We All Make Mistakes

We All Make Mistakes - A Harmony one-shot

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"What do you mean...it was a fucking mistake?"

"Is the language really necessary, Ron?"

"Yes, I think it bloody well fucking is!" Ron spat angrily. "After all this time...six months...you tell me it was a mistake? I think bad language should be the least you should have expected!"

Hermione cast a Shield Charm between them as Ron took a step towards her. It was so powerful it forced him back three feet.

Ron slapped his hand hard against the shimmering barrier, which resonated with Hermione's magic, stinging Ron like a electric shock. "Is this really necessary?"

"Well, you just said yourself," said Hermione, folding her arms sternly. "Bad language should be the least of my expectations. Don't think I missed your poorly veiled least I should be worried about threat, either. Don't forget Ron, I'm much cleverer than you."

"And I suppose that's just another reason why kissing me was a mistake, is it?" Ron hissed, his nostrils flaring.

"I hadn't considered it, but now you mention it...yeah, it is," Hermione returned smoothly. "But in any case, my Shield Charm is staying up. You don't have the magical skill to break through it. But, if I drop it, you could easily step through and punch me in the head. I can see the idea is in your mind."

"You really think I would hit you?" asked Ron, genuinely shocked.

"In that mood, yes I do," Hermione returned without ceremony. Ron looked like she'd slapped him.

"Don't you think I have the right to be angry?" Ron proffered, bitterly. "After you've strung me along for the last six months?"

"Do you think that being angry gives you the right to physically assault me?" Hermione countered.

"No...of course I don't, but -"

"There's no but, Ron," Hermione interrupted. "You either don't, unequivocally, or you're a witch-beating bigot. Pick one."

"I'd never hit a witch, never."

"I should hope not," said Hermione. "But forgive me if I don't take your word on that. Your mouth is writing cheques your eyes don't seem to want to cash."

"I'm angry, and hurt," said Ron. "You've broken my heart, Mione."

"Don't call me that! I fucking hate being called that!" Hermione spat viciously. "And I never promised you anything, Ron! I didn't string you along. I don't know what you've been expecting, I really don't."

"You kissed me, you'd been all pissy about me and Lavender," said Ron. "I expected you to be my girlfriend. That's the next step in my book."

"Then you need to throw that book away," said Hermione. "Yes, I kissed you. It was heat of the moment, and I thought maybe, maybe, I might fancy you. I'd missed you when you stormed off and just left me and Harry to it with the Horcruxes. I was very emotional...and I just acted out. But I knew it was wrong as soon as I did it."

Ron huffed angrily. "Because of Harry's look..."

"Yes, because of Harry's look," said Hermione, unabashed. "And because I came to realise...you left us during the fucking hunt for the Horcruxes! I could never be with a man who'd so easily abandon his friends, let alone abandon me, just because he got into a strop, or the going got a little tougher than he expected. And I told you...after Fred's funeral...to give me time. Time to think about it, to sort my head and heart out. And that's exactly what I've been doing...but you haven't kept to your side of the bargain."