Oy! Another, longer chapter that I'm pretty happy with! Isn't that exciting? Actually, I've been spending much of this week at the nursing home because we just moved my grandparents there. Kind of sad, but its really better for them there than at my uncle's house, I mean, they really can't take care of themselves anymore. So yeap, I've been befriending old people (how fun!). Lol, some old woman stopped me and my brother and gave us exercise tips. "And remember, don't wear any jewelry. Drinking coffee is bad for you too!" Haha. That was rather bizarre.
Anyway, thank you for all your support- you guys have been so great about me taking longer to update. (MUAH) I appreciate it so much =D.
Okay, well many many thanks to: BrownPryde, The Vampire Story Hunter, Luna Lovegood2, Ghost123, possom2009, Sweet-Oklahoma, Stella, Zeo and the Harvest Sprites, Blackcat69 and lightprincess for your awesome reviews!
snowbabyjoe- Oh geez, I wouldn't go so far as to having Hermione throw them off the roof. Then they'd either be (A) dead, or (B) in a comatose state for several years. And that would totally ruin the story line, lol. So Hermione shall not be nice, but she won't be horrible either. Hope you like this next chapter, and thank you for your awesome review!
ronnies gurl- Aww, goodness, you're so sweet. Thanks for loving this story! You're so amazingly cool. Yeah, I like Harry and Ginny snuggling too (runs off to squeal in delight).
Crookshankx- Lordy, I don't know what went wrong with the sleeping draught, but whatever it was, it didn't improve Harry and Ginny's situation, did it? Thanks so much for all your support- you're such a sweetie! Anyway, go write your story! It's loads of fun, I promise. And I'm sure it'll be three million times better than mine =D.
She-Who-Snogs-Weaesly-Boys- Hmm... sorry but I don't really have much to recommend. Except if you haven't tried already, any of JamieBell's stuff is amazing, amazing I tell you!!! All of her fics are cute and romantic, as well as amazingly well written and unique. Anyway, (ahem), "Life is dull when you are a beautiful, undiscovered genius". (Starts giggling away madly) Oh dear, looks like I can't say it with a straight face.
JamieBell- Ooh yay, my favorite author! Yes, this chapter was loads of fun to write because well, a furious Hermione is absolutely hilarious to imagine. Anyway, I read the newest chapter in your story! SPIFFY. I was so excited, you have no idea. And I loved it, of course. LOVED IT. In fact, if I was sure it wouldn't bore you, I would go on this long rant about your absolute brilliance right here and now. But I would probably scare people off with my enthusiasm, so I'll just say, once again, I loved it!!! So please keep on writing away; you rock! Oh yes, and thank you for the reviews... I appreciate them very much =D.
Goldilocks31890- Ginny's plan was terrible, wasn't it? And yes, I feel very sorry for Harry too. But alas, it only gets worse. And worse, and worse. But someday soon, it'll get better (as we all know it will) and Harry and Ginny will get together. Lol. Thanks for reviewing my story, you're so cool!
Fireboy- Thank you for continually supporting my story. You are so amazing (tears up)! No actually, I'm not that emotional, but you're pretty darn cool, nevertheless =D. Yes I would LOVE to visit Europe, but alas, I will probably not for another few years. Ah well, thanks for your review!
Mep1- Yaay! I'm on your favorites list (does a happy dance)! I'm so excited! Thank you, thank you, thank you! You rock, and here, I updated!
Kingmaker- Thanks for being understanding about the long waits for an update! Anyway, yes I do try to make more time for myself between all my schoolwork, extracurriculars, and well, parents, but it gets hard, ya know? Hmm, I'm alright at math, in fact, I don't so mind it so much, but I don't love it in the same way I love english and history. Yes, I do think that Molly really wants to see Harry and Ginny's relationship develop. Oh and goodness, I loved writing this chapter. Harry and Ginny- poor dears. It just gets worse and worse for them, you'll see. Well thank you for your awesome review, and I'll try not to kill myself updating quickly, lol. I'm used to working under pressure; don't you worry.
Bob-chan- You're such a sweetie! It's okay that you weren't able to review; the fact that you tried is enough =). Anyways, thanks for reviewing, and I'm so glad you like this story!
Tweek's Panda- Hmm, well I'll try to update whenever I can, but don't expect them to be daily or anything. If possible, perhaps twice a week or something, but even that is questionable. Thanks for reviewing!
Harryandginnyforever- Oh goodness, just to let everyone know, I LOVE ANYTHING THAT JAMIEBELL WRITES. So yes, I've read Letters and Carepackages. In fact, I adore that story. Adore it, I tell you! Anyways, glad you're liking this!
Tru Lys- I like cliffies! Haha... But hey, it didn't take me too long to get this one out, so HAH. (Sticks out tongue) You guys can't complain. Alright, thanks for your review!
Whippy Bird- Awww, I'm glad you like this. I totally want older brothers too; but all I've got is a younger one. Poo. Anyway, thanks for your suggestion, but I already had this chapter written when I read your review. And their excuse, I must say, is three million times WORSE than yours =D. But that's what makes it funny. Oh! Happy graduation!!! And have loads of fun in Door County. I shall certainly miss you!
Okay, so folks, here you are. Another chapter! And I CERTAINLY expect reviews, alright? Lol... Anyway, here you are, so read and review. =D
Harry stared up at a fuming Hermione in shock.
Beside him, Ginny scrambled up, squeaking in surprise. "Hermione!" she blurted out. "You're not supposed to be awake yet!" She glanced down at her wristwatch. "It's only nine!"
Hermione huffed. "What am I doing up here anyway? What did you two," she pointed her finger in their faces. "Do to me?"
Harry sat up, averting her eyes guiltily. "Nothing," he mumbled, running a hand through his disheveled hair.
Ginny too was biting her lip nervously. "Oh Hermione," she started. "I have no idea what happened."
Hermione snorted disbelievingly. "Oh, so we just appeared on the roof like magic then?"
"I'd say 'by magic'," Harry whispered.
Ginny elbowed him, turning to give him a warning glare.
"Tell me!" Hermione demanded, glaring down at them.
Ginny yawned, pulling herself up. "I really don't know, Hermione," she continued, acting innocent. "I'm as baffled as you are."
"You two," Hermione screeched. "Are lying! I know it, alright? So you'd better tell me why you would do something as ridiculous as drag me up onto the roof or, or, or else!"
Harry chuckled, finding this whole situation a bit amusing, if not odd. He ran a hand through his hair thoughtfully. Who would've known that one day he'd wake up on top of the roof snuggled up to Ginny with a livid Hermione ready to strangle him to death? Life did indeed take strange turns.
Ginny, her hair disheveled from sleep was seated right by him, her shoulder brushing his as she stared wide-eyed at Hermione.
"Um..." she stammered as she noticed that Hermione was coming at her rather menacingly with the broomstick that a few seconds ago, had been lying rather harmlessly to the side. Now however, she realized, too late perhaps, that in Hermione's hands, it was a possible murder weapon. Squeaking in terror, she inched closer to Harry, clinging to his side.
Hermione stopped, suddenly smirking. "Tell me, otherwise I'll tell the twins that you fell asleep with Ginny, Harry."
Harry paled, immediately defending himself. "I didn't do anything though! It was completely innocent!"
She ignored his protestations. "Oh Harry," she sighed, looking at him pityingly. "You know the twins won't believe that. They'll think that you took advantage of Gin."
Ginny blushed, looking away.
Harry stared at her, mouth partially open in shock.
Before he could say anything, Ginny nudged him and leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Don't tell her anything... that would kill the plan."
He gave her an incredulous look. "What plan?" he hissed back. "It's already backfired on us... there's nothing left to salvage."
Not replying, she simply gave him a pointed look.
Watching the two discuss secretively did not improve Hermione's mood. "Look you two," she glared at them, hands on hips. "If you're not telling me anything, then I'm leaving and telling the twins."
Without waiting for a reply, she hopped onto the broomstick, and with surprising courage and skill, flew down.
"No Hermione!" Harry cried out, leaning over the edge of the roof.
"Wait!" Ginny screamed, looking desperately down at Hermione's retreating figure.
"Oh god," Harry moaned, scrambling back away from the edge of the roof. "I'm dead."
"We're never coming down," Ginny agreed glumly as she moved to sit by him.
"No," he shook his head. "That's not what I meant. Your brothers are going to kill me."
"Oh," she replied despondently. "I'm sorry about that, Harry. You do know I prefer you alive."
He cracked a small smile at that. "Ah well, that's good to know."
"Anyway," Ginny scrambled over to the edge of the roof, looking down. "There doesn't seem to be any way to get down." Turning back to him, she grinned, her rumpled hair falling into her face as she sat comfortably in her pajamas.
Absolutely adorable.
"Well," he blushed, looking away from her. "We've got to find a way... or else the twins will kill me and well, we'll starve to death."
"Oh Harry," she giggled playfully. "You know the twins will kill you anyway."
He pouted, crossing his arms huffily, lips twitching upwards as he watched her erupt into giggles. "Well this is all your fault, you know," he muttered in mock anger.
She gasped, bringing a hand to her mouth dramatically. "How dare you! I'm completely blameless here."
"Let's see," he sighed, counting off his fingers. "It was, one, your idea, two, your defective sleeping draught, and three, your plan to come up here. No, it looks like you're pretty guilty."
"It wasn't all my fault, you know. Something either obviously went wrong with the sleeping draught or Hermione is just not human, and besides," She crawled over, smacking his arm lightly. "You were my accomplice, so you share the blame!"
"Oh fine," he said, trying to look disappointed. "I suppose I'll have to help you get us down."
"You're absolutely correct, mister," she nodded, getting up and offering a hand for him to get up as well. "We've been quite successful with this whole Hermione and Ron thing so far-"
Harry coughed in disbelief.
Ignoring Harry, she continued. "-And we can certainly do something as easy as getting off the top of a two story building with no broomstick or ladder."
Harry grinned, pulling himself up. "Of course, Gin," he replied sarcastically. "What could be easier?"
"That's the spirit!" she cried out boisterously, purposely ignoring the sarcasm that had dripped from his statement. She marched ahead, surveying the roof.
He had no choice but to follow.
Trudging along after her as she scampered about, he had to smile. Certainly, they were an odd sight. Two teenagers, clad in their pajamas running around on top of the roof early in the morning.
Well, he mused. Spending time with Ginny is, at the very least, always exciting. Life-threatening, perhaps, but never boring.
As if to answer his thoughts, Ginny ran back towards him. "Harry, do you think you could crawl down the chimney and come back up to fetch me?" She stared at him expectantly.
"Ermm..." he fidgeted, looking warily at the chimney. "Seems a bit dangerous, doesn't it?"
"Oh wait! You're right," she slapped her forehead. "I forgot. It's charmed to throw intruders back out and pound them into the ground with falling boulders."
And there's the life-threatening bit.
"So," he surveyed the roof, seeing no apparent ways to get off. "Any other ideas?"
She shrugged, looking around as well. "Nope, not really. How about you?"
"Any drain pipes?" he asked hopefully, peering over the edge.
"What are drain pipes?"
"Never mind," he groaned, remembering that they probably had magical means of water disposal. "Err... how come we only brought one broomstick up here anyway?"
She sighed in exasperation, having stopped running around the roof. Flouncing onto a blanket, she responded, "Because we only needed one, remember? We had no idea Hermione would wake up and turn against us like this!" She motioned towards the side of the roof and sighed in resignation. "Here we are, a full twenty feet off the ground, and we've no way to get down."
Harry sat down beside her. "We will, undoubtedly, have to wait until the others come to get us."
"And then of course," she continued for him. "We'll both be teased unmercifully and you'll be slaughtered by the twins."
"How charming."
"Well," she brightened up, turning to look at him eagerly. "We could use this as an opportunity to get to know each other better!"
He looked back at her dubiously. "But we already know each other!"
"But not really," she countered, looking at him pleadingly. "Oh come on, Harry. It'll certainly pass the time and," she giggled. "Get our minds off your impending death."
He gave her a look that made it clear that he didn't appreciate that comment, to which she stuck out her tongue unafraid.
"Well," he finally responded, while still giving her his best death stare (not very successful, considering she only had to make eye contact with him and he had to smile), "I guess we could talk to pass the time."
"Good!" Sitting down cross-legged before him, she twirled a piece of hair around a finger and immediately began talking. "Well, I certainly like animals a lot. In fact, although I'm not particularly fond of spiders, I can pick them up and get them away from Ron... or if it suits me, pick them up and leave them in his room," she snickered mischievously. "You should really hear him screech in horror."
"Sounds like fun," he chuckled, trying to understand how in the world she had even found that topic to discuss. "So you take after the twins when it comes to pranks, huh?"
She grinned sheepishly, absently tucking a strand of rumpled hair behind her ear. "Well, it's an honor to be related to them, you know. I can only hope that one day I'll be that brilliant!"
"Ah, yes," he grinned, reaching over to tousle her hair.
She shrieked, jumping up and crossing her arms over her chest as she stood over him. "You're terrible," she pouted, hair even messier. "That's no way to treat a lady."
He hung his head in mock shame. "I'm sorry Gin. Will you ever forgive me?"
She stopped, pretending to think. "Perhaps if you grovel a bit," she suggested, giggling away madly.
Playing along, he got down on one knee, hands clasped together as he bowed his head, pretending to plea. "Oh Ginny!" he called out loudly and dramatically, prompting another burst of giggles from her. "Please forgive this humble servant of yours! You are so amazing, and beautiful, and wonderful, and I do not deserve to be in your presence, much less ever lay my hands on your hair!"
She was doubled over, gasping for breath as she laughed.
Fueled by this, he continued, getting louder by the second. "Ginny! Oh Ginny! Your beautiful tresses shall not be spoilt by my unworthy hands! Your clear, gorgeously freckled skin with its light blush-" here he paused, blushing as he realized that his descriptions of her, were, well, the way he really saw her. Bowing his head down lower so she wouldn't see, he continued. "- Shall not be marred by my touch! Ginny," he crawled over closer to her, still on one knee. "Thank you so much for associating with me!"
Applause erupted from below, startling him.
Peering over the edge of the roof, he saw the whole Weasley household standing on the lawn, grinning up at him as they clapped and hooted.
"Really Harry!" Ron yelled up. "I didn't know you felt that strongly for her!"
Fred and George stood, seemingly torn between either trying to kill Harry or humiliate him. But as protective as they were of their younger sister, they really couldn't resist joking when the situation was this good.
"Harry, mate!" George shouted up. "You've really a way with words there!"
Even Hermione was laughing hysterically. "Oh Harry," she managed to yell out between giggles. "Was that your proposal or something?"
"Oh my darling, darling, darling!" Fred called out fervently to George as they reenacted the scene. "Your smooth, peachy skin shall not be spoiled-" and here he withdrew his outspread arm as if he had just touched a hot stove. "-By my," he looked at his hand, a look of mock loathing on his face. "UNWORTHY HAND!"
George fell back, dramatically swooning. "Oh dear! Such a romantic!"
Ron and Hermione burst into laughter.
Even Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were trying, rather unsuccessfully, to keep a straight face.
Mrs. Weasley finally broke out in peals of laughter, wiping at her eyes as tears leaked out. "I'm sorry, children," she called out reassuringly. "I don't mean to tease you know... but that was quite a show."
Harry reddened, shutting his eyes for a moment as he wished with all his might that this whole scene would just go away. But alas, when he opened his eyes, the whole waving, laughing, hooting, all in all rowdy Weasley family was still standing on the lawn, staring up at him.
Why god, why did this have to happen to me?
In the midst of all his misery, he ventured a glance in Ginny's direction.
Poor Ginny didn't look like she was faring well either. She had definitely stopped giggling and was currently standing in shock, beet red, and a hand over her mouth as she stared down at her family. "Mum! Dad!" she squeaked out.
Harry simply continued staring.
"Ginny, Harry dears," Mrs. Weasley called up with an amused twinkle in her eye. "Do you care to explain what in the world you two were doing sleeping on the roof and dragging an already asleep Hermione up there with you?"
"Err..." Harry stared down wide-eyed. "Err... well, we were, I mean... well, err..." He looked desperately to Ginny for help, but for once, she seemed absolutely speechless.
Giving him an apologetic look, she simply shook her head slightly.
"Well, erm... you see," he floundered, trying to come up with a plausible lie. "I was tutoring Ginny, you see, in erm, astronomy." He finished lamely, reddening as he saw the skeptical looks on the faces of the whole Weasley clan.
Ginny looked even more mortified, but tried to play along with his story. "Yeah... and we decided to bring Hermione up, you see, so she could help. Umm... but she was already asleep, so we just dragged her along on the broom."
Hermione raised an eyebrow disbelievingly.
The twins guffawed.
"Really Gin," Fred cried up. "We had faith in you! I really did think that you could come up with better than that."
"Ginny, darling," Mrs. Weasley chuckled. "If you want to spend some alone time with Harry, just tell us. You needn't sneak out in the middle of the night."
Ginny blushed. "No Mum! That's not it at all!"
"Nope, never!" Harry quickly added.
But Mrs. Weasley only gave them a knowing look and replied with, "Mmhmm..." before she walked away, calling over her shoulder, "Ron, why don't you be a dear and get those two down."
The twins looked indecisive, but resigned to merely shooting Harry a warning glare (although they struggled not to grin) and walking back inside.
Ron stood on the lawn, grinning up at Harry and Ginny who were both completely red in the face and horrified.
"So Hermione, should we let these two lovebirds down?"
Hermione shook her head, smirking evilly at Harry and Ginny, who were looking down at her with absolute shock. "No, I think we should just leave them there. After all, they refused to tell me what in the world they were thinking, dragging me up there to join their little midnight rendezvous."
"Hermione!" Harry cried out. "Come on, you can't be that evil!"
"Ronald Weasley!" Ginny yelled, pointing a finger at her older brother. "You come up here and get me down RIGHT NOW!"
Ron grinned sheepishly. "Oh well, I suppose I'll have to then."
Hopping on a broomstick, he motioned for Hermione to climb on with him, clutching three broomsticks in her hand.
Watching them come up, Harry grinned. "Hey Hermione, I thought you could fly on your own."
She blushed, but looked him in the eye challengingly. "Make one more comment like that and you're not getting down until tomorrow morning."
"Although," Ron snickered, "I'm sure he wouldn't mind that much alone time with Ginny."
Ginny scowled. "Ron, I'm going to kill you."
But Ron merely grinned and tossed her and Harry each a broom, and then hopped onto his broom, motioning for Hermione to follow. Hermione mounted her broom with some reservations, but gave a small smile when she looked over to find Ron next to her, waiting patiently for her to descend.
Harry and Ginny followed, Ginny loaded down with blankets. They were both a bit too preoccupied to notice Ron and Hermione's closeness, much less comment on it. In fact, both were still blushing and trying, without much success, to forget the events of that morning.
Once they were all safely on the lawn, Ron looked at Harry and Ginny, rumpled hair, pajamas, mortified expressions and all, and grinned. "Why don't you two go get cleaned up?" he suggested. "Hermione and I can put the brooms away."
Nodding gratefully, both scampered off into the house.
As they walked, Ginny seemed deep in thought.
When they reached the house, Ginny turned to Harry, biting her lip. "Harry, you know, I just came up with the greatest idea for getting Ron and Hermione together..."
Harry shook his head, groaning. "No... not again."