Note: Hey guys! The SATs have come and gone (what a relief) and found out
yesterday that I earned an 1130, which isn't bad for a junior high student.
Anyway, hope that this chapter is what you've been waiting for. It's not
the best, but it's not the worst either.
Chapter 15: Leaving for Hogwarts
Relieved as he was that the sores had been removed by Mr. Weasley, Harry still had a problem with Ginny to work out. However, time seemed to slip out of his hands. Harry packed, played a few games of chess with Ron, finished last minute homework with Hermione, and was soon preparing for his last night at the Burrow. Both he and Ron brushed their teeth, pulled on their pajamas, and snuggled under their sheets for a restless sleep. Harry couldn't stop thinking about Ginny long enough to fall asleep. The only silver lining he saw on this cloud was that he had stopped moping over Sirius. However much this cheered Ron, Hermione, and other mothering people, it did not make his day much happier. Ginny didn't have much luck sleeping, either. Hermione seemed to be awake, too, so Ginny decided that she had best remain still and quiet to fake sleep. Breathing deeply and closing her eyes, Ginny relived the events leading up to her eventful third kiss and those that followed it. She analyzed Harry's behavior, as well as her own, and decided that there was no conclusion to come up with. The kiss was a moment of rashness and stupidity. It couldn't have been helped; teenagers do dumb things. A decision to put it all behind her came to mind. Ginny promised herself that she would be nice to Harry, nothing more. She wouldn't send any signals that she was nervous, interested, or anything other than good- natured and amiable. A small voice in the back of her head screamed that she shouldn't push Harry away, that she should pull him closer and learn what his real feelings were. This voice was quickly silenced by her will to protect her heart.
Hermione and Ron were both thinking the same thing: what was going to happen on the train tomorrow? They weren't thinking about themselves (well, maybe a little bit), but more about Harry and Ginny. Would they work everything out? Was this year going to be hell, with their friends ignoring each other and staying shut in their individual room?
Ron, finally deciding that the heat of his room was becoming too much, and the crushing emotions of his head and his friends were driving him mad. He grabbed a coat and headed for the door. Harry groaned and opened his eyes; he was just becoming semi-sleepy!
"You awake, Harry?" Ron called softly, hoping sincerely that Harry wasn't.
"Yeah," Harry called back.
"I'm going outside; you want to come?"
"Sure," Harry said, grabbing his sweater and shoes before joining Ron on the landing. Both friends headed downstairs. As they passed the two girls' room, a head poked out of the doorway.
"Hermione?" Harry asked.
"Yeah," said Hermione. "Where are you two going?"
"I was thinking of taking a walk," answered Ron.
"Can I come?" asked Hermione hopefully, begging to get out of the room that was practically static with the tension of Ginny's angst.
Ron, annoyed that his solitary walk had been interrupted by his two best friends, sighed and nodded. Hermione reached for her dressing gown and sweater before joining them on the stairs.
The trio walked silently out of the house and into the warm summer night. A small chilly breeze blew around Hermione's legs, making her shiver. As they wandered around the small pond near the near a band of trees on the Weasley's property, Harry voiced the thoughts that had been haunting him for some time now.
"Do you guys wish you had never met me?" he asked quietly.
"How could you think that, Harry?" asked Hermione, slightly taken aback, by his sudden outburst.
"Well, think about it," Harry said, speaking louder and trying to remain calm. "Everyone else runs away from me, I get you both into trouble constantly, and I'm not very good company most of the time."
"We could never hate you, Harry," said Ron, hurt slightly that Harry would ever think that they weren't friends.
"Harry," said Hermione softly, choosing her words carefully. "You do seem to attract trouble, but we're friends forever. It's the only thing that You-Know-Who can't break: a bond of true friendship. Our friendship is something he can't understand. It's our best defense."
"Yeah, and we're not just friends because of an evil wizard; I guess we were sort of born to be friends in a way. We complement each other perfectly: you get credit for the heroics, I make it funny, and Hermione does all of the work."
"Excuse me," cried Hermione indignantly.
"Well, anyway," Ron said, changing the subject and quieting Hermione. "We had better get to bed. We're going back to school tomorrow. No wait, let me rephrase that," he said checking his watch, "today."
Early in the morning, all four teenagers woke up to Mrs. Weasley calling them to breakfast. After a quick shower and an even quicker change of clothes, Ron and Harry hurried down to breakfast. Hermione and Ginny were already at the kitchen table, but at the sight of Harry, Ginny muttered an excuse and ducked out of the room. Hermione looked at her retreating back with amusement and sadness.
Ron sat down across from Hermione and engaged her in a conversation on Prefect duties in sixth year. Harry slid into a seat next to Ron and played absently with the heap of food Mrs. Weasley had put onto his plate.
By the time eleven o'clock rolled around, the four teens were sitting in a compartment near the end of the train. When the whistle blew, Ron and Hermione left to sit with the other prefects, leaving Harry and Ginny by themselves in the compartment. Ginny was about to leave to see her other friends, but was dismayed when all five girls tumbled into their compartment. Harry would have left, but he had no where else to go and the girls insisted on staying in the compartment with Harry and Ginny.
After failing miserably in convincing her friends that they should leave, she resigned herself to the longest train trip in memory. The endless gossip and stories that were being swapped began to drive her mad after ten minutes. She glanced over at Harry and saw him staring out the window, absently twiddling with his wand. Under her gaze, his face grew hot but he didn't turn around. Ginny sighed.
It wasn't that she didn't like her friends, but she didn't like them talking. After two hours on the train, the girls' conversation turned to boys and kissing. Both Ginny and Harry turned beet red, but neither acknowledge the talk around them. Finally, Amanda, a blond Ravenclaw, turned to Ginny.
"So how'd it work our between you and Dean?" she asked, flipping her hair and smacking her bright lipstick. This girl was the only one of the five that Ginny truly had a problem with. However, Meredith went nowhere without her blond counterpart and Ginny like Meredith.
"Uh, nothing really happened between us," said Ginny, glancing over at Harry.
"Excuse me, girls," said Ron, opening the compartment. "Harry, you want to escape."
Harry practically ran out the door and smiled at Ron appreciatively when they were safely in another compartment.
"Thank you so much," he said.
"No problem, mate. Hermione will be here soon." Ron looked rather odd, with his hair a mess and his ears red.
As though on cue, Hermione came into sight, hurrying down the train towards them, hair flying. "Hey, guys," she said, red faced with lips swollen. Harry suspected that the Prefect meeting had ended quite some time ago.
I was going to write more, but decided that this was enough. Hope you liked it!
I hope everyone has a good weekend and reads some good fanfics. If you find an R/H one that's super good, or just a funny one other people might enjoy, tell me in your review!
Chapter 15: Leaving for Hogwarts
Relieved as he was that the sores had been removed by Mr. Weasley, Harry still had a problem with Ginny to work out. However, time seemed to slip out of his hands. Harry packed, played a few games of chess with Ron, finished last minute homework with Hermione, and was soon preparing for his last night at the Burrow. Both he and Ron brushed their teeth, pulled on their pajamas, and snuggled under their sheets for a restless sleep. Harry couldn't stop thinking about Ginny long enough to fall asleep. The only silver lining he saw on this cloud was that he had stopped moping over Sirius. However much this cheered Ron, Hermione, and other mothering people, it did not make his day much happier. Ginny didn't have much luck sleeping, either. Hermione seemed to be awake, too, so Ginny decided that she had best remain still and quiet to fake sleep. Breathing deeply and closing her eyes, Ginny relived the events leading up to her eventful third kiss and those that followed it. She analyzed Harry's behavior, as well as her own, and decided that there was no conclusion to come up with. The kiss was a moment of rashness and stupidity. It couldn't have been helped; teenagers do dumb things. A decision to put it all behind her came to mind. Ginny promised herself that she would be nice to Harry, nothing more. She wouldn't send any signals that she was nervous, interested, or anything other than good- natured and amiable. A small voice in the back of her head screamed that she shouldn't push Harry away, that she should pull him closer and learn what his real feelings were. This voice was quickly silenced by her will to protect her heart.
Hermione and Ron were both thinking the same thing: what was going to happen on the train tomorrow? They weren't thinking about themselves (well, maybe a little bit), but more about Harry and Ginny. Would they work everything out? Was this year going to be hell, with their friends ignoring each other and staying shut in their individual room?
Ron, finally deciding that the heat of his room was becoming too much, and the crushing emotions of his head and his friends were driving him mad. He grabbed a coat and headed for the door. Harry groaned and opened his eyes; he was just becoming semi-sleepy!
"You awake, Harry?" Ron called softly, hoping sincerely that Harry wasn't.
"Yeah," Harry called back.
"I'm going outside; you want to come?"
"Sure," Harry said, grabbing his sweater and shoes before joining Ron on the landing. Both friends headed downstairs. As they passed the two girls' room, a head poked out of the doorway.
"Hermione?" Harry asked.
"Yeah," said Hermione. "Where are you two going?"
"I was thinking of taking a walk," answered Ron.
"Can I come?" asked Hermione hopefully, begging to get out of the room that was practically static with the tension of Ginny's angst.
Ron, annoyed that his solitary walk had been interrupted by his two best friends, sighed and nodded. Hermione reached for her dressing gown and sweater before joining them on the stairs.
The trio walked silently out of the house and into the warm summer night. A small chilly breeze blew around Hermione's legs, making her shiver. As they wandered around the small pond near the near a band of trees on the Weasley's property, Harry voiced the thoughts that had been haunting him for some time now.
"Do you guys wish you had never met me?" he asked quietly.
"How could you think that, Harry?" asked Hermione, slightly taken aback, by his sudden outburst.
"Well, think about it," Harry said, speaking louder and trying to remain calm. "Everyone else runs away from me, I get you both into trouble constantly, and I'm not very good company most of the time."
"We could never hate you, Harry," said Ron, hurt slightly that Harry would ever think that they weren't friends.
"Harry," said Hermione softly, choosing her words carefully. "You do seem to attract trouble, but we're friends forever. It's the only thing that You-Know-Who can't break: a bond of true friendship. Our friendship is something he can't understand. It's our best defense."
"Yeah, and we're not just friends because of an evil wizard; I guess we were sort of born to be friends in a way. We complement each other perfectly: you get credit for the heroics, I make it funny, and Hermione does all of the work."
"Excuse me," cried Hermione indignantly.
"Well, anyway," Ron said, changing the subject and quieting Hermione. "We had better get to bed. We're going back to school tomorrow. No wait, let me rephrase that," he said checking his watch, "today."
Early in the morning, all four teenagers woke up to Mrs. Weasley calling them to breakfast. After a quick shower and an even quicker change of clothes, Ron and Harry hurried down to breakfast. Hermione and Ginny were already at the kitchen table, but at the sight of Harry, Ginny muttered an excuse and ducked out of the room. Hermione looked at her retreating back with amusement and sadness.
Ron sat down across from Hermione and engaged her in a conversation on Prefect duties in sixth year. Harry slid into a seat next to Ron and played absently with the heap of food Mrs. Weasley had put onto his plate.
By the time eleven o'clock rolled around, the four teens were sitting in a compartment near the end of the train. When the whistle blew, Ron and Hermione left to sit with the other prefects, leaving Harry and Ginny by themselves in the compartment. Ginny was about to leave to see her other friends, but was dismayed when all five girls tumbled into their compartment. Harry would have left, but he had no where else to go and the girls insisted on staying in the compartment with Harry and Ginny.
After failing miserably in convincing her friends that they should leave, she resigned herself to the longest train trip in memory. The endless gossip and stories that were being swapped began to drive her mad after ten minutes. She glanced over at Harry and saw him staring out the window, absently twiddling with his wand. Under her gaze, his face grew hot but he didn't turn around. Ginny sighed.
It wasn't that she didn't like her friends, but she didn't like them talking. After two hours on the train, the girls' conversation turned to boys and kissing. Both Ginny and Harry turned beet red, but neither acknowledge the talk around them. Finally, Amanda, a blond Ravenclaw, turned to Ginny.
"So how'd it work our between you and Dean?" she asked, flipping her hair and smacking her bright lipstick. This girl was the only one of the five that Ginny truly had a problem with. However, Meredith went nowhere without her blond counterpart and Ginny like Meredith.
"Uh, nothing really happened between us," said Ginny, glancing over at Harry.
"Excuse me, girls," said Ron, opening the compartment. "Harry, you want to escape."
Harry practically ran out the door and smiled at Ron appreciatively when they were safely in another compartment.
"Thank you so much," he said.
"No problem, mate. Hermione will be here soon." Ron looked rather odd, with his hair a mess and his ears red.
As though on cue, Hermione came into sight, hurrying down the train towards them, hair flying. "Hey, guys," she said, red faced with lips swollen. Harry suspected that the Prefect meeting had ended quite some time ago.
I was going to write more, but decided that this was enough. Hope you liked it!
I hope everyone has a good weekend and reads some good fanfics. If you find an R/H one that's super good, or just a funny one other people might enjoy, tell me in your review!