Never in a Million Years

A giggle rang out in the Gryfinndor common room. Harry looked up from the game of Gobstones that he and Neville were currently engaged in and glanced across the room to the source of the giggle. His two best friends were sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace. He rolled his eyes when he noticed that there was only enough room to fit a piece of parchment between the two of them. Hermione had a book open across her lap but was paying no attention to it. Ron's arm was around the back of the couch and his hand was toying with a lock of Hermione's curly hair. They were talking quietly with one another and from the looks on their faces, Harry had no desire to hear what they were discussing.

It had started when Harry arrived at the Burrow the past summer. Still reeling from the death of Sirius, he grumbled a greeting to all of the Weasleys and Hermione and promptly shuffled up to Ron's room. He spent all of his time there, save for meals. The first two days, various people had tried to draw him out, especially Ron and Hermione but he continued to resist. He preferred sleeping and staring at the ceiling. He grumbled short replies to all of Ron's questions when he came back to his room at night and when he did attend meals, he ate in silence.

But even Harry had his limits. After a week of avoiding everyone and everything, he began to watch the other occupants of the house as they went about outside. Harry witnessed the comings and goings of the members of the Order. He most frequently saw Tonks, Moody, and an unfamilar tall man with dark brown hair that was presumably an Order member. Ginny was often outside, flying lazy circles on her broomstick or sitting out in the sun with Luna Lovegood, who had spent a few weeks at the Burrow that summer. But his favorite people to watch were Ron and Hermione.

They were spending a lot of time together, sitting by a tree next to the pond. Sometimes they seemed to be talking quietly and seriously but most of the time they were...different. At first he thought the difference was the contrast between his foul mood and their lightheartedness. But they were treating each other differently than they ever had before. They were laughing and joking and there seemed to be a lot of... touching. When Harry saw Ron pick up Hermione and toss her in the pond, Harry thought that he might have to leave the room to stop Hermione from killing his best mate. But she just laughed, grabbed Ron's ankle, and pulled hard so that he joined her in the water. Harry had blinked a few times, flabbergasted by what he had just witnessed. Even the times that they had their schoolbooks and were doing their homework, they were smiling and chatting. At mealtimes however, around the rest of the family, the two of them seemed almost shy. It was extremely odd.

He watched and listened to the faint voices through the open window and witnessed lots of teasing and chuckling and little touches on the arm. He watched everyday for hours but even so, it took him two weeks of observation to come to the absolutely horrifying, unbelievable conclusion.

They were flirting.

Harry slowly backed away from the window and sank onto his bed. When the hell had this happened? Sure, he had always suspected that Ron harbored some sort of feelings toward Hermione and at times, Hermione seemed to have little bouts of jealousy or exasperation that seemed to be founded on feelings that were more than friendly. But never in a million years had he suspected that they might be tempted to act on them. At least, not yet.

For reasons he could not possibly fathom, Harry knew that they needed to be stopped. This could not continue. He wasn't sure how but he had the distinct feeling that his being there would do it. So the next day, Harry stood up from the table after breakfast and said, "What's the plan for today?" Ron and Hermione, who had fallen into their own world during the meal, turned to Harry with their mouths open. After gaping at him for a moment, both of them burst out with excited suggestions of what they could do to fill the rest of the summer days.

For the next month, Harry spent all his time with Ron and Hermione. He and Ron played Quidditch daily and Hermione helped him finish up his schoolwork. All three of them would walk to the pond and sit up on the banks. There was only one problem. The flirting did not stop. There was still all of the laughing and bantering and the...touching. In front of him! They acted as though it was...normal.

It all came to head on the last week before school started. Harry (who actually was feeling better after he had emerged from his seclusion) had just been challenged by Ginny to game of chess. He had ran upstairs to fetch his pieces but what he saw in Ron's room made him stop in his tracks.

Ron and Hermione were there. Their eyes were closed, each had their hands resting on the other's arms and their faces were moving closer together. Harry's eyes widened and just before their lips could touch, he did the only thing he could think of.

He cleared his throat.

Two sets of eyes flew open and they jumped apart. A blush spread across Hermione's cheeks quickly and Ron's ears were the reddest they had ever been. "Um, my chess pieces," said Harry, taking a step into the room.

"Oh, right," said Hermione quickly. "Well, I just came up here to see if my book was up here and um, yes, well, it's obviously not up here. So, I'll just see you later. Maybe at dinner or possibly before then, possibly. Yes. Okay." It was the least articulate thing Hermione had ever said. "Harry," she said, nodding to him. "Ron," she finished, nodding to him as well and giving him a tiny, sad smile. She brushed past Harry and hurriedly descended the stairs.

"Um, your chess pieces are right there," Ron said, pointing at the nightstand, the rest of his face catching up with his ears.

"Right, so I'll go down and play Ginny then," Harry said, snatching up the set and turning to head out the door. He paused just outside the door to glance back at Ron. Ron was face down on his bed, face buried in his pillow.

Harry felt a twinge of guilt deep in his stomach.

After the incident in Ron's room, he saw neither Ron nor Hermione until dinner. Both were uncharacteristically quiet and overly polite with everyone at the table. After the meal, they sat on completely opposite sides of the Weasleys' living room, spending most of their time glancing at one another without catching the other's eye. And both looked thoroughly miserable. When it had come time to head up to bed, Ron had stumbled into his room and flopped on his bed without more than two words to Harry. Even with his silence, Harry could tell he was not asleep from the sounds of rumbling sheets and sighs.

The next morning, Harry shifted on his cot, trying to grasp at the last bits of sleep as he heard a creak. A firm grip came around his upper arm and yanked hard. "Hey!" Harry yelped as he jumped to his feet but no other words were heard as a hand was clapped over his mouth.

He was dragged out to the hall and down a flight of stairs and tugged into what was Fred and George's old bedroom. He was pushed down onto one of the beds and stared up at his attacker.

"I need to talk to you," Ginny said, her hands on her hips and staring at him with narrowed eyes.

"About-about what?" Harry said nervously. She looked rather scary.

"Hermione cried herself to sleep last night," Ginny answered.

"I didn't do anything! Usually that's Ron's department," Harry said defensively.

"Well Ron didn't do anything either. And that is what's your fault!"

Harry felt his stomach drop. He could figure out where this was going. "You interrupted them! They have been working up to that moment the entire summer! No, not the entire summer, more like the entire year! Or-or ever since fourth year! No, since they've met! This is something they've been waiting for their entire lives!"

Harry rubbed his eyes wearily. It was much too early in the morning for teenage girl exaggerated romantic ramblings. "Their entire lives?" he asked skeptically with a snort.

"Excuse me?" hissed Ginny.

Harry froze and quickly switched tactics. This apparently was not the appropriate time for questions or skepticism. "Okay, I did interrupt them. But can't they just, you know, try again?"

"Why?" Ginny asked.

"Why what?" Harry asked.

"Why did you interrupt them?" Ginny said.

"It was an acci-" Harry started to say but Ginny waved a dismissive hand.

"Don't try to tell me that it was an accident. Hermione told me exactly what happened and you purposely announced your presence. Now tell me why!" Ginny insisted.

"I-I don't, well," Harry stumbled. Why didn't he want something to happen between his two best friends?

"Do you have feelings for Hermione?" Ginny asked, hands still on her hips and feet squared with her shoulders.

"No!"

Ginny held her stern stance but Harry could see her lip twitching upward. "Do you have feelings for Ron?"

"Ha, ha, Ginny," Harry said dryly. "I have no romantic feelings for either of my best friends."

"Okay, so if there is none of that in the way, then will you tell me why or do you want me to take a stab at it?" Ginny asked quietly.

Harry heaved an exasperated sigh at her change of tone. This was just what he did not need. Another person lavishing him with pity.

"Harry, I think you are the most selfish bastard I have ever met."

While it wasn't pity, this really was not any better. "Wha-what?" Harry stuttered out.

"These are your best friends. They would do anything for you. Anything! They would sacrifice their lives for you. How can you ask them to give up their happiness? A chance at love?"

Harry almost swallowed his tongue. "Love?"

"Look, I don't know if it's love yet but their both fairly rational people and they would never risk their friendship if they didn't feel very strongly about each other. And at the same time, they would never risk your friendship. They always put you first. At first, I thought maybe it was just because Ron and Hermione are those kinds of people. But now... now I'm starting to think it's because you demand that they put you first."

"Wait a second!" exclaimed Harry. "I've never-"

"Of course you've never actually said it but actions speak louder than words, right?"

Harry remained silent for a moment before responding to Ginny. "I just- I just don't want things to change."

"People grow up, they change. Their friendship is going to change and yeah, maybe the dynamic of you as a group will change but your friendship with each of them won't. And they aren't suddenly going to change. They'll still be there for you like they always have. But I'm sure you would rather have Ron mopping around and Hermione crying at night."

"Was she really crying? That sounds a little out of character for her."

"Why, because she's a robot without any functions other than to aid Harry Potter in saving the world?" Ginny said, rolling her eyes. "She IS a teenage girl. We don't have a reputation for being the most stable creatures."

"You don't say," Harry said wryly. Ginny smiled a little and gave him a little punch in the arm. "Okay, okay. I get it. Things just have to change. I have to just deal with it. It's going to be hard for me but then again, what isn't hard in my life?"

"Oh, woe is you," answered Ginny but she said it with a smile. "So you know what you have to do?"

"I guess step aside and let things happen between them."

"No, no. See that would have worked a month ago, before you started to interfere. But now... I'm afraid you'll have to be a bit more proactive."

And that was how Harry came to have the most uncomfortable conversation of his entire life. He entered Ron's room that afternoon to find Ron struggling with his Transfiguration book and a piece of parchment that Harry recognized as the essay Ron had been working on the previous day. "You're doing homework?" Harry asked.

"Huh? Yeah, last assignment. Mum said that we might be able to go with her to Diagon Alley for books and stuff this week and I have a feeling that there will be conditions, like homework has to be done."

"So why aren't you getting help from Hermione?" posed Harry. As predicted, the back of Ron's neck began to color but he kept his eyes trained on his parchment.

"Um, no. She would probably give me hell for not having it done already," Ron said.

"Ron, you're on your last assignment. I'm sure Hermione would help you after she peeled herself off the floor when she passes out from the shock of you being done with all your homework a week early."

"Oh, I'm such a bloody idiot that I can't do my schoolwork without Hermione's help?" snapped Ron.

"No! Merlin, no. I just - thought you might want to talk to Hermione. You know, because I thought maybe you hadn't talked to her since - before dinner yesterday." Ron didn't respond but his ears joined his neck in the same rosy hue. Here came the hard part. Harry cleared his throat and pressed forward. "Look, I'm not sure what was - okay, I'm pretty sure of what was going on up here yesterday."

"Harry, I really don't want to talk about this," answered Ron, still not looking up from his essay.

"I know, I know. But I just wanted to say that um, whatever I interrupted seemed like something that has been - inevitable for a long time and maybe you should talk to Hermione because according to Ginny, she was upset that what was going to happen didn't happen because I interrupted... what was going to happen," Harry finished lamely. He took in a deep breath and let it out. That had to have been the most awkward sentence that he had ever spoken. Although it seemed rather fitting because this was the most awkward conversation Harry had been a part of.

Ron continued to scribble away at his essay, not looking up. Harry, having fulfilled his obligation to Ginny, quickly turned to the door to make his exit but stopped at the sound of his name. "Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"She was upset?"

"That's what Ginny said."

"Do you- do you know where she is?"

"I haven't seen her today but I think she's up in the girls' room," Harry answered.

"Okay," Ron answered.

"Okay," said Harry back. He stood in the doorway for a few more moments and when Ron didn't say anything else, Harry left the room.

Harry assumed that Ron must have spoken to Hermione at some point before they went back to school because he caught sight of them walking the corridor of the Hogwart's Express hand in hand. Things had obviously progressed from there because three months later, there they were, snuggled up on the couch. Harry also thought that snuggled was one of the most nauseating words in the English language.

The past three months had been... interesting. It had not been the tragic or horrendous ordeal that Harry had originally envisioned. Sure things were different and even bordered on strange but sometimes it was sort of...nice, to watch his two best friends together.

Ginny had been part right. First off, Harry and Hermione's relationship had not changed. She still nagged and mothered him, just as she always had. She was still there to help him with his homework and when things got tough. And Hermione had not changed in her personality either, at least with him. He had noticed an increase in giggling and blushing from her when Ron was around and although he often felt the urge to throw up when it happened, it was sort of...cute to see her act like a girl.

And Ron had not changed either, although he did seem to hold back on some of the biting comments he used to make towards Hermione. But Harry and Ron's relationship had changed, just as Harry knew it would. It was not Ginny's fault she had been wrong. It was something a girl could not understand.

Harry knew that once a bloke got a girlfriend, he and his best mate's relationship changed. It was just part of life, part of growing up. Out of himself and his best mate, Harry had never been sure which one of them would have a girlfriend first. He had sort of hoped that it would be him so Ron would have to be the one that was left in the awkward spot. Nevertheless, he had been prepared for a girl to enter the picture at some point. He had just never imagined that Hermione would be that girl.

And furthermore, he assumed that as best friends, they would share particular... well, physical aspects of their respective relationships. And once again, the image in his mind had never cast Hermione in the role of Ron's girlfriend. This threw Harry into a bit of a quandary. He felt curious about some of the details but he wasn't sure he could stomach "details" between Ron and Hermione. Plus he didn't want to risk jeopardizing Hermione's reputation although anything Ron said would obviously stay between the two of them. For Merlin's sake, they weren't Dean and Seamus.

Since halfway through their fifth year, Seamus had fluctuated between dating Lavender and dating the rest of the school and Dean had dated his share of girls and neither of them shied away from sharing details. They told loud, boisterous tales of their conquests almost nightly. Neville maintained a blush the entire time and always studied an open book, although Harry never saw him turn any pages. Harry suspected that Ron, like him, was listening much more closely than he appeared but for the most part, they ignored Dean and Seamus. Harry had to admit that these stories made him more curious about Ron and Hermione's relationship and had even made an attempt to ask Ron about it one night. The conversation hadn't gone anywhere because Hermione had appeared. Even though she had not heard anything, Harry had felt too embarrassed about being caught to ask again. Unfortunately, Dean and Seamus had no such qualms.

Before bed one night, about a month after the beginning of the school year, both were chuckling over an encounter between Dean and Gia Datson in a broom closet the night before when Seamus suddenly turned and said, "What about you Weasley?"

Ron jerked a little at the sound of his name. "What about me?"

"You and Hermione. All cozy in the common room. Any tales of what goes on behind closed doors?" asked Dean.

Harry, who had been digging through his trunk, looked up at his friend. Seamus and Dean watched him eagerly and Neville glanced up from his book with interest. "No comment," Ron grumbled.

"No comment!" Dean exclaimed. "Come on, Hermione's looking good this year. You don't have anything to share with us?"

"Dean, my friend, just because Hermiome looks smashing this year doesn't mean that she's not still a bookworm. Bit of an ice queen, isn't she Weasley?" laughed Seamus.

Ron had his wand pointed at Seamus's throat in a matter of seconds and the room fell silent. "I'm. Not. Going. To. Talk. About. It," he said slowly. The rest of the boys shifted uneasily. Seamus narrowed his eyes but nodded. Ron brought down his wand and drew his bed curtains on the silent dorm.

The next morning, Ron had been rather quiet and moody as they all rose and dressed for breakfast and classes. Hermione had been waiting for them in the common room that morning and had commented on his dark mood instantly. Ron had just glared back at Seamus, took Hermione's hand and mumbled, "Don't worry about it, love." Regardless of his words, he had treated all of his dorm mates coldly for the rest of the day, including Harry. So that night, when the common room had cleared out and Hermione had said good night, Harry stopped Ron from heading up to bed.

"Uh, Ron?" Harry asked cautiously.

"What?" he responded sharply.

"Look, about-about last night. I mean, I know that I probably looked as interested as the other guys did but it's -you know, it's okay if you and Hermione aren't - you know," Harry said, shifting uncomfortably. Harry reviewed the sentence in his head and realized how terribly vague it sounded so he tried to clarify. "Doing stuff."

Okay, so that was not much better.

Ron studied him for a moment and then, to Harry's surprise, he snickered. "Harry, do you really think that the reason I didn't want to discuss Hermione and me with everyone last night was because nothing was happening? I'm just not some big-mouthed prat like Dean or Seamus, Harry. You know Hermione, our bookworm best friend who's this proper and sometimes, uptight girl. You don't know Hermione, my girlfriend. And believe me, Hermione, my girlfriend? She is no ice queen." With this declaration, he paused and his mouth turned up in a goofy grin. Harry could see Ron's thoughts drifting off to a place that Harry was no longer sure he wanted to visit and he quickly cleared his throat.

"Um, right," said Ron, shaking his head slightly. "So Hermione, she likes being the proper bookworm. The other stuff - that's just something for her and me."

At those words, Harry felt a twinge of emotion in his stomach. If he had to put a name to it, it was...jealousy. Not jealousy because he had feelings for Hermione (or, he inwardly rolled his eyes at the thought of Ginny, Ron) but because they shared something without him. Something that he was not sure he would ever get to share with someone else. Sure, Harry could go out with some pretty girl but would it be anything like what Ron had with Hermione? Probably not. And Harry did not think it fair to risk some innocent girl's life for lukewarm feelings and some snogging sessions.

"Well, and you," Ron continued.

"Huh?" Harry asked confused.

"I mean, we're best mates. I can't trust those other blokes but you would never do anything to make Hermione look bad. And I have to talk to someone about this stuff. Or at least, I want to, you know? But I'm not going to jeopardize her reputation, I lo-" He stopped abruptly and looked at his feet, his ears beginning to turn red.

"You love her?" Harry asked, a hint of disbelief in his voice. It was not that Harry did not believe Ron; he was just surprised that his friend had let it slip.

Ron was silent for a moment before meeting Harry's eyes. "Yeah, I do."

Harry was unsure of how to respond as he felt the envy flare up in his gut again. He was about to open his mouth to say something - anything - when Ron spoke again.

"But I haven't told her yet."

Harry blinked. "You haven't?"

Ron shook his head. "I just - I just can't yet. So for now, it's between the two of us."

"Yeah," said Harry, with a smile. "Yeah, okay."

Another giggle brought Harry back to the common room. Ron had announced to this morning that today was the day. Today he was planning to tell Hermione that he loved her after their prefect duties. Harry knew that Hermione felt the same way about Ron and it would just strengthen their solid relationship and really, he should still have those feelings of jealousy that he had previously. But really, it had been sort of... cool to watch his two best friends fall in love. And yeah, a little nauseating as well, Harry thought, as he heard Hermione giggle again.

He watched Ron stand up first and then offered his hand to help Hermione up, which she accepted. They both started towards the portrait hole and Hermione turned to wave to him and Harry waved back. Ron swallowed hard behind her and Harry threw him a grin and nodded. Ron managed a weak smile in return and the pair exited the common room, hand in hand.

Harry played a few more games with Neville before the two of them headed up to bed. The two of them dressed for bed, along with Seamus and Dean, joking and talking before they each drifted off to sleep. Harry had been close to sleep when he heard the door to the dorm open and Ron quietly enter.

"Hey," Harry said, sitting up on his elbows.

"Hey," Ron said back, sitting on his bed to remove his shoes.

"How did it go?"

"It went... well," Ron responded. His mouth formed a bemused expression. "Really, really well." His mouth formed a huge, goofy grin.

"Cool," said Harry.

"Yeah." Ron had changed into his pajamas and crawled into his bed. "Good night," he said, although he did not look as though he would fall asleep anytime soon.

"Night," said Harry, rolling over. And he meant it. He was happy that something good had happened to his best friend. To both of his best friends. That they were together and in love. Yeah, things had changed. It was not a bad thing. It was just different. And so what? All the times in his life that Ron and Hermione had been there for him - if he was angry, they were angry. If he was scared, they were scared too.

So if they were happy, than he was happy too.