A/N: You know all that R/Hr stuff I promised this chapter... well... next chapter, I swear!! I always make sure to never promise because it never usually works out, so I'm not sure why I promised last chapter, but I did and of course, it didn't work out!! I'm VERY sorry, but next chapter, I'm pretty darned sure!
Responding to Reviews: Some very nice ideas Kristi! Thanks a lot! Jbg, about the key thing in chap 7, I didn't really think about Harry getting it actually, he probably just wanted to tease Ron and Hermione more, he's gotta have some idea bout the two, right? Dark Ice Dragon, yeah the name of the car still had more letters of Harry's name, but it was on Ron's terms so he felt better about it, lol. Besides, as long as you don't call him Ronald, Harry's has more letters anyway. Koolgirl1808, fan of VW's, eh? The reason I gave her that car is because I wanted her parents to give her something convertible for one and something that's fairly cool without it being like a super expensive spoiled brat car, ya know what I mean? Also, my friend has a beetle and she had it painted pink, it's really funny.
Thanks everyone for reviewing even if I didn't comment to you, if I missed a question or something you asked, feel free to yell at me... THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS!
Chapter 10
Hermione, Ron and Harry all merrily talked and laughed as they headed towards the door to the ice cream parlor. Hermione reached out to pull the door open, "oh!" she said softly as it was pushed open from the other side instead and none other than Samantha stepped outside, holding a milkshake, with a bleached blonde boy at her side.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Hermione and friends!" Samantha said in a pleasantly surprised voice with a smirk on her face.
"Hermione?" The boy said, a smile forming on his face as he said her name, in slight disbelief. Hermione gave the boy a quizzical look before recognition showed on her face.
"Tommy?" Hermione asked him with a laugh. "I didn't recognize you without your red hair!" Harry looked questioningly between the pair, Samantha and Ron scowled at the boy in front of them.
"It's just Tom now, I stopped going by Tommy a long time ago." Tom said as he reached up and tousled his hair nervously. "I guess I got a little tired of being called 'red' and being known only as 'that guy with red hair', it looks awful doesn't it?" Tom asked, and then he noticed Ron and his red hair and quickly added. "Not red hair! I meant, my hair, being blonde, it looks awful, huh?"
Ron, still scowling at Tom whispered to Harry, "Yeah it looks awful, reminds me of a certain Slytherin, eh?" Harry chuckled quietly at Ron's remark.
"Not awful," Hermione exclaimed, "just different, very different! You look good though, you've certainly grown up, I haven't seen you since you were 10!"
"You've grown up too." Tom said, and he gave her a very quick and what he seemed to think was a casual glance over. "Unlike me for the better though, you-you're-you... you look good." Tom stuttered slightly as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Samantha, who had finally gotten over her shock, grabbed Tom by his arm.
"I think your hair looks very...sexy..." Samantha had paused to put emphasis on the word, but Tom didn't seem to be paying her too much attention. Hermione rolled her eyes at her cousin, if Tom had taken to hanging out with girls like Samantha; he certainly wasn't the same guy she remembered.
"It was nice seeing you again Tom, maybe I'll see you around again sometime later." Hermione said as she once again started to head inside the ice cream parlor.
"Bloody git." Ron muttered as he started following Hermione, only to be stopped Samantha's piercing remark.
"That's not you're car, is it Hermione??" Samantha asked, pointing at the beetle and laughing. Hermione took a deep breath and turned around to face Samantha.
"Yes, yes it is. It was an early birthday present and I think it's lovely." Hermione said proudly with an unwavering stare.
"I guess you were lucky to even get that." Samantha said mockingly, gesturing towards the car. "I however, got a Mustang convertible when I got my license and then a SUV with all the extras when I graduated with top marks." Hermione was just about to ignore her and turn around again, but Samantha kept talking.
"Aunt Tabitha and Uncle William must have felt really sorry for you to even take you in the first place. I'm sure they probably get to pay less taxes or something just by having you live with them. I can't believe they're willing to put up with you just to save some money!" Samantha laughed as Hermione shook with anger.
"Are you surprised? You can't actually think they love you, I know you're not that stupid!" Samantha smirked; she had hit a sore spot. "I mean, they send you to a local all girls' school, and yet, you have to live in the school dorms, its obvious!" Hermione glared at Samantha silently, making no response, so Samantha kept going.
"They're just as greedy and cold hearted as your real parents, only worse because they pretend to like you!" Samantha said harshly. Hermione couldn't help but think that maybe Samantha was partially right. Her parents really never put up too much of a fight when she spent all her holidays with the Weasleys, and even when she was home; they never really spent much time with her. Maybe they did regret their decision to take her in all this time?
"Shut up!" Hermione shouted in anger, she hated feeling like this; she hated how Samantha was always able to make her feel so used, make her think that she was unwanted, lower than low. Samantha perhaps, was even worse than Malfoy she thought, only, she didn't have to see Sam quite as often. Ron, Harry and Tom looked at her in shock; she had been so quiet the whole time. A single tear was traveling slowly down her cheek. "Just shut up!" Hermione repeated, stepping furiously towards Samantha, fists clenched at her side when Samantha's milkshake suddenly spewed ((haha, SPEW)) and covered Sam from head to foot.
Samantha gasped in shock, dropping her cup, everyone except for Hermione took a step back in surprise, and she wiped the sticky substance from her eyes. "You!" She shouted stepping towards Hermione. "I don't know how you did this, but you did it! I've always thought there was something weird about you!" Samantha growled in anger.
"No need to get so angry now girls," Tom said, stepping between the two, with an overly cheery persona, "I'm sure this whole thing is just a big misunderstanding.
Ron grumbled, "Stupid git doesn't even know what's going on and he thinks he can be the hero and solve everybody's problems, doesn't even know what he's talking about..."
"Don't try and stop me Tom!" Samantha yelled at him. "You said that weird things used to happen around her in Elementary school yourself! Didn't you even tell me that the only reason you were friends with her was because she helped you with your school work. Why are you trying to protect her now?"
Hermione stepped back and looked at Tom with big eyes. "Really?" she asked sadly.
"No-well, I mean, yes-but only at first! I swear-once I got to know you, it wasn't like that at all! We were best friends for real-me and you-we were!" Tom hastily tried to explain, but Ron grabbed him by the shirt and shoved him into the wall.
"She doesn't need your 'protection', and she doesn't need your friendship, got it?" Ron said viciously, he'd been waiting for his chance to tell this pretty boy off and now that he had it, he was going to take advantage of it.
"Hermione," Tom begged, "We were best friends, I swear I would never hurt you on purpose, after I got to know you, I felt horrible about what I did, but I considered my mistake a blessing, because it allowed me to get to know how wonderful you really are." Tom spoke very quickly and Ron's grip only seemed to tighten as he spoke.
"Please Hermione, I'm so, so sorry! Please believe me, there's nothing I regret more!" Tom continued to plead.
"Let him go Ron." Hermione said.
"What?!" Ron yelled. He couldn't believe Hermione was falling for all that crap this guy was dishing out! Angrily Ron let go of Tom, but only after shoving him hard against the wall one more time.
"I'm not going to say I'm not hurt by this Tom, but it's forgiven." Hermione said with a slight smile. "You were the best and only friend I ever had in Elementary school and for that I'll never forget you." With that, Hermione turned and entered the ice cream parlor, followed shortly by Harry and reluctantly, Ron.
"I can't believe you stuck up for her!" Samantha shouted, still dripping with ice cream and stickier than ever. Tom looked torn as he looked between the door and Samantha. "We're leaving now!" Samantha grabbed Tom's arm and dragged him to his car.
As the three teenagers entered the ice cream shop, all their spirits seemed to lift at just the aroma of the place.
"That was wicked cool Hermione!" Ron said, happy again at the prospect of eating. "She was totally covered in chocolate ice cream!" Ron laughed. "Not that that's such a bad thing, I don't think I would have minded so much, but it made her crazy!"
"I bet if Tom didn't interrupt she would have blown Sam up like I did Aunt Marge!" Harry laughed at the imagery.
"It's really not funny at all!" Hermione exclaimed, worried now, "What if they expel me from Hogwarts?"
"You didn't do it on purpose." Ron said, trying to dismiss the idea. "When it happened to Harry, they didn't do anything to him."
"Yes, Ron, but that was because they were so relieved that Sirius hadn't killed him yet that they didn't care what he did! At that point, Fudge was still completely on Harry's side." Hermione said, almost frantic, "Remember?"
"Oh yeah." Ron said, looking at all the ice cream choices on the wall, still not worried.
"You haven't done any magic outside of school before have you Hermione?" Harry asked. She shook her head no. "Then you have nothing to worry about, you'll just get a warning, no big deal."
"Really?" Hermione asked, thankful for the ray of hope.
"Really." Harry said, giving her shoulder a comforting squeeze. "Just control that temper of yours young lady and you'll be fine." He grinned.
"Easier said than done," Hermione muttered, "but I will." She then looked at Ron as he focused only on the choices above him. A minute or so later, she was still staring dreamily at the tall red headed boy when he spun around to meet her gaze, with a huge grin plastered on his face and she quickly shook herself out of her trance.
"I know what I want!" Ron said triumphantly and he pointed at something on the menu, Hermione's spirits immediately lifted at his excitement.
"But Ron, that's huge!" Hermione said, looking at the menu.
"Yes, but if I eat it all, mine, yours and Harry's ice cream will be free!" Ron said, with a grin on his face as he pointed at the line underneath his choice.
"Ron, mate," Harry said, "We just ate a full dinner, desert included, you couldn't possibly eat that much ice cream right now. Normally, yes, but now? Doubtful."
"That's what I want Hermione, you promised." Ron said crossing his arms and pouting rather childishly.
"Fine, fine, what do you want Harry?" Hermione asked, quickly looking away from Ron, so as to avoid a blush rising at how cute he looked.
Harry wasn't really planning on getting anything, but after all that ruckus outside; he thought he could use a treat. "Just a small hot fudge sundae if you don't mind." Hermione nodded and went to the counter to order as Ron and Harry grabbed a table in the corner.
Hermione, with the help of Ron (she had to call for his help when the tray she was carrying almost tipped because of his ice cream) brought all the ice cream to the table and began to eat.
"Is that all you got?" Ron asked Hermione in between bites of vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, chocolate chips, coconut, toffee, whipped cream and other unidentifiable sweets.
"That's all I'm eating isn't it?" Hermione asked as she licked her vanilla cone.
"I thought you'd get something bigger too." Harry said, "You didn't eat much at dinner."
Hermione looked at him, surprised that he'd noticed. "I'm just not very hungry tonight; my family literally makes me sick." She shrugged.
"Sure you don't want a bite of mine?" Harry asked holding it temptingly in front of her face. "It's goooood!"
Hermione laughed, "Thank you Harry, but no thanks." It was Harry's turn to shrug as he took another big bite.
"Ib opfer du sum ob min bu I gotta et it al by myselb." Ron said. Hermione and Harry looked him disgustedly and he swallowed hard. "I think this thing has walnuts in it!" He said enthusiastically, Harry and Hermione raised there eyebrows at him. "I said, I'd offer you some of mine, but I've got to eat it all by myself." Then he added, pointing towards the menu once more, "It's the rules!"
"OhhHHHhhhhhhHHHHHhhHHHhhhh..." Ron moaned about half an hour later in the front seat of Hermione's car.
"Ronald Weasley, I can not believe you ate that entire thing!" Hermione shook her head and half laughed as she said it.
"I knew you could do it the whole time mate!" Harry said from the back. He was kind enough to let Ron have the front since he could barely move as it was.
"Not what you said before." Ron said painfully. "But I kept you from having to pay, huh, Hermione?"
Hermione smiled. "Yes Ron, you kept me from having to pay, you're my hero." Though she had meant it in a sarcastic way, that's not really how it came out, had Ron really eaten that entire just to save her money? She thought it was sort of cute of him to do that for her. Ron grinned at her as the wind blew through his hair and they made there way back to the Granger's.
A/N: Well, there ya go for chapter 10. Hope ya liked it okay, I myself am not entirely satisfied with everything and Tom really didn't turn out how I thought I was going to make him. I was gonna have him be an old bully or something, then I started typing and it just changed... whateva'. Thanks for readin' folks! Next Chapter, Ron and Hermione have a little private chat, I'm almost 100% positive!!
Responding to Reviews: Some very nice ideas Kristi! Thanks a lot! Jbg, about the key thing in chap 7, I didn't really think about Harry getting it actually, he probably just wanted to tease Ron and Hermione more, he's gotta have some idea bout the two, right? Dark Ice Dragon, yeah the name of the car still had more letters of Harry's name, but it was on Ron's terms so he felt better about it, lol. Besides, as long as you don't call him Ronald, Harry's has more letters anyway. Koolgirl1808, fan of VW's, eh? The reason I gave her that car is because I wanted her parents to give her something convertible for one and something that's fairly cool without it being like a super expensive spoiled brat car, ya know what I mean? Also, my friend has a beetle and she had it painted pink, it's really funny.
Thanks everyone for reviewing even if I didn't comment to you, if I missed a question or something you asked, feel free to yell at me... THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS!
Chapter 10
Hermione, Ron and Harry all merrily talked and laughed as they headed towards the door to the ice cream parlor. Hermione reached out to pull the door open, "oh!" she said softly as it was pushed open from the other side instead and none other than Samantha stepped outside, holding a milkshake, with a bleached blonde boy at her side.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Hermione and friends!" Samantha said in a pleasantly surprised voice with a smirk on her face.
"Hermione?" The boy said, a smile forming on his face as he said her name, in slight disbelief. Hermione gave the boy a quizzical look before recognition showed on her face.
"Tommy?" Hermione asked him with a laugh. "I didn't recognize you without your red hair!" Harry looked questioningly between the pair, Samantha and Ron scowled at the boy in front of them.
"It's just Tom now, I stopped going by Tommy a long time ago." Tom said as he reached up and tousled his hair nervously. "I guess I got a little tired of being called 'red' and being known only as 'that guy with red hair', it looks awful doesn't it?" Tom asked, and then he noticed Ron and his red hair and quickly added. "Not red hair! I meant, my hair, being blonde, it looks awful, huh?"
Ron, still scowling at Tom whispered to Harry, "Yeah it looks awful, reminds me of a certain Slytherin, eh?" Harry chuckled quietly at Ron's remark.
"Not awful," Hermione exclaimed, "just different, very different! You look good though, you've certainly grown up, I haven't seen you since you were 10!"
"You've grown up too." Tom said, and he gave her a very quick and what he seemed to think was a casual glance over. "Unlike me for the better though, you-you're-you... you look good." Tom stuttered slightly as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Samantha, who had finally gotten over her shock, grabbed Tom by his arm.
"I think your hair looks very...sexy..." Samantha had paused to put emphasis on the word, but Tom didn't seem to be paying her too much attention. Hermione rolled her eyes at her cousin, if Tom had taken to hanging out with girls like Samantha; he certainly wasn't the same guy she remembered.
"It was nice seeing you again Tom, maybe I'll see you around again sometime later." Hermione said as she once again started to head inside the ice cream parlor.
"Bloody git." Ron muttered as he started following Hermione, only to be stopped Samantha's piercing remark.
"That's not you're car, is it Hermione??" Samantha asked, pointing at the beetle and laughing. Hermione took a deep breath and turned around to face Samantha.
"Yes, yes it is. It was an early birthday present and I think it's lovely." Hermione said proudly with an unwavering stare.
"I guess you were lucky to even get that." Samantha said mockingly, gesturing towards the car. "I however, got a Mustang convertible when I got my license and then a SUV with all the extras when I graduated with top marks." Hermione was just about to ignore her and turn around again, but Samantha kept talking.
"Aunt Tabitha and Uncle William must have felt really sorry for you to even take you in the first place. I'm sure they probably get to pay less taxes or something just by having you live with them. I can't believe they're willing to put up with you just to save some money!" Samantha laughed as Hermione shook with anger.
"Are you surprised? You can't actually think they love you, I know you're not that stupid!" Samantha smirked; she had hit a sore spot. "I mean, they send you to a local all girls' school, and yet, you have to live in the school dorms, its obvious!" Hermione glared at Samantha silently, making no response, so Samantha kept going.
"They're just as greedy and cold hearted as your real parents, only worse because they pretend to like you!" Samantha said harshly. Hermione couldn't help but think that maybe Samantha was partially right. Her parents really never put up too much of a fight when she spent all her holidays with the Weasleys, and even when she was home; they never really spent much time with her. Maybe they did regret their decision to take her in all this time?
"Shut up!" Hermione shouted in anger, she hated feeling like this; she hated how Samantha was always able to make her feel so used, make her think that she was unwanted, lower than low. Samantha perhaps, was even worse than Malfoy she thought, only, she didn't have to see Sam quite as often. Ron, Harry and Tom looked at her in shock; she had been so quiet the whole time. A single tear was traveling slowly down her cheek. "Just shut up!" Hermione repeated, stepping furiously towards Samantha, fists clenched at her side when Samantha's milkshake suddenly spewed ((haha, SPEW)) and covered Sam from head to foot.
Samantha gasped in shock, dropping her cup, everyone except for Hermione took a step back in surprise, and she wiped the sticky substance from her eyes. "You!" She shouted stepping towards Hermione. "I don't know how you did this, but you did it! I've always thought there was something weird about you!" Samantha growled in anger.
"No need to get so angry now girls," Tom said, stepping between the two, with an overly cheery persona, "I'm sure this whole thing is just a big misunderstanding.
Ron grumbled, "Stupid git doesn't even know what's going on and he thinks he can be the hero and solve everybody's problems, doesn't even know what he's talking about..."
"Don't try and stop me Tom!" Samantha yelled at him. "You said that weird things used to happen around her in Elementary school yourself! Didn't you even tell me that the only reason you were friends with her was because she helped you with your school work. Why are you trying to protect her now?"
Hermione stepped back and looked at Tom with big eyes. "Really?" she asked sadly.
"No-well, I mean, yes-but only at first! I swear-once I got to know you, it wasn't like that at all! We were best friends for real-me and you-we were!" Tom hastily tried to explain, but Ron grabbed him by the shirt and shoved him into the wall.
"She doesn't need your 'protection', and she doesn't need your friendship, got it?" Ron said viciously, he'd been waiting for his chance to tell this pretty boy off and now that he had it, he was going to take advantage of it.
"Hermione," Tom begged, "We were best friends, I swear I would never hurt you on purpose, after I got to know you, I felt horrible about what I did, but I considered my mistake a blessing, because it allowed me to get to know how wonderful you really are." Tom spoke very quickly and Ron's grip only seemed to tighten as he spoke.
"Please Hermione, I'm so, so sorry! Please believe me, there's nothing I regret more!" Tom continued to plead.
"Let him go Ron." Hermione said.
"What?!" Ron yelled. He couldn't believe Hermione was falling for all that crap this guy was dishing out! Angrily Ron let go of Tom, but only after shoving him hard against the wall one more time.
"I'm not going to say I'm not hurt by this Tom, but it's forgiven." Hermione said with a slight smile. "You were the best and only friend I ever had in Elementary school and for that I'll never forget you." With that, Hermione turned and entered the ice cream parlor, followed shortly by Harry and reluctantly, Ron.
"I can't believe you stuck up for her!" Samantha shouted, still dripping with ice cream and stickier than ever. Tom looked torn as he looked between the door and Samantha. "We're leaving now!" Samantha grabbed Tom's arm and dragged him to his car.
As the three teenagers entered the ice cream shop, all their spirits seemed to lift at just the aroma of the place.
"That was wicked cool Hermione!" Ron said, happy again at the prospect of eating. "She was totally covered in chocolate ice cream!" Ron laughed. "Not that that's such a bad thing, I don't think I would have minded so much, but it made her crazy!"
"I bet if Tom didn't interrupt she would have blown Sam up like I did Aunt Marge!" Harry laughed at the imagery.
"It's really not funny at all!" Hermione exclaimed, worried now, "What if they expel me from Hogwarts?"
"You didn't do it on purpose." Ron said, trying to dismiss the idea. "When it happened to Harry, they didn't do anything to him."
"Yes, Ron, but that was because they were so relieved that Sirius hadn't killed him yet that they didn't care what he did! At that point, Fudge was still completely on Harry's side." Hermione said, almost frantic, "Remember?"
"Oh yeah." Ron said, looking at all the ice cream choices on the wall, still not worried.
"You haven't done any magic outside of school before have you Hermione?" Harry asked. She shook her head no. "Then you have nothing to worry about, you'll just get a warning, no big deal."
"Really?" Hermione asked, thankful for the ray of hope.
"Really." Harry said, giving her shoulder a comforting squeeze. "Just control that temper of yours young lady and you'll be fine." He grinned.
"Easier said than done," Hermione muttered, "but I will." She then looked at Ron as he focused only on the choices above him. A minute or so later, she was still staring dreamily at the tall red headed boy when he spun around to meet her gaze, with a huge grin plastered on his face and she quickly shook herself out of her trance.
"I know what I want!" Ron said triumphantly and he pointed at something on the menu, Hermione's spirits immediately lifted at his excitement.
"But Ron, that's huge!" Hermione said, looking at the menu.
"Yes, but if I eat it all, mine, yours and Harry's ice cream will be free!" Ron said, with a grin on his face as he pointed at the line underneath his choice.
"Ron, mate," Harry said, "We just ate a full dinner, desert included, you couldn't possibly eat that much ice cream right now. Normally, yes, but now? Doubtful."
"That's what I want Hermione, you promised." Ron said crossing his arms and pouting rather childishly.
"Fine, fine, what do you want Harry?" Hermione asked, quickly looking away from Ron, so as to avoid a blush rising at how cute he looked.
Harry wasn't really planning on getting anything, but after all that ruckus outside; he thought he could use a treat. "Just a small hot fudge sundae if you don't mind." Hermione nodded and went to the counter to order as Ron and Harry grabbed a table in the corner.
Hermione, with the help of Ron (she had to call for his help when the tray she was carrying almost tipped because of his ice cream) brought all the ice cream to the table and began to eat.
"Is that all you got?" Ron asked Hermione in between bites of vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, chocolate chips, coconut, toffee, whipped cream and other unidentifiable sweets.
"That's all I'm eating isn't it?" Hermione asked as she licked her vanilla cone.
"I thought you'd get something bigger too." Harry said, "You didn't eat much at dinner."
Hermione looked at him, surprised that he'd noticed. "I'm just not very hungry tonight; my family literally makes me sick." She shrugged.
"Sure you don't want a bite of mine?" Harry asked holding it temptingly in front of her face. "It's goooood!"
Hermione laughed, "Thank you Harry, but no thanks." It was Harry's turn to shrug as he took another big bite.
"Ib opfer du sum ob min bu I gotta et it al by myselb." Ron said. Hermione and Harry looked him disgustedly and he swallowed hard. "I think this thing has walnuts in it!" He said enthusiastically, Harry and Hermione raised there eyebrows at him. "I said, I'd offer you some of mine, but I've got to eat it all by myself." Then he added, pointing towards the menu once more, "It's the rules!"
"OhhHHHhhhhhhHHHHHhhHHHhhhh..." Ron moaned about half an hour later in the front seat of Hermione's car.
"Ronald Weasley, I can not believe you ate that entire thing!" Hermione shook her head and half laughed as she said it.
"I knew you could do it the whole time mate!" Harry said from the back. He was kind enough to let Ron have the front since he could barely move as it was.
"Not what you said before." Ron said painfully. "But I kept you from having to pay, huh, Hermione?"
Hermione smiled. "Yes Ron, you kept me from having to pay, you're my hero." Though she had meant it in a sarcastic way, that's not really how it came out, had Ron really eaten that entire just to save her money? She thought it was sort of cute of him to do that for her. Ron grinned at her as the wind blew through his hair and they made there way back to the Granger's.
A/N: Well, there ya go for chapter 10. Hope ya liked it okay, I myself am not entirely satisfied with everything and Tom really didn't turn out how I thought I was going to make him. I was gonna have him be an old bully or something, then I started typing and it just changed... whateva'. Thanks for readin' folks! Next Chapter, Ron and Hermione have a little private chat, I'm almost 100% positive!!