Disclaimer: I own no part of the Harry Potter franchise; all characters and ideas belong to J.K. Rowling.
For the next week and a half, things slowly returned to normal. At least, relatively normal. Hermione went to classes and brought her scores back up easily and quickly. She managed to put off rumors about herself and Harry despite his holding her hand at every available moment. And she didn't speak to Draco Malfoy once. She had decided, rather prudently, that to talk to him at this stage would only further humiliate herself and encourage him. Well, it wasn't going to happen, not while she had her full capacities.
In truth, even after her talk with Harry, she had wanted to run to the infirmary and confront Draco as soon as she was able. She wanted to yell and scream and generally throw as unladylike a fit as possible, but she knew that would be unwise. It was more than likely Crabbe, Goyle, and assorted other undesirables would be guarding him nonstop. Non of whom she particularly wanted to see, especially now that the story of the fight and what it was over had penetrated every corner of the school. No, it would be much better to endure the stares and jibes from Slytherins and wait for an appropriate moment to strike.
Because strike she would, and fully intended to- when the little shit least expected it. Instead of the unruly behavior which reigned over her actions at the moment, she would wait until she was calm and collected and then she would speak to him. She would stand up to him and tell him she had expected more of him, but that, really, what could one expect from a boy whose father was a Death Eater? How could she expect him to understand love and compassion when he was hell bent on genocide? She knew, logically, that he would just laugh at her, but she wanted to hurt him, the bastard. She wanted him to feel as heart broken as she did- at least, the half that wasn't clinging to Harry was broken.
But all those plans were in the future. For now, she had better things to focus on, like making Harry understand that when she said, ask me after Christmas, she meant after Christmas. Still, he was endearing in an exasperating sort of way.
In addition to Hermione's mental recovery, Harry made a full physical recovery in just a day after their encounter in the library. In spite of Hermione's protests, he immediately went back to carrying her books. He'd already made his apology to the Malfoys, although he hadn't appeared before his hearing of teachers yet. At any rate, signs were good that he wouldn't be expelled. It may have been one of the stupider things that Dumbledore had been forced to intercede for Harry over, but the headmaster did it anyway, as he always had.
Most of all, though, the thing which had truly helped things return to normal, was when a general panic in Gryffindor house forced attention away from herself and her situation. Hermione and Ginny had finally executed her revenge and it had gone down smashingly well. It had started with their combined attack on Ron. Hermione had told Ginny not to worry, that she could lure him out and retrieve his wand, and she was as good as her word. She set her plan into action as soon as she was able.
"Harry," Hermione murmured to him as they sat in a far corner of the common room, "have you seen Ron lately?"
He looked up from the report he'd been working on and stared at her hard for a moment. "Not lately. I mean, I've seen him, but we haven't talked. Why?"
"Oh, well," she paused, biting her lower lip nervously and twirling a lock of hair about her finger- two things she knew distracted Harry to no end. "I was just thinking that maybe it was time I forgave him."
Harry was suspicious at first, but Hermione chewed on her lip a little more and he found himself just nodding at her. After all, it wasn't so far fetched…she had forgiven Ginny, sort of, hadn't she? It made sense she would want…to do the same for…Ron…would she ever stop gnawing on that lip? It was driving him mad! He tried to reach for her, but she scooted to the other side of the loveseat primly, rearranging her skirts.
"So…," Harry eyed her uncertainly, "what do you want me to do about it?"
"Well," Hermione responded, fluffing her hair a bit and then twirling a strand about her forefinger, "could you ask him to meet me this week? Wednesday before dinner? I really want to talk to him, hear what he has to say."
"Where?" Harry's eyes were distracted now, following the motion of Hermione's finger like a cat watching its prey.
"Second floor girl's restroom. Thanks, Harry! I really appreciate it," she smiled at him, then leaned over and pecked his cheek before getting up and skipping away.
Harry's eyes narrowed again. Hermione didn't skip. Oh, well. It was too late to confront her now. Besides, if she was planning anything for Ron, he probably deserved it. He smiled to himself and bent over his parchment once more. He'd track Ron down before bed and give him the good news. Ron didn't need to know about the devious look in Hermione's eye- that was supposed to be a surprise, Harry was certain.
And a surprise it was. Ron was waiting outside the designated location that Wednesday afternoon, as planned. He'd gotten there early and kept his wand in one hand, at the ready. He wasn't exactly a favorite around school at the moment and he needed every ounce of protection he could get. He was spinning the wand about idly when he heard footsteps approaching and spun around to meet the enemy.
Hermione ducked as a hex flew over her head and she responded with a swift, "Accio Ron's wand!"
Ron stared at her, astonished, as he recognized her. He began blubbering in the middle of the hallway, something Hermione did not want. She grabbed him by his sleeve and dragged him after her into the loo. Ginny was waiting for her.
"Did you talk to Myrtle already?" she asked quickly. Ginny nodded and then she released Ron as both girls turned to stare at him appraisingly. He was still blubbering and did nothing but gurble incoherently for the first two minutes.
"Hermione, I was so happy when Harry told me you wanted to meet with me…I really wanted to talk to you for a while now and it hurt my feelings when you would never give me the chance," he paused for air, "but I just know you'll understand and forgive me now if you'll just listen- I only worry now, you know, because I don't want to hurt Harry's feelings and, well, it would be awkward, of course, to talk about anything more than being friends right now without talking to him first..," he would have kept prattling on, but he finally stopped to breath again.
Hermione stared at him in disbelief. Then she turned to look at Ginny, who was also staring with disbelief. The redhead looked back at her, then nudged her. Right, may as well stick to the plan, although after that outburst she rather wished she could just bash his skull in.
"Ron," she said carefully, "I sought you out so you could apologize and make it up to me, not so you could get down my pants."
He stared at her blankly for a minute and then shook his head, confused. "But Hermione," he began, "you wear a skirt!" He pointed this information out with the eagerness of a retriever, showing the duck carcass triumphantly to his master.
"Oh, for Merlin's sake!" Ginny huffed, and cast a binding charm on him with a flick of her wrist. Ron looked startled and watched warily as his sister marched up to him and shook her fist in his face threateningly.
"Ronald Weasley," she menaced, "you've got a lot of nerve! Hermione wouldn't get back with you if you were the last man on earth! Now apologize or I'll-," she was interrupted by his whining.
"Ginny," he sniffed, "this is between me and Hermione. Let me go!"
Hermione sighed, aggrieved. "Oh, let's not bother with the apologies and just hex the idiot."
Ginny turned around. "Really? Can we?"
"Now wait a minute!" Ron cried. "Don't I have a say?"
Both girls spun to face him. "No!" they yelled simultaneously.
"But really, the point was to get him to do it willingly…," Hermione began to reason.
Ginny sighed and nodded her head. "Yeah, you're right. Just…let me deal with the wanker for a moment, right?"
Hermione shrugged indifferently and Ginny looked at Ron. He squirmed a bit.
"Ron," Ginny said sweetly, "how would you like it if Mum got a full report on how nasty you've been to me and Hermione the last few months?" She flicked her wand again and a piece of parchment and enchanted quill whisked to her side. The quill began to scribble on the paper and Ginny started to dictate to it.
"Dear Mum," she pouted, "I have some very important news for you concerning my darling elder brother, Ronald. You see, at the beginning of the year, he-," she was stopped in mid-sentence by a cry of distress.
"No! Merlin, Gin! I'll do anything- just don't write to Mum, please!"
"So you agree to an apology? And helping us out?" She smiled even more sweetly and Ron felt his stomach turn.
"Yes, yes! Anything," he moaned. Ginny released him and fell to his knees and clasped his hands.
"Hermione," he said, turning towards her, "I am so sorry for what I did. I was, well-," he stopped and floundered about for words. Hermione snorted.
"Oh, get up, you big baby," she sighed, rolling her eyes. As much as she wanted an apology, it was uncomfortable to watch him squirming on the floor in that undignified manner. This attitude surprised her and she took another look at Ron out of the corner of her eye. She had really cared about him, apparently. As much as she hated to admit it, even now she just wanted the mess between them to be over…not that things would ever go back to normal. Not that she wanted them to. But she did want him to just apologize so she could stop hating him and focus her hatred somewhere more appropriate, like back at Malfoy. Incredibly, and for whatever reason, her world had been turned topsy turvy over the last several weeks and she wanted normalcy. She wanted it desperately, more than anything, because the last thing she needed, as she faced an increasingly uncertain future, was an unnatural present.
So, Ron stood up and dusted off his knees, coughing a bit to stall for time. He really had wanted to apologize properly to Hermione, but it was so difficult. It had always been difficult. She was one of those girls that just knew things and genuinely was right all the time. It rankled with him that even though she had liked him she never let him win at anything, or be right, or…well. Still, he knew she deserved one now, as did Ginny- well, not as much as Hermione, but it seems I can't get out of it now. He eyed their wands and decided to just go for it.
"Hermione, I'm sorry. I really am. I should never have believed all those things about you…Harry was right all along to be after me about it. I was just so hurt that you wouldn't trust me or confide in me, well, I lost it, and I'm sorry. I had no right to call you names or treat you the way I did." He paused and searched for more words. "I only- I only said those things about you and me because I still care about you a great deal, Hermione-," he started, but stopped when he saw her face.
She was red up to the roots of her hair and stepped forward, pointing his own wand at him. "Ron, the apology was good enough. But I won't tolerate any of this nonsense about how much you think you love me. Say another word on the subject and I'll curse you into next Tuesday!"
He spluttered for a moment and she waved the wand about angrily. "No! Just have the courtesy to shut up and listen!" He stopped trying to speak and stared at her, mouth agape. "And shut your mouth!" she yelled. He shut it with a click of his teeth and she nodded, then handed his wand to him. He took it quietly, staring at the ground, suddenly very, very unsure of himself.
"Look, Ron. I appreciate the apology. I think it's the first real one you've ever given me. But things are never, ever going to be the same between us. I will never like you that way again. I could never be in love with someone who treated me like garbage."
His head came up and his eyes met hers, face aflame. "What about Malfoy then?"
She scowled at him. "Don't you dare try to bring anything else into this. This is completely between you and me, Ronald Weasley. And the way you treated me gives you no right to ever question me or my personal actions again!"
He was taken aback, but he knew she was right. He lowered his eyes to the floor again and muttered another gruff, "I'm sorry." Then, after a moment of silence, "I won't bring it up again. I'm really, really sorry, Hermione."
Her eyes softened a bit and she looked at him thoughtfully. Ginny cleared her throat. He looked up and smiled weakly at her. "I'm sorry about how I treated you as well, Gin. I know neither of you has any reason to forgive me, but…," Ginny nudged him a bit and he looked uncomfortable. "But I want to make it up," he said quickly, as if admitting it was painful.
"Good," Hermione said brightly. "And no, I can't forgive you yet. But at any rate, let's get on with this."
He looked scared for a moment. "What exactly is it you need my help with?"
"Oh, an experiment," Ginny remarked casually. Ron's face got even longer, if it was possible.
"Wha…what experiment?" he squeaked.
"Well," Hermione said, still smiling, "it's top secret. Something we're planning for Gryffindor. And we need you to swear you'll keep it a secret. You can't tell anyone!" she said, wagging her finger at him.
He nodded weakly and said, "I promise."
"Well," Ginny said, almost apologetically, "actually we need you to do a magical swear that you won't tell anyone."
Hermione also looked almost sorry- not sorry enough, Ron observed, a little panicked at this point. "Right. See, we can't really trust you not to tell at this point. I mean, you've apologized, which is grand, but it's not enough for us."
"Fine," he sighed, and took the magical oath. Ginny and Hermione looked at each other gleefully and then shoved him towards the sink.
"What's this?" he asked, suspicious.
"The first part of the experiment!" Hermione said, almost cheerful. He looked down at her smiling face and gulped. The things one does for friendship, he thought to himself and glanced down at the innocuous looking sink. There was a pink bar of soap sitting in the soap dish.
"Just wash your hands," Hermione explained patiently. Ginny stood by expectantly. For each of the pranks, the girls had rigged up the system to only recognize people who had mistreated Hermione. Unfortunately, that list included Ginny and Hermione herself, but they had created a set of wards to act as protection for themselves once they activated the charms and hexes.
Very carefully, he turned on the tap. A stream of innocent water flowed out. He looked back at them and they nodded. He turned around and ran his hands under the water briefly, then reached for the bar of soap. As he began to lather up, he noticed the soap started to break down in his hands…it was turning a green color and almost looked like…
"Bogeys!" he yelled, and dropped the bar of soap into the sink. He ran his hands back under the water to rinse the mess off, but the minute the water touched his hands, it changed. Insects and spiders started to crawl from the tap and he yelled again, stumbling backwards, flinging his hands about to get them off.
"Bogeys and spiders! Aah! Hermione, Ginny, help! They'll eat me alive, they'll- aaah!"
He shouted at them as he danced around the restroom wildly, waving his hands about his head, accidentally dropping bugs onto his own head. It made him yell even louder and his leaps became wilder. The girls stood there laughing at him for a moment and then Ginny flicked her wand. The bugs and gunk disappeared from his hands and he looked at them, stunned, for a moment and then turned around to look at the sink. It was running clear water again.
"Hermione," Ginny grinned, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes, "that was brilliant!"
Hermione was bent over in the throes of laughter herself and couldn't answer. She toppled over onto her bum, holding her sides in aching amusement. Ron looked from one girl to the other, confused, still batting at his head and arms occasionally.
"Is…is that it? Is that the only thing you're going to do to them?" he looked distinctly uncomfortable and embarrassed that he'd been so easily frightened. Ginny and Hermione kept laughing. He felt the corners of his own mouth begin to turn up. Well, if all he had to do to start making things right again was endure a little humiliation- and terror, you pussy- it might be worth it, at that.
He coughed loudly to get their attention. "I said, anything else?"
Hermione giggled and Ginny hiccupped.
"Oh, there are loads more," Ginny said. Hermione's eyes sparkled as she glanced at the redheaded girl.
"Loads," she echoed.
Ron looked at them both in consternation. Since when had Hermione become such a prankster? He suddenly grinned. Who cared?
"Better test them out, then," he smiled sheepishly.
The girls looked at him and Hermione's eyes narrowed.
"This doesn't mean I've forgiven you," she said, frowning. "Don't jump to any conclusions."
He ducked his head. "I know…but this is the least I can do. Besides, you said you wanted me to be a willing participant."
Ginny nodded. "We do." She put a hand out and helped Hermione stand. "By the way, Ron, I'm still sending that owl to Mum."
His face went pale, but before he could say another word Hermione spoke to him.
"Ready for the next experiment, Ron?" she asked him. He found that all he could do under the circumstances was nod, face pale. Perhaps this one would kill him. Anything would be better than having to own up to what he'd done with his mother.
Thirty minutes later, Ron ran screaming from the girl's restroom, his hair looking suspiciously like it had been on fire. He careened down the blessedly empty hallway, hollering about spiders from hell. The two girls peered out the doorway after him.
"You don't think he'll tell?" Hermione asked as they watched him rush away, shrieking.
Ginny shook her head. "I know he won't," she said. She sounded confident and calm.
Hermione glanced at her. "Oh?"
Ginny turned a pair of mischievous brown eyes on her. "The oath was a time delayed memory charm. It will go off on its own in about five minutes, so he'll forget what we told him and walk straight into all the traps, same as everyone else." Her eyes twinkled. "That way he gets to experience your revenge all over again."
Hermione gave a sudden whoop. "Ginny Weasley! That's positively masterful!" She paused, thoughtful. "Doesn't that mean he'll forget about the apology, too?"
Ginny grinned impishly. "You don't mind, do you? This just means you can torture him some more…maybe squeeze another two or three apologies from him."
Hermione tilted her head, thinking. "Mind? Why would I mind? In fact, I think it would be fantastic if we tested out the pranks some more…," her voice trailed off and she eyed Ginny. The redhead snorted.
"Well, what are we waiting for?"
The two girls laughed a bit more and headed out of the rest room after their quarry, calling his name as they ran.
"Ron! Hey, Ron! Wait up!" The redheaded boy had stopped his desperate run and was now standing in the middle of the hall, trying to remember why he'd come to the second floor.
Hearing their voices, he turned and smiled nervously. That was it! He was supposed to meet Hermione and explain things to her! He waved a hand in greeting. The girls waved back. They were both grinning like idiots…that's a good sign, he thought. He didn't even notice when Hermione's smile became predatory. The two witches cast glances at one another before circling him.
After all, it wasn't quite time for dinner yet, and they were pretty sure they could make another round of tests before having to head to the great hall. Before any of them would be missed.
"Accio Ron's wand!"
To mofo: Yes, if you have read what little there is of Just Another Day, I used poobah in that as part of the name of some obscure magical disease. I like the word. It rolls off the tongue...but I'm not the only author who likes it. Gilbert and Sullivan used it as the name of their Lord High Everything Else in The Mikado. It is spelt with a one letter difference to mine, however: in their case, Pooh-Bah.