Delusions

Title: Delusions
Rating: PG
Pairing: Harry/Hermione (implied Ron/Luna)
Word Count: 2800
Summary: Harry and Hermione are just a little too in love with their delusions. Ron, Ginny, and Luna help them see that they're also a little in love with each other.
A/N: Betaed by the ever lovely bingblot *hugs you*. As you can probably tell, this was started not long after HBP came out as a response to all the delusional comments that had come about. I sort of forgot about it after the very first part was written, but when I dug it up, the rest sort of flowed out. So, my fellow H/Hr shippers, this is dedicated to you < 3.

“You're delusional, Luna.”

Luna Lovegood glared harshly at her friend. Ginny Weasley was a great many things - beautiful, ambitious, smart; and watch out for her Bat Bogey Hex. Luna would never have added the word oblivious as part of her forte - until now.

“I am a great many things, Ginevra,” Luna said, smirking as she watched her friend wince. She knew perfectly well that Ginny hated being called by her full name. “But delusional,” Luna continued, “is not one of them. I may be worthy of the name `Loony,' but even I can admit that those two are in love.”

Ginny rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, mimicking Luna's defensive stance. Currently, the two women were standing outside of the Three Broomsticks, where Ron and Hermione had just surprised Harry with a combined welcome back and birthday lunch. Harry had been away on Auror duty for the past three months, and Hermione insisted that they do something special for his twenty-first birthday. The trio was sitting at a table near the front of the pub. Hermione was laughing at something Ron said, her arm gently resting against Harry's shoulder. Harry's hand was draped casually against her wrist.

“See?” Luna said, pointing so hard that the Butterbeer corks she had hanging from her ears swung wildly, “They're touching!”

Ginny huffed loudly. “That doesn't mean anything Luna. You and I touch all the time - that doesn't mean I love you.”

“But it's different with them. They don't realize they're doing it, and they're always touching! Even when Hermione was dating Ron, they were always touching. Now that she's not with Ron, they touch even more! Ginny, even you have to admit that the two of them are made for each other.”

Ron chose that moment to excuse himself, Ginny presumed to go to the bar and get them more drinks. Harry and Hermione sat in companionable silence. Ginny looked at the two of them and had to admit, they were making her slightly uncomfortable. The look they were giving each other spoke volumes, and neither of them ever spoke a word. A tiny bit of jealousy flared within Ginny as she watched Harry start talking quietly, his hand grasping Hermione's as she laughed at whatever it was he said.

“You're jealous; that's why you can't see it like I can,” Luna stated in that dreamy, matter-of-fact way she spoke about Crumple Horned Snorkacks and Nargles.

Ginny reeled like Luna had slapped her. “I beg your pardon?”

“Jeal-ous,” Luna said, pronouncing both syllables slowly as if speaking to a child.

“I am not jealous,” Ginny said, turning quickly away from the pub, where Ron had just rejoined the table with a fresh round of drinks. Hermione excused herself from the table, and Luna could tell that Harry's eyes were on her the entire time as she stood up and headed towards the back of the pub, probably to use the loo.

Luna just stared at Ginny, a look in her eyes that clearly said `yes you are.'

---

“You're delusional, mate. She's as crazy about you as you are for her.”

Harry stared at Ron as if he'd grown another head and tried to imitate Fluffy. They were not having this conversation again. Ron had brought this topic of conversation up twice before - once, when they were both drunk after New Years, which Harry pretended not to remember in the morning, and once when Ron had claimed Harry had given Hermione's now-ex-boyfriend the third degree when he'd come to pick her up from their flat for their first date. He didn't think asking the guy a few simple questions meant anything. Apparently, Ron felt differently.

They were now sitting in the Three Broomsticks for what he thought was a simple surprise birthday and welcome home lunch, but now that Hermione had left the table, was apparently Ron's sneaky way of bridging the topic for a third time.

Contrary to popular belief, the third time would not be the charm.

“Ron, we've gone over this already. I do not have feelings for Hermione! And I don't know where you've gone and gotten the idea that she has feelings for me.”

“You mean besides the longing glances you give her when you think no one is looking and the way you both touch each other all the bloody time, and the way you can both read each other's thoughts - which is just a little creepy, by the way - and the way you - “

“Alright, I get it,” Harry said, cutting him off. Ron smirked and took a sip of his drink, but Harry wasn't finished. “None of that means that we're crazy about each other, as you so blatantly insist on pointing out. We're just - “

“Friends?” Ron said, cutting him off. Harry's mouth hung open mid-word, and he shut it. He sat back in his seat, crossing his arms while glaring across the table at his friend.

Before Harry could get another word in edgewise, Hermione was back. Seeing the shit-eating grin on Ron's face and the daggers Harry was shooting across the table, she said, “Okay, I missed something here. What happened in the ten minutes I was gone?”

“Oh, nothing Hermione,” Ron said, the grin still plastered on his face. “Just a friendly little discussion. Right, Harry?”

When Hermione turned to Harry, he answered with a short, “Sure. What he said,” and took a long swig of his drink.

---

It had only been a week since their conversation at the Three Broomsticks, and Ron swore that if he caught Harry and Hermione making googly eyes across the breakfast table at each other one more time, he was going to lock them in a small closet together somewhere and let them have at it.

In the meantime, he could only hope that they would finally wake up and see what everyone else was seeing and that they were both too thickheaded and oblivious to figure out for themselves. He'd tried talking to The Voice of Reason over lunch earlier that week, but even she had gawked at him and claimed that she “had no feelings for Harry whatsoever; where did he ever get an idea like that?” Ron never thought he'd see the day he'd figure something out faster than Hermione Granger but… well. There was a first time for everything, wasn't there?

He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he didn't realize he was going to collide head-on with someone until he smacked right into them and they both fell into a heap.

“Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't see you - Gin?”

Ginny looked a little flustered, but none the worse for wear as Ron stood up and pulled her to her feet. He helped her gather up some of her packages as she said, “Thanks. Look where you're going next time, Ronnie. You can't walk through people, you know.”

Ron gave her a withering look and handed her the parcels, and she simply smiled in return. “Sorry, I just happen to have a lot on my mind right now.”

Ginny's smile fell slightly at this statement. “Want to go to Florean's and talk about it? I've had a killer craving for strawberry ice cream all afternoon.”

“Sure.”

The two of them found a quiet table where they could sit and talk without being disturbed. Ginny rambled for a while about work and Luna and her crazy ideas for stories before finally pausing and saying, “You wanted to come here and talk, but you've barely said anything. What's on your mind?”

Ron sat quietly for a moment or two before bursting out with, “Harry and Hermione are completely head over heels for each other and they're driving me absolutely insane!”

Ginny was stunned at this statement. Her initial reaction was something along the lines of, “Oh no, not you too!” but Ron lived with the two of them, whereas Luna was just a not-so-objective observer, and she didn't feel like having to explain herself. She finally settled on, “What do you mean? And how is this driving you insane? It sounds like a problem they have to deal with themselves.”

Ron let out a frustrated sigh and ran a hand through his hair. “You don't know what it's like to live with two people who are constantly giving off these little signs that they are completely in love with each other, and yet neither of them acknowledges it. If they're in a room together, it's rare that they're not sitting next to each other, and if they're sitting next to each other, he probably has his feet in her lap or she has her head on his shoulder. They're always… glancing at each other, and sometimes, the glances are so intimate, they make you want to leave the room because you feel like you're invading a private moment. And the googly eyes at meals! They drive you crazy. I wouldn't be surprised if they're playing footsie under the table.”

“They've always been close, haven't they?” Ginny added quietly, pieces falling into place as she was finally seeing what Luna saw so clearly at the pub a week ago. “Like reading each other's minds. It's almost -“

“Scary,” Ron finished for her. “Yeah. I told Harry that. He didn't want to hear it.” He must have seen something change on Ginny's face, because he reached across the table and took her hand. “Ginny, what's wrong?”

Ginny shrugged. “Nothing. You're just confirming what I think I already knew and didn't want to admit to myself.”

“But I thought you were over Harry.”

“I am,” she said a little too quickly, before adding, “but that doesn't mean that I'm not jealous when I see two people who are so very obviously as in love with each other as they are, even if they don't know it yet - because one day they will realize it, and they'll be happy - because I don't have anything like that right now. And yeah, maybe a very small part of me was holding onto that childish crush for Harry. Not enough to deny that what they could have is something special.” She stood up. “And if they're not going to, then we need to do something about it.”

Ron took in everything she'd said, wisely not commenting on any of it, but grinned at her last comment. He stood up with her. “What did you have in mind?”

---

When Harry got a call from Ron that afternoon asking if he would meet him at Margarita's Diner for dinner that evening, he thought it was a bit odd that Ron mentioned he should “get a little dressed up.” When he asked why, Ron simply blew him off, saying they had another call coming in, and to be there by 7. And to bring flowers.

That should have been the tipoff that this was a set-up, but Harry was nothing if not optimistic that his best friend wouldn't be setting him up on a blind date without telling him. He thought, at least, that it would be a double date, so if it was completely horrible, he would have an excuse not to throttle Ron until later.

When Harry arrived at the diner at seven on the dot, he asked for reservations under Ron's name, and was just a little surprised to find them under his own.

When the waiter told Harry to follow him to his table, one of the more open but romantic settings by candlelight on the verandah outside in front, he steeled himself for whoever might be sitting there waiting for him.

When he saw who was there, an equally shocked look on her face, he almost fell over.

Harry sat down as the waiter walked away with their drink orders - a strong wine for both of them. When he was finally able to speak, the first words out of his mouth were, “I'm going to kill Ron.”

Hermione giggled just a bit. “Although you do have to give him an E for effort. It wasn't just him, either. Ginny and Luna must have been in on it. They told me to meet them here for a girl's night out. `Wear something sexy' they said. I should have known better.”

Harry couldn't help but laugh at the entire situation. “I had a feeling Ron was setting me up on a blind date. He told me to meet him here at 7 and to dress nice and to bring flowers.” He shook his head. “I guess it could be worse. I could be stuck here with someone I want nothing more than to run away from.” Harry handed her the flowers, an arrangement of red and white roses he'd picked up on a whim on the way here. “I suppose these are for you. I know you're not really a fan of roses, but had I known I was meeting you here, I would have chosen the tigerlilies.”

“It's fine. They're lovely.” Hermione beamed at him as she took the bouquet and placed them on the chair next to her before turning back to Harry.

They took the time to catch up on each other's lives. Hermione was working on a new research project for the head of the Charms Writing department at the Ministry of Magic that she was both excited and nervous about. Harry had a new assignment coming up that might take him away from home for another couple of weeks, and he was dreading being away again for so long. They laughed about their non-existent love lives, about Ron, Ginny, and Luna, and at what must have gone through their heads as they planned this little scheme.

By the time dessert came, they were both on their fifth glass of wine, and had just fallen into a comfortable silence. Harry had his hand across the table and was gently rubbing his thumb across Hermione's knuckles. Hermione was smiling at him.

When it happened, it happened fast. Harry reached across the table to brush an errant strand of hair out of Hermione's face. Hermione sighed and leaned into his touch. The conversation with Ron came unbidden into Harry's mind, and try as he might, Harry couldn't shut out the sudden irresistible urge to lean over the table and kiss her.

So he didn't shut it out. Harry stood up and walked over to Hermione's side of the table. Before Hermione could say a word, Harry leaned down and kissed her.

Hermione sighed, as if she had been waiting for him to do this all night, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She pulled away for a moment, and whispered, “Do you want to get out of here?” in Harry's ear. He stared at her to make sure he correctly understood her meaning, and she nodded. He quickly caught the waiter's attention, paid the bill, and grabbed Hermione's hand. She laughed as they practically ran to the small alley around the corner, and he slung an arm around her waist as they Apparated away.

---

If Ron hadn't been watching the entire time from a discreetly hidden location across the street, he wouldn't have believed it.

He'd expected something to happen tonight, sure. He'd expected the two of them to finally realize that they had feelings to each other. But that kiss, and then…

There was no way Ron was sleeping at home tonight.

“Ronald, you should stay with us tonight,” Luna said in that faraway, wistful way of hers that had always made Ron wonder about her, although he would never admit that to anyone, of course.

“Thanks for the offer, but I wouldn't want to impose,” Ron said, although for some strange reason, he found himself wanting to stay there for the night, and suddenly not wanting to stay at The Leaky Cauldron like he'd planned.

“You wouldn't be imposing,” Luna said, grabbing hold of his arm. “I insist.”

Ginny looked from her best friend to her brother and let a slow grin slide across her face as she realized just what was going on. “As do I. In fact, as you get settled in, I'll run out and get us some dinner. What are you in the mood for, pizza?”

As Ron found himself being dragged away by the two girls, Ginny leaned backward and tapped Luna on the shoulder to drop a wink in her direction. Luna simply stared at her, wide-eyed and confused.

Maybe, when it came down to it, they were all a little delusional in their own way. But really, Ginny thought as she walked down the street in search of dinner, knowing that she should probably find somewhere else to stay tonight, she wouldn't have it any other way.

*End*

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