Challenges of Character

Chapter Two

Hangovers and Potion Drink Thingies

Ron woke the next morning to the unpleasantness of having divulged in one too many butterbeers. Okay, so perhaps he may have mixed some Firewhiskey into one or two of those butterbeers…but still, the idea of a hangover from butterbeer was ridiculous.

He cocked one eye open for no purpose other than finding out who was causing all the commotion. It was Harry. Harry, Ron decided, obviously was attempting to drive him to suicide with all the noise he was making. Each thump caused poor Ron to wince and place a pitiful hand to his temple.

"Harry," he moaned, "would you shut the bloody hell up?"

"Huh?" With one quick motion of the hand, Harry swept back the curtain surrounding Ron's bed and let in the blasted Sun. "What did you say, Ron?"

"I said shut the bloody hell up," Ron repeated through clenched teeth.

"But," Harry responded with confusion, "I didn't say anything."

Ron sighed audibly and sat up with no small amount of effort. "You are making noise. Stop. It. Now."

Harry rolled his eyes and stalked out of the room without saying anything else. Ron was preparing to surrender himself once again to sleep when Harry slammed the door shut as loudly as possible, causing a ringing in Ron's ears that kept him awake long enough to realize that he was going to kill Harry at first opportunity.

Harry strolled down to the common room, whistling an off-key tune to himself.

"My," Ginny Weasley greeted him, "aren't you in a good mood this morning?"

He smiled at her, "I pissed off your brother--who drank himself to new heights last night--so I thought that cause enough for a good mood."

Ginny's eyes widened with her evil smile. "Ickle Ronniekins is hung over? Oh, he's lots of fun when he is hung over…well, not so much 'fun' as fun to mess with, but it's all the same, you know."

Harry shook his head at her as she snatched Colin Creevey's camera right out of his hands and ran up the stairs to the boy's dormitories. He walked over to Hermione--whom was sitting alone at a table, book propped up in front of her face. "Lo' Hermione," he greeted.

"Good morning, Harry," she responded without looking up from the book.

He pulled up the chair next to her and peered at her book title, The Beauty of the Human Mind, with insignificant interest. "So," he said conversationally, "what did you and Ron do yesterday after I left?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing at all? Surely you did something, most likely fighting, but fighting is indeed something."

She finally put her book down with a sigh. "We didn't fight. Well, we did…but we made up. I suppose. It doesn't really signify, Harry."

"I'm bored, humor me."

Hermione gave a glare, "I am not your own personal humorist. If you want to laugh, go beg Ginny, I'm sure she'll throw you a pity joke or two."

Harry shrugged and was getting ready to make a response when the girl in question flew down the stairs with a disgruntled Ron on her trial. Ginny threw a wave to Harry and Hermione before descending up the girl's stairs. Ron, forgetting a very important fact about the Gryffindor common room, attempted to follow her. Ginny stood at the top of the stairs laughing without restraint as Ron tumbled backwards when the stairs turned into a slide.

Ron gently rubbed his backside as he gave a glare that stifled the laughter of the common room. He limped over to his friends and tossed himself into a chair with a scoff. "Just wait till I am not in the process of dying…I'll get her."

Harry laughed uneasily as Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Hermione," Ron whined, "can you give me one of those potion drink thingies?"

"Overshadow Concoction," Hermione corrected, "and no."

"No?"

Hermione held her steadfast gaze. "Ron, I refuse to magically ease your hangovers every time you indulge in the ridiculous action of drinking. How will you ever learn the repercussions of your actions if I take them away?"

"Meanie," Ron muttered. "Well, fine then, I'll just make it myself."

Hermione and Harry let out laughs before they could stop themselves. Harry gave an unsubtle cough to cover his laughter and cleared his throat. "Ron," he said, "are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, you aren't really known for your potion skills…"

"Neither are you," Ron pointed out.

"Yes, but I'm not considering brewing a complex potion."

"Hermione, I've learned my lesson," Ron said after a moment of contemplation. "Now will you please make the potion for me?"

"Fine," Hermione sighed as she tossed her book aside. "We'll have to go to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom."

Ron followed her out of the common room. "Can't we just go to the prefect's restroom?"

Hermione turned around sharply. "Making a potion for hangovers in the prefect's restroom violates everything being a prefect stands for!"

"But…it's nicer in there."

"No. If I am making it, then I will bloody well make it where I want to."

After a few flights of stairs, and many moans of despair on Ron's part, the pair reached their destination. Ron looked about the bathroom suspiciously, searching for signs of the ghoul the room was named for. When he found none, he happily sat down on the floor next to Hermione after she had dug out their stash of potion materials. Yes, this happened often enough that they had began just leaving the materials needed in the bathroom.

"So," Ron said once Hermione had started on her task, "have you decided who you are picking for our bet?"

She lifted her eyes up to his. "Who am I going to choose? I believe you are mistaken, Ron, it is who you are choosing."

"No," Ron shook his head, "this is double thing. That was the terms, remember?"

"What terms? Ron, you are losing it."

"Hermione, the bet was that I had to date someone with brains and you had to date someone with beauty."

"I made no such bet!"

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't. This is preposterous; I refuse to partake in something so utterly childish."

"But you thought it was fine when it was just me!"

Hermione stared at him pointedly. "Again, I state that it is childish. I thought it was fine for you, I thought that perhaps you would learn that beauty is not all there is to a person, but I have no lesson to learn here, therefore, there is no need for me to participate." She shoved the now finished potion at him and got up from the floor.

Ron gulped the drink and helped Hermione hide their potion materials once more. "Hermione, I really think that you should join me in this experiment, it's only fair."

"It would be cruel for me to date someone just for an experiment."

"Then pick someone that you don't mind being cruel to."

"There is no one--"

"Or," Ron interrupted with a feeling of brilliance, "I could pick someone for you."

Hermione's mouth dropped open. "No way."

Ron shrugged. "If I pick someone for you though, then I'll let you pick someone for me."

She felt a smile stretch across her face. "That certainly has possibilities…All right, Ron, I'll do it."

"See, I knew you could do it. That's called being a good sport, Hermione. I think that we should try and get this over by next week, or the week after."

"The week after," Hermione responded quickly.

"Fine. And each of us has to actually witness the other's date, otherwise it doesn't count."

"Deal."

------

Ron sat silently in the Great Hall in observance of the male population at Hogwarts. A handsome student for Hermione to date…it could not be that difficult of a task.

He began in Gryffindor, Seamus was pretty good-looking, he had good hair, nice eyes, and his body--Ron quickly shook his head, he was in no way going to venture into those sorts of thoughts. He loved Hermione, but not that much.

Nevertheless, Seamus was good…as was Dean, except Dean was dating Ginny, so that idea was out. A large frown came upon Ron's features, Seamus was notorious for his many "quests" at Hogwarts…well, he was definitely out as well then. Hermione would not become a notch on Seamus's bedpost.

He looked around his peers with suspicions; any one of these blokes would take advantage of Hermione. And she was such a slight thing, they could overpower her…the potential horror of the situation came to Ron in a flash, if he chose wrong she would end up raped and dead!

As he was contemplating the various ways in which this could go horribly wrong he failed to notice someone jabbing at his side. However, when they leaned over and yelled in his ear, he become aware.

He jumped and turned quickly to glare. "Ginny! What is the matter with you?"

"I've been attempting to get your attention for a good five minutes; I can't help it if you're too daft to notice, thereby forcing me to take more drastic measures."

Ron rubbed his ear to no purpose as if her loud actions had damaged him somehow. "Well, what do you want?"

She took a large bit of toast and proceeded to chew with her mouth open, a habit that--as he knew from experience--drove Hermione absolutely batty. "I was just wondering why you were looking as though you about to murder poor Seamus. You do know that he left in sheer fear from the look on your face? Taking Dean with him, might I add, so thank you so very much for taking my boyfriend away from me."

"You're welcome," Ron mumbled thoughtlessly.

"You truly are a peach this morning, Ron."

Ron's gaze had stopped on a particular student and a smile stretched lazily across his face, he needed to look no farther for Hermione's task. "Oh, I know I am."

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