A/N: Um…hi. I feel terrible, actually, I feel really terrible. I feel terrible because I have not written in…oh god…I haven't written since February. I am awful. Really. And the last chapter was just so bad…

**Cries desperately**

Stuff has just crept up on me and crushed me…aargh.

Anyway, I am so, so, so, so, so, so, SO, SO SORRY!!!!!!!!!

To make up for this I will TRY (emphasis on try, there) to write a really good, really long chapter for your enjoyment.

Lots of hugs and apologies,

Xodox.

Chapter 5: Rabbits, Radishes and Funny Looking Sticks

A few days after he arrived, Ron got into the routine of his work.

He was in the kitchens most of the time, washing up or waiting the Royal Table. Occasionally he was allowed to cook, but it usually involved a great deal of smoke and a punishment from Snape.

"Weasley, you give the impression that your entire family shares a single brain! Are you completely incapable of following my instructions? You are as bad as Longbottom; you simply cannot grasp the beauty of cookery. Now, do something useful and clean the floor, that should be simple enough for even you to do."

This particular speech from the Head Chef struck a chord with Ron. He turned around from the disgusted expression that Snape held and faced Harry.

"Harry, where's Neville? Why isn't he in my hallucination?"

Harry rolled his eyes. Ron was constantly to referring to everything as a dream, or a hideous nightmare if he got on the wrong side of Snape. He put down the carrot he was currently slicing and looked at Ron.

"He works in the garden, he has done since fourth year. Snape simply said, 'Longbottom, you are a waste of my time. Get out.' So Neville did, he went to Head Gardener Sprout and asked to work for her full time as he had been expelled from the kitchen, she agreed and he's worked there since."

"Ok, do you reckon if I burn enough things that I could work in the garden?"

"I wouldn't chance it, mate."

Harry returned to his carrot and Ron returned to his mop and bucket. He wheeled himself round to face the large, glass doors and then he saw her…

Hermione was walking through the rich greenery, stopping every so often to smell a flower or look at a plant in better detail. Ron watched her bend down to pick up a flower that had come out of its pot when he was greeted with the loud, roaring grease ball that was Snape.

"WEASLEY!" he bellowed, "I HAVE HAD IT UP TO HERE WITH YOU! GET OUT OF MY KITCHEN!!!!!!!!!!"

Ron stood there watching Snape's face turn from the screaming crimson, to a cherry colour, to a light pink and then it's regular shade of spoiled milk.

He stumbled out of the glass doors, spilling into the garden. He walked along a path, waiting for the ear splitting ringing in his ears to stop and for his hearing to return.

As he walked, he grumbled about Snape and buckets, he shook his head as he walked, trying to clear the ringing.

Hermione's head snapped up. She could hear him mumbling and she laughed at the nonsense about 'dopey git's deafened me for life now' and 'get that mop and stick it somewhere nasty.'

Ron looked up as he heard her giggling. He grinned as he came face to face with her. He was about to say something when he remembered that she wasn't normal Hermione.

'But when was that girl normal.' He thought with a smile.

Ron sighed and was about to walk off, but then she spoke to him.

"Oh please! Don't go! I've been looking for someone to talk to all day, please stay here."

He looked up with a slightly stunned expression.

"Oh don't look so shocked, I am human you know. What's your name?"

"Me?"

"No, I was talking to the radishes behind you."

"I didn't know radishes could talk."

"Neither did I but I'm obviously talking to vegetable now." She said with a smile.

"Hey, vegetables have feelings too you know. Anyway, I'm Ron."

"I suppose you know who I am…"she began sadly.

"Yes, you're that girl who wanders round the garden looking at the flowers."

Hermione instantly brightened up and grinned at Ron.

"Well, I'm Hermione."

"Nice to meet you."

And with that they set off, walking around the garden and talking away.

~**~

They eventually came to a flat, grassy area, surrounded by vegetable patches. There was a small fenced off area in the middle and Hermione rushed over, telling Ron to follow her.

"I want to show you something. Hurry up!"

Ron lumbered over and flopped down on the grass beside her. The enclosure was filled with tons of rabbits. There were hefty, fat brown ones, black ones with snuffly noses and tiny baby white rabbits with pink eyes.

"Aren't they lovely?" Hermione said picking up one of the baby rabbits and holding it in her hands.

Ron scratched the brown one behind the ear and nodded.

"How did you get so many? There's at least 50 in here."

"There's 53 actually, and how I got them is quite funny, really. Bittersweet in a way."

"Go on."

Hermione sighed and began to explain.

"As you may know, my father has been lining up suitors as I am 'coming of an age where I should be married…' blah, blah, blah…Anyway, he asked what I wanted in a husband, which I can assure you I don't want right now, and I said…"

She paused to see if Ron was still listening. He was hanging on her every word.

"Go on, what did you say to him?"

"I said…oh it's ridiculous…I said he should be able to enchant my heart. I think I had been reading some romantic nonsense earlier and…well…"

She blushed heavily at this point and looked at the rabbit in her hand.

"But that doesn't explain the rabbits."

"Oh yes, the rabbits. Well, you know only the most fantastic people can do real magic here. Take Dumbledore for example, he is the only man in our Kingdom who can do real magic but he is far too old for me to marry.
Somehow, my father got it into his head that I wanted to marry an enchanter or a magician. We had endless suitors coming to the palace and what every single one of them did was pull a rabbit out of a hat! It was so funny, and every one of them used the same method, so while they were doing the trick I would simply go and get the rabbit and put it in this little enclosure."

They both smiled and looked down at the rabbits again.

"53 suitors, you must be popular."

"Hah, I'm not popular, my father's gold is. I wish that someone could just like me for who I am instead of my father's gold pile."

Hermione turned to face Ron saying, "You know, it is so wonderfully easy to talk to you. You don't alienate me because I'm a princess, it's like I've known you for years."

"You don't know how right you could be." He muttered. Luckily, Hermione didn't hear him; she was distracted by one of the rabbits. It was chewing on an oddly shaped stick it had found.

"What have you got there, Nutkin?"

Ron raised an eyebrow at the name Nutkin and watched Hermione pull the stick from its mouth.

"That's a funny looking stick, I wonder what it's from?"

"That's not just a funny looking stick," said Ron, "It's my wand."

**Hey! Hoped you enjoyed that, it took me so long to write, please review!**

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