Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling.
A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. I really really really appreciate them. I decided to go ahead and post this chapter as soon as possible. Chapter Six was more of a filler chapter and I wanted to get a good chapter up. I didn't feel like a lot happened in the last chapter. :) Here we go.
A Series of Discoveries
Later that evening, Ginny and I were lying in our beds as we waited for midnight to roll around. We only had thirty-five minutes to go until it was time to head out but the minutes were passing by so slow that it felt more like thirty-five hours. Harry had explained to us that he had overheard Mr. and Mrs. Weasley talking about a secret meeting the Order was having this very evening. Harry seemed to think that the members were going to be discussing their plan to defeat Voldemort and that it would be the perfect opportunity to find out what they were up to. He wouldn't tell us how we were going to be able to over hear them. All he would say was that the plan was fool proof and 'to trust him'.
Harry was one of my dearest friends in the whole world and I loved him very much but I didn't trust him as far as I could throw him. The boy had a knack for getting into dangerous situations and sometimes I thought that maybe he liked it that way. The first five years of my time at Hogwarts had been riddled with dangerous adventures and death defying stunts. Last year had been the only year that one of us hadn't ended up in the hospital wing due to one of Harry's 'fool proof ideas'. The death of his godfather Sirius had had caused Harry to be very depressed during his sixth year but he had gotten over it slowly. His blossoming relationship with Ginny had taken its toll and now he seemed back to normal and back to his old tricks. All I knew was that Ginny, Ron, Harry, and I were all going to meet out in the hallway at ten till midnight. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley always checked in on us at 11:30 to make sure we were asleep and tonight was no different. Right on time the door slowly creaked open and I saw, through my slightly cracked eyelids, Mrs. Weasley pop her head around the door. My muscles stiffened with fear when she watched us a little longer than usual but I relaxed as I heard the tell-tale squeak of the door closing. I detected the floorboards groan as she walked away and I knew we were safe. Looking at the time again, I saw that we only had a little over a quarter of an hour before Ginny and I had to leave. Ron had been avoiding me since the episode this morning like I had the Bubonic Plague and I was beginning to wonder if he might be upset with me. It was just so awkward because every time I tried to talk to him he would ignore me. He hadn't been showing any signs of interest lately and it was driving me up a wall. Maybe I was just being a little over sensitive because of the situation I was in. The only solution was to try and figure out how he was feeling towards me. The only way to achieve that would be to flirt with him and see how he responded. Rolling my eyes, I admitted to myself that I would need every ounce of Gryffindor courage I could scrape up if I was going to purposely flirt with Ron. Perhaps this evening would be the perfect chance to put my plan into action.
All of a sudden Ginny's voice floated through the darkness and I heard her say, "It's time Hermione." I flipped off my covers, stuffed my pillow under the blanket just in case, and wrapped my pink cotton robe more tightly around me. I followed Ginny out into the hallway and we both huddled together right outside our door. Shadows flickered across the walls and I shivered involuntarily. The hallway was actually quite warm but there was a sense of unease that seemed to leak from the peeling walls. Suddenly a door to the right of us screeched open and two masculine figures emerged from the dark room. Despite the anxiety of the situation my heart skipped a beat at the sight of Ron in his white t-shirt and plaid pajama bottoms. His snug t-shirt gave me a teasing glimpse of his muscular torso and bulging biceps. I must have been staring without realizing it because when I came back to myself everyone had his or her eyes trained on me. Harry and Ginny, who were wrapped in each other's arms, grinned knowingly at me but Ron just averted his gaze to the wall behind me.
After a moment Harry said, "Well I had better tell you all where we're going. Mad Eye Moody let slip to me that there was a hidden doorway in this hallway that leads into a tunnel. I followed it and it leads to a small chamber right above the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley was in the kitchen when I crawled into the space and I could hear every word she said. It's the perfect place to hide while we listen in on the meeting. So follow me." With that Harry headed down the hall for a short distance and then stopped in front of an unassuming space of wall. Then he took out the wand he had in his robe pocket and ran it over a common brown stain on the wallpaper. The brown spot gleamed bright red for a moment and then seemed to cool to a buttery yellow. I heard a click as if something unlocked and a tiny piece of the wall swung open. A dark tunnel that seemed to be lined with stone came into view and Harry started to climb up into it. Ginny followed him in and then Ron, whose shoulders were almost too broad to fit, struggled into the hole. Glancing nervously over my shoulder, I grasped the edge of the tunnel and slid face first into it. There wasn't much room to move but I managed to crawl along with my stomach barely skimming the slimy bottom of the passage. As I looked up I noticed that I had a really good view of Ron's bottom from where I was. His pajama pants framed his butt perfectly and I couldn't help but stare open mouthed. Harry must have stopped ahead of me because before I could react Ron had stopped crawling and I collided headfirst with his firm backside. Startled, Ron jumped a little and knocked his head hard up against the top of the crawl space.
I heard him whisper in a pained voice, "Hermione what the bloody hell are you doing back there?
Thanking the lords that he couldn't see my blushing cheeks, I whispered back, "I'm sorry Ron...I was distracted...and I ran into your butt...sorry. It's very...nice." Trying hard not to laugh at the absurdity of the situation, I dragged my attention back to crawling as Ron started to inch forward again.
All of a sudden I heard Harry say in a loud whisper "The tunnel drops off sharply here as it goes into the chamber. I'll help Ginny down and Ron I need you to help Hermione down. Be as quiet as possible." I heard a scraping noise and then I perceived Ginny giggle something that sounded quite a bit like "Harry that's not my arm...no ...that's definitely not my arm Harry."
When Harry uttered a very insincere "oops my mistake" I heard Ron growl a very distinct "move it along Potter." Once Harry had stopped trying to grope Ginny I saw Ron move forward some more and then suddenly he was gone. I crawled to the edge of the tunnel and looked down into pitch-blackness. Suddenly two large hands wrapped around my waist and pulled me down into the darkness. My feet hit the ground before I was ready and I stumbled. With in a second Ron's warm arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me up against him. I melted into his embrace and for a moment our bodies seemed to fit together perfectly. Then Ron went all stiff and mumbled in a gruff voice, "Watch your step." Surprised at his cold tone, I let him lead me in the dark over to where Harry and Ginny were settled on the floor. I could barely see Harry as he put a finger up to his lips to tell us to be quiet and motioned for us to listen.
I could hear Mrs. Weasley talking and it took me a minute to figure out she was speaking of me. "I don't care what it takes! I don't want anything to happen to Hermione. She's like a second daughter to me and she's Ginny's best friend. I don't think Ron would know what to do with himself if something were to happen to her. You know he's had a cru..."
Before she could finish her sentence Dumbledore interrupted her by saying, "Hermione means a great deal to all of us Molly and we won't let anything happen to her. Besides I don't think Hermione needs us watching over her. Her friends seem to be doing a fine job of it. I think the focus of this meeting should be on how we are going to defeat Voldemort and what our resources are."
I could hear a murmur of approval and then Dumbledore continued to say, "We are all aware that Severus could not be with us this evening due to the fact that he is still working on the potion. He has told me that the potion is coming along nicely but that it won't be ready until early or late March." A startled gasp could be heard momentarily before Dumbledore, in a reassuring voice, said, "Now now. Let's all calm down. That's as early as we're going to get the potion and we should be thankful that we are getting it at all. The ingredients for the Combibo Cognatus Potion are very hard to come by and we are still lacking the main ingredient. It takes many months to brew, as you are all aware. So now that you are all up to date on that does anyone have any questions? No? All right then let's move on. I have some wonderful news relating to our lack of spies in Voldemort's inner circle. It seems that one of my students was recently initiated as a Deatheater and he claims to not have been a willing participant. He has agreed to become a spy for the Order at great personal risk. Draco Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy's son, has decided to join together with us and I, for one, am very excited to have him on our side. You can gripe all you want but you will all have to trust me on this. With that said I think we should all call it an evening. No need to drag this meeting on longer than necessary." The noise of chairs being pushed back from the table could be heard as Dumbledore finished his speech.
I felt someone pat me on the arm and, glancing over, I could barely make out Ron in the darkness. He bent close and I could feel his breath tickle my neck as he whispered, "You'll have to go first. I'll boost you up. Just keep on going as soon as you get up there." Turning around I made my way over to the opening for the tunnel and grasped the rough opening with my hands. I pulled with my arms while Ron heaved me up and into the passageway. I immediately started to crawl but all I could think about was what I had just heard. How could Dumbledore trust Malfoy? I wouldn't believe Malfoy had changed until I saw it with my own eyes. Besides that, I had heard of the potion Dumbledore had mentioned and I couldn't wait to research it in the Hogwart's library.
I made it to the end of the crawl space and I slithered out onto the floor below me. Ron, Ginny, and Harry came out next and we all just looked at each other for a few minutes. Then we heard voices and footsteps on the stairwell and we quickly dispersed. Without changing out of our dirt-covered pajamas, Ginny and I crawled back into our twin beds just in time. I heard the door open slightly and I could sense Mrs. Weasley walk into the room. I had my eyes tightly shuttered and I tried to look as relaxed as possible. After standing there for a moment, Mrs. Weasley sighed quietly to herself and slipped from the bedroom. The four of us had discovered a lot this evening but we weren't much closer to figuring out the Order's plan. Maybe after I researched the potion we would have a better idea of how it was going to be used. Well Harry's plan had actually worked this time and no one had gotten hurt. Well...that is if you didn't count Ron's butt injury. I smirked to myself as I thought that I wouldn't mind running into Ron's excellent behind more often. I hadn't gotten a chance to put my flirting plan into effect but running into his butt might have been a good icebreaker. You could never tell what would work with boys. Pulling the warm quilt more tightly around me, I slipped off to sleep hoping that Ron would haunt my dreams.
A/N: Okay I admit it. The phrase "muscular torso and bulging biceps" is really corny but I'm a corny loser most of the time. The name of the potion is made up of a couple Latin words. I'll explain in the story what they mean. I got the meanings off some web site and I don't know Latin so hopefully they're right. Also I'm hoping that in the next chapter I will have them heading off to Hogwarts. I'm going on a camping trip this weekend so I might not get another chapter posted for a few days. So in case you start to wonder no I haven't stopped writing the story. If I could come back to lots of reviews that would be nice (hint hint). I really love getting reviews. Until then!
Lots of Love - Miss Dissendium
P.S. I want to give a shout out to my best friend Madame Incendio who is also a corny loser. We go to school together and she's a totally awesome writer.
A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. I really really really appreciate them. I decided to go ahead and post this chapter as soon as possible. Chapter Six was more of a filler chapter and I wanted to get a good chapter up. I didn't feel like a lot happened in the last chapter. :) Here we go.
A Series of Discoveries
Later that evening, Ginny and I were lying in our beds as we waited for midnight to roll around. We only had thirty-five minutes to go until it was time to head out but the minutes were passing by so slow that it felt more like thirty-five hours. Harry had explained to us that he had overheard Mr. and Mrs. Weasley talking about a secret meeting the Order was having this very evening. Harry seemed to think that the members were going to be discussing their plan to defeat Voldemort and that it would be the perfect opportunity to find out what they were up to. He wouldn't tell us how we were going to be able to over hear them. All he would say was that the plan was fool proof and 'to trust him'.
Harry was one of my dearest friends in the whole world and I loved him very much but I didn't trust him as far as I could throw him. The boy had a knack for getting into dangerous situations and sometimes I thought that maybe he liked it that way. The first five years of my time at Hogwarts had been riddled with dangerous adventures and death defying stunts. Last year had been the only year that one of us hadn't ended up in the hospital wing due to one of Harry's 'fool proof ideas'. The death of his godfather Sirius had had caused Harry to be very depressed during his sixth year but he had gotten over it slowly. His blossoming relationship with Ginny had taken its toll and now he seemed back to normal and back to his old tricks. All I knew was that Ginny, Ron, Harry, and I were all going to meet out in the hallway at ten till midnight. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley always checked in on us at 11:30 to make sure we were asleep and tonight was no different. Right on time the door slowly creaked open and I saw, through my slightly cracked eyelids, Mrs. Weasley pop her head around the door. My muscles stiffened with fear when she watched us a little longer than usual but I relaxed as I heard the tell-tale squeak of the door closing. I detected the floorboards groan as she walked away and I knew we were safe. Looking at the time again, I saw that we only had a little over a quarter of an hour before Ginny and I had to leave. Ron had been avoiding me since the episode this morning like I had the Bubonic Plague and I was beginning to wonder if he might be upset with me. It was just so awkward because every time I tried to talk to him he would ignore me. He hadn't been showing any signs of interest lately and it was driving me up a wall. Maybe I was just being a little over sensitive because of the situation I was in. The only solution was to try and figure out how he was feeling towards me. The only way to achieve that would be to flirt with him and see how he responded. Rolling my eyes, I admitted to myself that I would need every ounce of Gryffindor courage I could scrape up if I was going to purposely flirt with Ron. Perhaps this evening would be the perfect chance to put my plan into action.
All of a sudden Ginny's voice floated through the darkness and I heard her say, "It's time Hermione." I flipped off my covers, stuffed my pillow under the blanket just in case, and wrapped my pink cotton robe more tightly around me. I followed Ginny out into the hallway and we both huddled together right outside our door. Shadows flickered across the walls and I shivered involuntarily. The hallway was actually quite warm but there was a sense of unease that seemed to leak from the peeling walls. Suddenly a door to the right of us screeched open and two masculine figures emerged from the dark room. Despite the anxiety of the situation my heart skipped a beat at the sight of Ron in his white t-shirt and plaid pajama bottoms. His snug t-shirt gave me a teasing glimpse of his muscular torso and bulging biceps. I must have been staring without realizing it because when I came back to myself everyone had his or her eyes trained on me. Harry and Ginny, who were wrapped in each other's arms, grinned knowingly at me but Ron just averted his gaze to the wall behind me.
After a moment Harry said, "Well I had better tell you all where we're going. Mad Eye Moody let slip to me that there was a hidden doorway in this hallway that leads into a tunnel. I followed it and it leads to a small chamber right above the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley was in the kitchen when I crawled into the space and I could hear every word she said. It's the perfect place to hide while we listen in on the meeting. So follow me." With that Harry headed down the hall for a short distance and then stopped in front of an unassuming space of wall. Then he took out the wand he had in his robe pocket and ran it over a common brown stain on the wallpaper. The brown spot gleamed bright red for a moment and then seemed to cool to a buttery yellow. I heard a click as if something unlocked and a tiny piece of the wall swung open. A dark tunnel that seemed to be lined with stone came into view and Harry started to climb up into it. Ginny followed him in and then Ron, whose shoulders were almost too broad to fit, struggled into the hole. Glancing nervously over my shoulder, I grasped the edge of the tunnel and slid face first into it. There wasn't much room to move but I managed to crawl along with my stomach barely skimming the slimy bottom of the passage. As I looked up I noticed that I had a really good view of Ron's bottom from where I was. His pajama pants framed his butt perfectly and I couldn't help but stare open mouthed. Harry must have stopped ahead of me because before I could react Ron had stopped crawling and I collided headfirst with his firm backside. Startled, Ron jumped a little and knocked his head hard up against the top of the crawl space.
I heard him whisper in a pained voice, "Hermione what the bloody hell are you doing back there?
Thanking the lords that he couldn't see my blushing cheeks, I whispered back, "I'm sorry Ron...I was distracted...and I ran into your butt...sorry. It's very...nice." Trying hard not to laugh at the absurdity of the situation, I dragged my attention back to crawling as Ron started to inch forward again.
All of a sudden I heard Harry say in a loud whisper "The tunnel drops off sharply here as it goes into the chamber. I'll help Ginny down and Ron I need you to help Hermione down. Be as quiet as possible." I heard a scraping noise and then I perceived Ginny giggle something that sounded quite a bit like "Harry that's not my arm...no ...that's definitely not my arm Harry."
When Harry uttered a very insincere "oops my mistake" I heard Ron growl a very distinct "move it along Potter." Once Harry had stopped trying to grope Ginny I saw Ron move forward some more and then suddenly he was gone. I crawled to the edge of the tunnel and looked down into pitch-blackness. Suddenly two large hands wrapped around my waist and pulled me down into the darkness. My feet hit the ground before I was ready and I stumbled. With in a second Ron's warm arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me up against him. I melted into his embrace and for a moment our bodies seemed to fit together perfectly. Then Ron went all stiff and mumbled in a gruff voice, "Watch your step." Surprised at his cold tone, I let him lead me in the dark over to where Harry and Ginny were settled on the floor. I could barely see Harry as he put a finger up to his lips to tell us to be quiet and motioned for us to listen.
I could hear Mrs. Weasley talking and it took me a minute to figure out she was speaking of me. "I don't care what it takes! I don't want anything to happen to Hermione. She's like a second daughter to me and she's Ginny's best friend. I don't think Ron would know what to do with himself if something were to happen to her. You know he's had a cru..."
Before she could finish her sentence Dumbledore interrupted her by saying, "Hermione means a great deal to all of us Molly and we won't let anything happen to her. Besides I don't think Hermione needs us watching over her. Her friends seem to be doing a fine job of it. I think the focus of this meeting should be on how we are going to defeat Voldemort and what our resources are."
I could hear a murmur of approval and then Dumbledore continued to say, "We are all aware that Severus could not be with us this evening due to the fact that he is still working on the potion. He has told me that the potion is coming along nicely but that it won't be ready until early or late March." A startled gasp could be heard momentarily before Dumbledore, in a reassuring voice, said, "Now now. Let's all calm down. That's as early as we're going to get the potion and we should be thankful that we are getting it at all. The ingredients for the Combibo Cognatus Potion are very hard to come by and we are still lacking the main ingredient. It takes many months to brew, as you are all aware. So now that you are all up to date on that does anyone have any questions? No? All right then let's move on. I have some wonderful news relating to our lack of spies in Voldemort's inner circle. It seems that one of my students was recently initiated as a Deatheater and he claims to not have been a willing participant. He has agreed to become a spy for the Order at great personal risk. Draco Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy's son, has decided to join together with us and I, for one, am very excited to have him on our side. You can gripe all you want but you will all have to trust me on this. With that said I think we should all call it an evening. No need to drag this meeting on longer than necessary." The noise of chairs being pushed back from the table could be heard as Dumbledore finished his speech.
I felt someone pat me on the arm and, glancing over, I could barely make out Ron in the darkness. He bent close and I could feel his breath tickle my neck as he whispered, "You'll have to go first. I'll boost you up. Just keep on going as soon as you get up there." Turning around I made my way over to the opening for the tunnel and grasped the rough opening with my hands. I pulled with my arms while Ron heaved me up and into the passageway. I immediately started to crawl but all I could think about was what I had just heard. How could Dumbledore trust Malfoy? I wouldn't believe Malfoy had changed until I saw it with my own eyes. Besides that, I had heard of the potion Dumbledore had mentioned and I couldn't wait to research it in the Hogwart's library.
I made it to the end of the crawl space and I slithered out onto the floor below me. Ron, Ginny, and Harry came out next and we all just looked at each other for a few minutes. Then we heard voices and footsteps on the stairwell and we quickly dispersed. Without changing out of our dirt-covered pajamas, Ginny and I crawled back into our twin beds just in time. I heard the door open slightly and I could sense Mrs. Weasley walk into the room. I had my eyes tightly shuttered and I tried to look as relaxed as possible. After standing there for a moment, Mrs. Weasley sighed quietly to herself and slipped from the bedroom. The four of us had discovered a lot this evening but we weren't much closer to figuring out the Order's plan. Maybe after I researched the potion we would have a better idea of how it was going to be used. Well Harry's plan had actually worked this time and no one had gotten hurt. Well...that is if you didn't count Ron's butt injury. I smirked to myself as I thought that I wouldn't mind running into Ron's excellent behind more often. I hadn't gotten a chance to put my flirting plan into effect but running into his butt might have been a good icebreaker. You could never tell what would work with boys. Pulling the warm quilt more tightly around me, I slipped off to sleep hoping that Ron would haunt my dreams.
A/N: Okay I admit it. The phrase "muscular torso and bulging biceps" is really corny but I'm a corny loser most of the time. The name of the potion is made up of a couple Latin words. I'll explain in the story what they mean. I got the meanings off some web site and I don't know Latin so hopefully they're right. Also I'm hoping that in the next chapter I will have them heading off to Hogwarts. I'm going on a camping trip this weekend so I might not get another chapter posted for a few days. So in case you start to wonder no I haven't stopped writing the story. If I could come back to lots of reviews that would be nice (hint hint). I really love getting reviews. Until then!
Lots of Love - Miss Dissendium
P.S. I want to give a shout out to my best friend Madame Incendio who is also a corny loser. We go to school together and she's a totally awesome writer.
