A/N-If only I owned these characters...sigh...

A quick note-I'm surprised how much you guys are liking Hunter!! I really thought everyone was going to hate him, but ah well...Just keep in mind that he's in Slytherin for a reason...

Read on!

Chapter 12: Dates, Mates, and a Dozen Roses

Two weeks passed since Hermione's tale of her family members' deaths. As the days went by, she began to look less tired and seemed to return to her old self when everyone else was around. However, she still had some of those days when the world crashed around her, leaving her confused. Harry and Ron tried to make sure at least one of them, or Ginny, was around to catch her when she fell.

Finally, the first Hogsmeade visit of the year came around. Ron immediately figured that he, Harry, and Hermione would spend the day together, as they always had.

"Let me go find her and tell her that we're going to Honeydukes first, I'm dying for a Fizzing Whizbee; haven't had one in ages," he said cheerfully.

"Um, Ron, wait a second…" Harry tried. Unlike Ron, he hadn't forgotten Hunter's invitation for Hermione. He was pretty sure that although Hunter wanted to spend the day with Hermione, he wouldn't appreciate Ron and Harry tagging along, no matter how nice he was about it.

Too late. Ron blurted, "Hermione, Harry and I decided that we're gonna stop by Honeydukes first, okay?"

"Hey, leave me out of this!" Harry yelped.

Hermione looked confused. "Okay, Ron, we are sixteen, you know; we don't always have to tell each other where we're going."

"Oh, so you're okay with it," breathed Ron, relieved. "Then we can go past Scrivenshaft's and get that quill you fancied."

"What?" Hermione asked, even more perplexed. Then, "…oh, Ron, I'm not going with you and Harry. I'm…ah, going with someone else."

Ron's ears began to redden. "Who?" he demanded.

"Ummm….huntmcewn," mumbled Hermione.

Ron could still understand what she said. Thankfully, Harry thought, he didn't rage at her. On the contrary, he looked as if he might cry.

"Oh," he said, crestfallen. "Well…have a good time, then."

"Oh, I will!" Hermione breathed, not noticing Ron's expression, her own face shining with joy. "I'll see you guys at dinner!" She skipped off to join Hunter across the Great Hall, leaving Ron in a daze.

Harry stood up and walked over to Ron's static figure, hoping to do some damage control.

"I say again, what's he got that I don't?" Ron sighed heavily as they plodded toward Hogsmeade along with some other students.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, mate. This guy's practically perfect." Harry hated to admit it, but it was true.

"I was here first, though!" Ron raged. "I've known her and fancied her for five years, and then this 'I'm special 'cause I'm for Beauxbatons' bloke comes and steals her in two weeks!" A couple fourth year Ravenclaws turned and stared at Ron, clearly scandalized.

"You know what you have to do, then?" Harry said later as they examined the sugar quill display at Honeydukes.

"Yeah, beat that git into the ground," Ron growled, his ears reddening once again.

"No…" Harry answered. He didn't want to add that although Ron was taller than Hunter by a couple inches, Hunter had rather large bicep muscles and, overall, looked stronger than Ron. "You have to tell Hermione how you feel. All of it."

Harry expected Ron to say that there was a better way, that getting rid of Hunter would solve everything. But, to Harry's great surprise, he didn't. Instead, he turned slowly and looked Harry straight in the eyes.

"You're right," he said, defeated. "That's the only thing that'll solve it all. I have to tell her." He slapped his hand on the counter for emphasis.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Harry said mischievously. "Go and find that girl; there's no time to waste!"

Ron ran off like a lunatic toward The Three Broomsticks, calling Hermione's name every few seconds.

Harry chuckled to himself. Leave it to Ron to barge in on a date like that, he thought.

He was just leaving Honeydukes and heading to Zonko's when he ran into a different Weasley.

"Hey, Harry, I just saw Ron sprinting down the street," said Ginny curiously. "What's he on about?"

"Oh, you know, ruining people's dates, love confessions, the usual agenda," remarked Harry mock-casually. He winked at her.

She laughed. "Well, it's about time, don't you think? I mean, he's fancied her for ages, and vice-versa."

"Really?" Harry said, surprised. "I never knew that."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Wasn't it obvious?" Then, registering Harry's confused face, she continued, "She always got so mad about him lusting after Fleur Delacour, don't you remember?"

"So? She went to the Yule Ball with Krum, so she couldn't have really cared that much, right?"

Ginny stopped dead in her tracks and looked at Harry, flabbergasted. "She went with Viktor because he asked her first. If Ron would have hurried up and done it before, they would have been a couple a long time ago. She couldn't just go to Viktor and be like, 'Oh, sorry, the love of my life just asked me to the ball, so I have to break our date'. That would be rude, Harry."

Harry bristled. "I know it would be rude…still, at least Ron's finally going to ask her out or something. Then they'll be together. Better late than never," he concluded, absently kicking at a pebble on the road.

"Yeah…that Hunter McEwan's some stiff competition though. Ron'd better watch himself."

"I know….how can a guy stand to be so perfect? I'd be sick of it in an instant; it's too much work on top of everything else."

Ginny looked into Harry's emerald (or, as she once put it, "green as a fresh pickled toad") eyes. "Don't worry about that; you're already perfect-or as close as a person could get."

Harry was stunned. "Ginny…d'you…d'you like me-you know, like that-again?"

Her cheeks pinkened slightly, and she shrugged her shoulders. "Guilty," she said with a smile.

Harry grinned broadly. "Really? Do you think we could, you know, be a couple? But if you don't want to…" he added hurriedly.

She giggled. Harry hadn't noticed how sweet her laugh was before. It was sort of hiccupy, but in a cute way, not an annoying way. "I'd be honored, Sir Potter," she replied, pretending to be dignified.

His smile widened even more. "That wasn't so hard," he declared. "Ron makes it so difficult for himself…"

"Well, that's how Ron is," Ginny replied, as she took his hand. The two of them strolled leisurely down the main street, both more content than they had been in a long time.

"There she is!" Ron growled, sneaking up to look through the window of The Three Broomsticks.

He had finally found Hermione and Hunter. Scanning the pub, he noticed Hannah Abbott and Ernie Macmillan looking quite friendly, and Padma Patil and Michael Corner were sharing a butterbeer. It seemed as if the world had decided to pair all the Hogwarts students off. Of course, I was left out in the cold, he thought to himself.

No worries, though, he reminded himself as cheerfully as he could. After he went in and talked to Hermione, they, too, could share butterbeers as often as they liked and be "friendly" toward one another. Finally…

All right, this is it, he told himself. One, two-

As he reached for the door handle, the door suddenly opened, smashing into his nose hard.

"Ouch!" yelled Ron, grabbing his wounded nose. He expected an apology, but it never came, for his cry of pain was never heard.

"Oh, Hunter!" squealed Hermione, gleefully laughing as he tried to tickle her. "Where do you get all these funny stories?"

"Well, just all different kinds of places, I guess," Hunter answered modestly. Ron swore under his breath, both because of the pain and his hatred for Hunter.

"Hey, look, it's Professor Snape!" yelled Hunter, pulling out his wand and pointing it at a rather large, tall pumpkin. Hermione giggled even harder.

"Sir, with all due respect, wash your hair; your stench is a distraction to the class," Hunter said with a straight face.

Hermione was practically rolling on the ground.

"Oh, while you're at it," Hunter added, still speaking to the pumpkin, "brush your teeth; I think I see a bit of Christmas turkey stuck in there."

"Idiotic show-off git," Ron muttered, watching Hermione gasp to catch her breath.

"Take a shower," finished Hunter. "Scourgify!"

Instead of cleaning the pumpkin, the wand turned into a dozen roses. Ron recognized the wand as one of Fred and George's own. Hunter handed the enormous bouquet to a now quiet Hermione.

"I've had so much fun getting to know you during the past couple weeks," Hunter said suavely. "I think that this relationship will really be good for both of us. I want you to be my girlfriend, Hermione Granger." His hazel eyes sparkled. "I won't take 'no' for an answer."

No! Stop! Don't! Ron screamed in his head. He told his legs to move forward, to run and break the two up, to stop what was happening so fast, but they were stuck.

Hermione's eyes lit up, and Ron knew it was all over. He didn't care to hear the rest of the lovey-dovey talk. He turned and made his way back to the castle, staring at his feet, completely defeated.

A/N: Oh...why did I have to go and write that??? AHHHH! Please don't hate me as much as I'm hating myself right now...but it makes the story work...review at your discretion...and I'll be back soon with more.... : D