Chapter Three

Casting

Harry and Hermione were sitting in front of the fire when Ron walked into the common room. Ron would have just left Harry and Hermione alone, since he and Hermione were still not talking. But Ron decided that he wanted to just apologize and get things over with.

Hermione looked up, surprised, when her boyfriend sat in the armchair next to her end of the couch. She put a skeptical look on her face and waited for her boyfriend to state his purpose in interrupting her and Harry's conversation.

Ron looked at Hermione sadly, repentantly. " 'Mione? I-" He stopped a second, collecting himself. Then he pressed on. "Hermione, I'm sorry. I am such a prat. I didn't mean that stuff I said. I-I just want to go back to talking to you. Please forgive me?" He looked up at her hopefully.

Hermione's façade broke a minute after Ron had stopped talking. She broke down, tears streaming down her face. "I know you didn't mean it. But that doesn't mean I'm alright with you saying it in the first place." She poked him hard on the arm. "My moods, Ron? That was just cold!"

Ron stared down at his sneakers. "I know. And I am sorry. Real sorry. Can we be allowed to talk again?"

Hermione sighed, brushing away a couple tears. "I suppose so. But don't think this means I fully forgive you. Not yet."

Ron nodded. "Alright." He looked up at her nervously. "Can I give you a hug? I've missed it."

Hermione let out a choked laugh. "Come here."

Ron stood and moved to the couch. He wrapped his long arms around his girlfriend and squeezed. "I missed you," he whispered.

"I missed you, too," she said.

Harry made to get up and leave the two alone, but Ron pulled back from Hermione and grabbed his arm, stopping him. "Where are you going?"

"Well," said Harry quietly. "I was just going to leave." He looked at Ron, obviously holding back a smile. "I mean, since my hugs are no longer appreciated…"

Ron and Hermione laughed. "Get over here, you git," said Ron with a smile. The three best friends put their arms around each other and everyone squeezed tight.

Harry was the first to pull away. "Finally," he said. "You two are such pains when you're fighting!" The three friends laughed and settled into the couch all together.

They sat in silence for a while, staring into the flames, just happy that they were all together again. Then one of their usual conversations struck up, and it was just as it should have been before Ron and Hermione's fight.

~ " * " ~

Over the next few days, things were still strained between Ron and Hermione, but Harry knew that it would pass soon enough. They never really stayed mad at each other for too long. Of course, there was that once In third year… and that time in fourth year… But they weren't dating yet. So those don't count… Harry sighed. His two best friends were fabulous, and they had been there for him so many times in the past. But they're both nutters, he thought, smiling.

The three of them were now waiting to go out to Care of Magical Creatures. They had a half hour-long break, so they decided to hang out in the common room for a bit.

Harry flopped into a cushy armchair and threw his feet over the back of the chair. "So," he said as he flipped himself upside down. "What do you think of our lack of uniforms this week?" He tugged at the long-sleeved tee shirt he was wearing with his magically-shrunk-to-fit-right jeans.

Ron grinned, looking at his best friend's reddening face. "I think it's a nice change." He glanced down at his jeans and black Chudley Cannons sweatshirt. "Robes are too warm sometimes."

Hermione sat primly on a couch and crossed her legs at the knees. She was wearing an ankle-length gray skirt and a pretty blue V-neck, three-quarter-length-sleeved shirt. "I don't mind either way, really. Uniforms are something to keep all of us on the same level socially… We don't have to worry as much about how we look and-"

Harry waved a hand. "Oh, 'Mione. We've all heard all that balderdash a million times before. Stop spouting what all the study digests say and tell us what you really think." He crossed his arms, his face turning more pink.

Hermione glared at the upside-down Boy-Who-Lived. She was about to say something but she just stopped…

And snorted.

"What?" asked Harry innocently.

"You look really funny with your hair all sticking up, and your face turning purple," said Hermione through a giggle.

A smirking Ron nodded. "You do, mate."

Harry grinned. "Well, it's comfortable…" He started to slid his feet down off the back of the chair. "And the best part…" He threw his feet over his head and somersaulted out of the chair. He stood up unsteadily, the color rushing out of his face. "…is the standing up part. Quite a head rush."

The three Gryffindors laughed. Harry collapsed onto the table in front of Hermione and Ron's couch. He shook his head once and beamed at his best friends. "Whew! What fun." He glanced down at his watch. "Oh. Just about time."

The three friends stood up and stretched lazily. None of them seemed to feel like walking out to Hagrid's hut for class. It was a sentiment often felt by many Hogwarts students, as Hagrid's love of scary and dangerous magical creatures had not ebbed in the slightest over the years.

They were picking up their knapsacks when Ron started toward the dormitory stairs.

"Ron, where are you going?" called Harry. "We'll be late!"

Ron stopped at the bottom of the stairs and turned back to look at Harry and Hermione. "I forgot my Monster Book of Monsters in our room, Harry."

Hermione crossed her arms grumpily. "You know how I hate to be late, Ron. Hurry up!"

Ron started up the stairs. He glanced back at his classmates. "Go without me. I'll catch you up."

"You sure, Ron?" asked Harry, moving to the common room exit.

Ron nodded. "Yeah, go on. I'll catch you up."

Harry and Hermione called their goodbyes and stepped out of the portrait hole.

Meanwhile, Ron was upside-down in his trunk, going through the things stored there. "Where did they go?" He rifled through his belongings again, and finally found what he was looking for. "Ah ha!"

Ron righted himself and pulled out a small satchel. He got off his knees and dusted them off. He carried the satchel down to before the fireplace. As it was a relatively nice day out, there was no fire going. Makes things easy, thought Ron. No real fire to worry about, so the spell won't be messed up…

He knelt down on the hearth and dumped the contents of the satchel out on the stone. Several sprigs of small pink flowers on dark brown wood tumbled out, along with a clear crystal. He went to his bag and pulled out the folded piece of parchment he had the incantation written on and walked back to the hearth.

Ron unfolded the parchment and held it tightly, praying this spell would work. He looked over the list at the top of the page. "Right. Crystal. Got that. Lethe's Bramble. Got that. Fire. Easily created. Right then. I'm ready."

He picked out one of the bits of flower and twig, and set it inside the fireplace. He drew his wand and set the branch on fire. As he did this, he read the incantation off the parchment and set his wand quickly back into his pocket.

"For Harry and Hermione, this I char.

Let Lethe's Bramble do its chore.

Purge their minds of memories grim,

Of pains from recent slights and sins."

As Ron said the next bit of the incantation, he held the tip of the crystal in the fire. The crystal glowed for a second, and then reverted to its clear crystalline state.

"When the fire goes out,

When the crystal turns black,

The spell will be cast."

Ron pulled the crystal out of the fire and rolled it into his palm and recited the last spell words.

"Tabula Rasa

Tabula Rasa

Tabula Rasa."

Ron got up from his knees and dusted off the ashes. He folded up the parchment and stuffed into his bag. The crystal he put safely into the pocket of his robes. Then he hurried out of the empty common room, letting the small fire inside the fireplace work the magic he needed.

~*~TBC~*~