A/n: Great feedback, thank you so much!! I kind of don't like this chapter, and I think it's because I'm so anxious to get to the more, er, juicy chapters. I just wanna say to SillieGillie that you were on the right track with your review! Anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own it, wish I did, the usual stuff...

Chapter 5: Ron's Wrath

Ron felt sunlight on his face. He rubbed his eyes and opened them groggily. His head felt like it was about to burst open. He yawned and looked around the dimly lit room. It must be very early, and it was a rarity for Ron Weasley to wake up early during holidays. His eyes rested on the bed across the room, where a familiar lump lay sleeping. Harry. For some reason, Ron's eyes narrowed, and the pounding in his head worsened. He felt his hand clench into a fist and he knew he was remembering something, he was just too drowsy to know what.

Running a hand through his hair, he threw the covers off himself and put his feet on the cold wooden floor. He stared at Harry for another minute, willing himself to remember, but when he couldn't, he shrugged and walked towards the door. The open door.

Then it hit him.

Harry and Ginny.

Ron whipped around so fast he almost lost his balance. He felt his eyes narrow again. He remembered perfectly well now. The night before, he had been awoken by Harry's scream; he had obviously had another nightmare. He remembered calling his name, but when he hadn't responded, he had tried to sleep again. That is, until he felt Harry dash out of the room, leaving the door wide open. Ron wondered where he was going, and he started to follow slowly, until he realized Harry was with Ginny. He hadn't paid much attention to their conversation, being too immersed in the way Ginny was staring at Harry with wide, adoring eyes. And then he had done it. Harry had kissed her.

So much for Ginny being over Harry.

He glared at his best friend. However, he didn't have the sudden urge to beat him to a bloody pulp like he had had with Michael Corner and Dean Thomas. Maybe it was because Harry was the only one Ron knew who wouldn't try anything with Ginny. Or maybe he was still half asleep and couldn't register the seriousness of his best friend kissing his only sister.

Shaking his head, he walked down the stairs. He spotted a head of brown hair in front of him and he raced down to catch up with her, smoothing down his messy morning hair. He reached out and grabbed her arm. She turned around, fully awake.

"Good morning, Ron," she said, flashing him a smile, which slid off her face when she saw the scowl he was wearing. "Is everything alright?"

Ron shook his head. "No, no, it's not alright. Can I talk to you?"

Hermione raised her eyebrows. Oh, shit. She thought he was going to tell her. Why did they always assume that when guys needed to "talk" it involved...that...? Ron squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, aware of Hermione's puzzled gaze, and when he opened them he saw tiny Snitches floating around her head. "I'm going mad," he muttered, before he took her wrist and dragged her down the stairs.

"Morning, mum, be right back for breakfast with 'Mione," he said quickly when the passed the kitchen. He strode through the house until he reached the door to the backyard, which he opened roughly, then held until Hermione passed. When it was shut tight, Hermione rounded on him.

"Why did you call me 'Mione?!" she snapped, looking rather annoyed.

"Never mind that, I didn't wanna bother saying your entire name—four syllables, I mean, c'mon."

Her eyebrows shot up. "I beg your pardon?"

Ron made an exasperated noise. Why was she making a big deal out of this? He had better things to consult her about than what kind of nickname he should use for her.

"Can you please listen to me for once in your life?!" he said, a little louder than he intended to.

Hermione looked slightly offended. However, the annoyed look had been replaced by intrigue. "What's going on?"

"Help me." Ron sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Okay. Well...you're a girl."

"How kind of you to tell me, I hadn't noticed," she said, smirking slightly.

Ron gave a low growl. She was making him lose his temper at a bad time. A really bad time. "What I mean is—I mean—I know you're a girl, so that's why I need your help." She was staring up at him, eyes wide with interest. "Last night...er, Harry woke up screaming."

Hermione closed her eyes and lowered her head. "Oh, no. I can imagine how much worse his dreams are now."

"Yes but...um, this isn't about that."

Hermione looked up, an eyebrow raised. "Then what is it about?"

Ron glared at her. "If you stop interrupting, maybe I'll get to that in this century." When she didn't retort, he nodded and continued. "Right. Well, Harry woke me up because of the scream. When asked him if he was all right, he didn't answer, so I assumed he had kept on sleeping and not woken up at all. But then...he stood up and walked out of the room and left the door open. Then he went to Ginny's room and the next thing I know, they're on the stairs talking and—and hugging."

Hermione was biting her lip, a knowing look in her eye. She knew too much. He was deciding right then and there that Hermione Granger knew way too much for her own good. He didn't voice this though; he'd rather avoid a row.

"Alright." Ron took a deep breath. "Brace yourself." He opened his mouth, pausing for dramatic effect. "Harry kissed her." He closed his eyes and waited for Hermione's reaction. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes and found her blinking at him expectantly.

"Yes, go on," she said nonchalantly.

"What the hell?!" His yell made her jump somewhat. "Do you want me to describe the bloody kiss or something?!"

Hermione was staring at him with her mouth open. "Ron, get a grip! Oh, this is what it's about, isn't it?" She put her hands on her hips, staring at him with a look that reminded him strongly of McGonagall. "Ron, you are unbelievable! You are OVERREACTING!" Hermione put her shaking head in her hands for a moment, then looked up at him. "Are you crazy?! You scared me half to death when you said you needed help! I thought something had happened to you or Harry! I didn't think it was so...well, simple!"

"SIMPLE?!" Ron roared. He saw Hermione flinch slightly and hold a finger to her ear. "MY BEST FRIEND SNOGGED MY SISTER!"

An odd silence followed his outburst. Why was she making this seem like it was nothing?! Holy shit, she's crazy. You fancy a mental person, Weasley. He didn't know Hermione for nothing, though. He was sure his outburst would surely be followed with a grand one from Hermione herself. Sure enough...

"RONALD WEASLEY, YOU DRIVE ME MAD! URGH! Don't you even dare deny that the only person you would trust with Ginny is Harry! I can tell he is, I'm not stupid, you know! You think I missed that oh-so-obvious look you gave him on the train, when you mentioned Ginny 'finding someone better'?" She shook her head again. "You are making such a big deal out of this, even though you probably don't even need to. You might as well have slapped the two together and said, 'Here, enjoy a snogfest'!"

Ron was staring at her. Surely his jaw must be on the ground. Had she just suggested that he was actually for this whole thing? As he thought about this, he saw the sides of her mouth twitch. She was going to laugh. He glared at her.

"What the hell is so funny about this?" he barked.

Hermione bit her lip. "Um—," she snickered, "well, er, Ron...do you realize we're arguing about a relationship we have no control over? Do you think Ginny won't like Harry if you tell her not to?" She grinned. "It's quite funny, really. We're bickering about other people's love lives."

Yeah, Weasley, when instead you could be doing something to improve yours. Hermione was laughing now, holding her stomach. Maybe she was trying to tell him that. She might be implying that they could be working on their relationship rather than Ginny's and Harry's. Ron grinned and started laughing too.

"I'm sorry, Hermione," he said, still laughing.

Hermione grinned and put an arm around his shoulders. Ron felt electric shocks shoot through him at this innocent gesture. She leaned her head to one side and said, "But, really, tell me. Do you honestly disapprove of Harry and Ginny?"

Ron gave her a lopsided grin. He saw, to his pleasure, that she bit her lip and blushed. Hey, she liked it. Good to know. "Well, you want the truth?" Hermione nodded. Ron awkwardly put a hand around her waist and led her away from a door, to a shady spot under his favorite tree. They sat down; to Ron's disappointment, she had to drop her arm from where it rested atop his shoulder. They sat across from each other. Hermione stared at him expectantly as he tugged on a tuft of grass.

"Okay, this is how it is. I was sort of...jealous, when I found out Ginny liked Harry, because I thought if he liked her back, he would stop spending time with me and give most of his attention to Ginny and—Hermione, Harry's my best friend. I mean, you're my best friend too but you're...er, different." Yeah, real smooth, Weasley. Don't be so damn clever, slick. He really hated that little voice sometimes. He cleared his throat and continued. "Anyway, er, yeah. I thought Harry would spend all his time with Ginny and forget about his supposed best friend."

"Oh, Ron," Hermione said softly. "Harry would never do that. You know that!"

Ron nodded. "Yeah, I sort of do. That's why I'm—I don't really mind the fact that she—that they—you know...well, I don't mind much." He gave her another half grin. She chuckled.

"You surprise me sometimes, Ronald Weasley," she said, looking him straight in the eye. "You have no idea."

Whoa. What did THAT mean? Did it mean that she wanted him to—you know—surprise her? He'd have to find out.

"What do you mean?"

Hermione bit her lip, her cheeks going slightly pink. "Nothing. Alright, well, if you don't mind—much—that Harry kissed Ginny, why were you making such a big deal out of it?"

Ron flinched at the mention of the kiss. "Do you mind not using the words 'kiss' and 'Harry and Ginny' in the same sentence? I'm a little sensitive."

Hermione grinned. "You're such a great big brother. Typically overprotective but overall sweet. So I guess I'm answering my own question. You do this because you care and you're so used to wanting to rip throats every time a guy is interested in your sister that you just, er...followed your instinct."

This, for some reason, made Ron roar with laughter. "If I followed my instinct in other things, I'd have my foot in my mouth." He shook his head and said, "You know, I wasn't gonna tell you this, but I think you know too much about some things."

Hermione stared at him intently. Her eyes were so ablaze with—something—that Ron had to look away. He heard her say, "Yes, but I know too little about other things." He looked up at her and noticed she was still staring at him. "You never know. Maybe your instinct won't be so wrong in the end." She bit her lip. Then she stood up and said, "I'll see you at breakfast."

At this moment, I'll ignore my instinct. It's not time for that right now.

END POV

Harry put his glasses on tiredly. His scar was prickling unpleasantly from the dream he had had the previous night. The dream where Ginny had fallen unconsciously into his arms...Harry's eyes widened.

Ginny.

Everything before and after talking to Ginny was hazy. He remembered rambling on about how worried he had been, about being afraid something had really happened to her. He remembered hugging her tightly on the stairs in front of her bedroom door. And most of all, he remembered kissing her.

It had been amazing.

He was thankful that it wasn't his first kiss, for if it had been, he would have made a fool of himself. His knees had gone weak the moment his mouth had touched hers. He had felt a wonderful leaping sensation in the pit of his stomach. He had wanted to keep this magic flowing through him forever.

Harry put his head in his hands. What would he say to her when he saw her? Would she think that kissing him was a mistake and tell him it didn't mean anything to her? He certainly hoped not. But, then again, he had assumed that she was over him. He hoped that maybe she still had some feelings for him. She had kissed him back, that had to mean something.

Slowly, Harry got out of bed. He tried, in vain, to flatten his messy hair. Looking around the room, he realized Ron wasn't in bed. Which was odd, since Ron usually slept until he smelled breakfast. A bolt of realization suddenly struck Harry, something that made him freeze in place. How was he going to tell Ron? What was he going to tell him? And most of all, was he in danger of Ron's wrath? Harry couldn't help but grin when he remembered Ron's reaction to Michael Corner. And lately he had looked murderous when anyone mentioned Dean. Would he be angry with Harry?

He yawned and walked out of the room. He stopped on the staircase in front of Ginny's room. He glanced sideways at the door, took a deep breath, and knocked. The door opened a crack; a pair of bright brown eyes looked out at him. Ginny opened the door quickly, tugged him inside, and slammed the door shut. She kept her head down, staring at her feet. Apparently, she had been awake for a while. The window was open, letting the sunshine through. Her bed was made and she was fully dressed. Harry was inwardly grateful that Hermione was not in the room.

There was an awkward silence. Then...

"Harry—"

"Ginny—"

They looked up at each other and grinned a little. Then Harry averted his eyes and Ginny sighed. Harry heard her take a deep breath. She said, "Look, Harry, if last night—if last night was a mistake, then just tell me, I'll understand. I never expected you would do that and I guess you got caught up in the moment and it's okay and I know you probably think of me as a little sister and you were just trying to make sure I was alright and if you didn't mean to do what you did, I understand and I'm not mad and—"

Ginny couldn't keep rambling. Harry had effectively shut her up. By kissing her again. He surprised even himself with his sudden forward action. But he didn't mind this method of shutting her up. It worked quite well, in his opinion.

After a moment of just letting her lips rest against his, Ginny pulled away. She licked her lips and murmured, "Wow..." Harry smiled. She looked like she had enjoyed it. That was a good sign. He stepped closer to her and took her hand.

"It—it wasn't a mistake. I did what I did because I wanted to do it. I'm just hoping that you liked it half as much as I did," he said quietly. Ginny smiled and nodded. Then she threw her arms round his neck and hugged him tightly. Harry hugged her back and said, "I'm gonna be here, Gin. I won't let anything happen to you." Then he kissed her cheek and pulled away from the embrace. "C'mon," he said. "Let's go get some breakfast." He started to tug her towards the door when he remembered something. "Um...I was wondering...how are we gonna tell Ron?"

To his surprise, Ginny smiled. "Well..." She leaned forward. "I'll tell Hermione, and I know she'll deal with him," she whispered. Then she gave him a quick kiss and winked at him. "Breakfast?"

Harry grinned and opened the door. "Breakfast."

"Good morning, Hermione," Ginny said as she entered the room, closely followed by Harry. Hermione bit back a smile. They both were pink and looked nervous. It was sort of cute, really. She glanced sideways at Ron, who was sitting motionless on the table, staring blankly at it. Praying he wouldn't do anything stupid, she said, "Hi, Ginny, Harry. You guys hungry? Mrs. Weasley went out back to tend to the chickens but she'll be right back." She took a seat beside Ron and nudged his knee with hers. He glanced up at her, plastered an obviously fake smile on his face, and turned towards Ginny.

"Hello, Ginny. And you, Harry," he said, his voice sounding strained and formal. Ginny and Harry exchanged looks. Hermione kicked Ron under the table and he cleared his throat. "Er...sunny morning, huh?"

Honestly, Ron was the worst liar she had ever met. He couldn't even pretend that everything was all right. Hermione stood up and grinned at Harry and Ginny. "Yes, lovely morning...do you guys fancy some eggs? Kippers, maybe?"

Ginny gave her a strange look. Ron turned and mouthed, "Some liar you are." Hermione bit her lip. Sadly, she wasn't much better than him at pretending they didn't know. Ginny shook her head and said, with a quick glance at Harry, "Can I talk to you, Hermione?"

Ron spit out the pumpkin juice he was drinking. Hermione shot him a dirty look and said, "Yeah, Gin, come on." She walked out of the kitchen behind Ginny, turning when she was behind Harry and giving Ron a don't-mess-up look. Ron rolled his eyes at her and scowled. She turned and followed Ginny into the living room.

Ginny was sitting on her favorite chair, looking out the window. She opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again, finally saying, "There's something I need to tell you...and I sort of need your help. I need you to tell Ron what I'm about to tell you and, er, you should break it to him gently." Ginny closed her eyes and said, "Harry and I—"

Hermione interrupted. "I already know, Ginny." The younger girl's eyes snapped open. She waited for Hermione to elaborate. Hermione gave a shaky laugh and said, "Well, er...Harry left the door open when he went to see you, so Ron followed him." She knelt before Ginny and said, "He saw everything."

"Oh, shit!" Ginny didn't give Hermione time to reprimand her language. "He's gonna kill him right now, in the kitchen! Why did you leave him with Harry in there?! Ron's gonna hit the roof!"

"Shh! No, Ginny...I already talked to Ron, that's how I know about you and Harry. Listen, Ron doesn't mind. He was in a towering rage this morning, but I got him to talk it out, and he says Harry is the only he'd want you to go out with. So don't worry! I highly doubt Ron's going to start yelling at Harry, and he's most certainly not going to kill him..." Hermione gave Ginny a sympathetic smile and said, "Don't worry. Just give Ron a little time and he'll come around."

Ginny nodded and said, "Thanks Hermione. I don't know what I would do without you here." She stood up and hugged her friend. When she let go, Hermione grinned.

"So...how was it?"

Ginny blushed. She was quiet for a moment, but then she said, "It was great! It felt like..." she giggled, "like magic." Hermione joined her in laughing, but stopped when Ginny said, "I expect full details when Ron kisses you, all right?"

Hermione reddened. "What makes you think he will?"

Ginny laughed. "I know my brother. He'll work up the nerve, hopefully sometime in this century. Or maybe..." Ginny poked Hermione playfully. "You might need to take the initiative!"

Both girls laughed and headed back to the kitchen.

END POV

Ron looked around the room. "So, what's up, mate?" he said, again in a fake-casual voice.

Harry sat down across from him at the table and said, "Erm, well, quite a bit, actually."

Ron's fake smile left his face. "What do you mean, quite a bit?"

Harry wringed his hands. "Er..."

Ron groaned and put his head in his hands. "I wish I had dreamt that...all right, I'll just tell you, to make it easier on you, being the good friend that I am." He sighed. "I know you...um, you kissed Ginny." He winced when he said the word "kissed."

Harry stared at him, dumbstruck. After a moment of silence, he said, "What?!"

Ron glared at him. "It's not like I'm happy that I saw you snogging my sister last night! You just left the door open and I wanted to make sure you were okay since you woke up screaming and then the next thing I know, you and Ginny were..." Harry was gaping at him. Ron shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Look, I'm not mad...so don't worry, you'll live to see me kick your ass in chess another day." Ron gave him a small smile. "You're the only guy who I think is, er, acceptable for Ginny. You actually deserve her as much as she deserves you so...yeah. You have a big brother's approval."

"Great. Now all I need is consent from six more." Harry and Ron laughed.

"Yeah, I guess."

Harry smiled at his best friend. "Thanks for understanding, mate."

Ron nodded. "No problem." He patted the back of Harry's hand awkwardly and said, "Er, congratulations, I suppose." He laughed again. "And, erm, good luck."

Harry nodded. "I won't let anything happen to her, Ron. I swear I won't." He grinned. "And, one more thing...when are you gonna make a move on our dear best friend?"

"What are you talking about Harry?"

Harry smirked. "Hermione."

"Aww, shame...you must have fallen off your broom and wrecked your brains." Both friends laughed and Ron shrugged. "I dunno. But soon."

A/n: Please review and stay tuned for the next chapter!