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Chapter Five: Pillow Fights
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A/N: MAJOR apologies for the wait. Bad Tahiri! But I just kind of...lost interest in this one for a while. A long while. But I'm at work on chapter six already, so hopefully I can keep my attention on it, heh.
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About an hour later, Harry was headed up to the Gryffindor boys' dorm. Dumbledore wouldn't let him in on the conversations he was having with Sirius, Lupin, McGonagall, and Snape.
Harry had quickly gotten annoyed by their secrecy and decided to go to bed. There was nothing better to do anyway.
To his surprise, when Harry reached the common room, he realized that he was not alone.
Hermione, Ron, and Ginny were sitting up waiting for him, looking surprised and worried.
"Where have you been?" Ron and Hermione asked in the same breath.
"Harry, what's going on?" Ginny asked softly, her wide eyes filled with concern. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, Gin," Harry replied, giving her a small smile. "At least, I think everything's okay."
"What is going on here?" Ron demanded, knowing instantly from the look on Harry's face that something was going on, and something big.
"Lupin and Sirius took me exploring. They said my dad would have wanted me to see all the secret places they had found. We got to this one room, and we found someone living in it."
A collective gasp went up.
"What?!" Hermione shrieked. "How did anyone get in?! In Hogwarts, A History, it says that -"
"Shut up, Hermione," Ron said quickly. "Harry, were - were they a Death Eater?"
"No," Harry said. "It was a girl - young woman. I don't know how old she was, but she was definitely older than us. Sirius and Lupin took her up to Dumbledore, and he gave her Veritaserum. Her name is Reed, she's on our side, an orphan, and a werewolf."
Everyone's mouth dropped open as Harry gave them all the details. When he got to the part about her family dying, Ginny looked like she was near tears, so Harry quickly changed the subject.
"I don't know what's going to happen to her. She finally broke down and started crying, and Lupin begged Dumbledore to let him take her to a guest room and let her calm down. Dumbledore made sure she wasn't working for Voldemort -"
"Say You-Know-Who!" Ron growled.
"And then he let Lupin take her off," Harry continued without missing a beat. "Maybe I'm crazy, but to me, it looked almost like Lupin was starting to fancy her."
"Aw!" Hermione exclaimed. "How sweet!"
Harry grinned, then sobered. "I feel sorry for Reed. From what I heard, she's been through a lot. I only wish I knew what she was doing here."
"You don't fancy her, do you?" Ron demanded.
"No!" Harry was taken aback by that question. "I don't know where you got that from. Just because I said I felt bad for her doesn't mean I fancy her!"
"Sorry," Ron said, looking chagrined.
Ginny sat quietly through it all.
"Anyway," Hermione said quickly, sensing the awkward situation. "What did Dumbledore say about Reed?'
"He didn't really say anything. I don't know what they're going to do with her."
"Turn her into the Ministry of Magic, maybe?" Hermione suggested.
"I hope not. I doubt the Ministry would show her much mercy. She didn't really do anything to hurt anyone, though I have no idea what she was doing here in the first place," Harry said.
"She's a mystery, all right," Hermione said, looking lost in thought.
"Aren't all females?" Ron asked with a snort.
The next thing Ron knew, he was being slapped upside the head by an agitated Hermione. "Hey! What was that for?" he sputtered, then turned to Harry. "You see what I mean?! I just make an innocent comment and she slaps me!"
"Innocent? Ronald Weasley, I don't think innocent is the word you're looking for. Try ignorant."
"Hermione Granger, have you stooped so low as to insult my vocabulary?"
Hermione's cheeks were flushed, and she appeared quite angry. But to anyone that knew her, she was obviously having a good bit of fun. "Maybe not your vocabulary, but certainly your intelligence!"
Harry rolled his eyes at Ginny, who giggled and stood up from where she was sitting to stand by his side. "Those two are so clueless," she whispered, watching Ron and Hermione slap each other with pillows they had grabbed from the couch they had been sitting on. "They flirt and don't even realize they're flirting!"
"They're definitely an odd pair," Harry whispered back.
"No kidding," Ginny whispered back with a snort. "But I think they're cute together."
"In an odd sort of way."
Ginny giggled again and unconsciously leaned her head against Harry's shoulder. Ginny may not have realized what she was doing, but Harry certainly did, and he blinked in surprise. But he couldn't say he minded, and debated whether or not he should put his arm around her shoulders.
But, he was spared having to make that decision when Ron suddenly shouted, "Oy, Harry! Look out!" and threw a pillow directly at his face, knocking his glasses askew.
Ginny began laughing helplessly at this, so Harry scooped up the pillow and playfully whacked her with it. At that, a monstrous pillow fight ensued.
Ron began chasing a half-giggling, half-screaming Hermione around the common room, while Harry and Ginny simply pelted each other from where they stood.
"Do you realize how childish we're all acting?" Hermione yelled, still being pursued by a laughing Ron.
"Herms, don't get all prefect-y on us now!"
"When did I ever say you could call me Herms?!"
"When did I ever say you could call me ignorant?" Ron yelled back.
"Listen to them, Harry!" Ginny said, slapping him with a pillow as she did so. "They're still flirting!"
"Ginny, some things just never change." With that, his arm shot out, and before she could stop him, he had grabbed her pillow. He smirked triumphantly at her, but a moment later had all the breath knocked from him when Ginny suddenly leapt forward and tackled him to the floor. Quite abruptly, Harry found a laughing Ginny Weasley on top of him, her delicate features bearing a triumphant smirk of her own.
"Got ya."
"That you did," Harry agreed, laughing despite himself. He reached up and ruffled her red hair, which floated down into his face.
"Don't do that," she said, the look in her eyes telling him that she was serious and not simply joking with him.
"Why not?" Harry asked in confusion. "I just ruffled your hair."
"Exactly," Ginny said. "Ron does that to me all the time. I don't like it, especially when you do it. It makes me feel . . . oh, never mind." She rolled off of Harry with a sigh, sitting on the floor with her knees drawn up to her chest as she watched her brother and friend playfully attack each other.
Harry sat up as well and laid a hand gently on her thin shoulder, noticing how she flinched ever so slightly at his touch. "No, don't 'oh never mind' me. You're my friend, and something's upsetting you. If it's something I did, I want to know so that I can fix it."
With another sigh, Ginny turned to face him. "It's not your fault, Harry . . . and I know this is probably really stupid and silly of me. I don't even want to tell you. I mean, the last thing I need is for someone to think I'm crazy."
Harry flashed her a grin. "There's no need to worry about it - I don't mind it if my friends are crazy. I mean, look at those two." He nodded towards Ron and Hermione.
Ginny smiled faintly - and fleetingly. "It's just that . . . everyone treats me like their little sister. Even some people in my own year! It drives me crazy. I just want someone to see me as . . . something else. Not as a sister."
Harry shifted awkwardly, unsure of what to do or say. After a moment's pause, he leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, then smiled at her. "Don't worry about it, Gin. They just treat you like that because you're so bloody loveable." He chuckled, eyes twinkling behind his glasses.
Ginny blushed, but she was laughing. "Trust you to make me feel better," she said, rolling her eyes.
Harry grinned. "You're welcome."
Their banter was cut short, however, as a rather loud shriek could be heard from the other end of the room, followed by an even louder crash.
"Ouch! Ron! You just chased me into a table, made me knock it down, then fell on top of me! Get off me, you big oaf!"
"I think maybe it's time to call this quits," Harry said, walking over and helping Ron up - and off of Hermione - and then setting the table back upright again.
"Probably a good idea," Ron agreed. "Before we break something." He reached down and took Hermione's hand, helping her to her feet as well. "Sorry about that."
She looked slightly surprised at this gesture. "It's okay. Thanks, Ron." Then her eyes suddenly lit with a mischievous sparkle. "Why don't we all sleep down here tonight? You know, sort of like a campout?"
Ron's response was instant. "Wicked!"
"Could we get in trouble for that?" Ginny asked.
Ron grinned. "Ginny, it's Hermione. Hermione the Prefect. Do you think she'd do something against the rules?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Ron, you know very well that I can so break rules - if there's a need to. And Ginny, no, we're not going to get in trouble. No one's going to care if we sleep down here. I mean, it's just the four of us anyway."
Ginny smiled. "Do you want me to go upstairs and get some blankets and pillows?"
Hermione nodded, and Harry walked over to Ginny's side. "I'll go with you." With that, the two students headed up the stairs to the dormitories.
A few minutes later, they returned, arms full of various bedding materials. "Are we going to sleep in chairs or on the floor?" Ginny asked.
Hermione thought for a moment. "How about on the floor in front of the fire?"
"Sounds good to me," Harry said, dumping his armful onto the floor and beginning to make up a bed for himself. The others did the same, and within minutes their "camp" was set up.
Ron stretched out on his "bed", his lanky form just fitting onto the blankets. "Yeah, this'll do just fine," he said with a grin, then sat up. "You know what else we need? Food!" He immediately volunteered to "commandeer" some from the kitchen, and before anyone could stop him, he headed off.
"Men." Hermione shook her head. "Always thinking with their stomachs."
"Hey!" Harry protested playfully. Hermione chuckled and leaned over to give him a sisterly hug.
"Well, I must admit, you aren't as annoying as most," she said with a smile.
Ginny grinned, wanting desperately to say, "But I imagine you don't find him nearly as cute as certain others, hmm?" but deciding to keep her mouth shut. There would be a better time and place for such teasing - such as when her brother was around as well. Oh, that was going to be such fun, especially if Harry decided to help her out.
Truthfully, though, while she did love to tease her brother, Ginny really wanted him to admit he fancied Hermione, and vice-versa. In her opinion, the two were meant to be together, only both were too stubborn - or stupid - to see it.
A few minutes later, Ron came bursting back through the portrait hole. "That was fast," Hermione commented.
"Yeah. House elves practically bombarded me with food the minute I walked in the door." With that, he dumped a rather large assortment of food onto a nearby table. Harry, Hermione, and Ginny headed over to make their selections, then went to sit down on their makeshift beds.
The four friends ate and talked for a little while before deciding to go to sleep. By this time, it was very late, and they were all exhausted. With mumbled "G'night"'s going around the room, they all drifted into slumber.
Some time later, around dawn, Professor Minerva McGonagall walked into the Gryffindor common room, intending to check on the few children that were left in the House. Undoubtedly, Potter had informed his friends of the latest "arrival" at Hogwarts. They might even be up still, discussing the young woman Reed. Professor McGonagall shook her head - even she didn't quite know what to make of the young lady. But Albus appeared to trust her, or at least believed she was indeed on their side - and how could he not, after she had been questioned with Veritaserum? And her former colleague Remus seemed to be somewhat taken with her . . . and she could certainly understand that attraction, the two of them having the same terrible curse.
As she entered the common room, what she saw rather startled her. The children were there, asleep, lying on blankets by the fire. But what startled her was this: Ginny Weasley was sleeping curled up firmly against Harry Potter's side, her head resting on his chest, rising up and down with every breath he took. The girl looked quite peaceful, her vibrant hair appearing even redder in the light of the fire. But that was not all. Hermione Granger was snuggled up against the Weasley boy, Ron, in much the same position. It was apparent that they had started out on separate beds, but somehow during the night, ending up . . . cuddling together.
A faint smile crossed Minerva's lips. "I think perhaps Albus just might lose that bet after all."
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A/N II: To explain the ending: Dumbledore and McGonagall were betting on who would get together with who. Dumbledore said Harry and Hermione, McGonagall said Ron and Hermione, as well as Ginny and Harry. Kay?
Chapter Five: Pillow Fights
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A/N: MAJOR apologies for the wait. Bad Tahiri! But I just kind of...lost interest in this one for a while. A long while. But I'm at work on chapter six already, so hopefully I can keep my attention on it, heh.
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About an hour later, Harry was headed up to the Gryffindor boys' dorm. Dumbledore wouldn't let him in on the conversations he was having with Sirius, Lupin, McGonagall, and Snape.
Harry had quickly gotten annoyed by their secrecy and decided to go to bed. There was nothing better to do anyway.
To his surprise, when Harry reached the common room, he realized that he was not alone.
Hermione, Ron, and Ginny were sitting up waiting for him, looking surprised and worried.
"Where have you been?" Ron and Hermione asked in the same breath.
"Harry, what's going on?" Ginny asked softly, her wide eyes filled with concern. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, Gin," Harry replied, giving her a small smile. "At least, I think everything's okay."
"What is going on here?" Ron demanded, knowing instantly from the look on Harry's face that something was going on, and something big.
"Lupin and Sirius took me exploring. They said my dad would have wanted me to see all the secret places they had found. We got to this one room, and we found someone living in it."
A collective gasp went up.
"What?!" Hermione shrieked. "How did anyone get in?! In Hogwarts, A History, it says that -"
"Shut up, Hermione," Ron said quickly. "Harry, were - were they a Death Eater?"
"No," Harry said. "It was a girl - young woman. I don't know how old she was, but she was definitely older than us. Sirius and Lupin took her up to Dumbledore, and he gave her Veritaserum. Her name is Reed, she's on our side, an orphan, and a werewolf."
Everyone's mouth dropped open as Harry gave them all the details. When he got to the part about her family dying, Ginny looked like she was near tears, so Harry quickly changed the subject.
"I don't know what's going to happen to her. She finally broke down and started crying, and Lupin begged Dumbledore to let him take her to a guest room and let her calm down. Dumbledore made sure she wasn't working for Voldemort -"
"Say You-Know-Who!" Ron growled.
"And then he let Lupin take her off," Harry continued without missing a beat. "Maybe I'm crazy, but to me, it looked almost like Lupin was starting to fancy her."
"Aw!" Hermione exclaimed. "How sweet!"
Harry grinned, then sobered. "I feel sorry for Reed. From what I heard, she's been through a lot. I only wish I knew what she was doing here."
"You don't fancy her, do you?" Ron demanded.
"No!" Harry was taken aback by that question. "I don't know where you got that from. Just because I said I felt bad for her doesn't mean I fancy her!"
"Sorry," Ron said, looking chagrined.
Ginny sat quietly through it all.
"Anyway," Hermione said quickly, sensing the awkward situation. "What did Dumbledore say about Reed?'
"He didn't really say anything. I don't know what they're going to do with her."
"Turn her into the Ministry of Magic, maybe?" Hermione suggested.
"I hope not. I doubt the Ministry would show her much mercy. She didn't really do anything to hurt anyone, though I have no idea what she was doing here in the first place," Harry said.
"She's a mystery, all right," Hermione said, looking lost in thought.
"Aren't all females?" Ron asked with a snort.
The next thing Ron knew, he was being slapped upside the head by an agitated Hermione. "Hey! What was that for?" he sputtered, then turned to Harry. "You see what I mean?! I just make an innocent comment and she slaps me!"
"Innocent? Ronald Weasley, I don't think innocent is the word you're looking for. Try ignorant."
"Hermione Granger, have you stooped so low as to insult my vocabulary?"
Hermione's cheeks were flushed, and she appeared quite angry. But to anyone that knew her, she was obviously having a good bit of fun. "Maybe not your vocabulary, but certainly your intelligence!"
Harry rolled his eyes at Ginny, who giggled and stood up from where she was sitting to stand by his side. "Those two are so clueless," she whispered, watching Ron and Hermione slap each other with pillows they had grabbed from the couch they had been sitting on. "They flirt and don't even realize they're flirting!"
"They're definitely an odd pair," Harry whispered back.
"No kidding," Ginny whispered back with a snort. "But I think they're cute together."
"In an odd sort of way."
Ginny giggled again and unconsciously leaned her head against Harry's shoulder. Ginny may not have realized what she was doing, but Harry certainly did, and he blinked in surprise. But he couldn't say he minded, and debated whether or not he should put his arm around her shoulders.
But, he was spared having to make that decision when Ron suddenly shouted, "Oy, Harry! Look out!" and threw a pillow directly at his face, knocking his glasses askew.
Ginny began laughing helplessly at this, so Harry scooped up the pillow and playfully whacked her with it. At that, a monstrous pillow fight ensued.
Ron began chasing a half-giggling, half-screaming Hermione around the common room, while Harry and Ginny simply pelted each other from where they stood.
"Do you realize how childish we're all acting?" Hermione yelled, still being pursued by a laughing Ron.
"Herms, don't get all prefect-y on us now!"
"When did I ever say you could call me Herms?!"
"When did I ever say you could call me ignorant?" Ron yelled back.
"Listen to them, Harry!" Ginny said, slapping him with a pillow as she did so. "They're still flirting!"
"Ginny, some things just never change." With that, his arm shot out, and before she could stop him, he had grabbed her pillow. He smirked triumphantly at her, but a moment later had all the breath knocked from him when Ginny suddenly leapt forward and tackled him to the floor. Quite abruptly, Harry found a laughing Ginny Weasley on top of him, her delicate features bearing a triumphant smirk of her own.
"Got ya."
"That you did," Harry agreed, laughing despite himself. He reached up and ruffled her red hair, which floated down into his face.
"Don't do that," she said, the look in her eyes telling him that she was serious and not simply joking with him.
"Why not?" Harry asked in confusion. "I just ruffled your hair."
"Exactly," Ginny said. "Ron does that to me all the time. I don't like it, especially when you do it. It makes me feel . . . oh, never mind." She rolled off of Harry with a sigh, sitting on the floor with her knees drawn up to her chest as she watched her brother and friend playfully attack each other.
Harry sat up as well and laid a hand gently on her thin shoulder, noticing how she flinched ever so slightly at his touch. "No, don't 'oh never mind' me. You're my friend, and something's upsetting you. If it's something I did, I want to know so that I can fix it."
With another sigh, Ginny turned to face him. "It's not your fault, Harry . . . and I know this is probably really stupid and silly of me. I don't even want to tell you. I mean, the last thing I need is for someone to think I'm crazy."
Harry flashed her a grin. "There's no need to worry about it - I don't mind it if my friends are crazy. I mean, look at those two." He nodded towards Ron and Hermione.
Ginny smiled faintly - and fleetingly. "It's just that . . . everyone treats me like their little sister. Even some people in my own year! It drives me crazy. I just want someone to see me as . . . something else. Not as a sister."
Harry shifted awkwardly, unsure of what to do or say. After a moment's pause, he leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, then smiled at her. "Don't worry about it, Gin. They just treat you like that because you're so bloody loveable." He chuckled, eyes twinkling behind his glasses.
Ginny blushed, but she was laughing. "Trust you to make me feel better," she said, rolling her eyes.
Harry grinned. "You're welcome."
Their banter was cut short, however, as a rather loud shriek could be heard from the other end of the room, followed by an even louder crash.
"Ouch! Ron! You just chased me into a table, made me knock it down, then fell on top of me! Get off me, you big oaf!"
"I think maybe it's time to call this quits," Harry said, walking over and helping Ron up - and off of Hermione - and then setting the table back upright again.
"Probably a good idea," Ron agreed. "Before we break something." He reached down and took Hermione's hand, helping her to her feet as well. "Sorry about that."
She looked slightly surprised at this gesture. "It's okay. Thanks, Ron." Then her eyes suddenly lit with a mischievous sparkle. "Why don't we all sleep down here tonight? You know, sort of like a campout?"
Ron's response was instant. "Wicked!"
"Could we get in trouble for that?" Ginny asked.
Ron grinned. "Ginny, it's Hermione. Hermione the Prefect. Do you think she'd do something against the rules?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Ron, you know very well that I can so break rules - if there's a need to. And Ginny, no, we're not going to get in trouble. No one's going to care if we sleep down here. I mean, it's just the four of us anyway."
Ginny smiled. "Do you want me to go upstairs and get some blankets and pillows?"
Hermione nodded, and Harry walked over to Ginny's side. "I'll go with you." With that, the two students headed up the stairs to the dormitories.
A few minutes later, they returned, arms full of various bedding materials. "Are we going to sleep in chairs or on the floor?" Ginny asked.
Hermione thought for a moment. "How about on the floor in front of the fire?"
"Sounds good to me," Harry said, dumping his armful onto the floor and beginning to make up a bed for himself. The others did the same, and within minutes their "camp" was set up.
Ron stretched out on his "bed", his lanky form just fitting onto the blankets. "Yeah, this'll do just fine," he said with a grin, then sat up. "You know what else we need? Food!" He immediately volunteered to "commandeer" some from the kitchen, and before anyone could stop him, he headed off.
"Men." Hermione shook her head. "Always thinking with their stomachs."
"Hey!" Harry protested playfully. Hermione chuckled and leaned over to give him a sisterly hug.
"Well, I must admit, you aren't as annoying as most," she said with a smile.
Ginny grinned, wanting desperately to say, "But I imagine you don't find him nearly as cute as certain others, hmm?" but deciding to keep her mouth shut. There would be a better time and place for such teasing - such as when her brother was around as well. Oh, that was going to be such fun, especially if Harry decided to help her out.
Truthfully, though, while she did love to tease her brother, Ginny really wanted him to admit he fancied Hermione, and vice-versa. In her opinion, the two were meant to be together, only both were too stubborn - or stupid - to see it.
A few minutes later, Ron came bursting back through the portrait hole. "That was fast," Hermione commented.
"Yeah. House elves practically bombarded me with food the minute I walked in the door." With that, he dumped a rather large assortment of food onto a nearby table. Harry, Hermione, and Ginny headed over to make their selections, then went to sit down on their makeshift beds.
The four friends ate and talked for a little while before deciding to go to sleep. By this time, it was very late, and they were all exhausted. With mumbled "G'night"'s going around the room, they all drifted into slumber.
Some time later, around dawn, Professor Minerva McGonagall walked into the Gryffindor common room, intending to check on the few children that were left in the House. Undoubtedly, Potter had informed his friends of the latest "arrival" at Hogwarts. They might even be up still, discussing the young woman Reed. Professor McGonagall shook her head - even she didn't quite know what to make of the young lady. But Albus appeared to trust her, or at least believed she was indeed on their side - and how could he not, after she had been questioned with Veritaserum? And her former colleague Remus seemed to be somewhat taken with her . . . and she could certainly understand that attraction, the two of them having the same terrible curse.
As she entered the common room, what she saw rather startled her. The children were there, asleep, lying on blankets by the fire. But what startled her was this: Ginny Weasley was sleeping curled up firmly against Harry Potter's side, her head resting on his chest, rising up and down with every breath he took. The girl looked quite peaceful, her vibrant hair appearing even redder in the light of the fire. But that was not all. Hermione Granger was snuggled up against the Weasley boy, Ron, in much the same position. It was apparent that they had started out on separate beds, but somehow during the night, ending up . . . cuddling together.
A faint smile crossed Minerva's lips. "I think perhaps Albus just might lose that bet after all."
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A/N II: To explain the ending: Dumbledore and McGonagall were betting on who would get together with who. Dumbledore said Harry and Hermione, McGonagall said Ron and Hermione, as well as Ginny and Harry. Kay?