A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has reviewed! I love
you all!!!!!
Disclaimer: I don't own it!
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Hermione walked downstairs on December 23rd to find Ron sprawled out across her living room sofa. She wasn't surprised; he'd found permanent residency there. For Ron had discovered the single invention that was responsible for rotting all Muggle children's brains.
He was quite addicted to the televsion.
"You're not going to have any brain cells left," she said smartly as she walked into the room and stood at the end of the sofa looking down at him.
Ron looked at her and grinned briefly before turning his head back to the screen and answering. "Well, I'm sure you have enough to spare a few if need arises."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Where's Harry?"
"Where do you think?"
"It's nine o'clock in the morning!"
Ron shrugged without looking up. "He's been gone since eight."
Hermione rolled her eyes again, still not used to the whole Harry/Gia thing. Not dwelling on it, though, she looked at the redhead. "Shove over."
In answer to her request, Ron simply raised up enough to allow enough room for her to sit. She did so and looked at him crossly before he grinned again and dropped his head back down to rest on her lap. He turned his attention back to the television, and Hermione reluctantly followed his eyes.
It was an old American program that she recognized somewhat. She was pretty sure that it was called 'Three's Company' or something like that. She watched for several minutes before finally rolling her eyes at just how bad the show really was.
"This is so stupid," she said briskly.
Ron didn't look at her; he kept his eyes glued to the screen as he answered. "It's not stupid. You should pay attention- it's educational."
She stared down at him questioningly until he finally moved his head and met her eyes, still flashing her that infuriating smirk. "Educational?" she repeated disbelievingly.
Ron nodded, satisfied. "Yes. It will give you some idea of what to expect after graduation. This is how it's going to be when you move in with Harry and me." He turned his head back to the program. "You know, just opposite."
Hermione snorted. "Please! I would never, ever move in with the two of you."
"And why not?" He rolled over, ignoring the program momentarily to look up at her.
She rolled her eyes. "Because I don't fancy being a baby-sitter until the time I'm thirty, that's why."
Ron did his best to look offended, but he couldn't quite pull it off. Shaking his head and stifling a yawn, he reached up and patted her cheek. "You won't know what you're missing if you pass up an opportunity like that..."
"Trust me," Hermione said matter-of-factly. "I will be alright."
Ron laughed and rolled back onto his side to watch the last few minutes of the show. When it was over, he yawned and sat up rubbing at his eyes. He stretched and reached across Hermione for the remote control, which was lying on the table beside the sofa. He pointed it at the television and started flipping the channels so quickly that Hermione's eyes started to hurt.
"You can't possibly know what you're flipping past," she said, shaking her head.
"I do," he answered, never taking his eyes away from the screen. "Nothing good is on."
Hermione rolled her eyes and waited until he finally stopped on a channel that had two huge Japanese men in diapers circling each other menacingly. Ron laughed. "Here we go!"
Hermione was too stunned to speak. "Oh, honestly!" She reached over and grabbed the remote from him. "If you insist on rotting your brain, at least do it while watching something worthwhile. What number is the Discovery Channel?" She started pushing the button and watching the channels pass in front of her.
Ron turned and looked at her incredulously. "You aren't serious," he said disbelievingly. "I saw something on there last night about the mating of praying mantises. How boring could you possibly get?"
Hermione stopped flipping the channels and looked back at him. "It's not boring, Ron. Praying mantises are fascinating creatures! And the way they mate is so cool! The female stays perfectly still in the praying position until a male comes by. Then she captures him, mates with him, and bites his head off!"
There was a moment of unadulterated silence as Ron just stared at her in a way that said he really couldn't believe she'd actually just said what she had. Finally, he shook his head and muttered. "Please tell me you are kidding. Please tell me you don't really find that cool..."
Hermione pursed her lips. "Oh, shut up. You just don't have an appreciation for truly useful information."
Ron looked at her as if she was crazy. "Biting off a guy's head after mating is not fascinating, Hermione! It's gross! And you... You're mad!"
She rolled her eyes again and gave him her best 'I won't even fight with you because I'm right and you're wrong' look. "This from the person who just spent thirty minutes watching what could be the worst television program ever made. And trust me, that would be a hard title to obtain."
Ron opened his mouth and appeared to just be coming back with a response when Mr. and Mrs. Granger came downstairs dressed for work. Mr. Granger looked rather sharply at Ron, who turned pink when he realized that both he and Hermione were still in their nightclothes. Mrs. Granger didn't seem to notice, however, and she immediately reached into her purse and withdrew a credit card.
"Take this and go shopping," she instructed as she handed the card to Hermione, who looked at her curiously. "The Christmas Eve party is tomorrow, of course, and I know that none of you brought anything to wear." At this, she looked around. "Is Harry gone again?"
Hermione nodded. "Yeah."
Mrs. Granger shook her head, a small smile playing on her lips. "Well, is he going to be here tomorrow for the party?"
Hermione shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so."
She sighed. "Well, he needs something, too. Just go over to the Martins and get them. Take Gia with you if you have to. She's welcome at the party, of course."
Hermione scowled slightly and looked away. She'd warmed up to Gia somewhat, but she still wasn't completely convinced. However, she knew that it was important to Harry, so she was trying, for Harry's sake, to put the past behind her. "You want me to buy Gia clothes, too?"
Her mother shrugged. "I'm sure she has something to wear."
Hermione scowled. "I'm sure I don't want her at the party..."
"I'm sure it's not your decision," her mother answered sharply.
"I'm sure it should be," Hermione answered back just as rudely. She was very much aware of the fact that she was pushing it, but she honestly didn't care.
However, her mother didn't seem to share the sentiment. "And I'm sure that the smart aleck tone is quite unintentional." She shot her daughter a warning look, and Hermione frowned, turning away to roll her eyes. She distinctly heard Ron snicker, but she smartly ignored him.
Instead, she turned to her father and smiled sweetly at him. "Daddy, can we go to London to shop? We won't find anything here, I'm sure. Not this close to Christmas."
Her father reached into his pocket and pulled out his own wallet. He withdrew some money and handed it to her. "Take the train, but be careful."
"And be good," her mother added sharply.
Hermione looked down at the money in her hand and smiled. "We will be," she promised sweetly.
Yeah, right. Far too much money for train fare and a credit card... They'd be good alright.
Her parents nodded. "We'll see you this afternoon then," her father said briskly.
"Don't get into any trouble," her mother warned seriously. "I mean it."
Hermione just smiled innocently. She saw Ron looking at her wonderingly from the corner of her eye, but she didn't dare to meet his gaze.
After her parents were gone, though, Ron immediately asked what she was up to.
Hermione just grinned and shrugged. "Nothing. I just can't believe they're stupid enough to give us a credit card."
"So, what does it do exactly?" he asked, taking the plastic and examining it. "You just buy whatever you want and the card pays for it?"
"Well, sort of. I mean, they'll have to pay it back eventually, but it will be far too late for them to do anything about it. You know, if we want to spend a bit more than they planned..."
Ron turned his eyes on her with a mixed look of surprise and admiration. "You are just full of surprises these days, Hermione. Who would have thought you had it in you?"
"My parents trust me," she answered simply.
"I see." He snickered. "Don't know why, but I see."
Hermione just beamed. "Well, let's go already!"
"Don't we have to stop by Gia's house?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I suppose so."
Ron laughed again. "I think your mum was getting quite put off with you."
She shrugged. "I don't care. She'll get over it."
With that, she turned and hurried up the stairs to get ready for the shopping spree.
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An hour and a half later, Ron found himself standing in the middle of an extremely crowded clothing store beside Harry. Both boys looked thoroughly bored and out of place, as they were doing absolutely nothing but standing.
Hermione and Gia had emerged themselves in the racks of clothes immediately and were currently digging through a row of black skirts. To one who didn't know, they would have appeared to be good friends; they were laughing and talking together as they admired the clothes. Gia had graciously accepted the offer to the Christmas Eve party, saying she had the perfect dress but would love to come shopping anyway. Ron was pretty sure that Hermione was secretly thankful that another girl had come along.
"This is boring, huh?" Harry asked with a yawn.
Ron shrugged. "I dunno. I happen to love looking at dresses for hours at a time." His ever-so-present sarcasm was in full force as he rolled his eyes and turned to look at the girls. "How can they find that interesting?"
At that moment, Hermione started pushing her way through the crowd toward the boys; in her hands were three different black skirts and she immediately handed one each to Ron and Harry and kept one for herself. "Which one do you like the best?"
The boys stared at the skirts with nearly identical looks of disbelief. There was a moment of confused silence until Harry finally shook his head and said, "What is the difference?! They're all the same!"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "No, they are not." She held up the one she was holding and fingered a half slit up one side of it. "This one's got a slit." She pointed to a zipper on the one Harry was holding and said, "This one zips, and the others don't." And then pointing at the one Ron was holding, she said, "And that one is shorter, see?" She held her own skirt at the same level with it. There was indeed nearly an inch difference in length...
"They'll look the same when you put them on," Harry said unenthusiastically.
"I like that one," Ron said honestly, pointing to the one Hermione was holding. Harry then sent his look of disbelief at the other boy.
Hermione looked down at the skirt and wrinkled her nose. "Are you sure?"
Ron nodded. "Yeah, it's the best."
Hermione still looked skeptical when Gia came rushing up to them. "Hermione, come look at these shoes!" she exclaimed excitedly.
Without a word to the boys, Hermione grinned and rushed off in the direction of the shoes with Gia.
Harry just stared at Ron for a long, long moment.
"What?" Ron finally asked, obviously annoyed.
"What do you mean it's the best? They were the same bloody thing!"
Ron grinned. "No, way. Slits are always a good thing."
Harry just rolled his eyes. "Please spare me."
Ron simply shrugged and gave a 'what can you do' look. "Let's find some stuff and make them try it on."
"What?!" Harry looked as if he really couldn't believe he was having this conversation. "You are kidding, right?"
"Look, we're gonna be stuck here for God knows how long anyway. We might as well do something to pass the time." He didn't wait for an answer; he simply turned around and walked toward a rack of dresses. Harry stared after him for a long moment before shaking his head and reluctantly following.
"I can't believe we're doing this," he said in disgust as he watched Ron reach for a long peach colored dress.
"What about this?" Ron held up the dress and studied it. "Let's make them put it on."
"That looks like it would swallow either one of them alive," Harry said honestly.
"You're right." Ron shrugged and started to put it back on the rack, but Harry grabbed the tag and studied it.
"We don't even know what sizes they wear."
"Hmm..." Ron looked across the store where the girls were currently fawning over a pair of what appeared to be very high heels. "Well, they're both pretty short... Do you think Hermione's skinnier than Gia?"
Harry followed his gaze and compared the two girls from across the store. "Maybe a little. Not much, though. They look pretty much the same size."
"Gia's boobs are bigger." Ron was being completely serious and didn't even blink as he made the observation.
Harry nearly broke his neck whipping around in his best friend's direction. "What?!"
Ron looked as if he didn't see what the big deal was. "Well, they are."
"You shouldn't be looking!" Harry admonished in disbelief.
"Looking where?" Ron asked with raised eyebrows. "At Gia or at Hermione?"
"At either of them!"
Ron rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. Like you haven't looked before. At both of them."
Harry turned red and glanced back at the girls subconsciously, causing Ron to break into laughter.
"See?" he asked with a smirk. "They are bigger."
Harry didn't comment; he simply turned back to the rack of dresses blushing and pulled out a lilac colored dress with thin straps. "What about this one?"
Ron snickered. "Yeah, I'm sure that would show them off."
Harry immediately put the dress back.
Still laughing, Ron reached and picked it back up, slinging it over his arm. He rummaged through several more before pulling out a dark wine colored dress that had a shimmery overlay. "Do you like this one?"
Harry looked at the dress and then at the girls. "It would look really nice on Hermione," he admitted quietly, as if not wanting to give into admitting that he was actually picking out dresses.
Ron nodded and walked off in the direction of the girls. Harry followed reluctantly, muttering and shaking his head. When they finally made their way through the crowded store, the girls looked up at them curiously, both of their eyes settling on the dresses draped over Ron's arm. Without offering an explanation, he thrust the red one at Hermione and the purple one at Gia.
"Try these on."
Both girls looked down at the dresses and then back up at him with furrowed brows.
Ron rolled his eyes. "We were bored. Put them on. They're nice." He said all of this by way of an explanation while shoving the girls in the direction of the doorway marked 'Fitting Rooms.'
"Ron, have you lost your mind?" Hermione asked with a backwards glance. "Where's Harry?" She stood on tiptoe and tried to look over the crowd, but Ron pushed her into an empty room and shut the door.
He turned to Gia who was looking at him carefully. "Well?" he asked with raised eyebrows. "Go on, then. Put that on. Harry wants to see." He smiled mischievously and watched as she turned pink. Not really arguing, though, she turned and walked into an empty room beside Hermione's.
Ron smiled triumphantly when he felt someone slap him upside the back of the head. He jumped and turned around to see Harry half-glaring at him. "Thanks a lot..." Harry mumbled sarcastically.
Ron smirked and shrugged. "I only speak the truth."
"Yeah," Harry added with a dangerously hissing whisper. "Perhaps I'll just speak the truth to Hermione, huh?"
Ron shrugged. "Who cares anymore? Tell her whatever you want to." He hadn't quite gotten around to verbally admitting to the fact that he did, in fact, like Hermione in a way that was different from the way he liked the rest of his friends, but Hermione knew. Hermione knew, and she was the only person who mattered anyway. If she hadn't known before, she definitely knew after the past days that they'd had to themselves. He'd never have expected that he could flirt with her so openly and get past the redness for the most part. But he had.
And she liked him back.
He was sure of it.
"What?" Harry asked in disbelief. "What?!" he repeated again. "You two aren't..." he trailed off, cringing the thought.
Ron shook his head. "No." It was all the answer he gave, and he was sure that the tone of it let on that it was all he planned on giving. It was the truth after all. No, they weren't.
Not yet anyway.
At that moment, though, the door to one of the dressing rooms opened, and Gia stepped out. She was wearing the lilac dress, and both boys stopped to stare at her for a split-second. She really did look nice; it fit her perfectly, and Ron had been right- it did show 'them' off quite nicely.
"Wow," Harry smiled softly at her, and she blushed in return.
Ron was just beginning to feel out of place when the other door opened a crack, and Hermione's head poked out. "Is Gia out there?" she asked but answered her own question when she turned her head a fraction of an inch and saw Harry and Gia standing quite close together outside the room next to hers. They appeared to be talking in very hushed voices and didn't look as if they wanted to be disturbed. Hermione frowned a bit and turned back to Ron. "I can't get the zipper. It's stuck halfway up."
Ron glanced at Harry and Gia, and when he was sure that they weren't going to notice anything, he looked at Hermione. "Want me to get it?" he asked, hoping that he sounded as nonchalant as he was trying to be.
Hermione looked a little apprehensive, but she eventually shrugged a bit and held the door open enough for him to squeeze in. The fitting room was small, and Ron tried very hard not to notice Hermione's discarded clothes lying in a pile at his feet. Instead, he focused his attention on glancing at her for the first time. She was holding the dress together in the back somewhat, and he was just about to admire how nice the color and style really did look on her when she turned her back to him and dropped the sides of the dress in order to sweep her hair up. He hesitated for a moment, noticing the way her whole upper back was nearly completely exposed. But there was something...
He wanted to touch her.
He could feel her eyes watching him from the reflection in the mirror, but he didn't look up and meet them. Carefully, he steadied her with one hand on the side of her waist as his other went to the zipper and tugged upwards.
Thank God for zippers...
When she'd said that it was stuck, she wasn't lying. The zipper simply wouldn't budge, and Ron had never been happier in his life. Not only did it give him an excuse to touch her for just a little longer than necessary, it also gave him an excuse to do the one thing that was known to unstick zippers. He pretended to work on it for a bit longer, yanking and tugging with all of his might and secretly enjoying the way she jerked every time he would give a particularly rough tug.
"I need a bigger size," she said finally.
"No, you don't. It fits," he answered simply. "See, it's just the zipper." He bit down on her lower lip and pretended to concentrate. "Here, let me try this."
And with that, he tugged on the zipper once again. Only this time, he put good use to the only known way to unstick a zipper and pulled it down. Hermione gasped and he felt her head shoot up to look at him in the mirror. Freezing his hand, he had no choice but to look up and meet her eyes. She was looking at him nervously, as if completely unsure of why he had just done what he'd done. Ron didn't give any verbal explanation, though. Instead, he just lowered his eyes back to the dress and carefully pulled the zipper all the way up in one slow movement.
"See?" he asked, glancing back up. "It worked."
She smiled a little, and he let his hand drop from the zipper and settle on the opposite side of her waist from the one that his other hand was still holding. He looked up in the mirror from behind her and said, "Wow, that looks amazing."
She probably thought he was referring to the dress, which was fine with him. But he was actually speaking of the view of the two of them together with his hands on her waist and her leaned back against him, smiling.
"You like it?" she asked, turning around and looking at him face-to-face.
Ron grinned. "Of course I like it. I picked it out."
Hermione giggled and turned to the mirror, spinning around to look at the dress from all angles. Ron stood back and watched. As she admired the dress, he admired her.
"It looks great," he answered honestly. "You look really pretty."
She stopped and turned to him, smiling wider than he'd seen her do in a long time. "I want it!"
Ron laughed. "Then buy it."
She glanced at the price tag, and her eyes widened. "My parents would kill me..."
"You have the credit card." He watched as her grin turned a bit slyer.
She nodded. "Okay. I just hope I'm hundreds of miles away at Hogwarts when they get the bill."
Ron laughed. "You will be."
Hermione grinned again, glancing once more at her reflection before turning back to Ron. "Okay, get out."
Ron raised an eyebrow.
"I have to change back," she said simply. "Now, go."
Ron didn't budge. Instead, he just raised his other eyebrow and looked expectantly at her. Hermione studied him with pursed lips before rolling her eyes and using his shoulders to shove him in the direction of the door. "Go."
Just as they opened the door, though, they both halted. With the door cracked halfway open, they had a very clear view of the hallway in front of it, and what they saw caused them both to stop in their tracks.
Harry and Gia were leaned against the wall opposite of them, and they definitely seemed quite caught up in each other. They were making out right there in the middle of the hallway, too involved in each other to even notice or care that they were in public and being watched by other people.
And Ron and Hermione were in too much shock to do anything but stand and stare for a long, long moment. Finally, Hermione shook herself of the surprise long enough to tug Ron's arm and pull him back into the dressing room, carefully shutting themselves off from Gia and Harry.
Ron's mouth was still halfway open as he turned around and looked at Hermione. After a few seconds, though, he seemed to snap out of it and come back to reality.
"That little fucker!" he exclaimed in a very loud whisper.
"Ron!"
"He didn't even tell me he was snogging her!" Ron looked positively outraged at the fact that he'd been left in the dark by his supposed best friend.
Hermione raised her eyebrows and pointedly asked him a question. "Would you tell him?"
"If I was making out with Gia?!"
Hermione rolled her eyes and cringed. "No!" She looked away and finished with, "If you were kissing... someone else."
Ron instantly closed his mouth. "Oh." He glanced away for a moment, too, and when he looked back, she was now staring at him, waiting on the answer. "No... You know," he hesitated for a moment, "unless she wanted me to..."
Hermione's face settled back into relaxation. "Oh." She nodded noncommittally. "Well, good. You shouldn't just go around telling things like that."
Ron nodded slowly, making up his mind in the process.
Soon. Very soon.
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Hermione walked downstairs on December 23rd to find Ron sprawled out across her living room sofa. She wasn't surprised; he'd found permanent residency there. For Ron had discovered the single invention that was responsible for rotting all Muggle children's brains.
He was quite addicted to the televsion.
"You're not going to have any brain cells left," she said smartly as she walked into the room and stood at the end of the sofa looking down at him.
Ron looked at her and grinned briefly before turning his head back to the screen and answering. "Well, I'm sure you have enough to spare a few if need arises."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Where's Harry?"
"Where do you think?"
"It's nine o'clock in the morning!"
Ron shrugged without looking up. "He's been gone since eight."
Hermione rolled her eyes again, still not used to the whole Harry/Gia thing. Not dwelling on it, though, she looked at the redhead. "Shove over."
In answer to her request, Ron simply raised up enough to allow enough room for her to sit. She did so and looked at him crossly before he grinned again and dropped his head back down to rest on her lap. He turned his attention back to the television, and Hermione reluctantly followed his eyes.
It was an old American program that she recognized somewhat. She was pretty sure that it was called 'Three's Company' or something like that. She watched for several minutes before finally rolling her eyes at just how bad the show really was.
"This is so stupid," she said briskly.
Ron didn't look at her; he kept his eyes glued to the screen as he answered. "It's not stupid. You should pay attention- it's educational."
She stared down at him questioningly until he finally moved his head and met her eyes, still flashing her that infuriating smirk. "Educational?" she repeated disbelievingly.
Ron nodded, satisfied. "Yes. It will give you some idea of what to expect after graduation. This is how it's going to be when you move in with Harry and me." He turned his head back to the program. "You know, just opposite."
Hermione snorted. "Please! I would never, ever move in with the two of you."
"And why not?" He rolled over, ignoring the program momentarily to look up at her.
She rolled her eyes. "Because I don't fancy being a baby-sitter until the time I'm thirty, that's why."
Ron did his best to look offended, but he couldn't quite pull it off. Shaking his head and stifling a yawn, he reached up and patted her cheek. "You won't know what you're missing if you pass up an opportunity like that..."
"Trust me," Hermione said matter-of-factly. "I will be alright."
Ron laughed and rolled back onto his side to watch the last few minutes of the show. When it was over, he yawned and sat up rubbing at his eyes. He stretched and reached across Hermione for the remote control, which was lying on the table beside the sofa. He pointed it at the television and started flipping the channels so quickly that Hermione's eyes started to hurt.
"You can't possibly know what you're flipping past," she said, shaking her head.
"I do," he answered, never taking his eyes away from the screen. "Nothing good is on."
Hermione rolled her eyes and waited until he finally stopped on a channel that had two huge Japanese men in diapers circling each other menacingly. Ron laughed. "Here we go!"
Hermione was too stunned to speak. "Oh, honestly!" She reached over and grabbed the remote from him. "If you insist on rotting your brain, at least do it while watching something worthwhile. What number is the Discovery Channel?" She started pushing the button and watching the channels pass in front of her.
Ron turned and looked at her incredulously. "You aren't serious," he said disbelievingly. "I saw something on there last night about the mating of praying mantises. How boring could you possibly get?"
Hermione stopped flipping the channels and looked back at him. "It's not boring, Ron. Praying mantises are fascinating creatures! And the way they mate is so cool! The female stays perfectly still in the praying position until a male comes by. Then she captures him, mates with him, and bites his head off!"
There was a moment of unadulterated silence as Ron just stared at her in a way that said he really couldn't believe she'd actually just said what she had. Finally, he shook his head and muttered. "Please tell me you are kidding. Please tell me you don't really find that cool..."
Hermione pursed her lips. "Oh, shut up. You just don't have an appreciation for truly useful information."
Ron looked at her as if she was crazy. "Biting off a guy's head after mating is not fascinating, Hermione! It's gross! And you... You're mad!"
She rolled her eyes again and gave him her best 'I won't even fight with you because I'm right and you're wrong' look. "This from the person who just spent thirty minutes watching what could be the worst television program ever made. And trust me, that would be a hard title to obtain."
Ron opened his mouth and appeared to just be coming back with a response when Mr. and Mrs. Granger came downstairs dressed for work. Mr. Granger looked rather sharply at Ron, who turned pink when he realized that both he and Hermione were still in their nightclothes. Mrs. Granger didn't seem to notice, however, and she immediately reached into her purse and withdrew a credit card.
"Take this and go shopping," she instructed as she handed the card to Hermione, who looked at her curiously. "The Christmas Eve party is tomorrow, of course, and I know that none of you brought anything to wear." At this, she looked around. "Is Harry gone again?"
Hermione nodded. "Yeah."
Mrs. Granger shook her head, a small smile playing on her lips. "Well, is he going to be here tomorrow for the party?"
Hermione shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so."
She sighed. "Well, he needs something, too. Just go over to the Martins and get them. Take Gia with you if you have to. She's welcome at the party, of course."
Hermione scowled slightly and looked away. She'd warmed up to Gia somewhat, but she still wasn't completely convinced. However, she knew that it was important to Harry, so she was trying, for Harry's sake, to put the past behind her. "You want me to buy Gia clothes, too?"
Her mother shrugged. "I'm sure she has something to wear."
Hermione scowled. "I'm sure I don't want her at the party..."
"I'm sure it's not your decision," her mother answered sharply.
"I'm sure it should be," Hermione answered back just as rudely. She was very much aware of the fact that she was pushing it, but she honestly didn't care.
However, her mother didn't seem to share the sentiment. "And I'm sure that the smart aleck tone is quite unintentional." She shot her daughter a warning look, and Hermione frowned, turning away to roll her eyes. She distinctly heard Ron snicker, but she smartly ignored him.
Instead, she turned to her father and smiled sweetly at him. "Daddy, can we go to London to shop? We won't find anything here, I'm sure. Not this close to Christmas."
Her father reached into his pocket and pulled out his own wallet. He withdrew some money and handed it to her. "Take the train, but be careful."
"And be good," her mother added sharply.
Hermione looked down at the money in her hand and smiled. "We will be," she promised sweetly.
Yeah, right. Far too much money for train fare and a credit card... They'd be good alright.
Her parents nodded. "We'll see you this afternoon then," her father said briskly.
"Don't get into any trouble," her mother warned seriously. "I mean it."
Hermione just smiled innocently. She saw Ron looking at her wonderingly from the corner of her eye, but she didn't dare to meet his gaze.
After her parents were gone, though, Ron immediately asked what she was up to.
Hermione just grinned and shrugged. "Nothing. I just can't believe they're stupid enough to give us a credit card."
"So, what does it do exactly?" he asked, taking the plastic and examining it. "You just buy whatever you want and the card pays for it?"
"Well, sort of. I mean, they'll have to pay it back eventually, but it will be far too late for them to do anything about it. You know, if we want to spend a bit more than they planned..."
Ron turned his eyes on her with a mixed look of surprise and admiration. "You are just full of surprises these days, Hermione. Who would have thought you had it in you?"
"My parents trust me," she answered simply.
"I see." He snickered. "Don't know why, but I see."
Hermione just beamed. "Well, let's go already!"
"Don't we have to stop by Gia's house?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I suppose so."
Ron laughed again. "I think your mum was getting quite put off with you."
She shrugged. "I don't care. She'll get over it."
With that, she turned and hurried up the stairs to get ready for the shopping spree.
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An hour and a half later, Ron found himself standing in the middle of an extremely crowded clothing store beside Harry. Both boys looked thoroughly bored and out of place, as they were doing absolutely nothing but standing.
Hermione and Gia had emerged themselves in the racks of clothes immediately and were currently digging through a row of black skirts. To one who didn't know, they would have appeared to be good friends; they were laughing and talking together as they admired the clothes. Gia had graciously accepted the offer to the Christmas Eve party, saying she had the perfect dress but would love to come shopping anyway. Ron was pretty sure that Hermione was secretly thankful that another girl had come along.
"This is boring, huh?" Harry asked with a yawn.
Ron shrugged. "I dunno. I happen to love looking at dresses for hours at a time." His ever-so-present sarcasm was in full force as he rolled his eyes and turned to look at the girls. "How can they find that interesting?"
At that moment, Hermione started pushing her way through the crowd toward the boys; in her hands were three different black skirts and she immediately handed one each to Ron and Harry and kept one for herself. "Which one do you like the best?"
The boys stared at the skirts with nearly identical looks of disbelief. There was a moment of confused silence until Harry finally shook his head and said, "What is the difference?! They're all the same!"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "No, they are not." She held up the one she was holding and fingered a half slit up one side of it. "This one's got a slit." She pointed to a zipper on the one Harry was holding and said, "This one zips, and the others don't." And then pointing at the one Ron was holding, she said, "And that one is shorter, see?" She held her own skirt at the same level with it. There was indeed nearly an inch difference in length...
"They'll look the same when you put them on," Harry said unenthusiastically.
"I like that one," Ron said honestly, pointing to the one Hermione was holding. Harry then sent his look of disbelief at the other boy.
Hermione looked down at the skirt and wrinkled her nose. "Are you sure?"
Ron nodded. "Yeah, it's the best."
Hermione still looked skeptical when Gia came rushing up to them. "Hermione, come look at these shoes!" she exclaimed excitedly.
Without a word to the boys, Hermione grinned and rushed off in the direction of the shoes with Gia.
Harry just stared at Ron for a long, long moment.
"What?" Ron finally asked, obviously annoyed.
"What do you mean it's the best? They were the same bloody thing!"
Ron grinned. "No, way. Slits are always a good thing."
Harry just rolled his eyes. "Please spare me."
Ron simply shrugged and gave a 'what can you do' look. "Let's find some stuff and make them try it on."
"What?!" Harry looked as if he really couldn't believe he was having this conversation. "You are kidding, right?"
"Look, we're gonna be stuck here for God knows how long anyway. We might as well do something to pass the time." He didn't wait for an answer; he simply turned around and walked toward a rack of dresses. Harry stared after him for a long moment before shaking his head and reluctantly following.
"I can't believe we're doing this," he said in disgust as he watched Ron reach for a long peach colored dress.
"What about this?" Ron held up the dress and studied it. "Let's make them put it on."
"That looks like it would swallow either one of them alive," Harry said honestly.
"You're right." Ron shrugged and started to put it back on the rack, but Harry grabbed the tag and studied it.
"We don't even know what sizes they wear."
"Hmm..." Ron looked across the store where the girls were currently fawning over a pair of what appeared to be very high heels. "Well, they're both pretty short... Do you think Hermione's skinnier than Gia?"
Harry followed his gaze and compared the two girls from across the store. "Maybe a little. Not much, though. They look pretty much the same size."
"Gia's boobs are bigger." Ron was being completely serious and didn't even blink as he made the observation.
Harry nearly broke his neck whipping around in his best friend's direction. "What?!"
Ron looked as if he didn't see what the big deal was. "Well, they are."
"You shouldn't be looking!" Harry admonished in disbelief.
"Looking where?" Ron asked with raised eyebrows. "At Gia or at Hermione?"
"At either of them!"
Ron rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. Like you haven't looked before. At both of them."
Harry turned red and glanced back at the girls subconsciously, causing Ron to break into laughter.
"See?" he asked with a smirk. "They are bigger."
Harry didn't comment; he simply turned back to the rack of dresses blushing and pulled out a lilac colored dress with thin straps. "What about this one?"
Ron snickered. "Yeah, I'm sure that would show them off."
Harry immediately put the dress back.
Still laughing, Ron reached and picked it back up, slinging it over his arm. He rummaged through several more before pulling out a dark wine colored dress that had a shimmery overlay. "Do you like this one?"
Harry looked at the dress and then at the girls. "It would look really nice on Hermione," he admitted quietly, as if not wanting to give into admitting that he was actually picking out dresses.
Ron nodded and walked off in the direction of the girls. Harry followed reluctantly, muttering and shaking his head. When they finally made their way through the crowded store, the girls looked up at them curiously, both of their eyes settling on the dresses draped over Ron's arm. Without offering an explanation, he thrust the red one at Hermione and the purple one at Gia.
"Try these on."
Both girls looked down at the dresses and then back up at him with furrowed brows.
Ron rolled his eyes. "We were bored. Put them on. They're nice." He said all of this by way of an explanation while shoving the girls in the direction of the doorway marked 'Fitting Rooms.'
"Ron, have you lost your mind?" Hermione asked with a backwards glance. "Where's Harry?" She stood on tiptoe and tried to look over the crowd, but Ron pushed her into an empty room and shut the door.
He turned to Gia who was looking at him carefully. "Well?" he asked with raised eyebrows. "Go on, then. Put that on. Harry wants to see." He smiled mischievously and watched as she turned pink. Not really arguing, though, she turned and walked into an empty room beside Hermione's.
Ron smiled triumphantly when he felt someone slap him upside the back of the head. He jumped and turned around to see Harry half-glaring at him. "Thanks a lot..." Harry mumbled sarcastically.
Ron smirked and shrugged. "I only speak the truth."
"Yeah," Harry added with a dangerously hissing whisper. "Perhaps I'll just speak the truth to Hermione, huh?"
Ron shrugged. "Who cares anymore? Tell her whatever you want to." He hadn't quite gotten around to verbally admitting to the fact that he did, in fact, like Hermione in a way that was different from the way he liked the rest of his friends, but Hermione knew. Hermione knew, and she was the only person who mattered anyway. If she hadn't known before, she definitely knew after the past days that they'd had to themselves. He'd never have expected that he could flirt with her so openly and get past the redness for the most part. But he had.
And she liked him back.
He was sure of it.
"What?" Harry asked in disbelief. "What?!" he repeated again. "You two aren't..." he trailed off, cringing the thought.
Ron shook his head. "No." It was all the answer he gave, and he was sure that the tone of it let on that it was all he planned on giving. It was the truth after all. No, they weren't.
Not yet anyway.
At that moment, though, the door to one of the dressing rooms opened, and Gia stepped out. She was wearing the lilac dress, and both boys stopped to stare at her for a split-second. She really did look nice; it fit her perfectly, and Ron had been right- it did show 'them' off quite nicely.
"Wow," Harry smiled softly at her, and she blushed in return.
Ron was just beginning to feel out of place when the other door opened a crack, and Hermione's head poked out. "Is Gia out there?" she asked but answered her own question when she turned her head a fraction of an inch and saw Harry and Gia standing quite close together outside the room next to hers. They appeared to be talking in very hushed voices and didn't look as if they wanted to be disturbed. Hermione frowned a bit and turned back to Ron. "I can't get the zipper. It's stuck halfway up."
Ron glanced at Harry and Gia, and when he was sure that they weren't going to notice anything, he looked at Hermione. "Want me to get it?" he asked, hoping that he sounded as nonchalant as he was trying to be.
Hermione looked a little apprehensive, but she eventually shrugged a bit and held the door open enough for him to squeeze in. The fitting room was small, and Ron tried very hard not to notice Hermione's discarded clothes lying in a pile at his feet. Instead, he focused his attention on glancing at her for the first time. She was holding the dress together in the back somewhat, and he was just about to admire how nice the color and style really did look on her when she turned her back to him and dropped the sides of the dress in order to sweep her hair up. He hesitated for a moment, noticing the way her whole upper back was nearly completely exposed. But there was something...
He wanted to touch her.
He could feel her eyes watching him from the reflection in the mirror, but he didn't look up and meet them. Carefully, he steadied her with one hand on the side of her waist as his other went to the zipper and tugged upwards.
Thank God for zippers...
When she'd said that it was stuck, she wasn't lying. The zipper simply wouldn't budge, and Ron had never been happier in his life. Not only did it give him an excuse to touch her for just a little longer than necessary, it also gave him an excuse to do the one thing that was known to unstick zippers. He pretended to work on it for a bit longer, yanking and tugging with all of his might and secretly enjoying the way she jerked every time he would give a particularly rough tug.
"I need a bigger size," she said finally.
"No, you don't. It fits," he answered simply. "See, it's just the zipper." He bit down on her lower lip and pretended to concentrate. "Here, let me try this."
And with that, he tugged on the zipper once again. Only this time, he put good use to the only known way to unstick a zipper and pulled it down. Hermione gasped and he felt her head shoot up to look at him in the mirror. Freezing his hand, he had no choice but to look up and meet her eyes. She was looking at him nervously, as if completely unsure of why he had just done what he'd done. Ron didn't give any verbal explanation, though. Instead, he just lowered his eyes back to the dress and carefully pulled the zipper all the way up in one slow movement.
"See?" he asked, glancing back up. "It worked."
She smiled a little, and he let his hand drop from the zipper and settle on the opposite side of her waist from the one that his other hand was still holding. He looked up in the mirror from behind her and said, "Wow, that looks amazing."
She probably thought he was referring to the dress, which was fine with him. But he was actually speaking of the view of the two of them together with his hands on her waist and her leaned back against him, smiling.
"You like it?" she asked, turning around and looking at him face-to-face.
Ron grinned. "Of course I like it. I picked it out."
Hermione giggled and turned to the mirror, spinning around to look at the dress from all angles. Ron stood back and watched. As she admired the dress, he admired her.
"It looks great," he answered honestly. "You look really pretty."
She stopped and turned to him, smiling wider than he'd seen her do in a long time. "I want it!"
Ron laughed. "Then buy it."
She glanced at the price tag, and her eyes widened. "My parents would kill me..."
"You have the credit card." He watched as her grin turned a bit slyer.
She nodded. "Okay. I just hope I'm hundreds of miles away at Hogwarts when they get the bill."
Ron laughed. "You will be."
Hermione grinned again, glancing once more at her reflection before turning back to Ron. "Okay, get out."
Ron raised an eyebrow.
"I have to change back," she said simply. "Now, go."
Ron didn't budge. Instead, he just raised his other eyebrow and looked expectantly at her. Hermione studied him with pursed lips before rolling her eyes and using his shoulders to shove him in the direction of the door. "Go."
Just as they opened the door, though, they both halted. With the door cracked halfway open, they had a very clear view of the hallway in front of it, and what they saw caused them both to stop in their tracks.
Harry and Gia were leaned against the wall opposite of them, and they definitely seemed quite caught up in each other. They were making out right there in the middle of the hallway, too involved in each other to even notice or care that they were in public and being watched by other people.
And Ron and Hermione were in too much shock to do anything but stand and stare for a long, long moment. Finally, Hermione shook herself of the surprise long enough to tug Ron's arm and pull him back into the dressing room, carefully shutting themselves off from Gia and Harry.
Ron's mouth was still halfway open as he turned around and looked at Hermione. After a few seconds, though, he seemed to snap out of it and come back to reality.
"That little fucker!" he exclaimed in a very loud whisper.
"Ron!"
"He didn't even tell me he was snogging her!" Ron looked positively outraged at the fact that he'd been left in the dark by his supposed best friend.
Hermione raised her eyebrows and pointedly asked him a question. "Would you tell him?"
"If I was making out with Gia?!"
Hermione rolled her eyes and cringed. "No!" She looked away and finished with, "If you were kissing... someone else."
Ron instantly closed his mouth. "Oh." He glanced away for a moment, too, and when he looked back, she was now staring at him, waiting on the answer. "No... You know," he hesitated for a moment, "unless she wanted me to..."
Hermione's face settled back into relaxation. "Oh." She nodded noncommittally. "Well, good. You shouldn't just go around telling things like that."
Ron nodded slowly, making up his mind in the process.
Soon. Very soon.
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