Disclaimer: Trust me on this one: I do NOT own any characters you are familiar with.
Question: What do you think of Ginny's given name? Do you have a huge problem with it NOT being Virginia?
*** Thank you to CurlsofGold and SoshilaDove for reviewing! It means a lot to me!
Chapter 2: A Big-Brother Sort of Way
Harry and Ron had decided not to wait any longer for Hermione and so they made their way to the Great Hall. Ron was wringing his hands, nervous for the preliminary Quidditch practice right after breakfast. All those trying out for the House Teams would have a solid three weeks of practice before tryouts. Seamus was trying out for the team too and frankly, Harry was quite curious to see how Seamus would do since; as far as Harry could recall, the only thing he could ride was a girl and even that wasn't done without falling off a few times. Harry snickered, thinking of his loud, arrogant, gossipy roommate.
Dean and Neville, the fifth-year Gryffindor Prefects were giving directions to a couple of lost second year Ravenclaws, except the girls were batting their eyelashes and giggling up at both Dean and Neville that Harry found it hard to believe they were actually lost.
Ron gave a low, long whistle and Harry knew Ron was thinking the same thing. "Why Neville?" Ron asked quietly as soon as their roommate was out of hearing range. Personally Harry was wondering the same thing and therefore didn't have an answer. Perhaps it was because they (their roommates) were three years older than the girls?
"Why are girls so giggly?" Harry wondered. He had meant to only think it, but had voiced his thoughts instead.
"Honestly, you two are dumbasses!" Ginny Weasley exclaimed snidely as she came up from behind them. Ron rolled his eyes and Harry didn't gape at her like he had originally had for Ginny Weasley was no longer sweet and innocent. Rather, she had turned an interesting mixture of Ron and the twins. She swore as much as Ron, and had quite a negative outlook on certain points, but at the same time loved to laugh like Fred and George. Nope, it didn't shock Harry anymore to hear her swear.
She walked in step with the boys, which was easy for her because over the summer she had shot up like a… "What do you want Beanpole?" Ron asked affectionately. Yep, she had shot up in height like a beanpole, hence Ron's loving, brotherly name for her.
Ginny stuck out her tongue at her brother and then flipped him off. Ron gasped rather theatrically and Ginny laughed. "Oh, give it up! You deserved it for calling me that in public!" Then she leaned in and said something to her brother quite seriously. Obviously she had something hanging over his head for first the tips of his ears turned quite pink and then his face turned a darker shade of red.
"Oh yeah," he mumbled. Ginny gave Harry a smug look and raised an eyebrow.
Hmm, he thought, maybe Ginny does have something over Ron!
Just then something caught Ginny's eye and she waved frantically over her head. "Oy! Hermione, over her!" she exclaimed, waving their friend over.
Shit! I forgot to tell Ron that Hermione wanted to talk to him! Harry looked away from Hermione's sparkling brown eyes and began whistling innocently enough. Ginny grinned. Hermione arrived in front of them, effectively stopping their walk to the Great Hall and she looked up at Ron a little breathlessly Harry noted.
"Ron, could you stop for a minute and walk with me?" she asked, grabbing his hand within her own to keep him from running off. She looked from Ginny to Harry, both of whom were smiling madly at one another like they had some huge secret. Her eyebrows knit together and she frowned but she didn't say anything about it. "Please Ron?"
Ron nodded but continued to stay mute. This brought on a new wave of giggles from Ginny's part. Harry wanted desperately to laugh too, but instead of laughing in front of Hermione and Ron, who would probably get furious over their stupid laughter, grabbed Ginny's hand and fled with her down the stony hallway, laughing all the way.
Hermione stared after them. "Hmm, I wonder what's up with them?" she asked to no one in particular before she turned back to Ron and noticed she was holding his hand. She let go like it was fire.
She was blushing furiously since Dean and Neville walked past them, giving them both weird looks. Hermione bit her bottom lip.
Then, with worried brown eyes she looked up to Ron and smiled tentatively. She took a deep breath and plunged ahead with the speech she had gone over and over again in her mind. She knew what she was going to say; she even knew what Ron was going to say!
"I wanted to talk to you about this last night Ron but I had to go to the library to…study," she started off nervously. He continued looking down at her, not unhappily or sadly so she decided this must be a good thing and continued talking. "Anyhow, I'm sorry for everything that I said last night. I was pretty horrible. And," she began finishing with a sheepish grin, "it was pretty funny," she admitted. Her eyes rounded to perfect "O's". "Just don't tell Crookshanks I said that, OK?" she added quickly, like an after thought.
Ron continued to stare down at here. This was not how she had planned their conversation to go, she thought. He was supposed to say, "I accept your apology." And then he was supposed to wrap her up in a great big hug…Where the hell had that come from Hermione? She blushed. She just swore! Oh, how humiliating!
"Well, aren't you going to say anything?" she prompted after a prolonged silence from the tall redhead standing in front of her.
Ron sighed through his nose. "You're forgiven Hermione." His voice was monotone with an edge of sadness.
"Is something the matter Ron?" she asked, crinkling her brow up.
He shook his head. "No, nothing is wrong Hermione. I just-it's just you know I would never do that to Crookshanks on purpose, don't you? I mean, I would have back in third year but not now," he poured out with such sincerity that Hermione was rendered speechless for a moment.
Had Ronald Weasley just been sincere?
Someone ought to slap me, she thought, I'm being horrible to him! He's my best friend! I know he can be sincere; he just doesn't let it show that often.
"I know," she finally replied softly.
Ron grinned and tweaked her nose affectionately. Vanished was the sadness and melancholy that had been there. "Good. I was hoping you knew I would never do that on purpose." He leaned in closer to her with his blue eyes twinkling. "Hermione, now that we've all that fixed could I copy your homework?" At her disapproving look he clasped his hands together. "Please? Just this once! I haven't done the Herbology assignment yet! I don't even know what the assignment is!" he exclaimed.
Hermione rolled her eyes and began walking away from him. "Really Ron, that is your first problem right there. You ought to at least pay attention when Professor Sprout is giving the assignment!"
Ron jogged to catch up to her brisk—but short-legged pace. "I know, I know, I know! But it wasn't my fault! It really wasn't! Lavender was standing next to me giggling the entire time! I think she was ogling at Seamus, but I don't really know!"
Well, he had a point there: Lavender had been ogling Seamus a lot lately. She didn't doubt that Ron's excuse had some validity but still, that wasn't a good excuse to miss the assignment!
"Hey, wait up Hermione!" Ron called out, stopping abruptly.
She turned around. "What is it Ron? I want to eat breakfast this morning," she told him impatiently.
"Yes, yes, I know. I do too. Do you think Lavender likes Seamus?" Ron asked.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Is that what you stopped me for? Honestly Ron, it isn't that hard to figure out that she likes Seamus." She started walking again. Ron was being stupid, Hermione thought. Like she cared if Lavender liked Seamus!
Although…A new thought struck her: maybe Ron liked Lavender? She shook her head. The idea that he liked Lavender Brown was stupid, stupid, stupid! Sure Ron had a tendency to like pretty girls (that much was a given—Hermione hadn't forgotten the Yule Ball and her feelings of utter humiliation when he just "realized" she was a girl, and then her mortification when he said he wouldn't go with a troll), but that didn't mean he would stoop so low to like her blonde roommate, would it?
Hermione had a hard time remembering that she didn't mind Lavender, or Parvati for that matter. Still…he couldn't like her, could he?
She reminded herself of what Parvati had said that night after the Yule Ball. "Padma had a horrid time with Ron, Hermione! He stared the entire evening after you and looked sour at Viktor all night long! He likes you!" No, he didn't like her: he hated Viktor. The answer seemed simple enough to Hermione: he hated Viktor and was upset with her because she wasn't free to go to the ball with either him or Harry. Well maybe she would never be free to go to a ball with either one of them, if that was what made Ron so angry!
"Hermione?" Ron asked with a quizzical look.
She immediately snapped out of her silent reverie. She didn't even realize she had been walking during her thoughts. They were seated in the Great Hall; Harry and Ron were talking about Quidditch (Lord save us if they never talk about Quidditch again), and scarfing down their breakfast and guzzling Pumpkin Juice when Ron realized Hermione wasn't saying anything, or eating.
"Are you alright?" he asked. There was a definite look of concern on his face, which Hermione found she greatly appreciated.
She smiled. He was asking her that question a lot more lately, she found. Well, he was asking it when they weren't screaming at each other. In any case, she kind of liked it; it was like he was watching out for her—and not in a big-brother sort of way. Her smile widened and she nodded and stabbed at the French Toast with her fork. Yes, she was just fine.
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