Chapter 3: Hermione and Benji's Midnight Stories
Disclaimer: All I own are the new characters
Hermione walked up the corridor to the girl's dormitories, and saw Luna, Cho and Ginny sitting on her bunk. She wondered what in the world they were doing. She knew they were her best friends next to Ron and Harry, but what they were doing in her bunk was unexplained business.
"What on earth are you three doing?," asked Hermione.
"Aren't you going to tell us what happened tonight? We saw you two talking. You and Benji," said Ginny, and Hermione started to blush again.
"She's blushing! She's blushing! What were you two talking about at dinner? Come on! Tell us! We're your friends!," screeched Luna, practically waking up every girl in the dormitory. In the mean time, Benji walked into the boy's dormitories, and found every single guy staring at him. Benji looked down at their hands, which were behind their backs.
"What have all of you got? What're y--," Benji was cut off when each of the boys attacked him with pillows.
"HEY! THAT'S NOT FAIR! Someone give me a pillow!!," he yelled, and reached for a pillow. While the boys were having a pillow fight, the girls were still trying to get a word out of Hermione.
"Come on! Pleeeeease?!," said Cho to Hermione. The three girls kept arguing and arguing with Hermione until she finally busted.
"ALRIGHT! Fine. At dinner, he...he...he asked me out, okay?!," Hermione said quickly, and the four of them squealed gleefully.
"What're you guys going to do? Where're you gonna go? Oh, there are so many questions to ask you!," screeched Ginny again, and they again tried to get Hermione to give details. But, in the boy's dormitories...
"We know you asked her out, man! Potter told us," said Seamus, still panting from the pillow fight.
"I figured all of you would find out. Well, yeah. I asked her out. We're gonna go to Hogsmeade this Saturday afternoon," he said.
"Benji and Hermione sitting in a tree...K-I-S-S-I-N-G!," Neville sung, and the guys just stared at him until Ron broke the silence.
"Oh, get a life, Longbottom." He was standing in a corner, arms crossed, leaning casually against the wall. "You're just jealous, Weasley! Everyone knows you've had a thing for Hermione since second year," said Seamus. Ron looked particularly pissed off. He scowled at Seamus, and returned to standing in the corner.
"Oh, please? Please tell us everything! We'll help you with your homework any time you ever need it," said Ginny stupidly to Hermione. Like Hermione needs help with homework. Ginny's the one who needs homework help. She obviously realized how idiotic that request was.
"Erm...well...maybe not. Just please tell us?," she said again. Hermione thought a couple seconds.
"Oh, fine. Merlin, you three need help!," Hermione said, and all four of them laughed.
"Well, Ron and Harry wanted me to meet him. Harry was particularly jumpy about it. But, when Benji started talking to me, Ron was snarling and all. I don't know what was the matter with him," she said. The girls were looking at each other like they knew why he was snarling and all.
"What? What?! What is it that you know and I don't?," Hermione questioned hopefully.
"You know, for a girl so brilliant, you can be incredibly stupid," laughed Cho.
"What? What do you mean?," Hermione asked, rather confused.
"Ron is being overprotective! You're his best friend, besides Harry, and he's acting like a father figure! Well, in a sense," Luna explained. The girls nodded. Hermione looked puzzled again.
"Erm...you'll need to explain this to me again. He's acting like a...a father figure to me?," asked an extremely confused Hermione.
"Yeah. I don't know how to explain it, but you're practically family to him. You and Harry are his entire world. He doesn't want either of you to get hurt," Ginny explained.
"Wow. I...I never knew. Well, do you want to hear about what happened or not?," Hermione said, changing the subject, and there was a rush of people saying 'yes'. Back in the boy's rooms...
"...And she thought about it for a while and finally accepted," said Benji, boys crowding him every place he looked.
"Oh, yeah. That's just terrific. Congratulations," said Ron sarcastically.
"Oh, shove it, Ron!," said Neville, shakily. Ron glared at him.
"Same to you, Neville. And what makes any of you think I ever liked her?," Ron asked. The whole room scoffed at him. Including Harry, to Ron's surprise.
"Oh, please! In second year when she came back from the hospital wing from being petrified, she hugged Harry, and when she came to you, both of you cleared your throats and shook hands," said Seamus
"Yeah, well, we--," Ron said, but Seamus interrupted him and talked even louder.
"Also, in third year, whenever she got scared, like when that hippogriff practically attacked Harry, she grabbed onto your arm. And clearly you didn't look like you hated it that much, did you? I was there to witness both of those events. Face it. You like her, Weasley. You know it, and so does everyone else," said Seamus, smirking. Ron's hand jerked into a tight fist, and was just about to punch him until Harry ran up to him and backed him away, holding his arms behind his back. Ron was raging, and his face went scarlet in anger.
"You listen here, Finnigan! Don't you or any of the rest of you think that there's anything going on between me and her! She likes Grushka here, and that's all there is to it. And y'know what? I couldn't be any happier for her. So you can shut that hole in your face, Seamus!," shouted Ron. His face purpled and Harry was still struggling to keep him away from Seamus.
"Whatever you say, Ron," Seamus said coolly. Even though he answered so easily, everyone knew he was scared half to death from Ron's sudden rage. Benji had many thoughts running through his head. 'Did Ron really like Hermione?' and 'Did Hermione actually like Ron?' He figured he'd talk to her about it first thing the following morning. Hermione was still explaining what happened to the screaming girls in their dormitory while all the boys calmed down.
"Will you all be quiet? You're the ones who wanted to know!," Hermione snapped.
"All right, all right. So, tell us! C'mon! What happened after you two walked into the common room?," asked Cho anxiously
"Well, we sat down at one of the tables and started talking. You know, about what we liked to listen to, what our favorite colors were, what we did this summer. Just common talking. Before we knew it, I looked at the clock and it was a quarter past eleven," explained Hermione.
"And...?! Did he kiss you?," asked Luna.
"Of course not! We've only just met! Are you mad?! Though, he did ask me...," Hermione slowly said, starting to feel her face turn red with heat.
"What? WHAT?!," said Ginny, about to burst with anxiety.
"It's nothing big. He just asked if he could give me a hug goodnight. So...we did. And then that's when I came up here and saw you three," she said pointing at Luna, Ginny and Cho, "sitting on my bed!"
"Well, we had to know. But he hugged you? That is sooo sweet!," said Luna, and all the girls made a group 'aawww'.
"Oh, quiet, you!," said Hermione and attacked them with pillows. So, then the girls had a pillow fight (A/N: Funny how they seem to do this, huh?). In the boy's dormitories...
"Anyway, so we just sat in the common room and talked until a little past eleven. Then, I gave her a hug and we went to our rooms," said Benji.
"Just a hug? Please, man! You could've done better than that! You should've given her a huge kiss or somethin'!," laughed Seamus, though, he was the only one laughing. Once Ron heard this, he quickly turned his head towards Seamus and shot a very dark look at him. Harry was about to get up once he saw him.
"Shut up, Seamus! I'm with Ron on this one. They did just meet today, after all," said Neville. Ron gave a small grin to Neville, pleased to know that at least someone was backing him up on this.
"Yeah. I'm with the two of them. I mean, do you listen to yourself when you speak, Seamus? You ought to if you don't," said Harry. Ron gave an even bigger smile. Knowing that his best friend was on his side made him feel much, much better.
"Hey, Ron! Are you sure nothing's goin' on between you and Hermione?," asked Benji.
"I'm sure, Grushka, if you didn't hear me before," Ron said defensively.
"All right, all right. I'm taking your word for it, then," answered Benji. Harry looked at some of the boys, who were yawning and stretching.
"You know, guys? I think we'd better get to bed. I'm tired, and it looks as though you all are, as well. Tomorrow's the first day of classes, after all," Harry said, still looking at Ron. They all nodded and started to get up.
"Good idea, Potter. G'night, everyone!," said Seamus. They all muttered their 'good-nights' to each other and started to undress. Benji jumped into his bunk. Ron started to get into his night clothes until Harry stopped him.
"Hey, could you come over here a minute?," said Harry.
"Sure. Just let me get on my pajamas," Ron said. Meanwhile...
"Whew! Alright, girls. It's past midnight, and tomorrow's the first day of school. We'll be exhausted!," Cho exclaimed, still out of breath from the pillow fight.
"Yeah. I've had enough for one night," said Hermione.
"I'll bet you have," chuckled Luna.
"Hey! Very funny. All we did was hug, and that's all we'll be doing for quite a while. Now, I think we should take Cho's advice and get some rest," said Hermione.
"All right. We'd better get undressed, then," said one of the girls. They all said their good-nights, and fell asleep. In the mean time, Ron had gotten into his pajamas...
"So, what did you want to talk to me about, Harry?," questioned Ron as Harry pulled him into the same corner Ron was sulking in before.
"Are you all right? With Hermione and Benji going out and all? You seem to be very protective of her. She's fine, Ron. If you'll remember, she's brilliant," Harry reminded him.
"Yeah. I know. And I'm fine. Promise. It's just...you and her are my best friends, and I don't want either of you gettin' hurt or nothin'. Why d'you think it always scares me so much when your scar hurts? That's normally when You-Know-Who is near, after all. I mean, sure! Who wouldn't get scared knowing he's close by? I have a hard enough time being afraid about you. I don't need that with Hermione. Sure, I'll admit it. I did like her in second, third, fourth year and a little bit in fifth year. But, I don't like her anymore, I'm telling you," Ron explained to Harry in a very serious voice.
"All right, Ron. But, don't be worried about me. I fought him off with the help of my mother when I was a baby, and I dueled him in fourth year! Also, there was that little thing in fifth year, if you'll remember. I'll be fine, don't worry about me," Harry said, trying to calm Ron down.
"Okay. And don't forget. I'm just protective of her because she's my best friend. I don't like her that way," Ron reassured Harry. They said good night to each other, and Harry crept into bed. Ron got onto the bunk above Harry. He lay on his back thinking for a minute, staring at the ceiling then, quiet enough so nobody would hear him, he whispered:
"At least, I don't think so..."
A/N: Hmm...Looks like Ron's got some unexplained feelings that even he can't figure out. Now that all the boys and girls know, there won't be any misunderstandings. But, Seamus still seems to be convinced that Ron still likes Hermione. Oh, well. I hope y'all liked this chapter. It may have been shorter than last one, but, you can live with it! Next chapter will be up soon.
Disclaimer: All I own are the new characters
Hermione walked up the corridor to the girl's dormitories, and saw Luna, Cho and Ginny sitting on her bunk. She wondered what in the world they were doing. She knew they were her best friends next to Ron and Harry, but what they were doing in her bunk was unexplained business.
"What on earth are you three doing?," asked Hermione.
"Aren't you going to tell us what happened tonight? We saw you two talking. You and Benji," said Ginny, and Hermione started to blush again.
"She's blushing! She's blushing! What were you two talking about at dinner? Come on! Tell us! We're your friends!," screeched Luna, practically waking up every girl in the dormitory. In the mean time, Benji walked into the boy's dormitories, and found every single guy staring at him. Benji looked down at their hands, which were behind their backs.
"What have all of you got? What're y--," Benji was cut off when each of the boys attacked him with pillows.
"HEY! THAT'S NOT FAIR! Someone give me a pillow!!," he yelled, and reached for a pillow. While the boys were having a pillow fight, the girls were still trying to get a word out of Hermione.
"Come on! Pleeeeease?!," said Cho to Hermione. The three girls kept arguing and arguing with Hermione until she finally busted.
"ALRIGHT! Fine. At dinner, he...he...he asked me out, okay?!," Hermione said quickly, and the four of them squealed gleefully.
"What're you guys going to do? Where're you gonna go? Oh, there are so many questions to ask you!," screeched Ginny again, and they again tried to get Hermione to give details. But, in the boy's dormitories...
"We know you asked her out, man! Potter told us," said Seamus, still panting from the pillow fight.
"I figured all of you would find out. Well, yeah. I asked her out. We're gonna go to Hogsmeade this Saturday afternoon," he said.
"Benji and Hermione sitting in a tree...K-I-S-S-I-N-G!," Neville sung, and the guys just stared at him until Ron broke the silence.
"Oh, get a life, Longbottom." He was standing in a corner, arms crossed, leaning casually against the wall. "You're just jealous, Weasley! Everyone knows you've had a thing for Hermione since second year," said Seamus. Ron looked particularly pissed off. He scowled at Seamus, and returned to standing in the corner.
"Oh, please? Please tell us everything! We'll help you with your homework any time you ever need it," said Ginny stupidly to Hermione. Like Hermione needs help with homework. Ginny's the one who needs homework help. She obviously realized how idiotic that request was.
"Erm...well...maybe not. Just please tell us?," she said again. Hermione thought a couple seconds.
"Oh, fine. Merlin, you three need help!," Hermione said, and all four of them laughed.
"Well, Ron and Harry wanted me to meet him. Harry was particularly jumpy about it. But, when Benji started talking to me, Ron was snarling and all. I don't know what was the matter with him," she said. The girls were looking at each other like they knew why he was snarling and all.
"What? What?! What is it that you know and I don't?," Hermione questioned hopefully.
"You know, for a girl so brilliant, you can be incredibly stupid," laughed Cho.
"What? What do you mean?," Hermione asked, rather confused.
"Ron is being overprotective! You're his best friend, besides Harry, and he's acting like a father figure! Well, in a sense," Luna explained. The girls nodded. Hermione looked puzzled again.
"Erm...you'll need to explain this to me again. He's acting like a...a father figure to me?," asked an extremely confused Hermione.
"Yeah. I don't know how to explain it, but you're practically family to him. You and Harry are his entire world. He doesn't want either of you to get hurt," Ginny explained.
"Wow. I...I never knew. Well, do you want to hear about what happened or not?," Hermione said, changing the subject, and there was a rush of people saying 'yes'. Back in the boy's rooms...
"...And she thought about it for a while and finally accepted," said Benji, boys crowding him every place he looked.
"Oh, yeah. That's just terrific. Congratulations," said Ron sarcastically.
"Oh, shove it, Ron!," said Neville, shakily. Ron glared at him.
"Same to you, Neville. And what makes any of you think I ever liked her?," Ron asked. The whole room scoffed at him. Including Harry, to Ron's surprise.
"Oh, please! In second year when she came back from the hospital wing from being petrified, she hugged Harry, and when she came to you, both of you cleared your throats and shook hands," said Seamus
"Yeah, well, we--," Ron said, but Seamus interrupted him and talked even louder.
"Also, in third year, whenever she got scared, like when that hippogriff practically attacked Harry, she grabbed onto your arm. And clearly you didn't look like you hated it that much, did you? I was there to witness both of those events. Face it. You like her, Weasley. You know it, and so does everyone else," said Seamus, smirking. Ron's hand jerked into a tight fist, and was just about to punch him until Harry ran up to him and backed him away, holding his arms behind his back. Ron was raging, and his face went scarlet in anger.
"You listen here, Finnigan! Don't you or any of the rest of you think that there's anything going on between me and her! She likes Grushka here, and that's all there is to it. And y'know what? I couldn't be any happier for her. So you can shut that hole in your face, Seamus!," shouted Ron. His face purpled and Harry was still struggling to keep him away from Seamus.
"Whatever you say, Ron," Seamus said coolly. Even though he answered so easily, everyone knew he was scared half to death from Ron's sudden rage. Benji had many thoughts running through his head. 'Did Ron really like Hermione?' and 'Did Hermione actually like Ron?' He figured he'd talk to her about it first thing the following morning. Hermione was still explaining what happened to the screaming girls in their dormitory while all the boys calmed down.
"Will you all be quiet? You're the ones who wanted to know!," Hermione snapped.
"All right, all right. So, tell us! C'mon! What happened after you two walked into the common room?," asked Cho anxiously
"Well, we sat down at one of the tables and started talking. You know, about what we liked to listen to, what our favorite colors were, what we did this summer. Just common talking. Before we knew it, I looked at the clock and it was a quarter past eleven," explained Hermione.
"And...?! Did he kiss you?," asked Luna.
"Of course not! We've only just met! Are you mad?! Though, he did ask me...," Hermione slowly said, starting to feel her face turn red with heat.
"What? WHAT?!," said Ginny, about to burst with anxiety.
"It's nothing big. He just asked if he could give me a hug goodnight. So...we did. And then that's when I came up here and saw you three," she said pointing at Luna, Ginny and Cho, "sitting on my bed!"
"Well, we had to know. But he hugged you? That is sooo sweet!," said Luna, and all the girls made a group 'aawww'.
"Oh, quiet, you!," said Hermione and attacked them with pillows. So, then the girls had a pillow fight (A/N: Funny how they seem to do this, huh?). In the boy's dormitories...
"Anyway, so we just sat in the common room and talked until a little past eleven. Then, I gave her a hug and we went to our rooms," said Benji.
"Just a hug? Please, man! You could've done better than that! You should've given her a huge kiss or somethin'!," laughed Seamus, though, he was the only one laughing. Once Ron heard this, he quickly turned his head towards Seamus and shot a very dark look at him. Harry was about to get up once he saw him.
"Shut up, Seamus! I'm with Ron on this one. They did just meet today, after all," said Neville. Ron gave a small grin to Neville, pleased to know that at least someone was backing him up on this.
"Yeah. I'm with the two of them. I mean, do you listen to yourself when you speak, Seamus? You ought to if you don't," said Harry. Ron gave an even bigger smile. Knowing that his best friend was on his side made him feel much, much better.
"Hey, Ron! Are you sure nothing's goin' on between you and Hermione?," asked Benji.
"I'm sure, Grushka, if you didn't hear me before," Ron said defensively.
"All right, all right. I'm taking your word for it, then," answered Benji. Harry looked at some of the boys, who were yawning and stretching.
"You know, guys? I think we'd better get to bed. I'm tired, and it looks as though you all are, as well. Tomorrow's the first day of classes, after all," Harry said, still looking at Ron. They all nodded and started to get up.
"Good idea, Potter. G'night, everyone!," said Seamus. They all muttered their 'good-nights' to each other and started to undress. Benji jumped into his bunk. Ron started to get into his night clothes until Harry stopped him.
"Hey, could you come over here a minute?," said Harry.
"Sure. Just let me get on my pajamas," Ron said. Meanwhile...
"Whew! Alright, girls. It's past midnight, and tomorrow's the first day of school. We'll be exhausted!," Cho exclaimed, still out of breath from the pillow fight.
"Yeah. I've had enough for one night," said Hermione.
"I'll bet you have," chuckled Luna.
"Hey! Very funny. All we did was hug, and that's all we'll be doing for quite a while. Now, I think we should take Cho's advice and get some rest," said Hermione.
"All right. We'd better get undressed, then," said one of the girls. They all said their good-nights, and fell asleep. In the mean time, Ron had gotten into his pajamas...
"So, what did you want to talk to me about, Harry?," questioned Ron as Harry pulled him into the same corner Ron was sulking in before.
"Are you all right? With Hermione and Benji going out and all? You seem to be very protective of her. She's fine, Ron. If you'll remember, she's brilliant," Harry reminded him.
"Yeah. I know. And I'm fine. Promise. It's just...you and her are my best friends, and I don't want either of you gettin' hurt or nothin'. Why d'you think it always scares me so much when your scar hurts? That's normally when You-Know-Who is near, after all. I mean, sure! Who wouldn't get scared knowing he's close by? I have a hard enough time being afraid about you. I don't need that with Hermione. Sure, I'll admit it. I did like her in second, third, fourth year and a little bit in fifth year. But, I don't like her anymore, I'm telling you," Ron explained to Harry in a very serious voice.
"All right, Ron. But, don't be worried about me. I fought him off with the help of my mother when I was a baby, and I dueled him in fourth year! Also, there was that little thing in fifth year, if you'll remember. I'll be fine, don't worry about me," Harry said, trying to calm Ron down.
"Okay. And don't forget. I'm just protective of her because she's my best friend. I don't like her that way," Ron reassured Harry. They said good night to each other, and Harry crept into bed. Ron got onto the bunk above Harry. He lay on his back thinking for a minute, staring at the ceiling then, quiet enough so nobody would hear him, he whispered:
"At least, I don't think so..."
A/N: Hmm...Looks like Ron's got some unexplained feelings that even he can't figure out. Now that all the boys and girls know, there won't be any misunderstandings. But, Seamus still seems to be convinced that Ron still likes Hermione. Oh, well. I hope y'all liked this chapter. It may have been shorter than last one, but, you can live with it! Next chapter will be up soon.