Clean

The Preliminaries

a/n: Rated M for a reason.

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Chapter 15: The Preliminaries

"Mione – Mione, wait!"

Hermione bristled at the familiar voice and turned slowly on the spot, squinting skeptically at its source.

"Ron?" she ventured dubiously, pausing before entering the Transfiguration classroom.

He caught up to her, breathless. His tousled red hair was wild and his eyes darted around nervously.

She glanced around. "What are you looking at?"

"Oh she's just sometimes – er. Nothing," he said, blushing. "Absolutely nothing. How are you doing?"

Hermione crossed her arms tightly across her chest. "Fine," she said evasively. She raised her chin stubbornly. "What do you want, Ron?"

His face turned scarlet. "I – look, I know we haven't been getting on very well lately – "

"Astute observation, Ronald – "

" – and I just wanted to, you know," he said, shrugging, "I wanted to apologize."

She snorted. "Really? All of a sudden you want to apologize?"

He pulled her aside. "Mione, I know that I didn't . . . handle this very well."

She rolled her eyes. "Understatement of the year, that."

He took both her hands in his earnestly, leaning in close. "It was a mistake, okay?" he sighed. "I – I shouldn't have accused you of . . . things. I should have tried to make it work between us."

She narrowed her eyes. "Not working out with Lavender then?"

"She's not the one for me, Hermione, you know that," he said insistently, fixing her with his wide blue eyes. "It's you and me. It's always been you and me."

"What?" she exclaimed. "Where is this even coming from? I don't – "

She bit her lip anxiously. If this was his attempt at reconciliation, she may have trapped herself in her own lie. She'd painted herself love struck and heartbroken – now what?

"I – are you sure, Ron?" she said, eyeing him skeptically. "Have you broken it off with Lavender?"

His face flushed and she knew he hadn't. "I – well, she can be very – "

"Ronald Weasley!" she hissed, appalled.

He hung his head guiltily. "Well, I was going to. Right after I talked to you."

"Why?" she said angrily. "If I reject you, are you just going to stay with her?"

He didn't meet her eyes. "I – "

"Oh, save it," she snapped, turning to leave.

He lunged forward, grabbing her arm. "Hermione, please – just give me a chance to explain – "

"Explain what?" she demanded, twisting out of his grasp. "How you replaced me? And then flaunted it in my face?"

"No, I – "

"And now you want me to just forgive you?"

"Yes!" he exclaimed. "Yes, because we are best friends, Hermione. Best friends." He paused, looking at her meaningfully. "I made a mistake, Mione. But please, for the sake of everything we've been through – can you give me a chance?"