*Authors note*: Hey everybody!! Bet you all thought I was dead huh? Well I'm not..I'm perfectly healthy and I have a fic to present to y'all :) I'm taking a nice long break from my Emily series because I feel like that fic's suffocating me, so I hope you all understand...But don't worry, I'll still be posting some one part fics like these. And by the way I'm dedicating this fic to one of my faithful reviewers named 'Kathy'..Would you believe she reviewed part 10 of Emily, twice, just to ask me to continue! I appreciated it very much, thank you :)
p.s~ I suggest you guys listen to the song first, so you can have it 'running' in your head while you read this..it's much more fun.
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"Hey Harry! It's been so long! How've you been ol' boy?" questioned Ron cheerfully as he stood up and shook Harry's hand vigorously.
"It's nice to see again, Ron. And I've been doing fine." said Harry, mirroring Ron's happy grin.
It had been three years since the two had had the time to sit down properly and talk about their lives, since after they had graduated, both men were swept away immediately by their jobs. Harry went off to train with England's national Quidditch team, while Ron decided to enter the Auror academy in Ireland. Harry and Ron walked back to an empty table by the entrance of Florean Fortescues ice cream parlor.
The ice cream parlor, hadn't changed much. Though Harry learned from Tom, the aging inn keeper at the Leaky Cauldron, that Mr. Fortescue himself had already passed away sometime ago. And it seemed that, though it's appearance hadn't changed, a flurry of young wizards and witches were hanging around talking gaily about nothing in particular, inside and outside of the famous shop.
"So. Where's Hermione?" asked Harry, pulling out his chair, while gazing around at the people surrounding him, enjoying their ice creams and chatting noisily.
"Oh, she said she'd be late in coming. Something about McGonagall catching the flu, so she had to substitute for her second year class...She should be headed here now, it's two thirty already," said Ron, glancing at his wrist watch and running his fingers through his short fiery red hair.
"Seems like you know her schedule really well...." remarked Harry slyly, taking off his glasses and wiping it on the edge of his shirt.
Ron's ears immediately turned red and he quickly stuttered out something like,
"Yeah well, that's what she wrote in her letter...."
He turned away from Harry and pretended to gaze at something through the bustling crowd of shoppers running around doing their shopping, while Harry watched him amusedly.
"You know," burst out Ron, apparently getting over his lapse of embarrassment, and turning back to face Harry.
"It's really nice to be back here...there aren't that many wizarding villages in Ireland, and the shops over there are much, much smaller...."
Harry nodded, urging Ron to continue,
"It's a good thing my seniors allowed me to take two a week break."
"Why? What did you do?" asked Harry interestedly.
"I turned in a group of small time criminals over there...." said Ron slowly, trying not to look too pleased with himself.
"Hey! That's great! Now something like that definitely deserves a holiday!" said Harry, grinning.
"Yeah, I guess so," said Ron modestly, though he was obviously very proud of his achievements himself.
The two young men sat around for another few minutes, laughing as they exchanged old jokes and mused about the outcome of their former classmates at Hogwarts. Just then, a voice boomed from inside the ice cream parlor, and everyone turned around to look at a young looking wizard (whom Harry assumed was Mr. Fortescues apprentice), whose wand was pointed to his throat indicating that he had just put the sonorus charm on himself.
"May I have your attention please!" came the squeaky voice of the apprentice, reminding Harry of his old school mates, the Creeveys.
"Florean Fortescues ice cream parlor shall now be playing music for your entertainment. If you have any request, please don't be afraid to tell us, and we will see what we can do about it. Enjoy."
Everybody turned away from the wizard, and went back to their business, while a fast hip song by Celestina Warbeck began to drift out of the ice cream parlor, quietly at first, then gradually increasing it's volume.
"I wonder what the old owner would think of this...." mused Ron, leaning back and putting his hands behind his head.
Harry wondered about the thought for a while, when his eyes landed on a very familiar figure walking towards them.
"Hey, Ron," said Harry, squinting his eyes through his glasses. "Isn't that Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan?"
Ron followed Harry's gaze and exclaimed loudly,
"Why, it is Dean and Seamus! Hey you two, come over here!" and he waved their friends over to their table.
Dean spotted them and after pointing out Harry and Ron to a surprised Seamus, headed straight for Harry and Ron's table. The reunion of the four former classmates was a loud and cheery one. After Dean and Seamus grabbed extra seats from an empty table nearby, all four of them began exchanging stories with each other. Seamus it seemed, had been walking around with Dean looking for his wife-to-be Lavender, whom they had lost sight of somewhere around Madame Malkins dressrobes. Of course, at the mention of 'wife-to-be,' Harry and Ron couldn't help tease their furiously blushing blonde friend, much to his embarrassment.
"Ah, leave me alone. You'll be sorry about teasing me now, y'know," threatened Seamus lightly, while Harry and Ron sniggered childishly.
"What about you two, then?" asked Seamus.
"What about us?" repeated Ron, raising his eyebrows.
"Come on, wake up, Ron...I meant have you two got a girl?" said Seamus.
"Oh...." said Ron, "well, I don't have a girlfriend. Dunno about Harry though...." Ron added a sly grin for effect.
Fortunately, Harry was spared of Seamus' teasing when Dean suddenly snapped up.
"Hey...you hear that?" he said, turning his head towards the ice cream parlor. "Catchy tune...I think I've heard it before...."
"Yeah, I have too," replied Harry, nodding his head.
The song they heard slowly increased it's volume and soon, Harry, Dean, and Seamus were tapping their fingers to the beat of drums and guitars.
"Must be a muggle song...." said Seamus.
"Yeah...Muggles sure know their music," agreed Dean.
"Wish I knew what this song is...it's got a nice beat to it. Do you know this, Ron?" said Dean, tugging Ron's arm.
But Dean soon noticed that Ron was looking out at the street across them, staring at something intently. Dean nodded at Harry and Seamus, quietly pointing out Ron's dreamy state, and together all three of them followed Ron's gaze. What they saw immediately explained Ron's state, for across the street was a pretty young woman with wavy brown hair that shone under the sun, emerging from the petshop.
"Oh my...." said Dean, gawking.
"Yeah, she's pretty...." agreed Harry.
"Wonder what her name is...." sighed Ron, leaning on his elbow, while he stared longingly at the mysterious girl. Who was now crossing the street.
"Hey, that's just like what this song's saying, Ron!" exclaimed Seamus, and he pushed himself out of his chair and began to sing along, grinning idiotically all the way.
By now, the volume was at it's peak as Seamus expertly began to lip sync to the song.
Talk to me
Tell me your name
You blow me off like it's all the same
"Is he serious?" asked Harry, laughing at Seamus.
"Seems like it," was all Dean could choke out because he was laughing so hard in his chair.
Ron however, vaguely noticed Seamus prance around their table with his wand in front of him, in place of a microphone, for he was busy staring out through the crowd, gazing at the pretty girl who was walking in their direction.
'She's so beautiful,' thought Ron, 'Is she headed here...?'
You lit a fuse and now I'm ticking away
Like a bomb
Yeah, Baby
Dean and Harry temporarily took their eyes away from Seamus, who was now very much in his element and was doing complicated dance moves near by, and glanced at Ron. He was still hopelessly spacing out, and Harry and Dean shook their heads exasperatedly.
"Come on, Harry. Let's join Seamus...Ron's long gone anyhow," said Dean, jerking his head towards Seamus, who was being cheered on by a group of young girls.
They walked a few feet, only to make the young girls squeal even more as Seamus grabbed them by the shoulder and irked them on to sing with him.
Talk to me
Tell me your sign
You're switching sides like a Gemini
'How true....' thought Ron vaguely, filtering the music in his ears, 'I wonder if she'll talk to me...Nah, she'd probably walk away thinking I'm just some weird idiot...Ah, but maybe she could tell me her name...just a name....'
Harry tugged on Seamus's arm and pulled him over to their own table where Ron was sitting and began to sing in front of him, blocking the mysterious girl from view.
"Hey!" protested Ron, "you've just--I mean, I can't--!"
But all Ron got was three evil looks from his friends, who were dancing and singing to the music in front of their clapping audience.
You're playing games
And now you're hittin' my heart
Like a drum
Yeah, Baby
Dean lip synced, while Seamus and Harry pretended to stab themselves in the chest and promptly fall over.
'What's gotten into them?' thought Ron in shock as Seamus jumped up on the table and began swinging his hips to the beat.
Ron shook his head fiercely and turned back to the street, desperately trying to spot the pretty girl he had seen. Though it was to no avail, since Dean, Harry, and Seamus' audience had grown so much, that everybody seemed to be blocking Ron's view. He stood up straight, and craned his neck over the crowds, scanning and looking endlessly...when to his delight he spotted her. Right there, leaning on a post, smiling. Ron could have sworn her eyes flicked towards him for a minute, but maybe that was just wishful thinking. Ron wanted to walk to her and talk to right there and then, but realized that he was stuck in place because of the squealing throng of young girls all around him who were watching his friends. Thus, Ron was utterly relieved when he saw that the girl he was watching pick up her bag from the pavement and begin to walk straight to him.
Ron stood there, somewhat paralyzed, while Harry rolled up his sleeves and broke into song....
Well if Lady Luck gets on my side
We're gonna rock this town alive
Dean and Seamus, who were completely stunned by Harry's move, stood there, open mouthed as Harry did a very exquisite dance move, which involved his hips, making the girls squeal and scream even more....
I'll let her rough me up
Till she knocks me out
She walks like she talks, And she talks like she walks
Meanwhile, Ron stood rock still as he watched, the pretty girl walking towards him. It seemed so surreal...so vivid. It seemed like the girl was glowing...and Ron thought that time had slowed down as she took each step. Ron's heart was pounding inside his chest and his mouth had suddenly gone very dry. But he stood rooted to the spot never taking his eyes of the girl.
'It's just a girl, man!! Just a girl! No need to go into cardiac arrest, Ron!'
Ron repeated the words to himself, trying to look as calm as possible, when in truth everytime he caught a glimpse of the girl's sweet, charming smile, he felt his head spin, giddily.
Dean poked at Seamus on the shoulder and pointed towards their dazed looking friend, who was standing like a statue, staring at something. Both of them grinned knowingly at the sight.
Harry though, was rather preoccupied, for he was now twirling a young, madly giggling girl under his arm, while singing his happy little heart out.
And she bangs, she bangs!
Oh baby When she moves, she moves!
I go crazy 'Cause she looks like a flower but she stings like a bee
Like every girl in history
She bangs, she bangs
'Oh yeah...she bangs all right....' thought Ron, absentmindedly picking up Seamus'sgreen jacket, which was consequentially two sizes smaller, and wearing it as he took a timid step forward to meet the girl.
I'm wasted by the way she moves
No one ever looked so fine
She reminds me that a woman's only got one thing on her mind
The girl stopped awkwardly in her tracks as her eyes landed on a tall figure, whose green jacket clashed horribly with his fiery red hair, making him look like a very rare Christmas tree. Ron didn't notice this of course, for he was hurriedly muttering apologies to the fourth person he had bumped into on his way. Dean and Seamus pulled back Harry and pointed at Ron.
"Where's he going to?" shouted Harry over the loud, throbbing music.
"Dunno! But he seems to be headed over there!" shouted back Seamus.
Seamus and Harry left Dean to the giggling group of girls, who had ran after of them and inched their way towards Ron, so they could see what was going on.
"The joker's got my jacket on!" piped Seamus, pointing at Ron's back. "Who's he headed to anyway?"
"Probably that girl we saw earlier," answered Harry, adjusting the glasses on his nose.
"Yeah? Well, come on then! Let's get a closer look."
And with that, Seamus tugged on Harry's sleeve and pulled him behind an empty table.
"But what about Dean?" asked Harry, looking back at Dean who was now motioning at the young apprentice wizard to turn the volume higher.
"Ah, he can sing all he wants," said Seamus, waving his hand dismissively, "I want to see if Ron finally gets himself a girl!"
Talk to me
Tell me your name
I'm just a link in your daisy chain
Your rap sounds like a diamond
Map to the stars Yeah, Baby
Ron cautiously walked towards the girl, never taking his eyes off of her. And with each step he noticed that this girl was getting to be eerily familiar. Her wavy hair, brown eyes...and a collection of books stuffed into her backpack.... '
Wait,' thought Ron suddenly, 'She couldn't be...no, no....'
But his legs didn't seem to want to stop, and he soon found himself only a few feet away from the girl.
'Should I go talk to her? Yeah, of course I should! I didn't walk all the way here for nothing....'
"What's Ron doing? He's frozen up!" hissed Harry, from behind the table he and Seamus were hiding.
"Do you think he got cold feet?" whispered Seamus.
"Well, let's hope not."
Ron walked up to the girl, and stammered out a greeting. Well, what he thought was a coherent greeting.
"Hi," he said, grinning stupidly, "my name's Ron...well Ronald actually, but you could just call me Ron, it's shorter. And that's what all my friends call me...they're over there, goofing off to some muggle song...."
Seamus put on a very affronted look as he heard Ron explain his antics to the girl.
"Goofing off? Why, I think my number was a very good one--"
"Sshhh!" said Harry.
"Would you like to meet them? They're really nice--" continued Ron, when he caught the girl's eye and saw that she was smiling.
"What?" asked Ron curiously. Almost wishing that she would stop smiling the way she did because he felt his face heat up, and his heart race.
"I know all about you...and your friends, Ronald Weasley...." said the girl.
Ron stared disbelievingly at the pretty girl in front of him and suddenly a very big light bulb went on inside his head, with what he thought was a distinguishable click.
At the same time Dean let his voice carry over the crowd along with the raging music.
Well if it looks like love should be a crime
You'd better lock me up for life
I'll do the time with a smile on my face
Thinking of her in her leather and lace
"Hermione!!"
"Yes, Ron, it's nice to see you too," said Hermione, choking with delight as Ron gave her a big tight hug.
"You-you look great! Not that that's all that matters--I mean I still think you're smart and nice and all, I always have of course--but really, Hermione--" beamed Ron.
" You look great too, Ron," replied Hermione, returning Ron's grin.
"Where's Harry? And since when did you take a liking to small green jackets? You look like a mutated leprechaun," said Hermione, chuckling to herself as she pointed out Seamus' green jacket to Ron.
"What are you--?"
Ron looked down his front and realized his blunder and quickly tried to cover up.
"Oh this? It's just Seamus' grubby jacket...He, er, lent it to me...." reasoned Ron lamely.
"Grubby jacket!?" fumed Seamus, choking Harry on the neck. "Why, that redhead better get ready later; that's my favorite lucky jacket!"
"I-can't-ack-breathe--" wheezed Harry, trying to pry Seamus' frustrated hands from his throat.
"Is that Seamus and Harry, hiding over there?" questioned Hermione, suddenly turning towards an abandoned table nearby.
"Yeah...." said Ron, narrowing his eyes at the two figures scrambling to get away, behind the table. "
"Well, come on, I haven't seen those two in ages!" said Hermione, pulling Ron along with her.
"Hi Harry, Seamus!" grinned Hermione, walking over to them.
Harry and Seamus quickly looked up to see Hermione and Ron standing over them. Hermione smiling sweetly while Ron was scowling behind her.
"Hey, Hermione! How have you been!" piped Seamus, "Listen, I'm sorry but I think Harry and I have to go...um, we have to make sure Dean doesn't make a fool of himself over there," said Seamus, eyeing Ron, who was obviously annoyed that he and Harry had been spying on him.
"Leaving so soon? Why don't we go with you, it would be nice to meet with Dean too, anyway," said Hermione.
"Good idea. Let's go," said Ron curtly, and he irritably pushed past Seamus and Harry, leaving the two to follow them behind, grumbling.
When they got to the crowd of people who were on their feet dancing to the fast music, they found Dean doing a rather uncoordinated flamenco in the middle of the circle. Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Seamus doubled up in laughter, as they watched Dean end his dance routine and break back into his lip syncing glory.
Talk to me
Tell me the news
You wear me out like a pair of shoes
"What's gotten into him?" laughed Hermione.
"Same thing that's gotten into them," said Ron, pointing with his eyes at Harry and Seamus who had wormed their way in between the crowds in an attempt to join Dean.
We'll dance until the band goes home
Then you're gone
Yeah, baby
Ron and Hermione watched their friends bust their moves in the middle of the screaming crowd, with utter surprise and awe. But suddenly, Hermione fell forward, apparently knocked aside by some stranger wanting to get a better look. Fortunately, Ron caught her by the waist and at that instant, it seemed to Ron that someone had just turned down the volume to his world, as Hermione looked up at him and stared into his eyes.
Well if it looks like love should be a crime
You'd better lock me up for life
I'll do the time with a smile on my face
Thinking of her in her leather and lace
Seamus' voice, now seemed to be but a fuzzy buzzing sound in Ron's ear as he gazed back at Hermione.
Her face...her pretty brown eyes, and soft pink lips. He found himself slowly drawing closer to Hermione's lips, and he was genuinely surprised that she just stood there, as if waiting, and that she hadn't run off screaming yet.
And she bangs, she bangs
Oh baby
When she moves, she moves
'Am I going crazy?' thought Ron frantically. 'Can I just kiss her like this? What if she slaps me and tells me she hates me if I do!?-- But those lips...oh, what the hell. If she slaps me, I'll just kiss her again!'
And Ron leaned in closer and pressed his lips against Hermione's, falling into a sweet world of their own.
"Hey look at that!" shouted Dean. "They've finally decided to go for it!" "
Yeah! This calls for a party!" yelled back Harry, grinning maniacally.
I go crazy 'cause she looks like a flower
But she stings like a bee
Like every girl in history
She bangs, she bangs
"Ron...." said Hermione, smiling as they parted.
"Mmm?" said Ron, dazed after what he had just done.
"Ron...." repeated Hermione, this time grabbing on to his arm, "everybody's looking at us," she said, grinning nervously.
"They are?" said Ron, whirling around to see that Dean, Harry, and Seamus were all grinning coyly at them, while everybody had stopped their frolic and were staring at them unflatteringly.
The music had also temporarily stopped and Dean was idly twirling his wand between his fingers, faking a tired yawn. Ron looked back and forth between the people surrounding them. Hermione was slowly turning crimson beside him and he himself felt his ears heat up.
"Er--aren't you guys going to dance around to that muggle song?" blurted Ron, trying to shift the attention from them to his friends.
"We don't want to," said Harry shortly.
And Ron had a very strong urge to whack Harry over the head right there and then.
"What do you mean?" said Hermione, interpreting Ron's surprise.
"We'll dance around, once you two kiss again," said Harry, suppressing a grin. "You know. Just to make it official."
Ron turned to Hermione, briefly catching Harry's eye for a moment in the process.
"Could I kiss you again?" Ron half whispered, half asked.
"Well, I do want to see Harry and them pull a muscle while dancing, so...yes, you may," grinned Hermione.
Ron grinned, feeling a sense of relief overwhelm him. He leaned in once more and kissed Hermione firmly on the lips, amid loud clapping and cheering, and joyous whooping from Dean, Seamus, and Harry.
"All right, let's get on with this party then. Maestro!" said Seamus, swishing his wand.
She bangs she bangs
Oh baby when she moves she moves
I go crazy 'cause she looks like a flower but she stings like a bee/em
Like every girl in history
She bangs she bangs!
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D/S: Not mine.
A/N: Hehe, hope you liked it :) I had a blast writing it, and I'd also like to thank my wonderful beta reader *isolemnlysweariamup2nogood*. You can thank her for making this fic understandable.. ;)
Anyway, R/R! And email me anytime you guys want to! I've now discovered the joys of getting new email everyday..hehe. It's gobou60@hotmail.com. I've got MSN with that too. Cheers!