Good day to you all! Here is the second last (and yes that's for sure!) installment of 'Snowball'. I hope you enjoy the chapter, and look forward to more R/H fics from me in the near future!
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. nuff said.
On With the Story!
Chapter 3 – Confessions.
Sleep did not come easy that night for Hermione. Her mind was too jumbled with thoughts of Ron, and how they'd almost shared an intimate moment. Everytime she closed her eyes, she saw him standing so close to her, she could feel his warm breath on her face . . . This is driving me crazy! Hermione thought, after seeing that it was well after 2am. Maybe I'll go sit by the fire.
Deciding that this was the best plan, Hermione got up, pulled on her dressrobe, and went quietly down the long hallway, down the stairs, and into the common room. She expected it to be completely empty, given the hour of night, but what she found was someone sitting on the couch, staring into the fire. Someone with messy jet black hair, and green eyes . . .
"Harry!" Hermione said in surprise. "What are you doing down here?"
Harry whirled around to face Hermione, looking startled.
"Couldn't sleep." he admitted.
"Oh?"
This wouldn't have been unusual a few years ago when Voldemort was still around, but Harry had done his deed, and fulfilled the prophecy, and everything was normal again . . . well as normal as it could be anyways. Harry hadn't had trouble sleeping for a while now, so his being up was actually quite uncommon these days.
"Yeah, I've been thinking about something." for the first time in a long time, Hermione saw Harry look awkward.
"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked politely, knowing what the answer would be but deciding to try anyways.
Surprisingly Harry grinned at her.
"Good lord Hermione yes!"
"Ok then!" she said with just as much enthusiasm, and she sat down on the couch next to him.
Harry was looking awkward again.
"This is something I've had trouble with in the past, and I figured that since you're a girl, you'd be able to help me . . . "
"What is it?"
Harry looked nervous, but he blurted out. "Hermione, I want to ask Ginny out."
Hermione smiled at him.
"That's wonderful news."
Harry stared at her as if she were crazy.
"It's not wonderful Hermione! Ginny doesn't fancy me like she used to, and what about Ron?"
Her smile faded somewhat, but was back again in full force as her clever brain put her at ease.
"Well you'll never know if Ginny still likes you or not if you don't ask her, and as for Ron . . . " she knew she was now blushing, but didn't care. "I'll handle him."
"Hermione." Harry's tone was amused. "I do believe you're blushing."
Hermione went even redder, and Harry chuckled.
"Guess I'm not the only one being kept up by thoughts of the red-headed clan am I?"
Hermione sighed.
"Am I that obvious?" she asked.
"Only to everyone except Ron!" Harry said gleefully.
"Oh that's reassuring." Hermione said sarcastically.
"Well trust me when I say this; Talk to him. Let him know how you feel, because he's not going to know otherwise, unless Ginny and I happen to get sick of your constant bickering, and decide to set you up . . . " He grinned mischievously.
"You wouldn't dare!"
"Oh yeah? Want to make a bet on that?" At first Hermione thought he was joking, but saw the look on his face.
"I don't bet Harry." she said simply.
"Well then, come tomorrow morning, you and Ron shall admit your feelings for each other in front of the whole school at breakfast."
"HARRY POTTER!" Hermione shouted. "You'd better not do that, because I am head girl, and I can put you in detention for that."
"But you wouldn't would you? Because you'd be too busy thanking me, and having a snogging session with Ron."
"Harry!" Hermione snatched up one of the pillows on the couches and threw it at him. He ducked, and laughed.
"Well you either tell him at the ball, or you'll both get embarrassed the next morning."
Hermione smirked.
"How about you tell Ginny at the ball, or I tell everyone the next morning, including her dear brother, who may hex you into oblivion."
Now it was Harry who looked scared.
"Come on Hermione-"
"It's totally fair. I'll tell Ron if you tell Ginny, and if neither of us ends up going through with it, then we are both cowards." Harry laughed.
"And if one of us goes through with it . . . " Hermione smiled.
"Then the other gets embarrassed in the great hall the next morning."
"It's a deal." Hermione shook Harry's hand, sealing their 'agreement'.
"You'd better hope you tell Ginny, because I'm telling Ron."
"Hah! I'm far braver than you are!"
"Not when it comes to girls. Remember Cho in your 4th year?"
Harry winced.
"Did you really have to bring that up?"
"Hey I'm just proving a point."
Harry stuck his tongue out at her, and Hermione gasped.
"Why you-" she lightly smacked his arm, and he stood up.
"Oooh my arm! Your hurt it so! Now I'll have to go to the hospital wing!"
Hermione couldn't help but laugh. Suddenly she felt a wave of tiredness hit her. She yawned.
"Maybe we should go to bed."
Harry agreed, finding that he was yawning too. They walked up the stairs, and parted at the top.
"Goodnight Hermione." Harry said, hugging her.
"Goodnight Harry." Hermione said, smiling at him.
When she made it back to her room, she got beneath the covers, and within a few minutes, sleep finally claimed her for the night.
The next morning when Hermione woke up, she was overcome with a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. She groaned and sat up in her bed. Why did I agree to that stupid bet? She thought to herself, remembering the events of the previous night. There was a sudden knock on her door, and she groaned again.
"Who is it?"
The door was flung open to reveal Ginny standing there, looking concerned.
"Hermione? Are you alright? I heard you groaning."
"I'm not feeling very well."
It was the truth, for Hermione really did feel sick . . . sort of.
"Well you do look rather pale." Ginny mused. "I'll go down to the kitchens and get something for you."
"Thank you Ginny." Hermione smiled at her friend,
"Hey what are friends for?" With that Ginny disappeared, closing the door behind her. Hermione stared at the door for a moment, before lying back on her bed heaving a deep sigh.
She couldn't tell Ron. She just couldn't.
Hermione had no idea if Ron even liked her. I mean sure there were a few clues here and there, and she couldn't forget what had happened the day before, but maybe it had been a spur of the moment thing. She shook her head and yawned, yearning to go back to sleep for another few hours.
But sleep would not claim her.
When Ginny went down into the common room, the first thing she saw was Ron sitting by the fire looking deep in thought.
"What's up?" she asked, approaching him.
Ron whirled around, looking nervous, but relaxed when he saw who it was.
"Oh it's only you." He said.
"Yes Ron it's ONLY your sister." Ginny said in a huff.
"You know what I mean."
"Well what's up?" she repeated.
"Apparently Harry isn't feeling well."
"Really?" Ginny mirrored the look of concern on her brother's face.
"Yeah. He looked pretty pale when I tried to wake him up this morning. He was groaning pretty loud too."
"That's strange . . . Hermione was also a little pale this morning, and she was groaning and moaning as well." Ginny frowned.
"Hermione's sick?" Ron raised an eyebrow. "She never gets sick! Something is definitely wrong!"
"Hmmm . . . " Ginny mused. A seed of suspicion was growing in her mind.
"What?" Ron was still looking rather frazzled.
"I hate to say this." she began. "But what if they're not sick?"
"Uh . . Gin? They said they're sick, so why would they lie to us? They're our friends-"
"EXACTLY!"
"I'm not following."
"Because they're our friends, maybe they're playing 'sick' to hide something unpleasant from us."
"Ginny that's absolutely CRAZY!"
"Is it?" Ginny turned from her brother, heading back up the staircase.
"Where are you going?" Ron called up after her.
"To find out the truth."
Ron paused for a moment, watching her head up to the girl's dorm. Then his legs seemed to move on their own accord as he followed Ginny up the stairs, but going into the boy's dorm.
He had to find some answers.
Hermione was lying on her bed, thinking about Ron, and her predicament. She groaned again, and buried her face in her pillow. There was a knock on her door but she ignored it. A few seconds later, there was another knock on the door.
"Go away!" she mumbled.
But the door would not stop making the knocking sound, and it was giving her a headache. Hermione sighed and reluctantly got of bed, opening the door to reveal a furious looking Ginny.
"Ginny?" Hermione asked.
"You lied!" she spat at the older girl who looked puzzled.
"About what?" she asked.
"About being sick, because I know darn well that you're fine Hermione!"
Hermione's face turned pale.
"Don't even try to explain yourself! Playing sick and worrying your friends is selfish and immature."
"Excuse me?" Hermione felt anger bubbling towards the surface.
"You heard me. You lied to me and made me worry for nothing. That's not something I'd expect from you of all people." Ginny crossed her arms over her chest, and glared at Hermione.
"For your information Ginny, when I woke up this morning, I wasn't feeling well and I'm still not."
"PROVE IT!" Ginny practically screamed.
"What do you want me to prove? Do you want me to vomit on the floor in front of you?"
"Hermione-" Ginny was shaking with anger, but she was cut off.
"If anyone around here is immature it's you Ginny. I can't even believe that for one second you would have doubts about my honesty! Have I ever lied to you?"
Ginny didn't say anything, but glared scathingly at her friend.
Hermione shook her head.
"Now I suggest you leave my room, because this conversation is closed."
She reached for the door handle, but Ginny's next words stopped her.
"Fine then. Play sick. But don't count on me talking to you for awhile."
With that she stalked down the hallway and into her own dorm room, slamming the door shut, making Hermione wince. Hermione heaved a deep sigh, and looked back into the room, which now looked uninviting. She closed the door and headed down the hallway, through the door, and down into the common room, where she was sure to be more comfortable.
Ron strode into the dorm and wasted no time. He approached Harry's bed, and yanked open the curtains. Harry groaned, and buried his face in his pillow.
"Feeling better mate?" Ron asked sarcasm dripping off his words.
"Not really." Harry groaned and turned onto his other side, but Ron grabbed his shoulder roughly and turned him back to face him.
"Hey! That hurt!" Harry said, rubbing his shoulder.
"It better have!" Ron hissed, glaring at Harry.
"What's wrong Ron?" Harry asked.
"What's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong!" Ron shouted. "You scared the hell out of me this morning, and I find out that you're not even sick and you're just not telling me something, and THAT hurts. I was just giving you a dose of the pain."
"Ron what are you talking about?"
Ron was shaking with fury.
"Harry James Potter! Why would you do such a stupid, selfish thing! What could be so terribly frightening that you can't even tell your bloody best friend about it?"
"You don't want to know." Harry mumbled.
"Try me Harry." Ron crossed his arms over his chest and waited.
Harry sighed, and said a quick prayer that he wouldn't get killed. He looked up at Ron.
"Are you sure you want to know?"
"For god's sake Harry yes!"
"Well . . . " Harry took a deep breath. Ron had lost patience. He reached out and smacked Harry good. He yelped in pain.
"Jesus Ron what the hell what that for?"
Tell me now." Ron commanded.
"Fine. I fancy your sister Ginny. Are you bloody happy you prat?"
Of all the things Ron had expected him to say, that didn't even cross his mind. He stared at Harry in shock, trying to process the information. Did Harry just say that he likes my sister? So many thoughts were running through his head that he felt a headache coming on.
"Ron?" Harry asked. It had been a few seconds and still Ron wasn't responding.
"I've got to go." He mumbled, and was out the door like a shot.
"Oh great." Harry said to himself.
He hadn't planned on telling him, but Ron had made him so angry when he just up and smacked him- Harry groaned again, and laid back down. Hope Ron will still talk to me He mentally cursed himself for being so stupid, and then closed his eyes, hoping for some much need sleep.
Unfortunately for him, sleep was deciding to elude him, so he was forced to stay awake with all of his thoughts, good and bad.
But it was only another day in the life of Harry Potter.
Hermione curled up on the couch, and stared into the fire, letting her anger seethe. How dare she accuses me like that! Hermione really HAD felt sick at the thought of telling Ron that she fancied him-
"Oh my gosh!" Hermione felt bile in her throat, and fought it down. Shaking slightly, she tried to relax, but found it impossible.
A few minutes later, she heard footsteps on the stairs, but she didn't turn around, for fear that it was Ginny. However when the person approached her and laid a gentle hand of her shoulder, Hermione knew instantly who it was, and she had to fight down another wave of sickness.
"Hermione? You alright?" came Ron's voice.
"Yes Ron." Hermione managed to whisper.
"Why aren't you in bed?"
"I don't really know." She tried to fight back the sudden tears, but they couldn't
be suppressed and they streamed down her cheeks.
"What's wrong?" Ron sat on the couch beside her, with a look of worry on his face.
"I had this fight with Ginny over the DUMBEST thing-" Hermione began to sob.
Ron looked completely unsure of what to do. He didn't know what words he could offer to comfort her, so he simply put his arm around her shaking from and held her close to him.
"Cry all you want 'Mione. Get it out of your system." he urged.
Hemione's sobs quickly subsided, and she felt warmth in her solar plexus. She sighed and leaned closer to Ron, feeling really giddy because it was real and not a dream. She felt herself relax, her eyelids beginning to droop closed. Soon enough she was fast asleep in Ron's arms.
Meanwhile Ron sat there with a huge grin on his face. Hermione was actually in his arms and not moving away from him. He took it as a good sign. When he stole a glance at her he saw to his complete surprise, that she was asleep. She looks so beautiful when she sleeps . . . he thought to himself. A sudden boldness overcame him, as he gently leaned in and placed a feather light kiss on her lips. Then he carefully disentangled himself from her, and laid her on the couch.
"Sweet dreams Hermione." he whispered quietly tiptoeing out of the common room.
A smile played upon the sleeping girl's lips, as she whispered,
"Sweet dreams Ron."
When Ginny opened her eyes, the first thing that greeted her was the late morning sun streaming through her window. Rubbing her eyes she sat up, feeling groggy. I feel so tired . . . She thought to herself. Swinging her legs around, she stood up, feeling the blood rush to her head.
"Damnit!" she yelled to no one in particular. The events from earlier came flooding into her mind. Stupid Hermione . . . how could she lie to me like that? Shaking her head, she opened the door, and walked down the hallway, heading for the common room. Sitting by the fire always clears my head Ginny thought to herself.
However when she got down to the common room, and saw Hermione lying on the couch, presumably sleeping peacefully, Ginny felt her anger rush back towards the surface. She reached Hermione in less than two strides.
Hermione had a slight smile on her lips, as if she were dreaming about something wonderful. I'd like to wipe that stupid smile off her face . . . She was just about to wake Hermione up in the most annoying way she knew how, when there was a sound from up above. She stopped and listened for a moment. When the sound did not reoccur, Ginny turned her attention back to Hermione, but the moment was ruined.
"Stupid, stupid me!" Ginny mumbled to herself. She fled Hermione's side and ran back up the stairs, wanting to disappear from humanity.
Her plans changed however, when she collided with something coming in her direction, and she would have fallen if a hand hadn't reached out to steady her. That was when Ginny realized that she had run into someone, and not something. And that someone was none other than Harry Potter himself.
"Harry!" Ginny said, surprised to see him. "I thought you were sick?"
"I was a little bit this morning, but I'm feeling better, and I'm trying to avoid your brother."
"Why?" Ginny was puzzled. What had happened between her brother and Harry that made Harry want to avoid him?
"Well . . . let's just say I told him something that he didn't expect." Ginny saw a hint of red appear on his cheeks.
"Harry, your cheeks are red. Maybe you should go back to bed."
"Huh?" Harry touched his face. Lovely! I'm blushing! Ginny's probably already figured me out He saw that Ginny was still staring at him with a confused look on her face, and it made her seem all the more beautiful to him-
"Harry? You ok?"
Harry's face was bright red at this point, and he realized it.
"Uh yeah! I'm fine!" he said, turning his back to her, so she couldn't see his face.
"Well your face-"
"Don't worry Ginny I'm fine." Harry said with more force than he had intended. He felt her step back, and he mentally cursed himself.
"Ok Harry you're fine." He heard the tremor in her voice. He turned to face her.
"Look Gin-" he began, but was cut off.
"You don't have to apologize, it's not a big deal." but her eyes were telling him a different story. Her eyes looked so wounded, and he couldn't help but be mesmerized by the way she was staring at him.
"Harry?" she questioned. Why is he staring at me like that? It was completely unnerving, and it was making her feel rather dizzy.
"Ginny." he whispered her name, making her shiver.
He closed the distance between them, and Ginny felt her heart beat faster in anticipation. Is he going to kiss me? Ginny didn't know, and she had no chance to find out, because there was a sudden voice that startled the two of them.
"GET AWAY FROM MY SISTER!"
They both jumped.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Ron approached them. Harry was looking sick, and Ginny was looking confused.
"What's going on Ron?" she asked.
"I WON'T HAVE IT!" he shouted, ignoring Ginny's question.
"Have what?" Ginny was growing annoyed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Harry trying to back away.
"I refuse to let anything happen between you and him." Ron said, shaking his fist at Harry, who had almost made it to the door.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Harry turn to face Ron.
"Ron can we talk about this is private?"
"No we are going to talk about it right here and right now!" Ron boomed.
"In front of Ginny?"
Ron grinned evilly at him. Ginny was looking really angry by now.
"Just what is going on?"
"Well Ginny, earlier this morning, your brother has confessed something that I really don't like."
"Which would be?" Ginny crossed her arms over her chest, and glared at her brother. Meanwhile, Harry was giving Ron a pleading glance.
"Well dear sister, if you must know, Harry FANCIES you!" Ron said the words with such distaste that at first Ginny didn't quite get them. But then all of the sudden they hit her. She stared at her brother in shock. Harry meanwhile, had disappeared.
"Are you serious?" Ginny finally managed after getting over her shock somewhat.
"Ask him" Ron said, indicating the spot Harry had occupied only moments before, and saw to his complete shock that he wasn't there.
"Where did he go?" Ron snapped his head in every direction, but Harry was nowhere to be seen.
"Ron, just leave him alone." Ginny said.
"Leave him alone? You bet I will, and I'll make sure he leaves you alone."
Ginny's eyes flashed red. How dare him! She thought.
"Ron." her voice was low.
"What?"
"You do anything to Harry, and I swear you won't live to see another day."
Ron looked at his sister, and saw the fire blazing in her eyes. The rational part of his brain told him to back off, and for once he obeyed it.
"Fine." He growled. "Have it your way dear SISTER." he spat, and stomped off back to his dorm, and Ginny went back to her dorm.
Knowing Harry, he wouldn't talk to anyone for quite awhile. Especially Ron. And Ginny understood how he felt. Ron had completely embarrassed him for no reason. She shook her head, and headed back to her dorm to think things through.
If Harry liked her, which she suspected was true because of the way he disappeared, it was something to ponder about. Because though Ginny had given up on him years ago, that small part of her refused to let go, and now it was beginning to resurface again. Could it mean-?
Did she like Harry back?
"Only one way to find out" she mumbled to herself, opening the door to her dorm. Ginny wanted something to do to pass the time. For the ball was in less than a week, and it was on that fateful night that Ginny would finally get the answer she desired.
Or feared.
A/N: Ok so I lied, there is yet ANOTHER chapter after this one, and I promise you it'll be the last. And if it's not, I give you permission to throw things at me ducks anyways, I apologize for not updating sooner. School's been a drag . . . you know how it goes, but have fun pondering some questions while you wait for the conclusion. Will Harry get together with Ginny? Will Ron get together with Hermione? Will I ever shut up? Stay tuned for the last chapter coming up ASAP! Luv Ya Lotz! Bandana Gurl