Keeping Busy
Disclaimer: You know what…I still don't own it.
Author's Notes: Here it is! Chapter 2! Better then Chapter 1 but not better then Chapter 3! ENJOY! :D
Chess, Muggles, and a Weasley Jumper
"So, where are we headed?" Ron asked as the two happily stepped out of the doors of their temporary prison.
"Well, we don't have much time, only about two hours," Hermione said, looking down at her watch.
"Fancy a quick trip to Diagon Alley then?" Ron questioned. Though it was summer, the wind in London was still fairly brisk and Ron was instantly glad he had brought his sweater.
"It's quite far from here, isn't it?" Hermione pointed out. "Maybe we could just go for a walk? I can show you some of 'Muggle London' if you'd like."
"Yeah," the boy smiled. "That'd be nice."
So the two started on their way, walking nowhere in particular. There conversation was even more random then their walking pattern, ranging from favorite ice cream flavor to the meaning of life. Eventually, they reached a tiny park and Hermione became ecstatic.
"Come on Ron!" She said, grabbing his hand. "Look!" She stood him in front of a small table with a chair on either side, grinning widely.
She sat down in one of the two chairs and motioned for him to do the same. "What is it?" Ron asked, looking down at a familiar board.
"It's chess, Ron! Muggle's chess!"
He eyed her strangely. "Well, how do you play?"
"Just like you play wizards chess," Hermione explained. "Except the pieces don't fight each other."
Ron, wanting to know if this was true, called out, "Pawn to E3!" The piece remained still. "I said pawn to E3!"
"No Ron," Hermione laughed. "You have to move the pieces."
She demonstrated by picking up her pawn and moving it two spaces forward. Ron stared in horror. "Oh come on Ron, it's not that hard."
Ron did eventually get a hang of it and ended up beating Hermione rather badly. "You were right Hermione, that wasn't hard at all," he commented smugly.
Hermione glared. "Yes, well, I've never claimed to be the greatest chess player in the world, have I?"
"I don't know what Dad finds so interesting about Muggle junk," Ron commented, picking a chess piece from the board and examining it closely. "Looks pretty boring to me."
"It's not boring!" Hermione argued. "Just because it doesn't have a bunch of fancy bells and whistles doesn't make it boring, you know!"
Ron gave a snort of disbelief, returning the chess piece to the board.
"Muggle things happen to be very interesting," the girl insisted, picking up all the pieces that Ron had taken from her and setting them back up.
"Oh yeah?" Ron challenged. "Like what?"
Hermione opened her mouth once and closed it again, unable to come up with an example so quickly. "Muggle things…they're just…they're simpler. They're more real…you can touch them, taste them, feel them, understand them."
"You can do that with things in the wizarding world too," Ron said, imagining himself "touching, tasting, and feeling" a wizard's chess piece and realizing that would be quite dangerous.
"No you can't, Ron! Tell me, what makes those chocolate frogs hop?"
Ron thought about this. "A spell, I suppose."
"And what makes that spell work?"
"Well, magic, right?"
"And what makes magic work?"
"It..uh…" Ron thought about this as well, but couldn't find an answer.
"Exactly," Hermione sighed. "In the Muggle world, everything can be broken down, everything can be explained and understood. There are rules, laws that have to be followed. It makes things…easier."
"Do you miss it, then?" Ron asked, looking at what was around at the oblivious people around them, walking around with no idea of the kind of amazing world that existed right beneath their noses, and wondering how Hermione could find it in her to defend them. "Living in the Muggle world, I mean."
Hermione laughed slightly. "Of course not Ron, finding out I was a witch was the greatest thing that's ever happened me. You and Harry, well, you mean everything to me. To be honest…you're the first friends I've ever really had."
Ron was shocked by this admission. "Come on Hermione, you've got to have had some friends in the Muggle world."
Hermione blushed, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "Ron, I was a bushy haired, buckteethed, stuck up, know-it-all…I would have been lucky to find one person who didn't want to kill me."
"I'm sure you weren't that bad," Ron tried to console.
"Ron," Hermione said, giving him a look that demanded honesty.
"Well, alright, you might have been a bit of a know-it-all…but none of the other stuff," Ron said, blushing slightly at what he felt was an understatement of how he felt about her.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Really? I seem to remember a certain redheaded first year saying something about my being 'a total nightmare!'"
The color drained from Ron's face. "I didn't know you even still remembered that. I'm really sorry, 'Mione. That was before I knew you. Besides, I was just a stupid little first year back then, I didn't even-"
"It's fine Ron," Hermione interjected with a smile. "I was a stupid little first year too."
Ron breathed a sigh of relief. "I guess we've come a long way sense then, ey?"
"Yeah," Hermione agreed. "But, we've still got a ways to go."
Ron smirked, knowing she was referring to the constant bickering the two still partook in. "But we'll make it there eventually. Want to head off? Dinner should be almost ready."
"Sure," Hermione said, dusting off the knee length skirt she was wearing. She shivered a little. "I could use the warmth."
Ron thought about this comment and realized it must be getting colder since the sun was starting to set, though he remained quite toasty in his authentic Weasley jumper. As they walked, he struggled to pull the itchy thing off. Hermione jumped back as the large maroon blob entered her view.
"Not the most fashionable thing, but it'll keep you warm," Ron said, blushing redder then the jumper in question.
Hermione blushed too, gave a sincere thanks, and slipped on the jumper. She inhaled deeply, taking in the warm, comforting scent of wood, cookies, peppermint, and home. It certainly was Ron's sweater but as he watched from the corner of his eye, he decided that it looked much better on her. In fact, it seemed to fit her quite perfectly. The size was off, of course, and the sleeves were much too long, but that wasn't important. What was important was that it was his, and it just seemed right that she should be wearing it. He decided then that he would be quiet happy to see her wear it more often.
"Thank goodness!" Mrs. Weasley whaled as soon as they stepped in the door. "We were about to send the Order out to look for you! What on earth took you so long?!"
She finally allowed herself the time to look over the pair. Ron, in a short sleeve shirt, arms red from the cold, and Hermione beside him, looking quite comfortable in a maroon jumper with a large "R" across the front. "Oh," Mrs. Weasley said with an apprehensive grin, "Well, I'm just glad you're home. Come on, have a seat, suppers nearly ready."
"Someone say supper?" A newly materialized George asked as Fred appeared beside him.
"Not in the house!" Mrs. Weasley insisted angrily.
"Yes Mum," they replied innocently (and very unconvincingly) as Mrs. Weasley returned to the kitchen. Only then did they turn to see Ron and Hermione.
"What do we have here?" George exclaimed gleefully, eyes lit up at the sight.
"Well I'll be, George," Fred smirked, eying the sweater Hermione wore. "Looks like we've got a new Weasley in the family!"
"What?" Hermione asked indignantly, but her question was answered by the twins amused stares. "Oh, honestly," Hermione scoffed loudly as she grasped implication, her face a bright pink. She struggled to pull off the sweater, further ruffling her previously ruffled hair, and shoved it embarrassedly into Ron's unready hands. Ron grasped his hands a little tighter into the wool as she stomped off. He frowned sadly, a pink blush rising on his ears, and laid the sweater down gently on a nearby chair.
Fred and George shared a knowing grin before heading for the kitchen.
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Chapter 3 up by tomorrow, I promise! :D please review!