Chapter 2
The day was extremely windy. Ron tried to warm-up his hands and focus on the game rather than how cold he was. Ginny sat next to him apparently alright.
"Aren't you cold?" Ron asked her.
"Actually, this is quite nice," she said, looking completely relaxed. "I have been boiling for the last few days."
"Have you been to the doctor? You might be coming down with something."
"Oh, no. The doctor said it's perfectly normal. He just warned me not to get too cold."
Ron studied the look on Ginny's face. Her eyes followed Harry intently. He couldn't help feeling a bit jealous of their relationship.
Ginny suddenly sat up. "Ooh!" she exclaimed.
"POTTER IS NOW CHASING AFTER THE SNITCH!" cried the announcer. "AND HE HAS IT!!! THE CANNONS HAVE DONE IT AGAIN!!!"
"You must be really glad that you're team is finally winning games," Ginny said to Ron as the applause died down.
"Mock me if you want. I've always believed in them."
They left the stands to go wait for Harry. "Would you mind waiting here?" Ginny asked, doing a weird dance on her toes. "I've got to run to the bathroom." Ron let out a sigh, and Ginny bolted away from him.
"Ron?" Ron turned and saw Hermione. "Is the game over already?"
"Yeah. Harry caught the snitch in no time." Hermione looked disappointed. "Why are you late? The game had started twenty minutes ago."
"I told Krum I would be watching the game, and he insisted on taking me to lunch before it." Ron's face stiffened. "I tried to get here on time. I really did. Oh, well. There will be more games. I bet they'll make it to the Quidditch Cup. I'll be sure to attend that. Wild horses couldn't keep me from it."
Ron wasn't really satisfied with her answer. "Hermione!" exclaimed Ginny as she approached the two of them with Harry.
"Hi, Ginny! You look great!" said Hermione as she hugged her and Harry. "I'm sorry I missed your game, Harry."
"That's alright. You just better be there when we go to the World Cup." Ron had a smug look on his face. "What's with you?"
"Hm? Me? Nothing," he said, trying to act oblivious.
"Come on. Let's go to our house, and we'll all have some tea," said Ginny. They all apparated and found themselves right outside of Harry's and Ginny's home. It looked nothing like the Burrow, but it was definitely a wizard's home. It had no particular shape and was three stories high. The backyard looked more like a jungle than the one the Weasley's had, but there was a wide space behind it which seemed to be where Harry practiced Quidditch. The inside looked like two decorators with completely different tastes had a go at it. It was filled with mismatching furniture, but half of it matched as did the other half. There were a lot of windows, and the first floor was completely open as there were no doors separating each room, except of course for the bathroom. A weird floral motiff collided with a sort of gothic theme. It didn't look hideous, but it did look distorted.
"Wow," said Hermione, looking around with her eyes wide open. "Last time I was here it was completely empty and congruent."
Ginny, in the kitchen area busy preparing tea, looked over at Hermione with a smile. "Oh, well, we kind of had differences of styles."
"Maybe only one of you should have decorated then."
Ginny laughed. "I *wish* one of us could have decorated, but they wouldn't give us a chance."
"Who are they?"
"Sirius and my mum." Hermione contained her laughter.
"Really?" she said, smiling stupidly.
"They each wanted to help, and they both kind of took over. We didn't have the heart to refuse either of them." Ginny paused and looked around. "It grows on you after a while."
They all sat down at a beautiful peach colored table that had a small black statue of a gargoyle as a centerpiece.
"So how have you been at Hogwarts?" Ginny asked Hermione.
"Wonderful!" she said. "The students are all great. And the teachers have all been so welcoming. All except for one of course. But he'll never change."
"I couldn't imagine ever having Snape as a co-worker," said Harry, shaking his head.
"It's not that bad. It would probably be worse if I was head of Gryffindor."
"Who is it now?" asked Ginny.
"Professor Tenebram. He went to Hogwarts right before us. He is the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. The way he teaches reminds me a lot of Lupin." Harry, Hermione, and Ron all got misty looks in their eyes. Hermione sighed. "How is Sirius doing?" she asked Harry.
"He is finally getting back on his feet. I guess losing all of his friends just put a huge weight on him. He's trying to find a job, but it's not that easy."
"His name is cleared now. How come he just doesn't go back to his former job?" asked Ron.
"It's only been a few years since his name has been cleared. For twelve years everyone thought he was a cold blooded dark wizard. People just have a hard time seeing past that."
The four of them talked, while they finished their tea, catching up on each other's lives.
"I have to run now," said Hermione as she stood up. "Thank you so much for tea. It was good to see you two again." They said their goodbyes and with a crack, she was gone.
Ron sat back down and saw Ginny smiling at him again. "What?" he asked.
"What were you two talking about earlier at the Quidditch game?"
"She was telling me why she was late."
"And why was that?" asked Harry.
"She was having lunch with Viktor Krum." Ginny's face fell and Harry nearly choked on his muffin.
"Are they dating again?" Harry asked after he recovered from the pastry's attack. Ron sort of shrugged and nodded. "Dating the enemy," he said, shaking his head and taking another bite of his muffin.
"I'm sorry, Ron," said Ginny, sympathetically.
"Why are you sorry? It doesn't affect me." Ginny still had a pitying look on her face. "I'm going to go now." Ron stood up.
"Where are you going?" Ginny asked, worried. Meanwhile Harry was still focused on finishing off his muffin.
"I'm tired. I didn't get much sleep last night."
"Oh. Okay then. Tell mom and dad I said hello."
"I will." And with a crack, Ron found himself in Hogsmeade. He went to the Three Broomsticks and sat at the bar.
"What'll it be?" asked Madame Rosmerta.
"Butterbeer," said Ron, who wasn't much of a drinker.
Rosmerta shook her head. "I hope you don't plan on riding any broomsticks home," she joked, passing a tankard to Ron.
Ron had barely taken a sip of his butterbeer when someone burst into the Three Broomsticks. "THERE'S JUST BEEN A KILLING AT HOGWARTS!!!"