I
Like You, I Love You, I Hate You
A.N.: Ok, this is my first attempt at a fan fiction, so please be
kind! If people like this chapter, I'll
post the next one and so on. If people
don't like it, I may post the next chapter anyway, because I like it!
This chapter is dedicated to my friend, Heaven's Phoenix, who is always
ready to fork over any random piece of info I might need, or to read anything I
write, and who said "Write the story before you forget it!" Well, that was referring to another story,
but I found out I liked writing so much, I wrote this.
Disclaimer: All characters,
places, ideas, and everything else Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling and
Warner Bros.
CHAPTER
1:
Je
T'Adore
By
Booklovr
It
was a week before Harry Potter's last year at Hogwarts was to begin. Thus, it was Harry's last day at the
Dursley's--perhaps ever. He was to
travel to the Burrow at sunset, and the Weasley's would take him to Diagon
Alley to get his school things in the morning.
He would then remain with them until he went to Hogwarts. The next summer, he and his best friend, Ron
Weasley, intended to find an apartment somewhere in the wizarding world. With luck, Harry would never see his Aunt
Petunia, Uncle Vernon, or cousin Dudley again.
The Dursleys had mixed feelings about this: they would be rid of him
forever, but they had always hated to see Harry happy.
His
last dinner with them was a salad and cold turkey sandwiches, but Harry
couldn't have cared less. He didn't
even mind when the Dursleys insisted on keeping him busy as long as possible,
trying to delay him by forcing Harry to thoroughly clean his tiny bedroom,
until all traces of his ever living there were removed. At 6:29, they all stood together in the
Dursley's living room. Harry had his
trunk next to him, his wand, broom, and Invisibility Cloak in hand. One by one, he silently and solemnly shook
hands with his last living relatives.
Dudley attempted to get some final satisfaction by breaking Harry's
hand, but his oversized fist really had no muscle in it at all. Then, the clock struck 6:30, and Dudley ran
as if a Filibuster Firework was after him.
Suddenly, two boys appeared in the
middle of the room. They had bright red
hair and freckles, though the latter feature was much faded now that the
Weasley twins were nineteen.
"Hello!" greeted Fred, holding out
his hand to Vernon Dursley.
Vernon backed up as if he was
afraid the hand might explode. A fairly
reasonable assumption, actually. Fred
shrugged.
"Ready, Harry?" asked George. "You won't get lost?"
Harry shook his head. Fred and George picked up the trunk and
together Disapparated with it to the Burrow.
Harry, being too young to Apparate, would have to fly the whole way.
As he mounted his broom, Harry
heard his Uncle say "And I never want to see your face in this house again!"
Harry just smiled, and threw the
Invisibility Cloak over himself. "Don't
worry," he said. "I wouldn't come back
for all the Wizard gold in the world." As
he flew out the open French doors, Harry made a mental note to write them and
tell them just how much Wizard gold he had.
That would make them mad!
And he thought with a grin, maybe send them a picture of
myself as well. Just so they can see my
face again!
Harry flew off into the
twilight. As he rose, he passed his
owl, Hedwig, sleeping in a tree.
Supposedly, she would fly to the Burrow later that night, although Harry
wouldn't blame her if she stayed there until school started; Hedwig really
didn't like Ron's owl, Pigwidgeon.
Harry flew until about midnight, occasionally using a simple charm on
his wand to make sure he was headed in the right direction. As he looked down on the Burrow, he noticed
three figures in the yard: two spots of red hair, and one of icy blond. He was looking at Ron's oldest brother,
Bill, returning from a date. According
to Ron, Bill was spending the summer at the Burrow because it had been so long
since his last visit, and he was currently dating none other than the former
Beauxbatons Tri-Wizard Champion, Fleur Delacour. The other head appeared to be Ron, hiding behind a bush. Harry landed next to him.
"What are you doing out here?"
whispered Harry.
"I was waiting for you, and the
two lovebirds here just Apparated in!" answered Ron. "Hey, I thought you were coming by the Knight Bus?"
"Umm, yeah, and when your mother
sees me tomorrow, remember that."
Just then, Bill and Fleur finished
saying their silent goodnight. Bill
started to go inside, then paused with a hand on the door. "Fleur," he said, "I love you so much."
Harry and Ron could tell that this
wasn't the result of Fleur's part-Veela charm, for she was obviously shocked
and flustered.
"I-I," she stammered, "Bill, je
t'adore!"
Bill stared for a moment in shock,
then slammed the door shut. Fleur
turned away, looking hurt, confused, and ashamed all at once. Harry and Ron had never seen the French
witch look like that before, and were baffled when she Disapparated, nearly in
tears.
"What did she say?"
demanded Harry.
"It sounded like 'shut the door,'"
said Ron.
"No, she said something
French. 'Je t'adore,' I think."
"Well, we can ask Hermione
tomorrow in Diagon alley," offered Ron, standing up. "She speaks some French.
I suggest we use that broom to get to my room, though. I think after being dumped like that, Bill
will probably sulk in the kitchen all night.
*****
When Harry came down for breakfast
the next morning, he was greeted heartily by the Weasleys. It was much like all the other times Harry
had visited, only Percy wasn't there; he had his own place now. In his place was a very depressed looking
Bill. Fred and George were bent over
something on the table, probably another "invention" for the practical joke
shop they would be opening soon. Mrs.
Weasley was smiling, so she obviously didn't know that Harry hadn't taken the
Knight Bus. Mr. Weasley was reading the
Daily Prophet. Harry sat down
between Ron and Ginny, the youngest Weasley and only girl.
"Good morning!" said Harry as Mrs.
Weasley served him a breakfast that probably contained more food than he had
eaten every day that summer, combined.
"Hello," said Ginny. "We figured we'd let you sleep in, since you couldn't have gotten
much sleep on the Knight Bus." As Harry
started on his breakfast, he noted somewhere on the back of his mind how much
Ginny had matured since they had first met.
She was no longer just Ron's annoying little sister, and she didn't
blush every time she looked at him.
After breakfast, Ron, Harry,
Ginny, and Mrs. Weasley used Floo Powder to get to Diagon Alley. No sooner had they stepped onto the street,
than Ginny suddenly turned white. "Oh,
no!" she gasped. "It's that Colin
Creevey again! Did he see me? Is he coming this way?" She dodged into a nearby shop.
Mrs. Weasley looked shocked. "Ah, boys, meet us here at noon,
alright? Have fun," and she ran into
the shop after Ginny.
"What was that all about?" asked
Harry.
"Colin's been coming to see Ginny
all summer," Ron explained. "She tells
him she isn't interested, but he's too persistent. Even Mum is at the end of her patience!"
"I know," said Harry. "Oh, no!
He's got that camera!" Harry
ducked into a shop on the other side before Colin could see him. Harry was not in the mood for signing
photographs.
About an hour later, Harry and Ron
were sitting at a table outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor eating
large sundaes. Hermione Granger, their
other best friend, had just spotted them and was weaving her way over.
"Hey!" she shouted, "Guess
what?" Hermione sat down, grinning.
"You were made Head Girl," Ron
said, promptly.
"How'd you guess?" Hermione was a
bit put out.
"Uh, you're wearing the Head Girl
badge?" pointed out Ron.
"Oh, right," Hermione held her
head up proudly. "Did you know there
hasn't been a Muggle-born Head Boy or Girl in ten years?"
"Um, yes," said Ron. "You said it about twenty times last year
while you were studying for finals."
Hermione gave him a look, like Ron
was ruining the best day of her life.
"So," Harry interrupted before
they began trying to kill each other, "do you know any French, Hermione?" It was a bad distraction, but it worked.
"Of course!" she said. "I know tons! I had to learn to speak it when I went to France a few years
ago."
"Yeah, you know a lot of
Bulgarian, too," said Ron, accusingly.
"Oh, Ron!" said Hermione, "Grow
up! I only visited Viktor one
time! Stop acting like a child!"
"So, how is old Viky?" said Ron,
half teasing, half glowering.
"Knock it off! I haven't even heard from him in years, and
you know it! I know what your problem
is." Hermione sniffed. "You're just jealous because I spent the
summer with him and you only got an autograph."
"I'm not jealous!" shouted
Ron. "I-"
"Getting back to the French," Harry interrupted,
giving Ron a look. Together they
explained the scene with Fleur and Bill the night before, ending with Fleur's
words: "Je t'adore."
"Well…" Hermione hesitated. "'Je' means 'I,' and 't'' is
short for te which is the direct object pronoun for 'you,' and 'adore'
would be the je form of the verb adorer-"
"Skip the grammar lesson and just
give us a translation," said Ron.
"Well, it means 'I' something
'you.'"
"You don't know what it means?"
"Ummm, no."
"Mark the calendar!" shouted
Ron. "Hermione doesn't know something!"
"My guess," Hermione continued,
ignoring him, "Is she either said 'I love you,' 'I hate you,' or something
similar. But 'I love you' is je t'aime
and 'I hate you' is je te deteste.
I've never heard je t'adore."
"Never?" asked Harry.
"Nope. I've heard aimer, to love, ardorer, to adore…"
"Maybe," put in Ron, "she did just
say 'shut the door.'" Hermione didn't
look convinced.
*****
A week later, the three were at Platform 9 ¾ at
King's Cross Station in London, preparing to board the Hogwarts Express. They had loaded their trunks onto the train
and were just going back to find Mrs. Weasley and Ginny (Harry suspected a
certain sixth year photographer was behind their disappearance) when Ron was
approached by a familiar blonde.
"Fleur!" said Ron.
He was surprised to see her, but obviously was far more comfortable
around her then the last time Harry had seen them together. "What are you doing here?"
"Eez," stammered Fleur, "eez your brozer Beel here?"
"Um, no," said Ron, probably planning a way to ask
what she had said to Bill. "What…what
happened between you two?"
"He closed ze door on me!" she cried.
"From what I heard," said Ron, "you told him to. 'Shut the door,' you said."
"No!" she wailed.
"I-I said," her voice dropped to a whisper, "Je t'adore." Hermione wore that I told you so
look.
"Bill doesn't speak a word of French," Ron pointed
out. "What does that mean? In English?"
"I-I do not know," murmured Fleur.
"You don't know?" said Ron incredulously.
"I have never heard eet said in Eenglish." She walked off, sobbing.
"Remind me to tell her when we figure out what it
means," said Ron.
"Well, we can buy a French-English dictionary in
Hogsmeade," offered Hermione. Then she
squinted at a distant car of the train.
"Hey!" she shouted and ran down the train towards some fifth year with a
very large bag.
Just then, Harry and Ron spotted Ginny and Mrs.
Weasley. "Help!" said Ginny. "Colin's sitting in the compartment with my
friends. Can I sit with you?"
"Why can't your friends just throw him out?"
demanded a thoroughly annoyed Ron.
"Ugh," said Ginny, "you know Jane has the worst
crush on him. She'll never throw him
out!"
"All right, but you can't make any noise!" said Ron.
"Ron!" warned Mrs. Weasley.
"Oh, fine, you can make noise, but don't bug us!"
"Good, my trunk's already in your compartment."
Ron looked like he wanted to say something, but just
then the train whistle blew. Ron, Harry
and Ginny said hurried good-byes and hopped on the train. The parents and siblings on the platform
backed up, and the train took off.
Within minutes, the people on the platform had disappeared from sight.
Ron stuck his head out the door. Hermione was standing next to the same fifth
year, trying to confiscate a large bag of dung bombs. "Hermione!" Ron hissed.
"Cool it! The term doesn't even
start until tonight." Hermione gave the
boy and I'm not finished with you look and then joined Ron, Harry and
Ginny.
"Hmph," said Ron.
"This year will go down as the Evil, Tyrannical Reign of Lady Hermione
and Lord…who's the Head Boy?"
"Albert Foogus," she said. "He's a Slytherin."
"How in the world did a Slytherin get to be Head
Boy?" demanded Ron.
"Same way I did: good grades," she retorted. "They aren't all like Malfoy, you know!"
"This is going to be a bad year," moaned Ron. "I just know it! Nothing good can come from a year starting like this!"
"Considering your Divination grade, I suppose that
means we'll have a great year," said Ginny, dryly. "I got a better grade then him on last years Divination final,"
she added confidingly to Hermione and Harry.
"You were doing Tarot cards!" shouted Ron. "Those are easy! We were reading animal entrails!" His face went white. "Ugh, I still can't believe she made us do
that!"
Hermione chuckled.
"I'm glad I dropped that class!"
"Shaddap," muttered Ron.
"So," said Ginny, "I hear there's an opening for a
Chaser on the Quidditch team."
"Yes," said Harry.
"Why, you thinking of trying out?
"No, you can't!" moaned Ron. "I'm the Beater!"
"So?" said Ginny.
Ron just fumed and muttered something about being followed. Ginny ignored him. "Bet you get to be the Captain, Harry."
"I dunno," said Harry. "We'll see."
"Oh, come on!" Ginny said. "You're the most experienced team member. Six years already!"
Two weeks later, the Quidditch trials were
held. Harry was elected Captain of
Gryffindor team, and Ginny became the newest Chaser. Ron accused Harry of favoritism, until Harry reminded him that
Madame Hooch chose new team members.
So, Ron stayed quiet and gave Ginny a dirty look whenever she showed up
for Quidditch practice.
He cheered up, though, when the students were given
a trip to Hogsmeade on Halloween.
"Good!" said Ron. "We can go
visit Fred and George. They finally got
their joke shop set up, and I think they open on Halloween."
"Do you think they have a French-English
dictionary?" wondered Hermione.
"Is that still bothering you?" wondered Harry.
"She's always bugged when she doesn't know
something," said Ron.
Hermione glared.
"I'm taking a point from Gryffindor for that!"
"But you don't want to lose the House Cup," pointed
out Ron.
"And giving you one point for that logic," she said
without missing a beat. Ron grumbled about
abusing the privilege. Hermione was a
tough Head Girl. It was rumored that
she could actually smell trouble from across the school. None but the school's worst pranksters dared
to cross her. The Slytherins in
particular seemed to dislike her, but that wasn't exactly a new development.
So, Halloween came to find Harry, Ron, and Hermione
standing outside Weasley's Wizard Wheezes (Grand Opening Today!)
"Looks kind of empty," said Ron. "Think they've had any customers yet?"
"Probably," said Harry.
"Not likely," said Hermione. They shrugged and went in.
"Hello, hello!" said Fred from behind the
counter. "Welcome to-Oh, it's you."
"Have we got clients?" asked George, coming in from
a back room. "Oh, c'mon, Ron, you're
scaring off the customers!"
"You mean you haven't had any yet?" demanded
Ron. "Well, considering the service,
I'm not surprised."
Ignoring him, Hermione asked, "Do you happen to have
a French-English Dictionary we can borrow?"
"Why, yes I have one right here," said Fred. "Very convenient, huh?"
"Hey, you know what's a fun French word?" said
George. "Pneu! I like pneus, do you like pneus?"
"Yes, yes," said Hermione, reaching for the
dictionary.
Fred pulled it out of her reach. "I like pneus, too! Ron, do you have any pneus we can borrow?"
"Oh, come on," said Hermione.
"You mean you don't sell pneus?" said Ron,
joining in.
"There isn't a single pneu in this entire
village!" said George.
"Will you stop talking about tires and give
me that dictionary?" demanded Hermione.
"Say the magic word," taunted Fred, waving the
dictionary at her.
"Please," Hermione practically growled.
"Nope!" said George. Hermione narrowed her eyes.
"Come on, say it," said Ron,
Hermione mumbled something. "What?" teased George.
"Pneu," Hermione said through gritted teeth.
"Thank you!" said Fred, tossing her the
dictionary. "Now, buy something or
scram!"
"Hey," said Ron, "do you have any fake brooms? Like the kind that go five feet into the
air, then just hover?"
"You still bitter because Ginny got a spot on the team?"
asked Fred.
"No more bitter than you were when I took your old
spot," said Ron.
"Touché," said Fred. "If you look over here-"
"Ron," said Hermione, "Grow up! She got a part on the team. When will you get over it?"
"When you find a cure for sibling rivalry," stated
George.
"Something you only children will never
understand," added Ron.
Hermione looked a little hurt.
Later, in the Three Broomsticks, Hermione and Ron
were glaring at each other over glasses of butterbeer. Harry sat in the awkward silence, wondering
what on Earth he should say.
"Hey, guys!" said Ginny, coming over. "Ooh, a French-English dictionary. What are you doing?"
That seemed to break the tension. Ron was now glaring at Ginny and Hermione
was flipping through the dictionary. "I'll
look up the word, you bring this to your brothers, and then I'll never speak to
you again."
"Fine by me!" shouted Ron.
"We're trying to figure out what Fleur said to
Bill," Harry explained to Ginny.
"Although I can't quite figure out why they are so mad."
"Because he's a total immature jerk!" Hermione
shouted. "I hate you," she added to
Ron.
"Good, because I hate you!" Ron shouted back.
"Good!"
"Good!"
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
"And the mystery phrase is…" Hermione looked
down. "Uh, I-I-I'm, uh," she stuttered. Suddenly, she jumped up and ran out the
door.
"Hermione!" shouted Ron. "Where the-Where are you-Get back here!" He ran off after her.
Ginny nodded.
"I give them five minutes before they're best friends again. Once you break the silent treatment, you're
as good as made up."
They sat a few minutes in silence. Finally, Harry reached for the
dictionary. "Might as well find out
what it means-"
Just then, there was a loud commotion outside. Harry and Ginny ran to the door. There was a crowd gathered in an alley a
short distance away. Hogsmeade law
enforcement agents (the Peacekeepers) fought their way through the
onlookers. Harry and Ginny ran over.
"What's going on?" asked Harry.
"Fight," said some kid.
"They're arresting three guys, and two kids nearly
got killed," added an adult. The crowd
was parting.
First came two teenage boys, maybe nineteen, who
looked like an older version of Crabbe and Goyle. A murmur ran through the crowd, and Harry had the impression he
was looking at the local tough guys.
Then came someone who made Harry look twice. A tall, dark-haired boy, considered
good-looking by most of the Hogwarts girls, now sporting a black eye and bloody
nose: Albert Foogus.
But that was nothing to the shock Harry got
next. The victims were being carried
out. Two kids Harry's age, faces beaten
almost to the point where Harry couldn't recognize them. One was a girl with long brown hair. The other one-
"Oh my God!" screamed Ginny. "That's my brother!"
*****
Ron awoke, and immediately knew it was a bad
idea. His head hurt so much, he
couldn't figure out where he was, though it looked familiar. He tried to sit up. An even worse idea. His eyes focused on an open book on a table
next to the bed he was in. Focused on
the words. Oh, I see, he though,
before collapsing into the pillow and back into unconsciousness.
*****
Hermione awoke with the feeling that she'd slept for
at least two days. She was weak and
starving, and the hospital wing seemed empty.
The window opened to the Hogwarts grounds, but the sky outside was
velvet-black.
She struggled to sit up, then stand, then walk. She got as far as the next bed before
collapsing into a chair next to it.
Ron lay in that bed. Most of his bruises had been healed, but a few remained. Those that might have caused a concussion or
ruptured organs had to be dealt with slowly and carefully.
Hermione sobbed.
"Oh, Ron, this is all my fault!"
His eyes were closed, his face unresponsive. "Why did I run out? I
couldn't bring myself to say…but why? I
was mad, but God, I can't remember why!"
Tears rolled down her face. "He dragged me down that alley. Said they didn't want a-a mudblood
Head Girl." She stopped to try to gain
control of her sobbing. "It hurt so
much, I can't even remember much…then you came. They took your wand, but you still fought!" The sobbing started again. "Oh, Ron!
They could have killed me! I
thought it was all over, then you came…" She leaned down, close to Ron. "If anything happens to you…what I'm trying
to say…Ron, Je t'adore!"
Suddenly, Ron sat up and kissed her on the
lips. "Hermione, I'm crazy about you,
too!"
AN: This
story was created as a result of a month-long lack of books. Neurons began firing at random in my brain,
and took the form of this fan fiction.
Also, part of it was written after midnight. So, if in writing this, I accidentally used an idea of another
author, my sincere apologies, it was unintentional, don't blame me, blame my
neurons!!
Asking you to review is probably just fishing for
compliments, but it's my first fic, so please humor me?
