Chapter 9
Harry had just come back from Quidditch practice. It went well, except a small accident that occurred when Jennifer, one of the chasers, had flew into one of the hoops and broken her nose. Madame Pomfrey had mended it quickly. Last Harry had seen Jennifer, she was sitting in the common room laughing with her friends. He had been relieved to see that his best chaser was doing fine. He, however, was not. The letter was not fully written; he intended to finish it by tonight, but the odds that he finished it at all were quite small.
Harry was completely dumbfounded on what to write. He had never written a letter of this sort to Cho, although she had written a few short ones to him. Harry had no ideas; his mind was as blank as the piece of parchment in front of him. His brain was constantly drifting to Quidditch and all of the endless plays he could use to defeat Hufflepuff in their next match in a month.
Ron and Ginny however, were in the common room debating on whether they should go to help him or not. "I would have expected him to finish by now, seeing as it is nine o'clock, Ron," Ginny said, "But would it be smart to help both of them?" Ron asked, "What if we accidentally tell or something. It certainly sounds like something I would do,"
Ginny then said, "Well, if one of us accidentally told him, at least he and Hermione would be together faster than you can say 'Quidditch' and they could forget about writing letters to each other," They both believed that Harry and Hermione belonged together, as did much of the school, though neither of the subjects in question were aware of it in the slightest. Ron pondered over this for a moment and soon he found himself in the boys' dormitories with Ginny, sitting beside Harry, feeding him ideas.
Approximately an hour later, another letter was composed and waiting to be sent. No one had told Harry about Hermione's enduring love for him and Harry went to bed wondering how this mystery girl would react and whether she would write something back. Meanwhile, Ginny had snuck to Hermione's Head Girl dormitory, and they were now reading the letter that was written in Harry's quick scrawl:
Dear Anonymous,
As much as I would like it for you to reveal yourself, Ginny has told me that you won't come easily. So I write this letter, pleading you to write more about yourself, maybe drop a few hints here and there. Maybe the things you enjoy doing, since you seem to know so much about me through Ginny and I don't know one thing about you.
"He knows so much more than he thinks," Hermione said with a grin, and then she continued reading.
Hopefully you'll be prepared to meet me in person at the Ball, if you're willing to go with me. Send your reply soon. I'll be waiting.
Harry.
The letter was short, but Hermione was absolutely thrilled that he had written back and had even asked her to go to the Ball with him, not even knowing who she was. "You'll have to thank me and Ron that the letter came so soon, we were giving him ideas and we also commanded that he ask you to the Ball, he didn't need much persuasion though. He said it was the fact that he didn't know how to put it into words," Hermione hugged Ginny, "Thanks. I don't know why I deserve such great friends as you,"
Ginny smirked in a Malfoy-esque manner and said, "So, thought about what you're going to say in your reply yet? He'll be waiting," Hermione smiled, "Well, I could use some help from my two amazing mates..." As if on cue, Ron came zooming in through the portrait, "Harry...finally...sleep. Wanted...to...see...Hermione...reaction...note," he said, extremely out of breath and panting heavily. He paused. Finally catching his breath, "I didn't want him to think that I knew who his secret admirer was, otherwise he'd pelt me with questions and hex me into oblivion if I didn't answer,"
Ron collapsed onto Hermione's bed, obviously a little winded from his long run over here, "Snape almost caught me but fortunately I was able to escape by hiding behind a suit of armor and ran the rest of the way, just in case," Hermione nodded and conjured up some water and handed the glass towards him. She said, "Well, do you think you guys could come here just before breakfast tomorrow morning and help with the letter? I'm dead tired and you guys look like you could use some sleep as well," Ron protested a little at waking up so early, but when he saw the furious glint radiating from his sister's eyes that were so much like his mum's, he scowled and said, "Fine. I'll be here at seven," After saying goodnight, Ginny and Ron stepped out into the hallway and cautiously made their way to the common room. Hermione nodded off soon after they left and was sleeping like a rock until morning.
She woke up groggy and disoriented at 6:20 A.M. She raced to her shower and quickly dressed, even though she was dreadfully tired. She was ready by the time Ginny and Ron arrived, Ron being a little grumpy. Ginny had bags under her eyes and was holding up Ron, who looked like he would collapse. As soon as he reached a lounge chair and heavily plunked himself down in it, he grunted and then muttered, "Let's never have another morning meeting like this," and closed his eyes a bit, "Harry's at breakfast already, the lucky bloke. I'm hungry,"
"Ron, shut up!" Ginny said. She raised her arm in an attempt to smack him, but she was too exhausted to move it any further. Hermione yawned and said that they better get started. In a matter of minutes, they had another letter written and ready to go to Harry.
"I think we shouldn't come in together, in case Harry suspects anything. Hermione, you should go first, then Ron, and then me," Ginny ordered. They promptly did as she said, and Hermione went to the Great Hall, yawning and with her eyes threatening to shut all the way there. Hermione met up with Harry at the table and he beamed at her, normally this would have made her blush furiously, but today she was too tired, "I think today's going to go well, Hermione!" Hermione managed a small smile when Harry looked at her, half asleep with dark circles around her eyes. He quickly located the pot of coffee on the table and poured her some. "Thanks Harry," she murmured. She wasn't nervous this time; she was too tired to worry about anything except not falling asleep right at this table.
Ron walked in next, still looking very much like a zombie, automatically reaching for the pot of coffee and pouring himself a cup. Ginny, while she was waiting to make her entrance, managed to put a little makeup on to cover up her sleepiness, but it showed in the way that she walked in, much like Ron did. She too reached for the coffee pot and threw Hermione's letter at Harry. Hermione and Ron were both suddenly alert as Harry reached for the letter. Harry, surprised at what Ginny just chucked at him, didn't ask for an explanation for why they all walked in like zombies. That was fortunate, since they did not have one.
He lifted open the seal and began to read...
A/N: Yepyep, another cliffhanger. Sorry! But I'm just waaaay too exhausted to write anymore (guess who needs a cup of coffee?). I attempted to think like a very tired person in order to make Ron, Hermione, and Ginny more realistic in this chapter. It made me really worn-out, strangely. I hope it worked, though. It'll be worth it. Thanks for all the reviews for my last chapter, I can't say this too many times: you guys are all awesome! -more e-hugs-. Now, please review. See you at chapter 10. --azias.
Harry had just come back from Quidditch practice. It went well, except a small accident that occurred when Jennifer, one of the chasers, had flew into one of the hoops and broken her nose. Madame Pomfrey had mended it quickly. Last Harry had seen Jennifer, she was sitting in the common room laughing with her friends. He had been relieved to see that his best chaser was doing fine. He, however, was not. The letter was not fully written; he intended to finish it by tonight, but the odds that he finished it at all were quite small.
Harry was completely dumbfounded on what to write. He had never written a letter of this sort to Cho, although she had written a few short ones to him. Harry had no ideas; his mind was as blank as the piece of parchment in front of him. His brain was constantly drifting to Quidditch and all of the endless plays he could use to defeat Hufflepuff in their next match in a month.
Ron and Ginny however, were in the common room debating on whether they should go to help him or not. "I would have expected him to finish by now, seeing as it is nine o'clock, Ron," Ginny said, "But would it be smart to help both of them?" Ron asked, "What if we accidentally tell or something. It certainly sounds like something I would do,"
Ginny then said, "Well, if one of us accidentally told him, at least he and Hermione would be together faster than you can say 'Quidditch' and they could forget about writing letters to each other," They both believed that Harry and Hermione belonged together, as did much of the school, though neither of the subjects in question were aware of it in the slightest. Ron pondered over this for a moment and soon he found himself in the boys' dormitories with Ginny, sitting beside Harry, feeding him ideas.
Approximately an hour later, another letter was composed and waiting to be sent. No one had told Harry about Hermione's enduring love for him and Harry went to bed wondering how this mystery girl would react and whether she would write something back. Meanwhile, Ginny had snuck to Hermione's Head Girl dormitory, and they were now reading the letter that was written in Harry's quick scrawl:
Dear Anonymous,
As much as I would like it for you to reveal yourself, Ginny has told me that you won't come easily. So I write this letter, pleading you to write more about yourself, maybe drop a few hints here and there. Maybe the things you enjoy doing, since you seem to know so much about me through Ginny and I don't know one thing about you.
"He knows so much more than he thinks," Hermione said with a grin, and then she continued reading.
Hopefully you'll be prepared to meet me in person at the Ball, if you're willing to go with me. Send your reply soon. I'll be waiting.
Harry.
The letter was short, but Hermione was absolutely thrilled that he had written back and had even asked her to go to the Ball with him, not even knowing who she was. "You'll have to thank me and Ron that the letter came so soon, we were giving him ideas and we also commanded that he ask you to the Ball, he didn't need much persuasion though. He said it was the fact that he didn't know how to put it into words," Hermione hugged Ginny, "Thanks. I don't know why I deserve such great friends as you,"
Ginny smirked in a Malfoy-esque manner and said, "So, thought about what you're going to say in your reply yet? He'll be waiting," Hermione smiled, "Well, I could use some help from my two amazing mates..." As if on cue, Ron came zooming in through the portrait, "Harry...finally...sleep. Wanted...to...see...Hermione...reaction...note," he said, extremely out of breath and panting heavily. He paused. Finally catching his breath, "I didn't want him to think that I knew who his secret admirer was, otherwise he'd pelt me with questions and hex me into oblivion if I didn't answer,"
Ron collapsed onto Hermione's bed, obviously a little winded from his long run over here, "Snape almost caught me but fortunately I was able to escape by hiding behind a suit of armor and ran the rest of the way, just in case," Hermione nodded and conjured up some water and handed the glass towards him. She said, "Well, do you think you guys could come here just before breakfast tomorrow morning and help with the letter? I'm dead tired and you guys look like you could use some sleep as well," Ron protested a little at waking up so early, but when he saw the furious glint radiating from his sister's eyes that were so much like his mum's, he scowled and said, "Fine. I'll be here at seven," After saying goodnight, Ginny and Ron stepped out into the hallway and cautiously made their way to the common room. Hermione nodded off soon after they left and was sleeping like a rock until morning.
She woke up groggy and disoriented at 6:20 A.M. She raced to her shower and quickly dressed, even though she was dreadfully tired. She was ready by the time Ginny and Ron arrived, Ron being a little grumpy. Ginny had bags under her eyes and was holding up Ron, who looked like he would collapse. As soon as he reached a lounge chair and heavily plunked himself down in it, he grunted and then muttered, "Let's never have another morning meeting like this," and closed his eyes a bit, "Harry's at breakfast already, the lucky bloke. I'm hungry,"
"Ron, shut up!" Ginny said. She raised her arm in an attempt to smack him, but she was too exhausted to move it any further. Hermione yawned and said that they better get started. In a matter of minutes, they had another letter written and ready to go to Harry.
"I think we shouldn't come in together, in case Harry suspects anything. Hermione, you should go first, then Ron, and then me," Ginny ordered. They promptly did as she said, and Hermione went to the Great Hall, yawning and with her eyes threatening to shut all the way there. Hermione met up with Harry at the table and he beamed at her, normally this would have made her blush furiously, but today she was too tired, "I think today's going to go well, Hermione!" Hermione managed a small smile when Harry looked at her, half asleep with dark circles around her eyes. He quickly located the pot of coffee on the table and poured her some. "Thanks Harry," she murmured. She wasn't nervous this time; she was too tired to worry about anything except not falling asleep right at this table.
Ron walked in next, still looking very much like a zombie, automatically reaching for the pot of coffee and pouring himself a cup. Ginny, while she was waiting to make her entrance, managed to put a little makeup on to cover up her sleepiness, but it showed in the way that she walked in, much like Ron did. She too reached for the coffee pot and threw Hermione's letter at Harry. Hermione and Ron were both suddenly alert as Harry reached for the letter. Harry, surprised at what Ginny just chucked at him, didn't ask for an explanation for why they all walked in like zombies. That was fortunate, since they did not have one.
He lifted open the seal and began to read...
A/N: Yepyep, another cliffhanger. Sorry! But I'm just waaaay too exhausted to write anymore (guess who needs a cup of coffee?). I attempted to think like a very tired person in order to make Ron, Hermione, and Ginny more realistic in this chapter. It made me really worn-out, strangely. I hope it worked, though. It'll be worth it. Thanks for all the reviews for my last chapter, I can't say this too many times: you guys are all awesome! -more e-hugs-. Now, please review. See you at chapter 10. --azias.