Chapter 2-The Lessons Begin
I had gotten out of the bath not long after that. The whole pleasant and relaxing atmosphere had been ruined by Hermione's small 'intrusion'. The problem was that I got so nervous and excited around her, but I didn't know why. I mean, she was just my friend, right? Why should that make me nervous? It was all jacked up. As a matter of fact, life is jacked up, and my philosophy is that we just have to deal. But anyway, back to what I was saying.
I went back to the Common Room just in time to meet up with Harry and Hermione for dinner. I could tell Hermione was embarassed and mad at me, because she acted as though I wasn't there. I really did want to talk to her and make up, but not while everyone was around, and not if she was going to bite my head off for it.
But other than that, everything was normal as we walked down to the Great Hall-Harry said something about Quidditch, and soon we had a discussion going; Fred and George had put a bomb in Snape's food; we heard them whispering about it in the hall, and it seemed that Dean and Parvati were having another of their famous breakups, because Parvati was looking tearstained.
When we arrived in the Great Hall, though, I was jolted back to the reality that Hermione was mad at me-again. She went over and sat with Ginny and her friends and left Harry and I stranded.
Nevertheless, I ate with my usual vigor and had nearly finished my treacle tart when I felt a tap on my back. I turned to face my little sister, Ginny. "Whaddya want?" I said somewhat messily because I was still in the middle of chewing. I swallowed quickly and repeated my question. "What do you want, Gin?"
"Oh, not much, I just want to know what you've done to Hermione now. She's quite upset and she won't tell me what happened, but she's really mad."
I glanced over at Hermione, but the moment she saw me looking, she turned away and stuck her nose in the air, though I could see her neck and face beginning to turn red.
"So what was it, then? Was it about Krum again? Did you start screaming again? What? Tell me!"
"It's none of your business, Gin. Besides, it was nothing," I felt my face and ears starting to get hot.
"It must have been something, because you're turning red!"
"Shut up."
"Well, I know that he went to take a bath," Harry muttered.
"Harry! You're supposed to be on my side," I cried.
"Sorry, mate, but that's too bad," Harry shook his head sarcastically.
"So....what else, Harry?" Gin asked excitedly.
"Well...awhile after Ron left, Hermione came into the Common Room looking mad and told me she'd just been to have a bath."
"Really?" Ginny asked, beginning to pace like a lawyer about to win an important case. "So they were both taking baths. And they're both Prefects, so I assume they would be using that bathroom. They must have met up somewhere and somehow. But then what happened, I wonder?" she stopped dead in front of me and placed her hands on her hips, her feet widespread. "Is there anything you'd like to tell us, Ron?"
"Nothing in particular," I answered, smirking, although I was still a reddish tint.
"Fine then," she said, pulling my arm and making me stand up, then stalking over to Hermione and doing the same to her. "Come," she said, pulling us behind her and up into the Gryffindor Common Room and then pushing us onto a two-person couch together. "Talk."
Hermione turned away from me again, her nose in the air, and I just sighed, leaning back on the couch, and stared off into space.
"Harry, it's not working. They won't talk," Ginny whined.
"Get Gred and Forge. They'll force them to talk," Harry grinned evilly at me.
I glanced at Hermione once more. She was looking towards me. We both looked away as soon as our eyes caught, but we had come to a silent agreement: talk.
"Well.." Hermione's voice started to say. "We met up in the Prefect's bathroom."
"And she got herself caught in my bubbles," I said, smirking at her.
"And then the little twit wouldn't get me out, even though I was stuck," Hermione added on with a little smile of her own.
"So then she started calling me names," I said menacingly.
"And he still refused to get me out," Hermione frowned.
"So we had a small row," I concluded, winking at her.
"And that's it?" Ginny asked, looking disappointed.
"That's it," Hermione said loudly. "And if no one minds, I am going to do some of my homework. Excuse me." she stood and walked over to her bookbag, which she pulled open and grabbed a piece of parchment from. Then she started writing something on it that I couldn't read.
"Want a game of chess, Harry?" I asked quickly, looking away from Hermione.
"Not really," he replied. "I think I'll tuck in early tonight. Bit tired."
"Oh, all right. Gin, do you want a game?"
"No, I think I'm going to rest up too. Swimming lessons start tomorrow, don't forget."
"I guess you're right. Well then, Harry, I'll be up in a bit. 'Night," I said, frowning and turning away. This left me with one person to talk to: Hermione. So I walked over to her little homework nook after Harry and Ginny had went up to bed. "What are you working on?" I asked, sitting across from her.
"Charms essay," she answered, turning away from me. "And I'm still mad at you."
"What did I do to you?"
"Only humiliated me in the middle of my bath and refused to help me when I was stuck!" she blew her hair out of her eyes and looked up at me through her bangs, which made it seem that her efforts had been wasted, since they were still in her eyes.
"Gee, Hermione, it's not like it was my fault you got stuck in my bubbles. Besides, it's my nature to be sarcastic. You should know that by now, I mean, really," I said softly back to her.
"I'll keep that in mind for next time, thanks," she sneered back to me. I raised my eyebrows, surprised. Hermione never sneered.
"Yes, do. It would make my life a lot easier if you would stop getting mad at me all the time," I said, smiling.
"All right, I'm sorry. I really don't mean to get mad, it's just.." she sighed. "You are maddening, you really are."
"I-I am?" I wondered, my voice cracking in the middle of 'am.' Damn voice change.
"Yes, you are. With your sarcasm, and..and...oh, your you-ness!!"
"My me-ness," I said, rolling my eyes and sighing. "Oh, that's the clearest explaination I've heard in a long time."
"I've always prided myself on my ability to explain," she expressed, winking at me.
"I sure haven't. That would be just one thing that I am terrible at," I said, standing and giving her my best smile. "Well, it's late, and.." I checked my watch, which read 9:47, and stretched. "I might just be going on to bed. We start our new lessons tomorrow, don't forget. I don't want to be falling asleep in a pool, especially with Dumbledore as our teacher. He's so funny, I don't want him to be replaced with Snape or something just because I was tired, right?"
"I suppose. I'll be going up in a bit, once I finish my essay here," she said, yawning.
"Don't stay up too late," I warned, shaking my head at what I had just said. I was turning into my mother, honestly. Or maybe Hermione, judging from how I had just thought the word 'honestly.' "G'night!" I walked towards and up our staircase.
"Good night!" she called after me.
After I went up the staircase, I opened the door to our room and found everyone asleep. As quietly as I could, I got myself ready for bed and slipped under the covers, drifting away nearly as soon as my head hit the pillow.
I awoke the next morning to very loud shouting. I blinked several times and sat up sleepily, running a hand through my disheveled hair. This was odd, usually it was other people that woke up to Hermione and I shouting. I wondered who it could be that was shouting as loudly as we did. I was so curious that I didn't even bother to groan about getting up. I opened up the boy's door, and saw before me..Harry and Hermione? This was definitely odd.
But just as I was about to start down the stairs, I heard my name crop up. This could be interesting. I would stay right where I was. I hid behind the banister, and collapsed onto my arse.
It had to be Hermione who shouted, "Well, it's not like I see you going up to..to Cho Chang and saying, 'Oh, my dearest Cho, I'm madly in love with you, I have been since we first met,' do I now?"
"You're madly in love with him and have been since you first met?"
"Ugh, yes, I am, and yes, I have, are you satisfied?"
"Quite," Harry said. I could just see it in my mind's eye, those two standing down there, screaming their heads off at each other. It was a funny image. I got the giggles, and couldn't stop laughing for a bit. When I turned back to the fight, it was Harry talking again.
"So why don't you tell him all this rather than me?"
"Well, for one thing, he's...he's..asleep!!" Hermione said, looking huffy.
"No, he's not. He's sitting by that banister there, listening to our conversation," Harry said, beginning to laugh.
"You-how long has he been there?"
"Quite a while now," Harry said, laughing harder now.
"You dolt, this isn't FUNNY!" she popped him one on the back of the head.
"Ow!!" Harry cried, rubbing his head.
"Ronald Weasley, you-you rat, get down here NOW!!"
I stood, wincing at the look I could see on Hermione's face. I walked down the stairs slowly, savoring my last moments of life. "Good morning?" I said in an unnaturally high voice.
"Not for you," Hermione said, glaring up at me. "What in the world possessed you to sit up there listening to our private conversation?"
"Well, I was about to come down, but then my name cropped up. I thought it would probably be interesting, I mean, you two never fight. Never!"
"We weren't fighting. We were discussing an important issue," Hermione narrowed her eyes further still at me.
"Mmmm...and why was I left out of this discussion over an important issue--that concerns your love life, I believe, Hermione?" I folded my arms across my chest for a moment, but let them drop a few seconds later.
"You heard what we were talking about?"
"I heard that you're madly in love with some boy and have been since you first met him, does that count?" I asked, shrugging my shoulders slightly. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Harry inching towards the boy's staircase. When he made it, he bolted for the room, not looking back.
"Anything else?" Hermione asked, standing with her hands on her hips, still glaring that evil glare at me, daring me to go on.
"Well, besides my name, which, by the way...If you had to say my name, then this discussion concerns me, because it mentions me. And another thing. If you can confide in Harry about your love life, why not me? Aren't we best friends too, just like you and Harry are?"
Hermione blushed deeply. She seemed to be speechless.
"For the first time in your life, you don't have anything to say? Nothing at all?" I asked, leaning towards her slightly.
"No, Ron. I don't have anything to say," And with that, she turned on her heel and fled up to her room, her hands covering her face.
It looked as though I had made her cry once again. That was one of the few things I was good at--making Hermione cry. Not that I meant to do it, I guess I just went a bit too far with my bantering, and she couldn't take it. Or at least, that's what I hoped was wrong. If it was something serious...I hoped I hadn't offended her in any way.
Since I was left alone in the common room, I went back up to our dorms, where everyone was getting ready for the day. I showered, (yes, contrary to popular belief, they do have showers at Hogwarts) brushed my teeth, ran a comb through my hair, and pulled out the razor that Dad had gotten me back in the summer. I had used it before, but only once. Nevertheless, I pulled out my shaving cream and began shaving. I got more than one cut, but I was happy that I had succeeded without putting a hole in my face.
After I was finally ready, I went back down to the common room, looking around for Harry so that we could go to breakfast together. He was nowhere in sight, so I began the walk alone.
About halfway through, I heard someone behind me, so I turned. There I saw Hermione, looking much the way she had way back in first year when I had insulted her and she had gone crying in the girls bathrooms. She brushed past me without saying a word.
I used my long legs to catch up with her. "Come on, Hermione, don't be that way!" I said in her ear. "I don't want to have to go chasing you from any more trolls-or the giant squid when we go swimming this afternoon."
I winked, and I thought I saw her crack a smile. But only a little one. So I tried again. "And I don't want to have to go with Harry to the Chamber of Secrets again, either, just because you got yourself Petrified. So you've got to stop, or else you'll get injured again and Harry and I will have to be your knights in shining armour and save you. D'you know how tiring that gets, year in and year out? C'mon, Hermione, shape up..for me and Harry...or if not for me, since you don't seem to be heeding my pleas, then Harry. Think of the poor old Harr-ster!"
"The poor old Harr-ster?" she asked, finally facing me and looking skeptical.
"You don't find that extremely amusing? I do," I said, grinning widely at her. "Would you have preferred the Harrymeister?"
"Yes, I would have. The Harrymeister," she tried it out, shaking her head. "It sounds so funny!"
"Ah, but that's what friends are for, right? To make up stupid nicknames for each other?" I winked.
"I suppose," she said, sighing and turning back towards the grand staircase that we were about to walk down. "So are we friends again, then?"
"If you're not still mad at me, then yes, we are," I said, nodding in a soldier-like fashion to her.
She nodded back at me, and then began examining my face. "Ron, did you...cut yourself this morning, by any chance?"
"Oh..those..yeah, I guess you could say that," I said, my head down, and my ears turning a revolting shade of pink.
And with that, we went into the Great Hall for breakfast.
The morning classes were what was to be expected: note-taking Hermione scribbling away, Harry and I either sleeping or half-heartedly taking notes. It was pretty easy, since all we had were Defense Against the Dark Arts, Care of Magical Creatures and Divination.
Then was lunch, in which Harry and I wolfed down our food and then waited about twenty minutes for Hermione to finish.
We had about an hour's break after that. Hermione finished her Defense Against the Dark Arts homework while Harry and I had a quick game of chess. Then we all went to get our swimming suits and begin the long trudge out to the lake.
It took nearly 10 minutes, but we finally got there. It was hot, muggy, and we were all sweating like elephants. Everyone was glad to go to the locker rooms and change out of our heavy robes and into small swimming suits.
The only tiny problem in the locker rooms was Seamus and Dean throwing Colin Creevey's robes on top of the lockers, where he couldn't get them, and no one else but Dean and I could, either.
I decided to just give the poor boy his robes, even though I did enjoy a good joke or two. For one thing, I didn't want to get into trouble with Dumbledore, and for another, I had had this trick pulled on me countless times by Fred and George when I was still smaller than them. It is never fun to have your underwear stuck in a tree for the whole village to see.
So when I finally got out on the edge of the lake, I was nearly late. Dumbledore had begun to line us up, boy-girl, boy-girl. I looked around for Harry, but he was way on the other side of the lake. Hermione was hidden behind someone a little ways away from me, but I could see her trademark bushy hair. My sister was standing right next to me. And of course, just my luck, I got placed next to her.
Just as Dumbledore was beginning to explain the lake rules, there was a splash as someone fell in. It was Neville. He was splashing about, looking like he was going to drown, until someone shouted, "Neville, stand up!!"
When he did, he found that he was still three feet above the surface of the pool.
"Are you all right, Mr. Longbottom?" Dumbledore called from the edge of the lake. I just then got a good glimpse of Dumbledore, and found that he was wearing one of those old men's swimming suits that has straps that go up and over your shoulders, kind of like a women's suit. But Dumbledore's was red and orange striped, so it looked especially bright.
As I was looking at Dumbledore, I looked a short bit past him and caught a glimpse of a goddess-Hermione.
A/N-This chapter is a bit shorter than the last one, but it took half as long to write. Yes, I know I am a slow writer. Don't murder me, please. I have very little time for writing left over after my day is done, so it becomes quite difficult to write long chapters in two days. Again-I am review deprived, and tell the truth. I don't care if you say that it sucks. Just say it constructively, all right? Then we will all be happy and we can play and eat ice cream together. ;-)
I had gotten out of the bath not long after that. The whole pleasant and relaxing atmosphere had been ruined by Hermione's small 'intrusion'. The problem was that I got so nervous and excited around her, but I didn't know why. I mean, she was just my friend, right? Why should that make me nervous? It was all jacked up. As a matter of fact, life is jacked up, and my philosophy is that we just have to deal. But anyway, back to what I was saying.
I went back to the Common Room just in time to meet up with Harry and Hermione for dinner. I could tell Hermione was embarassed and mad at me, because she acted as though I wasn't there. I really did want to talk to her and make up, but not while everyone was around, and not if she was going to bite my head off for it.
But other than that, everything was normal as we walked down to the Great Hall-Harry said something about Quidditch, and soon we had a discussion going; Fred and George had put a bomb in Snape's food; we heard them whispering about it in the hall, and it seemed that Dean and Parvati were having another of their famous breakups, because Parvati was looking tearstained.
When we arrived in the Great Hall, though, I was jolted back to the reality that Hermione was mad at me-again. She went over and sat with Ginny and her friends and left Harry and I stranded.
Nevertheless, I ate with my usual vigor and had nearly finished my treacle tart when I felt a tap on my back. I turned to face my little sister, Ginny. "Whaddya want?" I said somewhat messily because I was still in the middle of chewing. I swallowed quickly and repeated my question. "What do you want, Gin?"
"Oh, not much, I just want to know what you've done to Hermione now. She's quite upset and she won't tell me what happened, but she's really mad."
I glanced over at Hermione, but the moment she saw me looking, she turned away and stuck her nose in the air, though I could see her neck and face beginning to turn red.
"So what was it, then? Was it about Krum again? Did you start screaming again? What? Tell me!"
"It's none of your business, Gin. Besides, it was nothing," I felt my face and ears starting to get hot.
"It must have been something, because you're turning red!"
"Shut up."
"Well, I know that he went to take a bath," Harry muttered.
"Harry! You're supposed to be on my side," I cried.
"Sorry, mate, but that's too bad," Harry shook his head sarcastically.
"So....what else, Harry?" Gin asked excitedly.
"Well...awhile after Ron left, Hermione came into the Common Room looking mad and told me she'd just been to have a bath."
"Really?" Ginny asked, beginning to pace like a lawyer about to win an important case. "So they were both taking baths. And they're both Prefects, so I assume they would be using that bathroom. They must have met up somewhere and somehow. But then what happened, I wonder?" she stopped dead in front of me and placed her hands on her hips, her feet widespread. "Is there anything you'd like to tell us, Ron?"
"Nothing in particular," I answered, smirking, although I was still a reddish tint.
"Fine then," she said, pulling my arm and making me stand up, then stalking over to Hermione and doing the same to her. "Come," she said, pulling us behind her and up into the Gryffindor Common Room and then pushing us onto a two-person couch together. "Talk."
Hermione turned away from me again, her nose in the air, and I just sighed, leaning back on the couch, and stared off into space.
"Harry, it's not working. They won't talk," Ginny whined.
"Get Gred and Forge. They'll force them to talk," Harry grinned evilly at me.
I glanced at Hermione once more. She was looking towards me. We both looked away as soon as our eyes caught, but we had come to a silent agreement: talk.
"Well.." Hermione's voice started to say. "We met up in the Prefect's bathroom."
"And she got herself caught in my bubbles," I said, smirking at her.
"And then the little twit wouldn't get me out, even though I was stuck," Hermione added on with a little smile of her own.
"So then she started calling me names," I said menacingly.
"And he still refused to get me out," Hermione frowned.
"So we had a small row," I concluded, winking at her.
"And that's it?" Ginny asked, looking disappointed.
"That's it," Hermione said loudly. "And if no one minds, I am going to do some of my homework. Excuse me." she stood and walked over to her bookbag, which she pulled open and grabbed a piece of parchment from. Then she started writing something on it that I couldn't read.
"Want a game of chess, Harry?" I asked quickly, looking away from Hermione.
"Not really," he replied. "I think I'll tuck in early tonight. Bit tired."
"Oh, all right. Gin, do you want a game?"
"No, I think I'm going to rest up too. Swimming lessons start tomorrow, don't forget."
"I guess you're right. Well then, Harry, I'll be up in a bit. 'Night," I said, frowning and turning away. This left me with one person to talk to: Hermione. So I walked over to her little homework nook after Harry and Ginny had went up to bed. "What are you working on?" I asked, sitting across from her.
"Charms essay," she answered, turning away from me. "And I'm still mad at you."
"What did I do to you?"
"Only humiliated me in the middle of my bath and refused to help me when I was stuck!" she blew her hair out of her eyes and looked up at me through her bangs, which made it seem that her efforts had been wasted, since they were still in her eyes.
"Gee, Hermione, it's not like it was my fault you got stuck in my bubbles. Besides, it's my nature to be sarcastic. You should know that by now, I mean, really," I said softly back to her.
"I'll keep that in mind for next time, thanks," she sneered back to me. I raised my eyebrows, surprised. Hermione never sneered.
"Yes, do. It would make my life a lot easier if you would stop getting mad at me all the time," I said, smiling.
"All right, I'm sorry. I really don't mean to get mad, it's just.." she sighed. "You are maddening, you really are."
"I-I am?" I wondered, my voice cracking in the middle of 'am.' Damn voice change.
"Yes, you are. With your sarcasm, and..and...oh, your you-ness!!"
"My me-ness," I said, rolling my eyes and sighing. "Oh, that's the clearest explaination I've heard in a long time."
"I've always prided myself on my ability to explain," she expressed, winking at me.
"I sure haven't. That would be just one thing that I am terrible at," I said, standing and giving her my best smile. "Well, it's late, and.." I checked my watch, which read 9:47, and stretched. "I might just be going on to bed. We start our new lessons tomorrow, don't forget. I don't want to be falling asleep in a pool, especially with Dumbledore as our teacher. He's so funny, I don't want him to be replaced with Snape or something just because I was tired, right?"
"I suppose. I'll be going up in a bit, once I finish my essay here," she said, yawning.
"Don't stay up too late," I warned, shaking my head at what I had just said. I was turning into my mother, honestly. Or maybe Hermione, judging from how I had just thought the word 'honestly.' "G'night!" I walked towards and up our staircase.
"Good night!" she called after me.
After I went up the staircase, I opened the door to our room and found everyone asleep. As quietly as I could, I got myself ready for bed and slipped under the covers, drifting away nearly as soon as my head hit the pillow.
I awoke the next morning to very loud shouting. I blinked several times and sat up sleepily, running a hand through my disheveled hair. This was odd, usually it was other people that woke up to Hermione and I shouting. I wondered who it could be that was shouting as loudly as we did. I was so curious that I didn't even bother to groan about getting up. I opened up the boy's door, and saw before me..Harry and Hermione? This was definitely odd.
But just as I was about to start down the stairs, I heard my name crop up. This could be interesting. I would stay right where I was. I hid behind the banister, and collapsed onto my arse.
It had to be Hermione who shouted, "Well, it's not like I see you going up to..to Cho Chang and saying, 'Oh, my dearest Cho, I'm madly in love with you, I have been since we first met,' do I now?"
"You're madly in love with him and have been since you first met?"
"Ugh, yes, I am, and yes, I have, are you satisfied?"
"Quite," Harry said. I could just see it in my mind's eye, those two standing down there, screaming their heads off at each other. It was a funny image. I got the giggles, and couldn't stop laughing for a bit. When I turned back to the fight, it was Harry talking again.
"So why don't you tell him all this rather than me?"
"Well, for one thing, he's...he's..asleep!!" Hermione said, looking huffy.
"No, he's not. He's sitting by that banister there, listening to our conversation," Harry said, beginning to laugh.
"You-how long has he been there?"
"Quite a while now," Harry said, laughing harder now.
"You dolt, this isn't FUNNY!" she popped him one on the back of the head.
"Ow!!" Harry cried, rubbing his head.
"Ronald Weasley, you-you rat, get down here NOW!!"
I stood, wincing at the look I could see on Hermione's face. I walked down the stairs slowly, savoring my last moments of life. "Good morning?" I said in an unnaturally high voice.
"Not for you," Hermione said, glaring up at me. "What in the world possessed you to sit up there listening to our private conversation?"
"Well, I was about to come down, but then my name cropped up. I thought it would probably be interesting, I mean, you two never fight. Never!"
"We weren't fighting. We were discussing an important issue," Hermione narrowed her eyes further still at me.
"Mmmm...and why was I left out of this discussion over an important issue--that concerns your love life, I believe, Hermione?" I folded my arms across my chest for a moment, but let them drop a few seconds later.
"You heard what we were talking about?"
"I heard that you're madly in love with some boy and have been since you first met him, does that count?" I asked, shrugging my shoulders slightly. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Harry inching towards the boy's staircase. When he made it, he bolted for the room, not looking back.
"Anything else?" Hermione asked, standing with her hands on her hips, still glaring that evil glare at me, daring me to go on.
"Well, besides my name, which, by the way...If you had to say my name, then this discussion concerns me, because it mentions me. And another thing. If you can confide in Harry about your love life, why not me? Aren't we best friends too, just like you and Harry are?"
Hermione blushed deeply. She seemed to be speechless.
"For the first time in your life, you don't have anything to say? Nothing at all?" I asked, leaning towards her slightly.
"No, Ron. I don't have anything to say," And with that, she turned on her heel and fled up to her room, her hands covering her face.
It looked as though I had made her cry once again. That was one of the few things I was good at--making Hermione cry. Not that I meant to do it, I guess I just went a bit too far with my bantering, and she couldn't take it. Or at least, that's what I hoped was wrong. If it was something serious...I hoped I hadn't offended her in any way.
Since I was left alone in the common room, I went back up to our dorms, where everyone was getting ready for the day. I showered, (yes, contrary to popular belief, they do have showers at Hogwarts) brushed my teeth, ran a comb through my hair, and pulled out the razor that Dad had gotten me back in the summer. I had used it before, but only once. Nevertheless, I pulled out my shaving cream and began shaving. I got more than one cut, but I was happy that I had succeeded without putting a hole in my face.
After I was finally ready, I went back down to the common room, looking around for Harry so that we could go to breakfast together. He was nowhere in sight, so I began the walk alone.
About halfway through, I heard someone behind me, so I turned. There I saw Hermione, looking much the way she had way back in first year when I had insulted her and she had gone crying in the girls bathrooms. She brushed past me without saying a word.
I used my long legs to catch up with her. "Come on, Hermione, don't be that way!" I said in her ear. "I don't want to have to go chasing you from any more trolls-or the giant squid when we go swimming this afternoon."
I winked, and I thought I saw her crack a smile. But only a little one. So I tried again. "And I don't want to have to go with Harry to the Chamber of Secrets again, either, just because you got yourself Petrified. So you've got to stop, or else you'll get injured again and Harry and I will have to be your knights in shining armour and save you. D'you know how tiring that gets, year in and year out? C'mon, Hermione, shape up..for me and Harry...or if not for me, since you don't seem to be heeding my pleas, then Harry. Think of the poor old Harr-ster!"
"The poor old Harr-ster?" she asked, finally facing me and looking skeptical.
"You don't find that extremely amusing? I do," I said, grinning widely at her. "Would you have preferred the Harrymeister?"
"Yes, I would have. The Harrymeister," she tried it out, shaking her head. "It sounds so funny!"
"Ah, but that's what friends are for, right? To make up stupid nicknames for each other?" I winked.
"I suppose," she said, sighing and turning back towards the grand staircase that we were about to walk down. "So are we friends again, then?"
"If you're not still mad at me, then yes, we are," I said, nodding in a soldier-like fashion to her.
She nodded back at me, and then began examining my face. "Ron, did you...cut yourself this morning, by any chance?"
"Oh..those..yeah, I guess you could say that," I said, my head down, and my ears turning a revolting shade of pink.
And with that, we went into the Great Hall for breakfast.
The morning classes were what was to be expected: note-taking Hermione scribbling away, Harry and I either sleeping or half-heartedly taking notes. It was pretty easy, since all we had were Defense Against the Dark Arts, Care of Magical Creatures and Divination.
Then was lunch, in which Harry and I wolfed down our food and then waited about twenty minutes for Hermione to finish.
We had about an hour's break after that. Hermione finished her Defense Against the Dark Arts homework while Harry and I had a quick game of chess. Then we all went to get our swimming suits and begin the long trudge out to the lake.
It took nearly 10 minutes, but we finally got there. It was hot, muggy, and we were all sweating like elephants. Everyone was glad to go to the locker rooms and change out of our heavy robes and into small swimming suits.
The only tiny problem in the locker rooms was Seamus and Dean throwing Colin Creevey's robes on top of the lockers, where he couldn't get them, and no one else but Dean and I could, either.
I decided to just give the poor boy his robes, even though I did enjoy a good joke or two. For one thing, I didn't want to get into trouble with Dumbledore, and for another, I had had this trick pulled on me countless times by Fred and George when I was still smaller than them. It is never fun to have your underwear stuck in a tree for the whole village to see.
So when I finally got out on the edge of the lake, I was nearly late. Dumbledore had begun to line us up, boy-girl, boy-girl. I looked around for Harry, but he was way on the other side of the lake. Hermione was hidden behind someone a little ways away from me, but I could see her trademark bushy hair. My sister was standing right next to me. And of course, just my luck, I got placed next to her.
Just as Dumbledore was beginning to explain the lake rules, there was a splash as someone fell in. It was Neville. He was splashing about, looking like he was going to drown, until someone shouted, "Neville, stand up!!"
When he did, he found that he was still three feet above the surface of the pool.
"Are you all right, Mr. Longbottom?" Dumbledore called from the edge of the lake. I just then got a good glimpse of Dumbledore, and found that he was wearing one of those old men's swimming suits that has straps that go up and over your shoulders, kind of like a women's suit. But Dumbledore's was red and orange striped, so it looked especially bright.
As I was looking at Dumbledore, I looked a short bit past him and caught a glimpse of a goddess-Hermione.
A/N-This chapter is a bit shorter than the last one, but it took half as long to write. Yes, I know I am a slow writer. Don't murder me, please. I have very little time for writing left over after my day is done, so it becomes quite difficult to write long chapters in two days. Again-I am review deprived, and tell the truth. I don't care if you say that it sucks. Just say it constructively, all right? Then we will all be happy and we can play and eat ice cream together. ;-)