By Serendipity
Author's Note: This is the second version of this friggin' chapter. This is a very hard chapter to write. Hopefully, I don't have to write another version. Sorry that it's taking so long but I have to be completely satisfied with my work before I post. I should probably get going on some of my other fics, but this fic is so much fun to write. Oh one more thing, one of my teachers has a gum infection and their cheeks are swollen and they look like a chipmunk.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or anything else that you may recognize. This goes for celebrities, movies, and songs too. I don't own any of them. The same goes for last chapter too. I forgot to mention it in my disclaimer last chapter.
Get to it later...
"Hermione!" Lavender and Parvatti squealed as they opened the door. It was seven o'clock and I was one of the first guests at Lavender's "We're Back in School Blah" party. They ushered me in, commenting me on my swimsuit and offering me chips and dip. The Brown's rec room is very nice. They have a huge flat screen TV with surround sound, a pool table, and a fully stocked bar. Two seniors were already opperating at the bar. A junior and three sophomores were playing pool and a group of ten or so freshman was clustered around the couch. I recognized a short boy that says hi to Harry a lot tentatively taking a sip of what I assumed was an alcoholic beverage.
I spent the next ten minutes or so talking to Lavender and Parvatti until a large group of upperclassmen rushed into Lavender's backyard and jumped into her pool. It was actually kind of amusing.
Many more people started coming and before long I was lost in a sea of teenage bodies. I was beginning to feel claustrophobic. Back in junior high I used to hide out in the bathrooms at parties. When I was eleven I hid in Parvatti's bathroom at her Halloween party for most of the night because Draco Malfoy said that I looked better with my face covered in a horrible mask. The little squirt. I was about to ask Lavender where her bathroom was when Harry showed up.
He forced me into Lavender's gigantic pool. I didn't want to because I had to take off my shorts and people were staring. I felt self-conscious even though Harry told me that they were staring in a good way.
We splashed around for a little bit and started talking about school. I asked him how soccer was coming along and he made me promise to come to their first game. Then he brought up Ron.
"So are you two a couple?" he asked, lazily floating on a beach ball. "Ron didn't say anything about your little rondezvous during PE today."
"Couple?" I asked, taken off guard. I didn't really think about the consequences when I wrote that note.
"Friends with benefits?" he suggested, playfully tossing the ball my way.
"No, it's nothing like that!" I said, though I knew I was blushing.
"So what did you guys do in there?"
"Well, we, uh..."
We talked about your love life, Harry that's what we did.
"Nevermind, I don't want to know. So do you want to, I mean, with Ron?" he asked, acting all innocent.
"Ron!?"
I probably shouldn't have stated it that way.
"What's wrong with Ron?" Harry looked hurt on his friend's behalf.
"Well, he's Ron!" I reasoned. "Ok so yeah he's nice, and funny, and he looks really cute with his hair all messed up, and he has deepest, most thoughtful turquoise eyes, and..."
I stopped, realizing exactly what I was admitting to Harry and to myself. I just did something stupid. Harry was smiling at me devilishly. I needed a stiff drink. Then I realized that I didn't drink. I thought about asking someone to knock me unconscious.
'Oh what the hell, I'll just hide in the bathroom!'
"Please don't tell Ron!" I pleaded, placing my hands on Harry's shoulders.
"I won't," he said. "That's your job."
Then he left.
'Now, where's that bathroom?'
Fred and George were in flip-flops and swimming trunks...and nothing else, though Fred rubbed some sunscreen on his nose. Why? I didn't know because the sun already went down but that's my brother for you. They had the music cranked up and were dancing about in their seats as the station wagon that Fred had deemed "Old Betsy" puttered down Lavender's street.
"Shit, there's no place to park!" Fred cursed, gripping the steering wheel.
George stopped bouncing and pondered our predicament for a few moments before waving Fred off saying, "Just park in the front yard."
In the backseat, Ginny and I slid down, covering our faces. Ginny glanced over at me playfully and I knew what she was thinking because I was thinking the exact same thing. How are we related to those two?
So Fred parked in the middle of Lavender's front yard and as soon as the engine was turned off the twins jumped out and ran into the backyard, heading toward the pool, exclaiming that the party had arrived. Ginny and I merely got out and stepped away from the vehicle.
It seemed as if most of the school was already there. Loud music was blaring, people were screaming, a senior was already passed out on the porch, and a large group of freshmen led by that one kid that says hi to Harry a lot were streaking through the yard. I was about to find Harry when I realized that I would have to avoid him tonight if he was going to make a move on Ginny, so I just stood there instead.
"Aren't you coming?" Ginny asked as she made her way to the backyard.
"No," I said, feeling rather stupid. "I'm just going to find Hermione."
Ginny looked at me weird, as if she couldn't understand why on Earth I would want to find Hermione for, and I myself was pondering that same question; however, she merely shrugged and walked away.
I went inside and a senior offered me something to drink at the bar. I took it and began looking around for Hermione. Where would she be at a party like this?
"Probably the bathroom," I stated out loud.
"What?" some kid next to me asked.
"Nothing," I replied, handing him my drink and going off to find the nearest bathroom. Lavender and Parvatti were standing outside of it.
"Come on, Hermione," said Lavender.
"You can't stay in there forever," added Parvatti.
"Hello ladies," I said coming up to them.
They looked relieved to see me.
"Ron, tell Hermione to come out!" Lavender said.
She unlocked the door from the outside and pushed me in. Hermione was sitting in the bathtub with one of those eye mask thingers on and was tossing a rubber duckie up in the air. She sighed when I came in.
"I guess you're going to try to make me get out, huh?" she asked.
"Actually, I have no idea why I'm here," I replied truthfully.
"What?" she asked confused.
I sighed.
"Well, Harry's going to flirt with Ginny a bit so I can't be hanging around him and Seamus and Dean are with the two noisemakers so I'm avoiding them, so I had a choice between you and Neville. I picked you."
She snorted.
"I feel so special," she said sarcastically.
"You should," I replied, sitting up on the basin counter. "So what made you hide out in here anyway?"
She blushed and looked down.
"I said something stupid to Harry."
"You said something stupid?" I asked flabbergasted. "Well there's a first time for everything."
She smiled appreciatively.
"You want to leave?" I asked her. "I mean, I could really go for a pizza right about now and Ern's Pizza won't be closing for another three hours."
"Sure."
"Great! We'll just have to tell my brothers that I'm leaving then we can go."
I walked around the backyard feeling very out of place. Ron left me and most of my friends weren't here except for Colin, but well, he was currently a bit intoxicated.
"I'm the king of the world!" he shouted, jumping into the pool with a shower cap on his head...and nothing else. Needless to say that everyone in the pool got out.
Among those was Harry. He climbed out with a very disgusted look upon his face, his wet hair dripping in his face. He smiled when he saw me.
"Hi Ginny!" he said, coming over to me.
"Hi," I said back, hoping that he didn't notice me blush.
"I would ask you if you wanted to go swim but..." he trailed off, looking over his shoulder to where Colin was splashing about, now joined by Billy Beerbomb.
I giggled.
"Poor kid's reputation is ruined," Harry commented. Then he smiled at me.
"Why don't we go to Ern's Pizza and get something to eat?" he asked.
My heart skipped a beat.
"Sure," I replied.
"Great!" he said. "Hey Fred, George!"
My brother's were on the roof dropping water balloons on people.
"Yeah?" they called back.
"Taking your sister to get some pizza, I'll be bringing her home."
"Whatever."
They had just run out of balloons and realized that they didn't know how to get down.
"Come on," Harry said, taking my hand.
My hand! He was holding my hand!
We had to walk to Ern's Pizza since Harry couldn't drive legally yet, but it was only a few blocks down, so it wasn't so bad. We were about to walk in when we saw Ron and Hermione sitting at a table and laughing.
"Let's not disturb them," Harry said, taking my hand once again.
"Where are we going?" I asked him.
"Sirius's," Harry replied. "He can make a better homemade pizza than Ern can."
"Well this is me," I said, stepping up on my front porch, Ron had walked me home.
He looked up at my house.
"Yeah, so it is."
We stood there for about a minute or so not saying anything.
"Um," I said awkwardly. "My parents are out of town tonight, do you want to come in and watch a movie or something?"
Ron smiled.
"Okay."
Sirius was driving Ginny home and I came along for the ride. I sat in the back with her and was holding her hand. She had the biggest smile the whole drive over. So did Sirius.
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley ran a store for water equipment such as surfboards and such, so the Weasley's live in this cool house along the beach. It's one story with a bunch of big widows. I love it there.
"Bye Ginny," I said, squeezing her hand a bit.
"Bye," she said, but she didn't get out of the car.
"Oh, kiss her already, Harry!" Sirius shouted out from the front.
When we both didn't move, Sirius covered his eyes and said, "Look I'm not even looking!"
I smiled and touched Ginny's cheek. I leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. She looked dazed by it all and slowly got out of the car.
I watched the car drive away, then I walked slowly inside. I seemed to be in a dream. Mom was in the kitchen finishing up the last of the dishes. She turned around.
"Ginny?" She seemed confused and looked as if she wanted to know where my brothers were when I shouted:
"Harry kissed me mom!"
She looked shocked.
"What? When, where?" she asked.
And I told her the whole story.
Another Author's Note: Yay! I finally got this chapter done! Sorry it took me so long. Did any of you here that they're cutting out Oliver Wood in the next movie? How can they do that? Are they even going to have a Quidditch match? They have to! Important stuff happens at the Quiditch match! Snitch.com is signing a petition to keep Oliver Wood. Hopefully it works. I just realized that I don't have much of Oliver in this story. I'll try to squeeze him in next chapter. Toodles!