Summary: After six years have passed and Hermione and Ron still haven't realized that they like each other, Harry figures that, with the help of a joke shop and a few drink glasses, he can give them a little push.
Rating: PG (may change to PG-13)
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter characters and previous plot belong to J.K. Rowling. I only own the plot.

Love Plus Four
Chapter Four : An Unveiled Plan

Harry remained at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. He was thinking about the same thing he had been that very same morning: how to get Ron and Hermione together. His face in his hands, he muttered a few words aloud.

"If everyone else knows they like each other, why don't they?"

Ginny turned to Harry with an expression of irritated boredom across her face. "You wouldn't be talking about Hermione and Ron, would you?" she asked.

Rather surprised that she knew what he was thinking, Harry nodded slowly.

Ginny sighed darkly. "It's awful, isn't it? If we could only get them to realize it..." A malicious grin burst across her face. "That's it! If we could just get them to figure it out..."

"...without them knowing that we were helping them," he continued.

Ginny's face lit up. "Sort of like..."

"...a bad joke," Harry finished.

After a furious blush on Ginny's part, they grinned. "So – " she began, but was cut off by her twin brothers.

"Did I just hear – " Fred started.

" – someone say 'joke'?" added George.

"Er – " Ginny said, but Harry cut her off to explain their predicament.

"Sounds tough," said Fred dramatically.

"But as our motto says..." began George.

" 'There's nothing a good joke can't solve,' " said the two in unison.

"But how can jokes get them to – " said Ginny, unconvinced.

"Don't worry, Harry – " said George icily.

"All those who invest – " Fred winked, "– in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes shall be rewarded."

Ginny realized that she was being ignored, and with a pained look toward Harry, stormed out of the hall.

"I think Ginny wanted to help," said Harry, slightly scared of the consequences of an angry Ginny Weasley.

"Oh? Well, she wasn't concerned for us when we asked about Angelina and Alicia last week."

"She was going to visit their shop – it's right next door – and when we asked how they were, she just giggled."

"So we figure that – "

" – she doesn't deserve it."

"Anyway," concluded Fred, "we'll be seeing you around, Harry."

"Stay tuned for future developments."

Harry watched the twins exit the Great Hall, and then began to walk to the common room as well. Next to the portrait hole, he found a miserable Ron and a desperate Neville - both of whom seemed not to know the password.

"Mimbulus Mimbletonia," Harry said dully, proceeding inside the now-open portrait hole.

Ron faced him with a query as soon as they settled down into the fluffy red chairs. "What did I do wrong?"

Harry tried to swallow his sarcasm and said instead, "I think the real question is, what didn't you do wrong?"

Ron moaned and stuffed a pillow in his face. After a few moments' silence, he sighed weakly. "Well, maybe she'll forget it by tomorrow," he finished lamely. "'Night, Harry."

Harry watched his friend stumble into the dormitories. After awhile, he saw Ginny enter (she was conveniently avoiding his stare). She seemed engrossed in a letter. After a few minutes, he heard a squeal, then a rushed storming up the stairs. Puzzled, Harry retired to the boys' dorm. Maybe it will go away overnight.

Alas, how wrong he was.

The next morning, Harry proceeded to the Great Hall for breakfast. Ron was sitting across the table from a still-bitter Hermione. Harry took a seat next to Ron, while Ginny sat next to Hermione when she arrived moments later. Soon after, the post arrived. Ron became preoccupied with Pig )as he kept trying to attack the bird at the teachers' table). Hermione was scanning the Daily Prophet. It was at this moment that several things happened.

The food and drink appeared on the table. Suddenly, Harry watched as Ginny replaced Ron's and Hermione's respective cups with identical ones ... yet the new drink glasses had more of a mirror-like quality to them. Ginny grinned mischievously, performing a vanishing spell on the stolen goblets.

Harry looked at her questionably, but then realized that the current scheme probably had to do with the plan of the night before ... Therefore, he pretended to act inconspicuously, taking a bit out of a piece of toast.

Shortly after, Ron threw Pig into the air, apparently not quite interested in what his owl could do to Merle. He began pouring himself a glass of apple cider. Ginny seemed to be bursting with the burden of the "secret of the drink glasses". Harry watched as Ron set down the jug, and turned back to his goblet.

Reaching for his cup, Ron brought it up to his mouth to take a sip. It was about halfway through a gulp when he opened his eyes, seeing the reflection on the mirrorlike glass. He suddenly turned white as a sheet, dropping the goblet and allowing it to shatter on the table as he sprayed cider all over Hermione's paper. Then came the "secret of the drink glasses".

Ron screamed in an uncharacteristically high-pitched voice, "Bloody hell! I've been turned into a girl!"

Author's Note: Finally, another chapter up... Finally... -smacks self on head 1,000 times- I know, I know, I know - this definately should have been up earlier. I tried to upload it about a week ago, but my computer totally died. Bleargh. I promise to have once-a-week updates from now on! -cringes- I've been writing these out in longhand before uploading them.. Makes my hands sore, and it's after a long day of school as well. Heh. In the words of George, "Stay tuned for future updates!"

In Addition : I apologize for the lack of indentations into the paragraphs; it won't put them in... :(