((A/N: Hey guys! I know I haven't updated in AGES! It's seemed 10 times longer to me, but a friend came in to town and we were so immersed in our hanging out stuff (I won't see her again for a long time -cries-) that I didn't have the time to update! It takes me awhile to get these up because I have to go through and italicize their thoughts. I'm SO sorry that this took so long but I do hope that you'll really enjoy this next chapter! I don't have the time at the moment for individual responses to all your reviews (but they were fantastical! I really am flattered that you guys like the fic so far, and believe me, I will continue writing!), but hopefully I will in the future. Next chapter I most likely will, so PLEASE read and review! And if you have any suggestions (I have a vague idea of where I want this to go but I've only written up to chapter 5, writing chapter 6 now, and I've planned out chapter 7 ... You know what, I'm rambling.) that I may be able to use in the future, either post them when you review (ahh, and you must review!) or send them to my e-mail, -- Thanks so much again, I love you guys and erm... Eat Jell-O and be merry!))
Chapter Three
Train of Thoughts
The trip to King's Cross Station was horrible for Ron. Harry arrived back at the Burrow just before they set out. He had been gone the past several days, but where he had gone, he wouldn't say, which angered Ron even more than he had already been. And, of course, as they rode in the car (supplied by Mundungus once again), Ron turned quite possibly the deepest shade of red he had as of yet as Ginny and the twins delightedly related this morning's events to Harry. By the time they reached the station, Ron was quite miffed and walked into the station without speaking. Harry, however, far from being sorry or sad about his behavior, was still quite amused at the thought of Ron shoving a pillow down his throat. He knew Ron had been dreaming of Hermione, he had liked her for ages. Wait. He stopped. Ron was shoving a pillow into his mouth thinking it was Hermione, his other best friend. Ew. Harry did not think it was quite as humorous anymore.
Ginny ran through through the barrier to Platform 9 3/4 first, closely followed by Ron and then Harry. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley followed a moment later and said their goodbyes. They finally broke away when they realized the train was leaving in ten minutes, and they all really wanted to find their own compartment.
"Goodbye dears, and stay out of trouble!" Mrs. Weasley commanded.
"Bye mum! Bye dad!" Ginny and Ron chorused.
"Goodbye Mr. and Mrs. Weasley!" Harry called over his shoulder as they walked towards the train.
The three students walked towards the red train, winding through the crowd of various students, some they knew and yet many they had never met. Ron turned his head around as they walked. "I wonder where- OW!" He exclaimed as he toppled over. Harry laughed at Ron as he collided with another student. That's what he got for not paying attention to where he was going.
Ron shot Harry a glare that silenced him as he struggled to get up. Then he turned to who he had bumped in to. She was still on the ground, on her hands and knees, picking up things off of the floor and putting them in to a bag that she had been carrying; they had obviously spilled all over when they knocked into each other.
"Oh, let me help you with that," Ron said, getting on his knees again. "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to-- HERMIONE!?"
Harry's silent giggled ceased as soon as Ron called out Hermione's name. "Huh?" he asked, confused.
Hermione turned around to face Ron. "Hey Ron." She said softly. "Thanks, but I've about got it all picked up." Ron didn't reply, but merely gaped. Harry came forth to see what all the fuss was about. "Hey Hermi--" His voice trailed off. Hermione smiled.
"Hey Harry! How was your summer?" She asked friendly.
"Huh? Oh, it was fine. You've...changed." He replied.
"What? Oh, yes, well, I suppose I have a bit, she said, brushing away a few stray hairs that had fallen out of her headband's hold when she fell.
Hermione picked up her bag and stood up. Ron, still kneeling on the ground, looked up at her. She smiled. "Need a hand?" Hermione asked. She reached out and got that wonderful feeling within her when she gripped his hand. At that moment, Harry snorted. They looked at him in confusion and he nodded back to them. They realized then exactly why he was laughing. Hermione, standing, Ron kneeling on the ground, his and her hands intertwined; it looked like Ron was about ready to propose. Nervously, Ron got up quickly and he and Hermione let go of each other's hands. Harry shook his head and started rolling away his trolley, telling them that he would find an empty compartment and they could catch up in a minute. An awkward silence followed.
"So, erm..." She said nervously.
"Hermione, you look er... Really different." Ron said.
"Oh." Hermione said, not sure of how to take that.
"Oh, not like that. In a good way. You look really different, but... Uhh... You look, like... Like good... and stuff." He finished, quite lamely.
Hermione laughed. "Like good?"
"Yeah, and stuff." Ron replied.
((Ron's POV)) She didn't look good, she didn't look like stuff, she looked absolutely gorgeous! Right then and there I wanted to tell her that I loved her, that I loved her and never wanted to be apart from her for a single second. I had to control myself (believe me, it wasn't easy! If anyone's ever wanted to snog someone senseless more than I did in that moment, they probably would have exploded.)
((Hermione's POV)) Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! He liked me. I mean, he liked how I looked. I was hoping for this! If ever anyone ever wanted to be in someone's arms more than I wanted to be in his arms in that moment, they'd simply die. Phew. Control yourself, Hermione. Control...
They boarded the train a moment later and put their suitcases up on the racks. As Hermione seated herself in the compartment that Harry had chosen, Harry smiled and Ginny, who had gotten lost in all the commotion but had found Harry just before Ron and Hermione entered, gasped.
"Hermione, it's so glad to see you!" She shrieked.
"You, too, Gin." Hermione hugged Ginny.
"Wow, you look fabulous! Gorgeous, more like it, actually0." Ginny complimented.
"Oh, no, not really..." Hermione mumbled modestly.
"No, really, you do. Superb. Doesn't she, Ron?" Ginny teased.
Ron gulped. Hermione and Ginny continued talking until the train set off, and for a time after that. Hermione beamed the whole time, not really for Ginny's sake. She was ecstatic about seeing Ginny again, really she was, but as Ginny chatted on, Hermione eventually didn't participate as much as she did at first. She was in the middle of a reverie of Ron. He had really liked her... She sighed. As she dreamt about them together, alone, she thought up of so many romantic things he could say, as they were patrolling the corridors during prefect duty...
OH NO! PREFECT DUTY! Hermione gasped as she clutched Ron's robes and then looked at her watch.
"What is it, 'Mione? You alright?" Ron said, sitting up.
"Ron, we were supposed to be in the prefect carriages ten minutes ago!" She shrieked.
He stood up and she followed suit. They exchanged hurried goodbyes, saying that they'd come back as soon as possible, before rushing out of the carriage and up towards the front of the train.
Ten minutes later they had exited the prefect's compartment. After a very rude comment from malfoy (which made both Ron and Hermione blush horribly), they strolled about the corridors together. Ron wondered if there had ever been so many awkward silences.
"So, erm, 'Mione, had a nice summer?" He asked.
"Yeah, it was really fantastic in Italy. It's actually a quite beautiful place. Nothing like home, though. It's great to be back; I really missed you." She said.
Ron smiled. "Really?"
Oh my God, she missed me! She miiissed me, she miiissed me! Ron thought, floating on a beautiful cloud.
Oh my God, he's going to think that... He's going to know that I like him! I can't... Got to say something so that I don't sound like a freak... Speak Hermione, speak!
"Er... Yeah. I mean, I missed you and Harry and all, I felt like I was worlds away from home.
Nevermind. Thought Ron. His cloud quickly evaporated as the sun decided it want to come out. Stupid sun, always messing up a nice, floaty cloud day. He fell silent as he thought of all the ways he could hurt the sun for making his day horrible now... Tear it apart? No... Set it on fire? Yes! ... Wait ...
"Ron?" Hermione asked. Ron snapped back to reality at her voice, but wrote a mental post-it to finish the sun's demise at a later date. "Yes L--" Oh God, he almost called her Love! Damnit. He had to control himself! "Yes Hermione?" He said instead. "We've been patrolling for an awfully long time. We're allowed to go back to the compartment now." She wanted to get away from him, he knew it.
Ron nodded and Hermione gave an inward groan. He wanted to get away from her, she knew it. Great, Hermione, good job! You want to impress the love of your life and now he might think you too much of a freak to even be your friend! Hermione got the sudden impulse to whack her head against something. Hard.
Ron pulled at his collar as they made their way down the train back to their compartment. An awkward silence passed over them as they passed several carriages without a word. Ron pulled at his robes uncomfortably and looked at his shoes as he searched his mind for something to say. His mind seemed to be out to lunch, however, as he got nothing. It's hot. My God is it hot! Why isn't she saying anything? Why aren't I saying anything? Oh no, she's gonna think I'm weird! She's gonna find out I like her and be all repulsed and stuff and not want to be my friend anymore! No! She always gave me loads of chocolate frogs! And I like her, too! A lot, a lot a lot and .. Think Ron, think. Wow, this silence is painful. Really long. And did I mention painful? Why isn't she talking back to me? Oh no! That's because I'm not talking to her! Think... Think...
Ron coughed and cleared his throat, but it made no difference, as when he attempted to talk, his voice came out rather hoarse. "So... Erm, nice weather we've been having, eh?"
Wait. He made another mental note to hurt himself later as his eyes drifted over to the nearest window on the train. Hermione's thoughts seemed to be about the same as her eyes darted to the window. A sheet of rain pounded against the window as the storm they were in the middle of continued. Brilliant, Ron. Ron thought.
Hermione suppressed a giggle; she didn't know if Ron was having a go at actually talking or being sarcastic, but it was funny nonetheless and she turned away as a smile creeped upon her lips. She didn't want him to think she was making fun of him if he weren't trying to be funny.
After what seemed like a walk of eternity, they reached a carriage approximately halfway down the train. They slid open the compartment door and walked in to find Harry, Ginny, and Neville all chatting merrily. They paused for a moment when Ron and Hermione appeared through the doorway. Harry smiled.
"Hey Ron, hey Hermione. How were prefect duties?" Harry asked.
"Good, thanks." Hermione replied. She sat down next to Ginny.
Ron's eyes widened as he noticed that there was a seat left to Hermione. He shakily sat down next to her, hoping that he wasn't annoying her, or breathing in her oxygen or anything.
As the train moved on, passing fields of wheat and rows of corn, they chatted a bit, but Ron wasn't paying that much attention. Well, he was paying attention to one person in particular in the space; Hermione, of course. He had his head turned to the window so as not to let her see him blushed if he possibly did. He vaguely noticed that his eyes must be glazing over as he thought of her.
He noted everytime she laughed. It was beautiful; so adorable. It was cute and small, just like her. It was bright and shone ever so brightly in his mind's eye. Sneaking the shortest of looks over at her, he mentally memorized the picture. Right now her fair, soft cheeks were tinged with pink as she gasped for breath; she was giggling quite a lot. Everything seemed to slow down, the world stopped turning as her soft perfect-for-holding-in-his hand reached up as she put her head down. She sheilded her eyes as her shoulders shook slightly with the growing intensity of her giggles. He didn't know what he'd do if she giggled for him. Her grin, so flawless just like the rest of her, shone brightly across the space. He loved it. He loved her, of course, he didn't know why he kept telling himself that, since he had known it for ages, but it was so blissful to say it in his mind. He wondered what it would be like to voice this. Bah, no, he couldn't, because here she was not paying attention to him. She was paying attention to ... someone else.
Hermione felt her cheeks grow hot with a tinge of pinkish color. She was embarrassed at first as she was blushing because she was thinking of Ron. But thankfully, she was also partly involved in a conversation with Ginny, Harry, and Neville, and they seemed to think that she was merely laughing along with them and her cheeks were reddening as a result of her having to breathe a bit harder. Oh goodness, she was so nervous. She looked over at Ron for only a second to capture the image of him in her mind. Quite luckily, she had a photographic memory. In that small bit of an instant, she memorized every crevice of his face in that moment. Her heart broke into several peices as she saw he didn't appear completely happy. With any luck, he wasn't mad. She wanted to die when she made him mad. She usually stayed up the entire night after doing so, mentally kicking herself. She moved back to the picture of Ron now implanted in her memory (She looked at him so often, she could have a library of photo albums. Hermione supposed that's what happened when you used more than 10% of your brain: you make mental scrapbooks. Or go mad and can't figure out how to tie your shoes. You know, whatever.) ... His freckled yet tan skin sent chills down her spine and she smiled even more so than she had been when she thought of his gorgeous, shiny red hair that fell so nicely over his eyes when he looked down, and which he now so often ruffled with his hand, making his hair appear to be wind blown. God was he sexy. I know, I know. I'm Hermione Granger. Sexy isn't supposed to be part of my vocabulary, but even if I said he was lascivious, that wouldn't change how I felt. He's downright sexy and that's the bottom line. She exhaled deeply as she realized, with a sudden jerk, that she had been thinking of Ron for ages. Oh, how she wanted to run her lips among every nook and cranny of his beautiful face, but she supposed she'd have to think about that later. Right now she jerked her head back to the conversation and chuckled slightly to fit in.
Ron rested his head against the cool, misty window and gazed outside, thinking of her and her laugh. Laugh again, he urged her in his mind. Just once more. Wait... He pondered for a moment. He wasn't talking, yet she was laughing. So she wasn't laughing at one of his jokes, yet someone elses. So... God this was taking a long time to contemplate in his head, but his face reddened in anger as he arrived at the answer. Someone else was making her laugh! Oh my God, did she like someone else? He'd kill him, he'd kill whoever -- Ron searched around for who was telling these jokes.
"And then" Harry choked out, "He says to me, he says 'To get to the other side!'"
He'd kill ... Harry?! NO! Damnit. Ah well, he'd do what had to be done! Wait, what was he thinking? He couldn't kill his best friend! Unless he did it real sneakily... He could smush his face with a pillow and then -- Wait, no. Ron willed himself to stop thinking of Harry's expiration now; he already had to worry about the sun. Instead of pummeling Harry, he decided that it would be more constructive to join the conversation. So, nervously turning from the window, he gulped and laughed at Harry's latest riddle, to which the answer was nothing.
"Do you wanna give it a go?" Harry asked Ron.
"What?" Ron asked.
"A riddle. G'head, try one." Harry urged.
Ron started to sweat ... A riddle, a riddle -- Oh no! He thought, as he heard what came out of his mouth next. It seemed as if another person said it, and he had to sit there and listen to it tumble nervously out of his mouth and could do nothing to stop it.
"Er...O-okay, Um... Okay. What's brown and sticky?"
A silence followed his riddle as the others pondered this, but they shook their heads, not knowing what to guess.
"A stick." Ron answered.
An even longer silence followed this, save for one voice: Hermione. She snorted with laughter and her cheeks turned instantly red, before she gasped and cupped her face in her hands.
Oh no. Hermione thought to herself. Oh no oh no, why did I laugh at that? I mean, it was... Well, I couldn't help it, he's so adorable! I have to save him, of course -- but what to say? New topic, okay, new topic, Hermione ... She cast around in her head for a moment before deciding on a topic. She directed the topic towards teachers. That couldn't be too dangerous, could it?
She was wrong.
"Weirdest teacher?" Harry asked.
"Hmm, well Professor Sprout can become a bit dotty at times, but she's really nice and loads helpful when you're confused." Neville answered.
"What about Lockhart?" Ginny reminded them, with a grin, of their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher in their second year; highly fond of fame yet a drastic liar, he now resided in a permanent St. Mungo's ward after a spell backfired on him when he tried to modify Ron's and Harry's memories whilst heading down into the Chamber of Secrets.
Ron tried to participate in the conversation. He thought the answer was obvious.
"How 'bout that professor Trelawney... Yeah, her hair's kinda bushy, eh? I MEAN" His eyes widened as he didn't want to offend Hermione, "- I mean I like bushy hair." But he didn't want her to know he liked her, either! He fumbled over his words, "Wait! No, I hate -- I like. I don't like her, that's gross. Professor Trelawney, I mean. Like, I don't like her like that. Or like this or anything. I mean I kinda like- hate- can stand... I mean, like, her glasses could fry a whole friggin' ant colony." He settled on.
Hermione couldn't control herself; she laughed hard at this statement. Then, at the same time, Hermione and Ron turned away from each other, their eyes wide with embarrassment and their cheeks red as strawberry Jell-O. They put their heads in their hands and wished they could be anywhere but here. Hmm.. anywhere. With each other!
No! They both stopped themselves from thinking the thought that they wanted to think and thought of every day. Hermione, Ginny, and Neville all grinned; they thought both Ron and Hermione would like nothing better at the moment than to throw themselves under the Hogwarts Express. When Ron and Hermione looked up, they noticed everyone was flashing them knowing smiles (They didn't dare look at each other lest they die from shock and embarrassment) - They shot the other three in the compartment glowering looks, as they each didn't want the other one to catch on that they liked them. That would be terrible. Not terrible, even. More like the Apocalypse.
The train ride continued as they talked more about teachers:
"Most boring teacher?" Ginny asked.
"Binns." Everyone replied in unison.
"Yeah... yeah, he's dead now." Ron stated.
And varied to things like the next school year and magic in general:
"Yeah, so... Seems like this magic thing is here to stay, eh?" Ron said nervously.
Hermione cursed herself all the way to Hogwarts and almost put a silencing charm on herself. She couldn't believe what she was doing; she laughed at each and every one of Ron's feeble jokes. She couldn't help it; she couldn't help but smile every time those perfect lips parted.
They had long ago changed into their wizard robes, and Ron pulled at his continuously for five minutes straight before exclaiming wildly "Bloody hell, did they move Hogwarts to another country? Why aren't we there yet?!" He felt extremely stupid when he found out that they hadn't been going all that long. But he marvelled at how long it usually took to get to Hogwarts; this time seemed to be magnified ten times now.
Finally, the train started to slow. He gazed out the window impaciently.
"Hey, does anyone ever wonder why the bloody hell it always seems to be raining when we come to Hogwarts? Is it a theme or something?"
Harry smiled and said "Bloody hell? Seem to be quite fond of that phrase even more so than usual. But c'mon, Ron, stop fogging up the window with your thoughts of Hermione-"
Ron whirled around and glared at Harry murderously. Thank God, he thought a split second later. Hermione's not in here anymore. Wait, she's left? I've gotta find her, I can't lose her! Even if it is just going up to Hogwarts.. Wait, Hermione! Damn! He cursed himself for dawdling on his thoughts of her when the real thing was leaving. He stormed out of the carriage before Harry could even finish his words of "-And let's get going to the feast." Harry did a double take as he realized his best friend wasn't drooling at the thought of the feast. My God, he must like her a lot. More than food! Harry gaped at the thought of Ron caring about a girl more than food.
