See? You blinked, and the next chapter was already up. Granted, it may have been a very looong blink, but still…Here it is! Yay! We're…almost…there…eep! ~8]
___________________
Disclaimers: Hmm. I wonder if anyone's ever written "Claimers" in this spot…Oh, well…I own nada, and so on.
Chapter 15: Wake-Up Call
Not an instant had passed since Ron sat down when he began to heap pancakes onto his plate, at least eight stacks high. Hermione looked on incredulously, then realized she would lose a bet had she wagered that he couldn't eat them all. She was well acustomed to watching the boy eat by now. Harry helped himself to some real food, and deemed it an opportune time to ask them about the Map since nary a student was left in the Dining Hall.
"Are you guys having any luck with the Map?"
Both Ron and Hermione groaned.
"All I know is that Malfoy had better appreciate us finding him if he really is lost, because I surely didn't enjoy losing sleep last night for his sake," Hermione grumbled.
"You're telling me," Ron replied, then reached into his robe for the Map. His mouth now full of pancakes, he laid it out for Harry to see. "Awrahr, sheedesch schmack ere?"
Hermione rolled her eyes, shifting the Map between her and Harry. "Swallow, Ron, then talk. Alright, Harry, you see that over there? That's where Draco is. We've tried planning a route here, here, here, here, here, here, aaaaand here. But, none of those worked. So, what we're going to have to do is somehow find our way from here over to here, and the best way to do that is to go ask his brothers," she finished, thumbing in Ron's direction.
Harry nodded slowly. "Mmm…hmm…right…could you over that just one more time?"
Hermione sighed defeatedly. "Look, how about we just wait for Fred and George to get up later? You know they never wake before eleven on the weekends. We'll just ask them to go over your route for tonight."
Harry eyed her suspiciously. "Our route? Aren't you coming with us?" Ron swallowed his pancakes quickly, responding for her, "Nope. She'll be in the Library. Again. We can get them to come with us, though."
Looking askance to Ron, the young witch explained. "The Library's having a bit of a gnome problem, so it won't open until noon today. So that leaves me…two hours until then, plenty of time to catch up on the Potions homework I missed completing last night."
"Oh, no, Harry," Ron responded in a flat, sarcastic tone, "she didn't finish her homework at her usual hour. We'd better keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't turn into a ruddy pumpkin." Harry snorted at Ron's sarcasm, only to receive a light kick under the table from a smirking Hermione. "Hey!" he yelled, "He made the comment, not me."
Ron nearly choked on another mouthful of masticated pancakes as he, too, felt a kick to the shin. "Ow! Mate, she's starting to fight dirty now." Before this could continue Hermione finished her last bite and got up from the table. "I'm going to start my homework. If you were smart, Harry, you'd do the same. Snape's been getting awfully pissed off lately, ever since Malfoy's disappearance."
Harry shrugged. "Ah, what else is new? We'll catch up to you in a little while, though, after we pay the Weasley elders a visit." They each crammed a few more pancakes into their mouths before leaving as well, on their way to the seventh-year Gryffindor dorms.
* * * * * *
As they entered the Common Room, Ron asked another seventh-year if he had seen his brothers that morning.
The seventh-year snorted, rolling his eyes. "Seen? Yeah, but I heard them first. Those two snore louder than anyone I've ever heard." He then smiled devilishly. "Are you here to wake them up?"
Harry and Ron grinned back, nodding their heads. The seventh-year sat back in his chair, motioning towards the bedrooms with a flick of his hand. "Well," he replied, "by all means, don't let me stop you." They followed the direction of his hand, quietly padding into where the poster beds resided.
It was quite an interesting sight to behold.
Fred lay sprawled out on his chest, limbs spread in all directions, his covers kicked over the footboard of the bed. George, on the other hand, was curled up under his blanket, only a shock of red hair visible from the top. Ron quietly snuck between their beds with a large grin spread across his face, Harry having to clamp his mouth to keep his laughter from escaping.
Taking a great breath, Ron shouted, "WAKE UP, you lazy bums! It's nearly noon!"
Neither twin budged.
Then, from under George's covers, they heard a muffled, "Fred, did you hear anything?"
Without moving, Fred replied, "Mmm, nope. Nothing at all. Nothing besides a wailing banshee, that is."
Ron sighed heavily. "Come on, guys, we really need your help on this--"
George bolted upright in bed, still covered with his bedsheets. "We? Ron, is Hermione in here? We're not…decent, you know."
"No," Harry responded with a laugh, "I am." Both twins leapt out of bed, running to give Harry a series of hearty slaps on the back. "Harry! It's good to see you among the living again! How's it feel?"
Harry couldn't help but laugh. "Good, good, I'm fine. But," he began, "I'd be much better if you could make heads or tails of this." With that he pulled out the Map, pointing to where Draco's dot was positioned. Fred sighed. "Oh, I just knew that thing would come back to haunt us someday. And it's been doing an awful lot of that lately, wouldn't you agree, George?"
George sighed as well. "Yes, yes, wholeheartedly. But, I can never turn down a request from a dying boy. What is it exactly you need our help with?"
Ron came over as Harry showed them their route, and subsequently, their 'roadblock.' When he was finished, the twins looked up at one another. "Hmm, this could definitely take awhile," one ventured. "Right," the other replied, "there's one thing we must do first."
"What's that?" Ron asked.
"Shower."
Ron motioned exaggeratedly towards the Bathrooms. "Please, be my guests." As they grabbed their towels and headed off to the showers, Harry and Ron took a seat on the opposing (and yet unmade) beds, hoping Hermione was having better luck than they were.
____________________
Whew. Okay, we can take a short break now. But, not a very long one though. Until then, why don't you read the latest "The Bold and the Beautiful" list? Ohh, ohh, idea! Yay!
Rolllllll Calllllll: Lady Foxfire! Raven! Allocin! Loopy! Lily Malfoy! Taracollowen! Iris Iolani! Zahrah Thomson-Radcliffe! Guess! Beccy! The Female Vampire Lestat! Amerkat! Mouse! Lili! Lady of Arundel! ArchArtist/Writer! Breea! Lassy D! Kim! AAAANNNNNDDDDD Urania!!! Yay!! ~8]