Chapter Ten: The After Party
The news of Katie's "accident" had spread through the school and she had been taken to St Mungo's Hospital for further treatment. Harry had been informed of this by Dumbledore during their meeting. Harry confided his suspicions to Dumbledore, and as Harry suspected, without any real proof, Dumbledore could not take any action. During this meeting, Dumbledore showed Harry another memory. This one was of a young Tom Riddle before he started Hogwarts. The boy had been living in an orphanage all his life and he was alone and friendless. There were stories that he scares the other children and when Dumbledore met with the boy, Harry felt as though he had something in common with him. However, Tom Riddle was a thief and a bully, nothing more. Tom Riddle was secretive, sly and self-sufficient. But of course, there was no way that Dumbledore could have known back then what he was going to become.
Harry, as usual, told Ron and Hermione what Dumbledore had told him. Ron and Hermione thought it was fascinating finding out about Voldemort's secret past and to see if any weaknesses could be found.
But then Ron reminded him about Quidditch and the unlikely event that Katie would return in time for the game against Slytherin. Unfortunately for Harry the first reserve was Dean Thomas, Ginny's boyfriend. There were a couple of reasons that he did not want Dean in the team. One; he would not be able to cast the sly looks at Ginny anymore. Two; it was likely to upset Seamus Finnigan, who had not been his usual self all year, even further. But Dean had out-flown Seamus at the try-outs. Harry found himself approaching Dean in the Common Room and asking him if he was still interested in playing Chaser.
'Yeah, of course I am,' said Dean.
'All right, there's practice tonight, see you then,' Harry told him.
'Great, I can't wait to tell Ginny!' said Dean as walked away.
The practice that night went well as Dean worked well with Demelza and Ginny. In fact the whole team was settling nicely and Harry felt confident of beating Slytherin.
Well, that was until two days before the match. Ginny had come back to the Common Room looking angry and upset. She came and sat down next to Harry, Ron and Hermione.
'What's wrong, Ginny?' asked Hermione.
'I just had an argument with Dean,' replied Ginny.
'Do you want me to have a word?' offered Ron.
'I can take care of myself, Ron.'
'I know you can, but you are my favourite sister and it's in the job description of big brother to look out for you,' said Ron softly as he pulled her into a hug.
Ginny snorted and said, 'I'm your only sister, but I appreciate that you care though, thanks.'
'All right, but if you change your mind you know where to find me.'
'Oh, and I've got bad news for you, Harry, and you, Hermione. Professor Slughorn is going to be throwing a Christmas party and is determined to get you to attend,' said Ginny.
The trio groaned, somehow they knew might not be able to get out of it. Well, unless they all got detention, but that plan was quickly vetoed by Hermione, but then Ginny said, 'We're allowed to bring guests, if we want to, so if you both get the almost inevitable invitation, then you'll have to find someone to take, won't you?'
This still made the trio groan as Ginny went off to do her homework.
The day of the first Quidditch match of the season had arrived and neither Harry nor Ron were nervous. The Beaters, Peakes and Coote, had improved immensely and Dean and Ginny appeared to have put their argument behind them for the good of team and had knuckled down to work even better with Demelza.
Their confidence was further boosted when they heard that Malfoy had gone off sick and Vaisey, their best Chaser had been injured a couple of days previously.
Once breakfast had been eaten, Hermione escorted Ron and Harry to the changing rooms. She gave Ron his usual good luck kiss before the boys went to change. Once changed, both Harry and Ron grabbed their Firebolts and then the team went out onto the pitch. When he got to the hoops, Ron did his usual pre-match ritual of picturing Hermione in his mind's eye and saying her name to himself a few times before Madam Hooch released the Bludgers, Golden Snitch and finally, the Quaffle to begin the game.
The voice that echoed around the stadium was familiar, so Ron cast a look to the commentator's podium, and there was Zacharias Smith, a Hufflepuff chaser, he could not stand. Ron listened to his words as the boy started saying that he and Ginny were only in the team because they were friends with Harry. However, after making some good saves, and Ginny having scored half a dozen goals, Smith started on Peakes and Coote, instead. Ron was sure he heard Harry tell one of them to aim a Bludger at him to shut him up and do everyone a favour. Gryffindor were leading by one hundred and fifty points to zero, as Ron spotted Harry flying after Malfoy's replacement, Harper, to catch the snitch. When the snitch was caught, the crowd cheered as Gryffindor were declared victorious as Harry had caught the snitch quite brilliantly, but for Ron, the satisfaction of his second clean sheet in three games as Gryffindor Keeper felt amazing and he could not wait to celebrate with the team, and more importantly, Hermione.
Once showered and changed, Ron and Harry went back to Gryffindor Tower, where the party was already in progress. Harry grabbed a Butterbeer and started to drink, while Ron grabbed a Hermione Granger and began to kiss her like there was no tomorrow. Seamus switched on some music and people began dancing wildly as the food and Butterbeer was being consumed. Ron and Hermione began to dance a slow dance, completely ignoring the song being played and Lavender Brown who had been watching them since Ron arrived.
'Is she still staring?' Ron whispered into her ear.
'Yes. But I've got bad news.'
'Bad news, eh, as long as it's not that she's coming over as you have to go to the ladies', I'll be fine,' he replied as he held her more firmly.
'Sorry, Ron, but that's exactly the bad news. Are you sure you aren't a seer?'
'I was joking! If you're going, I'm going with you.'
Hermione giggled at him before she gave him another kiss and then she excused herself.
'Hey, Ron,' said a voice that Ron immediately recognised as Lavender's.
He cringed before turning around to face her.
'Hello, Lavender, are you enjoying the party?' he asked, being polite.
'Oh, yes, I am now,' she said with a giggle.
Hermione's giggle, to him, sounded like beautiful music. This giggle made him feel ill.
'You were amazing today, Ron,' she said flirtatiously.
'Oh, thanks, but really I only did my best. The Chasers and Harry won us the game. Besides, I only play this well because I have Hermione by my side, giving me all her love and support.'
'That's nice, but I think you can do better than her, Ron,' said Lavender coyly.
Ron was angry. 'How dare she slag off my Hermione?' he thought. Of course Lavender had no idea that she had pissed him off and so she kept smiling at him.
He looked over Lavender's shoulder. There was Hermione, so he waved her over. When she reached him, he pulled her into his arms as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
Hermione could tell immediately that Ron was angry about something, but she could feel him calming down a little.
'I'm sorry, Lavender, but could you repeat that?' said Ron.
'I think you can do better than her,' Lavender hissed.
'Well, I disagree. I am in love with Hermione. If you don't believe me, I suggest you look at Hermione's right ring finger. Because on her right ring finger, is a promise ring to Hermione from me. I take it you know what a promise ring is, or are you too blind or stupid not to recognise it?' he said harshly.
Lavender was starting to look tearful. Ron, however, was having none of it.
'Don't bother to start crying. I don't want to break up with Hermione. I plan to marry her one day. I don't want to go out with you, when I already have a Goddess like Hermione who has performed spells you can't even think of, and made potions you couldn't make on your best day. Hermione Granger is the most beautiful girl in the world and the brightest witch of the age, you cannot compete with that, in fact; no girl can. I belong to Hermione, end of story. Now, please leave us alone!'
Their conversation had been heard by everybody in the Common Room. Lavender was humiliated and she did the only thing she could, she burst into tears and ran out of the portrait hole. Parvati quickly went after her.
'That was pretty harsh, Ron,' said Seamus.
'I had no choice, Seamus. She's been bugging me since the start of term, and she actually had the gall to tell Hermione to her face that she was going to try whatever it took to break us up and have me for herself,' replied Ron.
'She seemed to genuinely like you, though. You could have tried to let her down gently,' Seamus said.
'Seamus, you know her better than I do. Do you really believe that she would've taken a gentle let down seriously?'
Seamus knew the answer, but he did not want to give it. Seamus' silence was answer enough for Ron, and so he said, 'If you care about her that much, why don't you ask her out?'
'Fat chance,' began Seamus flatly, 'I can't compete with Harry Potter's right hand man, or the Gryffindor Keeper, or the Prefect, or the recipient of a Special Services to the School Award. I planned on asking her out at the start of the year, but it was obvious she only had eyes for you.'
'I'm sorry, mate, but here's an idea, though. Why don't you go and find her and be a shoulder for her to cry on, that way she'll know how much you care about her, and maybe she'll come to her senses and sees the great bloke you are and goes out with you instead,' said Ron.
Seamus suddenly realised Ron was right and he ran to go and find her. Ron then turned to Hermione, and together they to the boy's dorm where they kissed away the night, before falling asleep.