Hogwarts High
By Siriusly Amused
Author's Note: Ugh, I had this chapter written and was ready to post when I realized that I had the wrong angle and now I must rewrite it or else never be satisfied. -glares at muse- Will this fic ever get done?
Disclaimer: I do not own…HP…Rupert's hair…Dan's voice…a million dollars…
Chapter Twenty Two
One Week
°°°Ron°°°
The punching bag jerked about on its chain as I pounded it over and over again with my fists. The Weasley Anger Punching Bag was infamous by now. Dad had hung it up in the garage the moment Bill turned 13 and since then every Weasley child had come and abused the poor thing until its stuffing started showing. I highly doubted the bag would last the night with the force I was using on it, and yet my anger wasn't subsiding in the least. The punching bag, which had calmed even Fred and George on a bad day, was doing nothing for me. My arms shot forward, one after the other, again and again until the punching bag didn't even resemble a punching back anymore; half of its stuffing littered the floor.
Yelling out in frustration, I turned from the bag and punched the garage door before taking a deep, calming breath and resting my head against the door. My breathing was heavy for a few minutes, but when it started to return to normal, I winced as I felt the pangs of pain that were shooting through my arms and hands. My right hand in particular.
I brought my hand to my face and winced again when I saw blood coating my knuckles. Hermione would kill me if she knew how I was acting. The garage lit up when a flash of lightning shot through the sky. I jumped slightly, shocked that it was storming because I had been too preoccupied with my punching to pay attention to the weather.
I sighed and left the garage, running across the yard until I got to the house. I went in through the back door and left my shoes, that had gotten wet in the rain, in the laundry room. The house was dark and quiet. Obviously no one had waited up for me.
"There you are."
I was wrong. Ginny was sitting on the counter in the kitchen, eating what appeared to be a bowl of fruit.
"I was wondering when you'd come in," she stated, popping a grape into her mouth.
I hid my bleeding hand behind my back. "Yeah, well, you know me," I said in a rush, trying to get past Ginny so I could go into the bathroom and nurse my hand.
Ginny smirked. "The punching bag is dead, isn't it?"
"Um, yeah," I admitted, striding across the kitchen. To my absolute horror, Ginny hopped off of the counter and followed me. It took approximately two seconds before she saw my bleeding hand.
"Ron, what the…?" she asked, following me into the bathroom as I rummaged around for the first aid kit.
"I hit something other than the punching bag," I told her, taking the little, white box down from the closet and opening it.
Ginny stood still, her arms hanging limply at her sides. The brave façade that she had been using was slowly crumbling.
"She's really leaving us, isn't she?" she asked, her voice cracking as her eyes filled with tears.
"Oh, God, don't cry, Ginny," I told her as I started cleaning my hand. "You know how I am when girls cry."
"I have to cry now," she said, falling to her knees. "We have to be happy the next time we see Hermione, so I have to cry now. You let your feelings out already on the punching bag, now let me get my feelings out!"
"Do you have to let them out on the bathroom floor?" I asked, wrapping a bandage around my hand.
Ginny suddenly stood, her brown eyes flashing with anger as she glared at me and clenched her fists. "Ronald Weasley, you are an insufferable ass!" she exclaimed in a furious whisper before turning on her heels and leaving the bathroom.
"That's more like it," I said to no one as I finished my hand and left the bathroom.
°°°Ginny°°°
I inhaled through my nose and brought my hands together above my head. My eyes were closed and I was trying to clear my mind. It was proving to be easier said then done. My numerous windows were opened, letting in the crisp scent of the rain and I had been doing my Saturday morning yoga for over an hour. Fresh air and yoga were supposed to be calming, but neither were helping my troubled mind at the moment as I buried my pain and frustration at Hermione's departure deep inside of me. My only solace was that I still had roughly two months with her, and I was going to make damn sure that those last two months were happy.
"Ginny, dear," my mom stated, poking her head into my room.
"I'm doing yoga, Mom," I told her, keeping my eyes closed as I felt my anger boiling up again.
"Yes, dear, I can see that, but I was just wonderinghave you seen your brothers at all today?"
"I saw Ron come in last night, but I haven't seen him since," I informed, trying to keep my concentration.
"What about the twins?" she asked.
"I haven't seen them since they dropped us off at home after school yesterday," I answered.
"Did they say anything about staying the night somewhere?"
"No, they always tell Ron to relay their whereabouts to you, not me."
"What now?" Ron asked, coming into my room from the doors separating his room from mine. His hair was a mess and he was still in his pajamas. I noticed that he opted for an overly large shirt that had sleeves that covered his bandaged hand.
"Honestly, is everyone set on ruining my concentration this morning?" I asked in an exasperated fashion, throwing my hands up and glaring from my mother to brother.
"I'm sorry, Gin," Ron stated simply. His blue eyes focused on my face and his expression somber.
I paused and looked at him. He seemed to be apologizing for a lot more than just ruining my yoga session. "You're forgiven," I told him. Our mom looked at us oddly.
"Ron, dear, did Fred or George say anything about staying over somewhere yesterday?" she asked.
"Nope," Ron said, looking confused. "I haven't seen them since they dropped us off at home yesterday. They wouldn't let me take their school bags in for some reason."
Mom furrowed her brow in confusion and left my room, muttering things under her breath. I turned to Ron.
"You should tell Mom about Hermione leaving; she'll find out anyway," I told him.
Ron narrowed his eyes at me. The moment of peace between us appeared to be gone. I had forced the painful truth that Hermione was leaving back into his mind and his Weasley anger was boiling fast.
"Why don't you tell her!" he shot back, turning to go back into his room. "Hermione's your friend."
I stared at Ron's retreating back, unable to believe what had just left his mouth. Oh yes, the Weasley anger was at an all-time high. It had turned my brother from a loveable blockhead to a spiteful prick.
"You did not just say that!" I exclaimed, stalking after him before he had a chance to close the door and lock me out.
"I just did," he said, his face close to mine as he tried to push me out of the room. Where were Fred and George when you needed them? I was no match against Ron physically. I gave myself twenty seconds tops before Ron managed to push me out of his room.
"Take it back right now and Hermione will never know what you just said!" I threatened stubbornly.
Ron stopped trying to push me out. He took a step back and stared at me, his mouth opening and closing in uncertainty and his fists clenched. Finally, he gritted his teeth and mumbled something.
"What?" I asked.
"Hermione's more than a friend to me," he clarified, looking as if he greatly wanted to shake me. "Now, get out of my room," he stated slowly, pointing a finger at the door.
I scowled at him as I retreated back into my room. "You need to get over yourself quick on this one, Ronald Weasley," I told him angrily. "Hermione's leaving whether we like it or not and she doesn't need to put up with our angry attitudes."
I had stepped over the threshold, back into my own room. Ron closed the door behind me with a snap and a moment later a resounding 'click' was heard as he locked the door for the first time in months. "Bastard," I mumbled under my breath. A loud thump was heard. It appeared that Ron had thrown something at the door because of my comment.
°°°Harry°°°
"So, you're leaving?" I asked Hermione Sunday afternoon as we sat outside Ern's Pizza. She nodded sadly.
"Damn, who am I going to copy from?" Draco asked through a mouthful of pizza across the table.
I opened my mouth to scold him but Hermione snorted with laughter. "You'll manage, Draco," she told him, swirling her straw around in her soda. "You're very smart, even if you are a bit dense sometimes. And if you have trouble, Harry and Ron are both…" Hermione paused, her eyes threatening to fill up with tears at the mention of Ron's name.
"He's not taking the news very well, is he?" I asked.
Hermione nodded, biting her lip slightly.
"You can't blame him," I continued, looking down at my pizza, suddenly not feeling hungry.
"What?" Hermione and Draco asked at the same time.
I looked at them with hurt eyes. "You're leaving, Hermione, of course he's going to be messed up! I mean, I'm messed up about it and I don't think of you the way he does. Not that I don't love you," I added hastily, "I just don't love you the same way he does."
Hermione nodded and squeezed my shoulder affectionately.
"It's just, you've been with us from the start. You helped make us who we are. It's going to take us a long time to deal with the fact that you're not going to be around anymore." I sighed. "But we'll deal with it eventually."
The table was silent for a moment. Hermione was staring at me with her mouth agape and Draco looked confused for a moment before he smirked slyly at me. "Lupin's wearing off on you," he stated.
"You think?" I asked curiously.
"Yeah," Draco replied. "It's funny though, I get rid of one dad and I gain two. You know, I went on a date with Noelle the other night and Sirius had a pep talk with me beforehand. He gave me some condoms."
"Yeah, he gave me some too awhile back ago," I commented, smiling slightly at the memory.
"Ugh, I don't need to hear this," Hermione whined, wincing and covering her ears.
"Sorry, Mione," both Draco and I apologized.
Hermione smiled and lowered her hands. We were silent once more before…
"He also gave me some tips," Draco added, leaning across the table.
"He didn't give me any!" I stated in indignation.
"That's it," Hermione said, standing up and throwing her paper plate in a nearby trashcan. "Thanks for the talk you two, but I can't stand hearing this," she said, leaning down and giving us each a peck on the cheek before turning on her heal and disappearing down the sidewalk.
"Oh my God, she kissed me!" Draco exclaimed in shock. "Somewhere, somebody is losing a lot of money over some bet that they made that she'd never kiss me!"
"Who would make such a bet?"
"People who are extremely fascinated with me, of course!"
"Ah, so no one, then."
"Shove off, Potter!"
°°°Hermione°°°
I arrived at school early on Monday morning. I grabbed my books from my locker and some breakfast from the cafeteria before I went out to the front lawn and sat down at the normal table, the parking lot clearly visible from where I sat. I wanted to catch Ron before class started.
I ate my breakfast slowly as the school yard slowly filled up with students. Noelle joined me with her own breakfast ten minutes later. She hugged me after she sat down.
"It's not so bad," she said encouragingly.
"What's not?" I asked her.
"Moving," she replied with a shy smile. "When I moved earlier this year, I thought my life was over. As it turned out, my life actually got better."
I smiled at her but was unable to reply. She was trying to help. I admitted that there was the possibility that I was moving into something better, but it was difficult to imagine that there was anything better than what I already had. Noelle and I then started talking about random tests and papers we had due that week as others arrived. Draco and Harry came at a reasonable hour for once. Neville came shortly after the blonde and the messy-haired boys. He said a quick hello to us before walking off to sit by a blonde girl at a freshman table.
I was starting to wonder if Ron would show up to school at all when Harry broke my musing.
"Looks like Fred and George haven't been found yet."
I glanced over in the direction that Harry was looking to find Ron and Ginny stumbling off of the bus. They both looked like they were in really bad moods and seemed to be arguing. I groaned.
"Fight the good fight, Hermione," Harry said, taking a swig of his orange juice as I grabbed my books and left the table.
I crossed the lawn and approached the two red heads.
"Hi," I said softly, clutching my books to my chest.
Ginny and Ron (who had been exchanging heated words as I approached) grew silent and stared at me for a moment before Ginny walked over and gave me a quick hug.
"Dump my dumbass brother," she ordered angrily before stalking off.
Ron glared at her retreating back but didn't say anything. He shook his head and began walking up to the school's entrance.
"We should talk about it, Ron," I said, walking fast to keep up with his long strides.
"There's nothing to talk about," Ron said tersely. We had entered the school and he easily weaved his way through the sea of students, leaving me behind. I caught up with him at his locker. It was stuck again and he was yanking the latch so fiercely, I wondered if he would break it off.
"There is something to talk about," I told him.
He stopped his yanking, dropped his arm to the side and sighed deeply.
"No there isn't," he replied, almost calmly. He had seemed to regain himself a bit. He raised his fist and banged on his locker door in three strategic spots and I watched on, amazed, as it sprung open.
"We have to talk about it," I whispered as he took out his history book.
He slammed his locker shut so hard that several people turned their heads in our direction. He glared at me for a minute before taking a step closer.
"No we don't," he said before side-stepping me and entering the boy's bathroom.
°°°Mrs. Weasley°°°
"Are you sure you haven't heard from them at all, Charlie, dear?" I asked into the mouthpiece of the phone.
"I haven't talked to either of them since the beach baseball party last week, Mom," Charlie replied.
"What about your cell phone?" I asked. "Maybe you missed a call from them?"
"Nope," Charlie stated.
I made a pathetic whiney sound out of frustration. It was nearly 72 hours since anyone had seen or heard from Fred or George. They had disappeared before of course, but never for this long.
"I should call the cops," I stated, rubbing my left temple.
"I'd wait another day or two," Charlie suggested. "Ron said that the twins didn't let him take their school bags into the house Friday after school, right?"
"That's what he says."
"Well, that was probably because they had packed some clothes and stuff in the bags. Which means that they planned on leaving. And if most of their stuff is still at home, they plan on coming back. Let's not forget that it was their 18th birthday this weekend. They're probably in Mexico getting drunk at some bar or something," Charlie guessed.
I groaned. "God only knows what else they're doing."
Charlie chucked. "Yeah, God only knows." He seemed to be amused with all the trouble his younger brothers could get themselves into. "Listen, Mom, I have to get back to work. I'll let you know if they contact me, okay?"
"Thank you, Charlie. Take care of yourself, dear." And with that, I hung up the phone and turned around. I jumped extremely high out of shock when I found Ron sitting at the dinner table, eating lunch.
"Ronald Weasley, what on Earth are you doing home at this hour?" I asked.
"I've been home for the past hour," Ron explained. "I even said hi, but you were too worried about the twins to notice me."
"I'm sorry," I apologized, completely confused as to what had overcome my children of late.
"Hermione's in a lot of my classes," Ron explained. "We're fighting over her leaving and I got sick of it so I told the secretaries that I wasn't feeling well and they let me come home. After they had me dance the Macarena, of course."
I wanted to question him about the Macarena but decided against it.
"I'll let you stay home today, but tomorrow you're going back to school and staying there," I told him while I eyed the phone and debated about calling the police to file a missing persons report.
"What if I really am sick tomorrow?" Ron asked.
"Then you'll be sick at school," I replied. I was about to reach for the phone when the back door slammed and Ginny stormed in.
"Ginny, what…?" My children were definitely baffling me. None of my high schoolers were at the high school.
"I'm only home for lunch," Ginny snapped, glaring at Ron.
"Hogwarts High isn't an open campus," I muttered but Ginny wasn't paying attention to me.
"Go back to school and apologize to Hermione!" Ginny yelled at Ron.
"Stay out of this, Ginny!" Ron snapped, standing up and taking his plate to the kitchen sink.
"You're acting like a jerk!" Ginny continued.
"I'm emotionally distraught!"
"Who isn't these days?"
Ron paused a minute, his face blank as he tried to think. "Um, Seamus?" he asked dubiously.
The kitchen was silent for a moment before Ginny erupted into giggles. Ron soon broke into a smile too as a slight blush spread across his visage. The moment was short-lived, however, as Ginny's face soon regained its angry expression.
"Apologize to her you daft prick!" she scolded, pointing to Ron.
"Ginny!" I exclaimed in shock.
"My behavior is perfectly acceptable; I have nothing to apologize for," Ron stated angrily, side-stepping Ginny and heading down the hallway.
"Don't walk away from me! I'm not finished talking to you!" Ginny yelled and before either Ron or I could register what happened, she hurled herself down the hall and tackled Ron around his waist, bringing them both down to the floor where after a moment's pause due to shock, a wrestling match ensued.
"Ginny! Ron!" I yelled as the two rolled around on the floor and random appendages hit the walls, scoffing them up with their shoes.
"Ginevra and Ronald Weasley!" I tried again. "Stop right this instant!" I was ignored. My patience, which was already testy due to Fred and George's disappearance, was at it's wit's end. I marched up to the feuding teenagers and grabbed a hold of Ginny's collar. Ginny emitted a strangled noise as I pulled her off of her brother. Ron tried to lunge for his sister, but I prohibited him by placing my foot down on his chest, pinning him to the floor.
"Ginny, go to school," I yelled, nudging Ginny down the hall with one hand.
"Ron's staying home!" Ginny whined.
"HA!" Ron exclaimed exuberantly, pointing a finger at Ginny.
"Why you little," Ginny started and before I knew it, another fight of words (most of them I don't approve of) started up.
"THAT'S IT!" I yelled viciously. "GINNY, GO TO MY ROOM! RON, GO TO YOUR ROOM! BOTH OF YOU ARE GROUNDED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE!"
°°°Ron°°°
Ginny and I didn't talk to each other on the way to school on Tuesday morning. Hermione and I didn't talk during school on Tuesday. Ginny sat several seats in front of me on the bus on the ride home Tuesday afternoon. Mom was awaiting both of us when we got home. She had a manic grin on her face and excruciating long lists of chores for each of us to do in her hands.
Bill and Charlie came over for dinner that night. They tried to calm Mom's worrying over the twins. They didn't accomplish much.
Ginny and I had just finished cleaning up the kitchen when our two older brothers left. Ginny and I turned toward Mom with questioning looks on our faces.
"You're free for the rest of the evening," she sighed, waving us off.
The two of us retreated silently to our separate rooms. It was getting dark and I still had homework to get done. I walked over to my bed to retrieve my school bag. I had just hoisted the bag onto my shoulder to bring it to my desk when I suddenly heard rustling in the bushes under my open windows. I leaned my head out of the window, looking down.
"Boo!" Fred and George exclaimed in hyper whispers.
"AHH!" I exclaimed, dropping my school bag and taking several steps backwards in shock.
"Shut up, little bro," Fred said, climbing into my room through the window, George close behind.
There was a slight knock on the doors separating my room from Ginny's.
"Ron," Ginny asked quietly through the doors. "Did I hear the twins in your room? Are they back?"
"Yeah, come on in, Ginny," George said, he was pulling in several duffel bags through the window.
"Can I come in, Ron?" Ginny asked politely.
The twins sent me questioning stares as I walked over to the doors and unlocked them.
"You two haven't locked those doors in months," Fred commented as Ginny came in. Ginny's face lit up upon seeing the twins and she ran across the room to them and hugged them both around their middles. The impact of her force was so great that the twins had to take a step back to keep from falling. They sent me identical stares of questioning.
"She's been in a tackling mood lately," I explained. The twins looked even more confused, but decided not to say anything. I made a mental note to have a long talk with them later, filling them in on everything they missed.
Ginny released the twins, her smile suddenly gone. "Where…have…you…been?" she asked, slapping their arms with each word.
"Vegas, of course," George replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Vegas?" Ginny and I both asked, impressed.
"Wow," said Ginny, raising her eyebrows.
"Did you win anything?" I asked curiously.
The twins unzipped their duffel bags, grinning like mad men. There was a loud 'thump' as Ginny fainted.
°°°George°°°
Ginny was unconscious, Ron was staring with his mouth agape as if he forgot how to talk, and Mom was knocking on Ron's door, inquiring about the noise. I shot Ron a look that told him not to tell her anything as Fred and I grabbed the bags, ran into Ginny's room and hid in her closet. We listened as Ron regained himself and opened his door to let Mom in.
"Ginny, oh my!" Mom exclaimed in worry. "What happened?" she asked. I winced as I recognized the hint of anger in her voice.
"I, uh, apologized to her for my behavior and she obviously didn't expect me to do it," Ron stammered.
"Oh," Mom said. "Well, I'll get some water then."
"No, it's alright. I'll take care of her, you just go relax," Ron coaxed.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, you just leave it to me."
Once we heard Ron's bedroom door shut, Fred and I left Ginny's closet and went back to our younger siblings. Ron was sprinkling some water from a water bottle onto Ginny's face.
"What was that all about?" Fred asked. "Apologize for what?"
"I'll tell you later," Ron said as Ginny's eyes shot open.
"Better?" Ron asked her.
"I think so," Ginny replied, eyeing the duffel bags in our hands. Fred and I reached into our pockets and took out wads of cash. We extended our hands with the cash to our shocked siblings.
"We have big plans for this money," I explained. "So we want to keep it a secret for as long as possible."
Ron and Ginny nodded their heads slowly.
"Now," said Fred after Ron and Ginny accepted their money. "We need a place to hide these bags for the night."
°°°Hermione°°°
I watched on with a worried expression as Ron was cornered between sixth and seventh period in the hallway on Wednesday afternoon. The poor boy was on his way to study hall when a mass of juniors backed him into a wall, demanding information on where Fred and George had gone for their birthday.
"I'm telling you, I don't know!" Ron exclaimed in a frustrated manner.
"They didn't tell you anything?" one very burly junior asked him.
"Not a thing. I didn't even know they were back until this morning," Ron explained. He was lying. The very tips of his ears were slightly pink, the only sign he showed that he was lying because he had gotten good at it, covering up for Fred and George over the years.
His blue eyes caught my gaze as the juniors left him, mumbling their disappointment. I smiled at him. It was the first sign of recognition since our fight on Monday. The fact that he was keeping whatever secret Fred and George had entrusted him with made me forget my anger with him.
He offered a half smile back before heading into the library and passing out on the couch.
"He's having a bad week," Seamus noted as I sat down at the usual table.
"We all are," I replied sadly.
Lavender placed a comforting hand on my forearm. "Are you sure you can't talk your parents into staying here?" she asked. "Hogwarts isn't a bad school, you know. Percy Weasley got a full scholarship to Harvard after all!"
"They already bought the house," I admitted glumly. Seamus and Lavender were silent for awhile.
"Well, life sucks then," Seamus stated, slamming his bio book shut and going over to pass out on the couch next to Ron's. Lavender and I rolled our eyes.
°°°Ginny°°°
Fred, George, Ron and I were all grounded for an indefinite period of time. By Thursday afternoon the house was spotless and yet Mom continued to have us clean it.
"Fred, George, you two aren't leaving your room until I can see the damn floor!" she bellowed down the hall. Ron and I exchanged scared glances in the living room which we were cleaning. It looked like Mom wouldn't be settling down anytime soon.
°°°Fred°°°
Friday morning was cloudy and cool. George, Ron, Ginny and I sat in the dark kitchen at the table, eating soggy cereal in silence. None of us felt much like talking. Groundings have that effect on us. Suddenly, Ron stopped his eating and lifted his head as if realization had just dawned on him.
"I'm being an ass, aren't I?" he asked Ginny.
"Just a bit," Ginny replied, keeping her eyes on her cereal.
Ron paused for a moment before he sprung up from his seat and raced out of the house.
"Where the hell is he going?" George asked, pulling the funnies from the newspaper and reading them.
°°°Hermione°°°
"Hermione!"
I shot around in my chair to see Ron climbing into my room through my window. I placed my hairbrush down and stared at him curiously.
"Hermione, I've been an idiot!" Ron stated, coming over to me and taking my hands into his own. "You didn't realize what you were doing when you sent that letter last year and it's your parents who are making you move, so I have no reason to be upset with you! I'm going to miss you like hell when you're away but there's phones, and e-mail, and messenger, and snail mail, and…"
He was babbling.
"And I really don't want to talk about this, but we should probably figure out our future. I mean, do we break up and see other people when you leave? Do we break up now and get used to just being friends? Oh, God, Hermione don't break up with me now!"
"Ron."
"If you break up with me now, I'll become very, very depressed and I might resort to letting Fred and George test pranks on me to take away the pain. THEY MIGHT MAKE ME JUMP OFF OF A BUILDING!"
"Ron!"
"OR PLAY CHICKEN WITH A TRAIN!"
"Ron!"
"OR MAKE ME WEAR A DRESS TO SCHOOL!"
"RON! Just shut up and kiss me already!"
"…Okay."
End Author's Note: Man, I'm sleepeh. I'm sorry this took over a month to get out. My usual excuses apply (school, work, homework) but also what I said up there about it nearly being done and then I got an idea and had to start over. I wanted to say a lot of stuff in here, but I'm tired, hungry, and hot. Plus I want to read a book.