Chapter Nine: Ready or not
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters used in this story.
A/N: For the people who were actually waiting for an update, sorry! A big huge thank you to people who review my story regularly. And another big thank you to people who have just started to read and review my story. I am honoured. Nearly 100 reviews! WOW!
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Melanie sat at the window seat near her bed, with her legs tucked up under her chin, watching the rain fall. She rested her head on her knees, and sighed. Somehow the gloominess of the room was comforting.
"Nothing seems to go right for me," she thought, "I wonder if Ron was just using me as someone to stall with until he dug up the courage to tell Hermione that he liked her."
Melanie considered this thought, until it occurred to her that she had requested a meeting with Ron first. She had wanted to speak to him since their second year. It had taken her that long to merely ask a friend to speak to him for her. She remembered what it had been like for her before that. She spoke quietly to the darkness, as if it would help relieve some of her pain.
"I just wanted someone to love me for me. I would see couples everywhere, and I would be jealous. I would read books, watch movies, where people found the special ones just for them. I know it was stupid to go by what books said, but I really believed that there was a perfect person for everyone. Now, my perfect person is gone. No-one will want me now. I'll never be loved by anyone again. But…what if Ron didn't really love me at all? I suppose I wasn't doing something right. It's my fault that Ron left me."
Melanie sighed, and watched raindrops race themselves down the windowpane.
"I guess I just wasn't good enough for him."
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"Harry, no, it's raining, I forgot an umbrella!" Rachel squealed, as Harry tried to pull her out into the rain to run to Hogsmeade. (A/N: Harry is meant to know short cuts, and a rain repelling charm, but in this story he doesn't. hehe)
Harry rolled his eyes at her and grabbed her hand again.
Rachel tried to protest, but Harry then picked her up and scooted off with her in his arms.
"Harry, you idiot! PUT ME DOWN!" Rachel laughed in his ear.
Harry grinned at her.
"You sure?"
"YES!"
"Okay."
Rachel found herself sitting on the wet and muddy ground.
She looked up at Harry.
"OH MY GOD YOU IDIOT! YOU HAD BETTER START RUNNING!" she shouted at him in mock fury.
Harry pretended to faint, and when he did, Rachel grabbed his arm and tugged him down as well. He blinked at Rachel through the rain.
"Well, this is nice, don't you think?"
Rachel giggled, got to her feet, and dragged Harry off of the ground. She cleaned them both up with a special charm, and they both began to sprint down to Hogsmeade.
"Don't you try and pick me up again!" Rachel warned Harry as they ran.
Of course, Harry picked her up.
"OH MY GOD, HOW DID I GET STUCK WITH A GUY LIKE YOU!?!??"
Their shouts and laughter faded into the rain.
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Meanwhile, Lily and James, when not spending time with Harry (which was hardly ever), liked spending time with Melanie instead. They had grown used to the future Hogwarts, and the best thing was, according to James, that they didn't have to take any classes.
They had seen Rachel go off with Harry, but Melanie hadn't been there.
Lily pondered over Melanie's whereabouts.
"Well…she's in Ravenclaw…so if I remember correctly…"
She and James turned a corner, and were faced with the Ravenclaw portrait.
The Ravenclaw portrait guardian changed every week, but this was unknown to Lily and James. (A/N: Yes, in my funny little story, funny little things happen)
This week's guardian happened to be a big fat purple hippopotamus.
James stared.
"What is a big fat purple hippopotamus portrait doing in Hogwarts?"
Lily shook her head in disbelief.
"I don't know what a big fat purple hippopotamus portrait is doing in Hogwarts."
"Do you know the password?"
"Even if I did, do you think that a big fat purple hippopotamus would understand us?"
"Li-Linda, the big fat purple hippopotamus wouldn't be guardian if it didn't understand English."
"Well, since when do big fat purple hippopotamuses understand English?"
"Well, Lilyinda, apparently this big fat purple hippopotamus DOES understand English, so there!"
"I still think that the big fat purple hippopotamus is stupid."
"Okay. DO YOU KNOW THE BLOODY PASSWORD OR NOT????"
"No."
"OKAY THEN! HOW ARE WE GOING TO GET IN???"
"Err.."
"WE'RE GOING TO TELL THE BIG FAT PURPLE HIPPOPOTAMUS THE PASSOWRD, THAT'S HOW!!!"
"BUT WE CAN'T TELL THE BIG FAT PURPLE HIPPOPOTAMUS THE PASSWORD IF ONE, WE DON'T KNOW IT, AND TWO, IT DOESN'T UNDERSTAND ENGLISH!"
"LIL-NDA, THE BIG FAT PURPLE HIPPOPOTAMUS PROBABLY DOES UNDERSTAND ENGLISH, AND-"
They both fell silent as they both heard a small voice from the other side of the portrait.
"Would you like me to let you in?"
James stared.
"Was that the big fat purple hippopotamus???"
Lily rolled her eyes.
"That wasn't the portrait, you idiot. That was someone on the other side of the portrait."
"Oh."
Lily said loudly, "Yes, could you let us in please?"
The portrait opened slowly, revealing Melanie.
"Can we come in?" Lily asked quietly.
Melanie nodded silently.
As the portrait door closed behind them, a slow, big, fat, purple, hippopotamussy voice said,
"By the way, I do speak English."
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Dumbledore was very worried.
He paced in his office, and the previous headmasters on the walls were getting dizzy from watching him.
"Lily and James are getting far too comfortable. I don't know when I will have an opportunity to tell Harry. I found the reversal spell long ago. They have been here for months!" (A/N: Even though it doesn't seem like months.)
The portraits muttered.
"I will wait." Dumbledore said. "I will wait just a little longer."
But a voice in his head reminded him that he had done this once before. And what good had come out of that?
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Harry opened the common room door, and he and Rachel thumped in, breathless and pink-cheeked from the cold and rain.
As they came in, Hermione glared at them. Ron was in a chair right next to Hermione, and they would have looked like a cute couple, except for the fact that Ron was tied to his chair with several of Hermione's knitted scarfs.
"Do you mind? Some people are trying to work here! I only have four more days of break to go, and I am not even a quarter of the way through my homework!"
Rachel sniffed at her.
"It's your fault for wanting to look smart, and biting off more than you could chew."
Hermione stood up angrily.
"I don't see how that is any of your business. I don't want you butting into my life."
Rachel gave a sarcastic laugh.
"Oh, look who's talking about butting into other peoples lives! That's a bit rich coming from you."
Rachel crossed her arms over her chest, and gave Hermione a my-god-if-looks-could-kill-you-would-be-dead-by-now glare.
Hermione glared daggers right back at her, sat down, and buried herself behind a book.
Harry sighed.
"Well, we just came by to get Ron."
Rachel gave him a sharp look that clearly said, "We did?"
Harry nodded tartly.
Ron tried to stand up, and then remembered that he was tied to his chair. He fell flat on his face. Harry went over to help him out of his scarffy prison.
Rachel knew that this was going to get right up Hermione's nose, so she said,
"Oh, yes. Seeing as you were just SO busy, we thought that Ron might want a little break. He is probably bothering you. We'll leave you to work!"
"Ron's not both-"
"Yes, I'll leave you now."
Ron practically sprinted out of the common room, with Harry and Rachel hot on his heels, leaving Hermione seething.
Once outside, Ron sighed heavily.
"Oh, thank you so much. I was going to die."
"Ron Weasley, you shouldn't be speaking like that! You were spending quality time with your girlfriend!"
Rachel practically spat the last word at him.
"Well, if you're going to be like that, I'm going right back in there!"
Harry and Rachel crossed their arms and raised their eyebrows.
"Actually, I…I've changed my mind. Where are we going?"
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Melanie, have you been here all day?" Lily asked concernedly.
Melanie nodded miserably.
"I just sit here, and watch couples go to Hogsmeade. Harry and Rachel have been the most entertaining so far."
Melanie almost smiled.
"Would you like to come to Hogsmeade with us then?" James asked.
Melanie shook her head.
"Hey, you're still in you're pyjamas! Why don't you go and get dressed, and we'll wait outside the CLOSED door."
Lily emphasised the word closed, looking pointedly at James, who had been making himself comfortable in a chair.
Melanie gave her assent to this proposal, and went to look in her closet.
Once outside, Lily hissed at James, "You can be such a pervert."
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Harry, Rachel and Ron walked silently. After a while, Ron interrupted the silence.
"Er, where are we going?"
Rachel had been waiting for him to say something.
"What does it matter to you, you rotten, scheming…orange… COW!?!?"
Ron stared.
"Well, if you're going to be like that, I'm going right back to the Gryffindor common room!"
Harry and Rachel merely blinked at him.
"Err….actually….I'll just…um…keep tagging along then."
More silence.
This time, Harry interrupted the silence.
"Er, Rachel, where are we heading?"
Rachel looked straight ahead. Harry understood. Ron didn't.
"Where are we going? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where?"
Rachel took deep breaths, which didn't help at all. She turned slowly to Ron, who immediately stopped in his tracks, and braced himself.
"WOULD YOU PLEASE SHUT THE HELL UP!!!"
"yes ma'am…" Ron squeaked.
Rachel looked maliciously at him.
"Quite the coward, aren't you Ronnikins?"
Ron stopped looking scared and started looking indignant.
"I am not a coward! Fight me!"
Rachel snorted.
"You'd be down on the floor within a minute."
"Oh yeah?" Ron challenged, forgetting how truly cowardly it was to challenge a girl.
Harry looked on calmly. He knew who was going to win.
Rachel took stance. Ron held his hands out in front of him, and squinched up his eyes.
Rachel gave an evil laugh, and there were lightning bolts flashing in the background, with bats. And chocolate fell from the sky.
"HALLOWEEN!" Ron shouted.
"Oh, shut up." Rachel said irritably.
Harry set his watch to stopwatch mode.
"And…GO!"
Ron took a few timid steps forward, and struck out with an un-fisted hand. Rachel blocked his hand easily, and gave him an effortless kick, aimed at his stomach. Although effortless, the kick sent poor scrawny Ron flying.
Harry looked at his watch.
"Twenty three seconds. Not bad."
Ron got to his feet.
"You didn't even try!" he said accusingly.
Rachel gave another evil laugh. More lightning, more bats, and more raining chocolate.
"HALLOWEEN!" shouted Ron.
"Little Ronnikins, I didn't want to kill you! Or did I?" Lightning, bats, chocolate.
"Humph."
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Dumbledore by now had paced around his office so many times that now he was dizzy.
"No, no, I will tell Harry today."
"No, no, I will tell Harry in a few months."
"NO, NO, I WILL TELL HARRY TODAY!!!!!!!!!"
All of the portraits were beginning to wonder if he was a schizophrenic, except for Phineas Nigellus, who was sleeping soundly.
"NO, I WILL TELL HARRY TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Dumbledore nearly gave himself a heart attack.
"No, I will wait. I will wait. Everyone is having a wonderful time. I hate to spoil it. I can't. Harry will never see his parents again. I cannot deny him this opportunity! I have seen them! They spend almost all day with each other! They are not apart for more than a mere few hours here and there! I cannot bring myself to destroy everything."
Dilys Derwent said gently, "Dumbledore, we don't want to spoil Harry's happiness either. But think! The longer you wait, the harder it will be for him to accept what is the truth! It will hurt him more, Dumbledore, the longer you hold out. Do the right thing, by you and Harry. Tell him, and it will all work out for the best."
Dumbledore could not ignore the facts any longer. With a heavy heart, he began to plan what had to be done.
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Well, that was nice and long! And it took a nice long time to type! So send in a nice long review! My story needs serious help. I NEED MY EDITOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hehe
Hope you liked it! For those who were waiting again, sorry for the wait!!!!!!! And I swear, this story is going SOMEWHERE! I promise! Don't give up on me! SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! heheheh
