Author's Note: Sorry about the wait between chapters. I haven't heard back from my beta in forever, so I am just doing this chapter without her. Hopefully I can get that ordeal sorted out. I myself have not written anything new in a while; I hope to get writing a lot though since my break starts two weeks from now. Until next time, enjoy!
Thursday, May 28, 1998 - 10:21 AM
***********Grimmauld Place***********
Harry drowsily opened his eyes from sleep, and rolled out of his bed. The scene in front of him an enormous blur, Harry blindly reached for his bedside cabinet, found his spectacles, and placed them on his head. After spending several minutes in the loo to urinate and brush his teeth, Harry left his bedroom on the second floor and went down to the kitchen in Grimmauld Place, fully expecting to see a girl with familiar bushy brown hair sitting there. However, Hermione Granger was nowhere to be found.
Great, he thought to himself. She must be furious with me because of last night.
After Harry and Hermione's near kiss the night previous, the two spent the rest of the evening at Hagrid's Hut until they came back to Grimmauld Place to sleep. The two said nothing once back at Grimmauld, instead simply departing for their respective rooms without as much as a "goodnight." As Harry sat down at the kitchen table, Kreacher came into view, carrying a tray of bacon and toast.
"Breakfast, Master," Kreacher croaked. The old house elf placed the tray on the table, and bowed at Harry.
"Thanks, Kreacher," he said in return. "Did you see…" he started to say, only for Kreacher to cut him off.
"…The Muggle Born left earlier this morning," Kreacher said, receiving a glare from Harry. Despite Kreacher refraining from ever calling Hermione a Mudblood again, it was still hard for him to be completely nice to Hermione. He tried, but everyone slips up, including a house elf.
"I've told you," Harry began, his eyes narrowing, "that her name is Hermione."
Kreacher bowed in apology, and then handed Harry a note. "The note is from... Hermione," the elf said after a pause.
Harry read over the note, it pretty much just saying that she went over to The Burrow to tell Ron about going to Australia. She had written nothing about last night's altercation.
"She probably doesn't want to ever talk about that," he said. Harry shook his head, still confused about last night. Why did he and Hermione almost kiss? He did not understand it at all, especially since she's dating Ron, his best mate.
"Talk about what, Master?" Kreacher asked, snapping Harry out of his thought process.
Harry looked at Kreacher, and was confused as to why he asked the question when he looked uninterested in the topic. "Don't worry about it, Kreacher," he said flatly. The house elf shrugged his shoulders, bowed again, and left the room.
Eating his breakfast, Harry continued to mull over why he and Hermione almost kissed. I don't like her, he thought simply. She's with Ron; they both fancy each other.
…Then why did she look ready and willing to kiss me? a new voice in his head asked him. He couldn't match a face to the voice, but he knew this voice, this part of his mind, was right. Hermione was open to kissing Harry, she looked more than willing to snog him.
The more he thought about it, the more he became angry. I don't fancy Hermione. Hermione doesn't fancy me. She likes Ron, and Ron likes her, he thought to himself with a tone of finality. Since she's with Ron, Hermione is someone that I could never be with; she's a forbidden fruit. I was lured to what I can't have, and that's that.
Harry closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and ate the rest of his bacon and toast in silence, having finished arguing with himself inside his mind.
***********The Burrow************
Hermione landed on her feet after Apparating to the yard of The Burrow, and swiftly walked to the door, where she proceeded to knock on it three times. After a few seconds, the door opened, Molly Weasley now standing in the doorway.
"Hello, dear," Molly said sweetly. "What can I do for you? Ron and Ginny are both in their rooms right now."
"Oh, I just needed to talk to Ron for a moment," she said.
Molly nodded her head and stepped out of the doorway, motioning for Hermione to step inside. "You know where his room is at," she said simply.
Hermione, however, shook her head sideways. "I'd rather walk around and talk," she replied, equally as simple. "It's a nice day; I'd rather not waste away inside."
"Alright, dear" said Molly. "You just wait here then; I'll go fetch Ronald for you."
Molly walked out of sight, only to come back a minute later. "Ronald will be right down. Is there anything I can get you?" she asked sweetly.
"Oh, no thank you, Mrs. Weasley," Hermione replied.
The two stood in silence for a moment or two, until Molly tried to make small talk until Ron came down from his room. "So, are you excited for the Quidditch World Cup?" she asked Hermione. "Ron and Ginny won't stop talking about how excited they are for it!"
Hermione refrained from rolling her eyes in irritation; she did not want to hear a thing about the Quidditch World Cup, not when she was here to tell Ron she wasn't going. "Oh, um, I'm sure it will be a lot of fun," she lied.
Molly smiled at her, and thankfully Ron appeared a moment later, ending the conversation about the World Cup. "Hi Hermione," he said grinning. "Wanted to talk and go for a walk, aye?"
His back turned to his mother, Ron winked at Hermione, clearly thinking she came just to snog. Hermione bit her tongue, not wanting to snap at Ron. She knew he'd be disappointed, and potentially furious, to hear she was going to Australia instead of the World Cup, so starting a row with him now would just make it worse. "Yes, Ron," she said simply. "I wish to talk with you, please."
Ron grinned even more. "Lead the way then," he said as he stepped out into the yard.
The two walked away from the house and down the hill towards the sight of their campfire weeks prior. Hermione had never really known just how much land the Weasley's actually had, although most of it was filled with woods and hills. A short walk from where the six had their campfire was a watering hole that if they ever wanted to, they could all go swimming in.
Despite Ron telling Hermione to lead the way, as the two walked towards the water, he grabbed Hermione's hand and started walking towards the woods. Hermione didn't mind where they talked at; she just wanted to avoid causing a row in front of the Weasley family.
The two walked on for almost twenty minutes, making small talk along the way, still holding hands. Ron made mention of the Quidditch World Cup several times, but Hermione never responded. She was holding that talk off as long as she could, but knew they'd need to sit down and talk soon.
Finally, Ron came to a halt as the two stopped. They were in the woods still, but they were standing in the middle of a circular area free of trees. The small clearing reminded Hermione of part of a campground she once camped at with her parents when she was much younger. This would be a wonderful place to camp at for a night, she thought absent mindedly.
Ron, still holding Hermione's hand, looked at her, and slowly sat down on the dirt, bringing her with him so they were sitting side by side. Hermione took a deep breath, and prepared to start her well thought out speech. "Ron, the reason I came over today," she began slowly, only for Ron to cover her mouth with his hand.
"Shh," he said quietly. "I know why, Hermione."
Hermione looked at him, confused. Ron quickly waggled his eyebrows at her, and removed his hand from her mouth. "Ron, I don't think…" she started to say, only for her mouth to be covered by Ron's. Ron kissed her hungrily, slipping his tongue into her mouth right away. Hermione didn't kiss back, instead placing her hands on Ron's shoulders, trying to push him away. She clearly didn't apply enough force, as Ron kept kissing Hermione, and soon brought his right hand to her cheekbone. Steadying her head, Ron lowered Hermione down so she was lying on the dirt, Ron quickly moving on top of her afterwards.
Hermione applied more force to Ron's chest, but with him on top of her, it did nothing. She slowly tried to pull her mouth away from Ron's, but also failed to do so with Ron cupping her face. However, Hermione tried to pull her face in the opposite direction as Ron's hand, only for him to place his left hand at her other cheekbone, dropping his right hand down to her torso. Ron then slowly moved his right hand up Hermione's abdomen, reaching her left breast. Ron was able to roughly squeeze Hermione's breast once, only for Hermione to then push Ron to her side, using all of her might to do so. Ron grinned as he sat up, tucking his knees and legs up in front of him, hiding his erection. Hermione took several deep breaths, wiping her mouth with the back of her right hand as she too, sat up. The whole ordeal was quite unsatisfactory for Hermione; Ron kissed her far too sloppily, and only proceeded to make her breast sore with how he grabbed it.
"Ronald," she said angrily. "Don't you ever listen!? I did not come over here today so we could walk out into the woods and let you throw yourself on me!"
Hermione glared at Ron, who seemed hurt and confused. "But, Hermione," he stuttered. "I thought you came over to be with me, and you didn't say anything when we walked into the woods. Last time we walked into the woods, we snogged, so why should now be any different?"
"Simply walking into the woods with you is not a signal that I want to snog," Hermione said irritably. "I came over to your house today to simply talk. I meant what I said when we were at your house."
Ron pulled at his pants, trying to lower them a bit. "Oh," he said simply. "Well then, uh, what did you want to talk about?" Hermione went to answer him, but Ron opened his mouth in excitement and started to talk again. "I bet I know! You wanted to come and make preparations for the Quidditch World Cup, didn't you? That's my Hermione, always trying to plan stuff ahead," he finished grinning.
Hermione looked at Ron in disbelief. She took a few seconds to take a deep breath and calm down. "Actually Ron," she began. "While I did want to talk to you about the World Cup, it isn't like that."
"Oh, well then what?" he asked her. "Did you want to talk about how we're going to stay there? Dad told me earlier that he got two big tents for us, so we'll have plenty of room!"
"No, Ron," she said simply. "It's not that either." Ron started to question her again, but Hermione decided it'd be best if she just blurted it out. "Ron, I'm not going!"
There was silence for a few moments as Hermione took a deep breath, relieved to have finally shouted it out, while Ron looked confused. "Wh-what do you mean?" he asked her. "We've been talking about the World Cup ever since I first mentioned it at the campfire."
Hermione looked at him sadly. "No, Ron," she began. "You have been talking about it ever since, but I never once talked about going to the World Cup. I, well, I haven't wanted to go from the moment you mentioned it."
Ron's confusion was quickly switching to anger. "But, Hermione! We'd be spending over a month together, in France! You always said you loved it in France!"
"I do love going to France, but not camping in rural France to watch a month's worth of Quidditch," she retorted.
"But… but you always went camping as a kid, and you loved that too! Plus," he continued. "You always liked watching me and Harry play Quidditch."
"I do love camping, Ron," she said sadly. "And of course I liked watching you two play Quidditch, but that's not why I don't want to go."
Ron looked at her, dejected by her decision. "So, let me get this straight," he said slowly, a hint of anger in his tone. "You love France, you love camping, and you love Quidditch, yet you don't want to do all of that while spending a month with your boyfriend!? Hermione, bloody hell, what is better than that!?"
Ron, having ended shouting, threw his arms in the air, his face growing red with anger and from his shouting. Hermione took quick, sharp breaths, her eyes narrowing in anger. She was livid. "You want to know what in the `bloody hell' is better than your stupid Quidditch World Cup!?" she shrieked at him. "Besides the fact that right now, anything is better than spending a month watching a stupid game and being with you, the better thing, Ronald, is going to Australia to remove my parents' false memory charm and bring them back to England!"
Hermione was now on her feet, also ending her speech with shouting. Ron got to his feet too, ready to answer with a comeback of his own, but Hermione started to talk again, still shouting. "I'm so sorry," Hermione began sarcastically, "that Harry and I deem parents more important than silly Quidditch!"
Ron turned a new shade of red, his nostrils now flaring. "Oh, I get it," he said simply.
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, confused as can be.
"You want to be with him," he said bitterly. "You'd rather be with Harry than me."
"Ron, it's not like that," she explained. "I miss my parents so much, and Harry understands more than anyone what it's like to miss one's parents. He wants to go and help me bring my parents back to England, and I want you to be there too!"
"Yeah, sure," he snorted in disbelief. "Now that you have to tell me you're not going to the World Cup, you want me to come with you! You just want Harry, I get it."
Hermione stomped her foot in anger. "Ronald, why must you be so ruddy dense!?" she shrieked. "I want to go to Australia to bring my parents home! I want Harry there because he is my friend, and I want you there too because not only are you my boyfriend, but you're my friend too!"
The two stood there in silence for several moments, until Ron spoke again, this time in a soft, pleading voice. "But Hermione, this is the Quidditch World Cup," he said. "It's not just the Finals, but all of it. I get to see the best players in the world, all of them. Can't we get your parents after the World Cup?"
Ron looked at her pleadingly, but Hermione only became angrier. "Family does not come second to a game! Parents do not come second to a sport! The people you love do not come second to Quidditch!" Hermione glared at him, her eyes now watering with tears. Ron tried to say something, but Hermione talked over him. "If you want to be a right git and say I chose Harry over you, then I can be just as irrational and say you chose sodding Quidditch over your girlfriend!"
Hermione turned on her heel and stormed away from Ron, but Ron quickly ran after her. He caught her left arm, and quickly spun her around. However, before Ron could even attempt to say anything, Hermione had her wand in her right hand, pointing it at Ron's face.
"Pungoltus," Hermione cried, blasting Ron in the face with a Stinging Hex. Ron stumbled backwards, clutching his face in pain. Hermione gave Ron one last glaring look before she Disapparated, leaving Ron to stagger back to The Burrow with a swollen, and stinging, face.
***********Grimmauld Place***********
Hermione Apparated outside the door of Grimmauld Place, and quickly stepped into the house, tears still in her eyes. Hermione walked through the foyer and down the steps to the kitchen, where Harry was sitting, eating lunch. Hermione made no noise, trying not to alert Harry of her presence. However, it was as if Harry had a sixth sense that alerted him to her presence; Harry looked over his shoulder, only to find Hermione standing in the doorway, crying silently.
"Hermione, what…" he started to say, but Hermione quickly turned on her heel and ran up the stairs to the entrance hallway. Harry chased her, but Hermione entered the foyer, quickly opened the door, and closed it before Harry could grab the handle. Harry quickly opened the door, but Hermione was already out of sight.
Harry gave one more quick look outside Grimmauld Place, before walking back through the hall and descending the stairs to return to the kitchen. Once there, he Scourgified the food on the plate, and Evanescoed the plate. Harry then swiftly walked through Grimmauld, reached the door, stepped outside, and Disapparated away.
***********The Burrow***********
Moments later, Harry appeared in the yard of The Burrow, just as Ron finally got staggered up the hill towards the house, his face looking wretched. Harry looked at him quizzically.
"What in the hell happened to you?" he asked him.
Ron looked blindly in the direction of Harry, and had just one word for an answer: "Hermione."
Harry looked at Ron, and couldn't help but smirk at Hermione hexing him. However, he remembered Hermione crying back at Grimmauld, and became filled with anger. "Yeah, Hermione," he started simply. "She's the girl that showed up at Grimmauld crying. She left a note saying she came here to talk to you, so I think that narrows down who upset her."
Ron staggered the rest of the way to the house, not answering Harry. He entered the house, but Harry grabbed him by the back of his maroon jumper, yanking him back to the yard. Ron staggered, and looked outraged at Harry. "Bloody hell," he yelled. "I can't see a damn thing out of my left eye, my face stings like a hippogriff fucker, and I just want to have this ruddy hex lifted! So damn it, Harry, stop pushing me around!"
Ron tried to walk back into the house, but Harry stepped in his path, his wand pointed at him. "Fucking hell," Ron said. "Not again."
"Finite," Harry said in a low voice.
Seconds later, Ron's face was back to normal. He cautiously touched the skin just under his left eye, and breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks mate," he said. Ron then went to walk into The Burrow again, but Harry still didn't move. "C'mon, Harry," he complained. "Let me in my house!"
"No," he said simply. "I want to know why Hermione showed up crying."
The anger that consumed Ron during his row with Hermione was quickly returning once again. "Like you don't already know," he mumbled in a low tone. "She'd rather go to Australia than the World Cup with me; she'd rather be with you. Now let me through!" Harry didn't budge, but Ron, taller and stronger than Harry, shoved him aside, and walked into the house.
Harry staggered to his right, but stayed on his feet. He quickly stormed into The Burrow after Ron, but as soon as he stepped into the house, he saw Ginny standing at the bottom step, standing in the middle between Harry and Ron. She looked confused. "I could hear you two talking outside," she said. "What did Ron mean?"
Harry walked over to her, hoping she'd move out of his way. "It doesn't matter," he said, looking above her shoulder and at the upstairs hallway.
Ginny, however, stayed on the bottom step, refusing to let Harry pass. "Tell me," she demanded.
Wanting to simply go upstairs and confront Ron, he answered her. "Hermione is going to Australia instead of the Quidditch World Cup," he began. "She wants to bring her parents back to England now that the war is over. I'm going with her," he added plainly.
Harry expected Ginny to move out of his way, but she still stood on the bottom step. She still looked confused. "You… you're not coming with us to France?" she asked him. "But Harry, I thought you wanted to spend the month with me, with all of us."
"It's not that, Ginny" he said. "I'd love to go to the Quidditch World Cup with you lot, but getting Hermione's parents back home, where they belong, is more important to me."
Ginny looked at Harry for a moment, and nodded her head. "Okay," she said simply. "I understand; you'd rather spend the time with us, with me, but recovering the Granger's identities is the right thing to do." Ginny stepped off the step, approaching Harry so they were right in front of each other. Ginny slid her hand along Harry's face, and leaned her head up to kiss Harry. However, Harry, caught her wrist with his hand, and pushed it off his face.
"I'm not here to be with you, Gin," he said flatly. "Ron did something to upset Hermione, and I'm not leaving `till I find out what." Harry quickly moved past Ginny, and stormed up the steps. He wasn't here to let Ginny try and kiss him, and she had it all wrong anyways: He'd rather not spend a whole month with Ginny, not right now, with everything so confusing. Once he reached Ron's door, he turned the knob, only for the door to remain closed. Harry pulled out his wand, and pointed it at the knob. "Alohomora!"
The door unlocked, and Harry opened the door. Harry stepped into Ron's room, and spotted him sitting on his bed, still looking angry. Harry stayed in the doorway. "Ron," he started. "Why was Hermione crying when she came back to Grimmauld?"
Ron shrugged his shoulders, still looking pissed. "How should I know?" he asked in return. "I couldn't see a damn thing, remember? She hexed me!"
"Yeah, and you probably deserved it," he retorted back. "Look Ron, don't have a go at Hermione because she misses her parents! You and I both know that Hermione's parents are more important to her than Quidditch!"
"Yeah," he agreed bitterly. "But then again, you're more important to her than me too."
Harry looked questioningly at him. "What in the hell are you on about?"
Ron jumped up from the bed, looking shocked at Harry's confusion. "Like hell you don't know! She'd rather be with you in Australia than in France with me! And you'd rather be with her than me and Ginny! You've been planning on going to Australia with her this whole time!"
"Yeah, I have," he stated simply. "Parents are more important than Quidditch to me."
Ron laughed and shook his head in disbelief. "No, you going behind my back to snog my girlfriend is more important than Quidditch!"
Harry looked at Ron in horror for the briefest of moments, fearing Hermione told Ron about their near-kiss the night before. However, he changed his look to that of more confusion a second later, Ron missing the initial glance altogether.
"You want to go to Australia with Hermione so you can snog her," Ron shouted. "You don't give a damn about my relationship with her, and you don't care about your relationship with Ginny either!"
Harry looked at Ron in complete disbelief. Now Ron was just sounding idiotic. "Ron, you're off the wall, mate. I'm not going to Australia to sabotage your relationship with Hermione. And I'm not even dating Ginny! She and I already talked about that."
Ron curled his fingers into a fist, and wiggled his fingers once in said fist. "Yeah sure, Harry," Ron said sarcastically. "Don't you remember what you told me? You told me she was like a sister to you! And now look at you, you ditched my sister and are trying to steal Hermione away from me!"
"Ron, you're fucking mental," Harry shouted at him. "Hermione wanted you to come with us! She told me that the moment she mentioned going to Australia, and I'd bet my life that she told you she wanted you to come with her!" Harry glared at Ron, his anger and frustration consuming him. "Hermione is my best friend, Ron. She's always been there for me; she's never abandoned me. If she wants to go to Australia and re-modify her parents' memories, then I won't abandon her on that trip in return. I'm going to help her, and that's that."
Harry fell silent for a moment, still glaring at Ron. Ron returned the glare, and as he thought of a retort, Harry started talking again instead. "You're being the world's biggest git right now, Ron. You don't appreciate Hermione at all, not if you're still going to the Quidditch World Cup instead of going to Australia with her. You should be going there with her, helping her restore her parents' memories, but instead, you'd rather go be a Quidditch fan boy! Merlin, you think Hermione and you will make a great wife and husband because you argue a lot, but that doesn't mean anything! You should be supporting her, not being selfish!" He paused momentarily, noticing Ron's shocked look. "Oh what, Ron? Didn't that stupid book you got last year teach you that about girls?"
Ron was stunned silent, as Harry held nothing back. He was like a man possessed, and he had no idea why. He had already dealt Ron several low blows, but he still wasn't finished. "You know what? Go to the World Cup! Go beg Krum for another autograph, maybe if you tell him Hermione sends her regards he'll do so! And while you're there, I hope you get hit by a stray Bludger. Maybe then you'll stop being such a wanker and get some fucking sense knocked into you!"
Harry gave Ron one last hateful glare before exiting his room. As he looked in the hallway, both Ginny and Molly Weasley were standing nearby, their mouths agape in shock after overhearing Ron and Harry's row. Harry looked at them emotionlessly, and walked through the hallway, down the steps, and eventually out the front door. Molly followed after him, calling for him to come back and calm down, but he didn't listen. He didn't hesitate a second, instead Disapparating away from The Burrow and back to Grimmauld.
Back upstairs, Ginny slowly walked into Ron's room, still looking shocked by the row between Harry and Ron. Ron was sitting on his bed again, his hands in his hair. He looked up at Ginny, and was surprised to see her glaring at him. "What?" he asked her.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Ron Weasley, you're an ignorant git! Harry isn't going to Australia to snog Hermione; he meant what he said that bringing Hermione's parents home was more important to him than Quidditch. Harry never got to know his parents, so you know how much he values family. We always had Mum and Dad; we take them for granted."
Ron removed his hands from his head and sat up fully, looking at Ginny blankly. "Hermione and Harry both wanted you to go with them, you know. You were too busy throwing a tantrum because they weren't going to the World Cup to even recognize that. Personally, I'd love to go to Australia. I hear it's so beautiful there. I'm jealous Harry didn't ask me to go with him, actually," she finished sadly.
Ginny gave Ron one last look, and then left his room. Ron watched her leave, and then lowered his head, resting it in his hands. He stayed that way for several moments, before snapping his head back up, coming to a realization about the way he acted.
"Bloody hell," he groaned. "I was a wanker."
***********Grimmauld Place***********
Harry Apparated outside Grimmauld's front door, and entered the house. His body still shaking with rage because of Ron, he slowly walked through the house to the library on the third floor, hoping Hermione might be there. To his dismay, Hermione wasn't in the library. He checked her bedroom on the first floor, but she wasn't there either. Finally, he walked down the stairs to the main hallway, and then down the stairs leading to the kitchen. Still, no Hermione. However, there was a note on the table. At first, Harry thought it was the note from earlier in the morning, but this was a new one.
Hermione must have known I'd go to The Burrow when she left, he thought. She probably came right back here a few minutes after she left.
Harry walked over to the kitchen table, and picked up the note, reading it to himself…
Harry,
If you are reading this, you must be back from The Burrow. While I can't say I know you definitely went there, I'm sure you went there to find out why I was upset. You don't need to worry about why I was upset, Harry. We can talk about it some other time.
I needed to be alone for a while, so I Disapparated over to my parents' house in Wimbledon. Almost all of my parents' stuff is still there, and even though nobody is there, it is comforting for me.
However, I do have a favor to ask of you, Harry. Can you be ready to leave for Australia tonight? I know we planned to leave on 2nd June, but I just want to get away from here for now. Have your suitcase packed and be ready to leave by 10, if you can.
I'll see you soon,
Hermione
Harry put the note down, and decided that if he and Hermione were leaving for Australia tonight, he should get packed. He still had a lot on his mind - his row with Ron, his changing feelings for Ginny, his near-kiss with Hermione - and hoped that a few weeks in Australia would help clarify everything going through his head.
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