Hogwarts High
By Siriusly Amused
Author's Note: Fast update-celebrates- I'm so happy that everyone gets fifty cookies-hands out cookies- Most of you guys guessed right. It was Luna. I'm still not sure if I'm going to really bring her into the story or not. Definitely not in this one, but possibly in the sequels. I'm just introducing her now just incase I feel like bringing her in. Anywho, I'm really happy about this chapter. Took me a vast majority of the day to write (though I did take 3 half an hour breaks). What I'm really excited about is that this is the first chapter where I have something from every period. Ginny's 1st hour algebra, the trio's 2nd hour geometry, everyone's 3rd hour PE, 4th hour English, Lunch, Harry/Ron/Twin's 5th hour PE, 6th hour Bio, and 7th hour History. I'm probably the only one happy about it but… Also, I titled this chapter 'I Don't Proofread' because I don't. At least not for this story. I don't want to keep my readers waiting any longer than they should, so I always post right after I finish. Which explains why I spelled Parvati wrong. I always have problems with that name.
Disclaimer-yawns- I don't own HP…
Chapter Twenty One
I Don't Proofread
°°°Harry°°°
"Hello, Mrs. Jenkins! Lovely day, isn't it?" Sirius called out at our goggling neighbor. She had reason to goggle though. Sirius and I were standing on the front lawn of our apartment complex in our swimming trunks. Sirius was currently holding the hose as I washed my hair. Draco and his mom spent so much time in the bathroom in the mornings that Sirius and I were reduced to bathing on the front lawn with the hose. I wondered if anyone would call child services.
"Alright, Harry, my turn," Sirius stated, throwing a towel at me and forcing the hose into my hands.
"Why doesn't Remus shower out here?" I asked, shivering slightly from being wet and outside on a late March morning.
"Because Remus showers at night," Sirius replied.
"Why didn't we think of that?" I asked, turning the hose off as Sirius reached for a towel.
"Because we think outside of the box!" Sirius answered, raising his arm triumphantly as he led me back inside. We were greeted into our apartment by playful laughter.
"You burned another one!" Narcissa exclaimed between giggles.
"I never said I could cook," Remus said back. He wasn't laughing but his voice was up beat. "You were the one that said you were a fast learner."
"No, that was Si," Narcissa clarified. "I just said I could learn. I didn't say how quickly I would learn."
"Yes, well, Si has some explaining to do," Remus stated, using Sirius' nickname for the first time.
"Si is right here you know," Sirius called out, coming into the kitchen with his towel slung across his shoulders. "What are you two attempting to make anyway?"
"Pancakes," Remus replied, nudging a burnt pancake onto a plate.
"Harry can make pancakes!" Sirius announced.
My back was turned. I was trying to sneak out of the kitchen before they asked me to cook, but it was too late. Sirius grabbed me by my shoulders and ushered me to the stove. I made each adult two pancakes and was going to turn the stove off and get ready for school when Draco came in and insisted I make him a pancake as well. By the time everyone was fed, we were already running late for school.
I shoved my bare feet into some sandals and grabbed my school bag as Draco rushed out of the door.
"Have a nice day at school, kids," Sirius called after our retreating backs. We took the stairs since the elevator was slow and we ran across the parking lot once we got outside. I hopped into the passenger side of Draco's SUV and he tore out of the parking lot as I fastened my seat belt.
We sped down the streets and parked hastily in two parking spots in the school parking lot. We ran across the lawn and through the doors faster than a track star. Ron was waiting by my locker when I reached it.
"Morning," I greeted between breaths as I did my combination.
"Um, Harry?" Ron asked awkwardly.
"Hmm?" I replied, taking out stuff to work on in Study Hall.
"Why are you wearing swimming trunks?" Ron continued.
I slammed my locker and looked down at myself in shock. He was right. I was still in swimming trunks and shirtless.
"New fashion trend!" Draco yelled down the hall from his locker. Ron looked at me as if I were going slowly insane.
°°°Ginny°°°
Math is not my best subject. I'm not bad in it, but I have to struggle more with it than I do any other subject. Luckily for me, however, math is all of my brothers' strong points. Ron had come into my room the night before to ask me if he could finish off the rest of the mint chip ice cream (my favorite, which is why he asked) and he stumbled upon me having a near nervous breakdown because I couldn't understand my algebra lesson and I had a test the next day.
So he ignored his stomach for once in his life and sat down and explained it to me.
"Math is just a bunch of rules you have to memorize, Gin," he told me as he watched me finally work out a problem correctly. "Like chess," he added. "This one can only do this and that one can only do that. Once you get the rules down, it's easy."
I snorted. Easy for him maybe. He was a freaking strategist! But his tips did help and I finished my test much earlier than anyone else.
"Done already?" McGonagall asked as I turned in my test. "Well then, would you mind running down to the office and getting me a cup of coffee?"
"No problem," I replied, trying to ignore the jealous stares my classmates were giving me. I left the classroom and roamed the halls until I came to the school's office. The office was a riot as usual. The secretaries had formed a conga line, ignoring the phones that were ringing off the hook. I smiled and made my way to the table that had the coffee on it. I was in the middle of deciding whether McGonagall would want regular or decaf when I was distracted.
"Hello, Gin."
I turned to my left and gave a slight jump. Harry was sitting in one of the chairs outside of Dumbledore's office, a pink slip grasped firmly in his hand. Now, Harry has nothing on Fred and George when it comes to getting into trouble, but he has been known to rebel at times, so seeing him outside the principal's office with a pink slip wasn't the shocking thing. What was shocking was what he was wearing. And he had no shame. He was slouched down comfortably, his ankles crossed out in front of him and his arms resting over the backs of the chairs next to him. He was smiling up at me politely and I realized that I was staring at his chest like an utter idiot.
"Harry, what the hell?" I asked, shaking my head and turning back to poor a cup of coffee.
"Draco's a bathroom hog so I showered on the lawn this morning," Harry explained nonchalantly. "Then I was running late for school and I forgot to dress myself. Umbridge spent ten minutes staring at me like a pedophile before she started yelling at me. Then she sent me here," he finished, waving a hand to indicate the office.
"And to think, here I was thinking you did it on purpose!"
I turned around and smiled when I saw George entering the office, a pink slip also in his hand.
"Fred and I did something like this when we were freshman," he informed with a smirk. "Only we did it better. Trunks, flippers, goggles and snorkels!"
"You guys are insane," Harry stated, selecting a bagel from the coffee table and taking a bite out of it.
"Damn right we are," George stated in all seriousness. "EVERYBODY CONGA!" he shouted suddenly, grabbing my hand and dragging me over to the conga line. It's very hard to dance with coffee in your hand.
°°°Ron°°°
Harry was half-naked and on my right. His feet were propped up on his desk and he was cleaning his glasses on his swimming trunks. Hermione was zoned out and on my left. Her hair was a frizzy mess that I hadn't seen since our childhood and her eyes were blood shot. Neither of them were taking notes, so if any of us were going to pass the next Geometry test, I'd have to be the one taking notes. So let me clarify the situation for you: Harry was flaunting himself, Hermione wasn't paying attention in class, and I was taking notes diligently. There was something terribly wrong with the world.
°°°Draco°°°
"Harry, have you noticed something wrong with Hermione today?" Ron asked in our 3rd hour PE class as the three of us changed into our PE clothes (Harry just changed shoes and put a shirt on).
"Nope," Harry replied. He was sitting on the bench and he had one foot up against the lockers as he tied his shoe. "I've been too busy noticing that I'm shirtless today. I mean, I forget about it and go about my business, but then I look down and, whoa, there's my navel! Mmm, warmth," he informed, wrapping his arms around himself. His upper half must have been cold because he chose to wear his long-sleeved PE shirt.
Ron, who had just finished changing into shorts and a T-shirt, stared at Harry incredulously. "What the hell is wrong with you today?" he asked. "You're acting like bleach boy over here!" Ron pointed to me.
"Hey! I do not bleach my hair!" I shot back, running my fingers through my hair nervously and gazing at my reflection in the mirror in my locker to make sure my roots weren't showing again.
Ron stared at us for a moment as I continued to check my hair and Harry continued to hug himself in an effort to stay warm. "Lunatics," he whispered before turning his back on us and heading out of the locker room.
"Do you think we've become lunatics?" I asked Harry as we headed out of the locker room and into the attendance lines.
"You have," Harry replied, "granted, I think you've always been a lunatic. Hmm, maybe there is something up with Hermione," he added, glancing over to the other side of the gym where Granger, looking horrible, was glumly talking to Ginny and Noelle.
"I wonder what's up with her?" I mentioned before Hagrid called us out to the track to train for the spring endurance run we'd be taking in a few weeks.
°°°Hermione°°°
I must look absolutely wretched if Ron is noticing something was wrong with me. He said very little to me all day but he continually sent me worried stares during class. At least he wasn't asking what was wrong. Ginny and Noelle had confronted me in PE but I refused to tell them. For some reason, I felt as if I had to tell Ron first, and he would be the most difficult person to tell.
Even Harry and Draco seemed to notice that something wasn't right with me, and they've been pretty much caught up in their own little worlds lately. Draco had let me drink some of his water out on the track during PE, and Harry had given me a piggy back ride back into the gym after our run was finished.
And now we were in English. Harry was leaning on the podium at the front of the class, waiting for Flickwick's ok to start his oral book report. Harry, unfortunately, leaned too far and both he and the podium fell forward. He gave a short scream and tossed his note cards up in the air. Everyone around me started laughing, but I wanted to cry.
°°°Ginny°°°
"Eww," Harry squealed, wiping ketchup from his chest. He was sitting next to me at the lunch table.
"Harry, why didn't you just keep your PE shirt on?" Seamus asked from across the table.
"It was all sweaty," Harry replied.
"You have other PE shirts in our locker," Ron informed, digging into his tater tots.
"Yes, but they all smell bad," Harry retorted.
"Why don't you take them home one weekend and wash them?" Lavender asked with an exasperated face.
"There's an idea," Harry remarked.
I laughed. "Come on, guys," I piped up. "Harry just wants to show the world his chest," I explained, patting Harry's chest. The whole table became silent by my action. "What?" I asked, crossing my arms and glaring at everyone's gaping mouths (some of them still had food in them).
"Ginny, switch me seats now," Ron ordered, taking his tray and standing up. I complied, though not silently.
"What's the big deal, Ron?" I asked as I sat down between Hermione and Noelle. "I used to date him, you know."
"Yes, but you're not dating him now, so you can't touch his bare chest," Ron ordered.
"So if we started dating again, it would be ok?" I asked teasingly.
The silence and gaping mouths returned, excluding Harry who was choking on the plum that he was eating. Ron started thumping him on the back.
"Harry, mate, you have got to start getting used to her saying things about you when you're eating," Ron told him as he continued to thump him on the back.
"What?" Seamus asked, confused.
Ron started telling the rest of the table about the time he and Harry dressed up as old people to spy on us and Draco at Ern's Pizza, and how I had said I wished Harry would be romantic and caused Harry to choke on some prunes. Next to me, Hermione rose and took her tray to the lunch lady before heading toward the bathroom. Everyone silently watched her go.
"Psst, Ginny, is it her time of the month or something?" Ron asked, leaning across Noelle.
"Shut up, Ron," was all that I could say.
°°°Fred°°°
George and I were running through the halls. We both had signs that read, 'We're skipping Spanish' on our backs and yet no teacher tried to discipline us. I wonder if they just gave up on us?
°°°Ron°°°
"Maybe she got an A- on a test?"
"Maybe she's sick?"
"Maybe she's pregnant?"
Everyone who was surrounding my lab table looked at me suddenly. "No," I clarified. Parvati hugged me and squealed happily for some reason as everyone resumed their guesses over Hermione's odd mood. Our fetal pigs were lying on the table in front of us. The final test on them was coming up and we were supposed to be identifying all the parts, but we've identified them all already and figuring out Hermione was much more mentally stimulating.
"Maybe her parents are getting a divorce too!" Draco piped up, raising his scalpel importantly.
"Her parents get along better than my parents," I told him which made him lower his scalpel. "Besides, you're not all depressed over your parent's divorce."
"Yes, but I hate my father," Draco stated. His eyes widened in shock. "Whoa, and to think-if I hadn't changed this past year, I would have spent a lot of years and money on a shrink to utter those words!" Parvati hugged him too.
"Don't worry, Ron" Harry stated next to me. "I'm sure you'll be the first to know what's up with her once she feels like talking."
"What makes you say that?" I asked him.
He shrugged. "I don't know, I was just trying to make you feel better." Parvati hugged him.
"Parvati, stop hugging guys who aren't your boyfriend," Dean scolded angrily.
Parvati hugged him.
°°°Harry°°°
Mr. Binns read from the history book in his monotone voice. I believe we were supposed to be learning about the Great Depression; however, no one was paying attention. We were playing classroom volleyball which consisted of desks stacked up in the middle of the room to make the net and a beach ball.
It was game point with two minutes until the bell. My serve. Draco was on the other team. I stared at him then remembered that it was him that forced me to shower outside. I gritted my teeth and served. The ball landed between Draco and some kid I don't really know. My team won and the bell beeped. I was carried joyously out the classroom and for the first time in a month, I didn't care that I had to go to 'training' after school.
°°°Hermione°°°
The sun was setting and Ron and I were walking along the beach by his house again. This time it wasn't romantic. Clouds were billowing out to the west, signaling that a storm was coming. The temperature was dropping and I looked and felt a mess. I wanted nothing more than to dig a hole into the sand and bury myself in it.
"I'm ready to tell you why I've been weird today," I said at last, breaking the silence. Ron stopped walking and turned to face me. His face was worried and his hands were in his pockets.
"Ok," he said.
"Last year wasn't the best year for me," I told him. His brow furrowed in confusion. I continued. "It was my first year of high school and I was really worried about college already. Ginny and I didn't hang out very much and I pretty much just spent the year alone. I mean, I know I had you and Harry and the others, but I didn't feel like I really fit in with you guys. Everyone was changing and I just wanted to go back to when we were ten."
Ron looked as if he still didn't know what my little confession had to do with my present mood, but he remained quiet, nodding his head at intervals and I knew his brain was already strategizing how to help me get out of my rut. I took a deep breath.
"I heard about this boarding school in Colorado and I really wanted to go there. I talked it over with my parents and they eventually agreed because it's a really, really good school. So, at the end of freshman year, I wrote the school and sent in my application, but I didn't hear from them over the summer, so I went back to Hogwarts High for sophomore year and everything changed. I love my life and the people who are in it and leaving this place for whatever reason is the last thing I want to do."
Tears were welling up in my eyes, but I forced them back.
"The night of the beach baseball game, I came home and on my bed was my mail. The school wrote back to me, Ron. They're offering me a full scholarship for the next two years! I sat up all night thinking it over and in the morning, I decided that I didn't want to go anymore. I want to stay here with you, so I threw the letter in my trashcan." I sighed. "But my mom saw me."
Ron's eyes were wide and disbelieving; his mouth was opening slowly in shock.
"My parents want me to go to the school, Ron," I choked out. "They're so adamant about it that," I paused and wiped my freely falling tears off of my cheeks, "that they're moving us out to Colorado at the end of the school year."
Ron slowly turned away from me and looked out toward the ocean, the shocked expression glued upon his face. He collapsed and sat on the sand with his arms hanging limply at his sides. I knelt down beside him and tried to get a response out of him but it was as if he had shut his mind off to the world. I threw my arms around his shoulders and cried into his neck, but he didn't respond. I pulled away and saw that his mouth was closed and he was making fists into the sand.
"I'm sorry," I whispered before running off toward the Weasley house. I crawled through Ginny's opened window and fell onto the floor, tears rushing from my eyes.
"Hermione?" Ginny asked, confused. She had been listening to music and enjoying her evening, but now she came to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Hermione, what's wrong?"
End Author's Note: I really need to get a more comfy chair. You know, everyone is kind of out of character in this story. Ron's a bit too sweet. Harry doesn't have a saving people thing and he's a bit more goofy than he is in the books. Hermione's more laid back. Draco and his mother sure as hell aren't good in the books. Remus isn't so Sirius-like in the canon. I think I got Sirius down ok. And the twins and Dumbledore. Oh well, no one's complaining about their characterizations so…if it's not broke, don't fix it, eh?