As Hermione spoke, she watched Harry's hand clenched around the fork he was holding. She knew she'd said something like this weeks ago, but she thought a helpful nudge might do Harry some good. She could tell that he was close to his breaking point, the only thing she didn't know was when he would finally get the courage to talk to Ginny.
"Honestly, Hermione, I'm getting tired of you saying that. I am not desirable and for all we know they could have been looking at one of you three," Ginny jabbed her fork in their direction.
"That might have been true, had it not been you who produced a corporeal Patronus in class today."
"Well, what's the big deal about that?" Ginny huffed. "Harry produced one, too!"
"True," Hermione nodded, "but you're also the only fifth year in the advanced class and Professor Bovin obviously thinks very highly of you."
"Oh, for Merlin's sake." Ginny stabbed at a glazed carrot on her plate.
"Come to think of it, Ginny, Bovin did seem to know you'd be able to cast a Patronus," Ron said, his annoyance at people staring at his sister long forgotten. "What exactly did you do to get an invitation to the advanced class?"
The three of them looked interestedly at Ginny, who had suddenly become fascinated with her nails. Hermione knew she did that when she'd rather be anywhere else, but Hermione was quite intrigued by what she would say.
Noticing that the three of them weren't going to give up anytime soon, Ginny rolled her eyes, "He caught me practicing wordless magic, alright?"
There was complete silence after this statement. Ron's mouth dropped open, Harry stopped bending his fork in half, and Hermione eventually found her voice again. "You can do wordless magic? Do you have any idea how advanced that is? That's amazing! What made you try it?" Hermione couldn't stop the torrent of questions coming out of her mouth.
"Remember when we were at the ministry? Well, when we were fighting off the Death Eaters, saying the spells out loud took longer than just thinking them, and before I knew it, I realized that I'd been dueling without saying anything. I started trying it again a few weeks ago and Professor Bovin happened to see me. He offered me an invitation to the advanced class, so I accepted."
When she was finished speaking, Ginny started eating her dinner again. Hermione looked to Ron, whose mouth was still hanging open, and then Harry, who had a small smile on his face as he gazed at Ginny. Hermione, however, had no intention of letting her off that easy. "Come on, Ginny," She stood up, pulling on Ginny's hand.
"What?"
"Come on! You're going to teach me!" Not giving Ginny the chance to respond, Hermione dragged her from the Great Hall amidst curious looks from the rest of the room.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
"I can't believe she never told us!" Ron had been thinking this since Ginny had told them at dinner about her doing wordless magic. He was walking back to the common room with Harry when he gave voice to what had been running through his head.
"Maybe she didn't want anyone to know until she could do it again," Harry shrugged as they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.
"Bezoar," Ron said, receiving a nod from the Fat Lady as she swung forward to allow them entry. Climbing through the opening to the common room, Ron and Harry saw Hermione and Ginny sitting on the floor in front of the fire with a large piece of parchment between them.
"What are you doing?" Ron walked over to them.
"We're figuring out how to run things tomorrow night," Hermione said without looking up.
Harry took a seat in an armchair, while Ron stretched out on the couch, "Just let me know what you want me to do."
Hermione snorted, "You could try helping, you know."
"Eh, you're so much better at following directions" Ron's response resulted in him being soundly hit in the head with a pillow.
"Hey, what was that—" Ron stopped speaking as Seamus came to stand next to them.
"Hey guys. Um, Hermione, can I talk to you for a minute?" Seamus asked, blushing.
"Sure, Seamus," Hermione looked rather confused, but followed him to the far side of the common room.
"What's he want to talk to her for?" Ron demanded.
Ginny nudged Harry, nodding in Ron's direction. Harry caught on and smiled, "I don't know," he shrugged unconcerned.
"Maybe he likes her," Ginny continued writing on the parchment.
Ron watched as Seamus talked to Hermione, his hands in his pockets. What does he want with Hermione? Was Ginny right? Does he like her? Ron felt his chest tighten. He didn't want to watch Seamus ask her out or hold her hand or kiss her on the cheek. He should be the one doing that. Ron quickly turned his gaze to the fireplace as Hermione came back.
"What did Seamus want?" Harry asked.
"He just had a question about Transfiguration," Hermione shrugged.
"Why'd he need to talk to you alone, then," Ron questioned suspiciously.
"He was a little embarrassed that he needed the extra help."
"Oh," Ron said, secretly relieved, as Ginny shot a quick smile to Harry. They both knew how upset Ron was at the idea of Seamus liking Hermione.
"Now," Hermione changed the subject, "This is what Ginny and I were thinking for tomorrow night." The girls explained their ideas to the boys, asking what they thought, or if they had any suggestions. Ron tried, but he couldn't think of anything to add. Harry, however, was very much preoccupied with how he was going to handle watching Ginny go on 'dates' the next night without him losing control of his temper.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
The next night, Hermione and Ginny left dinner early to get the common room set up, telling the boys to hurry up. Once there, Hermione set to work making duplicates of the small round table that was usually kept in the corner of the room. When the tables had been situated around the room, Ginny covered each one with a snowy white tablecloth and set a bowl of brightly colored candies at the center. When she was done, Ginny dashed up the dormitory stairs to her room where she threw on the outfit she'd picked out the night before, brushed the tangles from her hair, and raced back downstairs to finish helping Hermione.
"Ginny, you look amazing!" Hermione told her friend. "Harry won't be able to keep his eyes off of you."
Ginny's heart plummeted to her toes, "Hermione, we've been over this. Harry doesn't like me that way and he never will."
Hermione pursed her lips as Ginny saw an internal battle raging behind her eyes, "Fine, but I still think you're wrong." Ginny sighed, she only wished Hermione was right.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
"Come on, Ron, we've got to go help the girls," Harry stood from the table as he saw other members of his house leaving the Great Hall.
"Coming, coming," Ron grabbed another dinner roll as they walked to Gryffindor Tower. Harry thought he might go to bed early to avoid seeing Ginny talk to other guys, but realized that would raise too many questions. As they entered the common room, Harry and Ron were impressed with how quickly the girls had transformed the room.
"Harry, Ron, over here!" Hermione waved them over.
"You guys ready?" Ginny asked.
Harry felt like he'd been kicked in the stomach as all of the air left his lungs. Ginny's hair hung in soft, fiery red waves that gently touched her cheekbones. She wore a black dress with thin sleeves that was fitted on the top before being cinched at her waist. From there the light material formed an airy skirt that flowed around her with her every movement.
"Yeah, we're ready. What do we have to do?" Ron asked. Hermione explained Ron's role to him as Harry continued to stay frozen to the spot.
"Harry, are you okay? Do I have something on my face?" Ginny's hand reached up to her cheek.
"No," Harry choked out, "you look great."
"Thank you, Harry," Ginny whispered.
Ron's loud voice spoke over everyone in the room, "Everybody gather round, we're starting." The crowd of Gryffindors moved forward, listening. "I have some information to relay to you from my brother's Fred and George about their product." Ron continued to speak, "Tonight you will be testing out my brothers' newest invention for their shop. It's based on the muggle activity, deep spating—"
Hermione stood on tip-toe to whisper in his ear. "Ah, right," Ron continued, "speed dating. When I called your name, please step forward. Katie Bell, Fay Dunbar, Ginny Weasley, Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil, and Hannah Abbott. Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, Carl Hopkins, Oliver James, Jack Sloper, and Michael Stewart. Now, one boy and one girl will sit at each table. When I give the signal, you will each take one of the candies from the bowl in the center and simply talk to each other like you would any other day. After ten minutes, I'll give another signal and the boys will move on to the next table, both of you will take a candy, and so on. If you do not move when the signal is given, I reserve the right to stun you."
"Ron!" Hermione hissed.
"Anyway," Ron went on, ignoring Hermione's look, "when we're all done, we'd like you to write down what you thought or even any suggestions. Alright, everyone take a seat and begin." By the time he was done giving his speech, Ron had only turned a medium shade of bright red. This was a vast improvement for him, as normally he refused to talk that much with so many people watching him.
"You did great, Ron! But, you can't stun people," Hermione said.
"I'm not going to stand here and watch people get cheeky with their date. Especially when my sister is involved."
"Fine," Hermione huffed.
Harry had focused all of his attention on Ginny, who was currently sitting with Dean Thomas. They were laughing about something, and Ginny was wiping a tear from her eye, which made Harry fill with jealousy. Why is she laughing with him? He isn't even that funny.
"Time to switch!" Ron called.
Dean got up from the table, moving on as Seamus took his seat with Ginny. Harry didn't much like this either, especially when Seamus leaned forward to whisper in Ginny's ear. Her eyes lit up and she smiled widely at him, nodding her head in approval. Why is he sitting so close to her? Why was Ron not putting a stop to this?
"Switch!" Ron shouted as he turned back to Hermione, who was scribbling down notes.
Oliver James took Seamus' seat with Ginny and Harry recognized him as the new quidditch commentator. By this point, Harry's blood was boiling so badly, he was surprised there wasn't steam coming from his ears. He turned away from the couples at the tables, sat in an armchair by the fire, and listened to Ron call 'switch' for the next forty minutes. When it was all over, Hermione handed pieces of parchment to everyone. The only sound in the room for the next ten minutes was the scratching of quills and the fading footfalls as people left to go to bed.
"That went really well!" Ginny said happily as she sat on the couch.
"Yeah, it wasn't so bad. Mind you, I don't like making speeches or watching you go on dates, but I think I did pretty good," Ron beamed.
"Yes, you did very well," Hermione patted his arm mockingly. "So, Ginny, did anyone ask you out?" Hermione smirked.
Ginny opened her mouth to respond when Harry interrupted her, "You can't go out with any of them." Harry felt his eyes widen, but knew it was too late to turn back. He'd spoken his thoughts out loud and Ginny was now watching him with narrowed eyes.
"What do you mean I can't go out with them? Last time I checked, you're not the boss of me!"
"You can't get distracted from quidditch, especially with our next game only three weeks away!"
"Is that all you care about? Quidditch! Well, I have news for you, Harry Potter! I will go out with anyone I please, and unless there is a very good reason why I shouldn't, I'll thank you to mind your own business!" Ginny ran up the dormitory stairs to her room and laid on her bed. She couldn't help the tears that streamed down her face as she stared at the top of her four-poster bed. That great prat! Does he know how much that hurt to hear him say he cared about quidditch more than me? Ginny got under her blankets fully clothed and fell asleep as the tears dried on her face.
Downstairs in the common room, Harry replayed his argument with Ginny over in his head. Why am I such a stupid git? I yelled at Ginny and it wasn't even her fault! She was just helping Fred and George. She's never going to speak to me again. That thought left an ache in his chest.
"That was pretty stupid, mate," Ron commented.
"I was just trying to be a friend and make sure she didn't go out with the wrong guy. Why weren't you bothered by it!"
"The only reason all of those guys weren't stunned the second they sat down was because Hermione took my wand."
Hermione scoffed at him, "Right, well how would you have explained to your brothers that their product demonstration didn't go as planned, because you knocked all of the volunteers unconscious!"
"They would have understood," Ron grumbled.
Hermione ignored him, "Really, Harry, you shouldn't have yelled at Ginny. She didn't do anything wrong. Why don't you apologize to her in the morning?"
Harry nodded his head, "Yeah, I will." That night, Harry fell into a fitful sleep as he thought of ways to apologize to Ginny, hoping that she'd forgive him.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
"Ginny, please talk to me." Harry had waited outside the common room all morning for Ginny to go down to breakfast, fearing that if she saw him waiting by the fireplace she'd never come down. As soon as she had climbed through the portrait hole, Harry had tried to get her to listen to him.
"Ginny, wait." She just walked faster, but Harry's longer strides allowed him to easily keep up with her. He saw her red eyes and knew she'd been crying. He felt like the slimiest git in the world.
Right as Ginny reached for the door handle to the Great Hall, Harry grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side. She refused to look at him, staring down at the floor instead. "Ginny, I'm really sorry for what I said last night. I didn't mean it." Pursing her lips, Ginny raised her head to look at him. Feeling encouraged by this small gesture, Harry went on, "You're more important than quidditch, I was just trying to make sure you didn't end up with the wrong guy." His speech finished, Harry held his breath, waiting for Ginny's response.
"Harry, I have six brothers already. I don't need a seventh." Harry hung his head. "But, I forgive you."
Harry's head snapped up and he blew out a breath, "Thanks, Ginny."
"Come on," she smiled, "let's go eat."
As they walked to their seats, a cold voice stopped them, "Aw, so the little lovebirds made up, did they?"
Harry and Ginny turned to confront the pale, blonde boy standing in front of them. "Shove off, Malfoy," Harry snapped.
"You better watch what you say to me, Potter."
"Or what," Ginny countered, "you'll run and tell your father? You better hurry, it'll be a long flight for that owl to Azkaban."
Malfoy's face turned red as he raised his wand level with Ginny's head, "Insult my father again and I'll make you regret it," he snarled.
Harry pushed Ginny behind him, "Threaten Ginny again and I'll make you regret it." Harry turned so that Ginny was in front of him and they walked to their seats next to Ron and Hermione.
Seeing the stormy look on Harry's face, Hermione turned to him, "Harry, what happened!?" Harry and Ginny relayed their encounter with Malfoy to Ron and Hermione.
"He threatened you?" Ron turned on Ginny.
"Honestly, Ron, it's nothing new, so there's no reason to get so worked up." Ginny said as she put butter on her toast.
Ron opened his mouth, but Hermione spoke first, "Ginny has demonstrated that she is very capable of handling herself, especially with Malfoy. Besides, Harry was there, and you know he'd never let anyone hurt her." Ginny blushed, smiling to herself as Hermione said this.
"I'd still like to give him a good punch."
"You'd only get detention and lose Gryffindor more points," Hermione pointed out.
Ron knew she was right, but it didn't stop him from muttering under his breath, "...no reason to get worked up...thinks she can tell me what to do…" Hermione just rolled her eyes at Harry and Ginny, who smiled at her, grateful the discussion had been put to an end.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
She's so pretty. I love the way her hair curls around her cheeks and falls over her shoulder as she writes. All memory of Hermione and Ron's disagreement over Malfoy at breakfast had been forgotten as he stared at her.
"Mr. Weasley!"
Ron jumped, turning his head to see the class and McGonagall watching him. He flushed a brilliant shade of red, "Yes, professor?"
"Care to share with the class what was so interesting?"
Ron scrambled to find a suitable response, "Uh, um, quidditch," he said weakly.
Professor McGonagall made her way across the classroom to stand in front of Ron, Harry, and Hermione's desk. "Yes, well, I'd prefer it if you spent your time in my class learning rather than thinking about quidditch."
"Yes, ma'am."
With a much lower voice, McGonagall turned to Harry, "How's the team coming along, Potter?"
A look of shock came over Ron's face as Harry's head jerked up to look at his professor, "Brilliantly."
She gave a brusque nod, walking back to the front of the room, "Right, then. As I was saying, it takes a great deal of focus to..."
Ron turned to look at Harry, who just smiled, and Hermione, who was giggling. "Blimey, that woman always manages to astound me."
"You should try harder not to daydream during class," Hermione admonished.
"Easier said than done," Ron mumbled.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
"Ron, would you like to practice for Bovin's class tonight?" Ron, Harry, and Hermione were going to Potions when she suddenly realized that she had yet to help Ron practice his magic like she had promised.
"Yeah, uh, that'd be great," He smiled then looked down at the ground as they walked.
They reached the Potions classroom in the dungeons and sat at their usual table, taking out their cauldrons as Professor Snape entered the room with a sneer and whirl of black robes. "Today we will be making Draxian Aphaedin. Can anyone tell me what that is?" Snape glared out at the room as if he didn't want anyone to know the answer.
Hermione put her hand in the air, though she knew Snape would search the room three times for another raised hand before deciding to choose her. "Miss Granger."
"Draxian Aphaedin is a salve that's used on deep or tainted wounds to slow bleeding until the person can be brought to the hospital. It's only used on the worst kind of injuries, which is why it's usually only seen during battles or carried by those who work with highly dangerous magical creatures."
Despite being correct, Hermione braced herself for the insult that was sure to some from Snape. "Thank you, Miss Granger, but the next time I want a word-for-word account of something, I'll go read the textbook." He turned to the blackboard and started writing the steps for making the potion. Hermione felt Ron stiffen next to her and she knew he was going to say something in her defense. She grabbed his hand under the table, giving it a slight squeeze, which made him look down at her.
"You'll only get into trouble, it isn't worth it." She whispered.
Ron opened his mouth to speak, but she shook her head, "Just squeeze my hand if he gets to you, instead." Ron narrowed his eyes slightly as he turned to face straight ahead.
For the next forty minutes Hermione held Ron's hand as Snape explained the process of making the potion and what it should look like when it's done. Every so often, Ron would squeeze her hand when Snape directed a remark towards Harry, Hermione, or Ron's family. She'd watch as a muscle would twitch in his jaw and she knew how hard it was for him to keep silent. He'd get a fire in his eyes as his face turned red with anger. Hermione loved how protective he was of his friends and family.
Feeling Ron squeeze her hand again, she snapped out of her thoughts and refocused on the potion they'd soon be making. "You may begin making the potion. Weasley, Potter, you might actually learn something this time if you don't let Miss Granger do all the work," Snape said in his monotone drawl, causing several Slytherins to laugh.
Ron gripped her hand tighter than ever, but she didn't mind. She liked the feel of her small hand in his larger, rougher one. Giving his hand one last reassuring squeeze, she stood to begin making her potion. As she prepared her ingredients, she made sure to go at a steady pace, so that Ron or Harry could observe how she did things. She wouldn't make their potions for them, but she didn't mind them using her as a guideline for what to do. She did wish they would study a bit more, but she also understood that there were things that they were naturally much better at than her, like flying and playing quidditch.
Snape made his rounds around the room, checking on the students' progress, before coming to a stop at their table. "Granger, making your potion slower than normal to allow these two dunderheads time to copy you does no one any good, especially you, who I know values being better than anyone else."
Hermione had had enough. Snape seemed to be in an especially bad mood this class, and while she was used to his rude remarks, she'd finally hit her limit. She looked him straight in the eye, speaking in a very clear voice without a hint of sarcasm, "I can assure you, sir, that I am moving at this pace, because I do not want to ruin the potion. As for Ron and Harry, they are very capable wizards who are more than able to succeed in whatever they put their minds to."
A shocked silence filled the room as Hermione stopped speaking. No one had ever so eloquently put Snape in his place before. The fact that it had been Hermione Granger who had done it was even more amazing, considering she refused to do or say anything that would get her in trouble with a teacher.
"That will be 20 points from Gryffindor for your insolence," Snape replied in a dangerously low voice before sweeping away.
The class finished making their potions and bottled them up in glass vials. Hermione's came out perfect, of course, and Ron and Harry's were close enough to looking how they were supposed to, which made them both very happy.
"Blimey, Hermione, I can't believe you said that to Snape!" Ron was still staring at Hermione in amazement as they made their way to the common room.
"I told you, Snape had thrown too many insults during class, and that last one got to me."
"Really, though, thank you for what you said," Harry added.
"For what who said?" Ginny asked as they entered the common room.
Not wanting to listen to the story get told again, Hermione shoved Ron back out the portrait hole, "Harry will tell you, I've got to help Ron practice some spells. Besides, I'm sure Harry will have more fun with you." Harry's eyes widened in horror at the insinuating remark that she'd made in front of Ginny, making her tamp down a laugh as she followed Ron out of the room.
