The Wuver-Grams
A/N: As always, review please, your support helps me. I'm just being silly, it's kinda OOC. By the way…the song is mine…don't laugh. ;)
The magical world was undoubtedly a mysterious and inviting one. Countless adventures could be found for those who were inclined to find them. And at the wizard school, Hogwarts, there were no shortages of adventure and exploration. Stairs that led to nowhere and everywhere, doors that wouldn't open unless you talked to them in exactly the right way, a forbidden forest on the outside of the castle that would test the bravest of wizards and witches. Yet all of this didn't seem to matter to the three figures huddled besides the fire blazing on the third floor.
"I can't believe it…after all those exams, we're finally finished." Ron breathed happily, spreading himself onto the floor of the Gryffindor common room. "No more goblin rebellions, no more tea-leaf readings, and especially no more Snape!"
"Oh, I wouldn't be so happy if I were you…" Hermione said, looking anxiously at some books that were spread out on her lap.
"Why shouldn't I be? Exams are over, and I'm looking forward to a nice, long…."
"I don't believe it!" Hermione shrieked.
"Wha? What?" Ron blinked, looking up at her in confusion. "What's wrong?"
"Alexa the Dreadful! I should have known!" She moaned sadly, placing her head on the book.
"Alexa? What?" Ron's face was completely blank as he tried to absorb this startling new information about a dreadful woman he didn't know anything about. "Who's she?"
"Question 10 on the History of Magic Exam, Ron." Hermione frowned, as if not knowing that fact could mean the end of the world itself. "Honestly, if you had paid more attention in class you would have known what I was talking about."
"I don't believe your still looking up answers…" Ron said a bit crossly.
"I just want to make sure…" Hermione said eagerly, as she started onto her favorite subject, studying. "I mean, one can never be too sure with Professor Bimm's tests…didn't you hear him tell the class that he had some trick questions he put in…"
"Exams are over, Hermione…" Ron put in, interrupting her. "Why don't you take a break for once? You don't want to overwork yourself." He grinned as her expression darkened.
"You should be the one to talk." Hermione began angrily. "I didn't seen you even open a book once during Exams. Honestly Ron, how do you expect to get any OWLs at all if you don't even try?"
"Relax Hermione…" Ron said, the smug grin still on his face. "I've got it covered."
"What do you mean?" She said suspiciously, still looking at him. "What are you up to this time?"
"Nothing!" Ron blurted out instantly, an innocent expression appearing on his face. "Relax Hermione…" He said as he noticed her angry glower. "Come on, who's for a game of chess? Harry?"
"All you ever do is play chess!" Hermione voice rose into an angry shrill. "Honestly, if you don't care about your grades, I do."
"I think she's telling me she cares about me, Harry." Ron observed shrewdly, chortling a little to his oblivious friend. "Uh…Harry?"
"If I ever think about caring for you again, Ron Weasley, I'll hex myself!" Hermione said, her face flushed with sudden anger. The occupants of the common room had turned to see where all the commotion had started, seen the argument, and chuckled knowingly. Ron and Hermione had been having these episodes for quite some time, and everyone was used to it. Fred and George Weasley had even set up a small betting pool on when the two would fight next.
"Oh…hexing herself! That must have taken a book or two to figure out, isn't that right Harry?" Ron grinned chuckling. "Um...Harry, you there?"
The third figure in the room sat quietly, still oblivious to the argument his two best friends were having. If you had noticed, he would have ignored them anyway. For even Harry Potter who had to deal with ravenous reporters, Death Eaters, and even Lord Voldermort on a regular basis, had a limit to his patience.
At that moment however, a dragon could have descended upon Harry's hand and he wouldn't have noticed.
"Harry!" Ron bellowed, shattering the room's silence. The other Gryffindors looked up from what they were doing, startled.
Harry blinked in surprise awakening from his reverie, and looked up at Ron sheepishly. "Um…what?"
"You've been ignoring him again, Harry." Hermione said lightly. "And Ron needs all the attention he can get."
"What do you mean by that?" Ron blinked furiously.
"What do you think I mean?" Hermione grinned, getting up and smoothing down her black robes.
"How am I supposed to know what you mean if you don't tell me what you mean?!" Ron huffed.
"Well your pretty good at putting words in other people's mouths…" Hermione retorted.
"What do you mean by that?!" Ron said, his voice rising.
"What do you think I mean?" Hermione taunted.
"You lousy…" Ron began as he started for Hermione.
With a delighted squeal, Hermione took off as Ron made a grab for her. Minutes later, he gave chase around the room, through the boy's dormitory, around the girl's, and then right out of the portrait hole. Harry looked on in amusement as his two friends departed from the room, leaving him behind.
It had been all too obvious to him that they were in love. Even if the two of them would never admit it, almost everyone else could see that Hermione's unusual light-hearted behavior only came when she was around Ron. And Ron, although he strove to hide it with all his might, never seemed all that far away when Hermione was around. He had even taken to spending more time in the library, a place he was notorious for detesting.
Harry shook his head again, a small smile lighting up his face. Yes, his friends had found love, and he was happy for them. Although the increasing fear that he was becoming a third wheel to their innocent courtship rituals had driven him to being uncharacteristically silent when he was around them. It was not that he felt any less comfortable around them now, it was just that he didn't really know what to say to either of them when they wouldn't acknowledge the relationship almost all of Hogwarts knew about. To everyone else, the idea of Hermione and Ron loving each other was old news, to them, it was a abhorrent monster that was to be kept far, far away.
Sooner or later, Harry knew he would have to give one, or both of them a push in the right direction. It was getting hard to stand them looking at each other when the thought the other wasn't watching, chasing each other around Hogwarts, even sharing innocent little hugs that Hermione maintained were only ones that friends gave each other. Funny, Hermione hadn't even hugged him the entire year, and he was one of her best friends.
He sighed again, his thoughts wandering elsewhere as he stared out the window towards the cool, inviting day that awaited him. The afternoon had been filled with pleasantly leisurely activities for all the students at Hogwarts since the exams had ended. Harry's mind felt strangely clear after the hours and hours he had spent cramming in every last bit of information he could before the exams. Now, he found himself strangely bored.
It wasn't that there was a lack of things to do. He could have easily started up a game of Quidditch, gone off to see what Ron or Hermione were doing, or even read the new book about Quidditch Hermione had given him for Christmas. He just felt all of these activities strangely unappealing.
He was…lonely, he realized with a start. Not lonely from a lack of friends, but lonely from a lack of a comforting and warm presence that he had been missing ever since the start of exams. For Harry, had become rather good friends with Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw Seeker that he had a crush on since the second year.
They had begun spending a lot of time together, and rumors were starting to fly. Harry maintained that someone like Cho could never be interested in him, and he took from Cho's hesitation to correct him, that he was right. Even if she didn't feel the same way he felt about her, he still missed her presence acutely, almost as if someone had turned off a special light in the corner of his heart.
He sighed again, and looked out the window, rubbing his glasses self-consciously.
"Harry!"
"Just the chap we wanted to see!"
Harry put away his glasses and looked up to the smiling faces of the infamous Wealsey twins, Fred and George. Ever since he had presented them with the winnings for the Tri-Wizard cup he no longer wanted, they had often forced him to accompany them on their daily jaunts through the castle causing mischief.
Not that he should complain. Harry had found that throwing a dungbomb at Draco Malfoy was strangely appealing to him. He chuckled at the memory of Draco's infuriated face, his body covered with foul smelling, rotten, cow manure.
"Hm?" Harry allowed, hiding his smile behind his hands.
"We've got ourselves a new product, we do!" George announced proudly.
"One of a kind!" Fred added, winking at Harry.
"Now we haven't actually tested this yet…" George said.
"But we're sure it'll work." Fred said, shooting a look at his twin.
"And as the founder of our fair company…" George began.
"We thought you should be the first to try it out!" Fred finished.
"Uh…" Harry paused. "What is it?" His voice suggested that he didn't really want to know the answer.
"An official, Wealsey Wizard Wheezes Whispering Wuver-gram!" George crowed.
"Wuver-what?" Harry said, confusion clouding his face.
"An wuver-gram!" For all your romantic needs!" Fred explained as if everyone should know the answer to that question.
"Now…" George said, a slight smirk forming on his face. "Rumor has it that you've been seeing a lot of that Ravenclaw seeker…oh what's her name?"
"Cho Chang?" Fred finished inquisitively, a leer marring his own countenance.
"We're just frie-"
"Sure thing, Harry!" George said, slapping a box onto his lap. "Whatever you saw, ol chap. Just tell us if she liked it after you use it."
"Good luck now, Harry! Remember that you are the proud, first user of what will soon be an Internationally renowned wizard product!" Fred said happily. "Imagine the galleons…"
"Imagine the fame…" George said, looking at his twin.
"But wait, really," Harry tried desperately. "We really just friends. I can't use this on her, she'll…"
"Love it!" Fred said.
"She better." George scowled. "We've got one dungbomb left, Harry. We'd hate to use it on her. Now go to it, Harry."
"Or else." Fred added, a frown appearing on his face as well.
Before Harry could stop them, the two twins had succeeded in pushing him right out of the portrait hole. Struggling vainly as they held him at arm's length, he was too late to stop the door from closing in his face. He heard laughter inside, and George's crow of victory.
"Remember Harry…" Fred said, his eyes shining as he poked his head outside, the door inching open. "Get it done."
With that, the door closed again with a loud thud, trapping Harry outside. Startled, he realized that the Fat Lady was ignoring his frantic requests to come back into the Gryffindor Common Room. The new coat of paint that it had received on it's left shoulder confirmed Harry's suspicions. Even the portrait had been in on the insidious plot against him. He sighed resignedly and stared at the box before him.
A pink heart was emblazoned onto the pink box before him. On the middle, scrawled in fancy writing that Harry recognized as Fred's were the words 'Weasley Wizard Wheezes Whispering Wuver-grams'. A rather poor depiction of a cupid was drawn into the left side of the box, and a small bow adorned the right side.
He frowned again, wondering what the two twins had concocted this time. Would it burst open with flowers? Would it suddenly spray him with chocolates? Would fireworks come shooting out of the box? You could never tell with the Weasley twins, with them, the unexpected tended to be the norm. He sighed again, and placed the box carefully between his arms.
"Might as well go to the library…" He thought out loud, as he glared at the Fat Lady. She glowered back at him, obviously still intent on not allowing him entrance.
"Oh! The Library, Harry! But exams are over!"
Harry spun around in horror, his stomach dropping. It couldn't be. Yet he would know that voice anywhere. From the Quidditch field to the Mess Hall, he could always count on that kind voice to suddenly pop a dozen snitches into his stomach. Harry gulped as he viewed locks of black hair dyed with tinges of light brown.
His eyes met Cho Chang's hazel ones, and he felt the snitches in his stomach fly with more ferocity. If felt as if the Quidditch World Cup was taken place inside his very gut. Suddenly remembering the package within his arms, he backed away from Cho, vainly trying to hide the box where she couldn't see.
"Uh…Hi." Harry said.
Cho grinned at him, and Harry smiled nervously, still clutching the package behind his robes. "So what have you been up to, Potter?" She smiled mischievously looking up at him.
"Nothing…much…studying." Harry replied lamely, and gulped nervously as her smile became wider. Had she seen?
"What's that you have in your hands?" Cho asked, her eyebrow raising as he continued to back away from her.
"What? Oh..nothing, I don't have…anything in my hands." Harry lied.
"It looks like a box…" Cho blinked. "It's pink!"
"It's not pink…" Harry tried vainly. "It's a really light red…"
"You always were a lousy liar, Harry…" Cho grinned as she approached him. "Let me see…"
"No!" Harry almost shouted, startling her. "Err…it's a really important project…top secret…"
"Oh really?" Cho breathed, her eyes shining with renewed interest. "Is that what you've been working on?"
"What do you mean?" Harry said, blinking in confusion.
"I mean…" Cho suddenly turned a light shade of red. "You haven't…I mean not that you would…but I thought…you would want to…but you haven't…so I naturally thought you were…but I shouldn't have presumed…well…"
Harry grinned suddenly, relaxing at Cho's discomfiture with the truth. "Thought I would want to spend some time with you?"
"Well we are friends aren't we Harry?" Cho said earnestly, looking at him.
Oh that and so much more! Harry wanted to scream out. Instead, he said "Sure we are, Cho. I've just been busy with exams…so, you want to go and play some Quidditch?"
"Sure…" Cho said, her face becoming quite innocent. She fluttered her eyelashes at him, making him blush furiously. Before he could recover, he realized she had snatched the pink box away from him.
"Hey! You can't have that!" Harry shouted horrified. "It's mine! It's…dangerous!"
"Weasley's Wizard Wheezes Whispering Wuver-grams?" Cho blinked. Harry could have sworn her expression darkened. "You have…a girlfriend, Harry?"
Harry blinked, startled. He was used to Cho teasing him relentlessly, in fact, he quite enjoyed it and was sure to return the favor on many occasions. Yet her voice was dead serious, and it was filled with a strange brooding he had never heard before. Could it be that she felt the same way he did? His heart filled with sudden hope.
"Oh that's wonderful!" Cho said, her face drawing blank, her voice devoid of enthusiasm. "I'm so happy…for…you…" She faltered.
"No!" Harry said his arms waving frantically. "That's not it at all!"
"Oh, it's okay, Harry…" Cho said, smiling up at him. "It's okay to be nervous or embarrassed…is she your first?"
"What?" Harry frowned. "Wait no, I don't have a girlfrie-"
"Who is it? Is it Hermione?" Cho said, her hands coming up as she started to count off all the girls Harry knew. "Lavender? Pavarati? It's not Professor Trelawney is it?" She added with a giggle.
"What?! No! I wait…I can explain…"
"Why don't I just open this box here…" Cho began, carefully sliding the lid open.
"Wait! What! No!" Harry started to protest, but before he could, a strange, wailing noise suddenly floated around and above the hallway.
All through the night
I lay there dreaming of you
And when the time is right
I want it to be you
Cho, I love you sooooo!
Why can't you love me too?
Forget about everyone else!
Won't you be mine forever?
Horrified, Harry suddenly realized that the horrible crooning was actually the voices of Fred and George Weasley. His face paled, his brow broke out in sweat, and he tightened his fists. Harry Potter, the usually unflappable boy who had faced Lord Voldermort looked as if a dozen Dementors had suddenly descended upon the scene.
Cho Cho Cho!
Standing at your doorstep
Listening to you laugh and cry
I wish I could be near you
I wish I could kiss you
You really are so fiiiiiiiiinnnnnneeeeeee!
Cho blinked, looking at Harry who appeared to be debating whether to make a run for it, or throw himself out the nearest window. Shock ran through her spine as she continued listening to the badly crooned words coming from the valentine. Had Harry really wanted to give her this? Was that why he had been fidgeting? Did he want what she had wanted for so long? She stared at him hopefully as the badly versed, badly sung song continued.
Cho Cho Cho!
You are my everything!
So So So….
Will you go out with me?
Harrrrrrrrryyyyyyyy……
The box exploded with a right rush of confetti. Harry cursed the Weasleys now as his predictions came true. Chocolates did suddenly appear, flowers did materialize, and fireworks had suddenly appeared outside the window. If he hadn't been so horrified he would have been quite interested in how Fred and George had managed to pull all this off.
A stunned silence followed as the box closed in on itself, leaving the two alone.
"Um…." Harry said awkwardly, fidgeting nervously with his robe.
"Er…." Cho said, still debating whether or not to say anything.
"I…can…explain that…"
"You can?" Cho said, a tinge of disappointment in her voice.
"Yes…you see…I er…" Harry's mind worked furiously as he thought of an excuse.
"Did you mean it?" Cho said, her eyes twinkling, her face earnest.
"Um…." Harry blinked. Whatever he had expected, that was not it. His mind raced as he thought of an suitable excuse before rejecting the idea all together. Of course he meant it. Not in those words, but he meant it. But what would be the consequences of telling Cho that? The fragile friendship that they had built up since Cedric's death could come crumbling down.
More than anything, he respected and needed that friendship. He didn't want to hurt Cho, and worse than that, he had suspicions that she didn't feel the same way that he did about her. Should he take the chance? He thought of Ron and Hermione, and how happy they had looked. He turned to gaze into Cho's eyes, which were looking at him in a startling new way. He found it disconcerting yet mesmerizing at the same time. He stared at her for a long time before replying.
"Yes…" Harry breathed, looking at her. He blinked. "That's ok, right?"
"Oh, Harry!" Cho smiled, joy radiating from her face. He found himself between two strong arms as Cho brought him up to a crushing embrace. "That's more than okay…that's…wonderful." She grinned. "Though I have to admit…your friends are really bad singers…"
He laughed a little as he stared at her, his arms automatically coming around pulling her in for a tight embrace. They smiled at each other, content in their sudden confessions of mutual feelings.
"Um…." Cho blinked. "Harry?"
"Yes?" Harry asked.
"You do want to go out with me, right?" Cho said, her eyes twinkling,
"Uh…if that's fine with you…" He said, still a little fidgety.
"Yes…that's fine. Just making sure." She smiled, resting her head on his shoulder. "And Harry…"
"Yes?"
"You know half of Gryffindor is staring at us right?"
He looked up in shock. Yup, she was right. His stomach fell again, as Fred and George came out of their hiding places followed closely by almost all the people that had been sitting in the common room. Evidently, the sound of the Weasley's singing had been a big draw to the event. His jaw dropped at the audience, and his face turned bright red.
"It worked!" Fred grinned.
"Your not going to kill us now are you Harry?" George said earnestly.
"It worked!" Fred shouted. "We're going to be rich! Rich I tell you!" A group of Gryffindor first-years giggled in the corner.
Pulling Cho away from Harry, the Gryffindor girls descended upon her eagerly asking questions while Fred and George began talking with Harry.
"So Harry…didn't I tell you it was going to work?" Fred smiled.
"I believe I was the one that told him…" George said, shooting a look at his twin.
"Regardless, it did work didn't it?" Fred grinned. "You are going out with her now aren't you?"
"Uh…" Harry said, still very red. "I…don't know, yes…but…we haven't really talked…you didn't give us the chance…I mean…it's all very sudden…"
"Oh phooey with that!" George said, clapping Harry on the back throwing him forward. "Congratulations!"
"We'll be throwing our last dungbomb in honor of your new relationship, be sure of that!" Fred said, still smiling. "You will endorse the Wuver-grams won't you, Harry?"
"Uh…"
"Of course he will, you git!" George frowned, as the two twins started to depart leaving Harry and Cho alone. She had somehow managed to slip away from the other girls and their insistent questions, intent on spending more time with Harry. He blinked, turned to her, and smiled. The nervousness and tired feelings he had been experiencing disappeared.
"Cho?" Harry smiled.
"Yes?"
"I think you have very nice eyes…"
"Your such the charmer, Potter…"
"Well it was the only thing the song forgot to sing about…"
With that, the two of them departed down the hallway laughing.
A/N: Uh…don't blame me…blame my lack of sleep…;)