Betrayal

Chapter 11

"Excuse me?" Ron s face broke out into a horrible, disbelieving grin. He could not believe what she had just said to him. It didn't make the least bit of sense. Perhaps she thought the break-up would somehow be easier if she had something solid to blame it on, like a make-believe relationship with Harry. Except that would make it worse, he thought. He truly was confused. "What are you playing at? Just tell me the truth, don't make up wild stories-"

"Ron, that is the truth." Hermione was speaking as slowly and steadily as she had with Harry. She knew these words were going to destroy Ron, but he had to understand. "I love Harry and he loves me. I am so sorry that it has to be this way. We never wanted to hu-"

"What?!?" The clear enunciation of Hermione's words had helped them sink in and Ron was simultaneously livid and bewildered. "I don't believe it! Since when do you love Harry? And since when does he love you? Where is this coming from?" He stood up and looked around the common room frantically, as if the answer were laying on the floor or over the back of a chair somewhere in the vicinity. Hermione stood up too and tried to look into his wildly searching eyes.

"Ron," she began tentatively, "we just, sort of, discovered our feelings tonight. We haven't been conspiring behind your back or anything-"

"How the hell am I supposed to know that?" He roared. "How do I know that every time we had a disagreement you didn't sneak off with Harry or some other bloke for a quick one in the loo?"

Hermione stepped back in shock. She though he must be temporarily insane. "Ronald Weasley! How dare you! Harry wouldn't do that to you! Some other bloke? I wouldn't-"

"So you're saying you haven't shagged him then? I'm supposed to believe this coming from the girl who can't even keep her clothes on-" SMACK!! Hermione slapped Ron on the side of the face as hard as she possibly could. He staggered backwards and tripped over his own feet falling ungracefully to the floor with a look of utter disbelief across his face. Her sympathy for the redhead had disappeared and was quickly replaced with outraged indignation. He was trying to make her feel like a whore, again. She couldn't believe it.

"You idiot! You want to know the truth? I shagged him all right! I shagged him right after you screamed horrible things at me, made me feel like a dirty slag, broke up with me, and then kicked me out of your room when I had practically nothing on! Harry saw me crying, followed me, made me feel better about myself than you ever have, and then shagged my brains out!" She was looking down upon him with the deepest loathing in her eyes and breathing heavily, almost daring him to get up and retaliate.

Ron was looking up at her with a mixture of silent fury, horror, and confusion. He opened his mouth to respond but could not. Between her powerful blow to the side of his face (how was it that someone so small could be so strong?) and what she had just told him about Harry and herself, he was completely stunned. He knew he had messed things up with Hermione, but he had not yet allowed himself to seriously believe it could not be fixed. And he had never once thought that she and Harry had feelings for each other, except for that one tiny moment when he thought he saw Harry looking up her skirt on the train ride back to Hogwarts. But he had convinced himself that the stolen glance was accidental and didn't mean anything. Harry wouldn't make a move on Hermione, he just wouldn't. This was crazy. He crawled backwards, away from her, before getting to his feet. His eyes never left hers even though hers were still flashing with fury.

Hermione watched him get to his feet wondering what his reaction would be. She had lost control for a second there and her outburst had been a little cruder then she had intended, but damn it, she was angry! She could tell he was thinking about what she just said, but she wasn't prepared for what was about to come out of his mouth.

"Hermione," he began steadily. He now seemed in complete control over his emotions and words, which were slow and deliberate. "I love you more than anything else in the world, and I never meant to make you feel like a dirty slag. Never. I thought I was doing the right thing and respecting you and your body. I was wrong not to consider your feelings; I know that now. I screwed up. But if what you say about you and Harry is true, and I am having a really hard time believing it right now," He took a deep breath and held her gaze. "I never want to speak to either of you ever again." And with that he walked towards the staircase and made his way up to the boy's dormitory to find Harry.

Hermione sat back down on the sofa feeling numb and hollow.

Harry was still staring at the ceiling when he heard Ron enter the dormitory. He had heard the yelling and had wanted to go down to intervene, but he decided that this wasn't a good idea. It would have seemed as if he and Hermione were teaming up against Ron. He turned his head enough to see Ron sit on his bed and put his head in his hands. Without looking up, he asked "Did you have sex with Hermione tonight?"

"Yes."

"Oh Christ, Harry. Was it the first time?"

"Yes."

"Do you love her?" His voice was thick with emotion.

"Yes."

Ron took in a deep breath and looked up at Harry with tears in his eyes. "Well, there you have it, then. I guess I hope you two will be very happy together, I mean I love you both and want you to make her happy, obviously-" Ron was rambling on in an empty voice that made Harry nervous.

"Ron..."

"-I care about Hermione a lot. Actually I love her more than I thought it was possible to love someone, but apparently she loves you now, so I just-"

"Ron, stop, please, I'm sorry. I know that doesn't mean anything to you right now, but believe me, I am so unbelievably sorry-"

"-hope you guys are happy, and I never want to speak to either of you or look at your faces again." Ron crawled into bed and turned his back towards Harry, who was momentarily struck dumb by Ron's last statement.

"Listen, Ron you don't mean that. You're just really mad right now, and you have every right to be mad, but we still love you and we're still your best friends and we're here for you, okay? Ron?" But Ron was silent. Harry got up and made his way over to Ron's bed.

"Do not come over here Harry; I'm warning you." Ron's voice was low and deadly. Harry stopped immediately. A physical confrontation was the very last thing he wanted.

"Ron, we can't not be friends anymore. I can't bear that, and I know Hermione can't either."

"You both should have thought of that before you slept together, then, don't you think?"

Harry closed his eyes. "I know. I know we should not have done that. If I could take it back I would. Even though I am really in love with her, I would take it back if it would make this any easier. I'd do anything to make this easier for you, Ron. Just tell me what to do, and I'll do it. I swear."

"Listen very closely, Harry, because I am only going to say this once. As long as you two are together, neither of you exist for me. Do you understand, Harry? If not, I can thinks of a million different ways of saying this to you. I want to make sure that we are perfectly clear on this. I don't want to hear about what you or Hermione can or cannot bear, because I can't bear pretending to be happy or pretending that I give a damn about either of you if you two are together and shoving it under my nose every day. So, if you really care about me, my feelings, and our friendship, you know what you have to do." Ron hadn't moved or looked at Harry during this small speech, but his words sent chills down Harry's spine nonetheless. Ron was making Harry choose between their friendship and his love for Hermione.

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