Author's note: Thanks for reading, thanks for help and support. :) I don't own the "Harry Potter" books or the awesome universe they describe. c;
Freckles, Cats and Candy
It was Halloween morning, and Hermione was about to visit Hogsmeade for the first time ever. Next to her was Ron, and all around them, their class mates laughed and chattered excitedly. The cool morning air seemed to crackle with anticipation.
It was surely an amazing place, they were visiting, with all the interesting history, the abnormalities only such a muggle-free town could offer... and with all the sweets, of course!
But the one thing that was missing, was Harry.
She glanced sidelong at Ron, as the pebbles crunched beneath their feet, and he, too, looked slightly miserable. Hermione sighed.
"Alright, I agree, it was a little unnecessary for Professor McGonagall to forbid Harry to visit Hogsmeade. I mean, we're only staying there during the day-hours, and the town is quite crowded..."
"Exactly!", Ron complained angrily, at once. "If Sirius Black would turn up here somehow, he'd be captured in the matter of minutes, wouldn't he? He's not exactly inconspicuous!"
"Well, on the other hand...A big crowd of witnesses didn't really hinder Black to commit a crime, the last time."
"Yeah, but... but.. It's still unfair! Everyone gets to have fun, and Harry's left out. Doesn't that make you angry at McGonagall, Hermione? At least one bit?"
Hermione rolled her eyes, and stared at the nearer-drawing rooftops of Hogsmeade's shops and dwelling houses.
"It's not her fault, Ron! If anything, it's the Dursleys' fault."
"Stupid muggles.", he muttered annoyedly at this.
Hermione felt a tiny pang of hurt, wondering, how he'd intended this to sound...
Ron must have felt something awkward, too, because he stammered at once: "Blimey! I didn't mean it like, "Muggles are stupid",... or anything, like that, generally speaking, just… the Dursleys are, is all!"
"I know, Ron, don't worry.", she grinned, waving the matter aside, but secretly feeling a little relieved, somehow. Of course, Ron wasn't insulting muggles! He was a Weasley, after all.
Silence spread between the two of them once again, and lasted for a while.
The other students, - who hadn't spent the first few minutes of their newly gained freedom feeling sorry for their excluded best friend, Harry Potter, and instead had rushed towards everyone's new wonderland, - were mostly already out of sight.
Hermione stared at her and Ron's feet, watched, how his much longer legs moved in cadence with hers, as a cold wind washed over their robes.
Seriously, they were only in their third year, and she already wondered how much taller he could possibly get. The two times she'd first seen him after their summer holidays, so far, had been kind of shocking. Especially this year, when he'd not only grinned down at her from a several inches taller perspective, but also with a huge bunch of new freckles in his happy face.
How many he might have, at this point? Were they disappearing one by one, or only getting paler and more unobtrusive over time, till the additional Weasley-ness from a summer in Egypt completely vanished, once again? She'd never really had paid attention to her own freckles, but then again, she barely had some, ever.
Hermione decided to look this subject up, as soon as she would have access to the library the next time. She absently wondered, why she'd never read something informative about freckles before, when they were such an interesting, and also drawn-from-life kind of thing, especially in her case.
Well, okay, she didn't really have to look the subject up, if she really felt like learning something about freckles, Hermione pondered. One of the freckliest people she'd ever seen was walking next to her, at this very moment. But somehow, the thought of randomly interviewing Ron on something like that didn't feel exactly appropriate, right now. Hermione felt herself blush, and get a little bit nervous. And then a little bit annoyed at herself. And at Ron, and at the whole situation, too.
Spending time alone with Ron wasn't really something new to Hermione. She basically did it each and every day. Visiting Hogsmeade with just him wasn't really supposed to feel quite different then playing a game of wizard chess together or doing their homework next to each other. It wasn't that different from worrying about Harry together; or chatting at dinner, while he was still out playing Quidditch; or bickering about each and every single thing they could think of.
Or, like recently, bickering about the same one thing, over and over again. And that was probably also, why they weren't talking at the moment, but silently walking towards Hogsmeade.
Alright. So, she had perhaps bought a cat with an unhandy fascination for Scabbers. But Scabbers was the only rat constantly around, after all! And being fascinated by chasing smaller animals wasn't really a crime Crookshanks could be blamed for, Hermione felt. Crookshanks was just a cat, alright?!
A poor, lonely, wonderful cat, that had spend the better part of his life being shunned and being unloved, just because he happened to look a little different than most other cats did. So what, if he was a little big, for his species, and a little fluffier than necessary? So what, if his head was a little deformed, and his legs a little buckled? Nobody was perfect. Which didn't mean, that Crookshanks wasn't deserving a real home.
Hermione felt herself get angry at Ron again, pondering this. He probably just wasn't a cat-person, or was still resentful, because Crookshanks had ruggedly jumped upon his head, that first day in the pet shop... Or perhaps, Ron's hate for her cat had something to do with him just being superficial, in general.
But it was no use to ponder this now. She didn't want to fight with Ron again. She wanted to spend a nice, quarrel-free time with him, for once in a while. She needed this, in a way,- needed to know, that they were still able to have fun together, despite all this Scabbers-nonsense. They were still best friends, weren't they?
Yes, Hermione resolved. He was Ron, her freckled, constantly growing, ridiculously funny and annoyingly annoying best friend, and they would have a nice time in Hogsmeade together, for Merlin's sake.
She looked at him, expectantly, at this, and perhaps he had been thinking about similar things as she had, because in that instant, he eyed her, too, equally smug.
For a moment, they just held each others gaze, still strolling towards the small town that was their destiny, and waiting for the other one to react. Hermione found the corners of her mouth turning up ever so slightly, feeling the funny kind of thrill she knew so well, the quiet before the bickering..
But there was no bickering, this time. And perhaps, it was because he, too, wanted to be able to spend a peaceful, normal day with just her once again, despite their pets and everything.
He uncomfortably scratched his neck and looked down, the tips of his ears tinting a glowing red, all of the sudden. Probably from too much eye-contact.
"Listen, Hermione... about that Scabbers and Crookshanks thing...", - she held her breath, without really noticing, - "I'm not going to apologise for saying that you should look better behind your pet, or that you should pay a little more attention to those of others, and I'm also not apologising for thinking that you should never have bought that... thing... ", - Hermione snorted indignantly at this, and Ron held a hand out to stop her from angrily interrupting, - "..BUT,.. I think.. it doesn't matter all that much today, does it? I mean, it's the first time we're seeing Honeydukes and stuff, and... I'd rather just... not have a row just now, okay? Can we just say that we won't make each other angry on purpose, for a change?"
Hermione laughed, at this, and Ron triumphantly grinned down at her, seeing the tension between them fade. "Sounds good, Ron", Hermione smiled, nudging him with her elbow amicably. "I didn't now you were making me angry on purpose, these past two years, but I was thinking the same thing about the whole pet-fight we had..."
"Two years, already? Really?", he wondered out loud, and she nodded, rolling her eyes again, but still smiling.
"Yup. Exactly two years, today. It's Halloween, remember?
"Oh, you're right. Exactly two years since you became kind of nice."
She elbowed him again, harder this time, and laughing. "Kind of nice?"
"What?", he chuckled, "Just being honest here."
"I thought you wouldn't try to make me angry on purpose today?"
"True. Okay, then. No more compliments.", he grinned, innocent as ever. "What do you want us to do first?"
For a totally crazy, definitively only due to her lack of sleep existing second, Hermione imagined herself pulling at the front of his robes, rising up on her tiptoes to bring him closer, closer, and then...
"Don't know.", she squeaked, feeling an embarrassing blush creep under her cheeks, before pushing the feeling aside successfully.
"I think Honeydukes should be our top priority.", Ron commented. "You know, because of Harry."
"Oh, sure, just for Harry's sake you're so obsessed with talking about how much candy you'll buy there since the day they announced this trip."
"Yep. I'm very generous, you see, Hermione?" They both chuckled, as the town spread directly before them. "So... Honeydukes?", Ron asked, hopefully.
"Sure", Hermione agreed, contentedly, "I really hope these dental care sweets your brothers talked about aren't sold out yet!"
:)