Good Friends, Bad Habits

Chapter Four: Someone Doesn't Respect the Circle of Trust Very Much

"Everyone push the desks to the sides of the room, please," requested Luna once she had everyone's attention. It didn't take long, possibly because she was wearing robes that constantly changed from bright, tacky color to brighter, tackier color.

The class stood in unison and waved their wands to send the desks against the wall. There was a bit of a mishap that involved one desk chasing Zacharias Smith around the room for a moment, and Hermione had a sneaking suspicion that it had something to do with the way George's hand was hidden too-casually in his robe pocket.

"Now let's all come sit in a circle in the middle of the room," Luna instructed, summoning a bright orange pillow from somewhere and plopping herself down on the floor. Hermione groaned aloud, realizing that this was going to be a bit like Muggle yoga therapy or some nonsense like that. Grudgingly, she summoned her own pillow and seated herself as far as she could from Luna while still being considered a part of the circle. To her chagrin, Fred and George once again descended on either side of her, looking, for once, about as unhappy as Hermione with the way the class was progressing.

There were ten members of the class, if Luna was included. They all sat spaced as far from each other as possible, staring at points on the floor or ceiling and looking uncomfortable.

"This blows," Fred grumbled under his breath. Hermione was surprised to find herself nodding along with George in agreement.

"Now we're going to create a circle of trust," Luna continued airily, wide gray eyes traveling from one uncomfortable face to the next. Fred and George waggled their eyebrows at her suggestively when she reached them. "The circle of trust means that nothing said in this room can be repeated outside. It's widely known that Umgubular slashkilters prey on people who break the sacred circle of trust."

Hermione was about knee-deep in as much bullshit as she could handle, and the twins grinned broadly when she said, not exactly quietly, "Humbubular sash-kickers, my arse."

Luna did not seem to hear her, instead continuing with her informative speech about the sacred circle of bullshit. "We're going to begin the circle by holding hands- that's it everyone, take the hand of the person next to you- and performing a little trust exercise."

Hermione grudgingly allowed Fred to take her right hand while George took her left. There was a bit of a scuffle as Ernie, who was on Fred's other side, seemed to have a bit of a reservation about taking Fred's proffered hand.

"I don't really feel all that comfortable holding hands with a bloke," the blond said, eyeing the Weasley wearily.

"I don't really feel all that comfortable giving a damn about what you have to say," Fred retorted, grabbing Ernie's hand a bit too forcefully. Hermione had a feeling Fred wasn't at all jazzed about holding another man's hand either- he just liked making the poor Hufflepuff uncomfortable. She focused on that, desperately trying to ignore the way the feeling of the twins' hands wrapped around her own was making her a bit giddy.

"Now for the exercise," Luna continued, blissfully unconcerned with whatever was happening around her. "Let's start off simple, alright? We'll just do one trust exercise a day. We're going to go around the circle, and I want you to say something kind to the person on your right. I'll begin." She turned to Hannah Abbott, who looked very uncomfortable as she stared at Luna's hand grasping her own. "Hannah, I hardly think there are any Nargles buzzing around your head at all."

Hannah forced a smile. "Thank you, Luna." She turned to Tiffany. "You have really nice shoes."

"Thanks." Tiffany turned to Zacharias Smith. "You were okay at Quidditch," she said, though she didn't look as if she really felt that way at all.

Smith grunted and turned to Finch-Fletchley. "You weren't a bad roommate. Could've been better, and you snored. But, as I said, not bad."

Justin rolled his eyes, more than used to Zacharias's unsavory personality. He turned to Susan Bones, grinning. "You were a blast to go to school with, Susan. Probably the best witch in our year in Hufflepuff."

Susan blushed, looking pleased. "Thanks, Justin." She turned to George, who winked at her suggestively.

"Your shop is absolutely brilliant, and the day you left Hogwarts was the most amazing thing I've ever seen," Susan said promptly. She squeaked in alarm when George swooped in and planted a quick kiss on her cheek.

"Thanks, m'dear." George turned his attention to Hermione, who was silently dreading whatever he had in store for her. "You, Hermione Jean Granger, are my reason for living. Fred and I wouldn't be where we are today if it weren't for you constantly nagging us and giving us detentions. Why, we wouldn't have a joke shop at all if we hadn't needed new ways to drive you mad."

"Absolutely," Fred agreed.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Fred, I… well, let's see." She paused, trying to think of a compliment worthy of Fred Weasley. "Fred, you're the funniest person I've ever met, along with George. You two always made me laugh, even when it pissed me off."

The redhead beamed at her.

"Ernest," he said seriously, turning to stare mock-longingly at the red-faced man beside him. "You are the missing puzzle-piece to my tortured soul. You are the red hair to my Weasley, the scar to my Harry Potter. Without you, I could not go on. Oh, lover, take me now!" he wailed, throwing himself headlong into an entirely unreceptive Ernie. The blond looked as if he very much wanted to run from the room as the ginger fake-sobbed against his shoulder.

"That was lovely," Luna's voice commented, forcing everyone to tear their eyes away from the melodramatic display.

Hermione was having trouble not cracking up as she watched Ernie attempting to extricate himself from Fred's determined embrace. George was nearly in tears at her side, and he whispered conspiratorially, "He's always had a thing for unwilling blonds. That's why we hired Verity." Hermione snorted, composing herself in time to see Ernie turn to Luna after Fred finally released him. Fred shot Hermione a wink, and she couldn't help but grin at him.

"Luna, your…um…your hair is quite nice," Ernie said dully, still red-faced from Fred's attack.
"Thank you, Ernest," Luna beamed. "Now we're going to return to our desks and learn about sexual intercourse."

A/N: Thanks for the reviews and everything! You're all wonderful!