Chapter 2 - Confessions of a Teenage Witch

The day had finally arrived; the day that she was looking forward to yet dreading as well. Hermione would be heading to the Burrow shortly, seeing Ron (and maybe Harry) for the first time since the end of the school term. She couldn't wait to see them; she had really missed both of them... but just as friends?

Even though Hermione hadn't had dreamt of anything since that dream, she couldn't stop thinking about her friends. She had decided not to avoid thinking about the dream, but concentrate on trying to find out if there was any meaning behind them and discover what her true feelings were for Harry and Ron.

She ran through the dream one more time. She and Ron kissed, then Ron turned out to be Harry. Hermione had the feeling that this dream was releasing her true feelings out in the open. She admitted to herself that the boys had always been there for her and although they could be annoying at times, she couldn't have asked for two better friends. Hermione was still feeling confused about who she preferred; they both had good personalities, were easy to talk to and they were quite dishy. Hermione knew that her dreams were telling her she was definitely attracted to both of them, but felt downhearted that she couldn't have both... or could she?

"No," she told herself, sighing heavily "That wouldn't work. Too complicated."

Hermione felt herself getting more and more frustrated at her indecision - which one would be better for her, she couldn't figure out.

But wait. What if the boys didn't feel the same way about her? This thought made Hermione cringe with worry. What if she made a terrible mistake by admitting that she fancied the pants off them? She couldn't imagine the horror of Ron and Harry laughing at her.

She had to find out the answers, but how? She couldn't just walk up and ask. It was an impossible task; there was no way she could find out without being in the same room.

"I'm going to have to think of something," Hermione said to herself, sighing heavily, as she began packing her clothes and school equipment for Hogwarts, and preparing herself, ready to go to the Burrow.

"Hermione!"

Hermione smiled at Ron, who was grinning from ear to ear, standing in the doorway of the Burrow. Although Ron was already tall and gangly, he seemed to have grown a few more inches over the summer. He looked really out of place in those black suspenders.

Suspenders? Hermione rubbed her eyes. Surely this wasn't another dream. She blinked to see Ron standing directly in front of her making Hermione jump.

"Alright, Hermione?" Ron asked, still smiling.

"I'm great, thanks." Hermione lied. How could she be feeling great when she was imagining Ron in suspenders?

"Here, let me help you with your trunk," gestured Ron, bending down and picking up the heavy trunk. He let out a strained groan before he managed to stand up straight, then slow began to walk towards the Burrow.

"Thank you, Ron. Is Harry here?" asked Hermione, trying to forget that last strange image.

"No, he's not coming until Friday."

"Oh good, I can't wait to see him and... it's good to see you too." Hermione replied, this time knowing she was telling the truth. She was extremely glad to be here and having Ron to talk to without Harry around gave her the opportunity to get some privacy with him. Did this mean that she preferred Ron over Harry? she thought. She would have to find out one way or another.

They made their way into the house where they was met by Mrs Weasley and Ginny.

"Hi, Ginny, Mrs Weasley." said Hermione, cheerfully.

"Hi, Hermione." replied Ginny.

"Hello, Hermione, dear." greeted Mrs Weasley. "Oh, Ron's helping you with your trunk. He's becoming such a gentleman, aren't you darling?"

"Shut up, mum." said Ron, through gritted teeth, slightly embarrassed.

"Yep, he certainly is," said Ginny, sarcastically, "He's one hell of a lover."

Hermione quickly jerked her head towards Ginny, shock spreading across her face. "What!" Everyone turned towards her, startled to hear Hermione shout in a sudden outburst.

"Erm...I said that Ron was one hell of a brother. I was being sarcastic." replied Ginny, speaking slowly to make sure Hermione understood.

"Oh, right!" said Hermione, trying to cover up her mistake, "I thought you were being serious!" She laughed nervously, as did everyone else. Then, an awkward silence fell upon the group; everyone was struggling to find something to say. Hermione felt her cheeks burning.

"Well, Ginny, go and take Hermione up to your room and let her unpack," said Mrs Weasley, finally breaking the silence, "Ron, you can carry her trunk upstairs, ok?"

"Ok." said Ron and Ginny in unison.

They made their way up the stairs, passing a mirror that softly spoke to Hermione, saying "What are you blushing for, dear?' which just made her blush even more.

"Are you all right, Hermione? Only you seem a little...distracted." questioned Ginny, looking slightly concerned.

"I'm fine," Hermione replied quickly, "I was just thinking... if I had any more homework to do."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Typical." He turned and began to walk up the stairs, struggling slightly under the weight of the trunk, closely followed by the two girls.

Was it Hermione's eyes or was Ron swinging his hips as walked upstairs; his firm tush moving from side to side with every step he took. She longed to reach out and grab his-

"Oi!"

Hermione suddenly jumped out her daydream. Ron was staring at her suspiciously. If he only knew what was going through Hermione's mind.

"Sorry, what?" replied Hermione, as if nothing happened.

"We're here. Ginny's already gone in." Ron pointed towards Ginny who was currently in her bedroom, picking up books and clothes off the floor.

"Oh right," said Hermione, "Thanks for helping me."

"No problem," Ron replied, breathing heavily and still looking at Hermione in a funny sort of way. "Like Ginny said, I'm one hell of a lover!" He laughed and Hermione's eyes widened, but thankfully, Ron didn't seem to have noticed. 'Oh God,' she thought, 'I'm starting to hear things now.'

Ginny came out of the bedroom and stood beside her brother. "I'll leave you to unpack. I'd help you but mum's forcing me to help Ron de-gnome the garden."

Ron scowled. "Yeah, it's going to take ages. See you later." They began to walk down the stairs and Hermione watched them walk down. No, that was a lie - she was really looking at Ron's bum.

Hermione spent the next hour reading through her school books. She was planning to spend the rest of the afternoon talking to Ron and Ginny when they had finally finished de-gnoming the garden. Unfortunately, they had had a hard time and ended up getting extremely dirty chasing the gnomes, seeming more mischievous than ever before, falling over the chickens, and crawling underneath the hedges just to grab hold of them.

Hermione looked out of the window just in time to see Ron comically fall into the pond after Ginny had backed into him by accident.

Hermione and Ginny found this absolutely hilarious; Ron, however, was not amused and stormed into the house. Hermione noticed that his ears were pink with anger and embarrassment, which always made him stand out (apart from his flaming red hair). She didn't realise until now that Ron looked very sexy when he was angry, especially when she wasn't the main reason for his anger.

She hurried across the room and opened the door to see Ron stomping up the staircase making the floor shake.

"Are you all right, Ron?" Hermione asked, looking concerned only because she wanted to stay in his good books.

"Never better," answered Ron, stiffly, "I'm going in the bath."

As Ron walked passed her, the smell of mouldy pond water filled the air around her as he closed the bathroom door behind him. Hermione stared at the door. What if he came back out and kissed her like he did in the dream? What if she accidentally walked in on him and just so happened to get have a sneak peak before he had the chance to yell at her?

She was reaching for the handle of the bathroom door when she heard footsteps coming up the stairs and moved away instantly. It was Ginny, covered in dirt and grass stains from head to foot, but nevertheless she didn't look or smell nearly as bad as Ron did.

"Hey. What are you doing?" questioned Ginny.

"Oh, nothing." Hermione replied, glancing at the bathroom door.

"Where's Ron? I suppose he's in a bad mood now? No doubt he will be for the rest of the week."

"He's in the bathroom."

"Damn, I need to use it too. Well, at least I'm not the one covered in pond water. Did you see Ron's face when he fell in?" Ginny walked into her bedroom and Hermione followed, sitting down opposite her.

"I just caught sight of you two just before it happened. Poor Ron," Ginny noticed that Hermione looked genuinely concerned for the first time and immediately became suspicious.

"You feeling ok, Hermione?" joked Ginny.

Hermione looked at Ginny seriously for a moment. "Ginny, I need to tell you something, but you've got to promise you won't laugh."

"Ooh, what is it?"

"Promise me you won't laugh."

"Why?' Hermione glared at her. "Fine, I promise."

Hermione shifted awkwardly on the bed, she couldn't bear to think what Ginny's reaction might be.

"I...I think I've f-fallen for Ron..."

"Wha-?"

"And Harry."

Ginny looked shocked for a moment, then when she heard Harry's name too she burst out laughing, tears already rolling down her face in mirth.

"It's not funny!" shouted Hermione over Ginny's laughter. Ginny began to calm down, trying to stifle her laughter.

"Please, I'm being serious!" cried Hermione, but this made her friend giggle even more and she had to hold her stomach because she was aching so much from laughing. Finally, she calmed down enough to keep her giggles to a minimum and waited to listen to what Hermione had to say. Hermione, however, looked ready to throw a punch.

"Why?" Ginny asked, gaining the chance to breathe normally again, "What made you like them?"

"Here we go," Hermione thought. The question of how this all started.

"You ready to listen?" Hermione asked. Ginny nodded. Hermione took a deep breath and made herself comfortable on the bed. She told Ginny everything. She listened to every word. She was a very good audience - she looked extremely shocked in the right places and went into a fit of giggles when she heard about the second dream. It took her a good few minutes to calm down and had to slap a hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing again. Even Hermione had to laugh because the images of Ron in erotic garments and Harry in his boxer shorts were just hilarious, but strangely attractive. But Hermione when told Ginny about Ron having a nice tush, she looked half amused, half disgusted.

"That's it. What do you think?" questioned Hermione, waiting nervously.

"You've got one twisted mind if you're having dreams like that and you must be completely mental if you like Ron and Harry in that way." replied Ginny, smiling like a Cheshire cat.

"Thanks," said Hermione, "But what do you mean about Ron and Harry? You use to like Harry!"

"Come on, think about it. It's Harry and Ron?"

Hermione looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Ginny looked pleasantly surprised at Hermione. She was top student in the year, and she still didn't have a clue about what these two boys were really like.

"Take Harry. Don't get me wrong, he's nice and quite cute, but he doesn't seem to have a clue about a girl's feelings. I mean, look what happened with Cho Chang - he liked her for ages, goes out with her a couple of times and then blows it because he was completely oblivious to the fact that girls do actually have feelings and are prone to crying fits when they're provoked. Although, if I was in Harry's shoes I would probably have done the same."

"But..."

"And, he didn't even notice that I fancied him for three whole years!" Ginny exclaimed, looking very annoyed. "THREE YEARS, Hermione!"

"Well..."

"And as for Ron," Ginny interrupted, "Don't get me started on him. You don't have to live with him. He can be so annoying sometimes and he's very bad-tempered."

"I know, but..."

"It's Ron, for God sake!" Ginny stepped in, ignoring Hermione's glares. "I mean, you are good friends but you always seem to be arguing at least once a day about something, and then one of you storms off and both of you get in a bad mood. Is that what you really want - a relationship full of fighting and arguments?" Ginny paused for breath allowing Hermione to answer.

"No. But I've heard of couples getting into huge fights and then, next second, lying on the floor, having hot, steamy, passionate, animal sex."

Hermione looked dreamily for a second, then her eyes widened with shock, and she slapped her hand over her mouth in horror.

Ginny was stricken with horror, clamping her hands over ears. "Arrhh! Give me a bucket, Igonna throw up! I'm going tobe in therapy for the rest of my life! That's my brother you're fantasising about! I can't believe you've just said that!"

"Neither can I," Hermione gasped. However, Ginny couldn't hear as she still had her hands firmly over her ears. Hermione gestured to Ginny to put her hands down. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that out loud." She could feel her cheeks blushing with embarrassment.

"I can cope with Harry, but Ron..." Ginny trailed off. Ginny pretended to throw up which didn't amuse Hermione. "So, you're lusting after their bodies now!"

"No!" Hermione cried, but replied too quickly.

Ginny half smiled. "Hermione, they'll never admit to liking you even if they really do!"

Hermione smiled. "Well, maybe you can help." Ginny looked confused as Hermione grinned, thinking of her next plan.