Hi again! So, if you read, you just haven't been reviewing, please just drop me a line since I don't have Support Services so I can't tell if anyone is reading this or not - reviews are my only insight. Thanks to Perminator, Nepenthe and eos for reviewing, and I hope you continue to read!
Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns all characters except for Alex(who still needs a new last name, I might add!), and all references to her magical world, other than "Love is in the air… But is it in the stars? Horoscopes for the smitten…", which belongs to me. Oscar Wilde owns "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and the quote I have used from there - unless, since he died over seventy years ago that is now public domain? Either way, he wrote it, not me. Oh, and the illustrious Michel and Simone belong to me, even if you never hear from them again.
Please, R/R, otherwise my head will explode from the strain! Plus, if I go too long without reviews I tend to get discouraged and not write much more… luckily for you all, I'm trying to put off an incredibly annoying "Studies of Religion" assessment task right now - so, enjoy the story!
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Chapter Three
"Introductions"
I'm a high-school lover
and you're my favourite flavour.
love is all, all my soul
you're my playground love.
It was nearly eleven by the time Ginny got back to her common room, her conversation with Alex now nothing but a distant memory… she couldn't even remember what it was that they'd spoken of. School? Hermione? Me? Him… no, not him. He kept himself as guarded as Azkaban… I wonder why?
Her thoughts were interrupted by a cough from near the fireplace, and Ginny jumped in surprise. "Who's there?" she asked, a lump rising in her throat as fear began to wrap itself around her heart. She rummaged through her robes, desperately searching for her wand… which was tucked away quite safely in her trunk, upstairs, in her dormitory. Her hands began to shake and she tried to control them as she heard a soft chuckle from the fireplace.
A shadowy figure appeared in the firelight, and spoke. "Gin, it's me." Ginny was not convinced, although a familiarity in the voice caused her to await his next words. "It's Harry. I've been waiting for you."
A delicious shudder coursed its way down her back as she thought of how those words could have charmed her so easily only yesterday… and, it reminded her of how fickle her feelings really were. Am I being rash, throwing away the things I've clung to for an eternity all for someone who I know nothing about? …nothing except that he is the most intensely beautiful person I've ever seen close up.
Ginny smiled at Harry, almost suspiciously, which caused him to justify himself. "I mean, since you've been so sick, I thought that you shouldn't be wandering around so late… even Hermione's given up the studying for tonight, something which I didn't expect, especially since we've got two rolls of parchment due for Potions tomorrow…" He grinned at her mischievously. "Of course, that's not to say that I'm planning on handing anything in myself – but this is Hermione!"
"Yes, that is rather strange…" she trailed off, her eyes staring at the flames in the hearth… knowing that Harry was attempting to subtly interrogate her and not wanting to commit to anything right that moment. There was too much to think about as it was – Ginny didn't want to think about anything at all at this time of night.
Harry seemed to have detected Ginny's discomfort, and thankfully, he decided not to pursue the subject further. "Well, I guess I'd better get off to bed then, Gin – you should too." She smiled at his motherly afterthought, and a sudden thought crept over Harry's mind of how pretty her face seemed in the dim light of the common room. Surprised, he shook it from his mind and instantly berated himself for thinking such a thing.
Ginny walked past him and to the staircase leading to her dormitory, brushing his arm as she passed. He felt himself inhale sharply, and, scared of what he might do next, rushed to his own staircase.
"Good night, Harry," Ginny called to him as she departed, and he turned back to stare at her retreating form. He began to say something back to her, but a yawn halted his words. Sleep, he thought, his mind whirring at the events which had just taken place. Sleep is what I need right now.
But, before he went any further, he felt obliged to return Ginny's sentiment: "Good night, Ginny…" he murmured softly, before ascending the stairs and puzzling over the short, red-haired, freckle-faced, studious sister of his best friend… and how one moment could change his feelings so entirely.
***
The next morning was quieter than usual, probably due to the fact that Harry, Hermione and Ginny were absorbed in their thoughts… something which nearly drove Ron insane.
"Harry, do you know the date of the Hufflepuff/Slytherin Quidditch match?"
"Uh… no, Ron, I don't want any Cocoa Puffs. Eat all you want."
Ron stared at Harry in amazement, before tapping Ginny on the shoulder. "Gin, can you believe this? Harry's gone mad…"
But Ginny didn't believe anything, because she couldn't hear a word Ron was saying. She would often put a charm on herself that would cause nothing but music to flood through her head, and she sat in this trance-like state all through breakfast, darting an occasional glance toward the Ravenclaw table. Anything Ron said; or, really, anything anybody said, she was oblivious to.
Ron began to get frustrated. What in the world is going on? Am I the one who's going crazy? But he still had some hope. Hermione sat on his other side, her nose in a book as per usual – although she was most certainly choosing strange reading material these days… "Love is in the air… but is it in the Stars? Horoscopes for the smitten…" wasn't exactly a typical Hermione book. Knowing her, she's probably read everything else in the pitiful school library…
So, he turned to Hermione, jabbed her in the side, and, for good measure, said loudly: "Hermione?! Can you hear me? HELLO?!"
At this, Hermione jumped, startled, and glared at Ron. "What do you want?" she growled.
Ron was stupefied. "What's going on here? Is this 'Pick-On-Ron' day or something? Oh, no… more likely its 'Let's-Make-Ron-Think-He's-Going-Insane'! Gosh, what's wrong with everyone today?!"
Hermione had listened to this spiel without speaking, her face slowly turning purple. Many other people in the hall had now begun to stare at the two curiously, wondering what Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger were fighting about now.
"Ron, get over yourself, okay? I'm sick of this!"
His eyes widened. "You're sick of this? Sick of what? Bloody hell, Hermione! I'm trying to tell you something, and—" She cut him off abruptly.
"Oh, so now you're angry with me! I don't understand you, Ron… you've barely spoken to me in days, and now you expect me to be your little confidant! Well, you can just go tell someone else about your stupid, insecure little worries and leave me alone!" With this, Hermione stormed out of the Great Hall, dragging her heavy book-bag along behind her.
Ron threw his hands up into the air. "Great," he muttered underneath his breath, and then he sighed. This was certainly shaping up into a super day.
***
Alex stared down at the timetable in his hands, his eyes blurring slightly as he did so. He blinked, and pulled the timetable closer to his face, slowly bringing it into focus. That's better, he thought, and he began to try to make sense of the symbols on the paper. Hmm… Transfiguration, Arithmancy… Just as he was figuring out his third period for the day, his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a heated discussion going on at the Gryffindor table. He glanced up quickly but his gaze was held by the sight of the beautiful girl from last night… Hermione… arguing loudly with a tall, red-head who reminded him very much of Ginny. Didn't she say she had some brothers? He questioned himself, kicking himself for not remembering. The night before seemed like a dream, simply traces of conversation that were slipping like sand through the fingers of his grasping memory.
His attention was soon brought back to the argument between the two Gryffindors when he heard the screech of wood on stone, and he watched Hermione bolt from the hall, her hair blowing unkempt behind her. He saw the boy sigh heavily before burying his face in his hands. Perhaps this is a re-occurring event, Alex thought, and marvelled at the familiarity of the situation. Just like Michel and Simone, he thought, reminded of two of his friends from a previous school. Hopefully, like Michel and Simone, they are quick to forgive…
He watched the rest of the school resume their breakfasts before standing and slipping out through the double-doors, searching for Hermione. He found her quickly, leaning up against a wall not far from the hall. She was sobbing into the cold, unforgiving stone, and although Alex knew that most likely he would frighten her and make her wonder why he, who had never even spoken to her before, would be coming to comfort her. He just hoped this approach would work. Taking a deep breath, he stepped towards her.
"Are you okay?" he questioned softly, not loud enough for her to hear. Courage, man! He stood up straight, and spoke again: "Are you alright?"
However, Hermione responded in a fashion he most certainly did not expect. "I heard you the first time," she muttered angrily between sobs, "and, no: I would have thought it were quite obvious that I was not alright. People like me, who tend to have a rather good control over their emotions rarely tend to cry just because someone bumped them in the hall."
"I know," he murmured softly to her, "I've noticed that."
Hermione turned to face him, and a look of shock crossed her face. "You?" she exclaimed, and Alex nearly smiled at her reaction. "But – I mean, wh-why are you here?"
He grinned at her, before replying: "Ours is not to reason why – Ours is but to do or die!" Hermione giggled and Alex moved a little closer to her, and whispered: "Actually, I'm here because I don't like beautiful girls to be depressed… it puts rather a damper on the rest of us mere mortals."
She looked to ground before smiling softly. "Beautiful… I doubt that very much." Her eyes flickered upwards in a way that was so captivating it nearly made Alex gasp. "And, something else I doubt would be the description of 'mere mortal' for someone with a face quite a perfect as yours… Dorian Gray would be more appropriate, I believe."
"So, the lady has read Wilde… something I value very much in all my friends is their choice of literature." His face was so close to hers that they were barely breathing, and Hermione felt as if her heart might stop beating at any moment. He began to lean in even closer, and Hermione closed her eyes, longing for the touch of his lips on hers. "Oh, sweet lady… the world is changed because you are made of ivory and gold," his breath warmed her cheeks, and she felt herself blushing underneath his gaze. "The curves of your lips rewrite history…"
A loud, gonging noise broke the silence, and, the fluid rush of students through the double-doors most certainly ruined the moment. Hermione and Alex jumped away from each other and, as the students streamed past, they both found themselves carried along in the crowd. They soon lost each others faces in the midst of so many, and as Alex found himself outside his Transfiguration classroom, he was already longing for lunchtime… and for Hermione.
***
"I'd like you all to meet Alex. He's just come from Durmstrang, but apparently his parents didn't like the focus they had there on the Dark Arts." Hermione seemed quite happy about this, and she gripped Alex's arm tightly. "So, luckily for us, we get to spend our last year with the company of Alexander Kohl." She giggled at the prospect, and Ron rolled his eyes at Harry, who returned the sentiment with a subtle gagging noise of his own.
Hermione looked at them both expectantly, and Harry decided to simply give in to the inevitable. "Hi, I'm Harry." Hermione nudged him with her free arm, and he grimaced slightly. "Harry Potter."
Alex's eyes widened. "Harry Potter? The Harry Potter?"
Harry sighed. "Yep, that's the one."
Ron attempted to come to Harry's rescue. "And I'm Ron Weasley," he said, extending his hand. Alex ignored him completed as he stared at Harry in wonder. Ron withdrew his hand, muttering to himself, "stupid git," before retreating to a small chair in the dark recesses of the common room. "I thought only house members were allowed in the Gryffindor common room," he mumbled, annoyed mostly at himself for the feelings of jealousy that were once again welling up inside of him.
As he sat in the chair, he felt something hard and angular underneath him. Crookshanks let out a yowl as Ron hurriedly tried to stand, and then regain his balance as the cat darted into the arms of his mistress. Hermione glared at Ron from her place at Alex's side, and he plonked himself back in the chair before sighing loudly.
"And what's ruined your day, Mr. Weasley?"
Ron nearly jumped out of the chair again, startled, until he recognised the voice and the silhouette who was speaking to him from another chair nearby. "Oh, Gin, it's just you," Ron said, relieved.
Ginny laughed somewhat bitterly at this statement. "Yeah, that's about right. It's just me… little old quiet, dull Ginny. After all, who'd want to be my friend when they've got Hermione… who's ten times smarter than I'll ever be, yet she still manages to avoid the term 'nerd'…"
Ron smiled at Ginny through the near-darkness. "I wouldn't worry, Gin… she deserves the title, since everyone knows that the only thing keeping her on this side of the fence is the fact that she's friends with Harry and me." Ginny giggled from her chair, and Ron frowned. "Okay, maybe just because of Harry, then. But, like I said, I wouldn't worry… that Alex seems like a bit of a loser to me, anyway."
"Oh, I don't know if I'd say that," Ginny said defensively. Ron was surprised at her reaction. "I mean, when I spoke to him on the train yesterday, he seemed quite nice… someone who I could easily be friends with, I believe. But, I guess you can choose your friends, but they don't always choose you back."
Her brother reached out his arm to her in the darkness, and squeezed her hand tight. "Well, as far as I'm concerned, with the way Hermione's been acting, anyone who chooses to be friends with her over my sister, Gin… well, they need their heads read."
A weak smile crossed Ginny's face, until she heard the words echoing in her head. …with the way Hermione's been acting… obviously, Ron thinks she's a better friend than I could be normally, but because he's angry with her right now for some stupid reason he's deciding to take my side… oh, why on earth do I have to have so many brothers?! All I ever asked for was one sister, just one. I never needed anything more. Boys never understand anything.
But, of course, she never told Ron this… she simply stood and said: "Thanks, Ron. I think I'm going to head off to bed… G'Night."
As she walked to the staircase, Harry stepped in front of her. "Oh, sorry," she mumbled, and then she tried to dodge Harry but he seemed to anticipate her every move. "I just need to get through so I can get to bed, Harry…" her head was beginning to feel very heavy, the strains of the day starting to weigh down on her.
"Just a second, Ginny. I need to talk to you." He seemed very nervous, his eyes were darting about, and he kept wetting his lips every few seconds – something, that through her watchfulness of the past four years, she had been able to categorise as typical 'Harry Anxiety' – and, for some reason she was frightened of the way in which she was causing this in him. What am I thinking? This probably has nothing to do with me, more likely it'll be about Hermione… everything seems to be about her these days!
"Harry!" Ginny heard a familiar voice cry out to him, and Harry turned his head to see who was calling him, taking his eyes away from Ginny for a moment. Taking this opportunity, she snuck away, up the staircase, and into her warm, snug bed… away from all the laughter, all the questions, and from everything that reminded her of all the pain which was deep inside of her.
But, when she closed her eyes, she could see nothing but green underneath them.
It took Virginia a long time to get to sleep that night.
***
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