trouble in friendship
He doesn’t stop running until he’s outside the common room, taking in large gulps of air as he tries to catch his breath. Sweat drips down and he wipes at his face furiously, hands resting on his knees as he steadies himself.
“What did Potter want from you?” Hermione asks from above him and he jumps, almost tripping over his own feet. She looks furious, hands on her hips as she strikes him a glare and Ron knows he can’t escape her wrath this time around.
He straightens up, trying to avoid her piercing gaze. “I don’t know,” he mutters, trying to forget the way Potter looked at him. “Probably just curious, I guess.”
“About?” The brunette asks, not letting him get away with such a response. She’s probing now, and theres a twinge of guilt that floods him when he remembers how lonely her figure had seemed in the dark when he’d agreed to go with Potter.
“Probably about why I bet on him for the tournament,” he ends up blurting out, lost in thought. He knows he’s said the wrong thing when the room falls into silence.
Hermione lets out a strained laugh. ”You told me you bet on Cedric,” she says accusingly. Ron’s wipes his palms on his leg, scrambling to think of an excuse. “You’re such a joke, Ron.”
“No- I just…it was nothing, really,” he stammers out, desperation creeping into his tone. He tugs at his hair, eyes flitting across the room and he tries to think, mind swirling with all the stress from the evening. “I wasn’t trying to hide it from you,” he ends up saying lamely, knowing how bad it sounds even to his own ears. He’s proven right when her eyes narrow.
”You can’t even trust me, can you?” She spits out bitterly, hurt plastered all over her face. Ron winces, taking a step back as the weight of her words sink in. “You could’ve just told me.”
“Aren’t I allowed to have a few secrets to myself?” He asks instead, a sort of frustration bursting forth, even when the voice in his head is telling him to apologize. It’s getting unbearably hot in the room, and he loosens his tie, the warmth making it harder to think properly.
“Not when you’re involved with someone like Potter!” She cries out, the disbelief in her tone making him frown. She’s pacing around the stairs, and Ron notices she hasn’t changed out of her uniform yet. “He’s dangerous-“
“It’s not like you told me about Krum!” He interrupts, digging his nails into his palm. The tension feels almost unbearable and he struggles to control the burst of emotion, breathing deeply.
Hermione falters. “That’s different,” she tries to defend herself, struggling to think of a response but Ron sees the guilty look on her face and the pent up anger rises back up again.
”So you’re allowed to have secrets but I have to share everything with you? Wonderful,” he says sarcastically, rolling his eyes as he trudges towards his dorm. His feet feel strangely heavy and his head is pounding. “From now on, I’ll tell you all about who I meet and what I do so you can coddle me like you always do.”
Her frown deepens. “That’s not what I mean and you know it.”
“Oh and don’t think I’ve forgotten about third year,” he snaps back, irritation creeping into his tone. “With the time turner. You didn’t bother telling me about something as important as that!”
”You know Professor McGonagall told me to keep it a secret!” She yells after him, voice cracking as she throws her hands up in frustration. “I couldn’t tell anyon-“
“I would’ve told you!” He cuts her off. “I wouldn’t have kept it a secret!”
Hermione shakes her head, mocking. “Obviously you would have, considering you still haven’t told me what Potter wan-”
Ron angrily slams the door shut, cutting off her words. He lingers slightly before catching himself and stomps towards his bed, tightly closing the curtains.
He’s too exhausted to even change out of his robes, kicking off his shoes before he gets into bed, eyes closing once his head touches the pillow.
I’ll apologize in the morning, he thinks before he dozes off.