Chapter One: Misunderstandings
Ronald Weasley rushed down the stairs and grabbed a glass of orange juice as quickly as possible before rushing upstairs again to finish packing. The Hogwarts Express, in a mere number of hours would take him off to his sixth year at Hogwarts. Yet this wasn't the only reason he was in such a rush, for the sooner he arrived a King's Cross station, and onto platform 9 ¾, the sooner he could see Hermione again. Neither she, nor Harry had been able to visit over the summer for various reasons. Harry had joked (or Ron hoped he was joking) that Hermione had been in Bulgaria over the summer holiday.
As he sat on his trunk, willing the lid to close properly, his mothers shrill voice rang up the stairs, "I hope you've packed enough socks this time Ronald! And do fold your robes dear, you don't want to look as though you've just walked out of the hamper."
Ron rolled his eyes and jammed the trunk closed over his unfolded robes, then hurried downstairs. Ginny and his mother were sitting around the table. "Oh there you are Ronald dear," Molly acknowledged, "Go on and eat some breakfast."
"I've eaten," Ron stated, "Can we go?"
"We have plenty of time Ron," she replied, "Besides, Fred and George wanted to see you off."
Ron reluctantly sat down and helped himself to a slice of toast as he waited for Fred and George to arrive.
Minutes later, the twins showed up simultaneously with a resounding pop that startled the silent room. Ron was all but sure he'd heard his mother mutter something about doors having a purpose at their arrival.
Fred and George didn't take long to get to their point of coming. As Fred produced a small vial, George said, winking at Ron, "Fred and I just know how much you adore Viktor Krum, Ickle Ronnie-kins, so we were kind enough to bring you his toenail clippings."
"No need to thank us," laughed Fred, handing the vial to Ron, "He was foolish enough to walk right into our shop for a free sample of Toenail Tarts."
"What was he doing out of Bulgaria!" Ron roared, jumping up.
"How're we supposed to know?" Fred scoffed.
Ron grumbled bitterly and sat back down. If they only knew how much he had come to detest Viktor Krum over the past couple years... He glared at the vial wondering if he had ever seen a book on voodoo in the library that might come in handy.
After the twins finished bestowing some worthless gifts upon Ron and Ginny, along with some Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products, Molly ushered them all outside where Arthur was waiting with a taxi.
They arrived at King's Cross station with barely a half hour to spare, though it was still very early compared with normal Weasley standards. Ron darted off to find a decent compartment and search for Harry and Hermione, while Ginny said goodbye to her mother.
Ron found Hermione already in a compartment and dressed in her black Hogwarts robes. She seemed lost in her own thoughts, and jumped at the sound of Ron entering. "Oh...hi," she said, standing up.
"Er...hello Hermione," replied Ron. She smiled at him.
The initial awkwardness faded and the pair continued to chat away as though they had never been apart. Meaning, neither one agreeing and both being stubborn about it.
They found Harry a few minutes before departure and said some quick words before heading off to the Prefects compartment. When they returned to him, he had already finished off several Chocolate Frogs and even an entire pack of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. (Wow.) As the three finished off the rest of the snacks, the topic of summer holiday finally arose.
"So Hermione, didn't you say you were going to Bulgaria over the summer?" asked Harry.
Ron choked on a Cauldron cake and waited, stomach churning, eyes glaring, for Hermione's answer.
"Well..." she paused, she knew what Ron's response would be if she said yes, but she wasn't a liar, "Yes-but-I-didn't-see-Viktor." She said this last bit very quickly, then looked over to Ron to see his reaction.
Ron grunted. "I doubt it," he mumbled.
"I was just there to visit some relatives! They were all muggles!"
Ron said mothing, but stared determinedly out the window of the carriage until they arrived at Hogwarts.
