Disclaimer: I own nothing etc…

Chapter 4: This muggle stuff is easy.

The car pulled into the car park of the travel lodge; a hotel that catered for people wanting a room for one night, cheap and cheerful one would say.

"This it?" Ron asked as he climbed out of the car after Harry and gazed in disappointment at the brick building that stood before them. "It doesn't look very impressive, just a big rectangle with windows."

Harry exchanged a look with Hermione over the roof of the car before turned his eyes back to Ron. "What did you expect? They all look the same all over the country, cheaper that way."

"Well you would think it would be grander."

Hermione sighed as she pulled her suitcase from the boot. "We're paying £25 for each room, you can't expect a mansion at that price and it's only for one night, I'm tired of driving."

Grabbing his trunk, Ron grumbled about muggles not knowing the meaning of comfort as he walked to the entrance, suddenly his stomach grumbled. "Are we going to get anything to eat? I'm bloody starving, I could eat a Hippogriff."

"Wouldn't think he would be," Hermione said loudly to Harry, causing their friend to stare at them. "He's had enough already, chips, crisps, chocolate and sweets not to mention the biscuits that your aunt gave him."

"Hermione don't." Harry grinned as he grabbed his friend by the arm and dragged her into the Travel lodge, "You to always have a go at each other."

At the reception desk, the receptionist took in the scene of three scruffy teens, noticing that the ginger one had a mark on the side of his face. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, we'd like two rooms please." Hermione responded leaning on the desk casually and holding her purse while Harry and Ron stood next to the trunks and tried to look presentable.

"Two rooms," Ron hissed suddenly. "But there are three of us; I'm not sharing a room with her!"

"Ron, the boy thing and the girl thing if you remember," Harry said whilst Hermione talked to the receptionist, he tried to focus on the opposite wall so as not to burst out laughing at the sight of Ron's face. "Girls and boys don't share rooms unless they're in a relationship, we're going to have to share a room, Hermione gets her own."

"I knew that… I'm not a child!"

"Sometimes you act like it Ronald Weasley." Hermione said as she handed Harry the card for the boy's room. "We're on the second floor means we'll have to take the lift."

Once they had clambered into the lift, Hermione reached over and pressed the button to take them to the second floor, at the same time Ron gazed around the tiny box. "Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter." He stated slowly to thin air, both Hermione and Harry looked at him as though he had lost his mind. "We're here to visit the second floor."

"Ron," Harry sighed knowing that their friend was thinking of the 'lift' that had taken them to the ministry of magic. "They don't work like that, muggles don't have magic."

Suddenly the doors closed with a ping and the lift began moving upwards. "What were you saying?" The look of smug satisfaction on Ron's face was unbelievable as the elevator drew to a halt and the doors opened once more. "This muggle thing is quite easy." He added as he stepped out of the lift dragging his trunk behind him. "Nothing to it really."

"Should we tell him?" Hermione asked as she and Harry followed him out.

"No." Her friend replied. "Let him have his fun, we'll send him down to get a video later and see how he copes then."

"Wicked Harry just wicked." But she could not stop herself from laughing; she couldn't help imagining Ron's face as he was proved wrong. "I'll see you later." She said heading for her own room, glad that it was Harry who had to cope with Ron and not her. They would be meeting later for a meal and then Hermione was taking them to a nightclub, it was a junior night so they wouldn't have to sneak in.

Harry was left to follow Ron down the corridor to their room, stopping outside it he pulled the key card from his pocket, it was not the first time he had used one but he wanted to see how Ron would figure it out. "Do you know how to open the door?" He asked trying to cover his smirk. "I'm not to sure how."

"Where's the key?"

"Here." Harry handed Ron the card and fought to hold down his laughter as Ron registered what was in his hand, he knew what Ron would say,

"But this isn't a key it's just a rectangular piece of plastic."

"Yet Hermione gave it us, she's never wrong and she know's more about muggles then me."

"But it is a bit of plastic." Ron said ever so slowly as though Harry had suddenly forgotten how to use his brain or that he didn't actually know what plastic looked like.

Harry shrugged. "Well look at the door, does there look like there's a keyhole?" He knew he was being cruel but he was having so much fun, he hadn't felt this content for weeks. The door had no keyhole but in its place was a big metal handle with a slot just below it and a light, the slot was where the card was swiped, the light would then turn green and allow them entrance, he wondered if Ron would actually be able to figure it out.

"Are they stupid or something?" Ron said in annoyance as he pushed down on the handle. "How the bloody hell are we supposed to get in when there's no key and no keyhole to put the key in!" He continued to rattle the handle, Harry was only glad there was no one else about. "Can't you figure it out?"

"I told you Ron I don't know how." If Harry had been Pinocchio, his nose would have pushed the door down by now.

"What about the thing Sirius gave you?" Harry frowned, he hated to hear his godfather's name, his godfather was dead and it was his fault, just like everyone else he had loved but he knew Ron had meant no harm.

"It's in the bottom of my trunk." Though it was actually in his pocket, he always kept it close to him as a permanent reminder of Sirius. "I can't unpack it in the middle of the hall."

"But we can't get in!"

"Idiot," Harry muttered in amusement, "Ron do you see that big sticker beside the door? Well read that and it will tell you what to do."

Ron glanced at the sticker in question and saw the little diagrams which directed the reader in stages how to use the door. "Oh right." He said, his eyes scanning the writing and he began to read it aloud. "Put the card at the top of the slot." He did so, "Pull it down quickly." After a moments hesitation he did that. "Take the card out and push the handle down." A grin came to his face as the door opened. "That was easy."

Rolling his eyes, Harry followed Ron into the room. "How long did it take you? Like half an hour!"

They looked about the room and found it contained two single beds, a chest of drawers on top of which perched a television, Ron went straight to it. "How do you switch it on?" He asked Harry as he tapped the screen.

"You push a button but not now." Harry explained as he threw his trunk on the bed and flopped down beside it. "I think you've had enough excitement for today." He rolled onto his stomach and looked at his friend. "I'm going to have a nap its half seven and we're not leaving until half eight."

"Fine." Moving away from the TV, Ron opened his trunk and began rummaging through it, soon his bed was covered in all sorts of stuff, Harry swore he saw what looked like a cricket bat. How did Ron manage to fit all the stuff in and… a cricket bat? "I think I'll have a shower." His friend added.

"Will you know how to work it?"

"Muggle stuff is easy; don't see what all the fuss was about." Ron replied as he moved towards the bathroom. "I could cope with this everyday, no trouble at all."

"If you say so." Harry closed his eyes and was just about to drift off to sleep when a scream came from the bathroom. "What's wrong?" He cried in alarm as he sat up straight.

Ron ran into the room with a blue towel wrapped around his waist, his face almost as white as a ghost. "Spider!" He squeaked, "I pulled back the shower curtain and it fell on my hand!" He shook his hand as though to get rid of an invisible spider and looked at Harry pleadingly. "You have to get rid of it!" He hissed

"I can't kill it!"

"Yes you can! There're no windows in that bathroom, it must've climbed up the drain and you are not bringing it in here to get rid of it!"

"Okay where is it?" Harry said, reluctantly pulling himself up off the bed, he grinned when he saw Ron scanning the room for anymore of the eight legged creatures.

"In the bath."

Walking into the bathroom, Harry looked in the bathtub and found a small spider trying to make its way out of the bath; it was having no success as the tiny arachnid kept sliding back down the smooth sides. Sighing, Harry turning on the tap and rinsed it down the plughole, sometimes Ron was such a baby. All spiders in Britain were perfectly harmless. "Its somewhere in your clothes." He announced casually as he walked into the bedroom. "I have no idea where it is and I am not touching your clothes."

Ron looked as though he were about to faint. "Jump on my clothes if you have to! Burn them!" He pulled his wand from the bed and handed it to Harry. "Just get rid of it." His words were getting squeakier and squeakier as his panic increased.

Smiling, Harry handed the wand back to Ron. "You really are ruthless. It's down the drain, don't worry."

"The plug?"

"What about the plug?" Harry asked innocently, knowing full well what his friend meant.

"Did you put the plug in?"

"Why would I do that?"

"So it doesn't climb out again!" Ron glared at Harry's blank expression. "I'll do it myself."

"But I wanted a shower; I can't have a shower with the plug in!"

"Then use Hermione's room," Ron's voice came from the bathroom. "I'm not risking that thing attacking me in the night!"

Harry sighed again, Ron was unbelievable sometimes.

TBC

Next chapter: Ron and Harry experience a nightclub for the first time… okay it's not a proper one but hey still is one…without the alcohol.

Oh and I've changed chapter 2 slightly, its now entitled 'My mum's a dentist, dad's one too'… my memory really sucks…sorry!

Responses to reviews:

Jenny: I hope Ron reacted to the spider the right way, all I remember is the very squeaky voice from the films. :: grins at the memory:: I'm pleased it seemed realistic.

Kwndnl: Glad it's a break from all the serious ones, I hate serious stuff… well writing it anyway.

Aislinn: Career change? Ok I admit I completely forgot about Hermione's parents being dentists. ::shrugs:: My mistake but it doesn't matter that much, I've changed it. Glad the plots realistic…except for her parents not being dentists, dentists are evil anyway.

Lucid-03-days: Glad you enjoyed it, the toilet thing was wrong but I couldn't help it, people are very blunt and to the point where I come from…I'm pleased you find the story funny and hopefully I did the spider thing ok.

Lovablechick213: Thank you and I went into my own sense of humour there. Penelope's the name of the car, Snappy's the book, its not unusual for things to have names here… my computer's called Charlie… East Anglian humour…sorry, I've probably confused you even more.

Phantom radio: Still don't like that chapter, have no idea why just that it bugs me but glad you liked it anyway.

KateM: Thanks for reviewing and I've changed the dentist thing…I'm getting old, my memory's not what it used to be. ::grins:: I just forgot…haven't read the books in about six months and I can't remember every detail.

Kaitee: Thank you as I said I've changed it… maybe I should read the books again… if I can be bothered.

Sou85a: Thanks. I use UK English because I am English…with a bit of welsh mixed in and haven't got a clue how to do it any other way because its what I've been taught. I know you have to be 17 when you drive because I'm excited about being able to drive in 2 months when I turn 17. If I remember, Hermione's birthday is around September so she'd be able to drive by now… my brother passed his test in a month and I'm basing it on that. Time frame… I'm having it so that they are at the end of year 12, year 6 in Hogworts and about to start year 7 in September so she at least should be driving … It's a bit faulty but what the heck.. it's a story.