A/N: Hey, you guys! Thanks for the feedback from the last chapter. Hope
you like this one- it's a little short, but I hope you guys don't mind.
Disclaimer: If I owned the Harry Potter franchise, I would currently be working on getting Book Five out before May of 2003 (which is the most current date I've heard…. Grrrr….) Instead, I have to bide my time writing my own version…
*************************
"If you don't eat anything, you're going to regret it." Hermione was looking very intently at Ron's still-full plate.
Ron turned to her and rolled his eyes. "Thank you, Mum."
Hermione rolled her own eyes. "I'm just looking out for your best interest. You're going to need your strength today, and going to the try- outs on an empty stomach is not going to help you at all."
"He'll be fine," Harry interjected from across the table. "Trust me. Eating isn't good for you if you're just going to puke it all up from nerves."
"I didn't say I was going to puke," Ron said quickly. "I'm just not hungry; that's all."
"Well, I still say it's a pretty stupid move," Hermione said jadedly. "You'll need your strength."
"My strength is just fine," the redhead said resentfully.
"Whatever," Hermione said with a quick roll of the eyes. "Just don't come crying to me when you're so weak you can't give a proper show during the tryouts."
"Don't worry, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said, grinning. "I'll take good care of your son and bring him home safe and sound."
Hermione blushed, having briefly thought Harry was calling her 'Mrs. Weasley' for another reason. "Oh, shut up, both of you," she said indignantly, going back to the plate of fruit she was having for her own breakfast.
Ron and Harry were still laughing when another redhead joined their number. "Nervous, Ron?" Ginny asked as she seated herself beside Harry and directly across from her brother. "Why aren't you eating?" she asked as she helped herself to a plate of sausage and scrambled eggs.
Ron gave his sister an exasperated look. "Because I'm not hungry," he said obviously.
"Oh," Ginny said, cutting the sausage into several smaller pieces, "You're going to throw up, are you?"
Ron groaned and kicked his sister under the table, earning a rather loud yelp from her. "No, I am not going to throw up, you stupid, stupid twit."
Ginny glared at the older boy and swiftly returned the kick, seemingly a bit harder than he had kicked her. "I hope you fall off your broomstick."
Harry and Hermione both had to stifle giggles at Ginny's words, and Ron shot them both contemptuous looks. "What's so funny? What? You two want to see me fall off my broom, too?"
Harry continued to snicker, but Hermione tried her best to put on a serious face. "Oh, no, it's not that. It's just…" She couldn't hold in the laughter any longer.
"What the hell is so damn funny?" Ron demanded again.
Hermione tried very hard to stop her laughing. "It's just the way Ginny said it; that's all. She was so… serious." She broke off into another fit of giggles.
Ginny smirked triumphantly from over her glass of pumpkin juice. "Thank you, thank you."
Ron shot his sister a glare. "You're such a brat."
"Once again," Ginny said, smiling, "Thank you, thank you."
"Hey, little brother, nervous about the tryouts?"
Everyone looked up to see the twins settling themselves across from each other, Fred beside Ginny and George beside Ron. Ron groaned as Fred asked his question.
"Would everyone just shut up, please?" he asked loudly. "I'm just fine."
George reached up to ruffle his younger brother's hair affectionately. "Why aren't you eating anything? Afraid you'll puke it all up?"
Ginny, Harry, and Hermione all burst into laughter yet again, and Ron looked ready to murder someone. "Fine!" he said exasperated. "Go ahead and laugh it all up! You'll all feel terrible if I really do vomit!"
This statement caused the twins to join in with the laughing. But Ron didn't find it so funny. Truth be told, he was terribly nervous, and everyone acting so blasé about the whole thing was only serving to make him even more anxious.
"I'll see you guys later," he said suddenly, getting up and gathering his things.
"Where are you going?" Harry asked, cutting his laughter short, afraid that they had really upset Ron.
His friend turned back to him. "I dunno." Then he turned to leave.
"Do you think he's really mad?" Harry asked warily. "We were only kidding."
Ron's siblings all rolled their eyes in unison. George heaved a sigh and said, "So enters the Drama King of the Weasley clan."
"He's fine," Ginny said firmly. "He's just being a baby."
Harry glanced across the table at Hermione and noticed that she wasn't paying attention to the Weasleys. She was watching the door that Ron had just exited and biting her lower lip like she always did when she was nervous.
"Um, I'll see you guys later, too!" she said suddenly, jumping up and hurrying out the door without a backwards glance.
Harry and the others watched her go. Ginny giggled a little, and Fred looked at his twin brother. "Five galleons, they're snogging by Tuesday."
George grinned. "I'll take that bet. There's no way they're going to sort things out anytime soon."
Ginny, too, grinned. "I'll put five galleons on two weeks."
Harry sighed, defeated. Turning to the Weasleys, he said, "Can I get in on that, too?"
************************************
"Ron!" Hermione called down the empty corridor to the back of a tall redheaded figure.
The said figure stopped and turned around, waiting for Hermione to catch up with him. "Hey," he said quietly as she struggled to catch her breath.
When she was finally breathing normal after her run, she looked up at him nervously. "Ron, we weren't being serious. We were just jo…"
"I know," he said sullenly. "I just really am nervous," he admitted, looking over her head.
Hermione smiled up at him reassuringly. "I'd be scared to death! But you're going to do fine, Ron. You're gonna get it; I know it!"
Ron returned a weak smile. "Don't jinx me."
She laughed a little. "Sorry. But it's true. I saw you practicing this summer, and you were great!"
"Thanks," he said, his ears tingeing pink, though he really didn't know why.
Hermione bit her lower lip again. "And don't worry. I don't think you're going to puke or fall off your broom."
Ron laughed. "Thanks."
She just smiled and giggled a little. It seemed as though she'd taken to giggling a lot lately- something she used to rarely do. "Just if you do," she laughed, "make sure you get back up and keep going. There's an old Muggle saying, 'If you fall off the horse, get back up.' Change the horse to broom."
Ron couldn't help but laugh, too. Hermione, with all her "Muggle- knowledge" as she so called it, was never very helpful in situations like this. Times when he needed to calm down. Perhaps, it was because whenever the two of them talked, they usually ended up in terrible arguments, despite the original intents of the conversation. But things were different now, and he'd be the first to admit it. He and Hermione weren't fighting that much anymore, and he wasn't sure when that change had taken place. Sure, they got into occasional arguments, and when those happened it was a sure bet that they would be just as loud and mean-natured as all the earlier fights that had transpired between the two of them, but the occasions of these arguments came much less these days.
"I'll be sure to do that," he said with a smirk, letting her know just how useful her Muggle quote actually was.
And then fifteen year old Hermione promptly turned back into eleven year old Hermione. Hands on hips and a very McGonagall-look on her face. "Don't make fun," she said sternly.
Ron bit his own lower lip to make sure he wouldn't erupt into pent-up laughter. "Oh? Why not?"
"Because," she said with a quick flip of her hair, "I can beat you up."
This did it. Ron started laughing hysterically. "Just try it," he prompted. "Just cause you can kick Malfoy's ass doesn't mean you can kick mine."
"Ron, don't swear," she said habitually. "And anyway, you can't hit me back."
"No," he admitted thoughtfully. "But I can do this." And with that he grabbed her wrists and swung her quickly around to where her back was to him, and she was most definitely stuck. "Try and get out of this one," he said, leaning around her side to look at her.
At the same moment he leaned, Hermione turned her own head, causing their faces to be so close together that it was easy to feel the breath of the other. For a long moment, they stared at each other, both suddenly quite solemn.
Ron couldn't believe what his insides were doing, and he did everything in his power to completely ignore them. This was Hermione. Hermione Granger.
Bushy-haired, buck-toothed, bossy, know-it-all Hermione Granger.
While she was still quite bossy and every bit as much of a know-it-all as she'd ever been, the bushy hair and buck teeth were most definitely no longer in existence.
And when did she get so damn pretty anyway?
Suddenly, though, Ron was jerked out of his reverie as Hermione jerked herself from his arms with a very triumphant, "Ha!"
And with that, she stuck her tongue out at him teasingly and took off running in the opposite direction. Ron, not quite believing what had just happened, shook his head dismissively. There was no way he was going to let her win.
And with that, he took off right after her.
From the other end of the hallway, three redheads and a dark-haired boy with glasses stood watching the events.
Fred cursed loudly when both of the parties they'd been watching took off in a playful game of tag. "Oh, well," he said resignedly. "I've still got two weeks."
George laughed and slapped his brother on the back. "No time soon."
Harry suddenly felt very, very sick.
**************************************
I know that this chapter was much shorter than my others, but I needed to stop here. The only place to go in the rest of this chapter would have been the actual Quidditch tryouts, and I honestly don't want to write them. You'll learn the results, of course, but that will be in the next chapter. Good things are coming up very soon!
PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Disclaimer: If I owned the Harry Potter franchise, I would currently be working on getting Book Five out before May of 2003 (which is the most current date I've heard…. Grrrr….) Instead, I have to bide my time writing my own version…
*************************
"If you don't eat anything, you're going to regret it." Hermione was looking very intently at Ron's still-full plate.
Ron turned to her and rolled his eyes. "Thank you, Mum."
Hermione rolled her own eyes. "I'm just looking out for your best interest. You're going to need your strength today, and going to the try- outs on an empty stomach is not going to help you at all."
"He'll be fine," Harry interjected from across the table. "Trust me. Eating isn't good for you if you're just going to puke it all up from nerves."
"I didn't say I was going to puke," Ron said quickly. "I'm just not hungry; that's all."
"Well, I still say it's a pretty stupid move," Hermione said jadedly. "You'll need your strength."
"My strength is just fine," the redhead said resentfully.
"Whatever," Hermione said with a quick roll of the eyes. "Just don't come crying to me when you're so weak you can't give a proper show during the tryouts."
"Don't worry, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said, grinning. "I'll take good care of your son and bring him home safe and sound."
Hermione blushed, having briefly thought Harry was calling her 'Mrs. Weasley' for another reason. "Oh, shut up, both of you," she said indignantly, going back to the plate of fruit she was having for her own breakfast.
Ron and Harry were still laughing when another redhead joined their number. "Nervous, Ron?" Ginny asked as she seated herself beside Harry and directly across from her brother. "Why aren't you eating?" she asked as she helped herself to a plate of sausage and scrambled eggs.
Ron gave his sister an exasperated look. "Because I'm not hungry," he said obviously.
"Oh," Ginny said, cutting the sausage into several smaller pieces, "You're going to throw up, are you?"
Ron groaned and kicked his sister under the table, earning a rather loud yelp from her. "No, I am not going to throw up, you stupid, stupid twit."
Ginny glared at the older boy and swiftly returned the kick, seemingly a bit harder than he had kicked her. "I hope you fall off your broomstick."
Harry and Hermione both had to stifle giggles at Ginny's words, and Ron shot them both contemptuous looks. "What's so funny? What? You two want to see me fall off my broom, too?"
Harry continued to snicker, but Hermione tried her best to put on a serious face. "Oh, no, it's not that. It's just…" She couldn't hold in the laughter any longer.
"What the hell is so damn funny?" Ron demanded again.
Hermione tried very hard to stop her laughing. "It's just the way Ginny said it; that's all. She was so… serious." She broke off into another fit of giggles.
Ginny smirked triumphantly from over her glass of pumpkin juice. "Thank you, thank you."
Ron shot his sister a glare. "You're such a brat."
"Once again," Ginny said, smiling, "Thank you, thank you."
"Hey, little brother, nervous about the tryouts?"
Everyone looked up to see the twins settling themselves across from each other, Fred beside Ginny and George beside Ron. Ron groaned as Fred asked his question.
"Would everyone just shut up, please?" he asked loudly. "I'm just fine."
George reached up to ruffle his younger brother's hair affectionately. "Why aren't you eating anything? Afraid you'll puke it all up?"
Ginny, Harry, and Hermione all burst into laughter yet again, and Ron looked ready to murder someone. "Fine!" he said exasperated. "Go ahead and laugh it all up! You'll all feel terrible if I really do vomit!"
This statement caused the twins to join in with the laughing. But Ron didn't find it so funny. Truth be told, he was terribly nervous, and everyone acting so blasé about the whole thing was only serving to make him even more anxious.
"I'll see you guys later," he said suddenly, getting up and gathering his things.
"Where are you going?" Harry asked, cutting his laughter short, afraid that they had really upset Ron.
His friend turned back to him. "I dunno." Then he turned to leave.
"Do you think he's really mad?" Harry asked warily. "We were only kidding."
Ron's siblings all rolled their eyes in unison. George heaved a sigh and said, "So enters the Drama King of the Weasley clan."
"He's fine," Ginny said firmly. "He's just being a baby."
Harry glanced across the table at Hermione and noticed that she wasn't paying attention to the Weasleys. She was watching the door that Ron had just exited and biting her lower lip like she always did when she was nervous.
"Um, I'll see you guys later, too!" she said suddenly, jumping up and hurrying out the door without a backwards glance.
Harry and the others watched her go. Ginny giggled a little, and Fred looked at his twin brother. "Five galleons, they're snogging by Tuesday."
George grinned. "I'll take that bet. There's no way they're going to sort things out anytime soon."
Ginny, too, grinned. "I'll put five galleons on two weeks."
Harry sighed, defeated. Turning to the Weasleys, he said, "Can I get in on that, too?"
************************************
"Ron!" Hermione called down the empty corridor to the back of a tall redheaded figure.
The said figure stopped and turned around, waiting for Hermione to catch up with him. "Hey," he said quietly as she struggled to catch her breath.
When she was finally breathing normal after her run, she looked up at him nervously. "Ron, we weren't being serious. We were just jo…"
"I know," he said sullenly. "I just really am nervous," he admitted, looking over her head.
Hermione smiled up at him reassuringly. "I'd be scared to death! But you're going to do fine, Ron. You're gonna get it; I know it!"
Ron returned a weak smile. "Don't jinx me."
She laughed a little. "Sorry. But it's true. I saw you practicing this summer, and you were great!"
"Thanks," he said, his ears tingeing pink, though he really didn't know why.
Hermione bit her lower lip again. "And don't worry. I don't think you're going to puke or fall off your broom."
Ron laughed. "Thanks."
She just smiled and giggled a little. It seemed as though she'd taken to giggling a lot lately- something she used to rarely do. "Just if you do," she laughed, "make sure you get back up and keep going. There's an old Muggle saying, 'If you fall off the horse, get back up.' Change the horse to broom."
Ron couldn't help but laugh, too. Hermione, with all her "Muggle- knowledge" as she so called it, was never very helpful in situations like this. Times when he needed to calm down. Perhaps, it was because whenever the two of them talked, they usually ended up in terrible arguments, despite the original intents of the conversation. But things were different now, and he'd be the first to admit it. He and Hermione weren't fighting that much anymore, and he wasn't sure when that change had taken place. Sure, they got into occasional arguments, and when those happened it was a sure bet that they would be just as loud and mean-natured as all the earlier fights that had transpired between the two of them, but the occasions of these arguments came much less these days.
"I'll be sure to do that," he said with a smirk, letting her know just how useful her Muggle quote actually was.
And then fifteen year old Hermione promptly turned back into eleven year old Hermione. Hands on hips and a very McGonagall-look on her face. "Don't make fun," she said sternly.
Ron bit his own lower lip to make sure he wouldn't erupt into pent-up laughter. "Oh? Why not?"
"Because," she said with a quick flip of her hair, "I can beat you up."
This did it. Ron started laughing hysterically. "Just try it," he prompted. "Just cause you can kick Malfoy's ass doesn't mean you can kick mine."
"Ron, don't swear," she said habitually. "And anyway, you can't hit me back."
"No," he admitted thoughtfully. "But I can do this." And with that he grabbed her wrists and swung her quickly around to where her back was to him, and she was most definitely stuck. "Try and get out of this one," he said, leaning around her side to look at her.
At the same moment he leaned, Hermione turned her own head, causing their faces to be so close together that it was easy to feel the breath of the other. For a long moment, they stared at each other, both suddenly quite solemn.
Ron couldn't believe what his insides were doing, and he did everything in his power to completely ignore them. This was Hermione. Hermione Granger.
Bushy-haired, buck-toothed, bossy, know-it-all Hermione Granger.
While she was still quite bossy and every bit as much of a know-it-all as she'd ever been, the bushy hair and buck teeth were most definitely no longer in existence.
And when did she get so damn pretty anyway?
Suddenly, though, Ron was jerked out of his reverie as Hermione jerked herself from his arms with a very triumphant, "Ha!"
And with that, she stuck her tongue out at him teasingly and took off running in the opposite direction. Ron, not quite believing what had just happened, shook his head dismissively. There was no way he was going to let her win.
And with that, he took off right after her.
From the other end of the hallway, three redheads and a dark-haired boy with glasses stood watching the events.
Fred cursed loudly when both of the parties they'd been watching took off in a playful game of tag. "Oh, well," he said resignedly. "I've still got two weeks."
George laughed and slapped his brother on the back. "No time soon."
Harry suddenly felt very, very sick.
**************************************
I know that this chapter was much shorter than my others, but I needed to stop here. The only place to go in the rest of this chapter would have been the actual Quidditch tryouts, and I honestly don't want to write them. You'll learn the results, of course, but that will be in the next chapter. Good things are coming up very soon!
PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
