A/N - All characters belong to the wonderful JK Rowling. I just borrowed them for a bit to play with them. I promise to put them back soon!
THE TRUTH COMES OUT
Ron's mouth was hanging open but no words came out of it. Since their voices had gotten louder as they had argued, Luna appeared at the top of the stairs. Harry looked up to see her startled look.
"Are you two arguing?" she asked surprised.
"No," Ron answered quickly.
"Yes," Harry said at the same time.
"Okay then, I'll go back to the room and pretend this never happened!" she smiled in her usual way and went back to Ron's room.
Ron turned back towards Harry. "Look, mate," he tried but Harry cut him off.
"Don't bother with any more lies. I have suspected for a long time that you had lied to all of us. Nothing you said made sense. We mistook Hermione's silence for guilt, when in reality she was the one hurting. You broke her heart Ron, and you lied to your friends. You are not the man I thought you were and right now I don't think I like you very much."
"Harry, let me explain," Ron tried one more time.
"You will explain, but not just to me. I am calling a meeting with everyone involved and you are going to tell everybody the truth. And if you don't, I will."
"You can't make me do that!" Ron protested.
"Oh, you just watch me! It's your choice. Either you come clean or I will make sure you do. This has gone on long enough. While you have moved on with your life, and you have all of your friends around you, she has been going at it alone. You should be ashamed of yourself."
Before Ron could say anything else, Harry walked away from him. He was too mad and he couldn't control his temper anymore.
Harry walked into the library and sat behind his desk. He grabbed a piece of parchment from the drawer and wet the tip of his feather in the inkbottle. After writing a short note, he put everything away and walked back to his room. Hedwig was sitting in her cage and hooted softly when she saw him.
"Take this to Ginny and Neville, and then to the rest. Do not come back without an answer." He tied the piece of parchment to the leg she extended and petted her a bit before letting her out the window.
He felt satisfied for the first time in months. Hermione was back in his life and the truth was going to finally come out. He was just sorry it had taken him so long to realize Ron had lied. He made a promise to himself that he would make it up to her no matter how long it took.
The next afternoon, Harry knocked softly on Hermione's door. She opened it and he did not waste time saying hello, he just grabbed her by the waist and kissed her senseless. He pushed her back inside without breaking their contact and closed the door with his foot.
The need for air finally made them pull apart. "Hi," he finally said with a smile. "I missed you today, Mione."
She smiled back, a little flushed and out of breath. "Hi, Harry."
"I know I shouldn't kiss you like that, but I've been thinking about kissing you all day."
"It's okay! I didn't mind at all."
"In that case," he said as he lowered his lips to hers once again. She wrapped her arms around his neck and brought their bodies into full contact. He pulled her closer and ravished her mouth. He stepped back a few minutes later and looked at her with wonder in his eyes.
"If I had known what your kisses tasted like, I would have done this a long time ago, Hermione. You are driving me crazy!"
"Oh, Harry. Why is this happening now? Why did we never notice these feelings before? I'm a little scared," she admitted quietly.
"I'm a bit scared, too, Hermione, but not enough to stop." Something occurred to him suddenly and he looked seriously at her. "Do you want to stop?" he asked worriedly.
"I couldn't even if my life depended on it, Harry. I've always cared about you in a special way, but I didn't realize until now what that meant."
Harry was holding his breath. Could it be that she loved him as much as he loved her? "I'm glad to hear that, baby, because I want to keep on seeing you and see where this leads us."
"You mean as in dating?" she asked surprised. That meant going out in public, which in turn meant that their friends would find out. How would they take it all? How would Ron react to the news?
"Yes, that's exactly what I mean."
"What about the others? What if they stop talking to you as well?" she asked worriedly.
"The others will have to decide which side they are on this evening. Besides, if they decide to stop talking to me as well, so be it. You are what is important to me right now. The rest pales in comparison."
"What do you mean by `this evening'?" she asked worriedly.
"Maybe I should have asked you before, but I figured you would say no. Everyone is going to be at my place tonight and we are going to talk about what happened. Ron is going to come out clean, or I'm going to do it for him."
"What?" she asked startled by his news.
"Hermione, this has gone on long enough. It is time to bring it out in the open and clear your name. It's not fair that people have a wrong opinion of you when you didn't do anything wrong!"
"You've had that opinion as well, Harry, or have you forgotten that we only started speaking yesterday? You think because we kissed now you have a right over me?" she asked getting upset.
"Mione, I already apologized. I know I acted like a jerk, okay? And if I didn't come looking for you sooner is because I was afraid you wouldn't talk to me. Now that we have, I want the others to know as well. After that, everyone can decide whose side they are on."
"Harry, don't fool yourself thinking they're going to take my side. They are his family and blood is thicker than water."
"Don't be so sure of that, love. I'm sorry I did this without consulting with you first, but I know how stubborn you can be and I figured this was the only way to do it."
She sighed and stepped away from him. "What time are they supposed to be there?"
"They should be there now or arriving as we speak."
"I cooked dinner for you," she said accusingly.
"And I intend to eat it later. However, I would like to get this over with first. Then I can concentrate fully on you." He walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing them close again. He dropped a quick kiss on her lips and looked at her.
"I'm sorry if you're mad at me, Mione, but we need to do this in order to move on and be happy. I don't want anything in our way from now on."
She knew he was right, and he had her best interest at heart. She could see it in his eyes. "Fine. Let's go before I change my mind. But I'm warning you, Harry, if it gets out of control I'm out of there in a flash."
"Understood."
He took her hand and they apparated together in front of his flat. He winked at her and opened the door. As they walked in, Hermione noticed that everyone was there. Ginny was sitting on a rocking chair while Neville stood by her side. The twins were standing by the window. Luna was sitting on the couch next to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Even professor McGonagall was there.
As they approached, Hermione's steps faltered. Harry tightened his grip on her hand and smiled at her reassuringly. Ron, who had been pacing like a caged animal, stopped and swallowed hard. Hermione could tell no one had known she was coming, since they were all surprised to judge by their faces. Her eyes finally found Minerva's and she winked reassuringly as well.
Ginny, never one to control her temper, was the first to speak. "What is this all about, Harry? And why is she here?"
"Hermione is here as my guest," he told her firmly.
"And why are we here," she insisted.
"I asked you all to come tonight because there is something you need to know about."
Hermione noticed that everyone kept staring openly at their entwined hands. She tried to shake her hand free, but Harry would not let her. She gave up thinking that she did not really care what any of them thought. It was a gesture of solidarity from Harry and she needed his support since she did not think her legs would sustain her on their own.
"We are waiting, Harry. I really don't have the time for this," Ginny continued rudely.
"Then I suggest you make the time, Miss Weasley, since this is important," professor McGonagall suggested.
Ginny had to shut up at that point. The professor might not be their teacher anymore, but her presence alone commanded respect. Put in her place in front of everyone, she pouted and looked away.
"Well, Harry, let's get on with it, before more tempers flare up," suggested Mr. Weasley wisely.
He walked over to the empty recliner and waited for Hermione to sit down. Once she was seated, he sat on the arm of the chair and put his arm tenderly around her shoulders. His protective gesture did not go unnoticed.
"Actually, it's Ronald who needs to do most of the talking," he said looking pointedly at Ron.
Ron shot him a murderous look. "I told you I wanted no part in this," he said angrily.
"And I told you either you tell them or I will! What's it going to be, mate?" Harry shot back.
Hermione looked nervously between them and grabbed Harry's hand, squeezing a bit to calm him down.
"Ronald," his mother said in a warning tone. "What is this all about?"
Ron knew he was lost at that point. He looked down at his shoes and muttered something under his breath.
"What did you say? Speak up, son," Mr. Weasley said.
"I said," he continued taking a deep breath, "that I lied."
Hermione looked up and ran her eyes quickly over the group. Most of them looked confused, but Minerva was smiling with satisfaction. Something told her that Minerva had something to do with Harry coming to see her as well. She looked at her and the professor winked again.
"What did you lie about, little brother," ask Fred.
"Yeah, what kind of mess are you in now, you git?" continued George.
"Tell them the whole story or I will, Ron," warned Harry quietly.
Ron's shoulders slumped in defeat. He took another deep breath and figured it was now or never. He was screwed royally either way.
"Hermione never cheated on me. It was the other way around," he finished quickly.
First there were gasps of surprise, and then all hell broke lose as everyone started talking at once. Hermione did not know what to say or do, so she sat there taking it all in. Ron was blushing furiously, the twins were talking to each other, Luna had he mouth covered with her hand in disbelief, Ginny was staring at Ron in horror, and Mr. Weasley was rubbing Molly's back and whispering reassuring words in her ear. Neville stood with his hand on Ginny's shoulder, but he looked at Hermione and shared a small smile with her. Then she realized that he was the only person in the room that had never doubted her integrity. No wonder he had continued to be her friends and well as her collaborator.
Harry whistled loudly and all taking stopped at once. All eyes turned to him.
"Let him finish, I want him to tell you the whole truth. I am as guilty as the rest of you of doubting Hermione. That is the reason why I am doing this tonight. I already apologized to her and she was gracious enough to forgive my stupidity. We all stopped talking to her without giving her the benefit of the doubt. Somehow, Ron's story did not make sense to me from the beginning, and I feel guilty I let a whole year pass by before trying to do something about it. But enough is enough."
All eyes turned from Harry to Hermione to Ron.
"Ronald Weasley," his mother said in that tone they all knew so well. "Explain yourself this instant!"
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