The next day, Hermione headed down to breakfast and into the Great Hall building, walking towards her now-usual spot right next to Cormac at the same table. She sat down and gave him a smile, but this time when he smiled back, the butterflies it used to elicit made her almost shudder. She tried to tell herself that Ron was wrong, but she couldn't help but go by her instincts, and her instincts were unfortunately pointing to him being right. Cormac's smile somehow seemed more sinister than it had before, and she couldn't help but feel like he was inspecting a piece of meat whenever his eyes roamed over her body.
Last night she had stayed out for another half hour, not wanting to go back and face a run in with Lavender. When she finally pulled herself in the dark cabin, she was grateful that Lavender was asleep- or at least pretending to be. Hermione had even woken up before the bell had rung and had gotten dressed and walked around the grounds for a bit. She just really didn't want to face the awkwardness of last night...but even more specifically- Ron Weasley.
Cormac was droning on about how good he was at track, and how he was going to be a professional runner one day. Hermione was only listening half heartedly, nodding and giving him a small noise of agreeance every once in a while to make it seem as if she were interested. Really though, her eyes were roaming around looking at the other tables and watching the other people. It seemed to her that most everyone there was friends with everyone else.
While she got along with all of the girls in her cabin, with the exception of Luna, they hadn't really talked at all outside of it. Mealtimes, and downtime when everyone was allowed to do whatever they wanted, it had only been just her and Cormac. No one other than her seemed to find his company agreeable, and when she was with him she seemed to be just as invisible to everyone else. She had wanted to make friends, but it seemed as though nobody wanted the same from her when she was with him. She was slowly but surely learning that she had made a big mistake by letting herself get carried away with hope that the very first boy who looked at her would be the 'right' one.
She glanced in the direction of where Ron and Lavender sat, their table always full of different people- unlike her lonely table with just her and Cormac. Despite her dislike-or whatever the odd feeling she had about him, she had to admit that Ron Weasley was extremely popular around here. He was almost never alone. Lavender of course stuck to him like glue, but a lot of the others radiated towards him as well. He seemed to know everyone there, and they all seemed to know him. He was friendly and affectionate, constantly ruffling hair or slinging his arms around people, joking around in an attentive manner. He smiled and laughed often, and seemed to be entirely comfortable and in his element.
She felt guilty now, for her words to him last night. However, he shouldn't have bit her head off, so that made her feel a little justified. She decided that if, and only if the chance arrived, she would apologize for pretending to know how he felt about the camp. Her words had obviously upset him, and she felt that she definitely could have worded things better, although that didn't mean she necessarily took them back either.
As if he could feel her staring, he turned his head and locked eyes with her. For some odd reason, she found herself unable to look away. He didn't look angry, but he didn't necessarily look friendly either. He looked as if he were offering a truce with her- like he didn't want to fight anymore, but didn't want to be buddy-buddy with her either. She didn't know why she felt as if she could read his mind, but she was fairly certain that she was at that moment. 'Civil.' His eyes seemed to say. 'Let's just be civil.' She let out a grateful sigh as she gave him the slightest nod of her head, and he mimicked the gesture before turning away from her.
Just then, two people stepped into the room, causing a bunch of cheers and hollers from everyone at the new arrivals. There was a skinny boy with black hair and glasses, his arm around a beautiful red-headed girl. The boy seemed happy to be there, but he was decidedly more shy than the girl, who threw her hands up as if in a 'ta-da' gesture to more cheers.
Hermione watched as people then got up from their seats to greet them, Ron making his way to them first. She saw him throw his arms around both of their necks and bring them in for an awkward three person hug. She barely managed to hold back a laugh at the girl's face when Ron gave her a loud and dramatic kiss on the forehead before doing the same to the dark haired boy. The girl, who Hermione surmised must be his sister, twisted and wriggled out of Ron's grasp, laughing joyously as she shoved his chest. She then pulled the other boy out of Ron's arms as Ron threw back his head and laughed.
That weird feeling in Hermione's stomach came back as she watched him, and she quickly averted her eyes, looking down at her bowl of oatmeal. She then glanced sideways at Cormac who had stopped talking and was staring at the commotion as well. She knew that she needed to end this 'thing' or whatever it was that was going on between them, and soon. She had continuously tried to ignore all of the red flags that he had given her, but now she no longer could. Infuriating as Ron Weasley had been last night, his eyes had been honest and she felt as if she could trust him, at least when it came to Cormac.
"So I take it that she is Ro- I mean, Weasley's sister?" she asked casually as she took a spoonful of oatmeal.
Cormac nodded, an annoyed look on his face as he studied the scene. People were still getting up and greeting the pair as if they were royalty or something. Ron hadn't yet left their side, and he and the boy with glasses were now in conversation, wide grins on both of their faces.
"They call her Weasley 2 around here. And that's Harry Potter. But they're not important," he said with contempt.
"It seems as though everyone likes them," she mused, watching his face scrunch up in annoyance.
"Yeah," he answered, taking a big bite of toast, glaring at the other side of the room.
Hermione didn't press the issue anymore, and they ate in silence.
After breakfast, she and Cormac headed off to their respective duties, him promising her to come visit her again whenever he could. The arrival of Potter and Ron's sister seemed to have gotten him in a mood, and she had a feeling that he was jealous of all the attention that they had gotten.
After Cormac pointed out the direction for her, Hermione made her way to the sports area. The job today was replacing broken nets, airing up balls, and wiping down any surfaces that had gotten dirty since last year's use. She almost stopped in her tracks when she saw that Ron was there, already replacing a large net at one of the volleyball stations. His back was to her, but his hair was so bright that she had instantly known it was him. With a gulp, she continued on towards the large piles of balls that needed to be aired up. She saw that Ron's sister was there, sitting easily in the grass and already starting to use a small hand pump to air up a volleyball. Hermione didn't really want to be by her either, not because of anything the girl had done of course, but because of what her brother may have already said about everything that had happened between them. Regardless though, Hermione felt as if the pretty red-head was a safer bet than her brother so she continued. Hermione was relieved when the girl looked up as she approached and gave her a wide, seemingly genuine smile.
"Hello!" she said happily in greeting. "I'm Ginny, but around here I'm Weasley 2. Who are you?"
Hermione sat down across from her, grabbing a ball, and one of the small air pumps that were on the ground. "I'm Granger," she answered, now getting used to introducing herself by her last name rather than her first.
"Ah," the girl said, reaching up to push a tendril of long perfect ginger hair behind her ear. "You're in my cabin then. 19?"
Hermione nodded. There was something about the younger Weasley that she envied. It wasn't only that she was drop dead gorgeous, she also exuded confidence, the kind that Hermione had always wanted to have.
"So you've met everyone then? Lav, Patil's 1 & 2?"
"Yes, they're all nice," Hermione answered.
"And so you've also met my prat of a brother then?" she asked, gesturing her head to the side at Ron who was still working on the net about fifty feet away from where they were sitting.
Hermione couldn't help but blush as she nodded, trying to act like she couldn't care less. Why was she blushing right now? She blamed it on hearing him and Lavender being so intimate last night, the memory making her want to scrub her ears to get the sounds she had heard out of her brain.
The girl raised her eyebrows, obviously confused by Hermione's reaction.
"We haven't quite-well- gotten along," she mumbled, unable to look her in the eye.
Ginny turned her head to look at her brother before turning to look at Hermione again. "Ron? But Ron gets along with everyone," she said, obviously confused. "Except McLaggen that is..." She trailed off as her eyes widened, "So you're his first victim this year then?"
"V-victim?" she stuttered, feeling her stomach drop.
Ginny grimaced. "Yeah, listen. I'm a super blunt person, and I don't want to offend you or anything, but the truth is that the guy is bad news and I'd recommend staying far away from him."
Hermione let out a sigh. "Yeah, so I've been told," she said, still pumping up the ball.
She wondered why she had reacted so differently when Ron had warned her about Cormac vs when Ginny had, and she realized that there was just something about Ron that riled her up for some reason, and that she would have to work on that.
"Did you ever have any bad experiences with him then?" Hermione asked, hoping she wasn't getting too personal.
Ginny shook her head. "No, not me. But I've known several who have and I believe them."
Ginny looked at something behind Hermione's head, and when she turned around, she saw Ron jogging towards them. He stopped right behind Hermione, putting his hands on his hips, breathing hard, sweat dripping down the sides of his face, and the front of his shirt. Hermione bit her lip nervously.
"Gin, did you bring the water bottles?" he asked his sister before his eyes turned to Hermione and widened as if he just now noticed that she was there.
"Hi," she forced out, determined to play it cool.
He cocked his head to the side a bit, studying her as if he didn't know quite what to make of her newfound cordialness towards him. "Hello," he said slowly.
"No, Sorry. I forgot to bring them," Ginny replied, causing Ron's eyes to move back to his sister before letting out a loud groan.
"Seriously? We were supposed to grab them Gin, and you told me that you would get them."
Ginny held her hands out, defensively. "I forgot okay! You don't have to whine like a child Ron, you are perfectly capable of going up there to get them yourself!"
Ron rolled his eyes. "Fine, but you owe me one Gin," he said as he turned around and stalked off.
When he came back only several minutes later, he had a large clear bag of water bottles slung over his shoulder. They all had the camp logo on the side of them, and they were in various colors. Ron plopped down on the grass next to Ginny and took a red one out of the bag and started drinking it noisily, gulping it down as if he hadn't had a drink in years. Hermione watched as Ginny gave him a scolding look before shaking her head and pulling out two more water bottles. She handed a purple one to Hermione and opened an orange one for herself. By this time, Ron had already finished his and was reaching for another one.
"Oi!" Save the rest for other people Ron!" Ginny chastised.
Ron ignored her, grabbing a green bottle before opening it and started immediately downing it.
Ginny rolled her eyes and turned to Hermione. "I don't even know why I bother with him," she said.
Hermione watched as Ron's eyes narrowed a bit before he extended his arm out and held the water bottle upside down over his sister's head before giving the bottle a squeeze. Ginny let out a shriek, instantly lifting her arm and swatting the bottle away as hard as she could. When she did this though, the bottle was slung right towards Hermione, hitting her in the chest. When it hit her, the lid fell off and the rest of the water spilled out, completely soaking the entire front of her shirt.
Hermione's mouth gaped open, slowly realizing what had just happened as it had happened so fast. Ginny's mouth was twitching in amusement, but Ron started laughing as if it were the funniest thing he had ever seen.
"Your-face," he said in between breaths, his face red as he clutched his stomach, tears coming out of his eyes.
Hermione glared at him. Where did he get off laughing at her like he was? Just last night he was practically yelling at her! Without thinking, Hermione reached down and removed the lid of her own bottle before leaning forward and emptying the rest of the bottle's contents right on top of Ron's ginger locks. He gasped and his eyes widened, seemingly shocked and looking at her as if he hadn't expected that from her at all. Ginny started laughing loudly as Hermione sat back, a satisfied smirk on her face. Her moment of triumph however, was cut short as a shadow fell over them.
"I think that you three need reminding that we do not waste anything here at this camp, and that includes water."
Hermione spun around to see McGonagall looking down at them, clearly not amused by their antics. All three of them quickly mumbled their apologies to the woman, who gave them a tight lipped smile before continuing on.
"Blimey that woman scares me," Ron mumbled under his breath when McGonagall was out of earshot.
Ginny snorted. "You? Everyone knows that you're her favorite Ron. You're her golden little camp worker," she chastised, pinching his cheek with her fingers.
He swatted it away in an annoyed manner. "As if Ginevra. I think we all know that Potter is her favorite."
Ginny shook her head. "Ha! No Ronald, she clearly has a weakness for you. She always has and you know it!"
Hermione saw him give his sister a lopsided grin. "Yeah. I can be charming when I want to can't I?"
Hermione wanted to slap herself when she let out a small snort at his words. She hadn't meant to do it and she was sure that her cheeks were now pink.
Ron's eyes snapped to hers and Hermione recoiled a bit, expecting anger from him, but was surprised when she saw humor in his gaze. "Want to elaborate on that snort Granger?" he asked quietly, his eyes challenging her.
She cleared her throat. "Not particularly, no," she replied.
He pursed his lips, pondering. "Okay then," he finally said before he stood up and wiped small blades of grass off his bum. "I'm going to get back to work," he said simply, and with that he was gone.
When he was a good distance away, Ginny turned to her. "I feel like something happened between you and my brother before I got here. Am I correct?"
Hermione felt her face turn beet red. "No! I wouldn't-I didn't-"
Ginny's eyes widened. "No, no- sorry! I didn't mean anything like that of course. I know Ron would never cheat on Lavender or anything- I just mean...there's just a bit of...hostility between you it seems."
Hermione snuck a glance at Ron who was now working on another net. "Yeah, something happened, but I think it's over now and…" she trailed off as she watched Lavender come over the hill and run towards Ron before throwing herself in his arms and kissing him passionately.
Ginny too turned her eyes to look at them, her face scrunched up as if she were staring at something disgusting. "Yeah, it's pretty gross isn't it?" she asked, before making a vomiting gesture by sticking her finger in her mouth and pretending to gag. "It really is an awful thing to have to watch your brother and his girlfriend snog each other senseless all of the time."
Hermione didn't have any siblings, but figured that it would indeed not be pleasant to witness and nodded in agreement.
"Anyway," Ginny said, purposely not looking at Ron and Lavender. "I reckon it's time we got back to work."
Hermione nodded and the two started to air up the balls once more. Ginny, she soon found out, was very chatty and was happy to tell Hermione all about her life. She was the only girl out of seven children, with her and Ron being the two youngest. They were all apparently a close-knit bunch, and even though they nagged all of the time, they loved each other and had each other's backs no matter what.
Ginny was still talking when she looked up and her eyes narrowed. "McLaggen is over there gesturing for you," she stated.
Hermione turned around and saw that Cormac was indeed gesturing for her to go with him, and she turned back to Ginny.
"Want me to tell him to bite it?" Ginny asked, her expression undaunting.
Hermione shook her head, not wanting to cause unnecessary drama, and knew that it was her responsibility to let Cormac down easy. "No. I need to talk to him anyway. Do you mind?" she asked, gesturing to the pile of still-flat balls.
Ginny shook her head. "Nah I've got it. Just-be careful okay?"
Hermione told her thank you and that she would, before walking over to Cormac. He had his usual grin on his face, and she briefly wondered why she had ever found him attractive. When she reached him, he grabbed her hand and pulled her behind the small shed that held various game equipment, quickly pinning her before moving his mouth to hers. She immediately turned her head to the side.
"Cormac-we need to talk," she said as he pulled away to look at her, his face scrunched up in confusion.
"What about?" he asked, his hand gently running up her arm and causing her to shiver, but not in a good way.
"We're friends right?" she asked slowly.
He smirked at her. "Yeah, we are," he answered, leaning in to kiss her again before she stepped to the side to avoid him.
She sighed. He was not going to get her point unless she made it blatantly clear. "I don't normally kiss, much less do anything else like this with my friends."
He stared at her, his eyes narrowing. "What are you saying exactly?" he asked frostily.
"I'm saying that I like you-as a friend. But I don't want to kiss or mess around with you like this anymore. I came here for a reason, and this-" she said, using her hand to gesture between the two of them, "is not the reason I came."
Cormac stepped back from her a bit- his face angry. "Are you serious Granger? After these last two days where I have been spending every available second with you, listening to you drone on and on about school and other things that I don't give a fuck about? I figured that it was worth the torture of listening to you though, because despite your boring personality, you are good looking and seemed willing enough."
Hermione gritted her teeth. She had been thinking that he was genuinely interested in her, but she apparently had been fooled. Ron and Ginny were absolutely correct, and he had only been after one thing. She felt humiliated and was embarrassed that she had ever fallen for his act.
"Willing enough for what Cormac?" she asked slowly, barely containing her anger.
"I think you already know the answer to that question Granger," he said calmly, folding his arms over his chest.
Hermione took a deep breath, glaring at him."I never was, and never will be willing for you, Cormac. Now, please kindly leave me alone from now on," she said curtly before turning around and walking away from him and back to where she had just been.