Disclaimer:
All characters and places belong to J.K. Rowling, la la la, you know the drill.
A/N I'm baaaaaaack with part 2 of my R/H fic. I am sooo sorry it took so long to get this up; I was really busy with schoolwork and studying during the last few weeks of school (thank GOD it's finally over!) and I had a difficult writing this; I literally wrote it line by line. But anyway, moving right along, thanks to Eliza and Taylor for reading and giving feedback, I really appreciate it! And of course, thanks to the lovely people who reviewed part 1 (except for Aiden H. the H stands for HOE! lol) Without further ado, here is part 2! (hey that rhymes! ^-^)
Ron
rose later than usual the next morning due to the fact that he spent most of the
sleepless night trying to comprehend why Hermione had gotten so angry with him. He simply could not understand how giving her a pointless card reading
could trigger such an outburst. I
mean, she was the one who demanded that we do the reading… why on Earth is she
getting so mad at me. He kept
replaying the evening's events in his mind, becoming more and more puzzled and
annoyed by Hermione's behavior. Had
he said something to offend her? (As
usual, he thought
glumly.) Was it the reading itself that infuriated her? Or was it something else
entirely that Ron just hadn't grasped yet?
"Ron, hurry up, we're gonna miss breakfast." Ron was jolted out of
his thoughts by Harry's feeble shout. He
looked almost as tired as Ron felt; his shoulders sagged as he tied his shoes,
the dark circles under his eyes were magnified by his glasses. Ron figured his friend's appearance was a result of all his
Quidditch training. He finished
pulling on his robes and the two of them lumbered down to the Great Hall for a
quick breakfast, then trudged back up seven flights of stairs for their 1st
class of the day- Divination.
"Oh, no!" Harry burst out suddenly, "I completely forgot to do that
card thingy! And we're supposed
to read those in front of the class, right?"
"Err, I think-" Ron muttered nervously; the very mention of card
readings reminded him of Hermione's livid display, which made him feel
uncomfortable.
"Did you do yours? Can I
see it?" Harry asked breathlessly, setting his bag down to fish out parchment
and a quill.
"Um- yeah I did mine, but it's kinda… I think I may have screwed it
up-"
"I don't care, I just want to see how it's supposed to be set
up." Ron nodded, pulled out his project, and reluctantly handed it to Harry. As Harry briefly scanned Ron's paper, his brow creased in mild
perplexity and asked, "Whose cards did you read?" Ron sighed out of slight aggravation as well as embarrassment before
answering, "Hermione. It was
really strange. After I told her
about the assignment, she forced me to actually give her a reading rather than
make something up, but once I did, she blew up at me and stormed off. It's been sorta bugging me; I have no clue why she's upset."
Harry's
furrowed brow evaporated and comprehension emerged on his face as he reread
Ron's assignment.
"You really don't know why she got so mad?" Harry asked, smiling
almost in a patronizing way.
"No, Harry," Ron replied indignantly, "I don't. Why, am I
supposed to? Do you
know what's going on? Would you
be so kind at to fill me in? Since
it seems that I'm the only one in the dark."
"C'mon, we're gonna be late." Harry said, hastily changing the
subject.
* * *
Shortly
after the two arrived in Professor Trelawney's classroom class begun, leaving
Harry very little time to scribble his homework.
"Hello, my dears, I'm very excited to see how well your card readings
went. Who would like to volunteer
to go first?" Parvati's and
Lavender's hands shot straight up. Professor
Trelawney smiled warmly but said, "Now, now, girls, I know how eager you are
to participate, but I predicted that I must give some of the less enthusiastic
students a chance to go first. I
have foreseen that certain people's grades shall suffer if they don't
contribute to the class." Parvati and Lavender hung their heads, crestfallen.
"Now, let's see, who shall we go with," she glanced around the class and
her eyes landed on Ron. "Ah yes, that'll do nicely. Mr. Weasley, would you care to present?" Ron, grumbling crossly, stood up and walked to stand in front of
Professor Trelawney's winged chair. He
cleared his throat and began:
"Okay,
I read my friend's cards and- I don't have to say their name, do I?" Ron
asked Professor Trelawney, who shook her head, causing her dangly beaded
earrings to hit her in the face, "Okay, well the reading went like this: Her
Inner Self card said "Be patient, everything shall pay off soon" and that
relates to her because- I guess she's a patient person? I dunno." Ron's lack of assurance in his presentation received several snickers
from Parvati and Lavender's side of the room.
"Her 'Energy Around You' card says that 'a brief meeting will
cause much confusion.' I guess
that's referring to something confusing that's gonna happen to her…
"
Ron paused a moment, Hmmm, my "meeting"
with Hermione last night sure caused a lot of confusion at least for me…what a
coincidence. Ron snapped out of his thought and continued,
"…her 'Past' card says ' A dark, older man is working to make
things come out right for you.'" Ron stopped again and suddenly felt as
though someone had pulled a blindfold off his eyes, allowing him to see clearly
what had once been obscured. Viktor!
Of course, the dark, older man in Hermione's life, it's Viktor! Ron
felt the familiar anger bubble within him; he had never been on great terms
concerning Hermione's relationship with Viktor. Ron resumed, faltering the slightest bit,
"…a-and her Hope or Fear card says that 'you will marry sooner than
you think?!" Ron said, beginning to get a bit hysterical. Oh
my God, this is saying that she's going to marry Viktor! This can't be happening! he thought wildly, blanching.
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to interrupt here," Professor
Trelawney's misty voice interrupted Ron's panicked musings, "In this type
of deck that we're using, there are cards that are not always interpreted
literally. Cards like this one
about marriage are can be referring to some kind of relationship, usually the
beginning of a new one."
Ron
let out a small sigh of relief, but noticed something strange going on among his
classmates: Lavender's eyes had suddenly lit up, and whispered something to
Parvati, who turned and whispered to Seamus and Dean with the same knowing,
almost shrewd glint in her eyes. Then,
oddly enough, the four of them looked imploringly at Harry, who nodded
discreetly, which caused Lavender and Parvati to giggle behind their hands and
Seamus and Dean to glance up at Ron, smiling mischievously. Neville watched all of this, looking more confused than Ron felt. This display caused Ron's ears to redden with embarrassment. It was obvious that his audience knew something that he
didn't, and he hated the sinking feeling of stupidity that was steadily
growing within him because of this one simple reading. Perturbed, Ron went on:
"…and then the "People Around You" card says that "Ignorance is
Bliss." Yeah right, Ron thought bitterly, I seem to be
very ignorant about this stupid reading, but it is in no way blissful. Suddenly, Ron looked back at the reading and re-read the
heading "People Around You." Hmmm, I'm
a person around Hermione… could this reading have anything to do with me? With
this thought in mind, he continued, "…her obstacle is "Don't wait too
long before saying yes," which most likely refers to…" he thought a moment
to find intelligent words to explain this card, hoping to negate his
classmates' apparent assumption that he was completely stupid, "…a
decision that has to be made by one of the parties involved in this reading."
He smirked momentarily, but after he said it, the words made him ponder even
more, Hmm, 'a person involved in the
reading…which person? Does
Hermione have to decide something, or is it one of the 'other people
involved?' And which
'other person' is it; Viktor? Me? Oh, what does it all mean?!
Mind
bubbling with frustration, Ron completed his presentation, "…And the outcome
is your wish…which means the person who got this reading will get whatever she
wishes for or something…" Your wish,
your wish, WHAT IS HER WISH?!?! Ron went back to his seat, where his irritation compelled him
to peruse his paper again, trying to put the pieces together, Okay,
so if I look at the "Hope" card, Hermione is wanting to start a new
relationship with someone, and that will probably come to pass because her
outcome card is "Your Wish." Boy, I wish I knew who
she wants to get with…wait a minute… if I look at the "People Around
You" card, it would make sense for that person to be who Hermione wants… and
if I can assume that the "Ignorance is Bliss" person is me, is it
possible…could it be that she…oh my Lord-
"Hermione
likes me!" Ron unintentionally shouted his conclusion for all the class to
hear. He slapped his hand over his mouth, completely horrified, as
the entire class turned their attention from a floundering Neville (who had been
called on after Ron) to him.
"Um…may
I be excused?" Without waiting for an answer, Ron bolted from his seat,
through the trapdoor, down the silver staircase, and down to the 1st
floor boy's bathroom, clutching the reading firmly in his fist. After wrenching the door open, Ron leaned against it, heart pounding
more rapidly with every moment that passed. Hermione likes me, Hermione likes me,
oh my God, HERMIONE LIKES ME! Ron's
mind was reeling with jumbled thoughts, This
is unbelievable, when did Hermione start to like me? Ron
took several deep breaths and walked over to one of the sinks and splashed cool
water in his face, but noting seemed to be able to rid him of the strange
feverish feeling.
"Okay
Ron, relax, just try to calm down," he said, being comforted by the sound of
his own voice. "You can handle
this, I mean, it's Hermione, your best friend for five years. All you have to do is figure out how to tell her-"
Tell
her what,
exactly? A little voice
interrupted him in mid-sentence. What
do you think of all
this? Ron felt himself freeze up as he realize he didn't have
answers to the voice's question. What
did
he think of this whole situation? What
was
he going to tell Hermione? The
familiar panic rose up in him again as the voice asked him one final question: Do
you like Hermione back or not?
Suddenly,
the bell rang, indicating the end of 1st period, causing Ron's
heart to give a great jolt of surprise. People
poured out of their classrooms, chattering and giggling and heading to their
next class. Ron, still reeling, ran
from the bathroom, confused and rattled, heading for the common room. He ran down the hall, eyes glued resolutely to his feet,
determined to leave all the awkwardness of the Hermione situation behind him. As he was turning the last corner before he reached the marble staircase,
he collide with someone, causing the person's numerous books to fall to the
floor with a deafening thud.
"Err- sorry," Ron stammered as he bent down to collect the scattered
volumes, not even bothering to look at the person.
"It's okay," said a familiar female voice above him. Ron slowly looked up at her, and had an overwhelming sense of
synchronicity when he realized whom it was…
"Hermione," he croaked, unsure whether the squirming feeling in his
stomach was dread or…something else entirely.
Ron
stood up and handed the books to Hermione.
"Thanks," she muttered, looking almost as flustered at Ron did.
"Um- I was wondering- we need to- I have to- can we talk for a minute?"
"S-sure, I guess," Hermione lightly put her hand on Ron's forearm
and led him to an empty classroom across the hall. Ron's heart began beating so hard against his chest that he was sure it
were trying to escape the confines of his ribs. Once inside, Hermione closed the classroom door and turned to face Ron. She took a deep breath and spoke:
"I just wanted to apologize for acting the way I did last night, I was
just tired I guess, I really shouldn't have stormed off because of that
reading, it was just so silly of me." Hermione
was talking very quickly, as if she'd lose her nerve if she didn't get it
all out right away. "I can't
believe how rude I was. I just
wanted you to know that I'm sorry and that- well- yeah, that's it." When she was done, she smiled, but Ron could tell that something wasn't
right. Her smile looked forced and
fake, and her eyes betrayed a sense of discontent and defeat, as if she had lost
something. At a loss for words, Ron
just stared at her until Hermione spoke again:
"So, do you forgive me?"
"Huh? Oh, sure Hermione, but-"
"Good, alright then, we'd better be off to class, we'll be late if
we don't hurry,"
Hermione
turned to the door, but Ron stepped in from of her so that he blocked her way
out of the room.
"Ron, what are you doing?" she asked, sounding weary.
"I-I know what the reading was talking about!" he burst out, suddenly
desperate.
Hermione
gasped and her eyes lit up. "You
did?" she asked, "Really?"
"Yeah, it's about how-" but Ron stopped talking as Hermione wrapped
her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder, sending a shock
throughout his body.
"I knew it, I knew you'd figure it out, oh Ron, I'm so happy!"
She pulled away just enough so she could beam up at him. In that moment, as Ron gazed down at Hermione's elated face, her warm
chocolate eyes that were shining just for him, it finally felt real to him, it
felt right.
"Me too, Hermione," and with that, Ron leaned in and gently kissed
her, causing the room to spin. When
he withdrew, Ron, chuckling, said, "I guess you can't say you don't
believe in Divination anymore, can you?"
Hermione
pretended to glare at him, but started chuckling herself. "Shut up, you."
and with that, the two left the room, hand in hand.