Disclaimer: It's been five chapters and this fanfic has been a success so far. But I still don't own any of the characters used in this fic…
Author's Note: I'm glad to see that you guys liked chapter 4. It's my favorite chapter so far. Again, I thank those who reviewed the previous chapters – it makes me so happy that people appreciate something I worked hard on. You guys are the best! And I'm sorry if I disappointed any of you guys for not making this chapter fluffy. I think it's better that the fic has a realistic feel to it, yah know? But don't worry – there will be minor fluff near the end. Anyhow, here's chapter five: I feel this chapter is the most poorly written of the ones I have so far. So if any of you see something wrong with it, I apologize in advance. Please enjoy!
Chapter Five: An Assumed Hate
Ginny gave a warm smile as she watched her brother drag Hermione out of the Great Hall. Don't do anything stupid, Ron, she thought, giving the two one last look before shifting her attention to Harry, who still hadn't touched anything on his plate. She noticed he was acting even more odd than he was when dinner began – he kept giving Ginny nervous looks. And when she met his gaze with a warm smile, Harry looked ready to throw up. What is wrong with him?
Ginny finally chose to ignore Harry's weird antics, instead sitting in silence, waiting for the boy to pick up his fork and begin eating. But when ten minutes had passed and the Harry still hadn't touched anything, Ginny started to get annoyed. "Are you going to eat anything at all, Harry?" asked Ginny, trying to mask her irritation by asking him in a sweet voice.
"…"
Ginny sighed. "Listen Harry, I don't mean to be rude but if you're not going to eat, then I suggest we go back to the common room. I'm sure we both have a lot of work to do…"
Harry said nothing, which prompted Ginny to stand up, apologize, and leave. She slowly turned around to walk away, but was stopped by Harry – who had gently taken a hold of her hand. "Wait. I'd really love it if you'd stay for a few more minutes," said Harry, his previous nervousness forgotten. "I wanted to ask you something."
"Of course, I'm sorry," she replied, taking a seat next to Harry, whose hand was still gently clasping hers. "Now what was it that you wanted to ask me?"
Harry ran his free hand through his hair and heaved a sigh. Come on, Harry…it's just Ginny. You've faced far greater challenges than this. Besides, you've asked a girl to the ball before. Do it now! "Well, I wanted to ask if…er…if anyone has asked you to the ball yet."
Ginny inwardly smiled, feeling her cheeks go red (Harry's hand entwined with hers had already given her cheeks a pinkish complexion). "No one has asked me yet, Harry."
"Well, would it be alright if I asked you?"
"Asked me what?"
"Asked if you would like to go to the ball with me…" said Harry, amazed that he actually managed to say the words clearly.
Ginny stared at Harry in shock, her eyes wide open and her mouth slightly hanging. Whoa…this has got to be a dream. After a few seconds (in which Ginny gave herself a pinch, just to make sure she wasn't actually dreaming), she snapped back into reality and gave Harry her answer: "I would love to go to the ball with you, Harry."
"Good," sighed Harry in relief. "I thought you were going to say no. We'll have a great time, I'm sure." He flashed a huge grin and let go of Ginny's hand. "I think my appetite's back."
"Glad to hear that," Ginny said with a giggle. "Now hurry up and eat so we can get out of here and back to the common room." She nodded towards the direction of the entrance, where one of their fellow Gryffindors came in, briskly walking towards them. Neville took a seat across from the two. "Harry, is Hermione alright? She seemed upset when she came into the common room."
"Upset? What are you talking about, Neville?"
"She seemed close to tears. I thought you would know…I wonder what's wrong?"
"Maybe something happened? I'm gonna go check on her," said Ginny, a look of concern painted on her face. "Are you coming, Harry?"
"Yeah"
Ginny grabbed a hold of Harry's hand (he was being too slow for her) and dragged him out of the hall, bidding a quick goodbye to Neville. When the pair reached the oak doors, they heard a crashing sound to their right: Ron had just walked straight into one of the many enchanted armors in the castle. Apparently, he wasn't paying much attention to where he was going.
"Ron!" Ginny ran towards her brother, dragging Harry by the hand, with a worried expression on her face. "Are you alright?"
"It is not my day today…" Ron muttered to himself, getting up and facing his sister and best friend. "Hello Ginny; hello Harry. Don't worry about me, Ginny…I'm alright; although I don't think this suit of armor is. Sorry about that," said Ron, apologizing to the pile of armor on the floor. He turned his gaze back at two people with him, giving them a weak grin as he pointed at their clasped hand. "I see you've already asked her, eh Harry? I told you she'd say yes."
Ginny glared at her brother, letting go of Harry's hand. "Since you're alright and all that, I suppose you can tell us what happened to Hermione. Neville said she was close to tears when she entered the common room. What did you do?"
"What does everyone have against me today?" exclaimed Ron. "It's always my fault, isn't it? Listen Ginny; I really don't want to talk about it, alright? I'm sorry…but please do me one favor: check how she's doing. See if she's still furious – or worse, if she's crying."
Ginny looked ready to protest. But thought better of it and agreed to do what her brother had asked. She gave Harry a bewildered look and disappeared towards the direction of Gryffindor Tower. Once Ginny was out of sight, Harry grabbed Ron's arm and pulled him back inside the Great Hall. He forced Ron into a chair at the end of their house table and took a seat opposite his friend, giving Ron a calculating look.
"Are you going to tell me what happened, Ron?"
"…"
"Did she say no?"
"I wish," said Ron bitterly. "If she hadn't brought up bloody Viktor Krum, everything would probably be alright. But no – she just had to talk about Vicky, didn't she? Now Hermione's mad at me and I feel like a piece of shit."
"Listen Ron – now don't get mad with what I'm about to say – but you really need to get over this jealousy with Krum," said Harry lightly. "It's ruining your friendship with Hermione, how you always blow up at the mere mention of his name."
"Jealous? I am not jealous. It just bothers me that the one person whom I really want to take to this year's ball is still talking about her date from last year's ball," sighed Ron, running a hand through his messy hair. "How am I supposed to compete with that?!"
Harry rolled his eyes. Sure…you're not jealous. God Ron, don't make it obvious now.
"You don't need to compete with Krum. You know why? Because you're fine just the way you are. Besides, you have an advantage over him: you and Hermione are friends – you go way back. I'm sure once you apologize to her, all will be forgotten and you can ask her to the ball."
"It's no use, Harry. I'm not apologizing," said Ron, standing up and getting ready to leave. "She was the one who started the argument by bringing him up (a/n: which we all know isn't completely true). And besides, she invaded my privacy – friends usually don't do that, right? And let's not forget, despite the number of times we've had rows, she's never slapped me. And guess what happened today?" exclaimed Ron, flinging his arms in frustration and heaving a sigh. "I'm assuming she hates me by now. There's no use. She's stubborn, that girl – can't admit that she's wrong sometimes…Listen, I'm gonna head on back to the common room, Harry. I have things to do…good night." And with that said, Ron turned and left the Great Hall.
Harry shook his head in disbelief. God, those two are both stubborn…I wonder who'll apologize first. Let's just hope one of them does – I don't want this to last too long…
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Yes, I know…this chapter sucked. I wanted to add the scene between Harry and Ginny, so I decided to do this chapter. As always, please review. I would appreciate it a whole lot! Let me know what you liked/disliked about this chapter. And if you have any suggestions at all, please email me at snoopinay1033@yahoo.com. I haven't written chapter six yet, but I already have an idea what to write about. Please be patient for the next update. I have a writing assignment due on Friday, so I may now be able to update the next chapter soon. Well, thanks again for taking the time and reading my humble and simple little fic.
~~:azaleafaye:~~