A/N: Guys, I am so sorry I didn't get to post this sooner, but I killed my laptop's power supply and couldn't use it for like a week. Sorry!! My bad. Anyway, here's the next chapter for you all…don't think it's over yet, it has really juuuust begun…heeheehee. Anyway, enjoy!!
Lauren
Disclaimer: no, I'm not British, blond, married, a mother, a genius, one of the richest women in the world, nor am I even past the age of 20 yet! So no, I'm sorry to say, I am not JK, nor do I own any of these…wonderful, wonderful characters. Sorry.
Chapter Thirteen
What Goes Around…Gets Around
"Padma, we need--"
"Ron, I have something I need to talk to you about," Padma said, interrupting. Ron looked at her quizzically, but followed silently as she led him out of the common room and into the halls.
Hermione let out a small sigh. She, Harry and Ginny were crouched along the banister at the top of the staircase. Well, the girls were. Harry had said something about not wanting to engage in such girly, gossip-inducing activities, and so stood by the door of his dorm, pretending rather stubbornly not to listen.
Ginny looked over at Hermione with a curious look. Watching her twirl a curl around her finger, a mischievous grin took over her face, and she stepped up and into the boys' dorm. She returned quickly with Harry's cloak and a look on her face that quite resembled one from Fred or George's stash. Harry immediately shook his head and turned away.
"No, no no no, there is no way we're going to spy on them. I won't do it," he said, throwing his hands in the air.
"Harry, come on, for Hermione's sake, I mean this must be killing her, right Herm?" she asked, looking at Hermione with certainty in her eyes. Hermione looked down at the floor.
"Actually, I think I'm going to go read the Potions assignment. I'll be in the library if anybody needs me…" she said, her voice trailing off as she descended the stairs. She had a feeling, a very bad feeling that the results of whatever talk was going on right now would not be in her favor, so she decided to try and make the best of it. Ginny looked at Harry sadly; instead of rubbing it in, he gave her a weak smile and slid his arm around her shoulder.
"Ron, I've been doing some thinking, and I think…well, I think that…" Padma started, avoiding Ron's eyes. They were taking a walk around the lake, the same place their whole relationship had started. Ron felt his feet drudge against the ground, not willing to put any extra effort in moving them. He was not in the best of moods, and he wasn't going out of his way to hide it either.
"Padma, you don't like me any more, do you?" he asked, more hopefully than knowingly. Padma twitched a little, her eyes widening at his question.
"Um, well, see, it's not that I don't like you, it's just that, I um, well," she tried, feeling herself growing unnecessarily nervous. Ron smiled a little.
"Look, we shouldn't keep doing this. It's just not…working," he said, realizing at the last moment that he wasn't sounding very gentle, but just wanting to get it over with. And after he said it, he felt relief at saying what he'd been feeling for the past three weeks. Padma chuckled, and was finally able to look him in the eye.
"You're right, we shouldn't. I couldn't agree more with you. I hope you don't take it personally, I just…well, it's having a boyfriend that's bothering me, you know?" she said. Ron nodded, not really listening. It was over; he was free, free to…well, free to do whatever, really. Free to be with his friends, free to breathe, free to see Hermione again…
"Yeah, I understand. I'm glad we had this talk. Um, not to sound rude, but would you mind if--"
"Padma! Padma, wait up!" came a voice behind them. The two spun around to see none other than Michael Corner approaching them. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Padma blush and bat her eyelashes.
"Oh, hi Michael," she said, sickeningly breathless in Ron's opinion. Boy, he sure does get around… he though, smiling politely.
"Hi, um, are you busy?" he asked, eyeing Ron suspiciously.
"Oh, no, um…you don't mind, right Ron?"
"Oh no, by all means, please, have fun," he said with a fatherly smile. Padma grinned broadly and hurried off, thanking Ron over her shoulder.
Ron returned to the common room an hour later, hands in his pockets and head full of thoughts. He had, after Padma's departure, taken a stroll on his on around the grounds, and had, for the first time, taken in every leaf on the grass and every stir in the air. He wondered what he would say to Hermione now; everything that came to mind fell short of how he felt, as though he couldn't express his feelings in any word imaginable. Where to start? Hermione, kissing you is like eating my mum's cooking, there's nothing like it…
Of course he would think of food at a time like this. He finally decided to give up and, on his way back to the common room, had walked in a trance in an attempt to recreate that kiss in his mind. But this time, he tried to focus on everything that had been going on around them: what had been going on outside the window? Where had Trevor been sleeping? Had Pigwidgeon been hungry at the time? Thought it sounds strange, it really helped enhance the whole thing itself; being able to imagine everything clearly meant he could imagine the kiss more clearly.
He saw Harry and Ginny sitting in the corner, huddling over a book of some sort, probably more Shakespeare, to Ron's guess. He gave them a small wave as they looked over at him and continued up the stairs. He sat on his bed and, looking outside, began feeling oddly sleepy. Maybe it was a continued state of his trance, or possibly the heat in the dorm, but he found his head on his pillow and a heavy weight over his eyes, and seconds later, he was fast asleep.
Hermione sat alone at a table in the back of the library, writing Potions notes to herself, and every so often, notes concerning Ron as well.
Well, maybe he told her the truth, and they both hate me, one read.
Or maybe he pushed him into the lake, and he's drowned, another read. He never was that great of a swimmer.
Is writing notes to one's self considered a sign of insanity? the last read, before she scratched it out with her pen.
She closed her book and sighed hopelessly. It had been nearly six hours already, and no sign or word from Ron. She had gotten through the whole Potions book three times before she gave up and looked for other Potions reading. She glanced up at the clock for the third time in twenty minutes and immediately cursed herself for doing so. It was pointless; he wasn't going to come find her, and he certainly wasn't going to bless her with the good news of the end of his horrible relationship, and he most definitely wasn't going to come sweep her up in his arms and carry her away to embrace her in the same sweet way he had earlier. She looked out the window and examined the clouds, wondering if there would be another storm that night. She almost dreaded the idea, as it could only bring her more torment.
She slowly gathered herself and got ready to leave when she heard someone clear their throat behind her. Spinning around, she was faced with a boy she'd only seen a couple times before, but who she recognized as a seventh year Hufflepuff. He looked about six feet tall, had impeccable posture, and wore brown-rimmed glasses that matched his neatly trimmed hair and shielded his hazel eyes. When she looked at him, he gave her a one-sided grin.
"Hi. I couldn't help but notice that you were reading extra Potions reading," he said, in a way he thought was adorably obvious. Hermione looked down at the books in her hands.
"Oh, yeah, um…I got a little bored," she said, wondering what it was he was getting at.
"Oh, I'm Daniel, by the way. Daniel Thompson," he said, offering her his hand. She hesitated, but placed her hand in his and shook it politely.
"Um, Hermione. Hermione Granger," she said awkwardly. What is this all about?
"I was wondering if you would mind helping me. With Potions, that is. I've noticed you seem to be rather good at it, and I'm, well, to put it mildly, absolutely horrible at it," he said, chuckling in hopes to hide the slight blush spreading across his cheeks. Hermione couldn't help but grin; he had a strange cuteness about him.
"Well, sure, I don't see why not, although to be honest with you, I may have trouble finding the time to do it. I've got honors classes, and Head Girl duties, so if we could find time between those, I suppose it would work," she said.
"Sure, that's fine," Daniel said, smiling gratefully. "And just so you know, I'd be willing to compensate you for it, so whatever you want in exchange, it's yours. I don't want you thinking I'm just taking advantage of you or anything, I mean I know you've got so much else to deal with, so I don't want to be a burden or anything," he said, speaking sternly and adjusting his glasses.
"No, no, it'll be fine, don't worry about it. What if tonight I work out my schedule and see when we can meet, and I'll let you know tomorrow? We could meet in here at lunch maybe, if you'd like."
"That sounds great. Tomorrow then?" he asked.
"Yes, see you tomorrow."
"Great, thank you so much," he said, and with a grin he turned around and headed back to his table by the Muggle research section. She smiled after him and, after he sat down, made her way out of the library, wondering what on earth gave her the idea she'd have time, between everything else she was doing, to tutor Daniel, someone she barely knew, in a subject she could barely stand.
Ron sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes groggily. He looked over at the clock and felt his eyes try to jump out of their sockets. It was nearly 8:30 and he had been sleeping for quite some time. He got up and walked over to the window, where he stretched his arms out over his head and looked out onto the lake, where the giant squid was spraying water onto a bunch of third years. He tried to think back to what he'd been doing before he dozed off, but his mind was too cloudy with thoughts of the kiss. Remembering Hermione, he stuck his hands in his pockets and headed downstairs to find her.
She was sitting in front of the fire, reading something very much not Potions (thank Merlin) and tapping her foot to an imaginary beat. He stood a few feet behind her for a moment, questioning whether he should approach her, when she answered for him.
"Ron, don't just stand there. Either sit down or leave, but don't stand in the middle of the room thinking I can't tell you're there," she said, not looking up.
Ron stared at the back of her head, but did as he was told and took a seat next to her.
"How'd you know I was there?" he asked, looking over to see what she was reading; it was a Charms assignment.
"Ron, I could see your shadow on the floor," she stated, trying not to smile, but failing.
"Oh, right, of course. So…what's new?" he asked, glancing at the floor.
"Nothing really, I've just been studying all day, to nobody's surprise," she said, finishing a sentence and resting her quill in her lap. She looked up at Ron curiously.
"Are you all right?" she asked him. "You look a little…I don't know, tired maybe, or upset, or in a daze."
"Do I? Hmm. Well no, nothing's wrong. Well, nothing really. I've just been having some…inner turmoil lately, is all."
"Inner turmoil?" she asked, chuckling sweetly. "Turmoil like what?"
"Nothing. It doesn't matter now," he said evasively. Hermione frowned, but went back to her Charms. Ron looked at his feet as though they were suddenly interesting and began studying his shoes.
"So, how's Padma?" she asked, and she instantly dreaded asking it. Ron didn't look up from the floor.
"Oh, she's fine. Probably off somewhere snogging Michael Corner, I'd imagine," he said with a sly smile. Hermione's mouth fell open slightly, which made Ron smile a little wider.
"Michael Corner? But wasn't he just with that Hufflepuff girl? What was her name…" she asked, searching her brain.
"Catherine? Yeah, and before that it was Susan, and before that, Cho," he said, almost laughing. Hermione frowned.
"Well, he sure gets around," she said, making Ron grin.
"Yeah, that's exactly what I thought too."
They both grinned, both trying not to bring up that morning, and a new question popped into Hermione's head.
"So that means um, no more Padma?"
Ron looked a little startled by her question, but nodded his head all the same. Hermione made an affirmative noise and lowered her head almost mournfully.
"I'm sorry about that," said Hermione, hoping she sounded or at least looked appropriately sympathetic, but finding it a little difficult.
"Oh no, it's fine; in fact, I, well, technically anyway, was the one who broke up with her, so it looks like we both turned out all right," he said, twiddling his fingers. Hermione looked up at him.
"Oh? So you broke up with her…I see," she said, looking away and into the fire. "Um, I hope you don't mind me asking, but…why?"
Ron looked at her, eager to spill the truth, but cautious to reveal himself. He paused a second in thought before answering.
"Well, I suppose that was part of my inner turmoil. I had to find a way to fix it, so I did." Telling by the look on Hermione's face, Ron figured he'd let her in on a little more.
"I guess you could say I felt…forced, into the relationship. I did like her, I'll admit, but it was only for about five minutes, and that was when she did my Divination assignment. But really," he said, laughing at the mixed expression on Hermione's face, "it didn't ever really feel right, you know? Like it was nice having a girlfriend, but everytime I looked over and it wasn't--"
Ron stopped himself from admitting that every time he'd looked over, he'd hoped more and more to see Hermione next to him and not Padma. He looked at Hermione and saw that her eyes were fighting back excitement, but he couldn't do it.
"Wasn't—what?" she encouraged.
"Well, wasn't—well, just that she wasn't someone I'd hope to see, that's all. Just wasn't the right person. And when I realized that, it all seemed like a burden, and it was making me a bit crazy. So I feel a bit better about that."
Hermione felt guilty; she was the one who had pushed him to her in the first place. She offered him a genuinely sympathetic smile and brushed a stray hair out of his eyes. Looking at his watch, she noticed the time and realized she had to finish her homework, and also that Ron probably hadn't even started his. She leaned back into her chair and picked up her quill.
"Ron, how's your progress on your Charms?" she asked softly, trying not to seem too motherly.
"Oh, funny you should uh, mention that," he said, and after telling her he'd return, he ran upstairs and retrieved his books. The two sat in silence, both feeling tired, but glad to have the excuse of unfinished homework to keep them in each other's company. Every now and then, they stole glances at each other until finally, at around midnight, Hermione could no longer keep her eyes open. She packed up her bag and stared at Ron until he noticed, and turned to her.
"What is it, Mione?" he asked. It had been so long since he called her that that it seemed to her like the first time, and even though it was just a name, she felt like it was a little more personal, a little more affectionate, a little more sweet. She gave him a sleepy smile.
"I don't know about you, but I'm absolutely exhausted. I'm off to bed, and I suggest you consider doing the same," she said, stifling a yawn. Ron heeded her suggestion and slipped his folded paper into a notebook. Hermione stood up and, taking advantage of the opportunity, wrapped her arms around his neck while he was still sitting; at this level, she could still reach him. She lowered her head to his and pecked him on the top of his head, while Ron strained, resisting as best he could putting his arms around her waist. The same smell washed over him that did that night only a couple months ago, when they became friends again…but he couldn't place it. He knew, somewhere inside him, that he knew what it was, but he simply could not think of how…
"Goodnight, Ron. Don't stay up too late. Sweet dreams."
She held him a few seconds longer, then picked up her bag, tossed it over her shoulder, and headed up the stairs. Ron's eyes followed her all the way to the top, until she closed the door behind her, and he sighed heavily. He looked back into the fire as thoughts of Hermione remained lingering in his mind.
Heehee, you know you guys liked it, admit it! I liked it! Wait…you mean, that doesn't automatically make you guys like it? Oh…well, do you think maybe, it's possible you liked it just a little bit even? Please? Review and let me know!!!! I won't update until I see some reviews, and lots of 'em…mwahahaha…
