A/N: Hi everyone! Glad you all like ron's ketchup obsession. Ketchup flavoured pillow.... So enjoy the next chapter!

Chapter Seven: Harry's Rule, Hermione's Theory, and Ron's Ketchup

"AAAAAAAHHHH!" Harry screamed, falling out of bed the next morning. A trumpet not far away was playing. You know, that trumpet that wakes people up at camp?

After giving his head a good shake, he looked over at Ron's bed. "You awake, Ro-" but then he remembered that Ron had kitchen duty, and wasn't there. Harry pulled on some fresh clothes and went outside.

"Good morning, Harry!" Drake greeted him.

"Morning, Drake," Harry replied groggily. He got a whiff of lake water breeze, and thought of something. "Hey, are we allowed to go swimming here?"

Drake nodded. "Yeah, but only when the counselors say we can,"

"Why?" Harry asked. "Is the water not safe in the morning or something?"

"Yes, but-"

"Then let's go!" Harry dashed to the lake. Past the trees, the shrubs, the bushes, the flowers, the outhouses, until he arrived.

"Harry, WAIT!" Drake called, trying to keep up.

Harry's jaw dropped in horror.

There, on the beach, he saw Proffessors Dumbledore and McGonagall playing beach volleyball. Then he spotted Trelawney insisting to Hagrid she could read his fortune from his leftover smoothie particles. Flitwick was drowning in the shallow end of the lake, and - Harry winced - Snape was lying on a folding lawn chair holding a suntanning mirror to his face.

"Sure is hot this morning," Snape commented to no one in paricular.

"Hush, Severus, I'm trying to concentrate!" Trelawny scolded him, staring at the smoothie. Hagrid rolled his eyes.

"Alas, I am winning!!" Dumbledore said, bumping the ball back to McGonagall.

Flitwick's head emerged from the water. "Heeeelp! I'm dyyyying!"

"I told you I'm trying to concentrate!!!" Trelawny cried.

Before Harry could see any more, Mitch appeared in front of Harry.

"You! To the mess hall for breakfast, now!" he said.

"S-sorry!" harry stuttered. He hurried back to the hall for breakfast.

Hermione was already at a table, studying her notes of camp rules. Harry sat down, and she smiled at him. At once she noticed something wrong with Harry. "What's wrong? Did you have a bad sleep?"

"Oh, no, it's... nothing. Nevermind," harry said.

Hermione sniffed. "It's smells like grease cooking, are we having chips or something for breakfast?"

Harry slowly shook his head. "Er, no. Snape is suntanning,"

Hermione just nodded slowly, and returned to her notes.

"Breakfast is reeeady," Ron called from the kitchen. Everyone rushed to get food.

"Hey, where's all the ketchup?" a boy asked.

Ron froze, his face turning red. "I, uh, dunno,"

Hermione and Harry exchanged glances, grinning.

After taking a few pancakes each, along with some sausages, Harry and Hermione sat back down and enjoyed their breakfast.

"Oh, I've got another rule for you to add to your list," harry said.

"Really? What?" Hermione asked.

"Do NOT go to the lake in the morning," Harry told her.

"Why not?" Hermione asked. "... does this have anything to do with Snape suntanning?"

"Erm, actually it does," Harry said.

Hermione immediately scribbled down Harry's new rule. "Thanks," she said gratefully.

Ron grabbed a chair and sat down with them. "Hey, what'd I miss?"

"Nothing," Harry and Hermione said.

Ron shrugged and proceeded to squeeze ketchup onto his pancakes. "I got wind of what we're doing this morning. Life saving instructions,"

Harry groaned, and Hermione sat up straighter.

"I can't wait!" Hermione said excitedly. Taking a last mouthful of pancakes, she said "I'm going to go get ready," and hurried off.

"Why do we have to learn life saving??" Harry asked dully.

Ron shrugged. "something about if an activity in our daily lives and/or in camp goes wrong, we can correct it. Also for education purposes."

Harry took another bite of food. "So when is it?"

"Soon," Ron replied. "Right after breakfast. I don't know what we're going to do after that."

"I'm back!" Hermione said, quickly taking her seat again. She was holding a stack of new, crisp notebooks, pencils, highlighters, rulers, protractors, compasses, erasers, pens...

Ron raised his eyebrows. "Wow, and all I brought was a toothbrush and clothes!"

"Attention!" Kate said, standing in the middle of the room. She raised her right hand to signal everyone to stop talking. "Good morning!"

"Good morning," everyone replied.

"Now, it's time to get sorted into your activity groups," Kate continued. "I will give you each a number from one to four -"

"... num...ber... from... one... to... four..." Hermione said to herself, writing down what Kate was saying.

"- and you will go with the designated counselor for that number," Kate said. She went to each camper and pointed to them one by one, giving them a number.

"let's huddle together so we'll be in the same group!" Ron suggested to Harry and Hermione.

"On the contrary," Hermione stated. " We should all sit with some people in between us. That way we all get the same number."

"That could work too," Ron said.

They sat according to Hermione's theory, and they were sorted into group 3.

"All threes with me!" a redheaded young woman called.

So the threes went with her.

She gave them a big smile. "I'm Amber, and I'll be your activity leader. We're going to be practicing life-saving techniques -"

Hermione raised her hand.

"Save that thought for when I ask for questions after, miss," Amber addressed Hermione. "As I was saying, we are all going -"

Hermione's hand shot up again.

"Miss, I asked you to wait," Amber said, getting impatient. "I'll need you all to fol -"

Hermione shot her hand up again, waving it around.

"What is so important??" Amber asked, giving her a dirty look.

Hermione stood up. "I'm really really sorry for interupting, but could I be granted a short bathroom break? It's urgent!"

Amber waved her hand at Hermione. "Yes, go ahead. But meet us all outside, alright?"

Hermione nodded, and dashed off without moving her knees.

"Everyone follow me outside, please!" Amber ordered everyone. Harry wondered what kind of chaos would happen this time.

A/N: Wow, chapter seven took me a long time to write. I wrote the first half, then just kind of left it... oh well. I'm taking a poll. Do you think Ron should suddenly have a thing for Amber? I just thought of a really pathetic poem he could read to her! I need your input. Thanks! Chapter eight is soon!