Chapter 3: What Words Can Do

*And here is a very, very fun chapter in which I get fluffy! Fun! And Hermione gets mad too, probably the more exciting of the two. Disclaimer: I own nothing etc., etc., etc., if I did own anything, I would try to make sure that I didn't keep rabid fans of Harry Potter waiting THIS long for the 5th book*



And I am contemplating matters
All this cling and clatter in my head
What you said is ringing
Ringing faster
And it's all good if you would
Stop the world from making sense

-Lifehouse, "Cling and Clatter"



"Ron, wake up! This is absolutely wicked!"

Ron opened his sleepy eyes on the morning of October 31st to see a beautiful, beautiful sight. The floor of his and Harry's dorm was literally carpeted with candy - Chocolate Frogs, Bernie Botts', Raspberry Rockets, and what looked like the entire stock of Honeydukes. Harry was hovering over it all, looking like he'd just managed to transfer his dream into reality.

"Who - Harry, what -?"

"Dobby!" Harry said wetly, then swallowed, and continued. "He just showed up this morning really early, apparently before they had to start cooking, and said he had 'Hallowe'en presents for the great Harry Potter and his noble friend Weezy.' "

Ron didn't reply. In fact, he couldn't have. His mouth was already filled with Chocolate Frogs and Fizzing Filibusters.

Harry joined him.

"Wow, a perfect start to a perfect day," Harry said, his eyes wandering off to somewhere in the air. Ron groaned and helped himself to some Bernie Botts' Every-Flavor Beans, trying not to think about something similar to what he thought his friend was.

***

Hermione was already at the Gryffindor table when they arrived for breakfast. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her brown eyes were shining. Her face seemed radiant - to Ron. "Where were you two? Usually you're here a lot earlier than usual."

Ron and Harry sank into their chairs. "Oh, we were just enjoying the nice brisk chilly air of an October morning."

***

"Now, I want you all to look into the crystal ball. Slowly relax, let your thoughts go, become one with your feelings only."

Harry and Ron looked at each other. Divination had always been a struggle - not to laugh, that is. Professor Trelawney's outlandish manner seemed to get funnier every week; as did her many death predictions for her student Harry Potter.

Ron took a deep breath. "Harry - I am looking - into the ball - My - feelings are -washing over all - rational thought I had - which is why I am talking like - a moron -" He moved his hands slowly over the crystal ball, closing his eyes and humming into the air.

Harry was holding his sides in suppressed laughter.

Ron suddenly snapped his eyes open, looked deep into the crystal ball, and - he wrinkled his brow in confusion. He wasn't just seeing the usual cloud of mist and smoke, he could actually make out shapes. He wasn't sure whether or not he had finally tapped into the psychic wave or if Professor Trelawney's incense had finally rotted away half his brain.

He saw what he thought was the Yule Ball. There were students milling around, a few actually slow-dancing, and he saw himself and Harry. But this Yule Ball was remarkably different in one respect from last year's: he and Harry were not with their old partners. Harry was dancing very cozily with a dark-haired girl, and Ron was waltzing with -

Ron shook his head quickly. That was just about as low as it got. His lovesick mind had obviously pasted his desires onto a make-believe situation, and then written it off as a "divination." He looked over at Harry.

"Ron? You really need more sleep."

***

At lunch, Ron found himself steadily avoiding the gaze of Hermione. He didn't know what to think at all: she had done nothing out of the ordinary to make him fall this much for her, yet all he could ever think of was Hermione Granger. The way her hair swished when she turned her head to look at you, or the way her deep brown eyes seemed brimming with knowledge when she was explaining something to you in her practical, patient way. He had been friends with her for forever, and that was part of the trouble; he had too many memories of her, too many sweet things that he could look back on from today for him to stop this insane infatuation.

In fourth year, it had been something that he had only realized with his jealousy. When she arrived that night at the Yule Ball, her hair up, looking so different from what she had always looked, he had woken up. He had realized that he had liked Hermione for a lot longer than he had thought. Had liked everything about her, from the fact that she got into trouble for them, and wasn't afraid to break the rules; that she went on the rampage for house elves rights, and helped Neville in Potions. She had become more than a friend, but it was hard for Ron to realize it when he finally moved from friendship to so much more.

But Ron had never been high in self-confidence. He was poor, and he knew it. And so did everyone else. He considered it a miracle that he had ended with Harry Potter as his best friend at all. Every time Draco taunted him, he felt not outrage, but misery. And when he found out that Krum was 'going out' with the girl that he believed he loved, he thought it would be ridiculous to step in. For him, a nobody with no money either, to try and displace Viktor Krum, one of the best Seekers Quidditch had ever seen, the world famous teenager, the boy who held so much allure for every single girl except Hermione. Hermione only liked him after she knew him.

The fifth year had been awful for him. Every time he turned around, there was another foreign-looking owl from Krum. Hermione was not flighty enough to tell them of these things. She simply kept them in her thoughts, but Ron imagined enough.

Around Christmas, Hermione had not showed up for classes. Harry and Ron, immediately realizing the crisis, had ran up to the Gryffindor common room as soon as they could, and found her, broken down by the fireplace.

Viktor Krum had done the unspeakable. For another Bulgarian girl, he had abandoned Hermione. And Hermione, who would never dream of doing that to anyone, and who had only chosen Krum in the first place because he seemed reliable, was left wounded and wondering what was wrong with her.

He could have moved in then, he supposed. But he figured Hermione, with her sturdy ways and firm intellect, would be unapproachable for a few decades. It was hard for her, acknowledging that it wasn't her who was wrong, it was him. But eventually, after a lot of support from Harry and Ron, and a whole lot of Chocolate Frogs, she recovered. Ron had put fourth year to the back of his mind, and life went on.

And then this had to come along.

***

Defense against the Dark Arts was particularly awful that day. Miss Perthins appeared to have discovered a magical creature that no one knew how to defend themselves against. Harry and Ron were not very fond of the Erkling, a gnome-ish looking creature who spent its time cackling.

"Now, class, I'm going to write the instructions on the board for the Silencing Spell. Once the Erkling is silenced - well, just read the rest, students." Her hands shaking, she turned to the board and began writing, her cursive jerky and unformed. Ron and Harry sighed softly.

A girl somewhere at the back put up her hand. After waiting ten minute, she finally spoke out.

"Um, Miss Perthins?"

"Y-yes?"

"I was wondering, just what is that word after 'children' there, I can't quite read it -"

Miss Perthins' periwinkle eyes filled with tears. "It's, oh, it's just so hard having to teach," she sniffled, sitting down at her desk with a thud. "I try and try and try and it's never ever good enoughh -" here she broke off into a wail. The class was stunned. What should they do? Hermione looked flabbergasted, and Ron and Harry felt much the same way. The breed of teachers at Hogwarts had never been emotional at all, unless one could count the emotion of Professor McGonagall's tongue-lashings.

"I'm quitting, I just can't take it anymore -" her voice trailed off again, and she covered her swollen face with her hands, retreating out of the classroom with her robes trailing dejectedly on the floor. The class sat, utterly confused. There was silence.

Dean stood up. "Well, I guess that's all for that. Class is excused early!"

The swarm of students left the classroom. Hermione, Ron and Harry walked in silence. Then -much to everyone's surprise- Hermione started sniggering.

"I'm sorry, I honestly feel bad for her, it's just, who would have thought that we'd lose a Defense against the Dark Arts teacher simply because someone couldn't read the word 'follow'?"

***

At dinner, the story had spread through the school. Questions of whether or not the class would be cancelled, or what kind of teacher would have to be found on such short notice circulated table to table.

Dumbledore rose at the head table. "A word please, students?"

The students sat attentively. They all knew what the announcement would concern.

"Miss Perthins has found unavoidable difficulties with teaching the Defense against the Dark Arts class. She has resigned." Dumbledore paused, and then began again quickly before any clamor from the students could begin. "Do not, however, think that this will mean an absence from your highly important education in self-defense. A teacher for the rest of the year will be found, and soon."

There were groans from all over the dining hall. "This should be interesting," murmured Harry to his two friends. "If that was the best they could find after a summer of searching, who on earth are they going to find after a day?"

"Maybe the Erkling will agree," Ron shrugged.

"There are a few more things, however, so please bear with me. It has come to my attention, over the past two years, that many attendants of the Yule Ball two years ago have been clamoring for another such dance."

Hermione let out her breath in exasperation. "Honestly, Lavender and Parvati: those two just get worse every day! Especially since they turned sixteen, and all their little romantic stories about 'sweet sixteen' began -"

Ron smiled at Hermione. For a moment their eyes met, and Ron was utterly breathless until -

"Hey Ron, you done with those hash browns?" Seamus' arm suddenly entered the small tunnel of Ron's vision, grabbed the bowl and disappeared again. Ron sighed, and turned his attention back to Dumbledore.

"Therefore, for the fourth years and up, there will be a dance on July 1st, to mark the end of the school year. Also, a reminder that tonight third years and up may visit Hogsmeade if they have a permission slip. And the first Quidditch game of the season is November 23rd. Thank you."

The old wizard who still had eyes that sparkled like a child sat down again. Ron stared straight ahead, his eyes full of fear. Another dance? The Yule Ball had been horror enough. He doubted Padma Patil would brave another night with him, and there was no way he would even begin to imagine what might happen if he asked the object of his affections.

He turned to look at Harry who, it was evident, was having no such depressing thoughts. Ron could hear him muttering to himself, "and then I'll buy her a corsage, and she'll be absolutely gorgeous. And then every single slow dance -"

Ron turned away, disheartened. This year he wouldn't even have his usual fellow rejected friend to keep him company. He propped a hand under his chin and was just giving himself over to his glum predictions when he heard tittering just behind him.

He spun around to see Lavender and Parvati standing there. Parvati looked at him with what was definitely distaste. "I was just saying to Lavender here that my sister just told me there was no way that she would ever brave another night with you and the amazing molding maroon dress robes. I certainly wouldn't either, considering that there really isn't much, at least the way Lavender and I see it, going for you in the positive aspect either."

Ron was speechless. He knew he hadn't been the best date to Parvati's twin on that night, harboring feelings of rejection and jealousy, but he hadn't thought that there was this much loathing on not only her part, but Lavender and Parvati. He had just opened his mouth, when he heard a different voice breaking the sudden silence that had fallen over their part of the table. For a moment he almost thought it was his, until he realized that his voice had never really sounded that melodious - in anger.

"JUST SHUT UP!"

Ron turned, and in what seemed to be like slow motion, he saw Harry's jaw drop, Neville's face register awe, and Hermione standing up in her tall like a wrathful Fury, unleashing it all on the two, who stood there stunned.

"I don't know WHO you think you are Parvati, but I know that you are still the same simpering little idiot who arrived here five years ago and immediately made friends with the only other of your kind here. If you want to insult someone just to boost your own inflated ego again, try to find someone who hasn't only been nice to you ever since you met him. Or maybe you could just never talk to us again, because it would be a waste of your already pointless breath, since you can be sure we aren't ever going to respond. And if you think that Ron is going to have any more trouble than you in finding a date to the prom, you're severely mistaken, because I will make sure that every single male in this school knows about every single secret that you have, including the fact that you both wear ready-made wigs."

At this she gestured to Lavender and Parvati's elaborately curly and glamorous hair. Ron thought through the haze that was his mind that that really cleared up a lot of questions about time efficiency he had had concerning their appearances.

Hermione was almost done, her eyes glittering dangerously and her hands clenched in fists at her sides.

"Now go find a mirror somewhere, so you can see your vacantly shallow, cruel and clown-like faces for exactly what they are - nothing."

Lavender and Parvati stood, shocked, protective hands drifting unconsciously to their hair. Hermione still stood, but the anger that had been in her seemed to subside, and she slumped a little, not looking quite as big as she had previously. Then her eyes drifted back to the two, and she added, almost in an afterthought:

"There's a dictionary in the library. I know I used a few big words."

There was a stunned silence over the Gryffindor table. Then, slowly but surely, starting from a few scattered claps, there was applause. Hermione turned to look at the table, her face asking why on earth they were doing that. Then it dawned on her, and her face turned a shade pink so becoming Ron grinned wider than ever. Dean and Seamus walked up to her, shaking her hand firmly, and patting her shoulder -("thank you, thank you, we couldn't have said it better ourselves. Just beautiful, exquisite.")- and everyone just seemed to be laughing through their hearty applause. Ginny seemed to be inches away from falling off her chair. For Ron, it all seemed to be summed up by Harry, who turned to him, and, between guffaws and through a huge grin, said:

"Well that was refreshing."