He hadn't realized how truly quiet the place was until Ginny and Ron had come home. After giving Ron a good strong hug, Harry kissed his girlfriend and welcomed her home. She hooked her wrists around his neck, rose on her toes and kissed him softly on the lips. "Look at them," he heard Ron chuckle. He pulled away from Ginny and turned his head. Hermione was in the same position as Ginny, except with Ron. Harry smiled. They were the perfect couples. Ron and Hermione. Ginny and Harry. He staggered slightly and caused Ginny to lose her balance on his neck. She fell slightly and rested her head on his chest.
"Oh!" she yelped. The four shared a laugh, though it was uncomfortable between Harry and Hermione.
"Welcome home, you two! And congratulations!" Hermione jumped up and down.
"Yes, I do believe they're in order," Harry continued, taking Ginny's luggage from behind her.
"Ah, yes, Wood never saw it coming. Incredible game, wasn't it?" Ron boasted. There was a silence as Harry and Hermione's smiles dropped slightly. "You...you did see it, didn't you?" There was a sudden explosion of "Oh yes!" and "Of course!" that caused the two Weasleys to back away slightly. Hermione chuckled nervously.
"So how long are you two staying? At least a week, I'm hoping." She asked, anxious to change the subject. Ginny shook her head.
"We're playing the Japanese team on Tuesday so we'll be leaving tomorrow night, unfortunately. Smith wants us to get some more practice and try out some new stretching exercises on Monday. There seems to be no point in coming home but we really wanted to, after being away for a month," Ginny said with a sad smile. Harry groaned and kissed her forehead.
"Can't you leave…really really early on Monday?" he whined.
"No can do, Harry. You know Smith, he's like Wood," Ron smirked. Hermione hit his arm playfully.
"He just takes his work seriously, Ronald," she said.
"I know!" Ron said, sounding a bit irritated, "But you must admit he's off his rocker! We've trained and trained and nearly blew ourselves to bits with those rotten bludgers last game and he wants us to come in after two days of rest? I bet you he'll complain if we aren't in top shape. Anyway, why are you defending him, Hermione? Shouldn't you be like Harry, wanting me to spend more time at home? " Hermione threw her head back in surprise.
"Are you accusing me of something?"
"I don't know. Is there something you want to tell me?" Ron asked, definitely irritated.
"You are unbelievable!" Hermione exclaimed, "You're not in this house two seconds before questioning my fidelity!"
"Questioning your fidelity?! I wasn't questioning anything! I was opening a door for you to admit-"
"Opening a door? Oh, that's rich, I don't remember the last time you ever opened a door for me, Ron Weasley."
"What is wrong with you, woman?!"
"WOMAN? How dare you speak to me like that! Really, can't you fight with proper vocabulary?"
"I don't even know why I TRY to fight! As if you're ever going to let me say anything I want!"
"WHAT?!"
The two continued on with their first fight of the day. Harry cringed slightly, distressed to see Hermione so angry in one morning. He felt a hand massage his shoulder. He turned his head.
"Don't worry," Ginny whispered, "It's normal, remember?" She took her luggage from his hand
and made her way up the stairs. Harry paused for a second to observe the fighting couple in front of him. He shook his
head slightly and followed Ginny up the stairs.
~*~
Inside his mind, Harry tried to stay calm. But even he knew he was alone now. Harry had made his way back to the center, where Voldemort was waiting. With a wave of Voldemort's wand, Harry backed himself into a tree. He felt ropes tie themselves around his neck, wrists and ankles. He was completely trapped. He couldn't move and every shaking breath seemed to push his neck closer and closer to the rope. Voldemort circled him slowly and Harry could do nothing but stare straight ahead. "It seems as though you're all out of arsenal, Harry." Harry felt something loosen in his body. Voldemort had taken the curse off him. "I don't need an arsenal to kill you," Harry growled, his eyes now following Voldemort's circular path. Voldemort chuckled. "But you do need your wand, don't you?" he grinned, twirling Harry's wand around his finger. Harry swallowed nervously at the sight. Without blinking, Voldemort brought it between his second and fourth finger and broke it in half. Harry watched, losing hope, as his wand fell to the ground in two pieces.
~*~
Harry made his way into his room, gasping slightly as he realized she had turned the lights on. The noise caused her to turn around. She was at the window, her legs on the bed, and a duster in her hand.
"Still fighting?" Ginny asked him about Ron and Hermione. Harry could only nod.
"Merlin, those two..."
"What-er-what are you doing?" Harry asked, looking around the bright room.
"Just dusting off these cobwebs," Ginny answered. Harry bowed his head and rubbed his temple.
"I like the cobwebs," he admitted quietly.
"Don't be silly," she said, brushing off the last one. Harry closed his eyes slightly and watched it fall to the floor. Then, she turned to him and walked towards him slowly, with a silly grin on his face. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "Did you miss me?" she asked between kisses.
"Are you serious?" Harry asked, bewildered at the silly-ness of the question. Ginny giggled and kissed him again.
"I'm sorry we didn't contact in any way but you know Smith." Harry nodded. She sighed and snuggled closer to him. "So how's work?" Harry smirked and turned his face away. "Oh, come on," she whined. He pursed his lips together and kissed her nose.
"Unspeakable, Gin," he said simply. Then, he tore himself away from her and went to work on putting away her clothes. She stood there, looking at him, her hands on her hips.
"Well, do you want to know how I'm doing at work?" she asked. Harry paused, holding up her shirt. He turned his head to stare at her, his grin showing his confusion. She stared at him for a second before laughing.
"Oh, right," she said. Harry laughed and turned his attention back to her clothes. There was a long silence as she simply stood there and he, putting shirt after shirt away. "I'm going to…go check on the lovebirds," she said after a while. She left the room. As soon as the sign was clear, Harry leapt up and turned off the lights.
~*~
"What are you going to do now, Harry?" Voldemort jeered. For the first time in the war, Harry had no idea. He simply stood there, tied against the tree, having nothing at his disposal. "Why don't you just kill me?" Harry growled, "You've got me tied up, just kill me!" Voldemort stopped pacing. He turned his head slowly towards Harry. "I'm evil, remember?" he laughed, almost sounding humane, "I want you to BEG." Harry sneered. "Never," he said simply. Voldemort smiled. "I knew you'd say that. So I decided to gather my second-in-command to help me out. You remember Dolohov, don't you?" Antonin Dolohov emerged from behind a tree. "It's going to take more than a Crusiatus Curse to rid the world of me, Potter." Voldemort waved his wand-less hand and Dolohov grabbed his throat in pain. "Shut up," Voldemort said coldly. He turned his attention back to Harry. "You're going to die, Harry Potter. Right here. Right now."
~*~
Ron and Hermione were still fighting when he got back downstairs. "Oh, come on, you two!" he said loudly, at the top of the stairs. The two stopped and turned. Hermione had gone pink and Ron, just plain red. "Honestly," Harry scoffed, making his way into the kitchen where Ginny was preparing some sandwiches. "Ginny, dear, Hermione wanted to go out for brunch." It was Ginny's turn to scoff.
"Honestly, Harry, I think she's in no such mood to go out. Besides, we should prepare her for tonight." Ginny took out four plates and placed two buns on each.
"Tonight?"
"Yes, we're going out tonight. Didn't Ron tell you?"
"He's been busy ever since he came home." Ginny grinned, never taking her eyes off the tomatoes and knife.
"Well, we're going out tonight-I could have sworn he told you-and…" she paused, looking at him with a smile, "He's going to pop the question to you-know-who." Ginny squealed slightly and continued to slice the tomatoes. Harry laughed nervously. No…no, he wouldn't. It was too soon!
"You-you mean Ron's going to ask Voldemort to marry him?" He tried to make light of the situation. Ginny threw a tomato at him.
"Don't joke! This is really important to him!"
"You're…you're serious?" Harry didn't know what to say.
"Of course I'm serious! And I was serious before, this is very important to him for obvious reasons and I'd prefer it if you didn't laugh."
"But…but this is really…SOON for them, isn't it?" Harry tried to understand why he was sounding so desperate. Ginny turned around, the knife in her hand.
"No, I don't think it is. They've known each other for thirteen years; I think it's enough time, Harry." Harry was silent, unaware of his panting. Ginny put down the knife, walked towards him and held him by his waist. "What's wrong?" she asked softly, "I thought you'd be happy for him. This IS Ron, Harry. And it's Hermione, as well! Both of your best friends. What's wrong?" Harry continued to pant.
"I-I just think it's very…soon," he finished weakly. Ginny smiled and kissed him on his forehead.
"Are you mad they beat us to the punch?" she laughed, making her way back to the tomatoes. Harry's eyes went wide as he looked at her. She continued to laugh. He was about to say something when Hermione came in.
"Hey, Gin, I was wondering if you wanted to go out for-oh. I…I see you've made lunch." Ginny smiled and finished up the tomatoes.
"Cheaper too, isn't it?" she asked. Hermione chuckled, unable to deny that fact. Harry had now
re-directed his stare from Ginny to Hermione. It was only now that Hermione was aware of it.
"Um…Harry?" she asked timidly.
"Hermione," he croaked.
"Yes?" she asked. By this time, Ginny had stopped her actions and was looking at Harry as well. Harry stared at his friend. His best friend. He couldn't even recognize her. At least, he couldn't recognize her as his best friend. Suddenly, she was Ron's fiancée. Ron's wife. Ron's WIFE. Harry shook his head internally. His wife? Hermione? A bride? No, it wasn't possible. She wasn't ready to be tied down. She was young. She wanted to travel the world. She wanted to meet new people. She wanted to learn other sports. She didn't want a husband. She wasn't ready for marriage. She had said it many times. He clearly remembered her saying the words that she wasn't ready and would inform them when she was. She wasn't ready. Surely Ron knew that…
"Harry?" Hermione asked again, "Are you alright?" Harry blinked. Suddenly, Ginny pushed herself between them.
"He's fine; he just gets like this sometimes. Come, let's eat outside today!" Ginny exclaimed. She pushed Hermione out of the kitchen and threw her head back towards Harry. "Don't ruin the surprise!" she whispered. Harry was left alone in the kitchen. Hermione? Married? He couldn't put the two words together. They didn't mesh well together. He looked at his bare left hand. And what was Ginny talking about? Beating them to the punch? Surely Ginny wasn't expecting a proposal. She wasn't going to get one soon.
~*~
The dinner had gone horribly. Ron was a complete mess. He was much clumsier than usual, spilling food on both his friends and passing waiters. "I'm so sorry," he'd say. "Please, put it on my tab."
"Dear, are you alright?" Hermione would ask.
"I'm fine, it must be the pre-game jitters," he'd respond, "It was a bit too hot for my fingers, I'm afraid." By dessert, Harry wondered if Ron even had enough pride left. He certainly wasn't behaving like he deserved Hermione. "Oh, wait. Please wait," Ron said as the waiter arrived with their desserts. He got up and tucked in his chair. "I just…I want to do this without ice cream on my shirt," he joked nervously.
"Ron…" Hermione said, fear in her voice.
"Hermione, p-please, don't say anything. Please, let me do this," Ron stammered as he got down on one knee. Other people in the restaurant gasped along with Ginny. Harry clenched his knife and wondered why he had suddenly broken into a sweat.
"Hermione-Granger-will-you-marry-me?" Ron asked quickly, taking out and opening a white box with a small engagement ring inside. Harry wiped his forehead.
"Ron," Hermione breathed, her eyes on the ring.
"I know it wasn't a very big speech, I'm sorry. I just didn't want anything else to go wrong," Ron smiled awkwardly. The silence in the restaurant was long. Harry dabbed at his forehead again and shifted away from Ginny when she put her hand on his. Hermione was frozen on the spot; her mouth was still half-open. Ron stammered, unsure of what her reaction meant. "I-I know it's not a very big ring, I'm sorry. I just thought maybe you'd like it anyways if it was bought with love. And it was, Hermione. It was." There were awws from their surrounding tables but silence from Hermione. Some women cleared their throats and waiters played with their ties nervously.
"He's right. It was bought with love," Ginny whispered, attempting to bring out some life from the brunette. And bring some out some life she did. In an instant, Hermione cocked her head up, amazement in her eyes.
"You knew?" she asked Ginny loudly. Ginny was silent, surprised. "You knew!? You're my best friend,
Ginny; you know I'm not ready for marriage!" Harry had a clear view of her eyes; they were filled with
disappointment and surprise. "Ginny, were you there when he bought it? Did you say nothing!?" Ginny remained
silent. Hermione turned to Ron.
"And YOU!" She yelled this time. "You're not my best friend, you're my boyfriend! YOU should know I'm not ready to get married! I'M NOT READY, RON! MERLIN, DON'T YOU EVER LISTEN TO ME!?" The anger and betrayal in her eyes were now echoing through in her voice. The customers in the restaurant had suddenly all gotten very interested in their meals. Harry gulped. Hermione whipped her head towards him. The rage in her eyes turned into something he couldn't recognize. "And you," she whispered, only loud enough for the four of them to hear, "You're not my best friend or my boyfriend, are you?" Harry felt his eyes tighten and his jaw clench. "You're neither. You're…you're Harry. You're…you're my Harry. The one I trust. And even you knew, didn't you?" Harry was silent. This wasn't happening. Hermione sniffed and let her tears roll down her face.
"Hermione, don't cry," he said softly, "Please."
"How can I not?" she asked brashly and proceeded to point to each of them. "You're my best friend. I trust you to want me to be happy. You're my boyfriend. I trust you to think of my needs first. You're…you're my Harry! I trust you to prevent me from making mistakes!" She sighed, wiping her eyes. By this time, Ron had gotten back into his seat, Ginny was glued to hers and Harry had leapt out of his. Hermione sniffed and laughed ironically. "Isn't anyone following procedure anymore?"
Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to *someone special* out there. I just want you to be happy. Even if 'happy' is a life without me.