Break it Up (Ron Weasley)

24. The New Plan

I didn't go to class the next day. I couldn't bring myself to face Hermione, Cedric, or Ron (especially Ron) after the scene I caused yesterday. Or anyone for that matter. I'm sure the whole school was buzzing about my little outburst. And also about the fact that Ron and I weren't really dating.

Instead, I moped around my room. I distracted myself with random books and homework, but none of it really worked. Ron kept popping into my head.

Around 5 or so, there was a knock on my door. I had no idea who would want to talk to me right now.

"Hello?" I asked through the door.

"Y/n, can I come in? Please?"

It was Cedric's voice. He didn't sound particularly upset, but I can't imagine he has anything nice to say to me after the bomb I dropped yesterday.

I opened the door to let him in, preparing for whatever he was about to say, only to find Hermione standing beside him. "Can I come too?" she asked. She sounded nervous.

"As long as Ron's not behind you," I mumbled.

The two of them walked in and I shut the door behind them. I was ready for them to yell at me. I deserve it.

"Y/n," Hermione started.

"No. I'll go first," I said. "I am so, so, sorry. Neither of you deserved anything Ron and I were trying to do to you. It was stupid and inconsiderate," I apologized.

The two of them exchanged glances. "It's okay," Cedric said finally.

"We forgive you," Hermione said, smiling.

I squinted my eyes at them. That was not what I was expecting. How could they forgive me so easily?

"Well, thank you-" I started to say.

Hermione cut me off. "We want to help you."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What? Help me how?" I asked.

This time they looked at each other mischievously. "We want to help you get with Ron!" Cedric exclaimed, his face breaking into a huge grin.

"For real," Hermione added.

I didn't know what to say. After everything I did to them, they wanted to help me? I felt even more guilty knowing two people could be so considerate.

"Why would I want to get with Ron?" I asked, trying to play it off.

Cedric rolled his eyes. "Come on, y/n. It's obvious you like him!" he exclaimed.

I blushed which confirmed their suspicions.

"We know what you guys did wasn't right..." Hermione began. "But we also know that there's no denying there's something between you two."

I kept blushing. I didn't know what to say.

"Which is why we've crafted a new plan," Cedric smirked.

"Oh Merlin. Not another plan," I groaned, falling back on my bed.

"This is a good plan!" Hermione exclaimed, sounding excited. "It's foolproof."

"That's exactly what Ron said, I'll have you know," I informed them. They just shook their heads. "Well, what is it?"

"Obviously you're mad at Ron right now. And obviously he hasn't told you he likes you back, because, well, he's stupid," Hermione said matter-of-factly.

I laughed at the last remark.

"So we just need to show him he likes you! And instead of making him jealous, we'll just remind him of the time you two spent together," she continued.

I scrunched up my nose. "Okay, but how?"

"Cedric and I will ask him! We'll pretend we're mad and ask all about what you guys did," Hermione said proudly.

I looked between the two of them. "I don't know, guys. I'm kind of done with 'plans'," I said in air quotes.

"Come on, y/n! Worst case scenario, it doesn't work. Nothing bad can come from it!" Cedric cried, trying to convince me.

I sighed. "Fine."

The two of them jumped up and high-fived.

"Okay, let's go right now!" Hermione exclaimed, running towards the door. Cedric followed her and I trudged to the door way.

"Dinner is going on right now, so we'll go talk to him." He turned to face me. "Y/n, I'll cast a listening spell so that you can hear everything we say," he explained. I nodded as they stood in the hallway.

"Good luck," I stated, shutting the door behind them as they ran towards the Great Hall.

I sighed. The chances of Ron actually liking me were slim to none. This was going to be useless.

After a few minutes, I began to hear muffled voices talking. As time went on, their voices grew louder, and I began to pick up on Cedric and Hermione.

"Can you just tell us what you did?" Hermione asked, sounding exhausted. "Everything?"

I could practically hear Ron's eye roll after she said that.

"Fine," he grumbled. "Basically, we both liked you guys, and we wanted to break you up. We thought a fake relationship would be the way to make you guys realize you liked us," Ron confessed, exasperation in his voice.

"So, what exactly happened?" Cedric quizzed.

Ron sighed loudly.

"First, we had her stay in Harry's and my room so she could leave the next morning and everyone would be suspicious," he recalled. "Then we were late to class together, we flirted in Potions... oh! And we kissed at that party."

He sounded upset and almost... nostalgic?

"Anything else?" Cedric inquired.

"We used that liquid luck I won to talk to you guys and find any 'weak spots' in your relationship."

There was a long silence. I'm assuming that part didn't go over too well with Cedric and Hermione.

"What happened that made you guys want to stop?" Hermione asked.

"Well..." Ron trailed off. I cringed at the thought of him telling them the events that happened at the burrow.

"She came to stay with me for the weekend. Mum wanted to meet her," he explained. Then, it went quiet. I wondered if the spell had worn off or something.

"And?" Cedric asked. He was really being pushy.

"And..." Ron mumbled. "And things got..." he kept trailing off. Like he couldn't bring himself to say it. "And I kissed her."

My heart stopped and I couldn't breathe for a moment. I already knew what happened; I was there. I don't know why him retelling the story made me so anxious.

"So?" Hermione said. "You kissed at the party."

"Yeah, but that was for show," Ron shot back. "No one was around this time."

How badly I wished I could see his facial expression right now.

"Why?" Cedric asked.

"I don't know!" Ron defended. I heard a loud bang and assumed he hit his hands on the table. "I don't know," he said again, quietly.

Another silence followed.

"But-" Cedric began to say, but he was interrupted by Ron.

"I'm sorry. I have to go," he said.

I heard nothing. Ron must've left.

Suddenly, all the background noise from the Great Hall faded. The spell must've worn off.

Then, there was a knock on my door.