanted nothing to do with me ever again. It was the same bathroom in which Hermione broke up with you! There’s something about that stupid bathroom that makes and breaks relationships. Ugh, Ron, let me go up and sob in peace.”

Ron put his hands on her shoulders to stop her. He wanted to know more. “Wait, Harry and Hermione weren’t in there together again, were they?”

“Well, yes they were. And I think they were talking about me too. They had that embarrassed look on their faces. Right after, he told me I was brave enough or something to go with him. And tell you the truth, he was right.”

But Ron quickly dismissed Ginny and said to himself, “Something is going on with those two.”

******************************************************

“Harry, I’ve been thinking this past week,” Hermione said.

“Well, that’s what I like about you,” Harry said.

Hermione elicited a smile. Hermione’s ‘thinking’ had either made Ron confused or angry. It was nice to know somebody enjoyed her ideas. However, today’s conversation would be the make or break of their relationship. Today, they were in the same bathroom, on the same day of the week, discussing pretty much the same thing.

“What were you thinking about, Hermione?” Harry asked.

“Well, I know you’re not going to like this but I kind of miss Ron.”

Harry jumped at the thought. “You mean you want to get back together with him?! He lied –“

“No! Harry, I meant that I was thinking about all the fun we had together as friends, when Ron and I weren’t dating. We did have fun. The only reason I took some of Ron’s bait personally was that I thought he liked me more than a friend all those years. I realize that if we were just friends, it wouldn’t have mattered so much. Friends bait each other all the time.”

Harry had a quick moment of reminiscing. He remembered all the great times at the Burrow. He couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing Mr. and Mrs. Weasley or the twins and their shop. No matter how much Ron (or Ginny) got on anyone’s nerves, the Weasley home had been a high point of his life, and even Hermione’s.

“I don’t understand what you are trying to say, Hermione,” Harry said.

Hermione sighed, “I’m saying we should forgive Ron and let him be our friend again. You weren’t thinking of leaving him here in three weeks, were you?”

A look of realization came upon Harry and he said, “Well, I don’t know. I hadn’t thought about it. It’s just that you seemed so hurt about the little white lie he told you. I didn’t think you’d ever want to even look at him again.”

“Well, part of me does want him to burn in Hell,” at this she let a soft giggle escape and continued, “but our dating relationship only last a year. Our friendship was six years long.”

“Right, so we forgive Ron?”

“Please, Harry?” Hermione pleaded.

“If it’s that important to you,” Harry mumbled.

“Oh, thank you, Harry!” Harry was instantly smothered. It was another Hermione bear hug. He was beginning to like the feeling. And there was that damned apple shampoo! Harry’s imagination had been flooded with images of Hermione biting into an apple for the past week. There was something about the way Hermione’s lips were always wet in those daydreams that always made a soft heat course through his veins. It was something about Hermione’s lips that always drew his attention. Never Ginny’s lips though. Her lips were always covered in lipstick. He often found himself furiously wiping it off after a ‘snog session’. Hermione’s lips were never covered in lipstick. Her lips only had advice, comfort, and brilliance written on them. It seemed to Harry that the only thing Ginny’s lips were good for belonged in an abandoned broom cupboard.

When Hermione’s hands reached Harry’s broad shoulders, her mind instantly went to thoughts about how much taller and broader he had gotten since first year, or even fifth year. With that, all the memories of the past seven years came flooding through her. She had dwelled on all the adventures they had together. Throughout all those memories, one phrase kept repeating itself over and over again: He was always there to save her. Two weeks ago she found out that he was the reason she didn’t meet a gruesome end two months into her Hogwarts career. The first time her life was in danger, Harry was there. The last time her life was in danger, Harry was there. He even physically carried her out. And here she was, in his arms again.

All these thoughts flashed through their minds in a few seconds. “Can you teach me about love, Harry?” It was Hermione again, with more brilliance on her lips.

“I don’t know. Our first attempts seem to have taken pretty rotten turns,” Harry said. Harry took a step back to look at her. She had grown from brilliant muggle girl to brilliant woman and witch. Her hair was considerably more manageable (brown bushiness had given way to thick curls). He surveyed her whole body and remarked that various other places had grown considerably too. She was wearing a pink sweater and a white skirt which hugged her hips. Harry had to stifle a small voice that told him she was downright sexy.

“Maybe an object lesson would help?” Hermione offered.

Harry noticed that somewhere between ‘I don’t know’ and ‘Maybe’, Hermione had wetted her lips. It was just like his daydream, only no apple… But Harry didn’t have time to linger on that fact because her lips had come across his in the softest way possible. Harry, very considerately, responded by applying a little more pressure to the kiss. The warmth he imagined in his daydreams was intensified a hundredfold. Good lord! Was that only a platonic kiss?! Harry thought. This gives a whole new meaning to ‘apple of my eye’. From now on, he wanted to be the one she desired and he would work hard to get it.

Hermione was also pleasantly surprised. There was a gentleness in that kiss that she hadn’t experienced before. Ron’s style was more demanding and Viktor’s too. They had wanted their snog. Harry, however, was content with whatever she gave him. She realized that this was the way she wanted things from now on. She wished that things could be this gentle and undemanding in the future, especially for Harry. Maybe, in the coming months and years, it would be her turn to save Harry. If she could make his eyes dance the way they just did even once on the treacherous road ahead, she would have done her job right.

The kiss didn’t last but a few seconds. However, it felt like eternity. Harry concluded that ‘eternity’ was another adjective he should add to the description of her lips.

“Lesson one accomplished,” Harry said, smiling.

“Did I pass?” Hermione asked with a mischievous smile.

“Two-hundred percent,” Harry declared.

And they laughed all the way to the common room…

******************************************************

A/N: Right, so at first I thought I would just do a one shot but then I desperately wanted H/G broken up so I wrote a second chapter. Then, I thought it wouldn’t really be a h/hr fic if I didn’t officially hook up Harry and Hermione. THEN! I thought it really wouldn’t be fair to break up the trio because I think that’s an unacceptable risk in hooking up H/Hr (and I didn’t want to be called a Ron-basher although that isn’t necessarily a bad thing). So Chapter 4 should be the last of this simple fic of mine and I stress “simple”. Sorry there’s no cosmic battle and hunt for horcruxes and such…

Is this good enough to start calling the ship “Apple Pie”? Probably not… Just a thought…

4. Reconciliation

It had been two weeks since Ron had broken up with Hermione and he was still feeling it. That was the first irreversible mistake he had made in his entire life. Ron was used to having someone around that could fix his mistakes. When Ron was little and he accidentally set fire to his teddy bear, his mother whispered a spell that turned back into good-as-new condition. When he was in first year, teachers would work with him as much possible to make sure he got the incantation right. Seventh year, however, was different. He had a made a little mistake that had escalated into a big one and there was no way to fix it.

Ron was suffering. His friends hadn’t said a word to him in two weeks. He didn’t blame them because it was all his fault. He had severely offended them and this was his punishment. Ron silently wished he could just have detention with Filch to make up for it. Damn it! This wasn’t first year anymore! In fact, it was probably better this way. He would just drag them down on the journey they were going to take. He would be the one in the back that didn’t have a clue what was going on.

So it was all quite a shock at breakfast one morning when Luna Lovegood handed him a note from across the Gryffindor/Ravenclaw aisle. Luna Lovegood had an endearing quality about her that always made Ron stop and look. She had her usual bottle-cap accessories and her long golden hair pulled back. Ron had a feeling she would be immensely easy to get along with, aside from all the talk about Crumple-Horned Snorkacks of course. But with her mission of passing the note accomplished, she turned back to her meal. Ron swore he heard a faint giggle.

Dear Ron,

Meet us in the RoR after dinner.

With love,

Those of us who are truly sorry for overreacting

***************************************************

Harry and Hermione left dinner a few minutes early to prepare for their meeting. Hermione walked in front of the Room of Requirement three times picturing a comfortable environment to settle a nasty disagreement in. When the door appeared and was opened, both Harry and Hermione were quite surprised. The room had considerably contracted in size, to the size of a small living room. There were two couches, one each at opposite ends of the room, separated by a coffee table. There was a Chudley Cannons poster on the wall with the usual whizzing figures flitting in and out of the poster’s boundaries. It looked cozy and… diplomatic. Harry was glad that he had conceded to put this in Hermione’s hands.

Harry and Hermione settled down on one of the couches and waited for their friend to come by. Harry leaned forward and rubbed his hands together. Hermione rested her elbow on her leg and her chin in her hand. A pitcher of water appeared on the coffee table and Harry poured himself a glass. He stopped mid-sip as he heard the door creak open.

As if in slow motion, Ron’s foot appeared, then a leg, and then a hand. The last thing to appear was a head, a freckled, ginger haired head. At first, Ron didn’t see his friends because they were sitting behind the door. But then his head whipped around to see Harry and Hermione sitting on a couch. Ron took that as his cue to do the same.

“Why?” Ron asked with a worried look on his face.

“Ron, I’m sorry. I totally overreacted. I missed you. We missed you.” Hermione blurted.

“I take it ‘we’ doesn’t mean you want to start dating me again.”

“No, Ron. Our dating relationship was a mistake. We both assumed things about each other that weren’t true. I assumed that you liked me as more than a friend way back in first year when, in fact, it was only last year that you started thinking of me that way. You assumed I wouldn’t be put off by a little white lie or a little boastful story. I could easily let this ruin things between you, Harry, and me. I almost did but not anymore. We need you, Ron. We need your perspective out there. We need you to be our friend.” By this point, Hermione had tears running down her cheeks. Harry was absently rubbing her back.

For the most part, Ron was floored. He realized he didn’t need Hermione’s romantic companionship to feel needed. He could easily be a friend to these two and still have a purpose. That was his fear, after all, that they would leave without telling him or that they would tell him that he wasn’t needed.

“I would like that very much. That is, if Harry agrees as well?”

“Of course, mate.” Harry said as a smile came across his face. Harry then stuck out his hand, offering Ron to shake it, and he did.

“Now, that we’re friend and all again. Can I ask what happened with Ginny?”

Harry looked away. He had hoped that Ron would pick another topic to renew their friendship with. “Well, now that we’re friend again, I guess I could tell you. Ginny just seemed ungrateful. She just doesn’t realize the toll this whole war has on me. Too many people already bloody worship me, who think I’m perfect! I didn’t need another. You know, she never thanked me for saving her from the diary. In regards to our journey next month, I just don’t think she’s ready for what’s out there. Granted, I don’t think we are either. But Ginny’s life needs to be about school, friends, actual boyfriends without hero complexes, normal teenage witch stuff. That’s what she was made for.”

“Yeah, I guess I can see where you’re going. It was kind of like me and Lavender last year. I kind of treated her like an object. Is that how it was for you and Ginny?”

“Basically. It was getting tiring.”

“Ok, can I ask you both a question?”

Harry looked at Hermione and detected a barely perceptible nod. “Go ahead, Ron.”

“Is there something going on with you two? You can tell, I won’t be mad.”

Harry looked at Hermione again. Should they reveal their week-old relationship? Hermione lightly grabbed his hand and smiled.

Hermione answered this time with, “Nothing more than usual. But now there are some extra benefits.”

“Right,” Ron said, slightly paler. “Didn’t need to hear that. From now on, keep the innuendos to yourself.”

Everyone in the room laughed. It was typical Ron, baiting his friends.

“Well, how about this, Ron,” Harry said and he drew Hermione closer and kissed her.

“Ah! For the love of all things holy, don’t ever do that in front of me! I’ll catch up with you guys later.” And then Ron, with a gleam in his eye, said, “You’ll have the room to yourselves now.”

The couple threw a cushion at Ron but he had already escaped.

Harry and Hermione laughed for several minutes and then Hermione asked, “Was that lesson 2?”

Harry gazed into her eyes, kissed her again, and said, “Yeah, that lesson was titled ‘The Element of Surprise is a Very Good Thing’”

“Did I pass?”

“With flying colors, Miss Granger! 212 percent! You know what lesson 3 is?”

Hermione faked enthusiasm and squealed, “What?”

“That even though ‘best friends with benefits’ sounds like a kinky idea, it feels pretty good from where I’m standing.” And lesson 4 would be ‘the way to a man’s heart is through apple scented shampoo.

“Yes, professor,” Hermione replied and kissed him with a surprise of her own.

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A/N: That’s it for me on this story. This chapter was probably a poor closing but I felt I had to do it. Anyways, please RR! Thank you.