Name of the Game
Chapter 03: The Shadows Will Haunt You
By TK's Angel
**
"Run that by me again please?"
"I told Mickey he had to bunk with Damian." Ron was not amused by the grin Coach Frost held in his face, his statement appeared to be well thought out, too well actually. However, Frost was beginning to see the humour in this predicament and tried to suppress a chuckle. "I'm sure you two crazy kids will be fine."
"Why would you do something like that?" Ron sensed the smile on his face.
"You forget I thought your friend here was male, and since "he" was here to learn all about Quidditch I just assumed it would be best is "he" got a true hands on, first person experience."
Darn, he actually had a reasonable excuse for it too. Ron was could be persuaded to admit that he was even the slightest overjoyed to have Hermione around but sharing a room with her was far beyond what he had in mind.
"What do you mean by first person experience?" She had been there for less than a day and she had already found herself a five week prison sentence in Ron's room.
Coach Frost was somewhat beaming. "For the next five weeks you're going to be a Quidditch player, with Mr. Weasley being your personal trainer."
It had been one of the very few times when Hermione Granger was rendered speechless. "Did Hamilton put you up to this?" The prison she found herself facing had now become more resembling to a torture chamber.
"No, came up with it all by myself. You two will eat, sleep, train and be with each other as much as it is humanly possible."
Ron's senses shot open. "Sleep with each other!"
The Coach laughed. "Much to your great disappointment, it will be in separate beds Ron." His laughter only intensified when he noticed Ron's ears go pink, he knew that the coach meant sleeping in the same room. "I think I can arrange one of the guys to put in a screen in the middle of the room." Ron meekly smiled despite his embarrassment, but the little joke didn't go well with him; what was with the coach and all of his newfound humour?
Hermione was still trying to pick up on all the "with each other" things he mentioned. "Fair enough, Mr. Frost." She couldn't help but tease an already humiliated Ron. "But if he as much as touches me…" she stopped to capture Ron's reaction at her empty threat. It was not what she expected.
"And why would I do something as stupid as that?" As soon as the words left his mouth he wished he had swallowed them. There was a certain look he couldn't quite pinpoint. Anger, annoyance… hurt maybe? His assumptions weren't far from fact since it was a small mixture of all three.
"For your information I was only joking around. Really Ron, sometimes you are so full of yourself." They had found themselves in square one all over again. Oh boy, these were certainly going to be the longest weeks of their lives.
Frost however was still in the middle of all the crossfire. "Jeez, you two bicker like schoolgirls. You wouldn't happen to know each other, would you?" Ron nodded his head in a desperate manner. "Things just keep getting better don't they?" Once again he laughed at them. "Wait till the boys hear about this." That would just be icing on the cake now wouldn't it?
Ron had about enough as he could take. "Just tell me where her luggage is and we'll be on our way." He somehow manoeuvred to the door with Hermione close by.
"Don't worry about it. It's all in your room." Ron allowed her to go out first, thankfully she didn't hear the Frost's remark. "Enjoy the honeymoon Mr. and Mrs. Weasley!"
Hermione waited outside and stood to Ron's side, he sighed and began to tread alongside her. "I thought you said we'd get along."
"I'm sorry about back there, you know I…"
He wasn't allowed to finish "No, no, I meant Mr. Frost and myself"
"Oh" Ron felt sympathetic for her for a moment, he was used to all of this bashing but Hermione wasn't. "Look, he's just being a prick, that's all. Some of the guys have a weird and rude sense of humour, you learn to get by." He would just a close eye around her from now on.
"That's fine with me," she diverted the subject altogether. " I've been meaning to ask you something" His nerves shot up like a rocket, he was intrigued by whatever question she might ask. " Why are the office and the dorms are all in the same place? I would think you guys would have a bit more freedom than that." That wasn't the sort of question he had expected her to ask, but he was relieved by that somehow.
Hermione was always fighting for people's (or house elves') rights so this wasn't an odd query coming from her. "We've got a choice about that. Some of the younger and single guys stay in the dorms. Everything is right where you need it." Not to mention all the adoring fans who piled up outside.
Young and single, very dangerous combinations for a Weasley. "What made you decide to stay in the dorms?"
"I don't know really. Most of the guys wanted to stay and, overall, everything was just easier," he interrupted himself when they neared an open door. "My dormitory is right here, the doors are usually unlocked but rarely open so don't worry too much. Mickey probably left it open when he moved out."
They heard a voice from inside. "Well, it's about time you got here."
"Anita, where in the world have you been all this time?"
"Believe me. I've flipped about the room thing. It may cost a bit somewhat more than we had planned…. but we would keep you in a hotel."
Hermione did not want to appear so conceited, she had argued with herself about this choice already. "Really, I don't mind. Besides, the Coach wants me to stick with a program." Anita was bewildered, this wasn't the friend she knew. "Ron and I go a while back. There's really absolutely no problem with it," She lied about the last part but frantic times called for frantic solutions. Anita would have to leave soon to board her flight back home and she needed to make everything seem perfect.
Anita looked sceptical but just decided to take her word for it. "That's fine by me." She pulled out a stuffed cat out a large shopping bag. "But there's someone else who I'm not so sure about." She handed her the oversized gift. "Eric wanted you it have it, you know, so you wouldn't miss him too much." She finished with a tiny wink.
Hermione caught Ron's eyes in that instant. What the hell was she saying? Anita didn't even like Eric. "I'll be sure to thank him." She averted Ron's gaze afterward and simply followed her hopefully drunk friend out the door.
"Listen to me, I'll leave right away, but just if you tell me you'll be alright."
Hermione appreciated her honest concern. "For the millionth time, I'm going to be just fine." She nudged her out the door. "Go on. I'll miss you Nita." She was already past the stairs. "Have s safe flight!" Finally, she was gone. Hermione felt a great pang of overwhelming reassurance sweep her, there was no running away from things now, but it was different. She was ready this time.
"So, who's this Eric person?" She knew it had been too good to be true.
"A friend back home." That was it. She had to keep such answers short and enigmatic. It wasn't as if she was lying, no, it was more like a detour to the truth. It worked with Anita at least.
"A friend who gives you large plush toys with hearts all over it. Come on, you can do better than that."
"Can't I have a friend who worries about my well being? It's nothing Ron. Eric is just trying to make e feel better about loosing Crookshanks." Fine, so maybe it wasn't the whole truth but she did mean it when she mentioned her cat.
"That thing died?"
Technically, it had already been three years since he passed away. "Yes, he did."
"I thought he was immortal!"
"What a horrible thing to say! You know how much he meant to me. Poor old thing just drifted off while he was sleeping." Hermione herself had judged her diversion techniques as excellent… they were already miles away from talks about "friends" back home.
"I'm truly sorry about that, you know he and I did have our good moments now and then." In fact, he did like the fur-ball a bit. "But enough of that, you probably don't want to think about it for now."
"Thank you, Ron." He had been really understanding. "Hey, could you help me get hold of a telephone. I told my parents I'd call them when I arrived."
"You still have to call your Mum and Dad?"
"No, but they feel better if I do." They had always been very mindful of their little girl, so much that they had actually moved to the United States a few years after her. "You know my parents and how touchy they get when I'm too far away" Like on the other side of the world.
"Why don't you just owl them, it would be so much simpler that way we'd have to go out a few block to get a phone thingy."
"I don't mind a small walk. And there is no way I'm making an owl go all the way to the States just to say hello to my parents. I promise, it'll only be a short call."
Hermione was giving him that look. That pleading look he couldn't resist, what a poor fool he was. "Why do I let you talk me into these things?" Maybe because she was so painfully beautiful. "I just got to say, all I ask that you shoot me out of my misery if the call extends four hours."
"As always Ron, your nous of comedy just exuberates with wit." She also had her own method of counter attack, big words. Ron couldn't notice the small snickers that escaped her mouth.
"Oh whatever." He was down, but not defeated. "Let's go, we barely made it in the room and you're already doing jumps over your muggleness." He chuckled when she stuck her tongue out at him. "Talking on phones and taking planes." He seemed to taunt her innocently too. Honestly, 7 years at Hogwarts, and scoring on the top of every single N.E.W.T and O.W.L known to Wizard kind…and she was still true to her nature, it was quite impressive. "Textbooks can't help you now…."
"I'll tell you one thing Ron Weasley, its moments such as this one I wish I would have packed something larger in with me"
"What for?"
"To stuff you with it." She cocked her head to the side only to highlight her menace.
This was too easy. "Well, there's always your big, fluffy, plush cat" And a really ugly thing it was too, he'd be doing her a favour by knocking the padding out of it. He couldn't place his fingers on it, but something about that damn cat gave him the chills.
"You would know better than to give me any ideas. I don't mind putting it to good use. And what an excellent use it would be for: knocking some logic into that skull of yours"
He couldn't help a minor grin that began to form itself on his face "Touché"
"Just hold on a second while I get my calling card." The expression he held said it all. "It's this article you purchase from a telephone company. It brings a unique numerical code and you use at as a sort of password; in lesser words the calls you make directly come out less expensive, that's all" She was far too fatigued for a lengthy explanation, and her point had been reached just the same.
"I'll just go ahead and believe you, how's that?"
**
"Haven't you found it yet?" It was unbelievable how a whole hour of searching for such a little thing could turn up nothing. He decided to just take things on his own hands. "Can't we just buy one of those buggers?"
"I suppose there's nothing else we can do"
Ron could use some fresh air. He got to the door and noticed something oddly peculiar when he tried to turn the knob. He tried to turn it but he encountered some resistance on its behalf. He knew that she hadn't locked it, so what was going on? "Hermione" He called to her "Have any idea why the door won't open?"
-END CHAPTER 3-
Why won't it open, and why didn't he just use a spell?? Well kiddies, we'll see that in the next chapter!
TBC…..