Admitting the Obvious
by She's a Star
Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to the oh so brilliant J.K. Rowling. A Christmas Carol, which this is kinda/sorta lightly based on (I didn't notice the similarity until I started writing it) isn't mine either.
A/N: I know, I know, I SHOULD be working on Meet the Parents (Which Airelle Vilka reviewed, by the way! *dies of happiness*) but I just couldn't get this idea out of my head! So behold the greatness (cough cough YEAH RIGHT cough cough) that is She's a Star's latest work :)
Chapter One
Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger were perfect for each other.
Everyone at Hogwarts was aware of this, from Professor Snape in the freezing dungeons to Moaning Myrtle in the out of order girls' bathroom to the house elves in the kitchen.
In fact, the only person who didn't know this was Ron Weasley himself.
"I am so bloody fed up with you bloody lot!" Ron proclaimed angrily after Seamus Finnigan had made yet another 'Ron loves Hermione' comment.
Breathing heavily through his nostrils, Ron stared down at his three friends with brown eyes that shone in anger.
"HERMIONE. AND. I. ARE. JUST. FRIENDS," he shouted. "Is that SO hard to believe?"
"Yes," Harry, Seamus, and Dean all answered innocently in unison.
"AURGH!" Ron cried in exasperation, turning around and stomping out of the dormitory. His friends' laughter echoed in his ears as he entered the common room and threw himself into an armchair. HONESTLY, was it POSSIBLE to be any more ANNOYING? After all, what had Ron ever done to deserve all the taunting they gave him???
Sure, he'd given Seamus a bit of a hard time about Lavender, but THAT was entirely different. Lavender and Seamus were...well, a couple.
And he and Hermione were definitely not.
Not at all.
"Ron!"
Ron looked up to see Ginny rushing towards him, red hair flying behind her.
"What is it, Ginny?" Ron asked, annoyed.
He had a feeling he knew what it was.
"You'd better go ask her right this INSTANT, Ronald Arthur Weasley," Ginny ordered, tilting her head slightly to the left where Hermione sat, immersed in a thick book.
Ron groaned. For the past few weeks, ever since the Yule Ball had been announced, Ginny wouldn't shut up about how he absolutely HAD to ask Hermione.
'Last year is NOT happening again!' she'd said sternly.
Well, Ron didn't care if last year happened again! Hermione had been fraternizing with the enemy, for Merlin's sake...he'd just been sticking up for Harry! Anyone would do it!
It wasn't like he'd been jealous or anything.
Not at all.
"I'm NOT asking her, Ginny!" Ron exclaimed, his voice drenched in annoyance. "Hermione and I are FRIENDS. Just like me and Harry, and Hermione and Harry-"
"Oh yes, I'm SURE Harry spent the whole summer moaning and groaning about how he bet Hermione had gone to visit 'that bloody sorry excuse for a Quidditch player'," Ginny said sarcastically. "You know, if you don't ask her soon, someone else will."
"I don't CARE!" Ron hissed, feeling his ears go red as Hermione looked up from her book and eyed them questioningly. Why did Ginny have to talk so bloody LOUD?
"Yeah, I'm sure, Ron," Ginny said dryly. She was quiet for a moment before her brown eyes began to sparkle deviously. "I heard Neville say he was going to ask her."
"He'd better not."
The words were out of his mouth before they registered in Ron's mind, and he swore inwardly.
Could this day get ANY worse?
"Oooh," Ginny's tone was infuriatingly smug. "You don't care, eh?"
"No, I don't!" Ron said, his voice coming out much louder than he'd intended it to.
"Who would you rather go to the ball with?" asked Ginny, "Hermione or that Fleur Delacour girl?"
"Hey," Ron protested, "That shouldn't count-Fleur isn't even here!"
"Well, pretend she is," Ginny said impatiently. "Who would you go with?"
Ron paused for a moment....it was a test, he wasn't too thick to overlook that. If he answered Hermione, Ginny would tease him shamelessly and insist that he ask her, but if he answered Fleur, his sister would be furious and go on and on about how shallow he was.
"I'm not answering," Ron said flatly.
"Oooh, so it IS Hermione!" said Ginny triumphantly. "If it was Fleur, you would have said so."
Dammit!
"Nuh uh," Ron said weakly.
Ginny grinned widely in response.
"Oh, Hermione!" called his sister in a sing-songy voice.
"Yes?" Hermione asked, looking up from Prefects Who Gained Power.
Honestly, Ron thought, She's the female equivalent of Percy!
"Ron has something to ask you!" Ginny continued.
Glaring at his sister, Ron muttered, "No, I don't."
"What IS it, Ron?" Hermione asked, a hint of impatience in her voice.
"Nothing, Hermione," Ron said through gritted teeth, cursing whoever had made up the rule that you couldn't hit girls.
"All right then," Hermione responded, looking back down at her book. For a moment, Ron was sure he saw a glint of disappointment in her honey-colored eyes, but she blinked and it disappeared.
Great, he thought to himself bitterly. Now I'm seeing things. Next I'll be hearing voices in my head. And then I'll start talking back. And giving them names. And zodiac signs.
"Can't you just stay out of my life?" Ron whispered angrily to his sister. Ginny gave him a saccharine smile.
"Of course not!"
~*~
Ron stayed in the common room as long as possible, not wanting to go back into his dormitory and endure the endless Hermione taunts again. However, by the time one A.M. came around, he could barely keep his eyes open. Sighing, he rose from the scarlet armchair and walked sluggishly up the winding staircase that led to the fifth year boys' dormitory. Thankfully, when he arrived he found Harry, Seamus, Dean, and Neville all fast asleep. He changed into his too-small blue and white striped pajamas and climbed into bed.
Within minutes, his own snores joined those belonging to his dorm mates.
~*~
"I say we conjure up a bucket of ice cold water and shock him awake!"
"You're impossible."
"It would be refreshing!"
"Oh, YOU!"
Ron opened his eyes reluctantly-surely it couldn't be morning yet?-, annoyed by the sound of two hushed voices conversing: one female, the other male.
After sleepily rubbing his eyes a few times, Ron focused on the two figures who stood at the foot of the bed. At first, he thought it to be Harry and Ginny: the male had glasses and messy black hair, and the female was slender and redheaded. However, on closer inspection he discovered that it couldn't be his best friend and sister: the man was tall and lanky and would tower at least a head over Harry, and the female was much more shapely than Ginny...and her eyes...he'd seen those eyes...
"Aaaaahhhhh!" Ron screamed, the fact that there were two strangers standing within five feet of him finally registering in his drowsy mind. "Who the bloody hell are you??!!"
The man laughed, and the woman gave him a kind smile. It was odd...they looked just like...
But they couldn't be.
Your best friend's dead parents didn't just come stand at the foot of your bed.
They just didn't.
So who were they???
"Hi Ron," the woman smiled. "Sorry to surprise you like this-"
"WHO are you?" Ron repeated, scooting as far away as possible from the Po...from whoever they were.
"I'm Lily," she responded, tone cheerful, "And this is my husband James...we're Harry's parents."