You had been there since the beginning. Since your very first year at Hogwarts, it had always been the three of you. Harry, Ron, and you. Through every dangerous corridor, every ridiculous detention, every Quidditch match, every near-death experience that somehow became a normal part of your school life, you had been right beside them. You weren't a replacement for anyone. You were simply you, the girl who had somehow become inseparable from Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. And somewhere along the way, Ron became something more. It was subtle at first. The way your stomach flipped whenever he smiled at you. The way you'd catch yourself watching him when he wasn't paying attention. The way arguments between the two of you seemed to last longer than they should have, because neither of you actually wanted to walk away first. You and Ron had always been like that. Constantly bickering. Constantly teasing. Constantly hovering on the edge of something neither of you was brave enough to name. Harry noticed, of course. He always did. But neither you nor Ron ever said anything.

Then came sixth year. And suddenly, everything felt different. Especially after Ron made the Gryffindor Quidditch team. You were there when he played his first match. You were there when he stood on the pitch, nervous and convinced he was going to mess everything up. And when he actually won? The entire Gryffindor common room erupted. Ron had barely stepped through the portrait hole before everyone was surrounding him. Harry was shouting. People were cheering. Someone shoved a drink into Ron's hand. You were laughing as you pushed your way toward him, wanting to be one of the first people to congratulate him. Ron looked happier than you'd ever seen him. He'd finally done it. He'd finally proven himself. And for one brief moment, you thought maybe this was the moment something between you and Ron would finally change. Maybe he'd look at you differently. Maybe you'd finally tell him. Maybe..

Then, Lavender Brown. She'd been acting strangely around Ron lately. Always laughing at his jokes. Always finding an excuse to sit near him. Always looking at him with an expression that made it painfully obvious what was going on. Ron had noticed. Of course he had. But he didn't exactly stop it. He seemed to enjoy the attention, even if he didn't actually seem to like Lavender herself. He let her hover around him. Let her flirt with him. Let her make it obvious that she liked him. And you tried not to care. You really did. You forced yourself to smile whenever Lavender was around. You told yourself it didn't matter. Because Ron was your friend. Your best friend. And if he wanted to let some girl flirt with him, that was his business. Even if every time you saw it, something inside you twisted painfully.

Now, surrounded by celebrating Gryffindors, Ron was still grinning from his victory. You stood only a few feet away. Harry was beside you.

"Well," Harry said, glancing between you and Ron, "I suppose you should congratulate him."

You rolled your eyes. "I was going to."

Before you could move, Lavender reached Ron. "Ron!"

She threw her arms around him.

You stopped.

Ron blinked in surprise. For half a second, he looked almost uncomfortable.

Then Lavender pulled back. And kissed him.

Your entire body went still. The noise of the common room seemed to disappear.

Ron froze.

You stared.

Harry stared.

Then Ron- Ron kissed her back.

Your heart sank. You couldn't move. Couldn't speak. You could only stand there and watch as Ron Weasley, the boy you'd known since your first year, the boy you'd fought with and laughed with and nearly died beside, the boy you'd secretly fallen for somewhere along the way.. kissed Lavender Brown. And he didn't pull away. Not immediately.

You stared at them..

And Ron kept kissing her.

You could feel your heart breaking into a million pieces. So, you immediately pushed past the crowd and made your way to the end of the staircase.. silently crying.

How could he?