Chapter Two: Ron's Favorite Wheezy
Ginny had found Hermione hidden in a corner of the library, staring down at the
same page of her Arithmancy book--and it was still upside down--and still looking as if she
were on the verge of tears. How she managed to convince her to go, Ginny never knew but
once convinced, Hermione was as eager as she to get to the stands. Somehow they managed
to find two of the last available good seats. Hermione by all accounts seemed more nervous
than either Ron or Harry and ginny had a hard time not laughing at her as she continuously
twisted her fingers up in her robes. Hermione had told Ginny exactly what and how she had
said what she had to Ron and his sister had been more than reassuring that Ron's nerves were
the only reason he had taken it so badly. However graciously Ron might re-interpret her words,
it still didn't excuse her saying them, and Hermione knew that she was going to keep beating
herself up about this for a long time. Why on earth did it matter so much, anyway, if she hurt
Ron's feelings? He was always saying whatever he liked whenever he liked without thinking
about the consequences. But that was no excuse for her to do the same. Sighing, Hermione
buried her face in her hands and prayed that the Quidditch match would start soon so she
would have something else to think about than the look on Ron's face.
"Am I late?"
Beside her Ginny let out a loud shriek--honestly, Hermione had never seen
anyone so prone to screaming--and flung her arms around a stocky figure standing in front of
them whose shock of red hair could only belong to a Weasley.
"What are you doing here?" Ginny asked a moment later, stepping away from her
brother to sit back down.
Smiling, Charlie Weasley cheerfully sat down between Ginny and Hermione,
clearly amused by his sister's antics. Hermione said nothing but smiled a trifle shakiliy when he
said hello. She didn't know what to make of Charlie. He was such a strange mix of all the
Weasleys she knew well that she couldn't figure out what to say to him.
"I came to watch Ron play his first game of Quidditch. I thought it was only
fitting, seeing that I am his favorite berother."
Ginny burst into a fit of giggles as he said this and the grin that spread across
Charlie's face in response was so wide it nearly split his ears. Hermione looked from one to the
other in utter confusion. Ron had a favorite brother among the five brothers that he was always
so desperately seeking to outshine? It didn't make any sense...he always seemed as if he
despised them...Percy, anyway. Noticing Hermione's confusion when her giggles finally
abated, Ginny playfully poked Charlie and explained,
"It's a joke that Bill and Charlie started."
Hermione nodded but the tilt of her brows clearly signified that she didn't
understand and Ginny laughed again as Charlie tickled her before offering Hermione a better
explanation.
"It's Perce's fault, actually. He was a stuffed shirt from the time he was three and by
the time he was seven, we decided to ignore him all together. Similar to everything else he has
ever done, Percy was ahead of his age, and strutted around the house claiming that since he
was closer to the twins, Ron, and Ginny in age, he knew more about them and was their
"favorite" brother. Two days of this was enough to set us off. Bill sort of adopted the twins and
promised them all sorts of things if they told Percy every day for a week whenever they saw
him that Bill was their favorite brother. That left me with Ron, who enjoyed irritating Percy so
much by saying I was his favorite brother, he still says it whenever someone asks and Perce is
in earshot. We left Gin out of it though...we knew she'd blab to Percy it was all a scam. He
still doesn't know."
Shaking his head at Percy, Charlie laughed to himself and Hermione couldn't help
but smile. The Weasley family was certainly one-of-a-kind. There was a part of her that felt
sorry for Percy but the image of him strutting around as a seven year-old was too funny even
for her not to see the humor in the situation. Pretending to be put out at Charlie for saying she
was a blabbermouth, Ginny winked at Hermione and asked,
"Don't you have a dragon to tame somewhere?"
"Actually, Gin, I'm on holiday. One of my scaly charges, come to think of it, it
was Harry's Horntail...she got a little too friendly and this was the result," Charlie answered
grimly, rolling up his sleeve to reveal a deep gash running from his shoulder to his wrist.
Both girls recoiled at the sight of the cut, the skin around it inflamed as if burned,
and Charlie winced slightly as he replaced his sleeve, his voice deliberately cheerful as he
continued,
"Took a swipe at me and before I could get away, she set it on fire. Not a good
combination. Three weeks off and bedrest became my sentence...so I thought I'd come home
for some peace and quiet. There is no peace, though there certainly is quiet, at the Burrow with
Percy living there. I couldn't stand it anymore, so I thought I'd come watch Ron. Didn't figure
I'd tell him, though. He's got enough on his mind without having to worry about
impressing me."
"I'm glad you came. Hermione's too much for me to handle on my own," Ginny
replied, moving closer to her brother and grinning wickedly at Hermione.
Glaring at her, Hermione flushed as Charlie gave her a lengthy look, his brows
drawing together in the same fashion that Ron's did and he smiled faintly.
"Ron tells me you're in correspondence with Viktor Krum," he said softly.
Hermione blinked, blushed, and nodded, furioulsy fighting back the irritation
building within her towards ron. What was he doing telling his brother about her personal
affairs?! If he was just bragging about his fantastic Krum impersination, she would throttle him,
even if she had said a cutting thing ot him at breakfast. Charlie frowned at nothing in
particular and said in an even softer tone,
"Be careful, Hermione. Durmstrang is not necessarily the best school to be
associating with."
Now he was catching it too. What had Ron been telling him?! Imagining exactly
what she was going to say to the youngest Mr. Weasley after his silly Quidditch match was
overwith, Hermione began to scowl and crossed her arms. Why did everyone except Harry
and herself think that Viktor was up to no good? They couldn't be more wrong...Viktor was
really very gentle...at least he had been with her. She couldn't imagine him doing anything
cruel, unless he was mounted on a broomstick and in the midst of a Quidditch game. Sensing
Charlie's gaze on her, Hermione tossed her head and said without thinking,
"I think you really are his favorite brother."
"Whatever gave you that idea?" Charlie asked, laughing.
"He wouldn't have told you about Viktor otherwise."
"Perhaps," Charlie said mysteriously, grinning at her before slipping his
non-burned arm aroudn Ginny.
Were all the Weasley men aggravating or was it just her imagination?! Hermione
bit back a scream of frustration at Charlie's ability to aggravate her as well as Ron even though
she knew he was well aware of her need to scream. Perhaps she was as bad as Ginny when it
came to letting out unnecessary shrieks. Before Charlie had seemed a jigsaw puzzle of all the
Weasleys she knew but now he was all Ron. She didn't believe that his being Ron's favorite
brother was a joke...at least not anymore. Charlie knew him too well to simply be carrying out
an extended joke on Percy. And it would mean a lot to Ron that he had skipped out on time at
home to come and watch, considering how little the Weasley family saw either of the elder
brothers, especially if he played as well as Hermione knew he was capable of. With a start, she
realized that she wasn't mad at Ron anymore for telling Charlie about Viktor's writing her. It
had probalby only been an off-hand remark--though Ron never really said anything about
Viktor "off-hand"--but it meant that he was still worried about the extent of her relationship
with Krum. As ridiculous as it was for him to still be thinking that Viktor couldn't be trusted,
she couldn't help but smile at his caring about it at all. Unaware that the two Weasley siblings
in her company were watching her, Hermione continued to smile about nothing at all. She
didn't even hear them when they burst into laughter.
"Definitely too much for you to handle on your own, Gin," Charlie said merrily,
waving a hand covered with scars from past burns in front of Hermione's face while Ginny
continued to laugh.
An impish gleam entered Hermione's eye and she promptly elbowed Charlie in the
ribs, careful to avoid jarring his burnt arm. Crying out more in surprise than in pain, Charlie
threw her a flabergasted look and Hermione laughed as she said,
"That was for being Ron's favorite brother."
Ginny laughed again, unable to keep from thinking that this was the most fun she
had ever had before a Quidditch match. Continuing to look at Hermione with his flabbergasted
expression, Charlie slowly began to smile the same lop-side smile that Ron and Ginny had
and said softly,
"We're going to get along just fine, you and me."
Hermione's brows arched but she did not aruge with him, which only made him
chuckle. It was so unnerving to see Ron's smile on Charlie's face--though Charlie's was the
less crooked of teh two and Ginny's the least of the three--thank heaven their voices were
not the same or she would be in danger of losing her mind.
A cheer rose up from the Hufflepuff supporters as their team took the field and
Hermione straightened unconsciously as she looked towards the Gryffindor side. Ron would
show them...he'd show everyone that he was more than just another Weasley...more than
Harry Potter's best friend. He would.
Ginny had found Hermione hidden in a corner of the library, staring down at the
same page of her Arithmancy book--and it was still upside down--and still looking as if she
were on the verge of tears. How she managed to convince her to go, Ginny never knew but
once convinced, Hermione was as eager as she to get to the stands. Somehow they managed
to find two of the last available good seats. Hermione by all accounts seemed more nervous
than either Ron or Harry and ginny had a hard time not laughing at her as she continuously
twisted her fingers up in her robes. Hermione had told Ginny exactly what and how she had
said what she had to Ron and his sister had been more than reassuring that Ron's nerves were
the only reason he had taken it so badly. However graciously Ron might re-interpret her words,
it still didn't excuse her saying them, and Hermione knew that she was going to keep beating
herself up about this for a long time. Why on earth did it matter so much, anyway, if she hurt
Ron's feelings? He was always saying whatever he liked whenever he liked without thinking
about the consequences. But that was no excuse for her to do the same. Sighing, Hermione
buried her face in her hands and prayed that the Quidditch match would start soon so she
would have something else to think about than the look on Ron's face.
"Am I late?"
Beside her Ginny let out a loud shriek--honestly, Hermione had never seen
anyone so prone to screaming--and flung her arms around a stocky figure standing in front of
them whose shock of red hair could only belong to a Weasley.
"What are you doing here?" Ginny asked a moment later, stepping away from her
brother to sit back down.
Smiling, Charlie Weasley cheerfully sat down between Ginny and Hermione,
clearly amused by his sister's antics. Hermione said nothing but smiled a trifle shakiliy when he
said hello. She didn't know what to make of Charlie. He was such a strange mix of all the
Weasleys she knew well that she couldn't figure out what to say to him.
"I came to watch Ron play his first game of Quidditch. I thought it was only
fitting, seeing that I am his favorite berother."
Ginny burst into a fit of giggles as he said this and the grin that spread across
Charlie's face in response was so wide it nearly split his ears. Hermione looked from one to the
other in utter confusion. Ron had a favorite brother among the five brothers that he was always
so desperately seeking to outshine? It didn't make any sense...he always seemed as if he
despised them...Percy, anyway. Noticing Hermione's confusion when her giggles finally
abated, Ginny playfully poked Charlie and explained,
"It's a joke that Bill and Charlie started."
Hermione nodded but the tilt of her brows clearly signified that she didn't
understand and Ginny laughed again as Charlie tickled her before offering Hermione a better
explanation.
"It's Perce's fault, actually. He was a stuffed shirt from the time he was three and by
the time he was seven, we decided to ignore him all together. Similar to everything else he has
ever done, Percy was ahead of his age, and strutted around the house claiming that since he
was closer to the twins, Ron, and Ginny in age, he knew more about them and was their
"favorite" brother. Two days of this was enough to set us off. Bill sort of adopted the twins and
promised them all sorts of things if they told Percy every day for a week whenever they saw
him that Bill was their favorite brother. That left me with Ron, who enjoyed irritating Percy so
much by saying I was his favorite brother, he still says it whenever someone asks and Perce is
in earshot. We left Gin out of it though...we knew she'd blab to Percy it was all a scam. He
still doesn't know."
Shaking his head at Percy, Charlie laughed to himself and Hermione couldn't help
but smile. The Weasley family was certainly one-of-a-kind. There was a part of her that felt
sorry for Percy but the image of him strutting around as a seven year-old was too funny even
for her not to see the humor in the situation. Pretending to be put out at Charlie for saying she
was a blabbermouth, Ginny winked at Hermione and asked,
"Don't you have a dragon to tame somewhere?"
"Actually, Gin, I'm on holiday. One of my scaly charges, come to think of it, it
was Harry's Horntail...she got a little too friendly and this was the result," Charlie answered
grimly, rolling up his sleeve to reveal a deep gash running from his shoulder to his wrist.
Both girls recoiled at the sight of the cut, the skin around it inflamed as if burned,
and Charlie winced slightly as he replaced his sleeve, his voice deliberately cheerful as he
continued,
"Took a swipe at me and before I could get away, she set it on fire. Not a good
combination. Three weeks off and bedrest became my sentence...so I thought I'd come home
for some peace and quiet. There is no peace, though there certainly is quiet, at the Burrow with
Percy living there. I couldn't stand it anymore, so I thought I'd come watch Ron. Didn't figure
I'd tell him, though. He's got enough on his mind without having to worry about
impressing me."
"I'm glad you came. Hermione's too much for me to handle on my own," Ginny
replied, moving closer to her brother and grinning wickedly at Hermione.
Glaring at her, Hermione flushed as Charlie gave her a lengthy look, his brows
drawing together in the same fashion that Ron's did and he smiled faintly.
"Ron tells me you're in correspondence with Viktor Krum," he said softly.
Hermione blinked, blushed, and nodded, furioulsy fighting back the irritation
building within her towards ron. What was he doing telling his brother about her personal
affairs?! If he was just bragging about his fantastic Krum impersination, she would throttle him,
even if she had said a cutting thing ot him at breakfast. Charlie frowned at nothing in
particular and said in an even softer tone,
"Be careful, Hermione. Durmstrang is not necessarily the best school to be
associating with."
Now he was catching it too. What had Ron been telling him?! Imagining exactly
what she was going to say to the youngest Mr. Weasley after his silly Quidditch match was
overwith, Hermione began to scowl and crossed her arms. Why did everyone except Harry
and herself think that Viktor was up to no good? They couldn't be more wrong...Viktor was
really very gentle...at least he had been with her. She couldn't imagine him doing anything
cruel, unless he was mounted on a broomstick and in the midst of a Quidditch game. Sensing
Charlie's gaze on her, Hermione tossed her head and said without thinking,
"I think you really are his favorite brother."
"Whatever gave you that idea?" Charlie asked, laughing.
"He wouldn't have told you about Viktor otherwise."
"Perhaps," Charlie said mysteriously, grinning at her before slipping his
non-burned arm aroudn Ginny.
Were all the Weasley men aggravating or was it just her imagination?! Hermione
bit back a scream of frustration at Charlie's ability to aggravate her as well as Ron even though
she knew he was well aware of her need to scream. Perhaps she was as bad as Ginny when it
came to letting out unnecessary shrieks. Before Charlie had seemed a jigsaw puzzle of all the
Weasleys she knew but now he was all Ron. She didn't believe that his being Ron's favorite
brother was a joke...at least not anymore. Charlie knew him too well to simply be carrying out
an extended joke on Percy. And it would mean a lot to Ron that he had skipped out on time at
home to come and watch, considering how little the Weasley family saw either of the elder
brothers, especially if he played as well as Hermione knew he was capable of. With a start, she
realized that she wasn't mad at Ron anymore for telling Charlie about Viktor's writing her. It
had probalby only been an off-hand remark--though Ron never really said anything about
Viktor "off-hand"--but it meant that he was still worried about the extent of her relationship
with Krum. As ridiculous as it was for him to still be thinking that Viktor couldn't be trusted,
she couldn't help but smile at his caring about it at all. Unaware that the two Weasley siblings
in her company were watching her, Hermione continued to smile about nothing at all. She
didn't even hear them when they burst into laughter.
"Definitely too much for you to handle on your own, Gin," Charlie said merrily,
waving a hand covered with scars from past burns in front of Hermione's face while Ginny
continued to laugh.
An impish gleam entered Hermione's eye and she promptly elbowed Charlie in the
ribs, careful to avoid jarring his burnt arm. Crying out more in surprise than in pain, Charlie
threw her a flabergasted look and Hermione laughed as she said,
"That was for being Ron's favorite brother."
Ginny laughed again, unable to keep from thinking that this was the most fun she
had ever had before a Quidditch match. Continuing to look at Hermione with his flabbergasted
expression, Charlie slowly began to smile the same lop-side smile that Ron and Ginny had
and said softly,
"We're going to get along just fine, you and me."
Hermione's brows arched but she did not aruge with him, which only made him
chuckle. It was so unnerving to see Ron's smile on Charlie's face--though Charlie's was the
less crooked of teh two and Ginny's the least of the three--thank heaven their voices were
not the same or she would be in danger of losing her mind.
A cheer rose up from the Hufflepuff supporters as their team took the field and
Hermione straightened unconsciously as she looked towards the Gryffindor side. Ron would
show them...he'd show everyone that he was more than just another Weasley...more than
Harry Potter's best friend. He would.