Disclaimer: I am no Jo.

A/N: Here's chappy 3, after a long (and quite pointless) delay! Enjoy, review, or read! Hope you like! Oh, and many thanks to my reviewers, Fallenstar127, Hobbits01, and A. Lynn the Poet! Also, thanks to Hobbits01 again for getting my butt into motion and forcing me to update. ;)

Ch. 3: Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, part I

It was all-out chaos until about two in the afternoon. Then it all became organized chaos. Ron was slowly limping back to his room, dodging the random paper airplane coming from the twins' room with a practiced ease. Crookshanks was napping on the sofa. Ginny and Hermionie had just gotten the luggage into Ginny's room - Bill and Charlie were battling potato bugs in the middle of the stair and wouldn't let the girls through until they stated the correct password ('Bugging You'), which took about half an hour. Half an hour and threats of the Bat Boogie Hex until kingdom come.

Percy was no where to be seen. Mrs. Weasly, after a full blown lecture to her other children that lasted fifteen minutes, went up to check on her son. She left a few minutes later, grumbling about cauldrons and how they had apparently eaten her son.

As Hermionie flopped onto Ginny's bed, an explosion was heard from across the hall.

Hermionie sat up again immediately, a frightened expressioin on her face. "What was that?"

Ginny was not in the slightest worried. "Just the twins figuring out some prank or another." She shrugged before going back to tidying her room.

A few minutes of silence later, Ginny gave up her room as a lost cause and flopped down next to Hermionie. "So... How's life?"

Hermionie shrugged. "Same as always. You?"

Ginny shrugged, as well. "Same."

Another long scilence.

"Read any good books?"

"Nope. They'd get burned by Gred and Forge if they saw me with one."

Hermionie winced, and made a mental note not to keep any of her own books in reach of the twins.

A few more minutes passed.

Ginny sighed. "Well, isn't this fun?"

Hermionie sighed, too. "Yep."

Ginny rolled over onto her side, facing Hermionie. "I was being sarcastic, you know."

Hermionie continued staring at the ceiling. "Yes, I know. I was agreeing with your sarcasim."

Ginny nodded. "Oh. Ok."

Yet another moment of quiet.

"Hermionie?"

"Yes?"

"Do you like Ron?"

Hermionie blinked once, twice, than sat up, blushing. "No! He's an annoying prat! We're just friends! I couldn't like him, it'd be too weird, and anyway, he never does any of his schoolwork, and..." She trailed off, realizing at the same moment as Ginny that she was rambling.

"Really, now." Ginny sat up, as well, and smirked.

Hermionie nodded quickly. 'I'd better not say anything and dig myself in a deeper hole than before,' her mind told her. Hermionie agreed.

Deciding to change the subject, she instead said: "So, what is Percy up to?"

Ginny rolled her eyes, picking up the new subject just as happily as she had with the subject of Ron.

"He's holed himself up in his room, writing reports about cauldron bottoms for his new job at the Ministry. Honestly, don't ask him about it, all you'll get -" here she screwed up her face into an expression that Hermionie had seen on Ron's face as he talked about the Chudly Cannons "- But Mr. Crouch said... and I told Mr. Crouch... Oh, but Mr. Crouch's opinion on that subject... And then Mr. Crouch did... But you wouldn't believe what Mr. Crouch though of... Mr. Crouch, Mr. Crouch, Mr. Crouch!" Ginny, keeping the same facial expression, but adding a bit more love and adoration to it, she jumped off the bed, knelt upon one knee, and said in a high, girly voice: "Oh, Mr. Crouch, I love you so much, I want to marry you!"

Ginny's impression of the stuck-up, horned-rimmed glassed, overly-obsessive Weasly was so odd, and yet so similar to what Hermionie thought Percy would act like, it was hilarious. Hermionie cracked up, laughing so hard she nearly fell off the bed. Ginny soon followed suite, giggling madly on the floor.

As the last shakes of laughter subsided, the discomfort in the room eased. Hermionie hopped off the bed to join Ginny on the floor, talking about this and that and that other thing. Soon they were in school-girl mode, talking about boys and classes and quidditch.

So quickly did the time pass, that it took the both of them by suprise when Mrs. Weasly called everyone to dinner from downstairs.

"Already?" Hermionie got up from the floor, stretched, and scooped up Crookshanks. The cat had joined them somewhere in the middle of their talking and had fallen asleep almost instantly.

Ginny stood also, and looked out her window. The sun was just above the tree-tops. "Apparently so. Must be nearly six o'clock!"

They moved out to the hall. "That was fast," Hermionie stated.

Ginny was about to agree when the twins burst from their room, crashed into the two girls, and caused them to run into the wall about two paces from the top of the stairs.

Next second, George was lying next to Hermionie, whilst Fred and Ginny were at the bottom of the stairs, sore and (in Ginny's case) quite upset. Ron ran down the hallway from his staircase and nearly ran into Percy's door, which had just opened. Quickly stopping, he lost his balance and fell on his rear. Percy, suprised, looked behind the door, spotted his brother, and then walked out of his room.

All eyes turned to Percy as he walked down the hallway, stepped around Hermionie and George, walked down the stairs, and lept over Ginny and Fred, all in a very prim manner. Ron got up next, followed by George. Both offered a hand to help Hermionie, but she sprang up and darted down the steps to Ginny and Fred.

"Ow." Fred just nodded his agreement.

"Sorry 'bout that," George apologised to Hermionie and Ginny.

"Yeah, didn't mean to run you over," Fred said sorrowfully.

"We were hoping to barge into Percy's room," continued George,

"but we took a wrong turn,"

"and barged into you instead." Both the twins shrugged before heading outside.

Ron, Hermioinie, and Ginny stared at the retreating twins before turning to each other.

Ron's voice was squeaky in his disbelief. "Did they just apologise to us?"

Ginny's eyebrows were nearly to her hair, then furrowed in confusion. "I... I think they did."

"Wow." Both red heads nodded in agreement to Hermionie's statement.

Bill poked his head through the doorframe leading to the garden. "You guys coming? We're waiting for you."

Ron perked up immediately at the prospect of food, and took off through the door. Ginny and Hermionie turned to each other, shook their heads, and followed at a more sedate pace.

"Oy, you two, Mum says get up!" Hermionie woke with a jerk to Fred's pounding on the door. Moaning slightly, she rolled over in bed...

...only to fall off.

"Ow! Urg..." Slowly untangling herself from the sheets that were wrapped around her body, Hermionie could hear Ginny slowly sit up on the other side of bed.

"Mahumafaf..." she stated in the general direction of the door.

"Ok, Gin, I'll tell Harry of your undying love for him..."

"WHAT? Is he here already?" Ginny flew off the bed in a panic. "He wasn't supposed to come until this afternoon! Gred, or Forge, or Whoever you are, if you do that -"

"Ginnykins, I was just kidding!" Fred poked his head into the room. "Don't hex me!" Ginny blinked once, before her expression changed from panicked to angry. Hermionie stood up from behind the bed.

Fred ducked out of the room before something was thrown at him. Closing the door, there was a breif pause, then the aforementioned door was opened again.

"Nice hair, 'Mionie-winey. I think Crookshanks got lost in it." Hermionie threw the nearest object, her shoe, at the door. It crashed into the wood framing, where Fred's head would have been, had he not withdrawn it.

"Urg. I am going to hex him three ways from Tuesday once we get to school..." Grumbling, Ginny rummaged through one of her drawars, tossing random articles of clothing over her head and onto her bed.

Hermionie fumed as she dug through her trunk, pulling out clothes as well as shampoo, body wash, and a brush. She knew her hair was a mess, it always was, but why did Fred have to be so cruel about it? So what, it was a bit bushy, but that was normal, wasn't it? 'I mean,' she thought, 'it's not as if it's flying about in every direction like it was in first year.'

"Hermionie, don't listen to Fred, he's just an annoying prat." Turning to look at her friend, Ginny spotted the bathing implements in the girl's arms. "You need to shower? Best to do that before breakfast, after that is when all the boys jump in. No hot water what-so-ever." Ginny turned to another drawer for socks. "Towel closet is on the right, three doors down on the left side. Bathroom is right across from there." Hermionie nodded her thanks, pulled on her bath robe, and went to open the door.

"Oh, and Hermionie?" Hermionie turned to Ginny again. "Be sure to lock the door. There's no privacy in this house, though I do hope the boys will have some respect for guests..."

Hermionie nodded agiain, blushing a bit at the thought of Bill walking in on her shower...

One hour, many episodes of room-trading (mainly between the bathroom and bedroom), and quite a bit of painful hair-brushing later, Hermionie and Ginny were fully awake and ready for the world. Walking out of Ginny's bedroom together, the girls headed downstairs to breakfast.

Their quest for food ended with eggs, sausage, and an odd kind of hash that did not look very appealing, but, in support of Mrs. Weasly, tasted quite good. After putting their dishes in the sink and thanking Mrs. Weasly for the delicious meal ("Oh, it was nothing, but I'm glad you enjoyed it. There's pleny more!" "Oh, I couldn't eat another bite, Mrs. Weasly, I'm stuffed!"), the girls set off to explore the lands of their kingdom.

In other words, they went back to Ginny's room and set about getting to know each other better.

"So, what's your favorite subject," one would start, and the other would reply, "Care of Magical Creatures" or "Arithmacy," depending on the person. Then the topic of books came up; "Honestly, and don't laugh, I'm rather fond of Muggle romances," and "Oh, no, I've read those, and they're quite good, but I enjoy a good mystery novel better," followed by a suprised exclimation and "I thought you only read research books!"

Hermionie laughed. "Of course not. I love mysteries - they get you thinking. Dramas are good, as well, and if there's a good one, then an adventure novel is just as wonderful."

Ginny grinned, liking this new side of Hermionie she was seeing. Hermionie, as well, was happy to have made a friend in one Ginny Weasly - she was a nice girl, not overly obsessed with boys or clothes like the other girls in her dorm were. The kind of girl that made you happy just by being around her.

They went on talking, learning that Ginny was actually quite fond of all of her brothers and Hermionie was secretly afraid of Snape, giant plants, and mushrooms.

"Mushrooms?"

"Yes. You see, when I was five, I loved mushrooms. But one day, after dinner, which had mushrooms in it, I got sick with the flu and... well, I saw the mushrooms I had eaten earlier. Then, a year after, I was playing with my dog in our back yard, and he ate mushrooms that were just growing there, and he died two days after. The vet said it was because of mushroom poisening."

"Oh. That's really sad, and... I didn't know people could be afraid of food, but that makes sense." Ginny said; after, of course, Hermionie explained what a vet was.

A bit later, Hermionie asked what Fred and George were up to.

"They're talking of starting a shop - Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes - it's a prank shop. I don't think they're going to get anywhere with it, though, because Mum found a stack of parchments; order forms, with a huge list of stuff they've invented. Mum was furious... None of us knew they were actually inventing. We thought all of those bangs and things were just because the twins liked making the sound."

"They've been inventing pranks?"

"Yeah. Probably going to be selling stuff once they get to school. I'm suprised they haven't sent owls out to kids already."

"That is so immature!"

Ginny paused, then said quietly, "I think it's funny."

"Oh, well, you might, since you're their sister and all, but I think it's very immature. They could burn the house down, for all they know! I doubt they did very well on their O.W.L.'s." Hermionie sat there, a small smirk on her face.

"Well, no, they didn't, but they're really smart!"

"You're just saying that because they're your brothers!"

"I am not! They just never apply themselves!"

"Well, what's the point of being 'smart' if they never apply themselves?"

"Not all people are like you, Hermionie. We don't all run around with books up our noses and play teacher's pet to every adult we meet."

Hermionie blinked. "Oh, well, then." She stood up, brushed off her pants, and walked to the door.

"Wait... Hermionie, where are you going?" Ginny stood up as well.

Hermionie stood, facing the door. Her hand lay on the handle. "No one wants a girl with books up her nose and a teacher's pet as a friend." With that, she opened the door and walked out.

Ginny was still for a moment, staring where Hermionie had just been. Shaking herself, she ran out into the hallway. Seeing the bushy-haird girl on the stairs, she called out.

Hermionie, however, was hurt. She wouldn't let anyone know that, of course - no reason bothering Mrs. Weasly about something that couldn't be fixed. She also knew that she was a bookworm and enjoyed knowing teachers well, but no one (besides Ron, and that was a different case) had ever mentionied it. That was just who Hermionie was. It was in her nature to obey rules. She loved reading, more than anything, and the satisfaction of knowing something that someone else didn't.

But such qualities made friends few and far between. Walking out into the garden, Hermionie listened to Ginny's footsteps as she raced down the steps. The two girls had become fast friends, to be sure, and they had talked about things Hermionie had never told Harry or Ron, or anyone else for that matter. For Ginny to throw that back in her face was painful.

'I thought I could trust Ginny.' Hermionie wasn't aware of herself slowing down at a tree near the center of the garden. 'I guess... I guess I shouldn't have said that about her brothers.' Glad to have some organized thought to run across, Hermionie sat down at the base of the tree. 'She told me herself that she had a rather soft spot for her brothers, the twins especially. I'd act the same way - I did act the same way - when Ron insulted Crookshanks.' Sighing, Hermionie noticed for the first time that Ginny was sitting next to her. Taking a deep breath, Hermionie said:

"Listen, Ginny," and at the same time, Ginny said, "Hermionie, look..."

Both stopped, looked at each other, and grinned half-heartedly. "You first," Ginny said.

Hermionie nodded. "Listen. It's my fault. I shouldn't have said all of that about Fred and George, I mean, if they really want to do that, and I shouldn't have blown up at you -"

Ginny held up a hand. "No. I shouldn't have said that about you. I didn't mean it, I just got upset. Red hair and all, bad temper." She lifted a bit of her hair to show Hermionie.

"No, Ginny, really, it's my fault."

"No, it's mine, so stop blaming yourself, Hermionie!"

"It's my fault, Ginny, quit shifting the blame!"

"No, you two, it's my fault." Both turned to look at Bill, who was sitting in a branch above their head. "I threw that acorn at you, Ginny, last night, when you were in the shower. Though," he added as an afterthought, "you should have closed that window."

He turned to Hermionie. "And I must admit, I shoved you as you ran out of the doorway, so that you would run into Ginny..." He grinned a rather attractive smile.

Ginny stood up, brandishing a stick she had picked up from the ground. "Why, you... Get your butt down here this minute, Billius Weasly, before I make you!" Hermionie stood also, catching onto the Weasly spirit, and picked up a rock.

"I nearly hit Fred this morning, and I was half asleep," she cried.

"And you know how good a Chaser I am," Ginny said as she picked up a rock.

Bill's eyes widened. "Ah, gee, you guys - girls - I was just trying to get you to stop fighting!"

"You have three seconds to get out of there before you suffer our wrath," Ginny stated.

"Gin-gin, I didn't think I'd actually hit you with the acorn -"

"Two seconds," continued Hermionie.

"Not you as well! It was just -"

"One second," Ginny went on.

"Ah, Ginny, Hermionie, you can put those -"

"ATTACK!" Both girls launched their rocks at Bill; Hermionie's hit him in the gut, but bounced off without causing harm. Ginny's, however, hit Bill in-between the eyes, causing him to loose his balance and fall off of his branch. Ginny took the opportunity to launch herself at her brother.

"Hermionie, help me!" Hermionie hesitated for only a second before joining Ginny on the ground. "He's deadly ticklish in the stomach and at the armpits!" Without hesitation, both started tickling Bill.

"Gah! Gin-Ginny, please... ha, ha... stop... ha, ha, ha... p-please..."

"Say it..."

"No! No! N-n-ha, ha, ha...oh, ok, ok! Ginn-hehe-y..."

"And Hermionie!"

"...an-nd... ha, ha, Her-mi-i-ha-oh-knee-ha... are... ha, ha, ha...the...mo-o-ha-st...ha, hehe, ha, beaut-ha-ful-ha,ha... gir-ha-ls... in...hehe... ha, ha, ha! Theworld! Ha, ha, ha..."

Grinning, Hermionie and Ginny stopped tickling the eldest Weasly brother. Bill lay between them, gasping for breath and doubled over, a slight smile still on his face from lauging so much.

A slight shadow spread across all three of them. "What are you all doing?" Charlie, Ron, Fred, and George were standing next to them, looking down.

Bill pointed his finger at each of the girls. "They attacked me!"

George, or Fred, gasped. "Treacherous girls!"

Charlie smiled wickedly. "This crime must be punished."

Ginny and Hermionie both stopped smiling. "Hermionie..." Ginny started, but was cut off by Ron's cackle.

Just as Fred and George lunged forward, Ginny shreiked. "RUN!" Both girls tore off towards the house, the boys hot on their heels. They whooshed by Mrs. Weasly, who was cleaning up after lunch, whizzed by Mr. Weasly, who was just coming home after his Ministry job (he had to work overtime for money for schoolbooks and such), and thundered up the steps. Percy made the mistake of popping his head out of the door, and was just about run over by the stampede that was the Weasleys plus one Granger.

"Oy, that's my room," cried Ron as Hermionie and Ginny ran up the next staircase. He didn't protest any further, however, for next moment his door was shut and locked in his face.

Panting, Fred and George hurled themselves at the door.

"It's no use," called Ginny from behind the door. "I've barracaded it with Ron's bed! You'll never get in!"

Hermionie lay in the middle of the room, breathing heavily. "Is life around here always like this?"

Ginny turned and sat down next to Hermionie. "It only gets worse. This is Percy on a good day."

Hermionie sat up and looked at Ginny. "You're kidding."

"Nope."

A slow smile blossomed on Hermionie's face. "Just wait until Harry gets here."

Ginny smiled, as well. "Chaos. Pure and total chaos."

A/N: Ok, I don't know if Hermionie really hates mushrooms. But otherwise, I hope I've stayed pretty close to how Rowling would have the characters act. This was a really fun chapter to write after I got past the beginning hump. The second part should be coming out within the next day or so! Enter Harry! Woot!

Have a Happy New Year, everyone!