Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or the Characters. I also don't own Groundhog Day or the premise of time warps.
Chapter 10
The bell rang which meant the end of Herbology and the end of the school day. Ron, Harry and Hermione took off their coveralls and gloves and passed them down to Professor Sprout. Hermione brought up their Verennial Vertanna while Ron and Harry cleaned up. When they were all set, they gathered their things and made their way out. It was a very nice sunny day and unusually warm for February weather. The skies were clear and looked as though not a cloud was in sight.
Ron, Harry and Hermione quickly made their way from green house 3 and back up to the castle.
"Well that was an interesting lesson, wasn't it?" said Harry sarcastically
"If you say so mate" replied Ron not really paying attention to Harry and missing the sarcasm. Ron had never really paid attention in Herbology class either because his mind was on his walk with Lavender.
"Well at least it wasn't like our Care of Magical Creatures class" said Harry
"So Ron, are you excited about your date with Lavender?" said Hermione changing the subject and trying to keep the hostility out of her tone.
"Well, yeah I guess so I mean it'll be really, um, really interesting to see what she's like and stuff" replied Ron sounding very nervous because of the cold look Hermione was giving him.
"Well where do you plan on going anyway?" asked Hermione still frowning.
"Well you know, not that far really; just around the grounds, maybe go around the lake and. . . "
Ron was cut off before he could finish.
"I have to go to the Library and get some work done bye guys" said Hermione very quickly and she darted up the stone steps and into the castle.
"What's up with her?" said Ron furrowing his eye brows.
"I don't think she likes the idea of you 'going out' with Lavender Ron" said Harry
"Well it's not like I'm DATING her Harry . . . I mean it's just a walk . . . it's not like what you think"
Ron smiled weakly and Harry's face turned to confusion.
"Ron, you've been acting VERY strange all day today. Ever since you woke up this morning till now you've been, well, a whole new person. What's really going on with you?"
"I'm not sure what you mean Harry. What's so strange about my behaviour?" asked Ron trying to skirt the issue.
"Well I mean you were acting weird all day starting when you woke up. Looking out the window in our dorm, that massive amount of food you consumed during breakfast and lunch, and your behaviour in Potions and History of magic. I KNOW that somehow you knew Snape would get drenched in coffee. You had it all planned out. Never in a million years I would have expected you to ask Lavender Brown for a so-called walk. Now tell me what the hell is going on. You haven't been hanging out with Luna Lovegood, have you?"
Ron was getting a little annoyed with Harry asking what was 'up' with him all the time. Harry actually had a very legitimate reason to be asking questions since Ron knew that he was acting a bit off that day and basically every day, but Harry didn't know about the other days. He didn't know how to answer Harry so he just decided to just tell Harry the truth.
"Listen Harry. I've been reliving this same day February 2 for almost a week now. I wake up at the same time and the same way every day. You wake me up at 8:30am than you pull off all my sheets. The only thing is I am the only person that seems to notice this time warp and none of you notice that all this has happened before. It's like there's no tomorrow and I'm trapped repeating this exact day."
Harry looked at Ron completely dumb founded. It looked as though Harry was at a loss for words from the story Ron had just told him. A few seconds later Ron raised his eye brows and Harry burst out laughing. Ron frowned, he knew that Harry wouldn't take it seriously, the fact is that neither would Ron if he had just been fed the same story as he just told Harry
"That's a good one mate. That has got to be the best whopper ever told" said Harry still laughing.
Ron felt annoyed and played along with Harry. He shared a laughed with Harry but it was one of his fake laughs. It was as though Ron was trying to show that he wasn't really laughing.
"Yeah, HA HA! Had you going there didn't I, hah" said Ron sarcastically
"Well it was the most creative story I've ever heard" said Harry missing the sarcasm.
Ron continued to watch Harry laugh while feeling a bit perturbed. To Ron nothing had changed, nothing at all, not even the date. He had wanted so much to go back to living a normal life in a normal time. But instead it looked as though it was not going to happen. It had been almost a week now reliving the same February 2 and Ron had just accepted it and decided not to let it get him.
"Well Harry like I said before there's nothing wrong with me. Just lighten up will ya" said Ron.
"Yeah, I guess I'm just a little paranoid. I'm not use to seeing you act this way" said Harry.
"Well mate I tell you what. I promise by tomorrow morning when you wake up everything will be just like normal" said Ron jokingly patting Harry on the back
Harry obviously missed the joke and just nodded. Ron guessed that Harry wouldn't understand his joke anyway, as he would be the only one to get it.
Ron and Harry went up the stone steps, into the castle and started going up to Gryffindor Tower.
"So what do you have planned today Harry?"
"Well I have to get that divination homework finished and also I have to get started on that transfiguration assignment before Hermione chops my head off" said Harry grinning.
"Well mate you get started on that transfiguration assignment and when I get back from that walk with Lavender we'll head on down for some supper" said Ron.
"Yeah that sounds like a good idea" said Harry
Ron suddenly remembered something interesting that had been in the back of his mind ever since February 2 had been repeating itself. Every night when he would return to Gryffindor Tower from serving those detentions for Snape, he would find Harry and the rest of his roommates missing from their dormitories.
Ron wanting to get to the bottom of this mystery, asked "What are we doing later tonight?"
"Well after supper we have Quidditch practice remember?" replied Harry.
Ron stopped walking and his face fell in horror. Quidditch practice had completely slipped his mind. It never really mattered to Ron until now because he had never really experienced anything beyond his History of Magic lesson. Now this was a whole different story since Ron had dodged the big day/night long detention with Snape.
"To tell you the truth Harry I completely forgot about it. Never entered my mind at all" said Ron sadly.
"Don't worry about it Ron, now you know. Lucky I reminded you too because Alicia would have skinned you alive if our keeper missed practise" said Harry grinning
"Yeah thanks mate" said Ron and he continued to walk back up to Gryffindor Tower.
"Still though, this doesn't explain Harry, Dean, Seamus and Neville not being in their dormitories especially at 11:30pm" Ron thought.
"What are we going to do after the practice?" asked Ron wrinkling his forehead.
"I dunno, probably have a game of chess or something. Want to?" said Harry
"Uh, all right than" said Ron mentally shaking the thought out of his head. "Well I have Prefect duties after practise but that will only take a moment or two" said Ron.
"Yeah I know, no problem mate" said Harry.
When they got into the common room, Ron found Lavender sitting on the couch giggling and talking to Parvati.
"Hi" said Ron smiling
"Hi Ron, ready to go?" asked Lavender smiling also
"So do you still want to go on that walk? After what happened today I mean" said Ron.
"Yeah that was pretty scary. But I still want to go if you want to" said Lavender.
"Yeah just give me a second to put my books away in my dormitory" said Ron and he dashed up to his room and lodged his books on his bed. He stopped to check himself in the mirror for a moment and dashed back down.
"Ready to go?" asked Ron
"All set" replied Lavender.
"Ok lets go than" said Ron putting his arm out for Lavender to hold. When she took it, Ron looked back and said goodbye to Harry and Parvati.
"Wait up for me before you go down to supper mate" said Ron
"Yeah, sure thing" said Harry grinning and giving Ron a thumbs up.
"So where do you want to go?" asked Ron as he and Lavender exited the castle and headed down the stone steps.
"Well how about we take a trip around the lake and see where we go from there?" replied Lavender.
"Yeah that sounds good" said Ron.
About two minutes into the walk there was an awkward silence between the two before Ron began to speak.
"So that was some lesson today huh? Hagrid's I mean" said Ron
"Yeah I thought that cat creature was actually pretty cute, but than it turned into that giant beast. I don't know what Hagrid was thinking bringing that thing to show us. What an idiot" said Lavender bitterly.
Ron remembered that he too felt bitter toward Hagrid at first but later forgave him; after all, he was Hagrid. After Lavender's comment toward Hagrid, Ron felt the need to defend him.
"Well I think your being a bit too hard on Hagrid. I mean he means well and you know he doesn't really mean to put us in any real danger. He just has a thing for weird creatures I guess" said Ron.
"Yeah I guess so" said Lavender sounding not all too convinced.
"Lets get off the subject of Hagrid. So . . . um . . . I don't know anything about you, tell me about yourself. Where are you from?" said Ron
"Well I come from a pureblood wizarding family, I was born in Northants, and was raised just outside Rothwell" said Lavender.
"Wow, that's pretty cool" said Ron.
"Not really, it's rather boring there. There's not a whole lot to do there and the population is really small. We've only just moved to Cheltenham not to long ago and I'm glad too, I hated Rothwell" said Lavender.
"Do you have any siblings?" asked Ron.
"Well I have a little sister Emily but she's only four years old. What's it like to have those brothers and Ginny?" asked Lavender.
"Well I'm not sure if you know but I have two more older brothers. My oldest brother Bill used to be stationed in Egypt working for Gringotts but he works at a desk job now because of the Order . . . "
Ron stopped and Lavender looked puzzled. He immediately knew that he shouldn't have mentioned the Order and quickly recovered.
"Yeah, uh, the order is just this other branch of the bank you see. Bill says it's less dangerous and more cozy."
"Oh that's pretty cool than" said Lavender looking like she bought Ron's bogus story.
Ron felt relieved. But than wondered why he felt worried in the first place. Lavender would have forgotten everything by tomorrow anyway.
"Yeah so anyway my second oldest brother Charlie is in Romania at the moment working with dragons" Ron continued.
"Sounds like you have a very big family. Must be wonderful to have a family like yours?" said Lavender.
"It's not as wonderful as you might think Lavender. I hardly see Bill or Charlie, Fred and George are always up to no good, Percy and I aren't that close and Ginny, well Ginny was all I had growing up really. We did everything together when we were kids" said Ron sighing.
"Well I think Fred and George are pretty cool actually. They were always trying to make us laugh when they were here. How's the shop doing anyway?"
"Its doing really well now that you mention it. Business is doing really well" said Ron.
"Yeah see, and your siblings are cool. I'll bet you and Ginny are close" said Lavender.
"Well you'd think that, but Ginny and I aren't that close anymore" said Ron looking a bit sad and staring at the ground.
"Why not?" asked Lavender.
"Well I guess it's my fault really. I mean ever since I left for Hogwarts and I met Harry and Hermione I guess we sorted drifted apart or at least I pushed her away I guess."
Ron was now feeling extremely upset inside and wanted to get off the topic of Ginny. It didn't really matter now and Ron didn't really want to discuss his family any further. He wanted to know more about Lavender.
"So what are your interests, hobbies, favourite places to go etc.?" asked Ron changing the mood and topic.
"Well you'd find my interests a bit boring" said Lavender going red.
"Awe come on, I want to know everything about you. What do you want to do after you leave Hogwarts?" said Ron giving her a smile.
"Well I haven't really told anyone this but I have a weird fascination with international stuff. You know, foreign relations" said Lavender.
Ron was surprisingly taken aback. He always thought Lavender was a bit of a bonehead who always thought of girly things. He never thought Lavender had any serious interests besides her hair and makeup.
Ron continued to listen to everything Lavender was saying and she seemed to be talking forever too, but Ron didn't care, he was truly fascinated. Lavender talked about everything from her favourite song to her favourite colour to even her favourite vacation spot. She even talked about some personal issues which Ron didn't think it was a good idea from him to know about, but none the less he offered advise.
As the two continued to walk and talk, Ron took notice to a few 3rd year's playing in the show. Two of the 3rd years were trying to burry Dennis Creevey in snow. They were being a tad bit reckless so Ron decided to step in and say something about it.
"Hey Macdonald and Barns, be careful with Creevey there" said Ron grinning. The kids stopped and looked a bit put down. Ever since Ron became Prefect in his fifth year, younger students took a liking to him and he was easily the most popular Prefect among younger students. Ron noticed the sad looks on their faces so he added "And you might want to add more snow on his legs because it doesn't look like there's enough" said Ron smiling. The kids beamed at Ron and returned enthusiastically back to burying Dennis Creevey.
Ron and Lavender turned to face each other and smiled.
"So what kind of guys are you attracted to at Hogwarts?" asked Ron changing the topic, pulling up a lot of courage and going extremely red.
Lavender looked completely taken aback and blushed very hard too.
Ron saw the look on her face and decided to clear things up.
"Don't worry Lavender. I'm not trying to ask you to be my girlfriend or anything. I just want to get to know you better that's all . . . you know, you're very pretty in all but it's just . . . I don't . . . I mean . . . I'm not interested that way . . . I . . . I didn't upset you did I?" said Ron nervously.
Lavender giggled.
"No Ron that's ok. I know what you're trying to say. I'm glad you asked me here to talk today" said Lavender.
"Whew" muttered Ron.
"Actually I have this crush on someone but you CANNOT tell him" said Lavender.
"All right who" said Ron laughing
"Seamus" whispered Lavender
"I thought so. I knew there had to be something going on after you guys went to the Yule Ball together" said Ron smiling.
"Guess who Parvati likes?" asked Lavender giggling madly
"Who?" said Ron smiling
"Well she's had a little crush on you for a while" said Lavender.
Ron was no longer smiling but did turn red.
"Really?" said Ron
"Yeah she's over that now, she's interested in someone else more" said Lavender.
Ron didn't know wether to feel relieved or let down.
"Who?" said Ron smiling again.
"You CANNOT tell Parvati I told you this, she'd kill me for telling so you have to promise you won't tell her ok?"
"Fine ok, now who" said Ron impatiently
"Neville" whispered Lavender.
"WHAT?!" shouted Ron, scaring a few birds away.
"Whoa, are you serious? This is great. I have got to tell Neville!" said Ron wearing a giant smile.
"No no you can't tell Neville, Parvati will I know I told" said Lavender.
Ron thought about this for a second. There was no point anyway, its not like Neville is going to do anything about it he's too much of a coward. Besides they don't have a future because there is no future.
"Ok I swear I won't say a word . . . " said Ron
"Thanks" said Lavender.
"...Today" said Ron very quietly.
"Does Harry still have a thing for Cho Chang?" asked Lavender.
"Nah I don't think so, he's over her now I think. Doesn't really talk about her anymore." replied Ron.
"Well it's my turn to ask you what kind of girls you like Ron Weasley" said lavender grinning mischievously.
"Uh . . . well . . . I don't know. I guess Padma is pretty nice I guess" said Ron saying the first female name that came into his head that wasn't Hermione Granger.
"I doubt that you like Padma Ron" said Lavender.
"Why do you say that?" said Ron
"Well for one thing you didn't seem to notice she was alive during the Yule Ball. She told me you couldn't keep your eyes off of Hermione. I wonder why hmm?" said Lavender sweetly.
"Yes . . . well I had to keep an eye out for Hermione. I didn't trust that Viktor Krum you know, being Harry's rival in the Triwizard last year" said Ron as if that settled the matter.
"Sure Ron, but I think you have a thing for miss Hermione Granger" said Lavender smirking.
"We're just friends. That's all" said Ron, ears going red.
"Ok, fine, whatever you say Ron. By the way how do you like being Prefect?" said Lavender
"Its ok I guess. It's more like a job than a privilege. Why?"
"Having Hermione as the other sixth year Gryffindor Prefect makes the job better huh?" asked Lavender grinning.
"Yeah it sure does, she's really great" said Ron absent mindedly.
"I'll bet she is" said Lavender laughing.
"What's so funny?" asked Ron bewildered
"Oh nothing" said Lavender sweetly.
The air was getting cooler now and the wind was starting to pick up not to mention a few dark clouds had begun to cover the sky.
"Whoa, the weather's certainly changed huh? We better be getting back now it's pretty close to supper" said Ron looking at his watch.
"Yeah your right, its getting really cold" said Lavender.
"Here" said Ron as he took off his cloak and draped it around Lavender.
Lavender smiled and said "thanks"
As Ron and Lavender headed back toward the castle Ron had a million things running through his head. He had thought about everything he and Lavender had discussed and decided to ask one more question.
"What would you do if there was no tomorrow Lavender?"
"I'm not sure I know what you mean Ron?"
"Never mind" said Ron shaking his head.
When Ron and Lavender reached the Fat Lady they both stopped before giving the password.
"Well I had a great time Ron. I really did. It's nice to have someone else to talk to and have them really listen as well. I can't remember the last time I had a really good conversation. I'd like to do this again sometime" said Lavender.
"Yeah it was great getting to know you Lavender and I'd be glad to do this again sometime. I really enjoyed your company " said Ron knowing technically for Lavender, there wasn't going to be a next time.
Lavender took off Ron's cloak and handed it back to him. She than she smiled and gave Ron a kiss on the cheek which took Ron by surprise.
By that time Hermione was standing in front of them and had seen everything. By the looks of things and what she was holding in her hands, she'd just gotten back from the library.
"Hi Hermione" said Lavender and Ron at the same time.
Hermione didn't look too pleased at what she just saw.
"Hi" she replied dryly "you two have fun?"
Ron was about to answer but Hermione didn't wait to hear it. Instead Hermione walked in between the middle of Ron and Lavender and gave the password to the Fat Lady. She walked in first followed by Ron and Lavender.
When Hermione walked into the common room, she ignored Harry's greeting and ran up the girl's stair cases.
"What's with her?" asked Harry
"Probably stressed from all the homework she has" said Lavender.
"Yeah you know Hermione, Harry" said Ron grinning.
"Do you know where Parvati is Harry?" asked Lavender
"Yeah as a matter of fact, she said she was going down to the Great Hall" said Harry.
"Oh, ok thanks Harry. Ron I'll talk to you later ok?" said Lavender
"Ok" replied Ron.
"Bye you two" said Lavender and she left through the portrait hole.
"Well how did it go mate?" said Harry sounding very excited.
"We just had a nice chat that's all. We just walked around the grounds and we talked" said Ron.
"Are you sure that's all you did?" asked Hermione who was walking down the stairs from the girls dormitories frowning.
Ron raised his eyebrows and replied "yeah that's all we did."
"That's not what it looked like to me Ron" said Hermione sounding very irritated "looks to me like you two were doing more than just talking."
"Reeeally?" said Harry grinning, his head turning toward Ron.
"No not really Harry, all we did was walk around the grounds and talk that's it. There's nothing more to say about it"
Hermione didn't look too convinced. She simply rolled her eyes and bolted out of the common room. She muttered something about kissing Lavender under her breath, but Ron wasn't sure he heard right.
"Now what the bloody hell is going on with her" asked Ron pointing at the portrait hole where Hermione just exited.
"I think she may be a wee bit jealous mate" whispered Harry.
"Shut up Harry, she's not . . . wait . . . well . . . You think so?" asked Ron who was intrigued.
Harry didn't say another word about it and instead smiled and patted Ron on the back.
"Well mate I reckon we better go down to the Great Hall and get some food before we have to go out to practise" said Harry
"Yeah, right. We better hurry too, the weather looks like its getting bad" said Ron and made a motion to head toward the portrait.
Harry followed and said "I hope it doesn't get too bad out there today."
A/N: Thanks for all of your reviews, I really appreciate it. It's very encouraging to hear from readers and makes writing a much better experience knowing you have a cool audience. Since I like to reward reviewers, I'm working extra hard on the next chapter and it will be up soon. So depending on how much people like this, I'll get the next chapter up ASAP.
Please Review.
You readers rule!
Take Care.
Chapter 10
The bell rang which meant the end of Herbology and the end of the school day. Ron, Harry and Hermione took off their coveralls and gloves and passed them down to Professor Sprout. Hermione brought up their Verennial Vertanna while Ron and Harry cleaned up. When they were all set, they gathered their things and made their way out. It was a very nice sunny day and unusually warm for February weather. The skies were clear and looked as though not a cloud was in sight.
Ron, Harry and Hermione quickly made their way from green house 3 and back up to the castle.
"Well that was an interesting lesson, wasn't it?" said Harry sarcastically
"If you say so mate" replied Ron not really paying attention to Harry and missing the sarcasm. Ron had never really paid attention in Herbology class either because his mind was on his walk with Lavender.
"Well at least it wasn't like our Care of Magical Creatures class" said Harry
"So Ron, are you excited about your date with Lavender?" said Hermione changing the subject and trying to keep the hostility out of her tone.
"Well, yeah I guess so I mean it'll be really, um, really interesting to see what she's like and stuff" replied Ron sounding very nervous because of the cold look Hermione was giving him.
"Well where do you plan on going anyway?" asked Hermione still frowning.
"Well you know, not that far really; just around the grounds, maybe go around the lake and. . . "
Ron was cut off before he could finish.
"I have to go to the Library and get some work done bye guys" said Hermione very quickly and she darted up the stone steps and into the castle.
"What's up with her?" said Ron furrowing his eye brows.
"I don't think she likes the idea of you 'going out' with Lavender Ron" said Harry
"Well it's not like I'm DATING her Harry . . . I mean it's just a walk . . . it's not like what you think"
Ron smiled weakly and Harry's face turned to confusion.
"Ron, you've been acting VERY strange all day today. Ever since you woke up this morning till now you've been, well, a whole new person. What's really going on with you?"
"I'm not sure what you mean Harry. What's so strange about my behaviour?" asked Ron trying to skirt the issue.
"Well I mean you were acting weird all day starting when you woke up. Looking out the window in our dorm, that massive amount of food you consumed during breakfast and lunch, and your behaviour in Potions and History of magic. I KNOW that somehow you knew Snape would get drenched in coffee. You had it all planned out. Never in a million years I would have expected you to ask Lavender Brown for a so-called walk. Now tell me what the hell is going on. You haven't been hanging out with Luna Lovegood, have you?"
Ron was getting a little annoyed with Harry asking what was 'up' with him all the time. Harry actually had a very legitimate reason to be asking questions since Ron knew that he was acting a bit off that day and basically every day, but Harry didn't know about the other days. He didn't know how to answer Harry so he just decided to just tell Harry the truth.
"Listen Harry. I've been reliving this same day February 2 for almost a week now. I wake up at the same time and the same way every day. You wake me up at 8:30am than you pull off all my sheets. The only thing is I am the only person that seems to notice this time warp and none of you notice that all this has happened before. It's like there's no tomorrow and I'm trapped repeating this exact day."
Harry looked at Ron completely dumb founded. It looked as though Harry was at a loss for words from the story Ron had just told him. A few seconds later Ron raised his eye brows and Harry burst out laughing. Ron frowned, he knew that Harry wouldn't take it seriously, the fact is that neither would Ron if he had just been fed the same story as he just told Harry
"That's a good one mate. That has got to be the best whopper ever told" said Harry still laughing.
Ron felt annoyed and played along with Harry. He shared a laughed with Harry but it was one of his fake laughs. It was as though Ron was trying to show that he wasn't really laughing.
"Yeah, HA HA! Had you going there didn't I, hah" said Ron sarcastically
"Well it was the most creative story I've ever heard" said Harry missing the sarcasm.
Ron continued to watch Harry laugh while feeling a bit perturbed. To Ron nothing had changed, nothing at all, not even the date. He had wanted so much to go back to living a normal life in a normal time. But instead it looked as though it was not going to happen. It had been almost a week now reliving the same February 2 and Ron had just accepted it and decided not to let it get him.
"Well Harry like I said before there's nothing wrong with me. Just lighten up will ya" said Ron.
"Yeah, I guess I'm just a little paranoid. I'm not use to seeing you act this way" said Harry.
"Well mate I tell you what. I promise by tomorrow morning when you wake up everything will be just like normal" said Ron jokingly patting Harry on the back
Harry obviously missed the joke and just nodded. Ron guessed that Harry wouldn't understand his joke anyway, as he would be the only one to get it.
Ron and Harry went up the stone steps, into the castle and started going up to Gryffindor Tower.
"So what do you have planned today Harry?"
"Well I have to get that divination homework finished and also I have to get started on that transfiguration assignment before Hermione chops my head off" said Harry grinning.
"Well mate you get started on that transfiguration assignment and when I get back from that walk with Lavender we'll head on down for some supper" said Ron.
"Yeah that sounds like a good idea" said Harry
Ron suddenly remembered something interesting that had been in the back of his mind ever since February 2 had been repeating itself. Every night when he would return to Gryffindor Tower from serving those detentions for Snape, he would find Harry and the rest of his roommates missing from their dormitories.
Ron wanting to get to the bottom of this mystery, asked "What are we doing later tonight?"
"Well after supper we have Quidditch practice remember?" replied Harry.
Ron stopped walking and his face fell in horror. Quidditch practice had completely slipped his mind. It never really mattered to Ron until now because he had never really experienced anything beyond his History of Magic lesson. Now this was a whole different story since Ron had dodged the big day/night long detention with Snape.
"To tell you the truth Harry I completely forgot about it. Never entered my mind at all" said Ron sadly.
"Don't worry about it Ron, now you know. Lucky I reminded you too because Alicia would have skinned you alive if our keeper missed practise" said Harry grinning
"Yeah thanks mate" said Ron and he continued to walk back up to Gryffindor Tower.
"Still though, this doesn't explain Harry, Dean, Seamus and Neville not being in their dormitories especially at 11:30pm" Ron thought.
"What are we going to do after the practice?" asked Ron wrinkling his forehead.
"I dunno, probably have a game of chess or something. Want to?" said Harry
"Uh, all right than" said Ron mentally shaking the thought out of his head. "Well I have Prefect duties after practise but that will only take a moment or two" said Ron.
"Yeah I know, no problem mate" said Harry.
When they got into the common room, Ron found Lavender sitting on the couch giggling and talking to Parvati.
"Hi" said Ron smiling
"Hi Ron, ready to go?" asked Lavender smiling also
"So do you still want to go on that walk? After what happened today I mean" said Ron.
"Yeah that was pretty scary. But I still want to go if you want to" said Lavender.
"Yeah just give me a second to put my books away in my dormitory" said Ron and he dashed up to his room and lodged his books on his bed. He stopped to check himself in the mirror for a moment and dashed back down.
"Ready to go?" asked Ron
"All set" replied Lavender.
"Ok lets go than" said Ron putting his arm out for Lavender to hold. When she took it, Ron looked back and said goodbye to Harry and Parvati.
"Wait up for me before you go down to supper mate" said Ron
"Yeah, sure thing" said Harry grinning and giving Ron a thumbs up.
"So where do you want to go?" asked Ron as he and Lavender exited the castle and headed down the stone steps.
"Well how about we take a trip around the lake and see where we go from there?" replied Lavender.
"Yeah that sounds good" said Ron.
About two minutes into the walk there was an awkward silence between the two before Ron began to speak.
"So that was some lesson today huh? Hagrid's I mean" said Ron
"Yeah I thought that cat creature was actually pretty cute, but than it turned into that giant beast. I don't know what Hagrid was thinking bringing that thing to show us. What an idiot" said Lavender bitterly.
Ron remembered that he too felt bitter toward Hagrid at first but later forgave him; after all, he was Hagrid. After Lavender's comment toward Hagrid, Ron felt the need to defend him.
"Well I think your being a bit too hard on Hagrid. I mean he means well and you know he doesn't really mean to put us in any real danger. He just has a thing for weird creatures I guess" said Ron.
"Yeah I guess so" said Lavender sounding not all too convinced.
"Lets get off the subject of Hagrid. So . . . um . . . I don't know anything about you, tell me about yourself. Where are you from?" said Ron
"Well I come from a pureblood wizarding family, I was born in Northants, and was raised just outside Rothwell" said Lavender.
"Wow, that's pretty cool" said Ron.
"Not really, it's rather boring there. There's not a whole lot to do there and the population is really small. We've only just moved to Cheltenham not to long ago and I'm glad too, I hated Rothwell" said Lavender.
"Do you have any siblings?" asked Ron.
"Well I have a little sister Emily but she's only four years old. What's it like to have those brothers and Ginny?" asked Lavender.
"Well I'm not sure if you know but I have two more older brothers. My oldest brother Bill used to be stationed in Egypt working for Gringotts but he works at a desk job now because of the Order . . . "
Ron stopped and Lavender looked puzzled. He immediately knew that he shouldn't have mentioned the Order and quickly recovered.
"Yeah, uh, the order is just this other branch of the bank you see. Bill says it's less dangerous and more cozy."
"Oh that's pretty cool than" said Lavender looking like she bought Ron's bogus story.
Ron felt relieved. But than wondered why he felt worried in the first place. Lavender would have forgotten everything by tomorrow anyway.
"Yeah so anyway my second oldest brother Charlie is in Romania at the moment working with dragons" Ron continued.
"Sounds like you have a very big family. Must be wonderful to have a family like yours?" said Lavender.
"It's not as wonderful as you might think Lavender. I hardly see Bill or Charlie, Fred and George are always up to no good, Percy and I aren't that close and Ginny, well Ginny was all I had growing up really. We did everything together when we were kids" said Ron sighing.
"Well I think Fred and George are pretty cool actually. They were always trying to make us laugh when they were here. How's the shop doing anyway?"
"Its doing really well now that you mention it. Business is doing really well" said Ron.
"Yeah see, and your siblings are cool. I'll bet you and Ginny are close" said Lavender.
"Well you'd think that, but Ginny and I aren't that close anymore" said Ron looking a bit sad and staring at the ground.
"Why not?" asked Lavender.
"Well I guess it's my fault really. I mean ever since I left for Hogwarts and I met Harry and Hermione I guess we sorted drifted apart or at least I pushed her away I guess."
Ron was now feeling extremely upset inside and wanted to get off the topic of Ginny. It didn't really matter now and Ron didn't really want to discuss his family any further. He wanted to know more about Lavender.
"So what are your interests, hobbies, favourite places to go etc.?" asked Ron changing the mood and topic.
"Well you'd find my interests a bit boring" said Lavender going red.
"Awe come on, I want to know everything about you. What do you want to do after you leave Hogwarts?" said Ron giving her a smile.
"Well I haven't really told anyone this but I have a weird fascination with international stuff. You know, foreign relations" said Lavender.
Ron was surprisingly taken aback. He always thought Lavender was a bit of a bonehead who always thought of girly things. He never thought Lavender had any serious interests besides her hair and makeup.
Ron continued to listen to everything Lavender was saying and she seemed to be talking forever too, but Ron didn't care, he was truly fascinated. Lavender talked about everything from her favourite song to her favourite colour to even her favourite vacation spot. She even talked about some personal issues which Ron didn't think it was a good idea from him to know about, but none the less he offered advise.
As the two continued to walk and talk, Ron took notice to a few 3rd year's playing in the show. Two of the 3rd years were trying to burry Dennis Creevey in snow. They were being a tad bit reckless so Ron decided to step in and say something about it.
"Hey Macdonald and Barns, be careful with Creevey there" said Ron grinning. The kids stopped and looked a bit put down. Ever since Ron became Prefect in his fifth year, younger students took a liking to him and he was easily the most popular Prefect among younger students. Ron noticed the sad looks on their faces so he added "And you might want to add more snow on his legs because it doesn't look like there's enough" said Ron smiling. The kids beamed at Ron and returned enthusiastically back to burying Dennis Creevey.
Ron and Lavender turned to face each other and smiled.
"So what kind of guys are you attracted to at Hogwarts?" asked Ron changing the topic, pulling up a lot of courage and going extremely red.
Lavender looked completely taken aback and blushed very hard too.
Ron saw the look on her face and decided to clear things up.
"Don't worry Lavender. I'm not trying to ask you to be my girlfriend or anything. I just want to get to know you better that's all . . . you know, you're very pretty in all but it's just . . . I don't . . . I mean . . . I'm not interested that way . . . I . . . I didn't upset you did I?" said Ron nervously.
Lavender giggled.
"No Ron that's ok. I know what you're trying to say. I'm glad you asked me here to talk today" said Lavender.
"Whew" muttered Ron.
"Actually I have this crush on someone but you CANNOT tell him" said Lavender.
"All right who" said Ron laughing
"Seamus" whispered Lavender
"I thought so. I knew there had to be something going on after you guys went to the Yule Ball together" said Ron smiling.
"Guess who Parvati likes?" asked Lavender giggling madly
"Who?" said Ron smiling
"Well she's had a little crush on you for a while" said Lavender.
Ron was no longer smiling but did turn red.
"Really?" said Ron
"Yeah she's over that now, she's interested in someone else more" said Lavender.
Ron didn't know wether to feel relieved or let down.
"Who?" said Ron smiling again.
"You CANNOT tell Parvati I told you this, she'd kill me for telling so you have to promise you won't tell her ok?"
"Fine ok, now who" said Ron impatiently
"Neville" whispered Lavender.
"WHAT?!" shouted Ron, scaring a few birds away.
"Whoa, are you serious? This is great. I have got to tell Neville!" said Ron wearing a giant smile.
"No no you can't tell Neville, Parvati will I know I told" said Lavender.
Ron thought about this for a second. There was no point anyway, its not like Neville is going to do anything about it he's too much of a coward. Besides they don't have a future because there is no future.
"Ok I swear I won't say a word . . . " said Ron
"Thanks" said Lavender.
"...Today" said Ron very quietly.
"Does Harry still have a thing for Cho Chang?" asked Lavender.
"Nah I don't think so, he's over her now I think. Doesn't really talk about her anymore." replied Ron.
"Well it's my turn to ask you what kind of girls you like Ron Weasley" said lavender grinning mischievously.
"Uh . . . well . . . I don't know. I guess Padma is pretty nice I guess" said Ron saying the first female name that came into his head that wasn't Hermione Granger.
"I doubt that you like Padma Ron" said Lavender.
"Why do you say that?" said Ron
"Well for one thing you didn't seem to notice she was alive during the Yule Ball. She told me you couldn't keep your eyes off of Hermione. I wonder why hmm?" said Lavender sweetly.
"Yes . . . well I had to keep an eye out for Hermione. I didn't trust that Viktor Krum you know, being Harry's rival in the Triwizard last year" said Ron as if that settled the matter.
"Sure Ron, but I think you have a thing for miss Hermione Granger" said Lavender smirking.
"We're just friends. That's all" said Ron, ears going red.
"Ok, fine, whatever you say Ron. By the way how do you like being Prefect?" said Lavender
"Its ok I guess. It's more like a job than a privilege. Why?"
"Having Hermione as the other sixth year Gryffindor Prefect makes the job better huh?" asked Lavender grinning.
"Yeah it sure does, she's really great" said Ron absent mindedly.
"I'll bet she is" said Lavender laughing.
"What's so funny?" asked Ron bewildered
"Oh nothing" said Lavender sweetly.
The air was getting cooler now and the wind was starting to pick up not to mention a few dark clouds had begun to cover the sky.
"Whoa, the weather's certainly changed huh? We better be getting back now it's pretty close to supper" said Ron looking at his watch.
"Yeah your right, its getting really cold" said Lavender.
"Here" said Ron as he took off his cloak and draped it around Lavender.
Lavender smiled and said "thanks"
As Ron and Lavender headed back toward the castle Ron had a million things running through his head. He had thought about everything he and Lavender had discussed and decided to ask one more question.
"What would you do if there was no tomorrow Lavender?"
"I'm not sure I know what you mean Ron?"
"Never mind" said Ron shaking his head.
When Ron and Lavender reached the Fat Lady they both stopped before giving the password.
"Well I had a great time Ron. I really did. It's nice to have someone else to talk to and have them really listen as well. I can't remember the last time I had a really good conversation. I'd like to do this again sometime" said Lavender.
"Yeah it was great getting to know you Lavender and I'd be glad to do this again sometime. I really enjoyed your company " said Ron knowing technically for Lavender, there wasn't going to be a next time.
Lavender took off Ron's cloak and handed it back to him. She than she smiled and gave Ron a kiss on the cheek which took Ron by surprise.
By that time Hermione was standing in front of them and had seen everything. By the looks of things and what she was holding in her hands, she'd just gotten back from the library.
"Hi Hermione" said Lavender and Ron at the same time.
Hermione didn't look too pleased at what she just saw.
"Hi" she replied dryly "you two have fun?"
Ron was about to answer but Hermione didn't wait to hear it. Instead Hermione walked in between the middle of Ron and Lavender and gave the password to the Fat Lady. She walked in first followed by Ron and Lavender.
When Hermione walked into the common room, she ignored Harry's greeting and ran up the girl's stair cases.
"What's with her?" asked Harry
"Probably stressed from all the homework she has" said Lavender.
"Yeah you know Hermione, Harry" said Ron grinning.
"Do you know where Parvati is Harry?" asked Lavender
"Yeah as a matter of fact, she said she was going down to the Great Hall" said Harry.
"Oh, ok thanks Harry. Ron I'll talk to you later ok?" said Lavender
"Ok" replied Ron.
"Bye you two" said Lavender and she left through the portrait hole.
"Well how did it go mate?" said Harry sounding very excited.
"We just had a nice chat that's all. We just walked around the grounds and we talked" said Ron.
"Are you sure that's all you did?" asked Hermione who was walking down the stairs from the girls dormitories frowning.
Ron raised his eyebrows and replied "yeah that's all we did."
"That's not what it looked like to me Ron" said Hermione sounding very irritated "looks to me like you two were doing more than just talking."
"Reeeally?" said Harry grinning, his head turning toward Ron.
"No not really Harry, all we did was walk around the grounds and talk that's it. There's nothing more to say about it"
Hermione didn't look too convinced. She simply rolled her eyes and bolted out of the common room. She muttered something about kissing Lavender under her breath, but Ron wasn't sure he heard right.
"Now what the bloody hell is going on with her" asked Ron pointing at the portrait hole where Hermione just exited.
"I think she may be a wee bit jealous mate" whispered Harry.
"Shut up Harry, she's not . . . wait . . . well . . . You think so?" asked Ron who was intrigued.
Harry didn't say another word about it and instead smiled and patted Ron on the back.
"Well mate I reckon we better go down to the Great Hall and get some food before we have to go out to practise" said Harry
"Yeah, right. We better hurry too, the weather looks like its getting bad" said Ron and made a motion to head toward the portrait.
Harry followed and said "I hope it doesn't get too bad out there today."
A/N: Thanks for all of your reviews, I really appreciate it. It's very encouraging to hear from readers and makes writing a much better experience knowing you have a cool audience. Since I like to reward reviewers, I'm working extra hard on the next chapter and it will be up soon. So depending on how much people like this, I'll get the next chapter up ASAP.
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