Betrayal

Chapter 20 (FINAL)

To Snape's intense displeasure, the three friends were still in one piece when he returned to his office. Hermione smiled sweetly at him as she handed in the essay, which was indeed written in Ron's atrocious handwriting. They left Snape's office and made their way back to the common room, chatting casually and ignoring the inquisitive looks by almost all who saw them. They knew the months leading up to graduation would sometimes be strained and awkward, but they were hopeful nevertheless.

N.E.W.T.S approached rapidly, and despite her threats to withhold help of any kind, Hermione spent a great deal of time with Harry and Ron (mostly Ron, because he needed it) going over essays and spells. They spent their free time during the day with each other, laughing and reminiscing about the funnier times of their earlier school days.

"I can't believe you two flew a car into the whomping willow! You're so lucky you weren't killed!" Harry and Ron grinned at each other. Hermione grinned as well in spite of herself.

"What about you? Remember when you hit Malfoy and stormed out of Professor Trelawney? You were mad that year!" But Ron's voice still held a trace of awe.

And they talked about the sad times as well.

"I just miss Sirius so much..." Harry's voice was quiet. Ron and Hermione sat on both sides of him whispering words of comfort and love, letting him know that, despite his loss, he was far from alone.

Harry and Hermione were careful to not be overly affectionate in Ron's presence. At night, after everyone went to bed, they would meet each other, sometimes in the room of requirement, sometimes in the room where they were first together. They would make love slowly and sweetly, exploring each other's bodies and getting lost in kisses and tender caresses. And they would plan their future. When Hermione talked of marriage, Harry's eyes would glaze over with sheer happiness. He would think of tiny, black-haired children with brown eyes running around the house, causing trouble and being much too smart for their own good, just like their parents. They wanted their first child to be a boy, and they would name him James Ronald Potter. It was during these intimate moments with Hermione that Harry was able to imagine a future without the threat of Voldemort of the death of his loved ones, a future where he was normal, happy, and most of all, loved. Then they would be sure to be back in their own dorms by morning so no one would suspect a thing.

And sometimes Ron would walk in on an embrace or a kiss in the common room, which would cause his heart to ache and a surge of jealousy to rise in his stomach. But as time went on, these feelings became less intense. One time in particular that he had noticed these feelings were lessening significantly was after an especially nasty detention with Snape.

"Potter! How many slivers of Dragon liver did you add to your potion? Three and a half? Tell me Potter, can you read? The instructions clearly say three and one fourth! Silence, you silly girl! For the last time, stop being such an insufferable know-it-all! Five hundred points from Gryffindor for Potter's stupidity and for Granger simply annoying me by daring to answer my questions!" Ron's face was screwed up into an ugly sneer as he mocked the potion's master during lunch one day. Hermione and Harry were doubled over in laughter, which quickly subsided as Snape glided behind Ron, seemingly from out of nowhere. Ron noticed the change in their expression and knew instantly that Snape was behind him.

"I suppose you think that's funny, Mr. Weasley, making fun of your teachers? Detention, tonight, five o clock, in my office." Came the dangerously low hiss of Professor Snape.

Snape ended up making Ron clean his office, which was filthy with all sorts of disgusting ingredients and leftover potion remains, from top to bottom, by hand. The entire time, Snape sat in his chair hurling insults about how useless Ron, Harry, and Hermione were in potions and how he could not believe that they had made it into his N.E.W.T.S level class.

Ron was trembling with rage when he made it back to the common room, desperate to vent his anger and frustration out on whomever he happened to come across. He entered the porthole and found the common room empty except for Hermione, who was sitting at the end of the sofa by the fireplace, sleeping with a book propped up on the arm and Harry, who was lying across the same sofa with his head on her lap, also sleeping, and drooling heavily on her knee. They both looked happily content, which should have added the bitter emotion of jealousy to his anger, but to Ron's surprise it did the exact opposite. The sight actually calmed him down a bit. His anger subsided a little, and as he watched them sleep, he felt warm affection for his two best friends. Not true happiness, though...not quite yet. His heart ached, of course, but only slightly. He sighed and made his way up to his dorm, still hating Snape but not wanting to wake them.

Hermione's heard the sigh and her eyes popped open just in time to see Ron climb up the staircase. She tugged on Harry's hair.

"Harry! Wake up! I don't think Ron's detention went too well. Let's go see him," she whispered. Harry's eyes opened at her words. He felt the warm liquid connecting his mouth to her knee and hastily tried to wipe it off before she noticed. But she already had.

"The famous drooling Harry Potter..." she sang as she got up and headed towards the dorm."

"Shut up!" He called after her, still wiping his mouth.

She reached the dorm first and found Ron sitting on his bed, staring at the floor. She sat down next to him.

"Snape is a horrible, horrible, man. He should be terminated and sent from Hogwarts immediately," she said consolingly. Harry walked in, sat down on the other side of Ron, and chimed in.

"Despicably unfair, and his hair is really greasy, isn't it? Do you know, I don't think he has washed it since he went to school at here?" They continued to insult the potions master until Ron was smiling and joining in.

"And that hooked nose! What do you suppose that's about? I bet someone just got plain fed up with him one day and let him have it! I would pay money to have seen that!" Ron laughed a genuine laugh and enjoyed the rest of the night with his best friends.

And they couldn't forget about Malfoy and the other Slytherins. Hermione had looked up a few spells and jinxes in the library, reported back to Harry and Ron and a plan began to form.

Shrieks of laughter erupted from Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil and rang out through the empty great hall, which was just starting to fill up for breakfast on the last day of school. They were so loud and shrill that they caused people to turn and look. As the crowd gathered around the source of the girl's glee, ripples of giggles, gasps, and outright laughter spread across the students.

"Oh my God!" said Neville, covering a curious smile with his hand.

"This is too good to be true," gasped Seamus as he gawked at the sight.

"Where the hell is Colin with his damned camera?" Dean hollered, searching the great hall frantically.

The students gathered around the four half-naked sleeping figures whose limbs were entwined around each other as they lay on the floor of the entrance of the great hall.

Malfoy, wearing nothing but black silk boxers, was wrapped around the enormous bulk that was Crabbe, spooning him from behind. His right hand had disappeared into the front of Crabbe's boxers and Crabbe's own hand disappeared into the boxers of another enormous boy who was facing him: Goyle. Goyle's arm was draped all the way across Crabbe and his hand clutched Malfoy's butt cheek. Each boy was covered with what appeared to be hickeys from neck to torso. Perched directly in front of them, sitting against a chair in nothing but a nighty, was Pansy, also asleep, but clutching a camera as if she were ready to capture the image.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were nowhere to be seen, not wanting to be caught at the scene of their crime. A heavy sleeping spell, a memory charm, and a jinx that produced small, purple blotches were enough to do the trick. The trio feigned innocence during the discussion of the sight that was the topic of conversation throughout the entire school, but nothing could be done about the enormous grins that never left their faces, threatening to give them away. And that was how their educational experience at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry ended

Approximately one year later, as Ron watched Harry and Hermione exchange vows and become man and wife, he felt no jealousy or bitterness. His heart ached, not with longing for Hermione, but with love for his two best friends. He couldn't believe that they had once been willing to give all this up just to keep his friendship. He also couldn't believe that he had been stupid and selfish enough to have asked them to. He knew deep down he would not have let them go. He had been acting out of childish anger, he realized now, but still...he had been an idiot. He was damn lucky to have them, and he hoped that they felt the same way about him, in spite of everything.

At the wedding reception, Ron pondered the mistakes he had made with Hermione. She would always be his first love, but not his last. He would take the lessons he learned from that experience and use them to improve his own future relationships. After all, that was what people did. As he thought this he noticed a pretty, curly haired witch in the corner talking with a group of friends. When she threw her head back in laughter, her elbow knocked a glass off a table near by. She pulled out her wand and prepared to rectify the result of her clumsiness. He smiled and made his way towards her, but not before stealing a glance at his two best friends gliding around the dance floor. And for the first time, he felt truly happy for them.

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