Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, etc.
The next morning Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny all woke early, too excited for the camping trip to sleep. They picked up their duffle bags and headed towards the lake behind the Weasleys' house.
"Why are these tents so bloody heavy?" asked Ron, exasperated.
"They have metal rods so they will stay together," replied Hermione.
"I know that, I was just commenting," snapped Ron.
"Do you want me to carry it for awhile?" asked Hermione.
"No, I can do it. I'm not weak," replied Ron.
"Oh, just let it go," said Ginny. "Ron, they're heavy, let Hermione carry it the rest of the way. We're almost there, and it won't make you any less masculine." Ron gave Ginny a snide look, then handed the tent over to Hermione.
"At least let me take your duffle bag if you're going to carry the tent," he said to Hermione.
"Why thank you, I'd appreciate that," replied Hermione, giving Ron a smile. He felt the tips of his ears twinge pink.
The four arrived at the camping site Hermione had scoped out previously, just on the other side of the lake on the edge of the Weasleys' property. With a flick of her wand, Hermione had both tents set up in about 3 minutes. Ron and Harry took their bags into their tent and started to set up, and the girls did the same. The boys were done in no time, and started to dig a fire pit. Harry went off to find some large rocks to circle the fire pit, and Ron dug the hole. It was hot outside, and Ron became very warm while shoveling. As he was taking his shirt off, he heard someone behind him.
"Put it back on! We don't need to see that!" he turned around and saw Ginny and Hermione standing behind him.
Did Hermione say that? Ron thought nervously. He didn't want her to be the one to have said that, but he didn't know how he'd react if she had done something else, like whistle. It all was just too confusing for him!
Ron turned a deep shade of red. "Oh, lay off Ginny, it's hot outside!" exclaimed Hermione. Ron let out a breath of air that he just realized that he was holding in. She was not the one who had said that. It was his sister. If he hadn't been so nervous, he'd have picked out Ginny's voice in an instant.
Ron was embarrassed to be seen like this in front of Hermione, although he was curious to see the look she was giving him. Was it an appraising eye? He shook the thought out of his head. No, stop it Ron! She's your best friend, and she doesn't think of you like that! Now put your shirt back on, before you get redder and more uncomfortable. Ron quickly put his shirt back on and went back to digging.
"You didn't have to do that, you know. I'm not embarrassed, and you shouldn't be, either," said Hermione.
What does she mean by that? wondered Ron. Although Hermione had said that she wasn't embarrassed, Ron thought he saw her cheeks redden a little, but he dismissed it, telling himself that it was just the heat of the day.
"I'm ba-ack!" Harry shouted, carrying a bucket filled with good sized rocks for the fire pit. Ron quickly finished digging it, and Harry put the ring of rocks around the fire pit. The girls brought some firewood over, and the lit a fire so they could start lunch.
"How are we going to cook on this open fire?" asked Ron, rubbing his stomach.
"Once the fire is high enough, I'll show you. Don't worry, you'll get to eat," said Hermione.
When the fire was high enough, Hermione got out four metal sticks that had rubber on one end, and two prongs sticking out from the other. "Now, take a hot dog, and stick it on the two prongs, like this." Hermione put the hot dog on the long way, so when she pointed the stick straight up in the air, the hot dog was placed across the top of the two prongs. The four sat back, making and eating their hot dogs.
"Now this is the life," said Harry as he put a third hot dog on his roasting stick. "Sitting back, making food over an open fire, no worries, no nothing."
"Mhmm," agreed Ginny as she chewed her hot dog. She swallowed. "I might never want to leave!"
"How about you, Ron, are you enjoying yourself?" asked Hermione.
"All the hot dogs I can eat, I love it!" said Ron as he put his 6th hot dog on his roasting stick.
"You'd better be careful, or you're going to get sick," warned Hermione.
"Thank you, Mother, I'll keep that in mind," replied Ron.
"Well, you don't have to get all snippy," said Hermione.
"It doesn't really matter, you two," cut in Harry. "That's the last hot dog Ron's cooking right now."
"Good, now we can get on to doing something else. What should we do this afternoon?" asked Ginny.
"Maybe we should go on a hike," suggested Harry.
"Yeah! It'll be a great way to get to know the area, and it's a gorgeous day to go walking in the woods," commented Hermione.
"Woods?" asked Ron nervously. He was thinking of the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts. Hermione caught on in an instant.
"It's perfectly safe. It's a normal forest. There are no huge spiders, giants, or flying cars in these woods," she assured Ron.
The four cleaned up lunch and banked the fire, and then they headed off on their hike. Hermione was right, the weather was perfect and the day was gorgeous. They looked up at the trees and saw a beautiful blue sky between the perfectly green leaves. Everything is perfect today. Perfect weather, perfect sky, with all my wonderful friends plus a perfect girl...no! Why do I keep doing this! It's Hermione! Best friend Hermione! Ron told himself that over and over again, but he could not do anything to get that beautiful laugh out of his head.
Ron was deep in thought when he felt something hit his back and stick there. "Wha-!" he shouted. Whatever had jumped on his back put its hands over his eyes and shouted, "Guess who!"
Ron grumbled and took the hands from his eyes. "Get off, Ginny!"
"You wouldn't ask Hermione to get off," whispered Ginny in his ear before complying. Ron's face burned red.
"Hey, Ron, I bet that I can get to the bend in the trail twice as fast as you can," said Harry, a twinkle in his eye.
"Nice try, Mate, but I'm sure that I can get there three times as fast as you can," Ron challenged back. Harry started to run. "Hey, no fair! You have a head start!" shouted Ron as he started running after Harry. Although Harry had the head start, Ron beat him by about a second.
"Ha, neither of you won!" shouted Ginny.
"What are you talking about, I won!" said Ron, confused.
"No, you said that you could get to the bend three times as fast as Harry could. You barely won!" said Hermione, laughing.
"Harry got a head start!" claimed Ron. Hermione just shook her head and laughed, and they dropped the subject.
"I'll get you next time," Ron said to Harry in a low voice.
"Not if I have anything to say about it," Harry replied, also in a low voice.
"Yeah? How'd you like to have your butt whipped….NOW!" shouted Ron as he started running toward the next bend in the path. Harry chased after Ron, laughing. Ron was meters ahead of Harry, but when he got to the bend in the path, he discovered that he was not the only one there. The girls were standing in front of him, hands on their hips!
"How in the bloody hell did you get here so fast?" asked Ron, panting.
"I know a shortcut," said Ginny, smiling. She gave Hermione a wink.
"Merlin's beard, how'd you get here so fast?" asked Harry, also panting. "You're not even tired. Wait, you cheaters!"
"What?" asked Ron, slow on the uptake.
"They apparated, that's what!" said Harry.
"What's the point of going on a hike if you're just going to apparate?" asked Ron.
"What's the point of going on a hike if you two are just going to keep running away from us?" asked Ginny, smiling.
"Point taken," conceded Harry. "I'll just have to whip Ron another day."
"Whip me? I'm the one who beat you twice!" said Ron, as the two walked ahead of the girls and started arguing over who would be who in the next race.
By the time the four got back to the campsite, it was just about time for dinner. Out of her duffle bag, Hermione pulled out four iron sticks. Each had two wooden handles at one end, and at the other end there was a square. When the handles were spread apart, the square opened to reveal a sort of a pocket.
"These are pudgy-pie makers," said Hermione. "You can use them to make things like little pizzas or grilled cheese over the fire.
"Sounds great," said Ron. His stomach rumbled loudly.
"Sounds like perfect timing to me, Ron," said Harry, laughing.
Hermione set everything they needed on the table. There was bread, cheese, pizza sauce, pepperoni, ham, and various other things that could be used in pizza or grilled cheese. It was laid out in assembly line order, and the four got to work putting together their meals. For dessert, Ginny showed them how to take small bits of dough and roll them in cinnamon and sugar, then cook them over the fire until they were warm.
"How on earth are we supposed to eat these if they keep falling into the bloody fire?" asked Ron as his third try at a dough ball fell into the fire.
"It takes practice and concentration. Here, have this one," said Ginny as she pulled one out of the fire in perfect condition. Ron popped it into his mouth and tried to protest, but couldn't say anything due to the sweet gooey dough ball that filled his mouth.
"I don't see why it's so hard for you, Ron," said Hermione, who was sitting next to Ron. "This is my fourth one, and I haven't dropped one yet!"
Ron gave her a dirty look. Harry, meanwhile, was having as much trouble as Ron was.
"Hermione, I'm with Ron. This is no easy feat. Besides, you've probably done this before."
"You'll be able to do it in a couple of nights, I promise," said Hermione.
By the time the four cleaned up from dinner and stretched out in front of the campfire again, it was pitch black. They looked up at the sky and saw the stars shining brightly. They also saw the brightest, fullest moon they had ever seen.
"I wonder how Lupin's doing," said Harry, looking up at the moon.
"He's probably ecstatic, knowing that he's going to be teaching again," said Ginny.
"Yeah," sighed Harry. Ginny put a hand on his arm in comfort. It was obvious that Harry missed his only link to his parents.
"The stars are beautiful, aren't they?" commented Hermione, gazing up into the sky. "It's so awe-inspiring to think about the universe, and how small we truly are."
"It really shows us that the small, insignificant things count," commented Ron. Eyes shot at him. No one had ever heard something so philosophical come out of Ron's mouth before.
Ron heard chattering coming from besides him. "Hermione, are you cold?" he asked.
"Oh, I'm okay, it's just a little chilly out here," Hermione replied. Ron got up and went to his tent. He came out bearing one of the many sweaters his mom had knitted for him over the years that bore a big R on the front. He handed it to Hermione.
"Here you go," said Ron. Hermione took it, a look of thanks on her face, and she pulled it over her head. Ron and Hermione couldn't see it, but Harry and Ginny raised their eyebrows. The four sat there in peace for awhile, contemplating the universe. Finally their thoughts made them tired and they headed off to bed, thankful for their families and friends.
A/N: Thanks for your comments, and I'm sorry for getting this out later than my other ones, but I have having a case of writer's blocks. I don't know when I'll get the next chapter out, with the new book coming out and work, etc, but I'll get it out as soon as I have time and enough ideas!