Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine…I only wish.
A/N: Hope you enjoy the chapter! Thanks to my wonderful beta reader LydiaCarol, this chapter is much improved thanks to her.
Chapter 4- Jealously Will Drive You Mad
Ron leaned against the wall in the entryway of Hermione's flat, absentmindedly drumming his fingers on a table. Pausing for a moment, he glanced up at the clock on the wall and sighed impatiently. After a few more minutes, his patience nearly gone, he walked down the hall. He stopped at the mirror, frowning as he messed around with his hateful tie. No matter how old he got, dressing up never became less of an annoyance for him. At least he'd never had to wear those horrid dress robes from the Yule Ball he'd attended during his Hogwarts years. Looking away from the mirror, he walked over to the staircase. He could see light spilling out from underneath Hermione's closed bedroom door.
"Hermione, hurry up! You can use magic to get ready you know," he shouted up the stairs as he leaned on the banister. He felt like he had been waiting an hour for her, rather than ten minutes. She usually wasn't one to run behind schedule. In fact she tended to favor punctuality, expecting it from herself and others.
"Seriously, Ronald, I told you I am nearly ready. The more you whine the more I'll take my time," she yelled down to him, her tone playful. She stood in front of her mirror, nervously smoothing her dress and patting down her hair. They hadn't seen some of their Hogwarts friends in years, and she wanted to make a good impression.
Finally, to Ron's relief, she appeared at the top of the stairs. She was wearing a gorgeous light blue, off-the-shoulder dress embroidered with small crystals along the bottom hem. They little jewels glimmered in the light as she descended the staircase. Her bushy curls were swept up on her head and neatly pinned in place with the help of several pins and a little magic. Ron's eyes widened as he watched her, his mouth falling open.
"Bloody hell!" he whispered appreciatively. Maybe the waiting had been worth it.
Hermione rolled her eyes and smiled. "You are about as charming as Crabbe and Goyle sometimes, Ron," she admonished him. Ron grinned.
"Oh, come on, Hermione. At least I know how to dress myself," he quipped. Hermione's eyes twinkled in amusement.
"Yes, that's so hard to find in a man these days. Sometimes I just can't believe how lucky I am," she said, adding a dramatic sigh, but then bursting into laughter. Things had been strained between her and Ron the past few weeks, but on such a joyful day for one of their friends, their problems seemed to be put aside.
"All right, enough picking on me for now. We'd best get to the wedding," Ron told her, suddenly noticing the time. Hermione nodded, her eyes widening as they wandered to the clock.
One of their friends from Hogwarts, Seamus, was marrying a witch he'd met a few years ago. Ron and Hermione had kept in touch with him after leaving school, though not as well as they would have liked. They'd been a little surprised to receive an invitation, but were glad to see an old friend again, especially for such a happy occasion.
"Ready?" Ron asked. Hermione nodded, and they both Apparated to the given location.
They appeared moments later in front of a beautiful outdoor wedding tent. All the chairs and tables were already set up for the reception following the wedding.
"Let's look around for some of our old mates," Ron suggested. Despite the extra time it had taken waiting for Hermione to get ready, they had still managed to get there early.
Ron linked his arm with hers as they headed towards the crowd which was gathered near rows of chairs that were set up for the wedding ceremony.
As they approached the crowd of old schoolmates, Hermione felt cold beads of perspiration form on her body and face as she spotted an unmistakable head of unruly raven hair. As she and Ron got closer, hearing his voice only confirmed it. Harry was here. Her panic turned to anger, when she noticed who Harry's date was - Ginny. For a moment she felt like she was going to be ill. She tugged Ron's sleeve hard, and pulled him back away from the crowd.
"What the bloody hell is wrong with you?" he protested as she dragged him along the path.
"Do you see that your sister is here with Harry, Ronald?" she hissed, still clutching doggedly onto the sleeve of his dress robes. Ron shrugged, attempting to look surprised for Hermione's sake. He had known that Ginny was with Harry and now realized that he should have known that he would regret not telling Hermione.
"Yeah, well, I figured they'd get back together once he got rid of Voldemort," Ron replied nonchalantly. Hermione's eyes widened in shock. Her ears must be betraying her, because surely Ron would be more upset than this about his sister dating someone he seemed to now loathe. Ron looked a little caught off guard, but other than that he seemed not to care at all about the state of things.
"I am so confused, Ronald. You have done nothing but disparage Harry this past month, and you don't care one bit that your sister is dating him. Did I miss something? Did you and Harry make up? Why would you keep that from me if you did?" she demanded in a baffled tone, looking extremely hurt.
Ron looked around nervously to see if anyone was listening in on their conversation. He grabbed Hermione's arm and pulled her a little further away from the crowd as her volume increased.
"Hermione, you know that I have never been able to control Ginny. She does what she wants when she wants. Of course I don't really love that she is back with Harry, but apparently they've sorted things out. I don't especially want to get in the middle of her love life when it concerns Harry anyway," he whispered, his ears turning red. He looked annoyed, yet guilty at the same time. Hermione put a hand to her head, which was suddenly pounding. She'd thought today was going to be normal, but clearly that was too much to hope for.
"Ron, I know it's not your job to control your sister - as you say, there's not much you can do - but I don't understand how you don't seem to care at all," Hermione protested, not ready to drop the topic just yet.
Ron leaned against a nearby tree, running his fingers through his bright red hair. He sighed and looked down at the ground, unwilling to meet her eyes.
"Love, I really don't want to talk about this anymore right now. This is a celebration for Seamus and his fiancée, and I don't want to spoil it by causing a scene. I promise we can finish this later. I know a little more about Ginny and Harry than I can tell you at the moment, but tonight I'll tell you the rest," Ron told her wearily. He fiddled nervously with his tie. Hermione reflexively slapped his hand away and fixed it for him. She was feeling even more ill than she had when she'd first spotted Harry and then Ginny.
"I don't want to let it go though, Ron. It will bother me all night if we don't sort this out now," she told him desperately. Ron looked at her closely for a moment. She looked very upset, and well jealous.
"Hermione, why do you even care if they're together? I thought you weren't even friends with Harry anymore," he said, watching her reaction. Hermione frowned.
"I never said I wasn't his friend anymore! I'm just concerned about Ginny and Harry being together. I just think they will both end up hurt," Hermione managed in explanation. She fiddled nervously with the hem of her dress.
"Hermione, is there something you want to tell me?" She looked up at him, the emotion in her chocolate eyes undecipherable. They stood in silence a moment, listening to the distant sound of voices and laughter.
"No, Ron there's nothing. I suppose we should get back to the party. They'll be missing us." She looped her arm through his. Taken aback by her sudden change in mood, Ron walked along with her, no less puzzled about what was going on with his girlfriend than before.
They had taken off to talk so quickly after arriving that the group greeted them as though they'd just arrived.
"Glad you two could come!" Seamus said, greeting them warmly. Neither of them knew the bride, but she seemed nice enough when they met her.
"I always knew he would marry a redhead," Ron whispered to Hermione as they went to go take their seat for the ceremony. They got split up for a moment in the rest of the crowd that was also heading over. Hermione sighed in annoyance as the heel of one of her shoes got caught in the grass. She bent down to retrieve it, and looking up saw Harry standing next to her, offering a hand to help her up. Nervously, she placed her hand in his. Jumping up quickly, she pulled her hand away. The touch had sent a peculiar sensation coursing through her, and she wasn't sure what to think of it. Before she could say anything, Ginny appeared at Harry's side, looking beautiful as usual. Hermione felt her gut wrench. She nodded politely at them and then took off without a word to go find Ron in the crowd.
"Is she angry with me, Harry?" sniffed Ginny, watching Hermione take off, looking rather hurt.
"Huh, what was that?" Harry said, a blank look on his face. He too had been watching Hermione. Ginny rolled her eyes. "Forget it, Harry; let's just go take a seat." Harry shrugged and followed her.
****
"The ceremony was very nice," Hermione commented conversationally to Ron, as they made their way towards the tents set up for the reception.
"Yeah, I guess. I don't really care for weddings. I just like the party afterwards. I hope they don't make you pay for your drinks," Ron said unenthusiastically.
Hermione took a seat at an empty table, glad to have a moment to take off her shoes. She had forgotten to look for a spell to prevent blisters. Someone took a seat at their table, and she looked up and saw not Ron, but Harry.
Her eyes widened, "Harry, what are you doing? Where's Ginny?" she asked.
"I don't know. I'm sorry if it was awkward before. I really don't want to be fighting with you anymore. I really miss you," Harry told her suddenly. Hermione blinked, caught off guard completely by his candid remarks.
"Harry - I…" she began, but they were soon interrupted by both of the Weasley's. Ginny smiled sweetly at Harry, but looked slightly puzzled. Ron looked confused.
"This is wonderful! Are we going to all sit together? It will be the way it was when we were all friends at Hogwarts," Ginny exclaimed happily. She took a seat next to Harry and leaned her head on his shoulder. Hermione looked away, feeling very ill for . This was going to be a long night.
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