A/N: I apologize if this story is too slowly paced, I'm working up to some action I promise. I haven't decided on the romance angle yet, I may throw a twist in. If you have any preference on who with who (no slash!) you can leave your vote in reviews. I'll consider all views since I'm on the fence so to speak with mine. I'm listening to Josh Gorbin's album for inspiration which may not be a good thing- I could hook Grawp and Hermione up by the time I'm done with the CD. Just kidding, really.
Chapter 8- Back to Hogwarts
The weeks prior to the start of school were somewhat quiet, a little too quiet. Harry was confused as to why Ron was barely speaking to him, and when Ron did speak it was usually short and rude. Whether he was upset about Hermione and the argument or Hermione and Krum, either way it was a downer. So Harry spent most of his time helping George and Fred with their joke shop which was doing very well. The down side was that Percy was being a pain, which was not unusual in itself, however, this time he was insisting on inspecting every single joke item that his brothers had created. Percy justified his actions by saying that it was his job to protect the innocent from being harmed. Fortunately, the twins had expected this and seemed to have covered every angle much to Percy's chagrin.
The ministry had done all it could to get Hermione back to London so they could interview her themselves about the giant incident but since she was in Bulgaria with Krum that made her off limits. When the ministry had made an attempt to have Hermione extradiated back to London, the Bulgarians claimed that the English were trying to sabatoge the Bulgarian team. Bulgaria had fallen in love with Hermione mainly because since she had gone to stay with Krum and his family, Bulgaria hadn't lost a quidditch match. Krum was playing his best ever and he kept saying he owed it to Hermione in every interview. The couple even made the front page of the local gossip paper and everyday there was a new article concerning the two. Ginny made the mistake of showing the picture to Ron who then called Krum every name in the book. Mrs. Weasley was mortified, Harry found it funny. He was getting tired of Ron's brooding and enjoyed seeing Mrs. Weasley tear into Ron.
Finally the day to leave for Hogwarts came and Harry and the Weasley's made their way to the Hogwart's Express. Ron went to the train while Ginny and Harry waited for Hermione to show up. Both wanted to hear about her Bulgarian adventure. About 10 minutes before departure Hermione showed up followed by hordes of photographers since Krum had come to see her off. Harry was bowled over by how good Hermione looked and he couldn't help but notice that Krum couldn't keep his eyes off her. Hermione kissed Viktor gentlely and gave him a long hug before leaving him behind. Once on the otherside of the platform, out of the photographers view, Hermione gave Ginny and Harry hugs. She seemed really happy and that could only make Harry happy.
"So tell me all about your vacation and you can't leave nothing out. You swear." Ginny quickly said.
"I can't swear to that!" Hermione laughed. "Some things need to be kept secret," she said slyly and elbowed Ginny in the ribs. Harry's face had gone three shade of red in about three seconds. The friends made their way to the last compartment, where they usually stayed for the trip. Ginny was surprised Ron wasn't there but his absence didn't seem important enough to delay her questioning. Harry debated going to look for Ron but he figured Ron wouldn't want to listen to this anyways.
"You do realize that the ministry is going to come after you now that you are home. They weren't satisfied with the Moody and Tonks report. Shocking I know!" Harry said sarcastically.
"I talked to Dumbledore while I was gone and he promised to be with me during the questioning. He said it was his right as head master of Hogwarts so I feel pretty good about it," Hermione replied. She looked like she wanted to say more but thought best of it.
Ginny brushed off the topic as if it were unimportant. "So start dishing, how was you vacation? Don't make me ask again!" Ginny said. Harry thought Ginny looked like she was going to burst.
Hermione studied Harry for a moment and asked," Will this make you uncomfortable? I know how you guys get with girl talk."
Harry laughed. "Yeah, go on. I'll listen and I'll do my best not to make any faces!" In reality he wasn't sure if he wanted to hear her story. He was feeling some pangs of jealousy and he didn't know what to make of that. He knew he shared a deep friendship with her and he also knew he cared deeply about her. But they had been friends for so long and didn't want to destroy that. So he decided to play it safe for now. Hermione was supportive of his feelings for Cho, he felt he should do the same for Hermione, that much was a given. "Well go on then!"
Hermione smiled at Harry then told of Viktor taking her to see the sites of Bulgaria. She admitted that she didn't expect much at first but was soon won over by the people and the beautiful sights that Bulgaria had to offer. She said that she could have stared at the mountains and lakes all day. Viktor took her to all of his matches and Hermione admitted that it was an exciting game to watch. Viktor told Hermione that she was his lucky charm and then had given her a necklace with a diamond on it. It was simple but elegant. Harry sensed that things had gotten more serious with Viktor and Hermione and he was surprised to learn that he was okay with that. She deserved to have somebody love her, to have somebody make her feel like a queen. Right now he could do neither since his future was uncertain. Voldemort and the prophesy had to be dealt with first before he could imagine a life outside of Hogwarts. Then, if he survived, who knew what would happen. Right know Viktor had more to offer Hermione. That's just the way it was, but Harry couldn't help but wonder what was holding Ron back. He always thought Hermione and Ron would hook up, they seemed to have so much passion toward each other. Most of the time that passion was expressed in arguments but he thought as they got older, that passion would express itself in other ways. He had been wrong. Ron never made a move and he never went beyond treating Hermione like a sister. Hermione had given up waiting and he couldn't blame her. 'Who wants to be alone,' he thought gloomly. He looked at Hermione and Ginny who were still talking, hands waving all over the place. He finally decided to go find Ron. "Hey girls... ladies...," Harry said trying to get their attention. They finally stopped talking and looked at him expectantly. "I'm gunna go find Ron. I'll be back in a little bit." No sooner had he said this they resumed talking. Harry smiled, 'I have so much to learn,' he thought.
Harry finally found Ron on the caboose of the train. He didn't acknowledge Harry's arrival but that didn't deter Harry from finding a seat beside him.
"So you gunna tell me what's been bugging you?" Harry asked.
Ron sat for a moment and then turned to talk to Harry. "I'm gunna be direct with you Harry. Are you in love with Hermione?"
Harry stunned by the question. "What are you talking about?" was all he managed.
Ron looked away. "I saw you and Hermione holding each other before she left to go see Krum. What was that all about?"
Harry didn't want to have this conversation but he knew he had to be honest with his friend. "I have some strong feelings toward her, but if I am in love with her, Hermione will be the first person I tell. I think you are the one who needs to get your feelings straightened out, if you don't mind me saying."
Ron's face began to flush as he searched for the right words to say. "I think I love her but for some reason I can't make a move on her. Everytime I try to tell her how I feel, I get scared and then I freeze up. I keep thinking that the timing isn't right or that is what I'm telling myself."
"I'm goning to be honest with you Ron. I can't make a move on her because I have Voldy and his clowns to deal with. I have a shady future to put it lightly. But when I know I can be with Hermione and have forever to make her happy, I'm going for it. You'll just have to deal with it. You've had your chances and I will not waste mine when that chance comes around. They call me the boy-who-lived but the funny thing is that I feel I haven't lived enough. My parents sacrificed themselves for me, I won't let them down."
Ron shook his head in understanding and got up to leave. "I'm going to go back to sit with my friends," he said with a weak smile. "You coming?"
"You know it," Harry said. The two made their way to the last box compartment. When Ron opened the door, Hermione looked up and smiled at them both. "Let's make room for them," she said to Ginny, who was now sitting by Neville. Ron stepped quickly to Hermione and sat down beside her. She seemed surprised but smiled at Ron. It may have been a forced smile but it was a smile. The rest of the trip was like old times. Harry wished it could stay that way but in the back of his mind lingered the prophesy.
Chapter 8- Back to Hogwarts
The weeks prior to the start of school were somewhat quiet, a little too quiet. Harry was confused as to why Ron was barely speaking to him, and when Ron did speak it was usually short and rude. Whether he was upset about Hermione and the argument or Hermione and Krum, either way it was a downer. So Harry spent most of his time helping George and Fred with their joke shop which was doing very well. The down side was that Percy was being a pain, which was not unusual in itself, however, this time he was insisting on inspecting every single joke item that his brothers had created. Percy justified his actions by saying that it was his job to protect the innocent from being harmed. Fortunately, the twins had expected this and seemed to have covered every angle much to Percy's chagrin.
The ministry had done all it could to get Hermione back to London so they could interview her themselves about the giant incident but since she was in Bulgaria with Krum that made her off limits. When the ministry had made an attempt to have Hermione extradiated back to London, the Bulgarians claimed that the English were trying to sabatoge the Bulgarian team. Bulgaria had fallen in love with Hermione mainly because since she had gone to stay with Krum and his family, Bulgaria hadn't lost a quidditch match. Krum was playing his best ever and he kept saying he owed it to Hermione in every interview. The couple even made the front page of the local gossip paper and everyday there was a new article concerning the two. Ginny made the mistake of showing the picture to Ron who then called Krum every name in the book. Mrs. Weasley was mortified, Harry found it funny. He was getting tired of Ron's brooding and enjoyed seeing Mrs. Weasley tear into Ron.
Finally the day to leave for Hogwarts came and Harry and the Weasley's made their way to the Hogwart's Express. Ron went to the train while Ginny and Harry waited for Hermione to show up. Both wanted to hear about her Bulgarian adventure. About 10 minutes before departure Hermione showed up followed by hordes of photographers since Krum had come to see her off. Harry was bowled over by how good Hermione looked and he couldn't help but notice that Krum couldn't keep his eyes off her. Hermione kissed Viktor gentlely and gave him a long hug before leaving him behind. Once on the otherside of the platform, out of the photographers view, Hermione gave Ginny and Harry hugs. She seemed really happy and that could only make Harry happy.
"So tell me all about your vacation and you can't leave nothing out. You swear." Ginny quickly said.
"I can't swear to that!" Hermione laughed. "Some things need to be kept secret," she said slyly and elbowed Ginny in the ribs. Harry's face had gone three shade of red in about three seconds. The friends made their way to the last compartment, where they usually stayed for the trip. Ginny was surprised Ron wasn't there but his absence didn't seem important enough to delay her questioning. Harry debated going to look for Ron but he figured Ron wouldn't want to listen to this anyways.
"You do realize that the ministry is going to come after you now that you are home. They weren't satisfied with the Moody and Tonks report. Shocking I know!" Harry said sarcastically.
"I talked to Dumbledore while I was gone and he promised to be with me during the questioning. He said it was his right as head master of Hogwarts so I feel pretty good about it," Hermione replied. She looked like she wanted to say more but thought best of it.
Ginny brushed off the topic as if it were unimportant. "So start dishing, how was you vacation? Don't make me ask again!" Ginny said. Harry thought Ginny looked like she was going to burst.
Hermione studied Harry for a moment and asked," Will this make you uncomfortable? I know how you guys get with girl talk."
Harry laughed. "Yeah, go on. I'll listen and I'll do my best not to make any faces!" In reality he wasn't sure if he wanted to hear her story. He was feeling some pangs of jealousy and he didn't know what to make of that. He knew he shared a deep friendship with her and he also knew he cared deeply about her. But they had been friends for so long and didn't want to destroy that. So he decided to play it safe for now. Hermione was supportive of his feelings for Cho, he felt he should do the same for Hermione, that much was a given. "Well go on then!"
Hermione smiled at Harry then told of Viktor taking her to see the sites of Bulgaria. She admitted that she didn't expect much at first but was soon won over by the people and the beautiful sights that Bulgaria had to offer. She said that she could have stared at the mountains and lakes all day. Viktor took her to all of his matches and Hermione admitted that it was an exciting game to watch. Viktor told Hermione that she was his lucky charm and then had given her a necklace with a diamond on it. It was simple but elegant. Harry sensed that things had gotten more serious with Viktor and Hermione and he was surprised to learn that he was okay with that. She deserved to have somebody love her, to have somebody make her feel like a queen. Right now he could do neither since his future was uncertain. Voldemort and the prophesy had to be dealt with first before he could imagine a life outside of Hogwarts. Then, if he survived, who knew what would happen. Right know Viktor had more to offer Hermione. That's just the way it was, but Harry couldn't help but wonder what was holding Ron back. He always thought Hermione and Ron would hook up, they seemed to have so much passion toward each other. Most of the time that passion was expressed in arguments but he thought as they got older, that passion would express itself in other ways. He had been wrong. Ron never made a move and he never went beyond treating Hermione like a sister. Hermione had given up waiting and he couldn't blame her. 'Who wants to be alone,' he thought gloomly. He looked at Hermione and Ginny who were still talking, hands waving all over the place. He finally decided to go find Ron. "Hey girls... ladies...," Harry said trying to get their attention. They finally stopped talking and looked at him expectantly. "I'm gunna go find Ron. I'll be back in a little bit." No sooner had he said this they resumed talking. Harry smiled, 'I have so much to learn,' he thought.
Harry finally found Ron on the caboose of the train. He didn't acknowledge Harry's arrival but that didn't deter Harry from finding a seat beside him.
"So you gunna tell me what's been bugging you?" Harry asked.
Ron sat for a moment and then turned to talk to Harry. "I'm gunna be direct with you Harry. Are you in love with Hermione?"
Harry stunned by the question. "What are you talking about?" was all he managed.
Ron looked away. "I saw you and Hermione holding each other before she left to go see Krum. What was that all about?"
Harry didn't want to have this conversation but he knew he had to be honest with his friend. "I have some strong feelings toward her, but if I am in love with her, Hermione will be the first person I tell. I think you are the one who needs to get your feelings straightened out, if you don't mind me saying."
Ron's face began to flush as he searched for the right words to say. "I think I love her but for some reason I can't make a move on her. Everytime I try to tell her how I feel, I get scared and then I freeze up. I keep thinking that the timing isn't right or that is what I'm telling myself."
"I'm goning to be honest with you Ron. I can't make a move on her because I have Voldy and his clowns to deal with. I have a shady future to put it lightly. But when I know I can be with Hermione and have forever to make her happy, I'm going for it. You'll just have to deal with it. You've had your chances and I will not waste mine when that chance comes around. They call me the boy-who-lived but the funny thing is that I feel I haven't lived enough. My parents sacrificed themselves for me, I won't let them down."
Ron shook his head in understanding and got up to leave. "I'm going to go back to sit with my friends," he said with a weak smile. "You coming?"
"You know it," Harry said. The two made their way to the last box compartment. When Ron opened the door, Hermione looked up and smiled at them both. "Let's make room for them," she said to Ginny, who was now sitting by Neville. Ron stepped quickly to Hermione and sat down beside her. She seemed surprised but smiled at Ron. It may have been a forced smile but it was a smile. The rest of the trip was like old times. Harry wished it could stay that way but in the back of his mind lingered the prophesy.