Chapter 6: A Notice and an Unknown Crush
Author's Foreword: I dedicate this chapter to Jo and I'm letting you know that I'm only continuing this story for you. Thanks for your support and HAPPY READING!!!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Harry woke the next morning. The events of the previous night still burned clear in his head and he felt like a rock was in his stomach, weighing him down and creating a feeling of depression. He pulled back the hangers of his bed and saw that Ron's bed was empty. He quickly dressed and then had a good look at himself in the mirror.
He knew that he wasn't the most attractive person in the world, but he had hoped that he was more of a catch than Collin Creevy. 'Maybe if I spiked my hair of something, it seems to be the fashion,' but he couldn't see any hair gel around. He sighed and trudged rather glumly down into the Griffindor common room. Immediately, he saw that Hermione and Ron weren't there so he made his way down to the Great Hall.
As usual, the babble of Hogwarts greeted his ears as soon as he was in the Entrance Hall. He quietly went and sat down at the Griffindor table across from Ron.
'Still down, mate?' Ron asked.
'Yeah,' Harry said, his voice sounding rather drone-like. He picked up a hot muffin from one of the serving trays, but he hardly even noticed the taste. To him, the food simply tasted like cardboard.
'I have some bad news,' Hermione said to both Harry and Ron.
'What's wrong?' Ron asked with a worried expression.
'Ah great. I don't think I wanna hear any more bad news right now, Hermione.'
'Well, that's too bad. You'll just have to go to the notice board and read it then,' Hermione remarked primly.
Harry and Ron got up from the table. On their way out to the Entrance hall, they heard Malfoy say, 'Oh look, it's Potty and the Weasel. What's the matter Potter? Isn't the little red tomato going for your bait?' Almost half the Slytherin table erupted into helpless laughter. Harry simply clenched his fists and kept walking.
'Notice,' Ron read aloud, 'the first Quidditch match of the year will be between Slytherin and Griffindor. The match will take place next Friday,' Ron grinned. 'I thought Hermione said that it was bad news.'
'What are you talking about? It is bad news,' Harry said gloomily.
'No it's not. It's time to show them that I'm not the king of Slytherin anymore. I'm now the king of Gryffindor,' Ron said, standing up straight and puffing out his chest. 'You wanna be the prince Harry?' Ron began to laugh and he gave Harry and friendly punch on the shoulder. 'Oh c'mon, cheer up. I told you, I'm sure it's nothing.'
But Harry was looking at the other notices and the following one caught his eye.
Seventh Grade Ball, November 15th: As it is Seventh Grade's last year, we will be hosting an early Christmas ball.
Boys~
Please note that dress-robes are not required for the young gentlemen for this special occasion, we have put twenty sickles from your school fees towards paying for a muggle form of dress called a tuxedo. You will be able to purchase your tuxedo at the new shop in Hogsmeade during your visit on September 30th. You shall be advised what shop you shall need to go to.
Girls~
You will also get the opportunity to purchase a dress on your trip to Hogsmeade (using the same payment as the boys). Please remember that we want you to be dressed sensibly, this means no see-through or overly revealing dresses are to be worn.
Students from lower grades may only attend this occasion if they are invited by a seventh-grade student.
Professor McGonagal.
' Well that's interesting news,' Harry said. 'I don' think that they have ever had one of those before. It's not too far away in the year really,'
'Are you kidding?' Ron said, after glancing at the notice himself, ' that's ages away!'
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Harry checked his timetable. 'Potions!' he groaned. 'This is a really bad day.' And soon, Harry and Ron were sitting down in the dungeons brewing a potion, which would prevent a person who had been bitten by a werewolf from turning into a werewolf at the full moon (the same potion which Snape had been making for Remus Lupin when he had been a teacher at Hogwarts).
Snape came over to inspect Ron's and Harry's work. 'Those tree roots need to be diced, not sliced Mr Weasley. Perhaps you should learn to read the instructions on the board before you come to class next time,' Snape sneered.
'What's the difference?' Ron mumbled under his breath.
'What was that?' Snape asked in a dangerously quiet voice.
'Nothing, Professor Snape.'
Harry continued crushing up the Agishone plant seeds whilst Snape watched him. He could feel Snape's cold gaze boring into the back of his head without even having to glance at him. After not being successful in trying to find fault with Harry's potion and ingredients, Snape moved on to examine the Slytherins' work.
'You have diced your tree roots perfectly Mr Malfoy, ten points to Slytherin. Maybe you should watch Malfoy's methods next time Mr Weasley. You might learn a little something.' The Slytherin's sniggered behind them and Harry saw Ron bare his teeth as he continued to cut up his tree roots with more care.
Later that day, Harry, Ron and Hermione walked down the corridor on their way to Transfiguration. Ginny and her friend passed them by, but, although she smiled at Hermione, she averted her eyes from Harry's gaze.
'You know that you're never going to get her that way,' Hermione said quietly, still gazing straight ahead as if she hadn't said anything at all.
'Are you talking to me?' Harry asked, slightly puzzled.
'Of course I'm talking to you, Harry' Hermione said, now looking at him with a frown on her face. 'You're not showing any interest in her, so she's pretending to not show any interest in you.'
'No she's not, she's flirting with that drip, Collin Creevy,' Harry said angrily.
'Oh please.' Hermione began.
'I'll meet you in Transfiguration,' Ron cut in and almost ran ahead of them.
'Don't you see, Harry? She's trying to make you jealous.'
'But I am showing interest in her, aren't I?' Harry said a little confused.
'No you're not. She told me that you didn't even kiss her back when she kissed you on the train.'
'Well, I was a little shock, it's not like she gave me any warning or anyth.Wait a minute, she told you about that?'
'Of course she did! I'm her friend. And of course she didn't give you any warning. Kisses are meant to be spontaneous. Look, do you want to ask her to the seventh grade dance?'
'Well, yes.'
'Just meet me in the library at lunch and we'll make a kind of plan that'll help you out a little.'
Harry frowned. 'Why do girls have to be so complicated?' he sighed.
'Because men are so simple that we need to find ways for them to amuse us,' Hermione replied.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Later that day, Harry met Hermione in the library as they had arranged.
'Alright, this is what you're going to do,' Hermione began. 'Girls love to get notes from guys.'
'Notes? Why notes?' Harry asked.
'Just listen. Now, you're going to send her notes pretending that you are her secret admirer. You'll have to send them to her using a school owl of course. Then, the day before the dance, you'll send her a note telling her to meet you at a certain place the next night to find out who you are.'
'Do I really have to do this?'
'YES! Ok, so now you know the plan.'
'What am I meant to write?'
'That's what I'm here for,' Hermione said rolling her eyes.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The next day, Harry watched out of the corner of his eye as a school owl flew down to the Griffindor table and delivered his note to Ginny.
Ginny's P.O.V:
' I love your eyes, Your dazzling smile. Do you notice me? All the while, Watch for more letters And you will see, You have a secret admirer. me.' Ginny read in her mind. She smiled as she re-read it again. She turned and showed it to Hermione.
'Who do you think it is,' Hermione asked intently.
'I don't have a clue. I wish it was Harry, but he isn't interested in me.'
'Did it give you any clues as to who it might be?'
'None.'
'Well, maybe you'll find out soon enough,' Hermione said, cleverly hiding her smile.
Back to Harry:
Harry watched Ginny smile and talk to Hermione. He hoped that she liked the note. It took him ages to think up. Hermione wouldn't tell him what to write exactly.only what kinds of things he should write and that it should rhyme. He had to admit that he reckoned the last line sounded pretty gay, but he couldn't think of anything else.
On the way back to the common room, Ron and Harry bumped into no other than Malfoy, accompanied as usual by Crabbe and Goyle.
'Well, well, well.' Malfoy sneered. 'Looking forward to being beaten next Friday?' he said with a smirk.
'I wouldn't be so sure of that, Malfoy' Harry said, his face; a mask covering his hatred for the smirking ass in front of him.
'Would you be willing to bet on that?'
'No problem,' Harry said with a slight smile. 'Five sickles alright for you to handle?'
'Oh that's no trouble for me. Unlike some people,' Malfoy said, indicating Ron with a tilt of his head, 'I actually have money to bet with.' Crabbe and Goyle guffawed at this apparently amazingly funny joke. 'See you on the pitch then,' Malfoy said with a quick rise and fall of his eyebrows.
'Was that little thing at the end meant to be threatening?' Ron asked disgusted.
'Who knows why Malfoy does anything?'
Back in the Griffindor common room, Harry, Ron and Hermione sat by the fire, doing their homework.
'Done,' Harry said triumphantly.
'You finished already?' Ron asked in disbelief. 'You know, the homework Flitwick gives us is almost as bad as Snape's! I just can't think of a bloody summary!'
'Just write "and so, for all of the reasons above, a memory charm should only be used in situations of great need."'
After Ron had finished off writing his summary, he looked at Hermione. It was getting late and she still wasn't finished. 'You need any help?' he asked.
'Do you really think you could help me with a subject you don't even do Ron?'
'Well no, probably not. Did you want us to wait?'
'No. I'll see you in the morning, I have a little more to do.'
'I'll just go upstairs and change,' Harry said shortly and walked up to his dormitory.
'See you in the morning,' Ron said and he kissed Hermione once again. She smiled at him sleepily and watched him go up the stairs. She sighed and continued her homework.
After she had completed all she had to do, she was too tired to even get out of her chair and so she fell into a light sleep. She was in the middle of dreaming about the upcoming quidditch match between Slytherin and Griffindor when she felt warm lips pressed against hers. She opened her eyes and was astonished to be staring at Neville Longbottom.
'Neville!' she said, almost shouting. 'What on earth are you doing?!'
'I'm so sorry Hermione,' Neville said, turning pink. ' I just thought.I'm sorry,' he said again, turning an even darker red and then he quickly walked off. Hermione laid her head back against the chair still in shock. She closed her eyes. 'What? Neville?' she thought. 'I never knew that he liked me. God, should I tell Ron?' but before another thought entered her mind, the gentle lull of sleep washed over her once more and so she drifted off again.
Upstairs in the boys' dormitories, Ron lay awake still, thinking about Hermione. Even now that he knew she had feelings for him, he still couldn't stop thinking about her. He had heard Neville come back into the room, but he couldn't be bothered to even wonder why he had gone downstairs. And speaking of going to the common room, he hadn't heard Hermione come up yet.
Eventually, curiosity got the better of him and he walked downstairs to see what had become of her. He saw her sleeping peacefully in the same chair by the fire. He could only smile to himself. 'She even looks beautiful when she's sleeping. She's just beautiful 24/7.' Ron walked closer to her. He shovelled his arms under her. She moved her head slightly and sighed in her sleep. He hesitated for a moment but then lifted her up. She was rather light. He carried her gently up the stairs and slowly opened the door to her dormitory (he knew where it was because he had watched her go into it so many times). He waited for his eyes to adjust to the dark. He heard a few snores every now and then, coming from the various beds around him. He saw an empty bed in the corner and gently placed Hermione down on it. He took off her school shoes slowly and then pulled the blankets over her. Then he gave her one last kiss on the forehead and returned to his room.
----------------- Thanks Jo. Hope you enjoy the chapter. And no, he didn't even think about sex when he placed her in her bed (unlike most guys) no matter how unrealistic that may seem. Until next chapter, ciao (------------ --------------------------------------
Author's Foreword: I dedicate this chapter to Jo and I'm letting you know that I'm only continuing this story for you. Thanks for your support and HAPPY READING!!!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Harry woke the next morning. The events of the previous night still burned clear in his head and he felt like a rock was in his stomach, weighing him down and creating a feeling of depression. He pulled back the hangers of his bed and saw that Ron's bed was empty. He quickly dressed and then had a good look at himself in the mirror.
He knew that he wasn't the most attractive person in the world, but he had hoped that he was more of a catch than Collin Creevy. 'Maybe if I spiked my hair of something, it seems to be the fashion,' but he couldn't see any hair gel around. He sighed and trudged rather glumly down into the Griffindor common room. Immediately, he saw that Hermione and Ron weren't there so he made his way down to the Great Hall.
As usual, the babble of Hogwarts greeted his ears as soon as he was in the Entrance Hall. He quietly went and sat down at the Griffindor table across from Ron.
'Still down, mate?' Ron asked.
'Yeah,' Harry said, his voice sounding rather drone-like. He picked up a hot muffin from one of the serving trays, but he hardly even noticed the taste. To him, the food simply tasted like cardboard.
'I have some bad news,' Hermione said to both Harry and Ron.
'What's wrong?' Ron asked with a worried expression.
'Ah great. I don't think I wanna hear any more bad news right now, Hermione.'
'Well, that's too bad. You'll just have to go to the notice board and read it then,' Hermione remarked primly.
Harry and Ron got up from the table. On their way out to the Entrance hall, they heard Malfoy say, 'Oh look, it's Potty and the Weasel. What's the matter Potter? Isn't the little red tomato going for your bait?' Almost half the Slytherin table erupted into helpless laughter. Harry simply clenched his fists and kept walking.
'Notice,' Ron read aloud, 'the first Quidditch match of the year will be between Slytherin and Griffindor. The match will take place next Friday,' Ron grinned. 'I thought Hermione said that it was bad news.'
'What are you talking about? It is bad news,' Harry said gloomily.
'No it's not. It's time to show them that I'm not the king of Slytherin anymore. I'm now the king of Gryffindor,' Ron said, standing up straight and puffing out his chest. 'You wanna be the prince Harry?' Ron began to laugh and he gave Harry and friendly punch on the shoulder. 'Oh c'mon, cheer up. I told you, I'm sure it's nothing.'
But Harry was looking at the other notices and the following one caught his eye.
Seventh Grade Ball, November 15th: As it is Seventh Grade's last year, we will be hosting an early Christmas ball.
Boys~
Please note that dress-robes are not required for the young gentlemen for this special occasion, we have put twenty sickles from your school fees towards paying for a muggle form of dress called a tuxedo. You will be able to purchase your tuxedo at the new shop in Hogsmeade during your visit on September 30th. You shall be advised what shop you shall need to go to.
Girls~
You will also get the opportunity to purchase a dress on your trip to Hogsmeade (using the same payment as the boys). Please remember that we want you to be dressed sensibly, this means no see-through or overly revealing dresses are to be worn.
Students from lower grades may only attend this occasion if they are invited by a seventh-grade student.
Professor McGonagal.
' Well that's interesting news,' Harry said. 'I don' think that they have ever had one of those before. It's not too far away in the year really,'
'Are you kidding?' Ron said, after glancing at the notice himself, ' that's ages away!'
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Harry checked his timetable. 'Potions!' he groaned. 'This is a really bad day.' And soon, Harry and Ron were sitting down in the dungeons brewing a potion, which would prevent a person who had been bitten by a werewolf from turning into a werewolf at the full moon (the same potion which Snape had been making for Remus Lupin when he had been a teacher at Hogwarts).
Snape came over to inspect Ron's and Harry's work. 'Those tree roots need to be diced, not sliced Mr Weasley. Perhaps you should learn to read the instructions on the board before you come to class next time,' Snape sneered.
'What's the difference?' Ron mumbled under his breath.
'What was that?' Snape asked in a dangerously quiet voice.
'Nothing, Professor Snape.'
Harry continued crushing up the Agishone plant seeds whilst Snape watched him. He could feel Snape's cold gaze boring into the back of his head without even having to glance at him. After not being successful in trying to find fault with Harry's potion and ingredients, Snape moved on to examine the Slytherins' work.
'You have diced your tree roots perfectly Mr Malfoy, ten points to Slytherin. Maybe you should watch Malfoy's methods next time Mr Weasley. You might learn a little something.' The Slytherin's sniggered behind them and Harry saw Ron bare his teeth as he continued to cut up his tree roots with more care.
Later that day, Harry, Ron and Hermione walked down the corridor on their way to Transfiguration. Ginny and her friend passed them by, but, although she smiled at Hermione, she averted her eyes from Harry's gaze.
'You know that you're never going to get her that way,' Hermione said quietly, still gazing straight ahead as if she hadn't said anything at all.
'Are you talking to me?' Harry asked, slightly puzzled.
'Of course I'm talking to you, Harry' Hermione said, now looking at him with a frown on her face. 'You're not showing any interest in her, so she's pretending to not show any interest in you.'
'No she's not, she's flirting with that drip, Collin Creevy,' Harry said angrily.
'Oh please.' Hermione began.
'I'll meet you in Transfiguration,' Ron cut in and almost ran ahead of them.
'Don't you see, Harry? She's trying to make you jealous.'
'But I am showing interest in her, aren't I?' Harry said a little confused.
'No you're not. She told me that you didn't even kiss her back when she kissed you on the train.'
'Well, I was a little shock, it's not like she gave me any warning or anyth.Wait a minute, she told you about that?'
'Of course she did! I'm her friend. And of course she didn't give you any warning. Kisses are meant to be spontaneous. Look, do you want to ask her to the seventh grade dance?'
'Well, yes.'
'Just meet me in the library at lunch and we'll make a kind of plan that'll help you out a little.'
Harry frowned. 'Why do girls have to be so complicated?' he sighed.
'Because men are so simple that we need to find ways for them to amuse us,' Hermione replied.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Later that day, Harry met Hermione in the library as they had arranged.
'Alright, this is what you're going to do,' Hermione began. 'Girls love to get notes from guys.'
'Notes? Why notes?' Harry asked.
'Just listen. Now, you're going to send her notes pretending that you are her secret admirer. You'll have to send them to her using a school owl of course. Then, the day before the dance, you'll send her a note telling her to meet you at a certain place the next night to find out who you are.'
'Do I really have to do this?'
'YES! Ok, so now you know the plan.'
'What am I meant to write?'
'That's what I'm here for,' Hermione said rolling her eyes.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The next day, Harry watched out of the corner of his eye as a school owl flew down to the Griffindor table and delivered his note to Ginny.
Ginny's P.O.V:
' I love your eyes, Your dazzling smile. Do you notice me? All the while, Watch for more letters And you will see, You have a secret admirer. me.' Ginny read in her mind. She smiled as she re-read it again. She turned and showed it to Hermione.
'Who do you think it is,' Hermione asked intently.
'I don't have a clue. I wish it was Harry, but he isn't interested in me.'
'Did it give you any clues as to who it might be?'
'None.'
'Well, maybe you'll find out soon enough,' Hermione said, cleverly hiding her smile.
Back to Harry:
Harry watched Ginny smile and talk to Hermione. He hoped that she liked the note. It took him ages to think up. Hermione wouldn't tell him what to write exactly.only what kinds of things he should write and that it should rhyme. He had to admit that he reckoned the last line sounded pretty gay, but he couldn't think of anything else.
On the way back to the common room, Ron and Harry bumped into no other than Malfoy, accompanied as usual by Crabbe and Goyle.
'Well, well, well.' Malfoy sneered. 'Looking forward to being beaten next Friday?' he said with a smirk.
'I wouldn't be so sure of that, Malfoy' Harry said, his face; a mask covering his hatred for the smirking ass in front of him.
'Would you be willing to bet on that?'
'No problem,' Harry said with a slight smile. 'Five sickles alright for you to handle?'
'Oh that's no trouble for me. Unlike some people,' Malfoy said, indicating Ron with a tilt of his head, 'I actually have money to bet with.' Crabbe and Goyle guffawed at this apparently amazingly funny joke. 'See you on the pitch then,' Malfoy said with a quick rise and fall of his eyebrows.
'Was that little thing at the end meant to be threatening?' Ron asked disgusted.
'Who knows why Malfoy does anything?'
Back in the Griffindor common room, Harry, Ron and Hermione sat by the fire, doing their homework.
'Done,' Harry said triumphantly.
'You finished already?' Ron asked in disbelief. 'You know, the homework Flitwick gives us is almost as bad as Snape's! I just can't think of a bloody summary!'
'Just write "and so, for all of the reasons above, a memory charm should only be used in situations of great need."'
After Ron had finished off writing his summary, he looked at Hermione. It was getting late and she still wasn't finished. 'You need any help?' he asked.
'Do you really think you could help me with a subject you don't even do Ron?'
'Well no, probably not. Did you want us to wait?'
'No. I'll see you in the morning, I have a little more to do.'
'I'll just go upstairs and change,' Harry said shortly and walked up to his dormitory.
'See you in the morning,' Ron said and he kissed Hermione once again. She smiled at him sleepily and watched him go up the stairs. She sighed and continued her homework.
After she had completed all she had to do, she was too tired to even get out of her chair and so she fell into a light sleep. She was in the middle of dreaming about the upcoming quidditch match between Slytherin and Griffindor when she felt warm lips pressed against hers. She opened her eyes and was astonished to be staring at Neville Longbottom.
'Neville!' she said, almost shouting. 'What on earth are you doing?!'
'I'm so sorry Hermione,' Neville said, turning pink. ' I just thought.I'm sorry,' he said again, turning an even darker red and then he quickly walked off. Hermione laid her head back against the chair still in shock. She closed her eyes. 'What? Neville?' she thought. 'I never knew that he liked me. God, should I tell Ron?' but before another thought entered her mind, the gentle lull of sleep washed over her once more and so she drifted off again.
Upstairs in the boys' dormitories, Ron lay awake still, thinking about Hermione. Even now that he knew she had feelings for him, he still couldn't stop thinking about her. He had heard Neville come back into the room, but he couldn't be bothered to even wonder why he had gone downstairs. And speaking of going to the common room, he hadn't heard Hermione come up yet.
Eventually, curiosity got the better of him and he walked downstairs to see what had become of her. He saw her sleeping peacefully in the same chair by the fire. He could only smile to himself. 'She even looks beautiful when she's sleeping. She's just beautiful 24/7.' Ron walked closer to her. He shovelled his arms under her. She moved her head slightly and sighed in her sleep. He hesitated for a moment but then lifted her up. She was rather light. He carried her gently up the stairs and slowly opened the door to her dormitory (he knew where it was because he had watched her go into it so many times). He waited for his eyes to adjust to the dark. He heard a few snores every now and then, coming from the various beds around him. He saw an empty bed in the corner and gently placed Hermione down on it. He took off her school shoes slowly and then pulled the blankets over her. Then he gave her one last kiss on the forehead and returned to his room.
----------------- Thanks Jo. Hope you enjoy the chapter. And no, he didn't even think about sex when he placed her in her bed (unlike most guys) no matter how unrealistic that may seem. Until next chapter, ciao (------------ --------------------------------------