Bloody, Bruised and Broken
Harry, Hermione and Remus had finished their lunch and retired to the upstairs lounge by the time Tonks returned with the Grangers and the Weasleys in tow; their presence was announced by Tonks' trademark exclamation of `Wotcher' followed promptly by her crashing into the coat rack by the door which knocked into the vase on the hall table that Tonks attempted to catch but missed instead and somehow managed to pull the table and coat rack onto the floor on top of herself. Remus, Hermione and Harry rushed back downstairs. Hermione and Harry greeted her parents and the Weasleys while Remus extricated Tonks for the heaping pile of debris she had created in the middle of the foyer. Having set Tonks firmly on her feet in an area devoid of fragile objects Remus pulled his wand from his robe pocket and repaired the broken vase, table and coat rack.
Tonks eyed Remus sheepishly and said.
"Sorry"
Remus smiled indulgently.
"Its quite all right Tonks no permanent harm has been done…Molly, Arthur, Mr. and Mrs. Granger welcome…I trust your trip was uneventful"
Hermione's father was the first to speak.
"Everything went along fine Mr. Lupin and please there is no need for such formality its Thaddeus and Olivia"
Remus nodded.
"Very well then…please call me Remus"
Thaddeus Granger nodded then turned his attention to his daughter and asked.
"Poppet what is all this about you having to leave work and come here…is something the matter"
Hermione walked over to where her parents were standing and took each of their hands in her own.
"Daddy nothing is wrong…as you can see I'm perfectly fine…"
Olivia Granger cut in.
"Then why are we here darling"
Hermione squeezed her mother's hand and replied.
"We just wanted to be sure that no one from the press was giving you a hard time…"
Seeing the questioning look in both her parents' eyes she quickly continued.
"The wizarding press has gotten wind of the fact that Harry and I are dating…every wizard publication in Europe probably has it as their lead story by now…being that anything and/or anyone associated with Harry is such a big news story we thought it might be a good idea to move you out of…ummm…er…curiosity's way…"
Thaddeus looked at his daughter and asked.
"What do you mean by…move us out of curiosity's way"
Hermione turned to Harry and motioned for him to hand her the growing stack of publications Socrates and Hedwig were bringing back to Grimmauld Place. Hermione handed the papers and magazines to her parents and watched the stunned looks that crossed their faces. When she felt Harry's hand close around her own and gently draw her to his side she felt some of the anxiety she had been feeling begin to ebb away as Harry sighed deeply and took over the job of explaining things. He described as best he knew how about the wizarding press' fascination with his life, particularly his love life. He explained how his defeating Voldemort had made him the wizarding world's most celebrated hero and how he and the people closest to him were endlessly scrutinized. More than once he noticed the looks of shock that played across the faces of Hermione's parents; obviously there were a great number of things about her exploits in the wizarding world that Hermione had neglected to tell her parents. Harry finished his explanations and the room seemed eerily silent.
Thaddeus looked at Harry with a strange expression marring his face; he extended his hand to Harry and said.
"It seems that my wife and I owe you a great deal of thanks for the many times you have taken care of our daughter"
Harry clasped Hermione's father's hand in his own and replied.
"Its me who owes you a great deal of thanks Hermione's quick thinking has saved my arse more times than I care to count"
Thaddeus shook Harry's hand vigorously as Arthur and Molly Weasley joined the conversation. Molly spoke first.
"Well now I understand the sudden interest you two took in doing the washing up after Sunday dinner"
At Molly's words both Hermione and Harry's faces took on decidedly Weasleyesque hues. Hermione replied.
"Molly I'm so sorry we didn't tell you sooner but…well… we were just getting used to the idea ourselves and we thought it might be better to wait until we were certain of our feelings for one another before we told anyone anything"
Molly smiled.
"Hermione dear there is nothing for you to be sorry about…we think its lovely that you and Harry found each other"
Arthur agreed.
"Molly's right…we're very happy for the two of you…but I have to admit that I am a bit amazed that you were able to keep it a secret from everyone…how in the name of Merlin did you manage that"
Harry answered.
"Well it wasn't a complete secret…seems Remus had an inkling that Hermione and I cared for each other as more than just friends…so when I came to him for advice he encouraged me to tell Hermione how I truly felt…and Ginny sussed us out after our first date"
"She did…she never said a word to me about any of it"
Molly exclaimed.
Olivia cut in.
"My daughter probably swore her to silence…Thad and I knew she was seeing someone but we only just found out who a week or so ago when I happened to be at Hermione's when Harry came to call…now that the papers have gotten wind of the relationship perhaps we could get some details"
Harry and Hermione found themselves staring at the expectant faces of their families waiting to hear the details of their getting together. Acquiescent to the request of those nearest and dearest to them they began taking it in turns recounting how it happened that they had gotten together careful to avoid telling the racy bits. Molly, Arthur, Thaddeus, Olivia, Tonks and Remus all seemed rather amused by the story and Harry and Hermione soon realized that Remus was not the only person close to them who had suspected that their friendship ran deeper than they had ever admitted. Harry was dumbstruck by the revelation.
"Hang on…the lot of you have suspected this all along"
Tonks, Molly and Olivia replied with a unanimous expression of girlish giggles. Which strongly reminded Harry of his days at Hogwarts and the constant whispers and giggles of Lavender Brown and Pavrati Patil whenever they had seen he and Hermione minus Ron. He scratched his head in bewilderment. Remus smiled and said.
"It was not exactly hard to figure out that there was more to you two than what was on the surface"
"Really"
Harry quizzed.
Arthur moved his head up and down in agreement and added.
"There seems to be an unspoken understanding between the two of you…its almost as if you know what the other is thinking before they do"
Molly offered her husband some support.
"That's true…there is an intensity between you that's hard to miss"
Again Harry scratched his head making his wild mop of hair even wilder. Sensing his clueless-ness Hermione leaned over and kissed Harry's cheek and said.
"They are saying that they think we are a cute couple"
Harry smiled and turned to face her and said.
"Just cute…I was thinking something along the lines of stunning"
Arthur spoke again.
"So what does Ron think of all this"
Harry turned back to Arthur and expelled a heavy sigh.
"I have no idea…we were talking this morning and I was just about to tell him when Cromwell called me into his office and showed me the morning's headlines…I left so fast we never got a chance to finish our conversation…he had cottoned on to the fact that I was seeing someone I just never got around to telling him who"
Hermione chimed.
"I'm sure Ron will be fine about Harry and I being together…he may be a tad narked that we didn't tell him from the start but I'm sure he'll understand why we kept quiet about it…funny you were about to tell him today…I nearly told him myself Saturday"
Harry turned around so quickly that he nearly cricked his neck.
"Saturday"
Hermione nodded.
"Yes Saturday…we went to dinner and bummed around a bit…"
Hermione's voice faded from Harry's consciousness and was replaced by Ron's voice telling him about the date he'd gone on with the witch he was interested in…the witch that Harry had been encouraging him to ask out for the past few weeks. The witch Ron was interested in couldn't be Hermione…could it? Harry shook his head to clear his thoughts and focused in on what Hermione was saying. She was telling everyone about Ron eating everything in sight at the carnival they'd gone to.
"I can not for the life of me understand where he puts all that food he eats…I mean honestly we'd just had dinner how could he have room for anymore food. Once I got him away from the food we tried our hand at a few games, I told him how you used to win me teddy bears Daddy and he walked around until he found a booth and won one for me"
As Hermione spoke those words Harry's stomach plummeted to his feet. Slowly he rose to his feet and shakily headed in the direction of the below stairs kitchen. Remus called after him, Harry presumed to ask where he was going. Harry mumbled something about needing a drink and disappeared through the doors leading to the kitchen. Once inside the kitchen Harry went straight to the cupboard and grabbed the bottle of Ogden's Fire Whiskey Remus kept there. Quickly he filled his glass and took the liquid down in one swallow before immediately refilling his glass. Ron fancied Hermione…that couldn't be right…he had to be wrong about this…there had to be some other explaination. Harry's mind drifted to the talk he and Ron had had several months ago…Ron had said he'd liked this witch for a while but that she had been seeing someone else and now that she was single he'd noticed some strange things happening when they were together. Harry concentrated on the things that Ron had said to him…he had said that she blushed when she was around him and when she found out he'd made the national team she had hugged him close and kissed him. Harry shook his head miserably as he realized that Ron had clearly been misinterpreting Hermione's actions. Everything that Ron had taken as a sign that Hermione fancied him had been done to cover up Hermione's relationship with him. The puzzle that had been Ron's strange behavior of late began to fit into place…his being upset about the idea of Hermione going out with someone, his frantic attempts to sort out the row between Hermione and Ginny, his unease around her whenever the three of them were together…suddenly it all made perfect sense…Ron had done all those things because he was interested in Hermione. And now, quite possibly at this very moment, he was finding out that the woman he fancied; a woman who also happened to be one of his best friends had been carrying on with their mutual best mate for months from the cover of some sodding newspaper.
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Hermione cast a concerned glance in the direction of the kitchen. Harry had been gone for quite some time; he hadn't seemed entirely himself when he'd gone off either. Hermione wondered if he was all right. She was about to excuse herself to make sure everything was fine when three successive pops alerted her to the fact that someone had just arrived. Hermione looked up and saw Winky and Dobby each carrying an overnight bag. Dobby spoke to Remus.
"Mr. Remus sir, Winky and I is collecting Mr. Harry and Ms. Hermione's things and putting stronger wards around like you is telling us to…we happened to be running into Ms. Ginny and brought her back with us"
Hermione looked behind Winky and saw Ginny standing there with an overwrought expression on her face. Remus replied.
"Thank you Dobby…you can put Harry and Hermione's things upstairs …Ginny please have a seat"
Dobby nodded.
"Yes Mr. Remus sir"
Winky and Dobby disappeared up the stairs while Ginny shrugged out of her cloak, greeted everyone in the room and hurriedly planted kisses on the cheeks of her parents before she looked to Hermione and said.
"Can I steal you away for a moment…its…ummm…really important"
Hermione again took notice of the look on Ginny's face as she nodded affirmatively and gestured towards the stairs.
"Of course"
Hermione and Ginny excused themselves and went into the upstairs lounge and closed the door behind them. Hermione was about to ask Ginny what was wrong when Ginny abruptly asked.
"Where's Harry"
Hermione raised an eyebrow in confusion as she answered.
"In the kitchen"
Ginny posed another question.
"And Ron"
Hermione shook her head and replied.
"I imagine he's still at practice"
Ginny nodded frenetically.
"Yes…yes…he'll be at practice just now…but he's bound to have heard about you and Harry by now…he'll be in such a towering temper…"
Hermione stared at Ginny in utter confusion as she blathered on nonsensically.
"Ginny what on earth are you going on about…why would Ron be in a temper over Harry and I"
Ginny turned to Hermione and said.
"I think you'd better sit down I have something to tell you…something I should have told you a long time ago…"
Hermione was about to ask Ginny why she was being so cryptic when they heard a thunderous crash coming from the kitchen.
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Harry poured himself a third glass of fire whiskey; how in the name of Merlin was he going to explain to Ron how he and Hermione had become a couple. He was so consumed with thoughts of his best mate that he did not realize that the scowling redhead emerging from the kitchen fireplace was actually Ron and not a creation of his imaginings until Ron's fist smashed into the right side of his face and sent him soaring across the table. Harry crashed into the cupboards lining the wall underneath the sink, the bottle of fire whiskey he'd been drinking from tottered onto the floor and splintered into a thousand glittering pieces. Harry wiped at the stream of blood trickling form his nose with the back of his hand as he staggered to his feet. Harry shook his head to clear it. But just as he righted himself and stumbled back to the table Harry felt another crushing blow connect with his midsection that sent him reeling backward into the cupboards again. Immediately following the second punch Harry's whiskey addled brain cleared and he instantly went on the defensive and adroitly avoided a third blow Ron sent his way. Harry bellowed at the top of his voice.
"RON…"
Ron roared in reply.
"SHUT IT YOU BASTARD"
Harry clenched his jaw tightly if this had been anyone other than Ron he'd have hexed them to within an inch of their lives by now. Harry tried to reason with Ron once again.
"RON…YOU JUST NEED TO CALM DOWN…"
Ron emitted a growl of frustration and charged at Harry for the fourth time. Harry had no desire to hurt his best friend but he had no intention of being his punching bag either. He deftly sidestepped a punch aimed at his stomach. Ron recovered quickly and Harry acting on reflex struck Ron directly in his left eye. The blow Harry dealt him sent Ron careening into the glass cupboard that held the dishes; pieces of broken glass and fragments of dishes covered the floor.
The noise from Harry and Ron crashing into the cupboards coupled with their raised voices alerted the rest of the inhabitants of Grimmauld Place to the fact that something was amiss. Hermione and Ginny came racing down the stairs and headed straight for the kitchen with their parents, Remus and Tonks following close on their heels. They entered the kitchen to find Ron and Harry rolling about on the floor lobbing punches at each other. Hermione started for the two flailing bodies on the floor but was brought up short by her father's arms around her waist pulling her back. As her father held her back Hermione shrieked at Ron and Harry.
"HARRY…RON…STOP IT…STOP IT THIS INSTANT"
Remus and Arthur plowed their way into the kitchen and pulled Harry and Ron apart. Arthur took a quick glance around the room; took in the turned over table and chairs, the broken glass, the splintered cupboards and Harry and Ron's bloody and bruised faces and asked.
"WHAT IN THE NAME OF MERLIN IS GOING ON"
Ron glared at the man he had called his best friend for the better part of twelve years with a look akin to loathing as Harry withdrew himself from Remus' grasp, picked up one of the overturned chairs, sat down and set about wiping at the stream of blood that was flowing steadily from his nose. Hermione wrenched herself out of her father's arms and stalked angrily into the kitchen and over to the sink. She dampened two towels and handed one of them to Ginny who had followed her into the kitchen. Ron fumed inwardly as he watched Hermione kneel down at Harry's side and press the towel against his nose in an attempt to staunch the flow of blood. Again Arthur inquired about what had happened, his voice was considerably lower this time.
"I'll ask again…what happened here"
Ron felt himself being pulled down into a seat, looking around he saw his mother at his side. Molly took the towel from her daughter's hands and began to dab at Ron's cut and bruised skin. Ron batted his mother's hands away and resumed his staring at Harry and Hermione. His voice sounded strained and bitter when he spoke to Harry.
"WAS IT FUN FOR YOU…DID YOU HAVE A BIG LAUGH OVER THE GREAT STONKING PRAT I WAS MAKING OF MYSELF"
Harry rose from his seat and replied through gritted teeth.
"RON…IT…WAS…NOT…LIKE…THAT"
"AND HOW WAS IT THEN EH HARRY…YOU TELL ME HOW IT WAS"
Hermione called to Ron.
"RON… WHAT ARE YOU CARRYING ON ABOUT…"
Ron turned around and stared at Hermione for a moment before turning back to Harry, he lowered his voice and said.
"Don't ever speak to me again"
With an angry crackle Ron disapparated.
Harry sighed dejectedly and dropped his gaze to the glass-strewn floor. He felt Hermione's slender hand as it closed around his. Before she could speak Harry squeezed her hand and shook his head silently entreating her not to ask. Hermione directed Harry back into the chair he'd been sitting in and whispered.
"Let's get you cleaned up"
Remus ushered everyone from the room. Harry could hear Arthur and Molly apologizing profusely for Ron's actions followed by two quick pops. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the back of the chair. He needed to be alone.
"You should make sure your parents are all right"
"Mum and Dad are fine…you're the one who's hurt…"
"You should check in on them…they'll be worried about you"
"I'm worried about you…"
Harry cut her off.
"Hermione"
His voice held a finality that she knew all too well. She placed the blood stained towel in his hand and quietly rose from the seat she'd taken beside him. Harry held her hand in his for a moment then brought it to his lips kissed it gently and whispered.
"I love you"
Hermione nodded bent down and placed a kiss on his forehead.
"I love you too"
Having said that she turned and walked out of the room.
Harry sat and stared at the broken fragments of glass and wood littering the floor; he pulled out his wand and uttered the incantation "reparo". As he watched the broken dishes and cupboards right themselves he thought to himself how much easier things would be if broken friendships could be repaired so easily.
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