Pen
Recap:
Hermione grinned. "Just wait until you see my ballpoint pen."
"Your what?"
"My pen," said Hermione in exasperation, but Ron could see that she was trying not to laugh. "It works the same way a pencil does, except it's permanent, like a quill."
She opened a drawer and took out several thin sticks with different designs and colours. "There are loads of different types of pens, but there are three main types," she explained. "This one's my dad's." She picked up a black one with gold finishing. "You turn the cap so the nib comes out at the bottom, and when you're not using it, you turn it the other way. That way, the ink won't dry up."
Ron watched in fascination as she demonstrated. "What's that then?" he said, pointing at a thin piece of gold metal sticking out of the side. "Oh, that's a clip," said Hermione. "It's rather handy at times. You can hang it on your shirt pocket or your collar, and it won't fall out."
She put it down and picked up the next one. "This one's got a cap to protect the nib." She grabbed two ends and pulled; the cap came off to reveal a nib similar to the first. "I don't like this one as much, because I always end up losing the cap." She passed it to Ron so he could inspect it. Ron had a lot of fun for half a minute or so taking the cap on and off the pen, just so that he could hear the snap as the two parts connected as one.
"And then there's this one," said Hermione. She smiled as she picked up the last one. "I personally like the clickable ones. Here…"
Ron watched as her thumb landed on a thin red line of plastic near the top of the pen. She pressed down, and as it slid downwards, so did the tip of the pen which emerged from the other end. She grinned at him and scribbled on the paper at the table they were sitting at. The ink flowed red. She repeated the process with a green strip of plastic. The original nib shrank back with a click, only to be replaced with another identical one. Or at least it was identical, until she put it to paper. The ink was green.
"Wicked!" Ron exclaimed in delight.
"I liked to colour-code my notes since I was small, and these clickable pens made it so easy for me," said Hermione. "They used to annoy my teachers a lot, though, because I clicked them so much during class as I changed colours. You can have this one," she said, handing it to him. Ron held it as it was made of glass, turning it over in his hands. He found that not only was there red and green, but blue and black as well. He began writing his name on the page, experimenting with the colours and changing them for every letter he wrote.
RON WEASLEY
Just for the hell of it, he drew a heart underneath, making sure to colour it in fully with red ink. Hermione smiled and took the pen from his grasp, and wrote her name below.
RON WEASLEY
hermione granger
Author's Note:
This is a companion chapter to the one before it 'Pencil', but this idea was suggested by HPFANFREAK08. Thanks for the wonderful suggestion!
Also, I'm bouncing with happiness because this story has officially reached 400 reviews! Thank you for all the feedback, and I hope it never ceases. I don't like 'ghost readers'! So tell me what you think below!