Disclaimer: You know we own nothing.
Authors' Note: On a random side note, all you Ron fans out there MUST go see Billy Elliot. Besides the fact that it's a great movie starring the actress who will play Molly Weasley (she is SO Molly), the Billy kid IS Ron at age 14. His hair isn't red, but everything else is better than perfect. If you see this movie and don't fall in love with him, you have no feeling bone in your body! Oh, and all R/H fans watch out for the pillow fight scene-our Hermione ought to try this method. evil grin Anyway, on to the story...
Chapter 8: The Snake in the Grass
Harry had to admit that it took them a good deal longer than perhaps was necessary to walk back to the common room, and when they stepped through the portrait hole together Ron and Hermione were already there. Only they didn't seem overly perturbed about the long wait.
"Oh, there you are!" said Hermione briskly, trying to find a discrete way to smooth her disheveled hair. Harry pretended not to notice her and Ron's blush.
"Sorry it took us so long," he said quickly, "but you know Madam Pomfrey." Harry gave a light chuckle.
Ron was eyeing his sister beadily. "That's not why you're late," he said slowly, one eyebrow raised in accusation. "Come on, Harry, how many wardrobes did you two stop in on the way?"
"Ron!" Ginny went scarlet.
"What?!" Harry sputtered. "We didn't--I would never--" Well, he broke off, that wasn't entirely true. He and Ginny exchanged a fearful glance before Harry realized that Ron wasn't upset. Actually, his two best friends were both laughing.
"And you thought *we* were slow!" said Hermione, rolling her eyes.
Harry was inclined to take offense at that last remark, but he contented himself with flopping onto the couch and pulling Ginny into his lap instead. She kissed his cheek happily and snuggled up against his shoulder. "All right," said Harry, somewhat reluctant to move on to the more serious issue at hand, "what did you two find out?"
Hermione leaned forward to pick something up off the table as Ron sat up straighter. "Remember how I thought I heard something in the bushes right before we were attacked?" Harry nodded. "Well, the knight came at us from the opposite direction, so it must have been the person responsible for the attack watching us."
"But we never saw anyone else there," protested Ginny.
"That's right." Hermione's eyebrow lifted meaningfully. "*We* didn't," she said, "but there was something else there that did." She looked hopefully at their blank expressions. "*Colin's camera*? Honestly, you lot are dense!" Hermione held out the photos in exasperation. "We got Colin to develop these just now."
"You mean he got the culprit on film?" asked Harry in amazement, reaching out to examine the photos. Hermione nodded triumphantly.
"Caught the little snake red-handed, in the far corner behind that bush," Ron pointed.
Harry and Ginny bent over the first picture. In the center of the frame the miniature version of Ron slashed savagely at the knight's battle axe while Hermione hurled a bronze statuette at its head. The tiny Harry and Ginny figures were just visible off to one side, huddled in the shadows. But what drew Harry's gaze was a half-hidden yet unmistakable figure lurking behind the hedge in the far background of the photograph.
"Malfoy!" gasped Ginny.
Harry said nothing. He was too relieved. He hadn't wanted to alarm the others, especially since Dumbledore hadn't mentioned it, but the possibility that the attack had been planned by Lord Voldemort or his followers had been in the back of Harry's mind all evening. Although an attack by Malfoy was certainly not a trivial matter, now Harry could see how irrational it had been to suspect something more sinister, considering the comparative ease with which the knight had been defeated. If serious Dark Magic had been used he doubted they would have come away with nothing more than a few broken ribs. Harry glanced at Ginny and his arm tightened instinctively around her as his relief turned swiftly to anger. Dark magic or not, Malfoy deserved a good thrashing for what he'd done.
"That does it, then," he scowled. "Malfoy went too far this time. He is going to pay!" Harry turned to Hermione. "What's the worst possible hex we can do on him?"
"Harry!" Hermione looked shocked. "We can't just attack him!"
"Why not?" Harry persisted crossly. "If anyone deserves a good kick up the--"
"*Harry!*" Ginny interrupted, shaking him by the shoulders. "You know you can't go around hexing other students. Why don't we just tell Dumbledore that it was Malfoy? He'd probably be suspended, at the very least," she reasoned calmly.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione stared at her for a moment. They had gotten so used to *not* going to Dumbledore with their problems that this most obvious and rational solution hadn't even occurred to any of them.
"Er," said Harry, blushing guiltily.
"Fine," said Ron. "We'll just show Dumbledore the photo and he'll have to punish Malfoy." He leaned toward Harry and nudged him in the ribs. "But I think your way was more appealing," he whispered. Harry nodded darkly, picturing Malfoy covered in bruises, boils, and hex marks.
"We still don't know how he did it, though," Hermione said thoughtfully. "It must have been a very complicated enchantment, especially since it could block other spells."
"Malfoy probably got his father to do some Dark Magic for him," suggested Ron enthusiastically. Hermione arched an eyebrow at him. "The boy is evil, Hermione!" he insisted.
"I know," she agreed, "but he's not stupid enough to try Dark Magic right under Dumbledore's nose, is he?" Hermione patted Ron's arm soothingly, and he gave a reluctant nod.
"I guess not."
"Well, I still have my doubts," muttered Harry under his breath. Hermione ignored him.
"So how do we found out what spell he used?" Ginny broke in anxiously. "We don't even know where to start."
Surprisingly, Hermione smiled. "Yes, we do," she beamed. "Remember those ingredients someone stole from Snape's office a few weeks ago? We thought Malfoy was just trying to frame Harry, but he must have been using them for a potion to enchant the knight!"
"Of course!" Harry grinned back at her. "All we have to do is find a potion that calls for whatever was stolen."
"Uh, there's just one problem with that," said Ron. "We don't know which ingredients were stolen."
Hermione waved her hand impatiently. "Yes, we do. I wrote them down in my class notes for that day." She didn't appear to notice Ron's look of mingled disbelief and admiration as she continued excitedly, "We'll go to the library tomorrow and look up all the ingredients, then see which potions they have in common. It should be easy to narrow them down since we already know what the potion does. It'll be fun, like a jigsaw puzzle." Hermione smiled widely at them all.
Ron shook his head in amazement. "Hermione, you're off your nut," he said, not quite managing to keep the affection out of his voice. She didn't even bother to glare at him.
Harry and Ginny exchanged knowing smiles. "I suppose we should all go to bed, then," said Harry, "if we want to get an early start on the research tomorrow."
"Good idea," said Hermione.
Ron stood up to leave. "Well, goodnight, then." Hermione immediately followed suit.
"Goodnight," chorused Harry and Ginny together, smiling at them. But Ron and Hermione remained standing by the fire. Harry looked at Ginny. Ron looked at Hermione. There was a long pause before Ron gave a pointed cough.
"Right," said Harry, and he and Ginny suddenly became deeply absorbed in examining Colin's photographs a bit more closely. Ron seized this opportunity to pull Hermione closer for a quick goodnight kiss, and then she disappeared up the stairs to the girls' tower. Ron turned, walked swiftly to the opposite tower, and promptly tripped over the first three steps.
Harry wasn't faring much better. When Ron's muffled curses had faded away, Ginny turned back to Harry with a smile, her enormous eyes soft in the firelight. He pinched himself. "Ouch!"
"Harry? What's the matter?" Ginny's smile quickly became a concerned frown.
Harry felt his face go red. "Nothing, I was just--never mind," he shook his head. Ginny looked perplexed, so to distract her he said the first thing that came to mind. "Ginny, would you like to dance?"
"What? Here?" Ginny glanced around at the empty common room.
Harry stood and pulled her up with him. "Well, since we were interrupted at the Ball we missed the last dance," he said with a grin, "and I happen to know it was going to be a waltz."
Ginny laughed and stepped comfortably into their familiar dance hold. They twirled and turned in a silent waltz around the room before Harry brought them to a stop in front of the hearth. He pulled Ginny closer, bringing their clasped hands to rest over his heart as they swayed slowly by the fire.
"Harry?" she murmured after a moment, lifting her head from his shoulder. "I had a really nice time with you tonight. Thank you for taking me to the Ball."
Harry shook his head. "No, thank you, Ginny. And I'm sorry it didn't turn out exactly the way I planned."
"You mean the part where we almost got killed by a rogue hall ornament?" Ginny's eyes twinkled merrily. "I don't know, I think it turned out for the best." She looked up at him meaningfully. "Don't you?"
Harry had to grin, too, as he leaned down to answer her with a kiss. It struck him as incredibly ironic that Malfoy was responsible for his present happiness, and this humourous thought contributed even further to his high spirits. His smile broadened as he pulled away to look at Ginny. "Did I mention how beautiful you look tonight?" he asked her. "Because if I didn't, you do. And it isn't just because of the robes," he added as she blushed and smoothed her skirt.
"They are lovely, though," Ginny sighed. "I wish I knew who--" She broke off and peered up at Harry, who was smiling sheepishly. "It was you! Oh, Harry, I hoped it was you! Thank you!" She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him happily, and it was several minutes more before they could bring themselves to say goodnight and go to bed at last.
Authors' Note: Okay, that was beyond cheesy. Sorry, we just got carried away with our own sappiness. We realize this fic is completely unrealistic, but dammit, we're tired of waiting till Book 7 for everyone to get together, so just suspend disbelief for a while and surrender to the power of pointless foof! Buwahahahahahaha! Hope that was enough R/H coupleness for everyone--since this is mostly Harry's POV it's harder to show everything that they're doing. But you can all imagine whatever you like. ;)
Authors' Note: On a random side note, all you Ron fans out there MUST go see Billy Elliot. Besides the fact that it's a great movie starring the actress who will play Molly Weasley (she is SO Molly), the Billy kid IS Ron at age 14. His hair isn't red, but everything else is better than perfect. If you see this movie and don't fall in love with him, you have no feeling bone in your body! Oh, and all R/H fans watch out for the pillow fight scene-our Hermione ought to try this method. evil grin Anyway, on to the story...
Chapter 8: The Snake in the Grass
Harry had to admit that it took them a good deal longer than perhaps was necessary to walk back to the common room, and when they stepped through the portrait hole together Ron and Hermione were already there. Only they didn't seem overly perturbed about the long wait.
"Oh, there you are!" said Hermione briskly, trying to find a discrete way to smooth her disheveled hair. Harry pretended not to notice her and Ron's blush.
"Sorry it took us so long," he said quickly, "but you know Madam Pomfrey." Harry gave a light chuckle.
Ron was eyeing his sister beadily. "That's not why you're late," he said slowly, one eyebrow raised in accusation. "Come on, Harry, how many wardrobes did you two stop in on the way?"
"Ron!" Ginny went scarlet.
"What?!" Harry sputtered. "We didn't--I would never--" Well, he broke off, that wasn't entirely true. He and Ginny exchanged a fearful glance before Harry realized that Ron wasn't upset. Actually, his two best friends were both laughing.
"And you thought *we* were slow!" said Hermione, rolling her eyes.
Harry was inclined to take offense at that last remark, but he contented himself with flopping onto the couch and pulling Ginny into his lap instead. She kissed his cheek happily and snuggled up against his shoulder. "All right," said Harry, somewhat reluctant to move on to the more serious issue at hand, "what did you two find out?"
Hermione leaned forward to pick something up off the table as Ron sat up straighter. "Remember how I thought I heard something in the bushes right before we were attacked?" Harry nodded. "Well, the knight came at us from the opposite direction, so it must have been the person responsible for the attack watching us."
"But we never saw anyone else there," protested Ginny.
"That's right." Hermione's eyebrow lifted meaningfully. "*We* didn't," she said, "but there was something else there that did." She looked hopefully at their blank expressions. "*Colin's camera*? Honestly, you lot are dense!" Hermione held out the photos in exasperation. "We got Colin to develop these just now."
"You mean he got the culprit on film?" asked Harry in amazement, reaching out to examine the photos. Hermione nodded triumphantly.
"Caught the little snake red-handed, in the far corner behind that bush," Ron pointed.
Harry and Ginny bent over the first picture. In the center of the frame the miniature version of Ron slashed savagely at the knight's battle axe while Hermione hurled a bronze statuette at its head. The tiny Harry and Ginny figures were just visible off to one side, huddled in the shadows. But what drew Harry's gaze was a half-hidden yet unmistakable figure lurking behind the hedge in the far background of the photograph.
"Malfoy!" gasped Ginny.
Harry said nothing. He was too relieved. He hadn't wanted to alarm the others, especially since Dumbledore hadn't mentioned it, but the possibility that the attack had been planned by Lord Voldemort or his followers had been in the back of Harry's mind all evening. Although an attack by Malfoy was certainly not a trivial matter, now Harry could see how irrational it had been to suspect something more sinister, considering the comparative ease with which the knight had been defeated. If serious Dark Magic had been used he doubted they would have come away with nothing more than a few broken ribs. Harry glanced at Ginny and his arm tightened instinctively around her as his relief turned swiftly to anger. Dark magic or not, Malfoy deserved a good thrashing for what he'd done.
"That does it, then," he scowled. "Malfoy went too far this time. He is going to pay!" Harry turned to Hermione. "What's the worst possible hex we can do on him?"
"Harry!" Hermione looked shocked. "We can't just attack him!"
"Why not?" Harry persisted crossly. "If anyone deserves a good kick up the--"
"*Harry!*" Ginny interrupted, shaking him by the shoulders. "You know you can't go around hexing other students. Why don't we just tell Dumbledore that it was Malfoy? He'd probably be suspended, at the very least," she reasoned calmly.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione stared at her for a moment. They had gotten so used to *not* going to Dumbledore with their problems that this most obvious and rational solution hadn't even occurred to any of them.
"Er," said Harry, blushing guiltily.
"Fine," said Ron. "We'll just show Dumbledore the photo and he'll have to punish Malfoy." He leaned toward Harry and nudged him in the ribs. "But I think your way was more appealing," he whispered. Harry nodded darkly, picturing Malfoy covered in bruises, boils, and hex marks.
"We still don't know how he did it, though," Hermione said thoughtfully. "It must have been a very complicated enchantment, especially since it could block other spells."
"Malfoy probably got his father to do some Dark Magic for him," suggested Ron enthusiastically. Hermione arched an eyebrow at him. "The boy is evil, Hermione!" he insisted.
"I know," she agreed, "but he's not stupid enough to try Dark Magic right under Dumbledore's nose, is he?" Hermione patted Ron's arm soothingly, and he gave a reluctant nod.
"I guess not."
"Well, I still have my doubts," muttered Harry under his breath. Hermione ignored him.
"So how do we found out what spell he used?" Ginny broke in anxiously. "We don't even know where to start."
Surprisingly, Hermione smiled. "Yes, we do," she beamed. "Remember those ingredients someone stole from Snape's office a few weeks ago? We thought Malfoy was just trying to frame Harry, but he must have been using them for a potion to enchant the knight!"
"Of course!" Harry grinned back at her. "All we have to do is find a potion that calls for whatever was stolen."
"Uh, there's just one problem with that," said Ron. "We don't know which ingredients were stolen."
Hermione waved her hand impatiently. "Yes, we do. I wrote them down in my class notes for that day." She didn't appear to notice Ron's look of mingled disbelief and admiration as she continued excitedly, "We'll go to the library tomorrow and look up all the ingredients, then see which potions they have in common. It should be easy to narrow them down since we already know what the potion does. It'll be fun, like a jigsaw puzzle." Hermione smiled widely at them all.
Ron shook his head in amazement. "Hermione, you're off your nut," he said, not quite managing to keep the affection out of his voice. She didn't even bother to glare at him.
Harry and Ginny exchanged knowing smiles. "I suppose we should all go to bed, then," said Harry, "if we want to get an early start on the research tomorrow."
"Good idea," said Hermione.
Ron stood up to leave. "Well, goodnight, then." Hermione immediately followed suit.
"Goodnight," chorused Harry and Ginny together, smiling at them. But Ron and Hermione remained standing by the fire. Harry looked at Ginny. Ron looked at Hermione. There was a long pause before Ron gave a pointed cough.
"Right," said Harry, and he and Ginny suddenly became deeply absorbed in examining Colin's photographs a bit more closely. Ron seized this opportunity to pull Hermione closer for a quick goodnight kiss, and then she disappeared up the stairs to the girls' tower. Ron turned, walked swiftly to the opposite tower, and promptly tripped over the first three steps.
Harry wasn't faring much better. When Ron's muffled curses had faded away, Ginny turned back to Harry with a smile, her enormous eyes soft in the firelight. He pinched himself. "Ouch!"
"Harry? What's the matter?" Ginny's smile quickly became a concerned frown.
Harry felt his face go red. "Nothing, I was just--never mind," he shook his head. Ginny looked perplexed, so to distract her he said the first thing that came to mind. "Ginny, would you like to dance?"
"What? Here?" Ginny glanced around at the empty common room.
Harry stood and pulled her up with him. "Well, since we were interrupted at the Ball we missed the last dance," he said with a grin, "and I happen to know it was going to be a waltz."
Ginny laughed and stepped comfortably into their familiar dance hold. They twirled and turned in a silent waltz around the room before Harry brought them to a stop in front of the hearth. He pulled Ginny closer, bringing their clasped hands to rest over his heart as they swayed slowly by the fire.
"Harry?" she murmured after a moment, lifting her head from his shoulder. "I had a really nice time with you tonight. Thank you for taking me to the Ball."
Harry shook his head. "No, thank you, Ginny. And I'm sorry it didn't turn out exactly the way I planned."
"You mean the part where we almost got killed by a rogue hall ornament?" Ginny's eyes twinkled merrily. "I don't know, I think it turned out for the best." She looked up at him meaningfully. "Don't you?"
Harry had to grin, too, as he leaned down to answer her with a kiss. It struck him as incredibly ironic that Malfoy was responsible for his present happiness, and this humourous thought contributed even further to his high spirits. His smile broadened as he pulled away to look at Ginny. "Did I mention how beautiful you look tonight?" he asked her. "Because if I didn't, you do. And it isn't just because of the robes," he added as she blushed and smoothed her skirt.
"They are lovely, though," Ginny sighed. "I wish I knew who--" She broke off and peered up at Harry, who was smiling sheepishly. "It was you! Oh, Harry, I hoped it was you! Thank you!" She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him happily, and it was several minutes more before they could bring themselves to say goodnight and go to bed at last.
Authors' Note: Okay, that was beyond cheesy. Sorry, we just got carried away with our own sappiness. We realize this fic is completely unrealistic, but dammit, we're tired of waiting till Book 7 for everyone to get together, so just suspend disbelief for a while and surrender to the power of pointless foof! Buwahahahahahaha! Hope that was enough R/H coupleness for everyone--since this is mostly Harry's POV it's harder to show everything that they're doing. But you can all imagine whatever you like. ;)