Make Some Real Magic 5
A Counseling Session
I do not own Harry Potter in any way, shape or form.
The Yule Ball was going to be tomorrow and Ron was still dateless. Harry was taking Ginny, his best friend's sister. Both Ginny and Harry tried to make Ron to get with the program and ask someone, but all he did was stay on his bed and pet Crookshanks--Ginny mostly.
"He's going to embarrass me!" Ginny had told almost everyone.
Harry had had it. He was sick of his best friend wallowing in a pit of self-pity. It was just so unlike Ron. He was losing his sense of humor and it was making Harry go crazy. Ron was in a whole and he was dragging Harry along with him. But Harry would not stand for it--it was just so pathetic to watch Ron, a guy so funny and free loving, to look so, so, depressed.
"Ron!" Harry shouted, "you're wasting' the day! There are still some available girls out there. Come on and let's go find you one."
"Huh-uh," Ron muttered, shaking his head. "I don't want to see Hermione with that--that--jerk!"
"I still don't believe Hermione's going with him," Harry said proudly. "She just wouldn't do that! Now come on. " He tried to pull Ron out of bed, but it was hard since he was taller than he was. "Now…come on!" Crookshanks jumped from the bed and looked at Harry suspiciously.
"No! I'm not going anywhere!" Ron posted.
"Come on, Ron," Harry grunted.
"Let me go!"
"No, Ron!"
"Who do you think you are?" Ron demanded.
"I'm your best friend, that's who!" Harry retorted. "Don't do this to yourself Ron!" Harry struggled to pull Ron out of bed but it was like a dead weight.
"Just leave me alone, Harry!" Ron shouted.
"Ron, don't do this to yourself!" Harry ordered.
"What do you care anyway?" Then they began to grapple and wrestle around the floor. "I'm not going anywhere!"
"Stop it Ron! You're acting as if someone died!"
"Ow!"
"Quit it!"
"Let go of my arm!"
"It won't kill you to get out once in a while!" Harry ordered, "Try living in a cupboard under the stairs filled with spiders for eleven years and never getting a chance to get some fresh air when you feel like it!"
"Harry! You know I hate spiders!" Ron growled. "And that I'm a pathetic poor boy so leave me alone!"
"I'm not leaving from this spot until you come down!" Harry shouted.
"Well you'll have a long wait 'cause I'm not leaving!" He knocked Harry's glosses off and rolled around like a couple of idiots. In an effort to break them up, Crookshanks took a few swipes at them, but it did no good.
They wrestled around for about ten minutes until the noise of their fight brought company. Neville, Dean, Seamus and some other 5th year boys ran up the boy dorm to break up the fight.
"What's going on here?" Dean demanded.
"Just cool it!" Seamus muttered. They teamed to pull Ron and Harry apart and stood in silence as Ron and Harry got their breath, glaring at each other.
"Could someone please tell me why you're fighting?" Dean demanded.
"Yeah, you guys are supposed to be best friends," Neville reminded softly.
"Shut up, Neville!" Ron snapped.
"Is he upset because he doesn't have a date?" Dean questioned. "You can still ask someone, Ron. The dance isn't for another three days."
"That's not what we're fighting about!" Ron shouted.
"Then why?"
"Because--because--because Harry here can't mind his own business!"
"Hey, I'm not going to watch you sit here moping for the rest of term!" Harry yelled. "Come on, Ron, wake up! You're falling apart!"
"He's right, you know," Neville agreed.
"Oh, be quiet!" Ron sneered. "You don't' have a date either and don't try asking my sister again! She's going with Harry!"
"I-I-I knew that," Neville stammered.
"You are really falling apart," Dean said. "Maybe you should go and see Professor Trelawny."
"What for?" Ron demanded. "I'm not in the mood to have my fortune told."
"Maybe she'll be able to figure this out," Dean suggested.
"Come on, Dean," Ron groaned, "she's the divination professor--not the school counselor!"
"Close enough since we haven't one," Harry said. "Let's go, Ron."
{AN: Um, does Hogwarts even have a school counselor?}
"I'm not going," Ron said defiantly.
Harry sighed. There was jut no getting through to him.
"Then you leave us no choice," Dean said. "If you won't go willingly then I'm afraid we'll have to drag you there."
"Huh, what?" he mumbled.
Each boy grabbed Ron by the arms and lifted him up. It took quit a bit of boys because Ron was almost 6 foot. "Hey, put me down! This is embarrassing!"
They carried Ron down the stairs just as Ginny made her way to the girls' dorm. She gasped in horror when she saw what they were doing to him.
"Ginny!" Ron shouted. "Help me!"
"Just what do you think you are doing to my brother?" she demanded, "He feels bad enough without having his head shoved down a toilet and getting a swirly!"
"It's not that, Ginny," Harry explained, "We're taking him to see Professor Trelawny."
"Why?"
"We don't know what else to do to make him leave the dorm," Dean replied. "And Trelawny could probably Ron with his depression. He needs to talk to someone."
"Oh," Ginny said with a sigh. "I think that's a great idea! Carry on!"
"Ginny, no!" Ron gasped. "Don't let them do this to your brother! I don't need Trelawny to read my palm! I don't need you! I don't need anybody!"
"You'll feel much better after your visit with Trelawny," Ginny insisted and kissed her brother's forehead. "Tell me how it went, all right?" She looked at the guys, "now make sure he doesn't run away!"
"Oh, we won't!" they said in unison and continued to carry Ron away.
"Gin, please!" Ron cried, "Haven't I been a good brother? Don't let them do this to me!" Now Ron had tears in his eyes as he begged Ginny to reconsider. "Ginny! Ginny! GIII-HIN-HINN-NNYY!"
"Bye-bye Ron," she said, bending her fingers at the knuckles in a cute, sisterly wave. "Everything will be better after your visit with the professor. Bye-bye! Bye-bye!"
*****
After they got out of the Gryffindor tower, Ron demanded them to put him down.
"You can put me down now!" Ron said. "I won't run away."
"Promise?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, I can walk ya know," Ron said. "I don't want the whole school to see this!"
"Yeah, let's put him down," Neville said. "He feels bad enough. Let's not embarrass him to death."
"Thanks, Neville! Thank you, thank you!"
They put him down, but still kept a hold on him in case he did run off. Halfway over to Trewlawny's office, they saw a very, very disturbing sight. Draco was kissing Hermione. All Harry, Ron, Neville and the other Gryffindor boys could do was stop and stare. A few other heads turned and watched them in shock. A new student from Ravenclaw walked up to them.
"Isn't that Draco Malfoy kissing Hermione Granger?" she asked.
"Yes," Neville replied.
"But--isn't Hermione muggle-born?"
"That's right," Dean said.
"And Draco hates muggles and muggle-born witches and wizards?"
"Mm-hmm," Thomas hummed.
"But…why would he be kissing her?" she asked. "Don't you think that's, well, strange?"
They all nodded, except for Ron, who seemed not to be even touched by the site. He didn't seem to care at all, though his heart felt like it was being drilled away.
"Well, anything can happen in a magic school," he said blankly.
"Yeah--guess you're right," and the girl passed them, taking a few looks back.
"How long has he been kissing her?" Neville asked, "I wonder if they ever stopped for air!"
"They're going to get us in trouble!" Dean gasped. "We'll lose points--the house cup!"
"Slytherin will lose too," Ron mumbled.
Harry, however, refused to believe his eyes and stayed positive. "That's not Hermione!" he protested, "Hermione just wouldn't do that!"
"What are you talking about, Harry?" Ron questioned, "don't you see what's happening right before our eyes?"
Now Draco and Hermione stopped kissing and began talking in cute-couple-talk.
"You're so cute--" Draco began.
"Oh, lord, they're talking like the way my parents talk to each other!" Dean groaned. "I think I'm going to be sick!"
"It's really Draco and Pansy. They're playing a trick on us," Harry said, as if he were about to lose his mind to try and make sense of it, "that's right. Pansy somehow got a hold of one of Hermione's hair and made a polyjuice potion. They're messing with us. I bet Hermione's in the library right now."
"You think so, Harry?" Neville asked hopefully.
"Oh, Harry, don't be stupid," Ron groaned. "Pansy's not that smart."
"Draco is," Harry said, "and she'll go along with anything he says. Come on to the library. I'll prove to you that this is all just a trick!"
They went to the library. "She'll be in her usual spot reading--" Harry said as they approached the library. "And here she--" he pointed at the seat she would always, where Ron and Harry were always able to find her, but the seat was empty. "Hermione?"
"Oh, yeah, Harry," Ron said, rolling her eyes. "Hermione's in the library reading. We saw what really happened."
"Okay, well, maybe she's not here in the library," Harry said. "Perhaps she's helping a teacher with something or studying in the dorm. No way would the real Hermione Granger be kissing the one guy who hates her more than anyone in the whole school! It's just impossible!"
"SHHH!" everyone hushed, "you're in a library!"
"S-sorry," he stammered as he took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Um, Harry," Neville said, patting his back, "M-maybe you should talk to Professor Trelawny too."
"No, I'm all right, Neville," Harry insisted.
"Harry," Dean insisted, "come on, what harm could it do?"
"Divination has always been kind of boring to me," Harry said. "And all her predations weren't accurate."
They ended up having to almost carry both Ron and Harry to Professor Trelawny's office. Trelawny looked up from her desk. "Hello, dears. I knew you were coming."
"Wow, she's good," Dean gasped.
"Ron needs to talk to someone about his depression," Harry said, pointing to him.
"Hey, you've got a problem too," Ron muttered.
"You're the one who refuses to get out of bed!" Harry growled.
"Yeah? Well, you're the one who is in denial!"
"I am not!"
"You see, professor?" Ron asked, pointing to his best friend, "he denies it!"
"I see," she nodded. "What about you boys?"
"We're just gonna sit down," Neville said, "or wait outside."
"Yeah, we just came to makes sure they came and here they are," Dean said.
"And now that they're here, I guess we'll go." Seamus said and they hurried out of Trelawny's office.
"Now, what is troubling you two?" she asked.
"Well, Ron's falling apart," Harry began, "and--"
"I'm just fine!" Ron snapped.
"And you say I'm in denial," Harry muttered.
"Well, you are!" Ron shouted. "You saw what happened and you didn't believe it!"
"At least I care about Hermione and know her enough that she wouldn't really do what Draco made everyone believe she did!" Harry shot back and then they began to glare at each other with their noises pressed together. "And if you cared about Hermione, you wouldn't believe it either!"
"Well, you find things easier to believe the second time around!" Ron grunted. "And you don't even know what I'm going through right now so don't even try to understand!"
"What?"
"I saw Draco and Hermione kissing each other on the second day of school!" he retorted.
"Um, boys," Trewlawny said, "my transfiguration may not be as good as Professor McGonnagal's, but I could change two desks into two soft sofas if that would be more comfortable for you to talk about your problems."
"Huh?" Harry asked.
Professor Trelawny smiled. "I see that it didn't take much time for you to talk." Then she looked serious. "But would you rather lay down on comfortable sofas and calmly give me details or are you going to just yell at each other in my office? Because you can do that in the boy's dorms."
"Oh, yeah, sure, sofas would be fine." Ron said. "Thanks."
"All right then," she said as she took out her wand and transfigured two desks into two soft, plushy, velvety red sofas with matching pillows. "Now lie down and relax."
Ron and Harry lay down on the incredibly soft sofas. For a split second, they thought they were dead.
"Comfy?"
"Oh yes," Ron said.
"Mm-hmm," Harry hummed.
"Could I get you two butter beers?"
"Yeah…." Harry moaned, "I love that…stuff."
"I like mine with just a little foam," Ron said.
"Done." She clicked her fingers and a butter beer appeared over their heads.
"Wow, Professor Trelawny," said Ron, "You sure now how to treat a guy."
"Has anyone come in here before?" Harry asked, "Not just for divination class, but to, you know, talk to you?"
"Sure," she replied. "You're not the first students to come by with problems and I foresee that you will not be the last."
After a few gulps of butter beer, the boys were relaxed enough to talk to Trelawny about their 'problem'. Though they thought it would be stupid, it was turning out to be fine. They hadn't thought much about divination class, but it just seemed to be a better experience when they weren't in class.
"So, since Victor Krum asked her to the ball next fall," Ron said, "I realized my feelings for Hermione and I didn't want to go to the ball with anyone else except for her."
"At least you were over getting turned down by Fleur Delecour," Trelawny cooed.
"Hey, are you kidding me? Fleur's part veela!" Ron cried. "I'll never be able to live that one down!"
"But I didn't' seem to mind that Hermione was going with Victor Krum," Harry admitted. "I was more concerned about who put my name in the Goblet of Fire and when the next time Vold--"
Ron and Trelawny eyed him.
"I mean, You-Know-Who, would try to kill me again."
She nodded, "Yes, that was more important."
"Not to mention why Cho went to the ball with Cedric instead of you," Ron added slightly.
"Hey, quiet!" Harry hushed. "I'm over that now! And you shouldn't talk about him that way…he's dead."
"Harry is right, Ron," Trelawny said, "For all we knew, Cedric could be here watching us."
Ron and Harry nervously scanned the room. Trelawny prompted for Ron to continue.
So, I couldn't wait until this year to ask Hermione to the Yule Ball," Ron said. "I've had dreams about it. It was going to be perfect. But my summer wasn't very fun and I guess that adds to my attitude."
Harry nodded, "he wouldn't stop talking about how bad his summer was on the train."
"And it kept building up," Trelawny stated. "You thought that once you got to school, you wouldn't have anything to worry about."
"Yeah," Ron said. "Until I saw--" though he had already said it, he found it hard to say now.
"Go on Ron," Trelawny said.
"Hermione, with him."
"This was when you went to sneak food from the kitchen for a late night snack?" Harry asked.
"I lost my appetite when I saw them together," Ron said. "So your little theory about Pansy pretending to be Hermione can't be true, unless she drinks a polyjuice potion with Hermione's hair in it every day. Have you noticed the way Crookshanks is? He doesn't want to be near her. "
"I can't believe it," Harry mumbled. "Why would she even think of being with that creep? After the all the things he said and did to her? And to everyone?"
"Ron," Trelawny said, "when you saw Hermione with Draco, how did that make you feel?"
"That's kinda personal," Ron mumbled awkwardly, "and you can imagine how it made me feel."
"I'd need to hear it from you," Trelawny said, "was it anger? Hate?"
"I guess, I felt regret," he said.
"Regret?"
"Yeah…for not telling Hermione about my feelings for her sooner," he groaned. "But I had no idea Draco would make moves on her as soon as we got to school! And she's a prefect this year and I didn't want to, you know, pressure her or anything."
"She would've listened to you," Harry said. "She's not that busy."
"I was confused too," Ron continued, "why was she interested in him? He's such a creep. He doesn't care about anyone about himself. Then, it didn't take long for me to figure it out. I know why she chose him over me and it's not because I didn't talk to her first. Even if I did, she wouldn't care."
"Ron, Hermione's our friend," Harry said. "Of course she would."
"Draco's family is richer than mine," Ron said. "He could buy her anything she wanted. I bet he's already given her fancy clothes and stuff. For her birthday, all I could get her was a bottle of invisible ink."
"Well, that's nice of you, Ron," Trelawny said. "Invisible ink is--"
"The bottle was empty," Ron said quickly. "My brothers are making this joke shop. They told me it was invisible ink, but they were just playing a prank. I should've known."
Trelawny sighed.
"So now you know why I'm the way I am," Ron mumbled. "I don't care if I get to the ball or not. If Hermione doesn't want me-no girl will. They'd rather get nice jewelry than some deprived, love-sick boy's heart."
"You really love her, don't you?" Trelawny asked.
Ron nodded.
"You can still tell her," she began, "it's--"
"That's what my sister told me," Ron muttered, getting up, "and it is too late! Hermione doesn't care if I give her my heart or not. She's more interested in getting fancy things and being with Draco than me! He's giving the kind of things that I could never give her!"
"But you have something more valuable than money, dear," Trelawny whispered. "You know Draco doesn't care for her."
"That's right," Harry said, "he's just using her."
"I know that." Ron said. "I just wish Hermione could see it. But there's no use fighting it. He has more money, more power than me, a cooler reputation, even if he is a creep. Why do all the nice girls fall for the bad guys?"
"She must get excitement out of it," Trelawny suggested, "like a roller coaster going down. But it has to go up sometime again before it goes down and when it does go up, it won't be as exciting. Hermione probably does know he's using her, but she has to figure this out on herself. She may seem to be having fun, but deep down inside, she's just as confused as you are, Ron. Give her some time to come around and when she does, all you can do is be there for her."
"I don't' know if I can wait that long," Ron admitted. "It's killing me."
"I know."
"I can wait," Harry said. "Hermione has always been studying too hard and I guess she felt that she needed a change. Then after this phase she is going through and realizes that Draco's just using her, she'll remember that we've always liked her the way she is. Draco's probably acting this way toward her now because she's, well, less homely than she used to be."
"What are you talking about Harry?" Ron demanded, "She's never been homely to me!"
"I meant she looks better," Harry rephrased.
Trelawny nodded. "You need to give Hermione some time. However, a little reminder that you still care for her would give her a little push in the right direction."
"Thank you for listening, Professor Trelawny," Ron thanked as he and Harry got up from their sofas. "Can I come again some other time?"
"Oh, I predict that you will again sometime," she said.
Harry and Ron had almost gone when Professor Trelawny stood up. "Oh, Ron, Harry, remember this one important thing."
"Yeah?"
"Remember to keep your friends close," she said, "but keep your enemies even closer."
Harry and Ron looked at each other and then to Professor Trelawny. Ron grinned, followed by Harry. They let out a soft chortle and eventually began guffawing as if they drank a laughing potion.
"Oh, that's funny, Professor!" Ron laughed, his cheeks red and hurting from the laughter.
"We feel much better now, thank you!"
"No, it wasn't a joke," she insisted, "Really, you must keep your friends close but your enemies even closer!"
"Oh, sure, whatever!" and with that, the two boys left the room.
*****
Ginny paced the common room, waiting for Ron and Harry to return. Dean, Neville and the others told her nothing but that they left before Ron and Harry talked to Professor Trelawny. 'Come on, how much longer?' she thought.
For what seemed for an eternity, she heard the portrait of the fat lady creek open and she went to investigate.
"Ron! Harry!" she cried. "Tell me, how did it go with Professor Trelawny? What did she say?"
Ron tried to reply but he started laughing and it made Harry laugh too. "She-she said--hahahaha!"
"What? What?"
But they couldn't' talk right now. They walked up to the boys' dorm, laughing their heads off. Ginny looked on, bewildered.
'Well, at least he's not depressed anymore,' she thought. 'It's a start.'
Next Chapter: A Slytherin Makeover For a Gryffindor Student
