As the three of them walked up to their common room, Hermione gasped and
covered her open mouth with her hand. Clutching her bag, she breathlessly
said "Oh, no! I've got to go to the library, I've forgotten too, oh,
Professor's going to be so angry, what if, I'll meet you two later, oh how
could I forget! He told me not to..". She was still muttering as she left
them and turned the other way.
"What's with her? She's already been to the library, at an ungodly hour this morning, why is she always rushing there? It bothers me sometimes," remarked Ron.
"She went to the library at an ungodly hour?"
"Well, yeah she woke me up this morning and we were talking and then she rushed off to the library, it's like she's fed there or something, d'you think she's meeting someone there or something, like she was with Krum?"
"You two were up this morning? And talking? Was it something important?" Harry said, facing Ron with an odd look on his face, one Ron could not figure out
"No, she was just-well-being neurotic. You know, the usual." Ron tried to be casual, and he would have been if it weren't for his ears. They turned a bit off-color as he said this, and Harry noticed..
"Hey, Harry, question." Ron was desperate to change the subject; he didn't want to break his word, even though a little voice inside of him begged to differ.
"Mimblus Mimbletonia," responded Harry, as the portrait obliged and swung open.
"Why are you trying to set me up with that girl anyway?"
"I-trying to-what?"
"Why are you trying to set me up with the Ravenclaw Cannons' fan?"
"I-Ron, I'm not! What made you think that?" said Harry, pulling out ink and parchment and sitting down. He also started to look a little uncomfortable. Was it cold or something?
"Well, I mean, why else would you tell me about her? Don't tell me its just because she's a Cannons' supporter, I know lots, Harry," said Ron, also pulling out his dreaded Transfiguration essay.
"I just thought you'd like to meet her, she kind of reminded me of you-"
"Well, she's not tall, red-haired, and freckly. How could she remind you of me?"
"No, well, she, well, I just thought you would get along well with her."
"Ron? Getting along well with a girl?" Fred and George Weasley had just entered the common room, coming down the boys' dormitory steps.
"But Ron, I thought you said girls had cooties!" said George, feigning confusion. Harry chuckled.
"Wait til I tell Hermione you said that," continued Fred, shaking his head in mock disappointment.
"Yeah, she would kill you," agreed George.
"Shut up," said Ron, but there was a small smile on his face.
"But which girl are you talking about?"
"Yeah, I can't imagine anyone wanting to go out with little Ronniekins."
"Except for maybe a banshee."
"Gnome"
"Troll woman."
"I don't even think Moaning Myrtle would like this kid."
"Shut up!"
"So who is it? We'll find out sooner of later."
"I'm not going out with anyone, me and Harry were just talking."
"Harry and I, little bro. But still, who were you talking about?" George really did seem interested, sitting down beside his little brother, whose ears started to glow.
"She's this Ravenclaw-" started Harry, as Ron shot him a look.
"What year?" asked Fred casually, starting to eat a muffin that he took out from his pocket.
"Fifth."
"Quidditch players?" said Fred again, mouth full.
"Reserve Seeker." Ron's ears started to get redder, and he sank his head onto his hands..
"I think I know her, or heard Angelina complaining about her or something. Lots of curls?"
"Yeah that's the one. You know her?"
"Oy, George, we've got to go, do that-that thing."
George looked at his watch. "Very true, Mr. Weasley. Tell us later about Ron's little girlfriend, alright Harry?"
"Yeah, we'd really like to see if she's insane."
"They think they're so funny, don't they?" said Ron, trying to fix a smear on his essay. His ears were settling back down now.
"Well, sometimes they can be. Those candies they invent.well, it would be quite funny to see Malfoy burst into a canary."
"Malfoy, would he make a better canary or ferret?" said Ron, and they both laughed, reminiscing Malfoy's great Transfiguring downfall last year. "Anyway Harry, never answered my question."
"I didn't?"
"No, you haven't."
"Why are you so suspicious anyway?
There were so many things Ron wanted to say to that. In his head, he thought: You like Hermione and you know it, you've probably told everyone except me, and then she fancies you back, so before you know it you two will be going out and kissing everywhere and you want me to have a girlfriend so you won't feel guilty being with her all the time, isn't it, and then there's the fact that you think I can't get anyone on my own, because I'm too poor, or too ugly, or too tall or something-
Every single thing that mildly irked Ron about Harry flooded into his head, and he almost had to literally cover his mouth to try and stop himself from officially ruining his friendship with Harry.
"Well?"
"Lack of sleep can do crazy things to you," said Ron, patting himself on the back for coming up with something believable.
"Very true. Stupid O.W.L.'s. If they didn't count so much, we wouldn't be studying half as much. And why do they count so much? I mean, is it really going to matter when we're thirty whether or not we can perform a Cheering Charm at 15?" As Harry mumbled other thoughts like this while reading up on something for History of Magic, Hermione ran in, breathless, and ran up her dormitory stairs without even a 'Hello.' Neither of them noticed, she ran in so fast.
"McGonagall has no idea what relaxing is does she?"
"Nope, don't think so," replied Harry. The crowd in the common room had thinned out. A lot of them were going out in the snow, which Ron could not help mentioning he had predicted with his flurries. Hermione's reply: "So you're happy you can see into the future and end up like Professor Trelawney?" That shut him up.
"Hey, you two, look at this." it was Hermione. No longer breathless, even though it had only been a few minutes. She walked down the steps slowly, carrying a big package.
"What's that?" said Ron, putting down his quill, glad for a reason to stop thinking about Cross-Species transfiguring.
"It's." Hermione laid the package on the table, ripping the twine, then unwrapping the dull brown packing paper. Inside was a plain box.
Harry jumped in front of Hermione "Don't open it!" Hermione, looking rather pleased that Harry had jumped to her defense. "It could be anything, this isn't regular Muggle post, this is Hogwarts."
"True."
"At least have your wand out," suggested Ron, who wasn't very happy about what had happened. It seemed to confirm his theory.
"Alright, then," agreed Hermione. She took her wand out and held it in her hand as she opened the box and gasped. She took a big basket out of the box and set it on the table, admiring it.
The basket was huge, full of every kind of Honeydukes chocolate. There were bars, truffles, trifles, and even those one's that make your mouth smoke, one of Hermione's favorite. There was even a Never-Ending Chocolate Box, which Hermione had never seen before.
"Ooh, what's this!"
"I've heard of those before, Fred always wants to buy one. Even if you eat everything that's inside, the next time you open it, it'll be completely refilled with whatever kind you want. They're dead expensive, Fred's never got the Galleons. You can pass it on for generations, it can actually become a family heirloom if you like chocolate a lot," Ron explained, eyeing it enviously. "Listen, why don't I get some stuff from the kitchens to, you know, help it go down. Too much chocolate at once, well, gets me kind of queasy. That is, if you're sharing.."
"Of course! Now be quick, we'll wait," said Hermione excitedly. She was still prodding at the package.
It took Ron quite a while to get stuff from the kitchens, because most of the things that house-elves were giving him didn't go well with chocolate, like chicken.
As soon as he came back, however, the common room was empty, and Harry and Hermione were in a corner. Something told him not to burst in on them, in fact, that little voice reappeared and told him, maybe, to casually eavesdrop.
He kept the food inside his robes [there wasn't too much of it], and he sneaked into an alcove just near where they were huddling, and he started to hear their words.
"Hermione, we should really wait for Ron, you know."
"Just one, Harry, here! You've never had one of these have you?" she replied, pointing to the candy that makes your mouth smoke, Pepper Imps, Ron remembered.
"There was no sender, Hermione, what if they're poisoned or something! You've filled candies with poison, before, you should know!"
"Not with poision, Harry, Sleeping Draught. I'm willing to take the chance, I love these things." Her voice was down to a whisper now.
"Are they that good?" His voice was just as soft. Ron could feel his ears heating up.
"Mmhmm." He opened his mouth, and she stuck one in. Ron had to sit on his hands.
"Wow, they really do make you smoke at the mouth then?"
"Just wait, Harry, you'll see."
No sooner had she said that did little wisps of smoke start to come out of his mouth, and Ron suddenly realized how close their heads were, and as he thought that, they got closer, and closer.
Until they kissed.
It was then Ron decided to stand up and drop all the food on the floor, startling both Harry and Hermione, and as they looked, his ears were brighter than either of them had ever seen.
"What's with her? She's already been to the library, at an ungodly hour this morning, why is she always rushing there? It bothers me sometimes," remarked Ron.
"She went to the library at an ungodly hour?"
"Well, yeah she woke me up this morning and we were talking and then she rushed off to the library, it's like she's fed there or something, d'you think she's meeting someone there or something, like she was with Krum?"
"You two were up this morning? And talking? Was it something important?" Harry said, facing Ron with an odd look on his face, one Ron could not figure out
"No, she was just-well-being neurotic. You know, the usual." Ron tried to be casual, and he would have been if it weren't for his ears. They turned a bit off-color as he said this, and Harry noticed..
"Hey, Harry, question." Ron was desperate to change the subject; he didn't want to break his word, even though a little voice inside of him begged to differ.
"Mimblus Mimbletonia," responded Harry, as the portrait obliged and swung open.
"Why are you trying to set me up with that girl anyway?"
"I-trying to-what?"
"Why are you trying to set me up with the Ravenclaw Cannons' fan?"
"I-Ron, I'm not! What made you think that?" said Harry, pulling out ink and parchment and sitting down. He also started to look a little uncomfortable. Was it cold or something?
"Well, I mean, why else would you tell me about her? Don't tell me its just because she's a Cannons' supporter, I know lots, Harry," said Ron, also pulling out his dreaded Transfiguration essay.
"I just thought you'd like to meet her, she kind of reminded me of you-"
"Well, she's not tall, red-haired, and freckly. How could she remind you of me?"
"No, well, she, well, I just thought you would get along well with her."
"Ron? Getting along well with a girl?" Fred and George Weasley had just entered the common room, coming down the boys' dormitory steps.
"But Ron, I thought you said girls had cooties!" said George, feigning confusion. Harry chuckled.
"Wait til I tell Hermione you said that," continued Fred, shaking his head in mock disappointment.
"Yeah, she would kill you," agreed George.
"Shut up," said Ron, but there was a small smile on his face.
"But which girl are you talking about?"
"Yeah, I can't imagine anyone wanting to go out with little Ronniekins."
"Except for maybe a banshee."
"Gnome"
"Troll woman."
"I don't even think Moaning Myrtle would like this kid."
"Shut up!"
"So who is it? We'll find out sooner of later."
"I'm not going out with anyone, me and Harry were just talking."
"Harry and I, little bro. But still, who were you talking about?" George really did seem interested, sitting down beside his little brother, whose ears started to glow.
"She's this Ravenclaw-" started Harry, as Ron shot him a look.
"What year?" asked Fred casually, starting to eat a muffin that he took out from his pocket.
"Fifth."
"Quidditch players?" said Fred again, mouth full.
"Reserve Seeker." Ron's ears started to get redder, and he sank his head onto his hands..
"I think I know her, or heard Angelina complaining about her or something. Lots of curls?"
"Yeah that's the one. You know her?"
"Oy, George, we've got to go, do that-that thing."
George looked at his watch. "Very true, Mr. Weasley. Tell us later about Ron's little girlfriend, alright Harry?"
"Yeah, we'd really like to see if she's insane."
"They think they're so funny, don't they?" said Ron, trying to fix a smear on his essay. His ears were settling back down now.
"Well, sometimes they can be. Those candies they invent.well, it would be quite funny to see Malfoy burst into a canary."
"Malfoy, would he make a better canary or ferret?" said Ron, and they both laughed, reminiscing Malfoy's great Transfiguring downfall last year. "Anyway Harry, never answered my question."
"I didn't?"
"No, you haven't."
"Why are you so suspicious anyway?
There were so many things Ron wanted to say to that. In his head, he thought: You like Hermione and you know it, you've probably told everyone except me, and then she fancies you back, so before you know it you two will be going out and kissing everywhere and you want me to have a girlfriend so you won't feel guilty being with her all the time, isn't it, and then there's the fact that you think I can't get anyone on my own, because I'm too poor, or too ugly, or too tall or something-
Every single thing that mildly irked Ron about Harry flooded into his head, and he almost had to literally cover his mouth to try and stop himself from officially ruining his friendship with Harry.
"Well?"
"Lack of sleep can do crazy things to you," said Ron, patting himself on the back for coming up with something believable.
"Very true. Stupid O.W.L.'s. If they didn't count so much, we wouldn't be studying half as much. And why do they count so much? I mean, is it really going to matter when we're thirty whether or not we can perform a Cheering Charm at 15?" As Harry mumbled other thoughts like this while reading up on something for History of Magic, Hermione ran in, breathless, and ran up her dormitory stairs without even a 'Hello.' Neither of them noticed, she ran in so fast.
"McGonagall has no idea what relaxing is does she?"
"Nope, don't think so," replied Harry. The crowd in the common room had thinned out. A lot of them were going out in the snow, which Ron could not help mentioning he had predicted with his flurries. Hermione's reply: "So you're happy you can see into the future and end up like Professor Trelawney?" That shut him up.
"Hey, you two, look at this." it was Hermione. No longer breathless, even though it had only been a few minutes. She walked down the steps slowly, carrying a big package.
"What's that?" said Ron, putting down his quill, glad for a reason to stop thinking about Cross-Species transfiguring.
"It's." Hermione laid the package on the table, ripping the twine, then unwrapping the dull brown packing paper. Inside was a plain box.
Harry jumped in front of Hermione "Don't open it!" Hermione, looking rather pleased that Harry had jumped to her defense. "It could be anything, this isn't regular Muggle post, this is Hogwarts."
"True."
"At least have your wand out," suggested Ron, who wasn't very happy about what had happened. It seemed to confirm his theory.
"Alright, then," agreed Hermione. She took her wand out and held it in her hand as she opened the box and gasped. She took a big basket out of the box and set it on the table, admiring it.
The basket was huge, full of every kind of Honeydukes chocolate. There were bars, truffles, trifles, and even those one's that make your mouth smoke, one of Hermione's favorite. There was even a Never-Ending Chocolate Box, which Hermione had never seen before.
"Ooh, what's this!"
"I've heard of those before, Fred always wants to buy one. Even if you eat everything that's inside, the next time you open it, it'll be completely refilled with whatever kind you want. They're dead expensive, Fred's never got the Galleons. You can pass it on for generations, it can actually become a family heirloom if you like chocolate a lot," Ron explained, eyeing it enviously. "Listen, why don't I get some stuff from the kitchens to, you know, help it go down. Too much chocolate at once, well, gets me kind of queasy. That is, if you're sharing.."
"Of course! Now be quick, we'll wait," said Hermione excitedly. She was still prodding at the package.
It took Ron quite a while to get stuff from the kitchens, because most of the things that house-elves were giving him didn't go well with chocolate, like chicken.
As soon as he came back, however, the common room was empty, and Harry and Hermione were in a corner. Something told him not to burst in on them, in fact, that little voice reappeared and told him, maybe, to casually eavesdrop.
He kept the food inside his robes [there wasn't too much of it], and he sneaked into an alcove just near where they were huddling, and he started to hear their words.
"Hermione, we should really wait for Ron, you know."
"Just one, Harry, here! You've never had one of these have you?" she replied, pointing to the candy that makes your mouth smoke, Pepper Imps, Ron remembered.
"There was no sender, Hermione, what if they're poisoned or something! You've filled candies with poison, before, you should know!"
"Not with poision, Harry, Sleeping Draught. I'm willing to take the chance, I love these things." Her voice was down to a whisper now.
"Are they that good?" His voice was just as soft. Ron could feel his ears heating up.
"Mmhmm." He opened his mouth, and she stuck one in. Ron had to sit on his hands.
"Wow, they really do make you smoke at the mouth then?"
"Just wait, Harry, you'll see."
No sooner had she said that did little wisps of smoke start to come out of his mouth, and Ron suddenly realized how close their heads were, and as he thought that, they got closer, and closer.
Until they kissed.
It was then Ron decided to stand up and drop all the food on the floor, startling both Harry and Hermione, and as they looked, his ears were brighter than either of them had ever seen.