3 – Ronconcelliation

It was nearly nightfall by the time they made it back to the school grounds and if they didn't hurry then they would miss dinner as well. As Harriet and Hermione walked into to the great hall they spotted Ron at the Gryffindor table talking with Seamus and Neville. Never mind that Neville wasn't actually talking back. He was nose deep in another Herbology book per the usual. As they headed towards the group Seamus had finished up his conversation with Ron and stood to leave. "Ladies," he said as he nodded and headed towards the exit. Ron shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he saw the girls approach. Harriet seemed just as uncomfortable as she asked Ron if they could sit. "Don't be daft. Of course we can sit," Hermione interjected as she sat down. However Harriet waited for Ron to respond. She wanted to make things right between them even if it took time. "Uh…yeah..sure..of course. Sit," came Ron's nervous reply. Harriet sat down next to Hermione. "How have you been Ron," inquired Harriet.

"Um…good….good. You?"

"Bout the same. Been a rather shit day though. I assume you heard about Ginny?"

Ron nodded and for the first time in quite a while managed to look Harriet in the face. "Look. I'm sorry mate. I know how you felt about Ginny. It's gotta be rough. Not just with her though. I mean the whole thing."

Harriet smiled briefly. This was the most he'd said to her since the accident happened it seemed like. She wondered if he was actually beginning to come around. "It's alright or it will be. I guess. Maybe. I mean I understand but that doesn't mean it doesn't suck…A LOT. Not only that but you've been scarce of late too. I mean I get it. What happened to me was downright weird and you needed time to adjust. Hell I needed time to adjust. Still working on it though honestly. I guess what I'm asking is if…for some reason…this can't be fixed. If I have to stay like this. Are we going to be ok?" She immediately regretted saying saying, fearing that she'd pushed him too far and he'd close up and not talk to her anymore.

"Honestly….I don't know. It's weird ya know? Having yer best mate become a dame. In case you haven't noticed all these years I'm not exactly great at talking to girls. Hermione is an exception obviously but she's grown up with us. You grew up with us too just….not like this." Ron gestured to Harriet obviously referring to her new form. He took a deep breath before continuing, "I guess I'm saying it'll take some getting used to but we can give it a go."

Harriet couldn't hide her grin as Ron finished talking. "We'll make it work. I'm sure of it. Things will be back to us in no time." Seeing them talking again made Hermione smile. She felt like the whole gang was back together again and to her there was nothing better.

"Oh, hello Hermione. Hello Harriet. When did you get here," Neville asked, apparently having pulled his nose from the book. They shared a laugh at Neville's expense and settled in for dinner.

Throughout dinner though Harriet felt someone watching her. Harriet turned to Hermione and whispered, "I feel like I'm being watched but every time I turn around everything is normal." Hermione pretended to look around the room while scanning tables for people looking in their direction. Harriet saw Hermione crinkle up her nose. "You're not going to believe this but it's Malfoy. He keeps staring at you with this stupid smile on his face."

"What? Malfoy? Why?" Harriet asked with a confused look on her face. She tried to turn nonsuspiciously but when she saw Malfoy he looked like he was talking to Crabbe and Goyle.

"Oh my god! Every time you look back there he looks away and pretends to be talking with his minions. When you turn back he goes right back to staring. GAH! Could he be more obvious," Hermione asked with a tone of annoyance in her voice.

"What? What's obvious? I don't get it," replied a still confused Harriet. She looked to Ron who was just as confused and shrugged.

"Don't you get it? Now that you're a girl…and I can't believe I'm saying this….but it's almost like Malfoy's attracted to you."

"EWW!" came the immediate responses from both Harriet and Ron.

"Bloody hell! What is his issue," continued Ron, "I mean that's just…wrong." Ron then turned to Harriet, "No offense mate."

"No. Believe me. I get it. The entire time we've been at Hogwarts he's been nothing but a complete jerk and now….ew…I think I may vomit. Can we go somewhere else? Anywhere else? I'm suddenly not very hungry anymore."

They both agreed and went to leave, although Ron had taken a drumstick "for the road." They asked Neville if he was coming too but his nose was already back inside his book so he didn't hear them. They left the great hall and headed for the Gryffindor Commons where they flopped down on an open couch. After some idle chatter, Ron and Harriet broke into a game of Wizard's Chess, with Hermione back-seat driving and second-guessing Harriet's moves. Ron won as usual but the important point was they were together again. By now night had fallen and it was time for bed. They said goodnight as Ron headed to the boys dorm while Harriet and Hermione headed to the girls. Harriet had been given her own room on the girls side because she couldn't very well stay with the boys after her accident and the girls didn't want her with them in case she changed back. Harriet thought it was fair and she understood why. However that didn't stop some of the other Gryffindor girls from being a bit jealous because they wanted their own rooms too.

Harriet returned to her room, closed the door and let out a sigh. This was the toughest part of the day. This was when she was left alone with her thoughts. She could hear girls in the other rooms laughing and giggling and having fun but she was alone and it made it harder. Today had been a hard enough day without the normal thoughts and troubles weighing her down. She changed into her pajamas and looked at herself in the mirror. She was never going to get used to this. Every night she looked into the mirror and wondered what she had done to deserve this.

She barely remembered the accident anymore. Everything had happened in a literal flash. One minute she was Harry Potter in potions class, then there was a loud explosion and bright flash, and the next thing she knew she was waking up as Harriet Potter in the hospital wing with Madam Pompfrey standing over her. She had tried and tried to remember but it was like her brain was blocking it out. She had tried asking other people that had been there that day but Ron had been avoiding her and Hermione just blushed and changed the subject when asked. She had asked Neville if he knew of any plants or ingredients that would cause this either on their own or when combined but he had told her that he hadn't heard of anything but would let her know if he ever came across something like that.

Harriet crawled into bed and lay staring at the ceiling reflecting on the awful day she'd had. Well…mostly awful. It had gotten better thanks to Ron, Hermione and of course Luna. Once again the thought of Luna caused her to smile. On one hand she was devastated about Ginny but yet the events of the day had made her think. However she knew that she had to take the time to properly get over Ginny before even thinking about considering someone else, if that was even possible. Despite the good parts of the day she still felt like she just wanted to bury her head in the sand and hide from the world. The closest she could come was pulling the blankets over her head. That's exactly what she did as she fell asleep.