Someone reviewed and said he was having trouble placing what year the students are in. The trip is taking place between Harry's fifth and sixth year at Hogwarts. As far as their ages go, I know JK Rowling has released Hermione and Ron's official birthdays, but I don't know what they are. I just assumed that Ron is the oldest followed by Harry, and Hermione is the youngest. In this story, Hermione hasn't turned sixteen yet. She is only fifteen, but is going into her sixth year. Sorry for any confusion caused by the story or by this horrible explanation.
Hermione and Kyle were chatting loudly as Harry and Ron followed them up he road. Every few steps, Harry would glance at Ron and could see him getting steadily angrier. Every time Hermione laughed or her shoulder brushed against Kyle's, Ron would look at his feet and mumble.
Why did Kyle have to show up, now?, Harry thought. He still didn't know all the details of what had happened between Ron and Hermione in the courtyard, but Harry knew that Kyle had chosen a bad time to pop back into the scene.
"What are you doing here, anyway?" Hermione asked Kyle. "You told me on the plane that you live in California. You were supposed to get right on another plane as soon as we landed."
Kyle laughed. "Well, my flight got canceled. So I decided to stay in town for awhile."
"Wow, that's great!" Hermione exclaimed. "But what were you doing in the hotel?"
"I, uh...heard that's where you were staying. I wanted to see you again." Kyle explained.
Harry wanted to punch Kyle in the back of the head. His whole story was bullshit. Harry hadn't seen what Kyle had been doing with that girl in the Jacuzzi, but he was sure it hadn't been holding hands. And by the look on the girls face as she ran out the door, Kyle had gone a little too fast for her.
Harry knew that if he wanted to punch Kyle, Ron probably wanted to kill him. Harry figured he had seen the tail-end of the relationship between Kyle and the girl in the pool room. But Ron had run through there ten minutes before Harry had, and he had probably seen more.
But Ron was surprisingly composed. He just continued to stare at the back of Kyle's head.
"So, where are we going?" Harry asked no one in particular.
Kyle answered. "I saw a night club on the beach earlier today. You have to be eighteen to get in, but you guys shouldn't have any trouble getting in."
"But what about me?" Hermione asked. "Harry and Ron might be able to pass as eighteen, but I sure can't."
"Don't worry. Night clubs never reject attractive young ladies. They'll let you in without a hitch." Kyle said sweetly.
Harry realized that Kyle was just playing Hermione. He felt an anger boil up from deep inside him. He didn't like to see his friends messed with. Harry walked closer to Ron.
"Shouldn't we do something, Ron? We both know that this guy's a dick." he whispered into Ron's ear.
Ron merely shrugged. "Do whatever you want. Personally, I think Hermione could learn a valuable lesson here." he said icily.
Harry was shocked. He could remember countless times that Ron would have killed Malfoy for just insulting Hermione. Now she was in much worse trouble, and he didn't want to do anything about it.
When they got to the club, Harry waited nervously in line. As confident Kyle was that they all were going to get in, Harry still worried about it. But when they made to the door, the bouncer barely glanced at them before taking their money and stamping their hands.
The club was dark. The only lights were those by the bar and those by the DJ As soon as they were in, Kyle dragged Hermione onto the dance floor. Harry and Ron were hesitant to follow.
The only dancing experience Harry had ever had was the Yule Ball during his fourth year, and this was different than anything he had seen before. While the dancing at the Yule Ball had been elegant, graceful and definitely G rated, the dancing Harry saw was not. There seemed to be a lot of grinding, grabbing and a lot of unnecessary contact.
Harry, never a coward, strode nervously into the crowd. He started worrying about how to ask girls to dance, when one grabbed him. He spun to face a shiny-faced, petite woman. And she definitely was a woman. Harry guessed she was at least twenty.
Harry wondered why a twenty year old would want to dance with a sixteen year old, when he saw the glazed look in her eyes. She had obviously had a few trips to the bar, and had mistaken Harry for and older person.
Harry began to explain her mistake, when she grabbed his pockets and brought his body forcibly into hers.
Oh, well!, Harry thought. When in Rome.
The dance was very fast and required little athleticism. Mostly it was just a lot of pelvic motion and ass grabbing.
Harry looked around the dance floor for Ron. He couldn't find him. He did, however, notice Kyle and Hermione dancing in very much in the same way that everyone else was. At least Hermione had the decency to look some what uncomfortable.
After two dances, the woman Harry had been dancing with became brazen. Her hands wandered into areas on Harry's body that made him shiver. He was tempted to stay and let the woman go as far as she wanted, but he knew that it wasn't right. She was tanked, and he was sixteen. They would both regret it later.
Grabbing a passing guy, Harry shoved him and the woman together. Neither of the seemed to mind very much. Within seconds, they were dancing in the same way that Harry and the woman had been moments ago.
Harry decide he needed a break. He headed over towards the bar area and saw Ron sitting in one of the stools speaking with the female bartender. She was young and pretty, and seemed capable behind the bar.
When Harry went over, Ron was saying, "-so now she and that guy are dancing. Twenty minutes ago, he was making out with some girl in a bathtub and now he dancing with one of my best friends."
The bartender seemed used to these midnight confessions. "Well, what are you going to do?" she asked.
"Nothing." Ron spat. "If Hermione can't see through this guy's crap, she deserves to get her heart broken."
Harry sat down next to him. "Come on, Ron. Giver her a break. Nobody else had ever really shown interest in her."
"Except Victor Krum." Ron said heatedly. "Hey, maybe she just got a thing for foreigners! Krum was European, and now this guy is a Yank."
Harry shook his head. "I don't think so, Ron. I think she's just a little caught up with someone giving her attention."
Ron nodded his head slowly. He then turned back to the bartender. "So, what do you think? Give me some of the usual bartender advise."
The bartender, who had listened to every word, put down the glass she had been drying and leaned over towards Ron.
"I think you should get your ass off of that bar stool and tell her how you feel about her." she said seriously.
"Ron seemed taken back. "How I feel about her? We're just friends! I just don't wan to see her get hurt, that's all."
The bartender gave a resigned sigh. "Kid, I've listened to enough people from where you are sitting to know love when I hear it."
"Love? Well, that's-that's..." Ron stopped. "Love?" he said finally. He had gone completely pale, and his hands were trembling.
The bartender laughed. "You look like you need a drink."
"Yeah." Ron mumbled.
"Well, how old are you?" she asked with a smile.
"Thirty." Ron said sarcastically.
"Well that's certainly old enough." she said with a wink. She placed a mug full of beer in front of both of them.
"No, I was just kidding. We're not old enough to drink." Ron said lamely.
The bartender stared at Ron for a moment and then asked, "Did you say something?"
Ron laughed. "No. I guess I didn't."
"Well, you two have fun." she said as she walked over to serve a customer on the other side of the bar.
Ron took up his mug and looked at Harry. When Harry didn't offer any advice, Ron shrugged and took a huge gulp. He grimaced as the sour liquid rushed down his throat, but took another sip.
Encouraged by Ron, Harry took up his mug and took a sip. It was very bitter, but it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be.
"Doesn't taste anything like Butterbeer back home, does it?" Harry asked Ron.
"Nope." Ron said. "But then again, it's got like five time more alcohol in it."
By the time Harry finished his cup, his feet had begun to tingle. He looked out at the dance floor, and decided that dancing was exactly what he wanted to do.
"Let's go out there." he said gesturing to the dance floor.
Ron seemed about to agree when he caught a glimpse of Hermione and Kyle still dancing. "No, I think I'll stay here a while."
A little unsteadily, Harry made his way back into the crowd. For some reason, he didn't feel nervous anymore. He walked straight up to group of girls dancing and joined in.
By 3:30, Harry had danced several time with every girl in the group. Harry, who had never kissed a girl in his life before that night, had kissed at least five girls. Some for longer than he thought possible. His buzz had worn off, but he still felt giddy.
But it was getting late, and he thought that they should be heading back. He searched the room for Hermione, and saw her still dancing with Kyle.
Harry saw Ron at the bar. He had four empty glasses in front of him and he was swaying dangerously. Harry walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Come on, Ron. It's time to go."
It took him a moment to respond. "O.K." he said and got up off of his stool. Or tried to get up off of his stool. About halfway up, his legs gave way and he toppled onto the floor.
Great, Harry thought. He leaned over and stood Ron up. "Are you OK, Ron?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just can't seem to make my legs work. Isn't that funny?"
"Sure, Ron." Harry said. "All right. You stay here. I'll get Hermione."
"The bartender said I was in love with Hermione." Ron said. His word were very slurred, and Harry was barely able to understand them.
"I know, Ron. I was there."
"You were?" Ron asked squeakily. "That's crazy stuff, man. Hey you don't think I'm in love with Hermione do you, old buddy?"
Harry wondered if he should answer. He had made a silent pact never to involve himself with Ron and Hermione's melodrama. But Ron probably wouldn't remember tomorrow anyways.
"Yeah, Ron, I do think your in love with her. And you know the crazy thing? She loves you too! You both have such large inferiority complexes that you think that no one could ever love you. It makes me sick. You two are the best people I've ever met, but you both think you're not good enough for the other. It's ridiculous."
"You're the best friend I've ever had. Maybe I do love Hermione. I mean you think so. The bartender thinks so. And you know what they say, 'Two thinks make a truth.' Or is it 'two wrongs make a right'? I should ask my mother. She would know."
"Sure, Ron. We'll go ask her right now. Just stay here."
Harry went quickly through the crowd of people and found Hermione and Kyle. They were still going at it. Only now, Hermione didn't look uncomfortable anymore. They were swaying with the music, Kyle hands pressed firmly on her backside.
For the second time that night, Harry wanted to punch Kyle.
"Hermione, let's go." Harry said a little more harshly than he had wanted.
Hermione broke away from Kyle, and said, "Sure, Harry."
Kyle didn't like that idea. "Hermione, wait! You could always come back to my hotel. That way, we could stay out as long as we want."
By the look on Hermione's face, she was considering it. But Harry didn't give her a chance to answer.
"She'll see you tomorrow. But we've got to get back now." he said and tugged Hermione through the crowd.
"Bye, Hermione." Harry heard Kyle call.
"Harry!" Hermione squealed as he yanked on her arm. "That was rude!"
"Do I care?" Harry asked roughly.
"What's the matter with you?" she asked.
Harry considered telling her about what he had seen happen between Kyle and the girl in the pool room. But he thought better of it. Let her sort it out.
"Forget it." he said.
"Where's Ron?"
"That's kind of the problem, Hermione. He's a little incapacitated."
"Incapacitated? Is he hurt?"
"You'll see."
When they reached Ron, Hermione gasped. At some point, Ron had fallen back to the floor, and was now tracing a crack on one of the floor tiles.
"Ron, are you drunk?" Hermione asked.
The look of intense concentration that Ron had on his face was enough to make Harry laugh.
He finally answered after several seconds of silence. "Yeah, I guess I am." he muttered.
Hermione seemed pretty shocked. Harry thought she was going to explode on Ron. Instead, she turned her angry eyes to Harry.
"How could you let him get like this?" she screamed.
"What could I have done to stop him? He's a big boy now, Hermione. I wasn't going to hold his hand."
"Why did he get drunk."
"You should know." Harry said.
"What the hell does that mean?"
"Never mind. Ask him tomorrow."
"How are we going to sneak him back into the hotel?" she asked shrilly.
"Magonagall wouldn't have stayed up all night. She probably went to bed once she made sure no one was going to try and sneak out." Harry answered. "And even if she is still awake, we could always sleep in the stairwell or something."
"Oh that's great, Harry."
"You have a better plan?"
"Well...no, but yours really sucks."
"Whatever. Grab his other arm." Harry said gesturing to Ron.
It took them awhile to get Ron off of the ground and through the door. Ron seemed pretty set on singing the entire way back to the hotel, and got offended whenever Harry and Hermione didn't join in.
Getting him up the stairs was difficult. He was heavy, and Hermione wasn't really all that much of a help. She could barely lift one of Ron's legs.
Once they got to the top of the stairs, Harry peaked his head into the hallway to see id Magonagall was still up. She wasn't there.
"I think we're good. Let's get him to the room." Harry said.
Trying to be as quiet as possible, they carried Ron to the room that he and Harry shared. Once they got him into a bed, Hermione walked towards the door, ready to leave.
"Hey, Hermione wait up a second." Harry whispered.
She turned and looked at him. "What's up, Harry?"
"Uh...just some advice. Go easy on him, OK."
"Who? Ron?"
Harry nodded.
"Why should I go easy on him?" she asked.
"I'm not saying don't tease him about it. He'll be expecting it once his head clears. No, I'm just saying don't drag it out"
"Why not? I'm looking forward to making fun of him for years after tonight. It's his own fault."
"I'm not saying it isn't. But I'm sure if had another chance, he wouldn't have done what he did." Harry said. "Just go easy, all right?"
"Sure. Whatever you say, Harry."
"Good."
"OK, I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Or, looking at the time, later today."
"Yeah, see ya." Harry said.
She left quietly.
What Harry couldn't tell her was the real reason he wanted Hermione to go easy on Ron. Hermione had been the motivation behind the drinking in the first place, and Ron was going to be embarrassed enough. Especially if he remembered what he had said through the course of the night.
All right. I know that was horrible. Writing it was hell. You know it's bad when you get bored while writing it. I'm not sure if English people still use the term 'yank', is if they don't tell me. If you're worried about Ron and Hermione hooking up, stay with me. Just remember that this a two week vacation, and it's only been one day. Lay it on me. I'm a big boy. Tell me how bad it was.
Hermione and Kyle were chatting loudly as Harry and Ron followed them up he road. Every few steps, Harry would glance at Ron and could see him getting steadily angrier. Every time Hermione laughed or her shoulder brushed against Kyle's, Ron would look at his feet and mumble.
Why did Kyle have to show up, now?, Harry thought. He still didn't know all the details of what had happened between Ron and Hermione in the courtyard, but Harry knew that Kyle had chosen a bad time to pop back into the scene.
"What are you doing here, anyway?" Hermione asked Kyle. "You told me on the plane that you live in California. You were supposed to get right on another plane as soon as we landed."
Kyle laughed. "Well, my flight got canceled. So I decided to stay in town for awhile."
"Wow, that's great!" Hermione exclaimed. "But what were you doing in the hotel?"
"I, uh...heard that's where you were staying. I wanted to see you again." Kyle explained.
Harry wanted to punch Kyle in the back of the head. His whole story was bullshit. Harry hadn't seen what Kyle had been doing with that girl in the Jacuzzi, but he was sure it hadn't been holding hands. And by the look on the girls face as she ran out the door, Kyle had gone a little too fast for her.
Harry knew that if he wanted to punch Kyle, Ron probably wanted to kill him. Harry figured he had seen the tail-end of the relationship between Kyle and the girl in the pool room. But Ron had run through there ten minutes before Harry had, and he had probably seen more.
But Ron was surprisingly composed. He just continued to stare at the back of Kyle's head.
"So, where are we going?" Harry asked no one in particular.
Kyle answered. "I saw a night club on the beach earlier today. You have to be eighteen to get in, but you guys shouldn't have any trouble getting in."
"But what about me?" Hermione asked. "Harry and Ron might be able to pass as eighteen, but I sure can't."
"Don't worry. Night clubs never reject attractive young ladies. They'll let you in without a hitch." Kyle said sweetly.
Harry realized that Kyle was just playing Hermione. He felt an anger boil up from deep inside him. He didn't like to see his friends messed with. Harry walked closer to Ron.
"Shouldn't we do something, Ron? We both know that this guy's a dick." he whispered into Ron's ear.
Ron merely shrugged. "Do whatever you want. Personally, I think Hermione could learn a valuable lesson here." he said icily.
Harry was shocked. He could remember countless times that Ron would have killed Malfoy for just insulting Hermione. Now she was in much worse trouble, and he didn't want to do anything about it.
When they got to the club, Harry waited nervously in line. As confident Kyle was that they all were going to get in, Harry still worried about it. But when they made to the door, the bouncer barely glanced at them before taking their money and stamping their hands.
The club was dark. The only lights were those by the bar and those by the DJ As soon as they were in, Kyle dragged Hermione onto the dance floor. Harry and Ron were hesitant to follow.
The only dancing experience Harry had ever had was the Yule Ball during his fourth year, and this was different than anything he had seen before. While the dancing at the Yule Ball had been elegant, graceful and definitely G rated, the dancing Harry saw was not. There seemed to be a lot of grinding, grabbing and a lot of unnecessary contact.
Harry, never a coward, strode nervously into the crowd. He started worrying about how to ask girls to dance, when one grabbed him. He spun to face a shiny-faced, petite woman. And she definitely was a woman. Harry guessed she was at least twenty.
Harry wondered why a twenty year old would want to dance with a sixteen year old, when he saw the glazed look in her eyes. She had obviously had a few trips to the bar, and had mistaken Harry for and older person.
Harry began to explain her mistake, when she grabbed his pockets and brought his body forcibly into hers.
Oh, well!, Harry thought. When in Rome.
The dance was very fast and required little athleticism. Mostly it was just a lot of pelvic motion and ass grabbing.
Harry looked around the dance floor for Ron. He couldn't find him. He did, however, notice Kyle and Hermione dancing in very much in the same way that everyone else was. At least Hermione had the decency to look some what uncomfortable.
After two dances, the woman Harry had been dancing with became brazen. Her hands wandered into areas on Harry's body that made him shiver. He was tempted to stay and let the woman go as far as she wanted, but he knew that it wasn't right. She was tanked, and he was sixteen. They would both regret it later.
Grabbing a passing guy, Harry shoved him and the woman together. Neither of the seemed to mind very much. Within seconds, they were dancing in the same way that Harry and the woman had been moments ago.
Harry decide he needed a break. He headed over towards the bar area and saw Ron sitting in one of the stools speaking with the female bartender. She was young and pretty, and seemed capable behind the bar.
When Harry went over, Ron was saying, "-so now she and that guy are dancing. Twenty minutes ago, he was making out with some girl in a bathtub and now he dancing with one of my best friends."
The bartender seemed used to these midnight confessions. "Well, what are you going to do?" she asked.
"Nothing." Ron spat. "If Hermione can't see through this guy's crap, she deserves to get her heart broken."
Harry sat down next to him. "Come on, Ron. Giver her a break. Nobody else had ever really shown interest in her."
"Except Victor Krum." Ron said heatedly. "Hey, maybe she just got a thing for foreigners! Krum was European, and now this guy is a Yank."
Harry shook his head. "I don't think so, Ron. I think she's just a little caught up with someone giving her attention."
Ron nodded his head slowly. He then turned back to the bartender. "So, what do you think? Give me some of the usual bartender advise."
The bartender, who had listened to every word, put down the glass she had been drying and leaned over towards Ron.
"I think you should get your ass off of that bar stool and tell her how you feel about her." she said seriously.
"Ron seemed taken back. "How I feel about her? We're just friends! I just don't wan to see her get hurt, that's all."
The bartender gave a resigned sigh. "Kid, I've listened to enough people from where you are sitting to know love when I hear it."
"Love? Well, that's-that's..." Ron stopped. "Love?" he said finally. He had gone completely pale, and his hands were trembling.
The bartender laughed. "You look like you need a drink."
"Yeah." Ron mumbled.
"Well, how old are you?" she asked with a smile.
"Thirty." Ron said sarcastically.
"Well that's certainly old enough." she said with a wink. She placed a mug full of beer in front of both of them.
"No, I was just kidding. We're not old enough to drink." Ron said lamely.
The bartender stared at Ron for a moment and then asked, "Did you say something?"
Ron laughed. "No. I guess I didn't."
"Well, you two have fun." she said as she walked over to serve a customer on the other side of the bar.
Ron took up his mug and looked at Harry. When Harry didn't offer any advice, Ron shrugged and took a huge gulp. He grimaced as the sour liquid rushed down his throat, but took another sip.
Encouraged by Ron, Harry took up his mug and took a sip. It was very bitter, but it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be.
"Doesn't taste anything like Butterbeer back home, does it?" Harry asked Ron.
"Nope." Ron said. "But then again, it's got like five time more alcohol in it."
By the time Harry finished his cup, his feet had begun to tingle. He looked out at the dance floor, and decided that dancing was exactly what he wanted to do.
"Let's go out there." he said gesturing to the dance floor.
Ron seemed about to agree when he caught a glimpse of Hermione and Kyle still dancing. "No, I think I'll stay here a while."
A little unsteadily, Harry made his way back into the crowd. For some reason, he didn't feel nervous anymore. He walked straight up to group of girls dancing and joined in.
By 3:30, Harry had danced several time with every girl in the group. Harry, who had never kissed a girl in his life before that night, had kissed at least five girls. Some for longer than he thought possible. His buzz had worn off, but he still felt giddy.
But it was getting late, and he thought that they should be heading back. He searched the room for Hermione, and saw her still dancing with Kyle.
Harry saw Ron at the bar. He had four empty glasses in front of him and he was swaying dangerously. Harry walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Come on, Ron. It's time to go."
It took him a moment to respond. "O.K." he said and got up off of his stool. Or tried to get up off of his stool. About halfway up, his legs gave way and he toppled onto the floor.
Great, Harry thought. He leaned over and stood Ron up. "Are you OK, Ron?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just can't seem to make my legs work. Isn't that funny?"
"Sure, Ron." Harry said. "All right. You stay here. I'll get Hermione."
"The bartender said I was in love with Hermione." Ron said. His word were very slurred, and Harry was barely able to understand them.
"I know, Ron. I was there."
"You were?" Ron asked squeakily. "That's crazy stuff, man. Hey you don't think I'm in love with Hermione do you, old buddy?"
Harry wondered if he should answer. He had made a silent pact never to involve himself with Ron and Hermione's melodrama. But Ron probably wouldn't remember tomorrow anyways.
"Yeah, Ron, I do think your in love with her. And you know the crazy thing? She loves you too! You both have such large inferiority complexes that you think that no one could ever love you. It makes me sick. You two are the best people I've ever met, but you both think you're not good enough for the other. It's ridiculous."
"You're the best friend I've ever had. Maybe I do love Hermione. I mean you think so. The bartender thinks so. And you know what they say, 'Two thinks make a truth.' Or is it 'two wrongs make a right'? I should ask my mother. She would know."
"Sure, Ron. We'll go ask her right now. Just stay here."
Harry went quickly through the crowd of people and found Hermione and Kyle. They were still going at it. Only now, Hermione didn't look uncomfortable anymore. They were swaying with the music, Kyle hands pressed firmly on her backside.
For the second time that night, Harry wanted to punch Kyle.
"Hermione, let's go." Harry said a little more harshly than he had wanted.
Hermione broke away from Kyle, and said, "Sure, Harry."
Kyle didn't like that idea. "Hermione, wait! You could always come back to my hotel. That way, we could stay out as long as we want."
By the look on Hermione's face, she was considering it. But Harry didn't give her a chance to answer.
"She'll see you tomorrow. But we've got to get back now." he said and tugged Hermione through the crowd.
"Bye, Hermione." Harry heard Kyle call.
"Harry!" Hermione squealed as he yanked on her arm. "That was rude!"
"Do I care?" Harry asked roughly.
"What's the matter with you?" she asked.
Harry considered telling her about what he had seen happen between Kyle and the girl in the pool room. But he thought better of it. Let her sort it out.
"Forget it." he said.
"Where's Ron?"
"That's kind of the problem, Hermione. He's a little incapacitated."
"Incapacitated? Is he hurt?"
"You'll see."
When they reached Ron, Hermione gasped. At some point, Ron had fallen back to the floor, and was now tracing a crack on one of the floor tiles.
"Ron, are you drunk?" Hermione asked.
The look of intense concentration that Ron had on his face was enough to make Harry laugh.
He finally answered after several seconds of silence. "Yeah, I guess I am." he muttered.
Hermione seemed pretty shocked. Harry thought she was going to explode on Ron. Instead, she turned her angry eyes to Harry.
"How could you let him get like this?" she screamed.
"What could I have done to stop him? He's a big boy now, Hermione. I wasn't going to hold his hand."
"Why did he get drunk."
"You should know." Harry said.
"What the hell does that mean?"
"Never mind. Ask him tomorrow."
"How are we going to sneak him back into the hotel?" she asked shrilly.
"Magonagall wouldn't have stayed up all night. She probably went to bed once she made sure no one was going to try and sneak out." Harry answered. "And even if she is still awake, we could always sleep in the stairwell or something."
"Oh that's great, Harry."
"You have a better plan?"
"Well...no, but yours really sucks."
"Whatever. Grab his other arm." Harry said gesturing to Ron.
It took them awhile to get Ron off of the ground and through the door. Ron seemed pretty set on singing the entire way back to the hotel, and got offended whenever Harry and Hermione didn't join in.
Getting him up the stairs was difficult. He was heavy, and Hermione wasn't really all that much of a help. She could barely lift one of Ron's legs.
Once they got to the top of the stairs, Harry peaked his head into the hallway to see id Magonagall was still up. She wasn't there.
"I think we're good. Let's get him to the room." Harry said.
Trying to be as quiet as possible, they carried Ron to the room that he and Harry shared. Once they got him into a bed, Hermione walked towards the door, ready to leave.
"Hey, Hermione wait up a second." Harry whispered.
She turned and looked at him. "What's up, Harry?"
"Uh...just some advice. Go easy on him, OK."
"Who? Ron?"
Harry nodded.
"Why should I go easy on him?" she asked.
"I'm not saying don't tease him about it. He'll be expecting it once his head clears. No, I'm just saying don't drag it out"
"Why not? I'm looking forward to making fun of him for years after tonight. It's his own fault."
"I'm not saying it isn't. But I'm sure if had another chance, he wouldn't have done what he did." Harry said. "Just go easy, all right?"
"Sure. Whatever you say, Harry."
"Good."
"OK, I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Or, looking at the time, later today."
"Yeah, see ya." Harry said.
She left quietly.
What Harry couldn't tell her was the real reason he wanted Hermione to go easy on Ron. Hermione had been the motivation behind the drinking in the first place, and Ron was going to be embarrassed enough. Especially if he remembered what he had said through the course of the night.
All right. I know that was horrible. Writing it was hell. You know it's bad when you get bored while writing it. I'm not sure if English people still use the term 'yank', is if they don't tell me. If you're worried about Ron and Hermione hooking up, stay with me. Just remember that this a two week vacation, and it's only been one day. Lay it on me. I'm a big boy. Tell me how bad it was.