Disclaimer: Ahem... a poem
Once upon a time there was a girl
Who lived in a Harry Potter world
A world made by the talented JKR
And althought his girl tried so hard
She could never be the greatness as she
So please lawyers of the billionaire.. don't sue me.
I am just a fanfiction offer, I know not what I do
This is my disclaimer, I own nothing and that I know is true.
(A.N So long for the update! haha i thought I had already uploaded Chapter 6, bad me. But here it is in all its glory! Thanks to my beta and my loyal reviewees! :) Love you all. I think you'll like this chapter of nothingness... back to my original roots. It won't stay this way forever, so revel in its fluffiness.. of sorts at least. )
Chapter 6: Shower Scene
After the twins had dropped their bombshell at dinner, there was aneruption. Ron was still frowning at everyone's reactions. Mrs. Weasley had started to cry, fearing for her son's safety. Harry had began to shout about seeking revenge. Ginny had said she was goingto have to tell everyone at school to boycott Zonko's. But it wasHermione's comment that still stuck with him.
"I know a particular busy beetle that would love to get their handson this story." She said deep in thought as she fumbled with herstew. She looked very thoughtful, and Ron found himself wanting toprobe her brain... he shook his head at that thought.
Dinner had been over for quite some time. Mr. Weasley deciding he would have atalk with the Aurors to see what could be done about Zonko'shitmen. Ron found himself with Harry shut off in his room. Harry had gottena scroll of Hermione's from Fred and George and they were both frantically copying down her work. They had admitted to them that they had just hid the bag in the garage, and not send it off totheir brother. They offered to lend Harry one scroll a night. Ofcourse Harry had accepted, Ron laughed at that thought, driving a curious thought from Harry.
"What, mate?" He asked scribbling away.
"Harry, how are we going to pass this year, if we're already copyingoff Hermione and school hasn't even started yet?" Ron asked puttinghis quill down and picking up a wizarding magazine. Harry bit thefeather of his and took a moment to ponder that.
"Well we'll just have to keep copying her work then." He saidsmirking returning to his plagerism. Ron smiled at that and decided to leave well enough alone. Harry had been in better spirits since he first arrived, and that was good enough for Ron. He understood how hard it was for Harry to move on without Sirius there. And he had a suspicion that Harry was keeping something from him. Something that involved the night Sirius died... he had always shrugged it off, not wanting to broach the subject with Harry. But lately... he couldn't shrug it. He knew it was something important. He looked at Harry thoughtfully, trying to make up his mind. "I don't know what we'd do if Hermione weren't here to save our neck." Harry quipped still copying.
Ron just snorted at that thought. Hermione was another person that he couldn't shrug off his brain. Ever since she had arrived earlier that day, or rather ever since she had arrived into his life, he hadn't been able to get her out of his brain. She sure was beginning to make her presence there known. And in more than one way. Sure at first it was her nagging that constantly had his brain in a twist. But now it was everything. Making her happy, making her mad.. making sure she's alright.. everything. He was always thinking about her. He was thinking about Harry's safety as well, and he was worried about his wellbeing, but it was nothing compared to the intensity that was Hermione. Now it was driving him insane. Constantly battling with his own conscious and then having to battle her, it was becoming unbearable. And the way his thoughts were heading as of late were of things to blanch and blush about.
Like earlier, thinking about her body, and its curves and the way she wore her hair... He smacked his forehead as he realized he was still in the room with Harry. This was something else, he snorted to himself. He just couldn't shake her off his mind.
"Harry.. do you.." He started not sure what to say. Harry looked up, finished with his assignment, rolling the parchment up and shoving it in his own bag.
"Do I what?" He asked getting Pig to send Hermione's chment back down to Fred and George. They had decided to bunker down in their makeshift warehouse on the lawn. Worried about the remainder of their merchandise.
"I don't know.. nevermind." Ron said standing up and putting the magazine down on the floor. The lady on the cover pouted at being cast off so easily, the title read: "Remedies for the Remedial". Harry looked at Ron curiously, having noticed the slight twinge on his cheeks. "Ron, just tell me. Somethings been bothering you all day." Harry noted, reminding Ron of his return from Hermione's. That was something he had hoped to forget. He decided that was what was nagging at him in the end.
"How do we know this Donald, is some one that will treat her right?" He asked Harry turning to grab his miniature snitch from its casing on the dresser. He picked up his seeker action figure and returning to his bed, he threw both into the air. The seeker and snitch came to life as they frantically began to dance and weave around the room, the seeker trying desperately to catch the tiny ball. Harry watched this for a moment, his adrenaline rising at the memory of the chase, before he responded.
"Well if he's Hermione's boyfriend," That felt so weird to say, Harry thought to himself, "Then he must be an alright guy. I mean she wouldn't just pick an idiot." Ron gaped at Harry.
"Oh and Victor Krum wasn't an idiot?" He nearly shouted at Harry. Harry laughed at that.
"Yeah, but they weren't ever in a relationship together." Harry pointed out. Ron grunted in response.
"I don't want her to be hurt, thats all."
"What and you're saying I do?" Harry said mocking offense.
"No.. it's just that.. Hermione shouldn't have a boyfriend. I mean me and you haven't had girlfriends. It's gonna mess with our friendship." Ron finished.
"Ron, I was with Cho Chang last year." Harry pointed out, once again deflating Ron's defense.
"She doesn't count!" Ron retorted throwing his chest out and crossing his arms.
"Well I think she does. Just because you don't have any experience with girls, doesn't mean you need to be jealous of what little I have." Harry responded offended. Ron let out a gruff blast of air.
"You call that experience? She cried the first time you kissed her!" He said aggressively.
"Well at least I've been kissed!" Harry finished rising.
"Oh yeah?" Ron said rising as well getting close to Harry's face. Harry responded with a snort.
"Yeah." He shouted back.
"Oh yeah?" Ron responded again, his mind running in a loop.
"Ron? What are we fighting about?" Harry pointed out backing away from him. Ron, who's eyes were ablazed in a frenzy, looked taken aback at that thought. He visibly scratched his head as he sat back down on his bed.
"Bloody Hell if I know." He responded picking up his magazine once more. He looked up at Harry and smiled. Harry smiled back. And thus commenced the laughter.
"I think we need some quidditch." Harry said sadly cursing the night sky and the twins for setting up camp on the field.
"I think I need a shower." Ron said tossing the magazine at Harry and then exiting the room. Ron stumbled into the dark of the hallway. He noticed the light on in his sisters room and wondered what her and Hermione could be talking about. He shrugged it off and made his way to the bathroom. He grabbed a towel from the hall closet and his hand on the doorknob to the bathroom, entered it.
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Hermione's reaction to the twin's secret was one of pure disgust. How could Zonko be so envious of their success as to risk their lives. They could have been seriously hurt in the fires or worse.. Hermione just sat there thinking of the best solution to this disaster. Why hadn't this been the top story of the Daily Prophet? Of course they were still reporting all the nonsense that happened last year, as up to date news. Well the public should know about this atrocity.
"I know a particular busy beetle that would love to get their hands on this story." She blurted out, only Harry and Ron understanding her meaning. It was true though. Rita Skeeter, living richly off the story she wrote last year about Harry, was constantly owling her formore stories about Harry. This was just something she could feed back to her to help spread the word about what Zonko was doing. And Ginny's boycot could be mentioned. Whatever Zonko had hoped he would gain in doing so he was sadly mistaken. After dinner she retreated to Ginny's room, Ginny following closely, to write her letter to Rita.
"Who're you writing to?" Ginny asked sifting through her closet for her missing night gown. Hermione placed her letter in an envelope before addressing it to the reporter.
"Rita Skeeter." At that Ginny rose quickly in the closet, bumping her head on a lowshelf.
"Ow! Rita Skeeter, why for?" She asked rubbing her head.
"So she'll print a story about what's happening with your brother's business. The public has a write to know about this. And since the Daily Prophet isn't printing anything about it, I was seeing if she could." She put the letter aside, making a mental note to ask Ron to borrow Pig later.
"I don't know, Hermione. After everything she put you guys through over these last few years. You'd be better off asking Luna's father to print the story." She suggested returning to her closet. Hermione snorted at that.
"Yeah and he'd probably say is was the Crumple Nosed Snarcack instead of Zonko." She replied going to her trunk and sifting through its contents.
"It's Snorkack." Ginny replied subconciously pulling her night gown over her chemise and slipping out of her jeans and flinging herself on her bed. She grabbed a muggle magazine off her nightstand and began reading the latest in muggle fashion, making a mental wishlist of things she wanted the twins to buy her. Being the spoiled little sister that she was, she found now that they were rich, they wouldn't, rather couldn't, deny her anything. Hermione ignored her correction as she pulled her own nightgown from her trunk. She still felt grimy from traveling by floo earlier before.
"I'm gonna go take a shower, Gin. Be right back." Ginny just waved a hand in her direction absently as she read on. Hermione opened Ginny's door to the darkness of the hallway. She closed it behind her as she made her way down to the bathroom. She noticed that there was some raised voices coming from Ron's room, but she decided she'd had enough of the boys for one day and pushed on to the bathroom. She was still mentally reminding herself to not forget to ask to borrow Pig from Ron as she shut the door behind her.
She began to slip out of her clothes, letting them pool at her feet on the tile. She turned the shower on and pulling the curtain around the bathtub, began to cleanse her body of soot and dirt. She washed her bushy curls, now wavy and stuck to her back in its wet state, with her vanilla potion she had brought with her. She had made it herself to control the frizziness, her hair visibly more stable than recent years. She let herself become intoxicated in its rich fragrance. She sat under the pelting stream of water, thinking absently of fleeting thoughts. One thought stuck in her head particularly well though... Ron's behavior earlier with Donald. She frowned at that closing her eyes and washing her body with soap.
What was his problem? Why couldn't she just have a normal relationship with whomever she pleased, without his interference? She smiled a little at that thought. Well at least he cared enough about her to behave so insanely. She frowned suddenly after that thought. He didn't care about her like that, so it wasn't quite the same thing. Or was it? She was so confused? She gathered as much from his reaction that he was necessarily confused as well, judging by her confrontations with him as of late. Distracted and confused.
She shook her head as she turned the water off. Since when did she think about Ron.. especially in the shower.. thinking about Ron naked in the shower. Ron naked? She blushed to herself. She was going insane. She even smiled at the thought before giggling to herself.
She moved to exit the tub, raising one leg at the brim, when she heard the door opening. She gasped suddenly, forgetting her precarious position, slipping forward a little bit.
Ron just entered the bathroom in a flurry. He looked up just in time to see Hermione slip and fall out of the shower and into the show curtain. It tangled around her body before she plummeted to the floor, none to gracefully. He dove to catch her and she just ended up falling on his chest.
They were both blushing furiously. They didn't speak for a moment. Hermione overcome with embarassment. Ron reveling in the sight he had just born witness to. He had seen his first naked female. Sure he couldn't make anything out, as she was falling, but it was the thought that count. The curtain now tangled up, covering her fairly well, her legs sticking out in oddangles, was pooling with water and drenching fully clothed Ron.
"Er.. Ron.. Help?" She hinted her blush overtaking her face. Ron shook his head and slid out from beneath her. He began to try to untangle her, but she clung to the curtain very possesively and shrieked at him.
"No Ron! Don't Help! Go Get Help!" She said to him, her entire body carrying the blush. She couldn't be more mortified. She wasn't sure how much Ron had seen, but any of her was too much. Especially after the thoughts she had just been having. She was completely mortified.
"Oh.. right." Ron said distractively. He ran from the bathroom and got Ginny. He didn't return with her, instead returning to his room and lying on his bed, feigning exhaustion and remaining there for the remainder of the night.
Ginny, however, after seeing Hermione's state, would not give her the satisfaction of allowing her to crawl into a hole and die.