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Disclaimer: I own nothing, nothing I tell you! All the characters, places etc. belong to JKR.
*** SO WHAT NOW?
*** Harry sat alone in the Gryffindor Common Room. It was Saturday, the day after his fight with Hermione. The two hadn't even spoken, even at the Gryffindor table during meals. It was also a Hogsmeade weekend, so almost all of the older students had disappeared off to Hogsmeade and the younger students were off gallivanting around the castle. Harry vaguely remembered that there had been a lot of excitement about Madam Hooch running a Quidditch training programme that weekend. "Hey, what's the matter, Harry?" asked Parvati Patil flopping rather ungracefully into a chair in the Gryffindor Common Room. She was wearing her usual style weekend clothes: deep purple flares and a khaki blouse. Her hair was tied into loose pigtails and the bag she had dropped was adorned with various badges and logo's for a few Wizarding bands. On anyone else these clothes would have looked ridiculous, but on Parvati, this retro/grunge style looked... right. "I had a fight with Hermione," replied Harry sullenly, not looking at her. "So?" she asked, searching through her bag for a box of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans. She had a fondness for the peach and lime flavoured ones. She offered the box to Harry who took a green one which was speckled with brown. Harry recognised it correctly as a mint chocolate chip flavoured one. "What do you mean 'so?'?" asked Harry, looking up. He popped the bean into his mouth and chewed it slowly before swallowing. Parvati shrugged and poured some of the beans out onto her hand. She picked through them before selecting a curiously coloured purple one. "You two are always fighting! One minute you'll be at each others throats, the next you'll be down each others throats." Harry wrinkled his brow. "Yeah, but this is more serious..." He recalled the events that had happened and Parvati looked a little surprised. She let out a low whistle and said: "Wow. You're right - it is serious." She chewed on her bottom lip and thought carefully for a minute before saying; "You're going to have to do something more than just apologise." "Like what?" "Impress her. Woo her. You know, court her." Harry groaned. "And how exactly am I supposed to do that?" "We'll, I would say do it like the first time you started going out with her, but that's not really an option, is it?" Harry shook his head. Parvati wrinkled her nose. "Well, I'm sure you'll think of something, Harry." She stood after putting another bean in her mouth. "Good luck, Harry. After all, you defeated You-Know-Who. This should be easy!" She stalked away through the portrait hole, her bag swung over her shoulder. Presumably she was off to find her boyfriend, Dean. Harry buried his head in his hands. Parvati was right - he had to do something to impress Hermione and make her realise that what he had said had been an accident. But how? While the crestfallen Harry was having his talk with Parvati, Ginny Weasley was on her way to the Library. She was supposed to be returning some books she had borrowed for her Potions homework when she accidentally bumped into someone, and Madam Pince's precious books were sent clattering to the floor. "Dammit!" she exclaimed, stooping down. She knew any damage to the books would be partly her fault as she had been daydreaming and not looking where she was going. She had been carrying almost a dozen fairly heavy volumes, all of which were now splayed out upon the stone floor of the corridor. "Here, let me help you," volunteered the person she had knocked into. He bent down to help her, and began to pick up the books. "Oh, thanks, Seamus," said Ginny. She stood up, as did Seamus. He handed her the remainder of the books, blushing slightly. "Sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to knock into you." "Thanks, but I wasn't exactly looking where I was going," admitted Ginny, reddening slightly. "Actually this is kind of weird, me bumping into you and all. Every time I speak to Ron or Lavender they always seem to be talking about you." Seamus frowned, running a hand through his fairly long, sandy-blonde hair. "All good I hope. Hey - now I think about it, your brother seems to be talking a lot about you recently." For a fleeting second, Ginny dismissed this as coincidence, but then her instinct, and knowledge of her brother, took the better of her and she scowled. "Why do I get the feeling my 'darling' brother and his girlfriend are plotting against us?" Catching on to her meaning, Seamus sighed and said, "Because they're Ron and Lavender. They're always planning something." "Hmmm," said Ginny, thoughtfully. "Look, I have to go now, Seamus - I'll talk to you later." Seamus nodded and continued in the direction he had been heading in before their rendezvous, muttering something incomprehensible under his breath. Ginny smiled to herself, a plan starting to formulate in her mind. 'Well, Ronald Weasley,' she thought wickedly. 'You've met your match.' Smirking, Ginny headed off to the Library, hoping feverently Madam Pince wouldn't realise she had dropped the books. The Three Broomsticks was seething with Hogwarts students, all taking advantage of the good weather for this Hogsmeade weekend. Loud chatter filled the air which was heavily scented with the smell of Butterbeer. "Cheer up, Hermione!" exclaimed Lisa Turpin. Hermione had become close friends with the blonde Ravenclaw about a year beforehand when the two had worked together on a project for their Study of Ancient Runes class. Hermione was sat at a table with her and the other seventh year Ravenclaw girls, Mandy Brocklehurst and Padma Patil, the twin sister of Parvati. Hermione stared broodily into her glass of chilled Butterbeer. She frowned and took a sip. "I'm quite happy being depressed, thank you very much," she said. "You're happy being depressed?" asked Padma, looking up from the Quidditch magazine she had purchased. Padma was proud to call herself the captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. She played Chaser and was rumoured to have been offered a place on the England Under 21 Squad for when she left Hogwarts. She removed her pair of dainty reading glasses and polished them on the edge of her robes, looking intently at Hermione. "Perfectly happy," said Hermione. Padma scrutinised her for a second before putting her glasses back on. "Who are you lying to, Hermione? Us or yourself?" Hermione scowled. "Is this about that stupid fight you had with Harry?" asked Mandy, shaking her auburn curls. She ran her finger around the edge of her glass, which emitted a high pitched noise. She promptly stopped after glares from Padma and Lisa. "It wasn't a stupid fight!" protested Hermione, fiddling with the hem of her dark red robes. She brushed a spot of dust from the knee of her jeans and looked up at the other girls. "He said he needed a break from me, for goodness sake! Then he blabbered on about how it was a slip of the tongue and he meant to say 'studying'." Hermione gulped and bit her lip. "That's not the worst thing, though." "What's the worst thing?" asked Lisa, finishing off her glass of orange juice. Being Muggle-born, Lisa had never really acquired a taste for pumpkin juice, unlike other Muggle-born students. "I think I broke up with him," said Hermione. "You think you broke up with him?" asked Padma, closing her magazine. She removed her glasses for a second time and placed them into a glittery silver case which she shoved into her backpack. The backpack was one of Muggle design, made by a famous Muggle sportswear company which also sold merchandise to Wizards. "You either did or you didn't." Hermione shrugged. "I'm not sure!" she exclaimed sadly. She leant forward on her elbows. "I told him we needed a break." "And?" asked Mandy curiously. "And I stormed off to the Library where I stayed until dinner. At dinner I spoke to no-one then went back to the Gryffindor Tower where I stayed in my dormitory until this morning when I came to Hogsmeade with you guys." "Oh," said Mandy. She paused for a moment, then said; "What are you going to do now?" Hermione shrugged. I'm really not sure. Wait for him to apologise, I think." The other girls nodded. "Okay, Hermione," said Lisa. She grinned wickedly. "In the mean time, we are going to do some serious shopping!" Standing up, she pulled Hermione to her feet, and the four girls headed out of the Three Broomsticks into Hogsmeade, ready to spend some galleons. "Any news on Operation Ginger Snap?" inquired Ron after her greeted Lavender. They were meeting outside of 3W, though this was Ron's choice, not Lavender's. If Lavender had her way she would have avoided 3W at all costs. The name 3W suggested to many young Wizards and Witches who had never encountered it before a trendy night club. Sadly, this was not the case. The moniker '3W' was the name adopted by Fred and George Weasley for their chain of joke shops after they had decided that 'Weasley's Wizard Wheezes' was a tad long-winded. The Hogsmeade branch had been the first the Weasley twins had opened, and there were currently seventeen shops the length and breadth of Britain and Ireland. The twins had also recently opened on in Australia. No bad for the pair who had only turned twenty in April. Lavender shook her head. "Nah. Besides, I've heard they're both back at school today. I heard Ginny moaning about a long Potions essay she has to complete and Seamus doesn't want to come to Hogsmeade in case he sees his ex-girlfriend." Frowning, Ron pushed open the door to 3W, hoping that his elder brothers would have some ideas. A loud bell rang as the door opened, almost deafening the two Gryffindors. With a small 'pop', one of the twins Apparated. "Oi, George!" he called upon seeing his younger brother. "Ickle Ronniekins is here wit his girlfriend." Ron scowled at the use of this name and Lavender placed her hands on her hips, glaring at Fred who grinned broadly. George Weasley appeared with another 'pop', his face covered in soot. Obviously he had been working on a new invention in the laboratory. "Afternoon!" he said cheerfully. He wiped his hand on the white apron that covered his clothes. Although the rest of him was covered in various grime and dirt, the apron was spotless, even after he'd wiped his hands on it. "So what brings you two here?" asked Fred. Ron glanced and Lavender who nodded enthusiastically. Ron swallowed and said, "Well..." He told his brothers how he wanted to set Ginny up with Seamus Finnigan, but wasn't quite sure how to do it. "You," said George, pointing at Ron, "want us," he pointed at himself and Fred, "to help you," again he pointed at Ron, "set our favourite little sister up with a boy?" "She's your only little sister," pointed out Lavender. "You're not helping Lavender," said Ron. Fred and George looked at each other for a few moments. It was one of those moments when you really did wonder whether the twins had telepathic abilities. "Well, dear brother," began Fred. "Your proposal is intriguing," said George. "After much consideration..." "We have found your plan..." "A most worthy project." Ron looked at his brothers confused, then looked to Lavender for help. For some reason Lavender had always been able to understand the twins when they spoke like that. Ron presumed it was because she had been friends with Parvati and Padma since they were eleven, though being in different houses, the Patil twins didn't spend huge amounts of time together. "That means they're going to help," she translated. Ron grinned and George slapped him on the back, sending large clouds of soot into the air. "You came to the right place," George said, and the twins led Ron and Lavender through to their office to discuss their plan of action. A/N: I enjoyed writing that chapter! :) I have no idea where the hippy-style Parvati came from, just the wild depths of my imagination, I suppose! Next chapter you'll find out what Harry's going to do to win back Hermione and possibly the next stage of Operation Ginger Snap (If I can think of it, that is). We might even have a bit more from the feisty Ravenclaw girls. I'm saying whether they have a big part in this story, because I don't know. :D Here's a thanks section for Chapter One:
Review, Flame, Whatever. silverphoenix |
So What Now?
By: silvernatasha
***COMPLETED!!!*** So What Now? The sequel to 'The Matchmakers'. What's been going on since Harry and Hermione were set up by their scheming friends? And what happens now?
Rated: Fiction K+ - English - Romance/Humor - Harry P., Hermione G. - Chapters: 11 - Words: 24,462 - Reviews: 181 - Favs: 70 - Follows: 11 - Updated: Mar 10, 2002 - Published: Feb 8, 2002 - Status: Complete - id: 593190
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Full 3/4 1/2 Expand Tighten
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