CHAPTER FIVE – Hold The Fellytone
It seemed like such a good idea when he'd thought of it. A day at the lake. Ron out in the sun. Hermione in a bathing suit. What could be better? He thought himself brilliant when Hermione came down the stairs in a bikini. Little minx that she was, she was planning for this. This was going to be easier than he thought if the look on Ron's face was any indication. Yes, he was feeling really full of himself. That is, until Ginny came down the stairs.
He knew she was girl. A girl in a strictly anatomical sense anyway, as she had all the required parts that made her female. He realized with a flush that he never studied that anatomy as closely as he should have. Ginny's attire made Hermione's look positively Victorian by contrast.
Trying to hide the small grin that was playing on his lips, he paused suddenly when he realized that she actually planned on wearing that thing in public…where there were other people. 'Oh hell, no.'
"What are you wearing?" Harry said shakily.
Ginny was visibly taken aback by the comment. "A bathing suit, same as you."
"Oh no…. no…..not quite the same as me."
"Well of course, not exactly the same. You would look silly in a bikini and frankly, I don't think I would look right in a pair of trunks with snitches all over them."
Harry had to take a few breaths to steady himself at the image of Ginny in a pair of swimming shorts and nothing else. Once steady, he looked at Ginny's apparel again. Where did all those curves come from? She did look great, and others were going to see that. 'Oh. Hell. No.'
"Don't you think that is a bit much, or should I say, not quite enough." Oh suave, Potter. Think fast! "Ron is going to have a conniption when he sees you in that thing. You know how he is, and we want him concentrating on other things."
"First of all, Hermione's suit is much more revealing than mine…"
The words "You have more to reveal than Hermione," almost ran out of his mouth….almost.
"…so I doubt we need to be worrying about Ron. And secondly, there's nothing wrong with this suit. I like it."
"It's not the suit." - suit, indeed - more like string. Skimpy string at that. Skimpy, frayed string, ready to burst…. "The suit is fine. I mean, I think it's fine, but you know Ron." She seemed unconvinced. "All I'm saying is that Ron is going to take one look at you and call the whole day off. Maybe you should get a T-shirt." Or a sweater…..and some pants, baggy ones. And a scarf.
Just as he finished his plea, Ron walked in. "What is taking you so long? We're losing daylight. Nice outfit Gin, you look good. Are you two ready to go yet? Where's Hermione?"
As he left the room Ginny turned to Harry with a smirk and stated, "Well, as that seems to be settled, I'll go see about lunch."
She walked passed him in a huff, and he was left staring after her. Staring at the way her hips moved as she walked. Sauntered, really. Sauntering down to the lake…the lake with people…male people… 'OH! HELL! NO!'
He sprinted after Ron.
"Ron." No answer
"Ron." Still no answer.
"RON!"
"What are you yelling about?"
He suddenly felt very, very stupid. "I wasn't yelling."
"Are you sure about that, mate?"
"Look, that's not the point. You aren't seriously going to let Ginny walk out of this house like that are you?"
Ron beamed. Oh, this was going to be good. "Like what?" he said, feigning innocence.
"Ron, come on. Didn't you see what she was wearing."
"Yeah, a bathing suit. Like you and me."
"Oh no…no…not quite like you and me."
"Well, no, not quite. I mean, can you imagine her in trunks with snitches all over them?"
Let's not go there, shall we? "Look, all I'm saying is that there are going to be a lot of people down there and someone might look at her and get the wrong idea. They might think she was a certain kind of girl, and who knows where that could lead."
"Harry, look. There is nothing wrong with the way she looks. And anyway, it might be good to have people look at her. After what Colin did maybe having someone pay some attention to her would make her feel good. You know how girls are. A guy dumps her for another girl and she starts to wonder why, what was wrong with her. She's probably feeling horrible about herself."
"Oh….." Yes, he felt very, very stupid. "You're right…of course….I'd better get my stuff ready."
As Harry was leaving the room Ron grinned from ear to ear. 'Oh this is going to be too easy.'
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The lake was beautiful, almost enchanted, really. The bright sunlight shimmered off the soft water top like diamonds; the trees hung low over the shore as if they were hiding a very private secret from the rest of the world. The group went about finding a quiet alcove that provided shade for those who wished it. While setting up their blanket, they couldn't help but be swept up in their surroundings; cloudless skies and swaying trees and delicate breezes. They had found a perfect spot where, much to Harry joy, there were very few other people.
Hermione did not hesitate in going into the water. Since childhood, she had loved to swim. She used to imagine she was a mermaid, which was a lot nicer of a fantasy before you know that there really were such creatures and that they were not always the nicest of beings. She called Ginny in and soon, they were splashing and laughing. Giggling, really. Their joy echoed through the trees and filled the air.
On the lake side, Harry and Ron watched the girls in silent appreciation. Neither really wanted to talk and neither really wanted to admit why. Ron was finally roused when he heard Harry's quick intake of breath. The girls started to walk back to the blanket. Drenched bathing suits clinging to their frames, droplets of water tauntingly sliding down their bodies, wet hair framing their faces. Against the setting of a lake glistening with sun drops, and the seclusion of tall trees, Ron never thought Ginny looked more beautiful. And Hermione too, of course. She looked….she looked….
Suddenly, the sound of foreign voices called their attention. A group of people started to set up camp nearby. Much to Harry's dismay they consisted mostly of males. And these males were whistling, whistling at Hermione and Ginny. And for their part, the girls did not seem too disturbed by this.
Smiling coyly, they waved at their admirers who waved back feverishly. They giggled until they reached the blanket. That giggling, which moments ago was soft music to Harry's ears, was now like the raking of nails across a black board.
"Why are you guys just sitting here for? The water is amazing. You really should go in." Ginny reached for a towel and started to dry off.
"It looked like fun." Harry replied while eyeing the group of boorish intruders, who were still looking over.
"It was. I haven't been to a lake since I was a child. How about you?"
Harry scoffed. "Do you think the Durlseys would have taken me anywhere?" A sneer on his lips, he was left wondering where his wand was and why the hell he left it behind.
"Well you're here now. Why you don't go in?"
"I haven't gone in the water since the Triwizard Tournament when I had to get Ron. I never was able to get the image of Ron and Hermione unconscious under water out of my head." He was too distracted by one of the degenerate trespassers making rude gestures with his hands to realize what he just admitted to Ginny.
"Really?" Everyone seemed to have spoken at once.
Suddenly, he realized what he said "Well.....yeah…I mean…" He sighed. "I am not terribly comfortable in the water….outside of a bathtub, anyway."
Ginny was moved by his small admission and gave him a smile to let him know that. She reached over and took his hand. "Harry, there are plenty of things in this world to be afraid of. This is not one of them. Come on."
Harry wanted to protest, he really did. But that small hand seemed to fit so perfectly in his, and he did not have the heart to let it go. He kept trying to remind himself that Ginny was over him, that the crush of a schoolgirl was a faint, if not sweet, memory. But for now, he was allowing himself to be led to the waters of a lake by that memory and happy to do so.
Hermione sat down next to Ron and smiled. "This is going to be easy. Did you see the way he looked at her?"
Ron nodded his head. "And you doubted me."
"I didn't realize you were such an expert in matters of the heart."
"I'm not an expert." He suddenly frowned. "I just know when two people are meant to be together."
Those words hit Hermione right in the gut. 'Sure, you know when people should be together and when they should not.' She felt her throat close and folded her arms across her chest suddenly feeling very exposed.
Ron, not noticing Hermione's reaction to his words, kept talking. "You should have seen the look on his face when those guys were whistling at you. I thought he was going to explode."
Hermione looked over at the aforementioned group--about six guys and two girls. Not a bad ratio, all things being equal. A few of those guys looked quite…. intriguing. "Really? Maybe I should take Ginny over there to talk to them."
Hold the fellytone! "What did you say?" He turned to watch her eyeing the aforementioned, aforementioned group appreciatively.
"They're a good looking lot. Maybe if Harry sees them talking her, he'll realize he needs to make a move soon. You said yourself he looked jealous."
Ron was not pleased at where she was focusing her attentions. "You would take her there?"
"Well of course. I don't think she would go alone."
"Would you dress first?"
Now that got her attention. "Why? It was the outfits that got their attention not our O.W.L. scores."
"Yeah, but…. that may not be such a good idea."
"Why not?"
"Look, all I'm saying is that being dressed like that, someone might look at you and get the wrong idea. They might think you were a certain kind of girl, and who knows where that could lead."
What the…"Me?"
"Yes, you!"
"I thought we were talking about Ginny."
He shifted. "We were."
"What are you going on about?"
"Nothing…Look, Ginny and Harry seem to be having a good time. Let's not interrupt them. We'll be here for a couple of weeks; I'm sure we'll run into them (Ron gives his best Snape-like death glare here) again should we need to utilize your strategy. Right now, things are going fine just as they are."
Hermione got the idea that that was the end of the discussion. They sat next to each other watching Ginny and Harry wade in the water up to their knees. After about five minutes Ron had had enough. "Time to liven things up a bit." He grabbed Hermione's hand and together they ran down to their friends. With no warning Ron tackled Harry and threw him into water.
"Ron!" Ginny was irate. "He needs to take things slowly."
"Ginny dear, sometimes you just have to say 'what the hell.' " With that, he picked up his sister and tossed her on top of Harry. Ginny and Harry took one look at each other and nodded. They jumped up and ran toward Ron; and together they threw him down, where Ginny preceded to sit on him to keep him from getting up. In their struggles they almost failed to notice Hermione slowly slinking away.
Almost.
They all froze and looked up at the shore to where she stood about halfway back to the blanket. Without saying a word they started walking towards her; slowly, inching their way to where Hermione remained immobile and suddenly very nervous. Without warning, she tore off with her attackers in close pursuit.
The three split up and before long, Hermione found herself surrounded. Ginny and Harry were laughing playfully, but Ron had a feral look about him that gave her shivers. Impulsively, Ron picked her up and flung her over his shoulder.
"Ronald Arthur Weasley, put me down!" Her hair hung over her face.
"You didn't really think we would let you get away, did you?"
"Ron. I am not amused." She tried to pull her hair from her face so he could see she was not kidding.
"Really, because I, personally speaking of course, am having a great time."
"Ron, put me down or so help me….Ron? ….Ron!…RON!!"
And with that, Dr. Hermione Granger, Fellow in Advanced Arithmancy, was thrown, head first, into the water.
Not to be out done, she quickly made her way over to where Ron stood trying to keep from hyperventilating due to extreme laughter. She grabbed his ankle and quickly yanked so he fell into the water with a splash and a delayed, "What the…?" A look of smug satisfaction on her face, she stood over him, hands on her hips. "The next time you get the brilliant idea to…" But before she could finish the sentence, Ron had kicked out her leg from under her, and with kneazle like reflexes, jumped to where she laid and knelt over her. He leaned in close. "You will find, Ms. Granger, that I am full of brilliant ideas."
"You are full of something, all right," she mumbled. "Do you mind moving so I could get up?"
"Of course." He moved, only slightly giving, Hermione enough room to get up but not without rubbing against him. In a huff, she stalked off as Ron watched. Both were oblivious to the eyes that watched the exchange and the amusement that could be found in them.
