Thanks for all the follows/favorites, enjoy chapter two.
"So you talked to her?" Ron asked, taking a sip from the mug of tea clutched in his hand. Harry set his own drink down on the table a bit sleepily, he was getting a hangover from the morning firewhisky and it could not have come at a worse time.
"Yeah," he said, yawning slightly.
"So?" Ron prompted. "How was it?" Harry grinned.
"Astoria's great. We talked about Hogwarts a bit, and Kingsleys law, how most of my fame is a lie generated by the press, the color green, houses..." He paused seeing Ron's wide eyed expression. "And quite a bit about you lot actually, and your Slytherin counterparts." Ron scowled.
"I refuse to believe there is a single Slytherin who can measure up to my pure brilliance," the ginger man said, taking another swig of his tea.
"We had a bit of an argument about you and Parkinson, and who was a bigger drama queen-" Ron choked on his drink.
"You're comparing me to Parkinson? And since when are you and Greengrass on a first name basis?" Harry outright laughed, tossing Ron a napkin just as Ginny walked in looking flustered.
"Hermiones in a right state," she said, plopping down across from her brother and taking a sip of his tea. "Hardly talked to me, I even bribed her with the revised addition of Hogwarts a History-they made that addition about house-elves she's been lobbying for since fourth year." Ron grabbed his teacup from her and tugged it away, grinning.
"Well at least Harry's got it good, he had a nice long conversation with Astoria." Harry blushed as Ginny gave him a curious look, raising one eyebrow suspiciously.
"Is that so?"
"Yeah," he said slightly defensively. "But get this, it's not Malfoy and Hermione who are in trouble." The siblings gave him a confused look.
"From the last three hours I can attest that Malfoy and Hermione are in trouble," Ginny said, blowing a strand of hair that had escaped her ponytail from her nose.
"Well yeah," Harry admitted sliding her his half-full mug of tea. "But it turns out Zambini-the dark haired bloke who was always at Slughorn's parties-he's nearly as much of a know-it-all as Hermione." Ron snorted and muttered something that sounded like "that's unlikely" while Ginny took a long sip of tea.
"So?" She said, setting down the empty mug.
"So, they've paired him with Luna." It took a moment for this to sink in. Ginny's eyes widened comically and she giggled, wiping a bit of tea that had dripped past her lip with the sleeve of what Harry thought was an old Weasley sweater. Ron took a moment longer.
"Oh Merlin," he exclaimed, running a nervous hand through his ginger hair. "Poor bloke'll be in Mungo's by Sunday. Harry nodded trying to suppress a grin.
"You know Ron," he said carefully. "You should really meet with Parkinson." He laughed as Ron's face erupted into a field of red splotches, his ears turning the color of his hair. Harry ducked to avoid a blow and then came up grinning at a furious Ron.
"Oh keep laughing," Ron said in a low careful voice. "You've got Astoria to run back to! I got Parkinson! Bloody Parkinson with that evil nasally voice, and her face-she looks like a bloody pit bull!" Harry laughed louder as Ginny looked admonishing.
"Ron! You shouldn't judge a girl on the way she looks!"
"She called Hermione a bloody harlot!"
"Oy!" Harry's eyes immediately lifted from Rons ranting to the source of the voice that had just spoken, spotting a mildly familiar face he couldn't place...
"Oh Merlin," he said suddenly recognizing the bloodshot brown eyes. "Hermione?"
It was the worst he'd ever seen her, even more so than when they'd been stranded at Malfoy manor. Her hair, usually braided or tucked away neatly in some sort of ponytail was a frizzy brown lions mane around her blotchy face, her eyes were red and puffy with tears which had made her face shiny and cracked. Little bits of tissue clung to her nose, which had been rubbed raw, and her clothes, usually neat and clean, were caked with bits of what looked like treacle tart. She plopped down next to Ginny, pulling her rather thick sweater farther over her shoulders.
"I've been called many things, but a harlot is not one of them," she said, giving Ron what was probably supposed to be an accusing look, though if Harry was honest it looked a bit more like she needed a trip to the loo.
"I'm not saying it's true, though there was that time with Mclaggen-"
This time her glare was much more on point. She grabbed Ron's tea and took a gulp, the
contest splashing over her chapped lips. She glanced up and seemed to notice Harry, starting slightly at the sight of him.
"Harry! Who when did you get here!" Harry cracked a smile.
"I was here about two hours ago Hermione, I'm just popping in for lunch."
"Oh Harry! I can't believe I missed you, it's this awful law-" She suddenly seemed to realize what she was forgetting. "Who did you get?"
"Astoria Greengrass," He said, smiling as she tried to place the name. Finally, she seemed to give in.
"Who?"
"Slytherin in our year, she's not half bad." Ron snorted.
"'Not half bad', you were over her house for two hours and you haven't stopped ranting about her since you got back." Harry blushed. Ever since the war ended he'd managed to grow into his personality a bit, being a little more adventurous and a little less tight stung with the pressure of the "boy who lived" title off his shoulders. Less and less Ron had managed to embarrass him, but when it came to girls-he was still painfully weak.
"You're just mad because I compared you to Parkinson," Harry grinning to cover his blush.
"Really," Hermione said, looking pointedly at Harry and ignoring Ron, who was giving him a betrayed look. "Astoria Greengrass-is she the blonde or the redhead?"
"Blonde," Harry said, stealing his tea back from Ginny and taking a quick sip. "She's pretty nice actually, we chatted for a while, I made some pasta-"
"Oh the Romance of fake Italian food," Ginny said, falling on to Ron with an exaggerated swoon. "The sweet caress of moldy abandoned manors." Hermione grinned faintly, brushing her hair behind her shoulders and joining in.
"There's magic everywhere-"
"And with all this romantic atmosphere-" Ron grinned and joined them, swaying back and forth around the table.
"Disasters in the air!"
"Can you feel the love tonight? The peace the evening brings-
"The world for once-in perfect harmony, with all it's living things!
"Shut up," Harry said, giving Ron a shove as the ginger man broke out in laughter. "And isn't that from The Lion King?"
"Not exclusively" Hermione said sheepishly, tying her hair into a hasty ponytail. "I suppose this lot have told you who I got?" She asked, standing up to get the bit of leftover toast on the kitchen counter.
"Yeah," Harry said, wincing slightly.
"I mean, he did save Harry's life," Ginny tried, in an obvious attempt at optimism, her face stretching into a smile that was more of a grimace.
"Yeah," Ron said. "Because he didn't have the guts to go through with murder-I wouldn't exactly lable that an admirable quality." Ginny gave him a kick but Hermione had already come back around, tossing her plate on the table.
"Ron's right. I don't know how I'm going to managed a year of his ferrety face," with this she took a mouthful of toast, crumbs dribbling down her sweater. Ginny gave her a bit of a nudge and she grudgingly brushed them off. Harry tried to suppress a laugh at the memory of the time Barty Crouch Jr., who at the time he'd thought was Alastor Moody, had turned Malfoy into an actual ferret which had proceeded to squirm through Goyles pants. He grinned at the thought, remembering the look of horror on Malfoy's face when McGonagall had managed finally changed him back.
"What are you smiling about," Ginny said, grabbing his tea which was resting forgotten in his hand.
"I was remembering the time Moody turned Malfoy into a ferret." Ron laughed.
"And I said I wanted to save the image in my mind forever before Hermione ruined it with some quote from a teacher protocol book." Ginny joined in and Hermione scowled.
"Ronald! Student-teacher spell contact is strictly prohibited by-"
"Hermione," Ginny said, grabbing her shoulder. "You're not helping yourself."
They laughed for at least five minutes, Harry remembering the way Hermione used to raise her hand in class, and all the times him and Ron had fallen asleep in history, and all the days he'd spent with Ginny on the grounds.
"It's hard to believe Hogwarts was only three years ago." Ron said, wiping a tear from his eye. "It feels like ages." Ginny groaned.
"I miss it, " She said, glancing into his tea, which was only a dribble of leaves clinging to the mugs bottom. "Remember in third year when Trelawney predicted Harry's death."
"Still alive," Harry said, triumphantly, as Ron scrambled to his feet, walking towards the kitchen counter and grabbing a half-empty bottle of firewhisky from the cabinet. He pulled two mugs from the same place and slid them in front of Hermione and Ginny.
"To us," He said, dumping a bit of the drink into each of there mugs. "Still alive after all this time." Harry couldn't help smiling again as he clinked his chipped cup with Hermione.
"Cheers."
The memory was still ripe in his mind as he lay in bed that night, full of Kreachers steak and kidney pie, and with a thick parchment envelope clutched to his chest.
"Astoria Greengrass," He whispered to himself, thinking of the paper crumpled in his hand. And with that thought lingering in his mind, he turned out the bedroom light.
Admittedly more of an ending for the first chapter than anything else. Question for you-how do you all want this to go? Would you rather the entire thing be from Harry's point of view? Would you like some coverage of the other "couples?" Any other narrators? Leave me a review below.