Ch 9- Hogsmeade and Snow
A/N: Ok, I'm sitting hear with my hot cocoa and I'm- well, actually, I'm not sitting hear right now…but I'm doing this now, while you're reading it later, except for you it's now, I mean like…when your reading it…wait…gosh, this is so confusing. Why don't I just start typing? Yeah…think I'll do that now…for all our sakes…
It was a brisk winter morning, and the last day before the majority of the students went home for the break. A boy with jet black hair and vivid green eyes crept over to a certain four poster bed and silently pulled the bed hangings back. A boy with brilliant red hair lie, sprawled on his four poster, sheets tangled all around him, was sound asleep; even snoring some.
"Get up, get up, get up!" Harry said as he bounced and jumped on Ron's bed. Ron moaned and rolled over. Harry jumped off the bed and bounded to the window and thrust the curtains open. A big, bright ray of light shined through to Ron's bed. Once again, Ron moaned and pulled the sheets over his head.
"Come on!" Harry said. "It's beautiful sunny day and look at all the snow on the ground! It's a perfect day for a snowball fight and…" Harry paused. "Hogsmeade visits are today!" Ron grunted.
"Come on!" Harry bribed. "Don't you want to into Honeydukes and buy chocolate frogs, and go to Zonko's, and the Three Broomsticks and get nice, warm, refreshing butterbeers?" Ron didn't move. Harry sighed and said "I wish you wouldn't make me have to do this!" He then walked around the other side of Ron's bed, got a good grip on the bottom sheet and yanked it as hard as he could, causing Ron to topple onto the floor.
"Harry!" He yelled. "Whatd'ya do that for?" he said rubbing his backside.
"I warned you!" Harry told him. Harry was already dressed and standing impatiently by the door. "Come on!" he said now throwing a pair of pants and a shirt to Ron. "The girls are already waiting downstairs in common room waiting for us to go to breakfast with them!"
Ron sat up from the floor and looked at Harry.
"Yes Ron, Ginny and Hermione are waiting for us!" Ron looked at Harry in horror.
"Hermione?" He asked weakly.
"Yes Ron, Hermione. Now come on!"
"Are you kidding? I can't go down there with Hermione!" Ron protested.
"Why not?"
"Because of what happened last night that's what!"
"Ron, just forget about it. You're turning over a new leaf, ok? Just be yourself. And remember, make her laugh." Harry assured him.
Ron moaned but put his clothes on and followed Harry down the stairs to the common room to find Ginny and Hermione sitting on the couch, chatting. Though as soon as they noticed Harry and Ron come down, they ceased their talking. Hermione blushed a bit, but nobody noticed.
Ron was shocked. Although Hermione was as you might say "dressed down", she looked absolutely stunning. She had on dark blue jeans that were folded at the bottom, where they rested neatly on her white sneakers with pink laces. She wore a baby-blue sweatshirt hoody that was slightly too big for her, as her fingertips just showed out of the bottom of the sleeves. Her hair was up in a high ponytail and her curls draped naturally on the back of her head. Two curls however, were left out of the hair-tie and framed her face. Her cheeks were light pink, as usual.
"Good morning Ron, nice of you to join us this morning." Hermione joked. Ron rolled his crystal blue eyes and said, "Come on, lets eat so we can get going! We still have to do Christmas shopping while we're there."
The others agreed and headed to the Great Hall, where they ate breakfast. When they were finished, they piled into a carriage and rode to Hogsmeade. When the arrived, the view was breath-taking. It was once again, lightly snowing and everything looked like a muggle post card, with snow-covered village rooftops, and Christmas lights, and people bustling around shopping for the holidays.
"Well, where should we start?" Harry asked the other three.
"Honeydukes!" Ron exclaimed. Hermione smiled and rolled her eyes. They put on their gloves, tied up their robes and set off down the winding streets of Hogsmeade. They stopped in Honeydukes first, as Ron's request, then to Zonko's Joke Shop, Quality Quidditch Supplies, Jubilee's Jewelry Store, and Halden's Bookstore. They then headed to The Three Broomsticks for a break.
As they sipped their butterbeer, Ginny asked "What shall we do when we're finished?"
"We should probably split up and do some Christmas shopping like Ron suggested earlier." Hermione said.
"Yeah, good idea." Harry agreed. They chatted a bit more and finished their butterbeer until Harry got up and said "Ok, I'm going now. Let meet at the Shrieking Shack at about…three?" They all nodded in agreement. Hermione then got up and left too. Ginny went to follow her but Ron stopped her.
"Wait, I have to ask you something." He told her.
"Ok," Ginny said sitting back down. "What?"
"What should I get for Hermione?" he asked her.
"Well, what does she like?" Ginny asked him.
"She like books, but I want to get her something…well, you know…different…or special."
"Well, think Ron. Hermione is a girl. I'm a girl. What do I like?" Ginny advised him.
"I dunno, that's why I'm asking you!"
Ginny looked Ron in the eye. "Ron. Just think, Ron, think."
He squinted his eyes in thought. "What do girls like? They like perfume, but I got her that last year, and she didn't seem to thrilled…hm…" Ron thought. Ginny sat for another two minutes and when Ron didn't say anything, she sighed and got up. "Just keep thinking Ron." She said making her way to the door. Just as she was about to push open then door, Ron called after her.
"Ginny, wait!"
She looked back at him expectantly with one eye brow raised.
"Do you like teddy bears?" he questioned her. Ginny's faced softened and emerged into a very broad, proud grin. She turned and walked out the door with out saying a word.
"I'll take that as a yes!" Ron said to himself, and he headed out the door.
He walked around until he found a store called Phoebe's Plush's. He entered the small shop to find it packed with plush toys of all sorts. Then, he saw the perfect bear to give Hermione. It was a medium sized brown bear that had red boxers on with black hearts on them. It also wore a red necklace-collar, and at the end, there was a small silver heart with the word Teddy engraved in it. He took it to the shop clerk and paid one galleon and three sickles for it. Feeling something was missing, he decided to buy a small package of sugar quills- Hermione's favourite sweet- and tied it with a red ribbon and bow to the teddy bears paw. Then, he set off to find Harry a gift.
Meanwhile, Hermione was roaming about looking for the perfect gift for Ron. She entered a clothing store, deciding to make a pit-stop for Ginny and when something caught her eye. There on a manikin, was a handsome, blue button-up t-shirt, with the end of the sleeves white where they were folded. Hermione thought it would look gorgeous on Ron. She loved when he worse blue. It matched his eyes beautifully. She asked the clerk if that was the only one they had in stock. He said yes, but he would gladly take the shirt on the manikin off and sell it to her. She thanked him and paid him, then set off outside again. Feeling that the present she had bought Ron was more to her pleasure than to hers, she decided to buy him an orange Chudley Cannons blanket that was signed by all of the players. She also bought him a bag of assorted sweets including most of his favourites.
Harry checked his watch that Ron had gotten him for his birthday and noticed it was ten to three. He decided to head over to the Shrieking Shack a few minutes early, considering he was done with all of his shopping.
Soon enough, he saw a red-headed figure walking towards him, and shortly after, he saw a taller red-head and brunette walking towards him also. Then he got an idea. He his behind a bush, grabbed some snow, aimed, and fired. He then fell out of his hiding spot laughing at the shocked look on Ginny's face as the snowball hit her directly on the side of the face. She lifted a hand and wiped it off dramatically, glaring a Harry. By this point, Ron was too laughing and pointing at her. She turned her glare to him and began to ball some snow in her hands. Ron stopped laughing at her as she smirked evilly at him, tossing a snowball between her hands. Just as Ron began to sprint in the other direction, she chucked the snowball at him and it hit him square in the back of the neck, causing him to fall flat on his face, with snow dripping down his neck and back.
Hermione tried as hard as she could to not laugh in fear of being targeted next, but failed miserably. Ron saw her covering her mouth tightly with both hands, giggling. Still smiling though, she stopped laughing, as he too began to ball snow in his hands. Then, her smile faded and she got wide eyed and said,
"Ron, don't you dare!"
Ron put on an evil smirk, just as his sister had done. Hermione began backing away slowly.
"You wouldn't!" she said, eyeing the snowball in his hand.
"Would I?" he asked her. There was a brief silence. "I'll give you three seconds to run."
"Ron!"
"Three,"
"Ron, don't!"
"Two,"
"You're bluffing!"
"One."
"Ahh!" Hermione screamed as she sprinted as quickly as she could manage in the thick snow away from Ron. Ron ran after her. She looked back and saw that he was gaining on her and shrieked.
"Ron, no! Stop!"
"Never!"
Harry and Ginny grinned at each other, for Ron and Hermione's "chase" was more flirtatious than their usual arguing and bickering. Hermione was running and shrieking as she tried to escape Ron's outstretched arms that were only inches from her. But, she wasn't quick enough. Ron grabbed her waist and pulled her down, only to fall with her in the process. She shrieked and laughed again.
"You sound like a silly little school girl!" Ron laughed.
"I am a silly little school girl!" she told him. Ron didn't stay anything, and she took this time to try and escape. Just as she began to crawl away, Ron grabbed her ankle and turned her over on her back.
"Oh, no you don't!" he said. Hermione struggled to get free, but Ron turned her on her back again, pinned her arms down and sat on top of her (not actually sit on her, just straddled her waist, so he didn't break her and she couldn't move). She squirmed and kicked, but didn't get anywhere.
"Ron! Get off!"
"Hmm…let me think…no!" His knee touched her side and she flinched. "Hey! I didn't know you were ticklish!" He badgered her. "That could come in handy!"
"Ron! No, no! Please anything but that please I'm ticklish everywhere!" she pleaded.
"Hmm…what should I make you say? Hmm…he began tickling her sides as she pleaded through laughing for him to stop as she squirmed and flailed about.
"Ron…please…stop…stop…what…do…you…want?" Hermione gasped between giggles, with tears streaming down her face. "Oh my god. She is the most gorgeous thing I have ever seen in my entire life." Ron thought. "I thought she couldn't be any more beautiful than she already was, but I was wrong. She looks like and angel when she laughs like that."
"What do I want?" he asked her and stopped tickling for a bit for her to catch her breath. She nodded breathing heavily and trying to glare at him, but ending up grinning a wide, white teethed grin instead. He brought his hand up to chin in a mock thoughtful way. "Arguhh! He's so close to me! I mean he's sitting on me for goodness sakes! I just want to lean up and kiss him! Aw! He is so adorable! Restrain yourself Hermione! I love him even more when his hair is wet. I love his hair but…"
Hermione reached up and brushed Ron's hair away from his face.
"I love your hair, but I hate it when it blocks your eyes." Hermione said to him. Ron's ears turned bright red. Hermione couldn't believe what she just said. Not sure if she was relived or not when Ron broke the tension by resuming tickling her she squirmed and laughed again.
"What do I want you ask?" Ron said. "I want you to say that N.E.W.T.S are the least important things in the world!"
"Never!"
"Suit yourself!" Ron said and he tickled her harder.
"No! Please!" Hermione laughed.
"Say it!"
"I won't!"
"Say it!"
"It!"
"No! Say it not it!" He tickled faster.
"Ahh! Fine! N.E.W.T.S…are the…least important…things in the world!" She surrendered through gasps of breath and laughing.
"Glad you see it my way!" Ron said as he finally stopped tickling her.
"Ah! Haha, ow! My side hurts from laughing so much!" Hermione said. Ron rolled off her and began flailing his arms and legs in the snow.
"What in the world are you doing?" Hermione asked him.
"Making a snow angel, what else?" Ron said simply. "Try it!" Hermione hesitated, then moved her arms up and down in the snow. Then she stopped and closed her eyes. She heard Ron stand up and could sense he was looking at her.
"This is the most fun I've had in a long time. Thanks Ron." She said not opening up her eyes. Then she heard Harry's voice some little ways away.
"Come on guys, the carriages are leaving soon, we gotta go!" he yelled to them. Hermione opened her eyes and Ron offered his hand to help her get up with out ruining her angel. She accepted it and stood up. They both beamed down at their angels. Ron bent down and wrote "Ron" under his, "Hermione" under Hermione's and an "and" sign in between them. Hermione grinned.
"Come on lets go before they leave with out us." She said to him. They then followed Ginny and Harry back to the carriages. Ron saw Hermione shiver.
"You cold?" he asked her.
"A bit." She said. This was a lie, she was soaked, and freezing. Ron took of his cloak and draped it around her shoulders.
"Ron! You'll freeze to death!" she exclaimed.
"Better me than you." He said solemnly.
Hermione blushed an extremely deep shade of crimson and looked down at her feet. "That was the nicest thing anyone has every said to me." She thought. They walked in silence for a few more minutes a few feet behind Ginny and Harry. Hermione, finally back to normal color, looked at Ron.
"You should wear more blue." She said simply.
"What?"
"You should wear more blue. It brings out your eyes." It was Ron's turn to blush. They then climbed into the carriages and sat across form Harry and Ginny.
"Three more days until Christmas!" Ron said. They all laughed.
A/N: Well, I hope you liked the chapter! I apologize for it taking me a bit to update. I am telling you now, that the updates are going to be a bit slower than normal. Before, I had a bunch written out and just updated when necessary. Now however, my updates have caught up to me and my writing, so I have to write the chapter first before I update! But I will try as hard as I can to update at least once a week. Thanks sooo much for the reviews! You guys are fantastic! Review again please!
