Harry and Ginny had just figured out a method to getting down the stairs together without tripping over the cloak, when voices halted their progress. The moonlight glimmered across the Weasley's kitchen, outlining the silhouettes of two identical bodies staring out of the window. Trying to make as little noise as possible, Harry and Ginny inched forward. As they moved closer, Harry noted a large, dishevelled box under Fred's right arm, the moonlight illuminating the word "PRIVATE!" stamped clearly on the top- in Ron's handwriting.
"Ok Fred-" George whispered, after peering out of the window for a moment, "they're seated. How long d'you think it'll take for the first one to get to her?"
"It should be along any minute now..." Fred chuckled, patting the box affectionately. Ginny was so curious as to what they were plotting, she absent-mindedly moved forward to have a closer look.This caused her to slip on a piece of trailing cloak, and she slammed ungraciously onto the stairs. Both Fred and George turned around hastily to examine the noise, but on seeing no one they shrugged, George casually adding-
"You did make sure Mum's bedroom has a sound barrier around it, right? I'm sure she heard a knocking sound earlier..." Harry blushed in the darkness.
Fred rolled his eyes, "Of course I did, idiot. Did it just a minute ago, but we needn't have worried. Dad was snoring so hard I think even if the Ghoul in the attic had bounced on their bed, it wouldn't have woken them."
George replied lightly, "Good good- as long as she can't hear we can just sit back and relax-AHA!" He sprang towards the window gleefully, "I think the first one's just arrived- look!" It was Harry's curiousity that needed to be satisfied this time, and he stood on tiptoes to look over Fred's shoulder and out of the window. Something small was bulleting towards two blurred figures sitting under a tree.
Harry instinctively grabbed Ginny's hand and moved quickly towards the door, managing to slip unnoticed into the garden due to the many delighted outbursts from Fred and George, who were merrily congratulating themselves that something was about to occur.
As they darted towards the distant figures under the tree, Harry saw both stand quickly, gazing at an object suspended above their heads. Before Harry even had time to think on what it could be, the question was answered for him. In a burst of noise that pierced the silent night, Fred's voice filled the air, adopting a ridculous tone- he was high pitched and squeaky as he spoke.
"They've sent him a howler? He'll hardly be scared, will he? Especially with that ridiculous voice!" Harry whispered, but Ginny raised a hand to silence him and waited in anticipation.
"This can't be it. You should know by now Harry, Fred and George maintain a certain quality in their actions- there's got to be more to it..."
They stepped even closer to Ron and Hermione- finally listening to the words being shouted into the night:
"Hey Hermione, it's just Ron here..." Quoted the squeaking Fred, as if reading from a letter, "You've just been Petrified, by the way. Well.- you'll probably know that I suppose... because you won't be able to read this until you wake up, I guess. Anyway, just wanted you to know, that we want you to get better soon. Really soon. I mean- me and Harry. Both of us, obviously. It's been weird without you, even that git Lockhart seems more entertaining when you aren't here... oh- brilliant, I can hardly send this to you now, can I? Why is this taking so long to write?"
By now they were close enough to see the real Ron's face, which was utterly horrified as he jumped up desperately to silence the howler.
"Hermione!" He pleaded, swiping at the red envelope with his wand,"Stop the bloody thing! Don't listen-help!"
Hermione looked intently at the envelope, as though she would have very much liked it to continue, then with a sigh at Ron's mortified face she moved forward, and raised her wand- "Don't worry, it's an animate object so in theory the silencing charm should work-"
"I don't care about THEORY!" Ron yelled insanely, "Just STOP IT!"
Barely trying to conceal a smile, Hermione calmly recitied, "Silencio!" and howler was subdued, the envelope moving wordlessly. With a sigh of relief Ron thanked her, batting the howler ferociously into the tree they were standing next to.
"I'm...going...to...kill...Fred...and...George..." He snarled, his teeth clamped together tightly. Hermione squirmed, obviously desperate to speak. She finally burst out-
"Was that from the lov- the bunch of letters under your floorboards?"
Ron grimanced, and mutely nodded. He opened his mouth as if the was going to add to this, when he suddenly observed something in the sky. A red something.
"NO WAY!" He groaned, jumping up once more, but the second Howler had already burst open-
"Hermione, you've COMPLETELY missed the point," Yelled Fred's angry, yet still squeaky, imitation of Ron, "I don't care if Krum, that total and utter moron, took you to the Yule Ball. At all. Infact I haven't even thought about our argument, because you're the one with the problem. He's obviously using you to get to Harry, yeah...you're just so gullible. Well, don't come crying to me when it all goes wrong. Well... maybe you can cry a little bit to me. But don't think I'll forgive you, because I won't."
There was a pause.
"Much."
"SILENCIO!" Ron roared, stopping the Howler at once. Before he'd even had time to remove it, a third one fell at his feet, ready to burst at any moment. Harry saw Hermione casually slip the silent Howler under her jumper, indicating she would save it for another time.
"Ron?" She questioned, looking anything but concerned, "How many letters did you have in this box of yours?"
"Oh," Ron replied weakly, sending silencing charms in every direction at the flurry of Howlers that were now decending upon him, "a good few hundred, I'd say..."
Hermione responded by beaming, unnoticed by a harassed Ron, who was now up to his knees in close-to-popping howlers. Hermione secretly stowed away as many as she could fit in her pockets, then with a flick of her wand sent sparks of purple towards all of the scarlet envelopes surrounding them, making the mass of Howlers explode instantly.
As silence settled upon the garden, Ron whispered a grateful "thanks" before collapsing on the floor, exhausted from the sudden attack, but thoroughly relieved it was all over.
Or so he thought.
It seemed Fred and George hadanticipated Hermione's ability to remove the Howlers, and had come up with a backing scheme. Suddenly a fizz errupted from the Weasley's kitchen window, and a giant firework flew into the sky. Surprisingly to all, however, it did not explode, but carefully began to write in bold, sparkling words that contrasted starkly against the dark sky. Ron's uneven, scrawling writing was being copied onto the sky above them.
"I spent ages looking for it. I even sat next to a load of giggling third year girls four nights in a row so I could figure out what kind of perfume you'd like. I came out of that muggle cosmetic shop smelling like the Divination classroom, and for what? 'Thanks for the perfume Ron, it's unusual' Unusual?Repulsive, more like."
Hermione's face was relfecting the golden firework as she gazed, unable to speak, at the sky. Tears glistened in her eyes as she turned to Ron, who was looking at his feet.
"I've used that perfume everyday since, haven't you noticed?" She said softly, her eyes still transfixed on Ron's face.
"Well, yeah-" He muttered, shifting his feet from side to side, "but you kind of had to, didn't you? What with me around all the time..."
"Of course that isn't the reason!" She cried earnestly, placing a hand on his slumping shoulders. They realised simultaneously they'd made physical contact. Both froze.
"Well," Ron croaked,as Hermione removed her hand quickly from his shoulder, "If that's all we wanted to discuss, then I'll just be off to bed and-"
"Wait!" Hermione clutched his hand to stop him moving. Yet again they both stopped, staring down at their clasped hands as if they were covered in undiluted Bubotuber Puss.
"Yes?" Ron questioned, his voice intolerably high.
Hermione whispered something, staring at the ground.
"Huh? Didn't catch that-" Ron said, leaning his head forward so he could hear her.
"I-" She stopped, finally forcing herself to look at him," I think you're- you're wonderful Ron."
Ron screwed up his nose slightly, seeming to take this comment as a sympathetic compliment, rather than Hermione's inability to express her feelings properly.
"Thanks." He said shortly, stuffing his hands into his pockets grumpily. "I suppose you think I'm 'sweet' too, that I deserve some other girl who'll 'appreciate me for who I am' and all that rubbish."
"What?" she said her voice raising a pitch,"Don't be ridiculous, no other girl would appreciate you-"
"Oh, thanks." He interrupted, turning towards the tree.
"-LIKE I DO, YOU IDIOT!" She finished, her whole body shaking in anger, "Understand? No one else would- would appreciate you like..." She trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.
Ron's voice had changed to a tone Harry had never heard before. "You value me?" He said quietly, sounding like a House Elf that had just been asked to sit down.
"You know I do." Hermione whispered, drooping her head so that her face was engulfed in a mass of frizzy hair.
"Even though I'm not a world class Quidditch Player?"
"Yes!" She looked up sincerely.
"Even though I'm rubbish at most things, have ginger hair and, as dear Viktor likes to call them, 'brown spots' covering my face?"
"YES!"
"Even though I'm not Harry Potter?"
"Oh for goodness sakes, now you're being stupid!" She said, exasperatedly.
"You didn't answer the question-"
"I shouldn't NEED to! Why do you have to be so ridculously suspicious all of the time?"
"Why do you ARGUE with me all the time?" Ron yelled.
"BECAUSE YOU ARGUE WITH ME!" Hermione shouted, her fist clenched in a tight ball.
"THATS ONLY BECAUSE I FANCY YOU!" He hollered, infuriated.
"WELL ASK ME OUT THEN!" She screamed.
"FINE! WILL YOU?"
There was a ringing silence. They had been so annoyed with each other neither had realised what they were saying. Until now. The writing in the sky faded, leaving them covered in darkness.
"You know," Harry whispered in the lowest voice possible to Ginny, "I don't think they can admit anything unless they're about to destroy one another... can you imagine? Ron'll have to strangle her before he plucks up enough courage to propose..."
Ginny made a tiny shushing noise, and they waited.
Out of the darkness, Ron's voice hurriedly spoke- "just forget I-"
"Yes." Hermione interrupted, answering the question in an amazingly steady voice,"Ofcourse I will. If you honestly want to, that is..." She sounded unsure, as if she was afraid Ron had been placed under the Imperius Curse.
Harry didn't need to see Ron's face to tell he was staggeringly surpised.
"Yeah, I do!" Ron replied, in a dazed, dreamlike voice. "I suppose we better, you know, officially confirm it then..." He added, looking at her quickly, as if asking her approval.
Hermione gave a small "Oh!" as she realised what Ron meant, then replied matter-of-factly, "Yes, I suppose we'd better."
Harry held his breath, waiting for Ron to move in and kiss her. Apparently however, Ron's legs had become separate from his body during the last few moments, and he didn't seem to have much control over them. He finally took one step forward, then stopped again, quickly mumbling-
"I'm sorry about, erm- last time, by the way. Didn't quite mean for it to happen like that..."
"I didn't mind it all that much, to be honest." Hermione was grinning slightly now, "quite nice, now you mention it..."
"Even if I was so mad I almost crushed your face when I did it?"
"I was a bit preoccupied with the fact you were doing it at all, to really notice the details, Ron." Hermione blushed furiously.
Now Harry's eyes had become accustomed to the renewed darkness, he saw that Ron and Hermione were facing each other, yet they still stood about three metres apart, looking like they were cemented to the ground. Ron was leaning forward, like he wanted to move towards her, just couldn't actually make his legs function.
Ginny sighed impatiently, then pleaded "Listen Harry, I'd like to spend my life doing other things apart from waiting for them to kiss- can't I intervene?"
"There's a time to intervene, and this isn't one of them," Harry whispered wisely, "Give them a second."
They gave it a second. Then a few minutes.Then several minutes.
"Oh fine, intervene." Harry sighed, aware that his legs were now turning numb from cold.
With a contented smile, Ginny moved forward until she was directly behind Hermione. She then forcefully kicked the back of Hermione's knees, causing them to buckle. Hermione flew forward with a gasp, Ron catching her at the last minute.
"It's a cliché, I admit," Ginny stated, as she moved back so they couldn't hear her, "but effective nonetheless."
Sure enough, Ron gave an embarassed laugh, as he stared down at Hermione, who still looked suprised she had suddenly found herself in such a position.
Finally however, he lifted her up slightly, and she kissed him softly on the lips.
The second this had happened, the unexploded firework in the sky errupted, making a thumbs-up sign in bright gold. Hermione started and stared up in amazement, Ron on the other hand laughed when he saw that underneath the firework flashed the words:
"HURRAH! JOY! RAPTURE! GLEE!... FINALLY!"
OK... I know that was quite a jolly lot of dialogue- I think I'm going to have a "rounding off chapter" after this yet. (Chapters, chapters, everywhere!)
Reviewers! THANK YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUU SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (and that's A LOT of "O"'s, so you know I mean it...)
cinnamonturkey x