Betrayal

'I kissed Hermione,' Harry thought to himself as he watched her put on her makeup, 'will she let me to do it again?' he wondered as an afterthought. He didn't know, but he was about to find out. They were in a bedroom in the Burrow, the room was quiet but the rest of the house, along with the grounds outside were a hive of activity. A wedding dress stood in the corner. It was Ron and Hermione's wedding day. Everyone there was looking forward to it except him. He was planning to stop it.

The kiss happened in their sixth year and it wasn't the fact that they'd kissed that surprised him but that he'd only recently remembered it. It had happened the night they announced their engagement. At first he was extremely happy for them and quickly congratulated them but when he hugged his bushy haired best friend something strange happened as he felt her breath on his neck, heard her softly chuckle in his ear and was bombarded by the smell of her hair as it covered his face. An image flashed through his mind of a late night kiss in the Gryffindor common room and suddenly he didn't want to let her go as a surge of protectiveness hit him that seemed to scream at him that she was in danger.

He quickly dismissed it as a momentary mental moment and spent the rest of the evening celebrating with his two best friends. He was careful not to let on that anything was wrong so he wouldn't alarm Ron or Ginny (two of the most jealous people he knew) and ruin the night for Hermione because, above all else, he wanted her happy. He thought the image must have been some old fantasy or perhaps something from a dream he might have had while in school because he had no memory of it happening nor could he imagine kissing her and nothing coming of it much less forgetting about it. But now that he'd seen it, he couldn't get it out of his head.

Over the next several weeks, it was on his mind constantly. He even dreamed about it. Soon it became more than an image and he started to wonder if it was indeed a memory that he'd somehow forgotten. The odd thing was, he was still as in love with Ginny as ever but also suddenly had feelings for Hermione. It was like he had two hearts, one was in love with Ginny while the other loved Hermione. This perplexed him and he became obsessed with figuring out why he suddenly felt the way he did and why he'd lost what should have been a precious memory from sixth year.

He found himself thinking constantly about his sixth year trying to find where the missing memory fit and see if there were any others that he'd lost from that year. His memories of Hermione seemed to be limited to arguing with her about his use of what turned out to be Snape's old potions book, telling her about his lessons with Dumbledore and her being jealous over Ron dating Lavender Brown. He found it odd that there weren't any memories of them spending time together happily. There were no smiles or laughter or hugs, in fact there was no affection of any kind. The first five years had been full of those moments and he couldn't imagine that sixth year could have been devoid of them and still have them remain friends. Something didn't add up and he wasn't going to stop until he figured it out.

His first thought was to talk to Hermione because she was the one he always went to for help finding answers but he quickly realized he couldn't for two reasons. One being that she was too busy planning her wedding and simply didn't have the time, the second was because every time he saw her he had an almost uncontrollable urge to try to relive that kiss and the last thing she needed was for him to horribly complicate her life not to mention it could cost him his two best friends, his girlfriend and put him on the outs with the entire Weasely clan. Not wanting any of those things to happen, he decided to let her sit this one out for the time being. He couldn't talk to Ron for the same reason. He briefly considered talking to Ginny about it but something screamed inside him not to tell her or trust her so he decided to try to work this out on his own.

Over the next few months, he made very little progress on his little quest despite spending most of his time alone because Ginny, Ron and Hermione were constantly tied up with wedding preparations. He realized that he hadn't really spent any time with Ron since the engagement party. They had normally got together regularly for guys nights where, among other things, they played chess (with Ron winning), had long quidditch discussions (Ron's favorite topic) and lots of drinking ensued. Ron seemed to have matured since the end of the war and had seemed to lose some of that lazy streak he had in school, in fact, he seemed to be trying to make up for it by constantly bringing his two best friends drinks whenever they were together. Harry was glad that he was being good to Hermione but found it odd that Ron felt the need to do the same for him.

As the wedding approached, something inside told him he was running out of time. The week of the wedding, preparations went into high gear. Harry himself had even been enlisted to help. One morning, as he was headed into the kitchen at the Burrow to get his assignment for the day, he heard two people talking. He realized quickly that it was Ginny and her mother. Unable to resist the opportunity to hear what Ginny might say about him behind his back, he decided to listen at the door. He felt a little uncomfortable about spying and firmly decided that he would only listen for a few minutes and, if they weren't talking about him, he would leave them alone and give them their privacy.

"So how did you slip it to him?" Ginny asked her mother.

"I offered to bring your father some tea and put the potion in it before I gave it to him," Mrs. Weasley answered proudly. "By that evening, we were a couple and the rest is history. How'd you give it to Harry?"

A shock went through Harry at what he'd heard. Mrs. Weasley had given her husband a love potion? Had Ginny done that to him? He carefully leaned closer to the door to hear her answer.

"Ron caught me with it and took it away from me. He wigged out on me saying that if Harry and I were meant to be together it would happen naturally and not to try and force it." She answered her mother. "The next day, however, he came to me acting a little strange and started asking me about the potion and how it works. When I told him he asked for a second bottle and said he would make sure Harry drank it. Apparently you were right because, like with you and dad, we've been a couple ever since."

He couldn't believe what he'd just heard. His best mate had set him up for his sister. Anger rose within him at the betrayal and he wanted nothing more at that moment than to curse the both of them to oblivion. He swallowed down his anger before entering the kitchen. He decided to find an excuse to leave the burrow so he could go to St Mungos and get checked out and hopefully cured of the effects of whatever potion they'd been giving him and then prepare for the confrontation he knew now was coming that might include not just the two youngest Weasleys but the rest of the clan as well.

When he walked into the kitchen they both smiled and greeted him warmly then Ginny came up to him, kissed him and pulled him into a hug. Although her touch now disgusted him, he hugged and kissed her back because he didn't want to tip his hand until he was ready to play it. Soon the other residents of the house began making their way downstairs for breakfast. Ron and Hermione's arrival was announced ahead of time because they could be heard arguing all the way down the stairs and into the dining room. She had assigned him a task for the wedding preparations that, in typical Ron fashion, he failed to complete. When he saw her, an alarm went off inside him. He and Hermione kissed one night and next thing you know; they're both in love with a Weasely. Had Ron slipped her a love potion as well? He asked himself. He was pretty sure he knew the answer. If he was willing to do it to one best friend, why not the other? He was determined to find out and get her cured too if necessary.

Soon the morning post arrived and the conversation quieted as people read their mail. There were several copies of the daily prophet that were being read around the table. Mr. Weasely was reading the front page of one while Ron was checking the quidditch scores and George was checking out the latest ad for his store. Hermione, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley were huddled around a stack of letters that he figured were responses to invitations or something else to do with the wedding. He'd been surprised to have a letter drop in front of him and had opened it to find the excuse he needed to get away from the Burrow. It was from Gringotts asking him to stop by as soon as possible. Suddenly Hermione yelled out as she read a particular letter and everyone at the turned toward the three women. The two Weasely women were simultaneously trying to comfort her while glaring at Ron. He was red in the face and asked loudly "What?"

"You told me you'd taken care of this," Hermione answered hotly while tossing the letter at him.

He read the letter then shrugged.

"I was getting around to it," he responded finally. "What's the big deal it's just a bunch of trinkets?"

"Oh Ron, you are truly clueless," she answered in a huff. "We aren't having a large wedding, only our closest friends and family. Those weren't merely trinkets they were specific gifts for specific people to thank them for coming and tell them how much they meant to us. Because you failed to pick them up, they've been put back on the shelves and have probably been sold to someone else now. Our wedding is in four days and I don't have time to pick out new ones"

Her eyes filled with tears and she buried her face into her hands. Mrs. Weasley again tried to comfort her and threw another glare at Ron.

"Fine," Ron said sullenly. "I'll go get them as soon as I finish breakfast." He trailed off muttering something about stupid trinkets.

"No you won't Ronald Weasley!" His mother said fiercely. "You've already got a full schedule and don't have time either and don't think I didn't hear you muttering under your breath. Arthur, since he can't be trusted on his own, I want you to go with him and make sure he does everything he's supposed to and doesn't play around."

"But Molly dear," Mr. Weasely responded. "I have to go to work."

"You have plenty of sick time saved up and you're going to have to take some because your son apparently still needs a babysitter and I don't have time to do it myself. As it is I still have to find a way to clean up this mess. Its like he's never matured past the age of five."

Ron was looking positively indignant at his mother's tirade while Harry and George were fighting hard not to laugh.

"I can take care of it for you," Harry said into the sudden quiet.

Everyone looked at him including Hermione who lifted her face out of her hands with an expression that was shocked mixed with hope.

"Really Harry?" She asked him. "Are you sure you don't mind?"

He held up his letter for everyone to see.

"Apparently, I have to go to Gringotts today," he responded. "So I'll be out anyway. Send them a letter and ask if they can give you an hour or so to pick them up and I'll go get them for you on my way to the bank."

She jumped up, ran around the table and pulled him up into a warm hug. He felt all tingly in her embrace and was sad when she let him go.

"Thank you Harry," she said after the hug. "You don't know what this means to me. I mean, I know it's not the most vital detail of the wedding but it's important to me."

"You've always been there for me Hermione," he replied warmly. "I'll always be there when you need me." He put his hand on her shoulder fighting the urge to pull her back into his arms. Once he had regained control of his emotions, he met her eyes his expression turning serious. "Don't worry, I won't let you down."

She hugged him again and then threw a glance at Ron who was glaring at both of them probably jealous of the affection they were showing each other at that moment.

"At least I have someone I can depend on," she responded loudly taking one more shot at her fiancé.

Inspiration woke me up one morning and wouldn't let me alone until I wote this story. It's complete and I will post a new chapter every couple days. Reviews are welcome.