Rhiannon

F O U R

Ron, Harry, and Hermione were all gathered around the coffee table, talking aimlessly like they used to. As mad as Hermione was at Harry for leaving, she was so glad that he was now finally back. Though, it would be a while until she admits that to Harry.

"What made you decide to come back, Harry?" Hermione broke the silence by asking

Harry shrugged.  "I missed you." He said, and then once he realized how intense that sounded he awkwardly cleared his throat. "I mean, I missed both of you."

Hermione smiled and Ron muttered 'whipped' underneath his breath only loud enough for Harry to hear. Though, he wasn't too pleased by the remark.

"Anyways, Hermione—" Harry started But was cut off by three sharp knocks.

Hermione turned to Harry. "Can you go get it?" She asked him "Your closest, and besides I don't feel like getting up."

"Sure." He said making his way over to the door, when he opened it, a man with light brown hair and bright blue eyes was staring at him.

"You're not Hermione." The man said

"No...I'm not." Harry said confused on how to answer, but luckily enough jumped to his rescue.

"Harry, this is Mark Wayland." She said placing her hand on Harry's shoulder and quickly whispering the word 'muggle' into his ear. "And Mark this is Harry Potter."

"Nice to meet you." Mark said "I didn't realize Hermione had so many friends."

"Friends." Ron laughed

Mark shifted uncomfortably. "You two aren't friends?" he asked in surprise "Then how do you two know each other."

"Mum! Dad!" Rhiannon's voice rang out behind Mark, almost as if on cue. She (not-so-gently) pushed her way past Mark to get inside. "Look at this rock I found! It looks like a cheeseburger."

Harry smiled at both Rhiannon's comment and Mark's face. He seemed as if he'd just seen a ghost.

"So you two know each other well, then?" he said, staring down Harry.

"Yeah no shit, Sherlock." Ron mumbled louder than he intended to, and soon all eyes were on him. "What? It's a good book, Rhi's favorite, too. She makes me read her a a different chapter every night."

Harry smiled. "I can't wait until she gets to Hogwarts...imagine how many letters we'll get from McGonagall telling us the trouble she'll get into."

Mark scrunched his nose "What's a Hogwart?" he seemed confused.

"Nothing." Hermione smiled politely. "I'll see you later, Mark...right now, things are sort of busy."

"Sure." he nodded "But how about Saturday?"

"Huh?"

"Saturday night; are you busy?"

"No, I don't think so..."

"Great, then would you like to go out with me, maybe for like Chinese food?"

Hermione smiled but before she could reply, Harry started talking. "Hermione's actually not a fan of Chinese." he said "Though, there is a small restaurant next to the Chinese place on Broad that is Mione's favorite."

Mark cleared his throat, obviously starting to feel uncomfortable. "Okay, so seven?"

Harry smiled. "Mark, I've only just met you!" he replied sarcastically causing Hermione to swat at his arm.

"Actually-" she started, before Ron intervened.

"Actually, Saturday we're having Harry's welcome back party." he said, smiling. Clearly pleased with his little lie. "Right Harry?"

"Right Ron."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Things are just chaotic now...I'll let you know if anything clears up though."

"Which it won't." Ron added from the background

"Ron!" Hermione turned her head slightly to yell at him before returning her attention back to Mark. "I'll talk to you later?" she asked

"Yeah, of course." Mark nodded "Bye for now, Hermione."

"Bye." She smiled, shutting the door softly behind him.

"Pining bastard." Ron muttered. "My name is Mark Wayland blah blah and I love you blah blah blah." He mocked, causing Harry to laugh, though Hermione hadn't found it amusing in the slightest.

"Shut it, Ron!" Hermione yelled. "He's a nice guy."

"Nice?" Harry laughed "That's a polite way of saying he's boring."

"You two are the worst!" Hermione said, stomping her foot and storming up the steps which shocked both Ron and Harry.

"Do you think I should apologize?" Harry asked "I feel really bad."

Ron shook his head. "No, I think it'll be better if I go talk to her." He said which hurt Harry's feelings just a bit. He knew nothing was going on between Ron and Hermione romantically, but he was jealous of the close bond they shared. It made Harry feel uneasy and almost a little resentful...though it wasn't their fault; it was his.

He shouldn't have left.

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A/N: Mark is Chace Crawford (Nate from Gossip Girl) and Rhiannon is Alexandra Rabe (Morgan Stark from Avengers Endgame) Just in case you guys wanted a visual