Disclaimer: Harry Potter doesn't belong to me! If it did, I wouldn't be writing fanfics.

A/N: Chapter Four, woohoo!

Chapter Four Another Arrival and An Interruption

A rumpledHermione stumbled out of the fireplace. She smoothed her skirt and brushed the soot off of her clothes before looking up at the people standing before her.

"Hello, dear," said Mrs. Weasley, helping Hermione brush off her clothes.

"Hey Hermione," said Harry, taking his turn to greet her. Hermione gave him a quick hug. Ron felt a sudden pang of jealousy.

"Hi, Hermione," said Ginny cheerfully, and then looked her up and down. "Are you wearing makeup? And you did your hair!" Ginny grinned mischievously. "What brought on this sudden change?"

Hermione blushed. "Nothing," she said, and turned to look up at Ron. She could feel the color rising to her cheeks as they, and she noticed Ron was turning pink as well. Just as Hermione opened her mouth to give him a weak hello, Ron grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the way as her trunk shot out of the fireplace.

"Thanks," Hermione said, out of breath. She looked up into his face. Their eyes locked for a breathless moment. Then they came out of whatever trance they had been in, and both turned bright shades of magenta. Ginny covered a smile with her hand. Harry scratched his head stupidly. Hermione looked down and noticed that Ron's hand was still on her arm. He hastily pulled it away.

Ginny giggled, and then said quickly, "Harry, do you want to go out and practice some Quidditch? Ron, you can help Hermione take her things upstairs." Then Ginny dragged Harry out the door towards the Quidditch field.

"Er--" said Ron brilliantly, "I guess we should…" He motioned toward her trunk.

"Yeah," said Hermione. Together they hauled the trunk up the steep stairs to Ginny's room, where she would be sleeping. Panting, the two of them sat down on the bed. Ron was suddenly very aware that he was alone, on a bed, with Hermione. His ears had already started to turn pink.

Ron had to get it out. He had to ask Hermione if she had meant to kiss him that day, and if she still fancied Viktor. "Hermione, I need to talk to you."

"Didn't we already have this talk?" she said, grinning.

Ron gave a weak laugh, and loosened up a little. "Yeah, well, this is a different one. Look, I know that you said that you knew I fancied you, and then I—" He blushed even deeper—"made the first move. Then you just left afterwards. I'm really sorry if you didn't want to kiss me, and that you were repulsed, but—"

Hermione cut him off. "Of course not, Ron, you're adorable—" She joined him in blushing. "What I meant to say was that you do not repulse me at all."

"I'll take that as a compliment," he said, giving her a lopsided grin that made her heart skip a beat. But then another thought came to him. "But what about Krum? Are you two still Owl-Pals?"

"We write to each other once in a while, yes," Hermione replied. "But we're only friends."

"You went to the Yule Ball together. Were you only friends then?"

"Viktor must've really fancied me, after practically stalking me in the library!" said Hermione. "But I never liked him as more than a friend."

"You didn't?"

"No. To be quite honest, he was horribly dull," Hermione said, grinning.

"I told you so!" said Ron, delighted that he had been right.

"For your information," she said, "I made that judgment on my own, thank you very much." Ron smiled. Now that's the Hermione he knew.

"Well, I was right about him anyway," said Ron triumphantly. Feeling playful, he said, "So does that mean that you didn't mind us – kissing?"

"I suppose you could say that," she said softly, now very aware of how close he was to her on the bed.

"So you wouldn't remind repeating the experience?" he whispered. But before she had a chance to reply, he brushed a lock of hair from her face, and started to lean in. His lips were millimeters away from hers when they heard footsteps on the stairs.

Harry stomped up the steps, muttering about crazy redheads and broomsticks. However, he would have enjoyed being alone outside with Ginny Weasley very much, Quidditch or no.

He heard a shuffling sound from Ginny's bedroom on the way up to Ron's. Who could be in there, since Ginny was downstairs? He peeked his head into the room. A scarlet Ron was smoothing the quilt on Ginny's bed, and a very red Hermione was flipping through a copy of Teen Witch Weekly. Harry was automatically confused. Ron never cared if anyone's quilt was rumpled, and Hermione didn't worry about anything that would be in Teen Witch Weekly, like makeup or hairstyles (until today, that is).

Harry shoved those thoughts to the back of his mind, and said, "I'm just on my way to get my broomstick. Ginny dragged me outside to play Quidditch when I didn't even have my broomstick. Funny, huh?" He cleared his throat. He could sense the tension in the air. "Ron, do you want to come out and practice with us?"

"Oh, sure," he said finally, "Just let me grab my broom."

"I'll come and watch you," said Hermione. She and Ron locked eyes as they walked past each other. Both of them turned red. Harry was, once again, very confused. Before he could think on it, however, Ginny burst into the room, panting. She had obviously ran upstairs as fast as she could to see what was going on. She looked from one blushing face to the other, grinned, and said, "Quidditch, anyone?"

Harry, Ginny, and Ron spent the next hour throwing a Quaffle back and forth in the field where the Weasleys practiced. Hermione, who was usually bored watching them practice, was watching with rapt attention. Harry was so immersed in flying that he didn't notice Ron sneaking glances at Hermione, who kept her eyes on him at all times. Harry did notice Ginny, however. He nearly fell off his broom once or twice because he had been looking at her instead of in front of him.

The next week was a blur. Harry, Ron, Ginny, and the twins (when they weren't at work) played Quidditch at least once a day, Hermione usually joining them to watch. Harry remained oblivious to the flirtations going on between Ron and Hermione. And, much to their disappointment, the two never got time alone together before another Weasley or Harry rudely interrupted them.

The four of them also took a trip to Hogsmeade. They went to Fred and George's shop, as well as their usual stops at the Three Broomsticks and Honeydukes. They also stopped at Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, since Hermione, Ginny, and Harry needed new dress robes for Neville's party. Ron, luckily, hadn't completely outgrown his robes that Fred and George had given him the previous year.

Harry thought life at the Weasleys' to be most relaxing. Aside from the occasional explosion from one of the twins' pranks (followed by a rant from Mrs. Weasley), and the occasional de-gnomeing that he and the others were subjected to, he really had nothing to worry about. Well, almost nothing.

Harry found that two things could keep his mind off the current war: playing Quidditch, and Ginny. They had been alone together on several occasions, when Hermione and Ron would disappear. Harry always went to find them, and they were always very embarrassed when he walked in on them. Ginny tried to keep him from finding them, because as she put it, 'They might want to be alone.' Harry hadn't a clue why, but Ginny always got a look like she knew something that she was dying to tell him, but couldn't. He hoped it wasn't something as serious as Tom Riddle's diary in her first year. But he knew that nothing like that would ever happen to Ginny again, not if he could help it.

Of course, the fact that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley kept leaving at odd hours of the night on 'Order business' and came back looking disheveled and depressed wasn't helping Harry's fears about the war. Bill and Charlie were due to arrive that week as well. Their excuse was that they wanted to see their family after what had happened the month before, but Harry knew they were coming to help with the fight. But he didn't mind. They needed all the help they could get.

A/N: Wow, that chapter was sickeningly short! Oh well, the next chapter is longer, I assure you all.

NEXT CHAPTER: NEVILLE'S PARTY!!!