Disclaimer: Nope, not mine. Do I seem a H/G RHr shipper to you?
A/N: My response to the "Through Teddy's Eyes" Challenge by moonies rule. You can find it here: http://talk.portkey.org/index.php?showtopic=26785&st=0 Hope you will enjoy the story, this won't be very long, just four/five chaps at max, but I hope you'll like it all the same, lol.
Thanks to my beta Gingercat!
Through Teddy's Eyes
Chapter Two: Breaking Up
As the evening progressed, Harry and Hermione relaxed a bit in the living room after putting Teddy to bed, Harry suddenly asked her something that had been bugging him for a bit.
"You never told me what happened with Ron"
Hermione sighed, smiling. "I didn't, did I?" she admitted, taking a sip of her Butterbeer. "Well, there's not much to say, really. In the frenzy of the final battle, the fact he finally acknowledged that House Elves are living creatures just like us made me impulsively kiss him, I don't even know why. I thought he might be a nice boyfriend, before he left us that day in the tent, but after that I kept telling myself if he couldn't realize what was really important in a moment like that, he probably wouldn't when an argument between us happened. I mean, what would he do, just run away? But somehow what he said at that moment brought back for just a moment the idea of a matured Ron I had developed through the summer" she explained. Harry listened to her sipping his Butterbeer.
"After the war, we briefly tried dating, but as you know it didn't last more than a couple months. The excitement over his sudden realization of elves' rights died down and I was left with my previous evaluations about if he had really matured. In the end, I realized he probably had, but some traits of his personality would always remain with him, traits I couldn't change, but that didn't sit well with my idea of an healthy relationship" she concluded, with a smile.
Harry nodded. "I've always wondered about that kiss, you know. I'd never seen you do something that impulsive before, and my first thought was, "my, she must really be in love with him"" he said, earning a scoff from Hermione before both chuckled.
"Well, Harry, this has been a pleasant evening, but I really need to go home to get some sleep" she sighed, standing up. Harry followed her to the door, and before she left he spoke.
"You know you could always sleep here, there are lots of empty rooms" he found himself blurting out, and she looked at him surprised.
"Forget it" Harry said, nervously running an hand through his hair. "I'm sure you'll be more comfortable in your flat anyway" he added.
Hermione slowly nodded, still pondering something, before kissing him on the cheek. "Thanks for the offer, Harry" she whispered, before Disapparating away.
That night, Harry didn't sleep much, his mind filled with Hermione's story about her relationship with Ron. He found himself wondering if he and Ginny were somehow headed down the same path, only it had taken them a longer time to get there. She sure didn't seem to want to head the way he intended to in life, seeing how her biggest worry right now was to have fun. He knew he deserved to have fun too, but he felt he truly needed to be there for Teddy, and that's what he wanted to do. If Ginny couldn't understand that, well, then maybe they were better heading off in separate ways.
And then there was the matter of his sudden offer to Hermione to spend the night there. He had never asked Ginny, who was his girlfriend, to spend the night there since Teddy had come to live with him, so why did he ask Hermione?
Sure, the brunette was much more comfortable with the baby than Ginny, but that couldn't be the only reason, right?
Lately, Harry had felt himself much more comfortable with Hermione than with Ginny, and not only regarding Teddy. Then there was the fact that his female best friend had grown to be a lovely lady herself, with nothing to envy of girls like Lavender, Cho, and Ginny herself.
Sighing loudly, and knowing sleep would not be on his side that night, Harry got up and went to check on Teddy, smiling fondly as he stared at the peaceful form of his godson.
--
A couple days had gone by, and Harry had finally managed to get in touch with Ginny. They had to talk, and he knew she wouldn't like what he was going to say, but the final decision lay in her hands.
"Ginny, I think we need to clarify once and for all if this thing we've got is working or not. And before you interrupt me, I mean we need to know if we want the same things from life. Right now, I seriously doubt we do. You are, rightfully of course, wanting to have fun, find yourself a job, but still hang out with friends, go out at night and things like that. I know we are still young and supposed to do this, but I also have a responsibility toward Teddy. I promised Remus I'd take care of him if anything happened to them, and that's what I intend to do. If this leads me to live what you called an "old man's life", then so be it. Now, are you willing to share this adventure with me, or not?"
Ginny was speechless. She had always dreamed of being with Harry, eventually to marry him and be the mother of his children. But right now their lives were heading down different paths, and if they didn't make a decision soon, they would only end hurting each other.
Truthfully, she wasn't ready yet to act as a mother, as an adult. She still wanted that freedom that came with her young age. She could understand why Harry would want to care for Teddy, but honestly that was his choice, his call, not hers.
These thoughts led her to a realization. If she wasn't willing to give up what she had to be with him, then maybe she didn't really love him like she thought. Maybe they were truly better on different paths.
"Honestly, Harry, no, I'm not ready to commit to something like this. And the fact I'm not willing to do that speaks volumes about my true feelings for you, I realize. I think we should break up"
There, she'd said it.
Harry nodded, smiling at her. "You've matured quite a bit, Ginny" he praised her. "This wasn't an easy decision to make, but you did what was right and ending things instead of hanging onto an empty relationship"
She smiled ruefully. "We all had to mature fast"
"Don't I know it" he said with an hollow laugh, before kissing her on the cheek, and accompanying her to the door.
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