"Marshmallows!"
"What?" Harry looked over at his friend. Ron could be odd at times, but…this wasn't normal even for him.
"Marshmallows!" he repeated. "And cough drops!"
"Ron, what is up with you?"
Ron looked back at his friend, grinning. "It's random!"
Harry looked at him, concern creeping into the edge of his voice. "And?"
Ron kept grinning.
A slow smile crept over Harry's face. "Ohhh…." And then, "Snails!"
*****************
"Pink pineapple!"
"Elephants in cherry trees!"
"Er, er…butterbeer!"
"Pudding!"
"Dead chihuahuas in hand baskets!"
"Erm…black cats!"
"Striped owls!"
"Spotted bats!"
"Jellyfish!"
"Pink and purple polka-dotted raccoons!"
Ron and Harry stared, aghast, at Ginny, who, unobserved by either of the friends, had been watching them for several minutes, and had quickly caught on to the game. She smiled, triumphant, and walked away, leaving both boys speechless. Without a word, they both rose and continued whatever chores they had been doing before the randomness contest had been initiated.
*******************
Months later…
Harry was always sad to see Hogwarts disappearing behind the train at the end of the year. It felt as if a piece of himself had been left behind there—that he was leaving home, not returning. Sighing, he turned back to his friends. Hermione, predictably, was reading a book. Ginny was sitting on the seat next to her, petting Crookshanks.
Ron, sitting on the seat next to Harry, was looking down at his feet, apparently deep in thought. His head snapped up unexpectedly, and he stared at Ginny intently.
"Pink and purple polka-dotted marshmallows!!!" he shouted suddenly. Ginny jumped, and looked at him in surprise. But Ron was not finished.
"With orange horizontal stripes!!!"
A/N:
This was inspired by a couple of things, but mostly by a very interesting conversation one of my friends and I had, which started with me sporadically shouting, "Marshmallows!" Anyhow, thanks for taking the time to read, mostly drabble, I know, but reviews welcome, and hopefully I'll write more soon. Dai!