Disclaimer: We do not own Harry Potter. We do not own Quidditch. We do
not own fanfitcion. We do not own the word muggles. We do not own the
internet. We do not own Google.com. We do not own Ginny Weasley. We do
not anybody in this story except Hermione's crazy relatives. We do not own
transfiguration, although we do own the BRILLIANT idea of transfiguring
beds into marbles. We do not own Herbology. We do not own computers or
televisions, but we do own kamplooters and fellytisions, in case you were
wondering. Oh yeah, and we don't own THE LORD OF THE RINGS but Emmeline
thinks that she does.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: First of all, thank you for reading our pathetic excuse for a story. Second of all, yes, there are two of us. (We are both crazy and just as obsessed). Third of all, the parts about fanfiction are not meant to offend anyone who DOES write stories like the examples given in chapter five. (I think it's chapter five). This story is for humor only and is not to be taken siriusly. And without further ado.our.do you call this a story?!
5th year Ginny Weasley pushed a stray strand of her flaming red hair out of her eyes and turned the page of her book "Defensive Jinxes, Hexes, and Much More! By Daffney Whimmerson" when suddenly someone came in through the portrait hole shouting "Ginny!!! Ginny!" Startled, Ginny looked up. "Oh, Hi Hermione!" she said "Why are you shouting?" Quite breathlessly, Hermione replied ,"I've just got a letter from Mum and Dad! They want you and Harry and Ron to spend Christmas at my house this year!! I'm so excited!" Then, breathing heavily, she collapsed onto the chair beside Ginny. "Oh that's so cool!" Ginny exclaimed, "Did you tell the boys yet?" "No. They're still at Quidditch practice, I think" Ginny glanced dubiously at the snow flurrying outside. "In this weather?" "Yes. Unfortunately Angelina doesn't seem much better than Oliver Wood was about understanding that people have lives aside from Quidditch.they've been out there for 2 hours already. I'm honestly surprised they haven't frozen yet!" Ginny nodded absently. "Oh- I'll have to send a letter to Mum and Dad asking them- but don't worry Hermione, I'm sure they'll say yes," she said. "You don't worry- my parents have already asked yours! You all can go!" Hermione was out of her chair again and looked like she might start doing a jig. "Really? Oh, it'll be so much fun- I wish I could have seen the envy on Dad's face when he heard I was going to spend the holidays with muggles." Hermione gave a little laugh and then suddenly said, "Oh no! I was going to catch up on my Transfiguration homework today- I've set a schedule for myself and I was supposed to start practicing turning my bed into a marble five minutes ago!" "Catching up? You? But you're like 5 years ahead in every class you take! And there aren't even five years to go! Hermione, you could graduate today if you wanted to!" Ginny exclaimed. "And besides, what if you can't change your bed back from a marble? You do want to sleep there tonight, don't you? Come on, Hermione, it's almost Christmas. You deserve a break!" "I've only done extra credit on nine tenths of my assignments! I'm not totally ahead in everything yet! And for your information, I've been working on the counter-spell and I'm perfectly capable of changing my bed back!" Ginny was about to reply when Harry and Ron came bursting through into the common room. They both looked worn-out, wet, and completely frozen. " D-do you g-guys know any w-warming ch-charms?" Ron asked, his teeth chattering. "Honestly," said Hermione, exasperatedly. " You two should learn these simple, everyday spells. What if we're tested on them sometime in the future?" But all the same, she pointed her wand at each of them in turn and muttered, " Recaleo!". "Thanks, Hermione," said Harry, "That's loads better." " You're welcome." Hermione replied. "Guess what? Mum and Dad sent a owl inviting all of you to spend Christmas at my house! It's ok with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and Dumbledore said it was ok for you to come, too, Harry!" "Awesome!" Ron exclaimed, " I'll get to see a real fellytision! And maybe even a..what're they called? Kamplooters?" "Computers, Ron. And its television, not fellytision. You really should be taking Muggle Studies this year!" " Well, at least I sort of remembered the names! I didn't grow up with all that stuff, and you did! Keep in mind, Hermione, not everyone has a brain as big as yours. The worlds not made up of know-it-alls, so don't expect everyone to be as smart and clever as brilliant Hermione" Ron said in a mocking tone. Ginny didn't hear Hermione's reply, because she walked away to the other side of the common room. Ron and Hermione seemed to be fighting even more than usual lately, and it seemed that everyone in Gryffindor was complaining about it. "I don't know why they're even friends." she had heard a fourth year exclaim. "All they ever do is fight!" Ginny hoped that Ron and Hermione might be able to put their differences aside, at least for Christmas. Of course, it seemed to Ginny that there might be more to their fighting than meets the eye, but apparently neither of them had realized that yet, and were still constantly at each other's throats.
The next few days went by pretty quickly. There was a flurry of activity all around the school, with people hurridly wrapping presents, owling home, and trying to finish all their end-of-term assignments, which, unfortunately, had amounted to a lot. Many people were staying this year, as some parents felt that Hogwarts was the safest place for their children, and many parents were too busy and involved in the war to have their children home for the entire vacation. Ginny had never been to Hermione's house before, nor anyone else's besides her own for Christmas before, so she was very excited. She and Hermione had become much closer in the past year or so, and although she hadn't really become part of Harry, Ron, and Hermione's little "group", she was glad that they had become friends. Hermione was fun to be around when she wasn't obsessing over her schoolwork, and, as Ron said, "It's good to know that it's humanly possible to be ahead in school- even though the rest of us never will be."
The train was very quiet when it took off from Hogwarts a few days before Christmas, but they didn't mind- it was rather nice to have a compartment all to themselves, as it allowed Harry and Ron to play Exploding Snap rather loudly. Unfortunately, the whole deck of cards went off with a bang just as the witch with the food trolly came, which, needless to say did not make her overly pleased with them. "Really!" Hermione was saying as the witch walked huffily out of their compartment, patting her singed hair back into shape. "It would have been a bit more considerate if you had stopped playing when you saw her coming- and don't laugh Ginny, it makes them worse-". Ginny, who was biting her lip to keep from laughing at the stunned look on Ron's face as the disgruntled lady had waved away the smoke, swallowed her giggle just in time for a large black owl to slam against the window right next to her, making her jump out of her seat and bang her head on the ceiling. "Wonder who that's for?" said Harry leaning over a badly singed Ron.
"Looks like it's from the post office- you can see the little tag on it- oh, it's from your Mum, Ginny- for all of us," said Hermione as she opened the window and took the letter out of the owl's beak. "Well, go on then," said Ron. "Open it!" Hermione tore open the envelope and read aloud: Dear Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Ron, I hope you all have a lovely Christmas. We would have loved to have you all here again, but Arthur and I agree that it will be a wonderful experience that you shouldn't pass up on. I hope you enjoy yourselves immensley, and Hermione, please keep an eye on Ron for me. He can be quite like his father when it comes to Muggle gadgets.
"I do NOT!" Ron said indignantly. But a look from Hermione shushed him, and she continued to read.
Please be careful, and don't leave the house without Mr. and Mrs. Granger's permission. I know I don't need to remind you (Ginny and Ron) to be polite houseguests. I hope you enjoy the gifts! Owl us if you need anything! Love, Molly P.S Ron, I know you asked for a different color jumper this year, but please, if you would just look at yourself in the mirror with your jumper on- it's a lovely color on you, as I'm sure Harry, Hermione and Ginny would all agree. Hermione, dear, I hope the color of your jumper is okay, I thought it would suit you.
"Nooo.." moaned Ron, " I knew she would knit me maroon again-"
"Oh please," Hermione snapped. "It's really nice of her to make them for all of us every year- if I was her I wouldn't bother, as you never appreciate it-"
"I wish you were her then," Ron muttered grumpily, and started to pick up the cards scattered all over the floor.
When they finally reached the station, Mr. And Mrs. Granger greeted them warmly. A little two warmly perhaps- Ginny was swept into a hug by Mrs. Granger, who said loudly, "Hermione's told me so much about you, Ginny dear. I'm sorry I couldn't have gotten to know you better on our previous meetings!" she let go of Ginny and turned to Harry and Ron, who were shaking hands with Mr. Granger.
"Er- It's very nice of you to let us stay for the holidays," said Ron, who apparently was trying to "be a polite houseguest" as his mother had told him to.
"No trouble, no trouble at all, the more the merrier, you know," Hermione's mother reassured them. After greeting Ginny, Ron, and Harry, Mr. Granger turned to Hermione. "And how's my little princess doing?" " Uh- I'm fine, Dad, but I am sixteen, you know, not six." Hermione looked horribly embarrassed at her father's nickname for her. Ron was grinning; apparently he thought this was great blackmail material. Ginny reminded herself to threaten him later. She happened to know a couple things he wouldn't want all of Gryffindor to know, either. Mr. Granger laughed a deep, booming laugh. " Of course, you're a grown-up little witch now, aren't you, princess?" Hermione's cheeks reddened even more. "Erm- Dad, let's- go home now." "Yes." Said Mrs. Granger briskly. Turning to speak to all four of them, she said,"Ok, how about I take Ginny and Hermione, and Mr. Granger will take Ron and Harry. We had to bring two cars, since you four won't fit together in one." The ride home was peaceful and relatively uneventful. The Granger's house was only 15 minutes away, so they arrived quickly. As they pulled into the driveway, Ginny had a clear view of Hermione's house. It was an all- together ordinary muggle house. It wasn't small, but it was no mansion, either. It didn't have the messy, awkwardly shaped look of the burrow, but was shaped more like a rectangle. There was a big lawn out front, and on the side of the house, what looked like a vegetable garden. It had a very homey look to it, and Ginny decided right then and there that she liked it very much. "Come on Ginny!" called Hermione, who was unloading her trunk from the car. "Let's go inside!" They carried all their belongings upstairs. Ginny followed Hermione to her room. There were two twin beds next to each other, so Ginny dumped her stuff on one and turned to Hermione. " It's so great to be here! Your Mum and Dad are really nice!" "Yeah. Even though they can be a bit- overenthusiastic- at times. I can't believe Dad still calls me his "little princess". Hermione grimaced. "Honestly, they treat me like I'm a child and I'm not. It makes me so mad, sometimes! They were completely ridiculous last year when I told them I was going to the Yule Ball with Viktor. ' Couldn't you just go with your friends, dear?' 'Isn't he too old for you?' ' I don't like the sound of that boy, Hermione' It's like they don't even trust my judgement! They know I'm perfectly capable of making my own decisions but they insist on knowing about every little tiny detail in my life!" Hermione took a deep breath. She looked a little surprised at her outburst, but not sorry that she had said it. "I'm sorry Ginny. I guess I just needed to talk to someone." "That's ok, Hermione. My parents are exactly the same way. I's probably worse for me, being the baby of the family. I have Mum and Dad, and six older brothers! Believe me, I know exactly how you feel!" "Thanks Ginny." Suddenly they heard feet thundering up the stairs. "I guess the boys are here." Said Ginny, grinning. "They don't exactly know how to walk quietly, do they?" "Nope. I guess I'd better go show them where the guest room is. Be right back!" And she exited the room. Ginny walked over to what looked like a bit box with wires sticking out of it. It looked slightly familiar. Then she remembered where she had seen one before; Dad had brought one home from work a couple summers ago and had spent all of dinner trying to explain to her, Ron, Fred, and George how it worked. It was called a- a- Ginny struggled to remember. A computer! Yes, that was it. Then Dad had tried to rewire it and it had suddenly blown up with a loud "bang!". This had earned him yet another lecture one "tinkering with muggle gadgets" from Mrs. Weasley. Ginny wondered if Hermione would teach her how to work it while she was here. She was actually pretty interested in Muggles, just not when it was Mr.Weasley doing the teaching. She would have taken Muggle Studies this year, but then Hermione had convinced her into starting Arithmancy. (that was, of course, before she learned exactly what the subject was and how hard it was). Just then Hermione returned. Ginny was so engrossed in examining the computer that she would not have noticed, except that the sound of the door shutting caught her attention. "What are you doing, Ginny?" Hermione inquired, walking across the room toward where Ginny was standing. "Oh, my computer?! Well, if you want to see it, first we should turn it on!" She pressed a small, round button on the box. Suddenly the screen changed color and it made a little noise. Ginny jumped back in surprise. "W-what did you do?" asked Ginny. " I only turned it on!" said Hermione, laughing at the expression on Ginny's face. "Really, It's not that remarkable - I mean, when I first learned I was a witch, I thought that magic was loads more amazing than computers."
"Well I grew up with magic- seems weird to not know about magic," Ginny said, frowning at the screen, which now had a little box on it.
"What's that?"
"What's what? Oh, it's just telling you that the computer's loading- er, warming up," Hermione replied.
"Cool- umm. Hermione, are those little pictures supposed to pop up all over the screen?"
"Yes, of course- listen Ginny, it's almost dinner time, how about you can look at the computer later?"
"All right," Ginny said reluctantly, and pried herself away from the screen.
They had a very peaceful dinner that was only interrupted by Pig, who had somehow gotten out of his cage and was now amusing himself by dive-bombing Harry and trying to steal bits of his roast chicken. "RON! Get your- Ow! - bird- Ow! -off of me!" he yelled, while ducking under the table and waving his hands wildly above his head. Once Ron had successfully grabbed his owl, stuffed a bit of greenbean in it's beak and run upstairs, Ginny was laughing so hard that she could hardly breathe. "Does that- happen often?" Mr. Granger inquired, fighting a smile.
"OH-oh- y-yes!" gasped Ginny. "Ron's owl, you know- it's a bit crazy-."
The incident at lunch had wiped the computer from Ginny's mind. The rest of the evening went by quickly. It was mostly spent in the den, where Ron stared transfixed at the television, asking Harry questions every two seconds. Apparently, they were watching a movie called "The Fellowship of the Ring", which, according to Hermione, was a very popular Muggle obsession at the moment. Hermione was sitting on the couch next to Ginny, doing extra credit Defense Against the Dark Arts homework. She had given up nagging Harry about planning for their next D.A meeting (which, although the DADA professor was much more satisfactory this year, they had decided to continue). " Come on, Hermione". He said pleadingly, but not taking his eyes off the screen. "We have plenty of time to do that, later." " Just like you had 'plenty of time' to do your Herbology homework last week, and ended up scribbling it during lunch?" Hermione retorted. " Well, I just lost track of-." But Ron interrupted suddenly. Turning to Hermione, he said, " Whoa!!! Hermione, is that guy a wizard?" " No, that's Bilbo Baggins. He's a hobbit." She replied, glancing at the screen. "Well then how did he disappear if he's not a wizard!" argued Ron. " Because his ring has special powers that can make him invisible." " But Hermione! I thought this was a muggle movie! How can they make him disappear if he's just a muggle. Are hobbits muggles that can do magic or something?" " Ron, first of all, it's called special effects. Second of all, hobbits aren't real, it's a story. And third of all, if muggles could do magic, then they wouldn't be muggles, would they? Now, would you please be quiet, I'm trying to concentrate!" said Hermione, apparently trying very hard not to blow up at Ron. She muttered "Honestly" under her breath and returned to her work. Ginny thoroughly enjoyed the movie, and when Hermione offered to lend her the books, she accepted. When it ended, everyone was tired. Yawning, they all said goodnight, thanked the Grangers, and trooped off to bed. It wasn't until Ginny climbed into bed that she remembered about the computer, and Hermione's promise to teach her how to use it. " Hermione!" she whispered urgently. "Hermione!". But Hermione didn't reply. Too tired to walk over to Hermione's bed and wake her, she slumped onto her pillow and fell asleep.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: First of all, thank you for reading our pathetic excuse for a story. Second of all, yes, there are two of us. (We are both crazy and just as obsessed). Third of all, the parts about fanfiction are not meant to offend anyone who DOES write stories like the examples given in chapter five. (I think it's chapter five). This story is for humor only and is not to be taken siriusly. And without further ado.our.do you call this a story?!
5th year Ginny Weasley pushed a stray strand of her flaming red hair out of her eyes and turned the page of her book "Defensive Jinxes, Hexes, and Much More! By Daffney Whimmerson" when suddenly someone came in through the portrait hole shouting "Ginny!!! Ginny!" Startled, Ginny looked up. "Oh, Hi Hermione!" she said "Why are you shouting?" Quite breathlessly, Hermione replied ,"I've just got a letter from Mum and Dad! They want you and Harry and Ron to spend Christmas at my house this year!! I'm so excited!" Then, breathing heavily, she collapsed onto the chair beside Ginny. "Oh that's so cool!" Ginny exclaimed, "Did you tell the boys yet?" "No. They're still at Quidditch practice, I think" Ginny glanced dubiously at the snow flurrying outside. "In this weather?" "Yes. Unfortunately Angelina doesn't seem much better than Oliver Wood was about understanding that people have lives aside from Quidditch.they've been out there for 2 hours already. I'm honestly surprised they haven't frozen yet!" Ginny nodded absently. "Oh- I'll have to send a letter to Mum and Dad asking them- but don't worry Hermione, I'm sure they'll say yes," she said. "You don't worry- my parents have already asked yours! You all can go!" Hermione was out of her chair again and looked like she might start doing a jig. "Really? Oh, it'll be so much fun- I wish I could have seen the envy on Dad's face when he heard I was going to spend the holidays with muggles." Hermione gave a little laugh and then suddenly said, "Oh no! I was going to catch up on my Transfiguration homework today- I've set a schedule for myself and I was supposed to start practicing turning my bed into a marble five minutes ago!" "Catching up? You? But you're like 5 years ahead in every class you take! And there aren't even five years to go! Hermione, you could graduate today if you wanted to!" Ginny exclaimed. "And besides, what if you can't change your bed back from a marble? You do want to sleep there tonight, don't you? Come on, Hermione, it's almost Christmas. You deserve a break!" "I've only done extra credit on nine tenths of my assignments! I'm not totally ahead in everything yet! And for your information, I've been working on the counter-spell and I'm perfectly capable of changing my bed back!" Ginny was about to reply when Harry and Ron came bursting through into the common room. They both looked worn-out, wet, and completely frozen. " D-do you g-guys know any w-warming ch-charms?" Ron asked, his teeth chattering. "Honestly," said Hermione, exasperatedly. " You two should learn these simple, everyday spells. What if we're tested on them sometime in the future?" But all the same, she pointed her wand at each of them in turn and muttered, " Recaleo!". "Thanks, Hermione," said Harry, "That's loads better." " You're welcome." Hermione replied. "Guess what? Mum and Dad sent a owl inviting all of you to spend Christmas at my house! It's ok with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and Dumbledore said it was ok for you to come, too, Harry!" "Awesome!" Ron exclaimed, " I'll get to see a real fellytision! And maybe even a..what're they called? Kamplooters?" "Computers, Ron. And its television, not fellytision. You really should be taking Muggle Studies this year!" " Well, at least I sort of remembered the names! I didn't grow up with all that stuff, and you did! Keep in mind, Hermione, not everyone has a brain as big as yours. The worlds not made up of know-it-alls, so don't expect everyone to be as smart and clever as brilliant Hermione" Ron said in a mocking tone. Ginny didn't hear Hermione's reply, because she walked away to the other side of the common room. Ron and Hermione seemed to be fighting even more than usual lately, and it seemed that everyone in Gryffindor was complaining about it. "I don't know why they're even friends." she had heard a fourth year exclaim. "All they ever do is fight!" Ginny hoped that Ron and Hermione might be able to put their differences aside, at least for Christmas. Of course, it seemed to Ginny that there might be more to their fighting than meets the eye, but apparently neither of them had realized that yet, and were still constantly at each other's throats.
The next few days went by pretty quickly. There was a flurry of activity all around the school, with people hurridly wrapping presents, owling home, and trying to finish all their end-of-term assignments, which, unfortunately, had amounted to a lot. Many people were staying this year, as some parents felt that Hogwarts was the safest place for their children, and many parents were too busy and involved in the war to have their children home for the entire vacation. Ginny had never been to Hermione's house before, nor anyone else's besides her own for Christmas before, so she was very excited. She and Hermione had become much closer in the past year or so, and although she hadn't really become part of Harry, Ron, and Hermione's little "group", she was glad that they had become friends. Hermione was fun to be around when she wasn't obsessing over her schoolwork, and, as Ron said, "It's good to know that it's humanly possible to be ahead in school- even though the rest of us never will be."
The train was very quiet when it took off from Hogwarts a few days before Christmas, but they didn't mind- it was rather nice to have a compartment all to themselves, as it allowed Harry and Ron to play Exploding Snap rather loudly. Unfortunately, the whole deck of cards went off with a bang just as the witch with the food trolly came, which, needless to say did not make her overly pleased with them. "Really!" Hermione was saying as the witch walked huffily out of their compartment, patting her singed hair back into shape. "It would have been a bit more considerate if you had stopped playing when you saw her coming- and don't laugh Ginny, it makes them worse-". Ginny, who was biting her lip to keep from laughing at the stunned look on Ron's face as the disgruntled lady had waved away the smoke, swallowed her giggle just in time for a large black owl to slam against the window right next to her, making her jump out of her seat and bang her head on the ceiling. "Wonder who that's for?" said Harry leaning over a badly singed Ron.
"Looks like it's from the post office- you can see the little tag on it- oh, it's from your Mum, Ginny- for all of us," said Hermione as she opened the window and took the letter out of the owl's beak. "Well, go on then," said Ron. "Open it!" Hermione tore open the envelope and read aloud: Dear Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Ron, I hope you all have a lovely Christmas. We would have loved to have you all here again, but Arthur and I agree that it will be a wonderful experience that you shouldn't pass up on. I hope you enjoy yourselves immensley, and Hermione, please keep an eye on Ron for me. He can be quite like his father when it comes to Muggle gadgets.
"I do NOT!" Ron said indignantly. But a look from Hermione shushed him, and she continued to read.
Please be careful, and don't leave the house without Mr. and Mrs. Granger's permission. I know I don't need to remind you (Ginny and Ron) to be polite houseguests. I hope you enjoy the gifts! Owl us if you need anything! Love, Molly P.S Ron, I know you asked for a different color jumper this year, but please, if you would just look at yourself in the mirror with your jumper on- it's a lovely color on you, as I'm sure Harry, Hermione and Ginny would all agree. Hermione, dear, I hope the color of your jumper is okay, I thought it would suit you.
"Nooo.." moaned Ron, " I knew she would knit me maroon again-"
"Oh please," Hermione snapped. "It's really nice of her to make them for all of us every year- if I was her I wouldn't bother, as you never appreciate it-"
"I wish you were her then," Ron muttered grumpily, and started to pick up the cards scattered all over the floor.
When they finally reached the station, Mr. And Mrs. Granger greeted them warmly. A little two warmly perhaps- Ginny was swept into a hug by Mrs. Granger, who said loudly, "Hermione's told me so much about you, Ginny dear. I'm sorry I couldn't have gotten to know you better on our previous meetings!" she let go of Ginny and turned to Harry and Ron, who were shaking hands with Mr. Granger.
"Er- It's very nice of you to let us stay for the holidays," said Ron, who apparently was trying to "be a polite houseguest" as his mother had told him to.
"No trouble, no trouble at all, the more the merrier, you know," Hermione's mother reassured them. After greeting Ginny, Ron, and Harry, Mr. Granger turned to Hermione. "And how's my little princess doing?" " Uh- I'm fine, Dad, but I am sixteen, you know, not six." Hermione looked horribly embarrassed at her father's nickname for her. Ron was grinning; apparently he thought this was great blackmail material. Ginny reminded herself to threaten him later. She happened to know a couple things he wouldn't want all of Gryffindor to know, either. Mr. Granger laughed a deep, booming laugh. " Of course, you're a grown-up little witch now, aren't you, princess?" Hermione's cheeks reddened even more. "Erm- Dad, let's- go home now." "Yes." Said Mrs. Granger briskly. Turning to speak to all four of them, she said,"Ok, how about I take Ginny and Hermione, and Mr. Granger will take Ron and Harry. We had to bring two cars, since you four won't fit together in one." The ride home was peaceful and relatively uneventful. The Granger's house was only 15 minutes away, so they arrived quickly. As they pulled into the driveway, Ginny had a clear view of Hermione's house. It was an all- together ordinary muggle house. It wasn't small, but it was no mansion, either. It didn't have the messy, awkwardly shaped look of the burrow, but was shaped more like a rectangle. There was a big lawn out front, and on the side of the house, what looked like a vegetable garden. It had a very homey look to it, and Ginny decided right then and there that she liked it very much. "Come on Ginny!" called Hermione, who was unloading her trunk from the car. "Let's go inside!" They carried all their belongings upstairs. Ginny followed Hermione to her room. There were two twin beds next to each other, so Ginny dumped her stuff on one and turned to Hermione. " It's so great to be here! Your Mum and Dad are really nice!" "Yeah. Even though they can be a bit- overenthusiastic- at times. I can't believe Dad still calls me his "little princess". Hermione grimaced. "Honestly, they treat me like I'm a child and I'm not. It makes me so mad, sometimes! They were completely ridiculous last year when I told them I was going to the Yule Ball with Viktor. ' Couldn't you just go with your friends, dear?' 'Isn't he too old for you?' ' I don't like the sound of that boy, Hermione' It's like they don't even trust my judgement! They know I'm perfectly capable of making my own decisions but they insist on knowing about every little tiny detail in my life!" Hermione took a deep breath. She looked a little surprised at her outburst, but not sorry that she had said it. "I'm sorry Ginny. I guess I just needed to talk to someone." "That's ok, Hermione. My parents are exactly the same way. I's probably worse for me, being the baby of the family. I have Mum and Dad, and six older brothers! Believe me, I know exactly how you feel!" "Thanks Ginny." Suddenly they heard feet thundering up the stairs. "I guess the boys are here." Said Ginny, grinning. "They don't exactly know how to walk quietly, do they?" "Nope. I guess I'd better go show them where the guest room is. Be right back!" And she exited the room. Ginny walked over to what looked like a bit box with wires sticking out of it. It looked slightly familiar. Then she remembered where she had seen one before; Dad had brought one home from work a couple summers ago and had spent all of dinner trying to explain to her, Ron, Fred, and George how it worked. It was called a- a- Ginny struggled to remember. A computer! Yes, that was it. Then Dad had tried to rewire it and it had suddenly blown up with a loud "bang!". This had earned him yet another lecture one "tinkering with muggle gadgets" from Mrs. Weasley. Ginny wondered if Hermione would teach her how to work it while she was here. She was actually pretty interested in Muggles, just not when it was Mr.Weasley doing the teaching. She would have taken Muggle Studies this year, but then Hermione had convinced her into starting Arithmancy. (that was, of course, before she learned exactly what the subject was and how hard it was). Just then Hermione returned. Ginny was so engrossed in examining the computer that she would not have noticed, except that the sound of the door shutting caught her attention. "What are you doing, Ginny?" Hermione inquired, walking across the room toward where Ginny was standing. "Oh, my computer?! Well, if you want to see it, first we should turn it on!" She pressed a small, round button on the box. Suddenly the screen changed color and it made a little noise. Ginny jumped back in surprise. "W-what did you do?" asked Ginny. " I only turned it on!" said Hermione, laughing at the expression on Ginny's face. "Really, It's not that remarkable - I mean, when I first learned I was a witch, I thought that magic was loads more amazing than computers."
"Well I grew up with magic- seems weird to not know about magic," Ginny said, frowning at the screen, which now had a little box on it.
"What's that?"
"What's what? Oh, it's just telling you that the computer's loading- er, warming up," Hermione replied.
"Cool- umm. Hermione, are those little pictures supposed to pop up all over the screen?"
"Yes, of course- listen Ginny, it's almost dinner time, how about you can look at the computer later?"
"All right," Ginny said reluctantly, and pried herself away from the screen.
They had a very peaceful dinner that was only interrupted by Pig, who had somehow gotten out of his cage and was now amusing himself by dive-bombing Harry and trying to steal bits of his roast chicken. "RON! Get your- Ow! - bird- Ow! -off of me!" he yelled, while ducking under the table and waving his hands wildly above his head. Once Ron had successfully grabbed his owl, stuffed a bit of greenbean in it's beak and run upstairs, Ginny was laughing so hard that she could hardly breathe. "Does that- happen often?" Mr. Granger inquired, fighting a smile.
"OH-oh- y-yes!" gasped Ginny. "Ron's owl, you know- it's a bit crazy-."
The incident at lunch had wiped the computer from Ginny's mind. The rest of the evening went by quickly. It was mostly spent in the den, where Ron stared transfixed at the television, asking Harry questions every two seconds. Apparently, they were watching a movie called "The Fellowship of the Ring", which, according to Hermione, was a very popular Muggle obsession at the moment. Hermione was sitting on the couch next to Ginny, doing extra credit Defense Against the Dark Arts homework. She had given up nagging Harry about planning for their next D.A meeting (which, although the DADA professor was much more satisfactory this year, they had decided to continue). " Come on, Hermione". He said pleadingly, but not taking his eyes off the screen. "We have plenty of time to do that, later." " Just like you had 'plenty of time' to do your Herbology homework last week, and ended up scribbling it during lunch?" Hermione retorted. " Well, I just lost track of-." But Ron interrupted suddenly. Turning to Hermione, he said, " Whoa!!! Hermione, is that guy a wizard?" " No, that's Bilbo Baggins. He's a hobbit." She replied, glancing at the screen. "Well then how did he disappear if he's not a wizard!" argued Ron. " Because his ring has special powers that can make him invisible." " But Hermione! I thought this was a muggle movie! How can they make him disappear if he's just a muggle. Are hobbits muggles that can do magic or something?" " Ron, first of all, it's called special effects. Second of all, hobbits aren't real, it's a story. And third of all, if muggles could do magic, then they wouldn't be muggles, would they? Now, would you please be quiet, I'm trying to concentrate!" said Hermione, apparently trying very hard not to blow up at Ron. She muttered "Honestly" under her breath and returned to her work. Ginny thoroughly enjoyed the movie, and when Hermione offered to lend her the books, she accepted. When it ended, everyone was tired. Yawning, they all said goodnight, thanked the Grangers, and trooped off to bed. It wasn't until Ginny climbed into bed that she remembered about the computer, and Hermione's promise to teach her how to use it. " Hermione!" she whispered urgently. "Hermione!". But Hermione didn't reply. Too tired to walk over to Hermione's bed and wake her, she slumped onto her pillow and fell asleep.
