Speechless
Hermione watched Ryou laugh as he listened to her telling a story about Ron and his older brothers. She didn't understand why he seemed to be her favorite subject now that Harry's friendship, or lack of it, was off her mind. Ever since that first day the two of them had been fast friends, their similarities making them instantly compatible. It had been their loneliness that had drawn them to each other, but it was their shared love of books that kept them together and made them good friends.
Hermione had introduced him to the wonders of the wizarding world, and shown him the books she read. In return Ryou had showed her the books that he loved. Now they were each telling each other funny stories to take Hermione's mind off the fact that Harry and Yami were off with Dumbledore talking about some stranger who had showed up in their headquarters with Sirius.
It had been a few days ago that she had told him about the Order and Voldemort and all of the adventures that she had gone through with her friends. The chief topic of her conversation had been Sirius Black, Harry's godfather who had been shoved through something called the 'veil' and was presumed dead. Now someone had turned up with Sirius in tow, very much alive, and Hermione hadn't even been there.
When she had come out of her room she had been met by a hysterical Fred, who had told her what had happened as well as the information that Harry and Yami were currently closeted with Dumbledore discussing it. Her first reaction had been one of shock and happiness, which had quickly turned into bitterness. Why hadn't they told her about Sirius? Why had it been Fred who had told her the news not her friend Harry? She had been the one who knew about Sirius, not Yami. She deserved to know.
Ryou had been flustered when she had run into his apartment crying and nearly collided with him, but had recovered himself quickly. It was almost as though he had experience dealing with strange situations without notice... She broke off that train of thought. It wasn't that important. If it was Ryou would have told her, surely.
He had comforted her though, and had seemed happy enough to do so. He had started telling funny stories about one of his friends; the goofball named Joey, and had challenged her to tell one that was funnier. She knew it was just to trick her into a better mood, but it had worked anyway. Ron was her favorite subject and just talking about him always seemed to put her into a better mood. She couldn't wait to see him and to introduce him to Ryou.
A grin plucked at the corners of her mouth and she let it. She wasn't feeling up to rolling in misery any more. Ron wasn't a subject that encouraged sadness. A picture of his face, ears almost as bright as his hair popped into her head as she told Ryou about the time when the Slytherins had started to sing 'Weasley is our King'. She couldn't help it, she burst into laughter. The look on his face had been priceless. But they'd had the last laugh. Ron had won the game for them, and it had been the Gryffindors who winded up singing the song, taking their cue from their enemies and twisting it.
Ryou smiled back at her, eyes sparkling with laughter and happiness. They were so alike sometimes that she almost wondered if they were related. It was actually a possibility. One thing she had never done was research her family tree. But the premature white hair wasn't something that any of her relatives had ever shown, and Ryou certainly didn't look as though he were related to her. She wished he was though. It was nice being an only child, but she would have liked to have a friend inside the family.
Her family loved her, of course, but she was the youngest of them by about ten years, and it was hard to talk to her cousins with the age difference coming between them. Ryou was a great friend, and his magic made him a perfect confidant. She'd even told him about her little – okay, maybe not so little – crush on the youngest of the Weasley boys. It had been really weird, knowing that she felt like this about one of her best friends, but she'd managed to ignore it, and talking with Ryou had helped her see that it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Liking Ron meant that if she dated it would be with someone she already knewshe liked, rather than having to take her chances with some strange boy. Victor had been nice, but he wasn't more than a friend, and she had only bothered to get spruced up to go out with him so that she could see her friends' reaction. They were pen pals now, and she knew that it was Ron she wanted to be with, not him. The happy expression on her face turned dreamy as she thought about Ron, and Ryou slipped away, leaving her alone with her thoughts.