A/N: Don't worry, I have full intentions of finishing this story! Yes Xixie I got the brown muggle shirt! If I ever run into someone else wearing it in Georgia, I'll wonder if it's you lol! Go South go, woohoo! Lily12791, I think it's awesome that Hot Topic is getting a whole line of Harry Potter clothes, it's freakin awesome! I really wanted that polo shirt with the Hogwarts crest on it, but I figured I'd get it next time, I really want a Huffelpuff shirt too, lol, I don't think I'd be a Griffyndor...sigh... Dark Ice Dragon, Thanks for the info. even though Hermione is 16 and driving a car, the drinking age information will come in handy, muwahahaha, in the U.S. you can't drink legally until your 21. SarahLou, thanks for asking about Las Vegas, it was fun, however, I spent nearly the whole time in the hotel babysitting my niece, haha, ah well, Las Vegas isn't really all that interesting unless you drink, gambol or go to strip clubs anyway (none of which I do!).
ALSO: Sorry I left you hanging last time! This chapter is extra long though, yes mainly because the lyrics take up a lot of room, but I tried okay? Here it is, hope ya like it!!
Chapter 13
Ron and Harry sighed. "Look, you're going to skate and you're going to have some fun." Ron said before he and Harry grabbed her under the arm and hoisted her to her feet.
"No! Stop! I can't do it!" Hermione yelled, now on her feet and struggling frantically against Ron and Harry's hold on her. Ron and Harry were just about to drag her out onto the skating rink despite her protests when Ron caught glimpse of a tear shining in her eye.
"Wait Harry, Hermione, what's wrong?" Ron said, shocked at the sight, and the two boys immediately released her arms, allowing her to once again take a seat on the bench.
Once released Hermione rubbed quickly at her eyes to remove any trace of tears from her eyes.
"We're sorry Hermione; we just wanted you to have some fun..." Harry said quickly after she gave a sniffle.
"I know... I know, it's just... I try so hard to do everything right in front of my parents... I don't like them to see me fail... I don't want them to think of me as a failure..." Hermione sighed. "I mean, look at them." She pointed out towards the skating rink where her parents were skating hand in hand and perfectly in sync with one another.
"You aren't going to be the only one falling Hermione, see?" Harry said as he suddenly shoved Ron causing him to lose his balance, ungracefully flail his arms and then slam butt first into the ground.
"...ouch ..." Ron muttered before clumsily getting to his feet, rubbing his butt in the process. Despite her best effort, Hermione's face broke into a large smile. Not only because it suddenly dawned on her how lucky she was to have not just one, but two of the best friends she could have ever hoped for but also because she just realized how handsome Ron really was. In his muggle jeans and button up shirt, he didn't look lanky or awkward, he looked tall and handsome. Then she realized that the only reason he had looked lanky before was probably because his clothes were usually always a few inches too short for him.
Ron noticed Hermione starring at him and the tips of his ears burned red. "Thanks a lot mate." He said, avoiding her gaze and punching Ron in the arm.
"Are those clothes new Ron?" Hermione blurted out, she couldn't help herself, she had to ask.
"What? Oh, yeah..." Ron said, looking down at his outfit, "When Mum found out I made Head Boy she bought me some new school robes as well as muggle clothes. Do you like them?"
"I do, they fit you nicely." Hermione said sincerely.
"Ronald Weasley, you are sooooo dreamy!" Harry said breathlessly before swooning dramatically.
"Shut it." Ron said with a glare, but he couldn't help the smile that was twitching at the corners of his mouth at Hermione's compliment.
"So, how about we give this skating thing a go?" Hermione said as she stood up shakily.
"You sure?" Ron asked, unconsciously grabbing hold of her elbow to support her. She only nodded her response and Harry and Ron grinned brightly at their curly headed friend.
"There's that Griffyndor spirit!" Harry said as they made their way slowly towards the rink. "Just to make you feel better Hermione, I'm not that good of a skater either, I mean, I haven't skated in ages. It shouldn't be too hard to make you look good."
Hermione took in a deep breath as the reached the edge of the rink. "You two sure about this, don't you think we should practice on the carpet a bit longer?"
"Now or never Hermione, let's go!" Ron said, tightening his grip on her elbow and stepping onto the slick wooden rink. Harry and Hermione followed him; Harry wobbled uncontrollably and grabbed onto Hermione for support who in turn grabbed onto Ron. Before they all knew it the three of them were on the ground in a heap on the floor laughing at their own clumsiness.
Mr. Granger saw them and couldn't pass up the opportunity to click a picture of his daughter and her friends. She was usually so timid around him even after all these years he'd taken her in. Perhaps he reminded her too much of her real father, his brother. He hated that thought and quickly pushed it out of his mind. His Hermione was just naturally timid around adults, that was it. None the less, he was happy to see her loosen up and have some fun with her friends. He knew that going skating wasn't a mistake no matter what his wife had said and this picture was evidence.
Several attempts later, the trio finally managed to get back onto their feet. Slowly they skated around the rink, all holding onto each other for support. After their fifth lap they all felt comfortable enough to skate on their own (truthfully, Hermione and Ron felt more comfortable holding on to each other, but they didn't want to admit it.).
About half an hour into their skating, they were all feeling fairly comfortable with the whole skating ordeal and Ron and Harry were haphazardly racing each other around the floor. Hermione however in her less experience kept to a slower pace and had only managed to fall twice the whole time, and when she had fallen she was swiftly pulled to her feet by Ron.
Hermione smiled when Ron and Harry sped past her once again. She was considering falling on purpose just to have Ron hold her hands and help her up when she caught a glimpse of Samantha on the other side of the rink. She hadn't seen Samantha once after their incident this morning. Had Sam possibly taken her threat seriously? Hermione highly doubted that, more likely she was just bidding her time until she could act out another one of her heinous plans.
Hermione shook her head, trying to get it off that train of thought, she wasn't going to let Samantha ruin her day, especially when it was actually beginning to look up.
Hermione's thoughts were broken by an overhead speaker, "This next skate is a couples skate. Couples must be holding hands; this next skate is a couples skate." As Hermione was just about to get off the skating floor, Ron grabbed her arm to stop her.
"Um, do you want to skate with me?" Ron asked nervously. "I mean, you don't have to, it's just, I'm certainly not holding his hand!" Ron said with small smile as he pointed at Harry, who was sitting on the bench Hermione had previously occupied, flipping through the book she had left there. "And besides, I haven't skated with you much since we got out on the floor and this seemed like the perfect opportunity..."
"Oh, I'd love to skate with you Ron." Hermione said, giving a smile of reassurance.
"No? Well that's okay... wait, what? You would?" Ron said, expression going from disappointed to delightedly nervous in seconds. Hermione laughed at his reaction and gave him an encouraging nod. Gently Ron reached down and took her hand in his.
Ron and Hermione didn't speak as the skated around the rink to the slow music that played from above. Hermione could have sworn that Harry gave Ron a thumbs up over her book as they passed close to him, but she wasn't sure. As the song ended, so did the couples skate and reluctantly the two let go of each others hands.
"Thanks." Ron said thickly, looking Hermione in the eyes.
"What are friends for?" Hermione said before she could stop herself. Immediately after doing so, she started kicking herself mentally. Here was Ron, showing her some sort of more than friends' affection and she had to go and make it seem as it were nothing more than a friend thing. She sure hated Ron for being clueless about his feelings for her and her feelings for him, but no wonder he acted so clueless when all she ever did was make them out to be nothing more than friends herself.
"Yeah... friends." Ron said, and was that a sad look she saw flash briefly across his face?
"Hey Ron, I'll race you back to this spot." Harry said, coming up to the two.
"Okay, GO!" Ron said and the two were off. Hermione sighed and went to get something to drink.
After another hour and a half or so everyone loaded back into their cars and headed towards the Karaoke place that Mr. Granger had given them directions to.
"That was really fun!" Ron exclaimed as he climbed into the back seat of Hermione's car.
"Yeah, it was." Harry agreed as he sat in the front.
"It wasn't too bad." Hermione said, smiling openly and thinking about her skate with Ron.
When they arrived at the Karaoke place, the adults all sat at a table near the bar, Hermione, Ron and Harry sat at a table near the stage. Samantha and her sister Maria also sat near the stage, but at the other side of the room, away from Hermione and her friends.
Everyone quickly ordered their food and looked expectantly at the stage, but no one made a move to get on it.
"This is Karaoke, someone's got to sing!" Harry exclaimed, no longer able to stand the silence.
"Then why don't you sing one oh courageous one?" Ron said pointedly.
"Maybe I will." Harry said as he looked around at all the empty chairs around them, there were very few people there that he didn't know, and he picked up the song list sitting in the middle of the table. "You have to sing after me though."
"Deal." Ron agreed, and as Harry was absorbed in looking through the list Ron leaned over to whisper to Hermione. "He shouldn't be too hard of an act to follow. Trust me; I've heard him singing in the shower." Hermione laughed, and Harry gave her a questioning look over the huge book of songs before continuing to read them.
"Got one!" Harry stated, slamming the book closed on the table so they couldn't see what he was going to sing. He got up from the table and headed towards a guy sitting next to the stage in a DJ type booth. He whispered a few words to the guy, the DJ nodded before rummaging through his cds and sticking one into the player.
Harry climbed the couple of stairs onto the stage and winced as the bright lights flooded his eyes in comparison to the dim lights of the audience; a microphone stand was in front of him. There were three televisions hanging above the stage, the one in the center was facing Harry and the other two were on the edges of the stage facing the small crowd. As the music started the lyrics appeared on all the screens and the music video, if there was one, appeared on only the audiences two screens.
Harry cleared his throat and then started to sing. "I'm a desperado underneath your window. I see your silhouette. Are you my Juliet? I feel a mad connection with your body. Shake your bon-bon, shake your bon-bon, shake your bon-bon." Hermione burst into a fit of giggles and Ron stared at his friend in complete and utter shock, he had no idea what his friend was singing but he didn't like it very much.
"I wanna be your lover, your only latin lover. We'll go around the world in a day. Don't say no, no. Shake it my way, oh shake your bon-bon, shake your bon-bon, shake your bon-bon." Harry, only encouraged by Hermione's laughter and the faint laughter of the rest of her family from the bar area started moving around on the stage and shaking his body whenever he sang 'shake your bon-bon'.
"Hola Amiga, hola Amiga. You're my temple of desire. We'll go around the world in a day. Don't say no, no. Shake it my way, oh shake your bon-bon, shake your bon-bon, shake your bon-bon." Ron shook his head in embarrassment, he didn't understand half the words coming out of his friends mouth. Soon Harry finished his song and he jumped off the stage with a grin on his face and a loud applause, mixed in was much laughter. Hermione gasped for breath as Harry sat down at their table.
"Good...job...Harry..." was all she could get out. Ron sighed, it was his turn. He picked up the book of songs that Harry had looked through, the only thing was, Ron didn't know any of these songs like Harry and Hermione did, he wasn't raised as a muggle.
"I don't know any of these!" Ron said frustrated.
"Look at the back Ron, it's got some lyrics there you can read, just pick one you like." Harry said consolingly.
"Fine..." Ron grumbled. A moment later he asked. "Hey, Hermione, what was that music you had playing in your room yesterday?"
"Um... Billy Joel." Hermione answered.
"Okay, I know what he sounds like at least, so I won't be totally off guard even if I haven't heard this particular song, I'm going to sing one of his songs." Ron took a deep breath before quietly telling the DJ his song and standing on the stage with resolve on his face. The music started out slowly and then he began to sing.
"She can kill with a smile
She can wound with her eyes
She can ruin your faith with her casual lies
And she only reveals what she wants you to see
She hides like a child
But she's always a woman to me" Ron sang softly and seriously, the crowd was completely silent as he sang, but he continued on.
"She can lead you to love
She can take you or leave you
She can ask for the truth
But she'll never believe you
And she'll take what you give her as long as it's free
She steals like a thief
But she's always a woman to me" No one was laughing like when Harry sang, in fact no one was moving and Hermione didn't even seem to be breathing as Ron eyes seemed to be desperately glued onto the screen and anywhere but at her.
"Oh, she takes care of herself
She can wait if she wants
She's ahead of her time
Oh, and she never gives out
And she never gives in
She just changes her mind
She will promise you more
Than the Garden of Eden
Then she'll carelessly cut you
And laugh while you're bleedin'
But she'll bring out the best
And the worst you can be
Blame it all on yourself
Cause she's always a woman to me
She is frequently kind
And she's suddenly cruel
She can do as she pleases
She's nobody's fool
But she can't be convicted
She's earned her degree
And the most she will do
Is throw shadows at you
But she's always a woman to me" As Ron finished he quickly stepped off the stage in silence. Ron sat back down in his seat and Hermione looked at him shocked a second before she started clapping, followed by Harry and the rest of the crowd.
"Wow Ron, that was really good." Hermione said, as she continued staring at the red haired boy in front of her as he stared at his hands.
"Yeah, it was." Harry agreed.
"Even I could tell it was a bit shaky at times." Ron said.
"Maybe," Harry said, "but it was still really good."
"Thanks..." Ron said and suddenly some loud music started blaring from the stage. The three looked up to see none other than Samantha on stage, microphone in hand. They all braced themselves as she began to sing.
"I think I did it again
I made you believe we're more than just friends
Oh baby
It might seem like a crush
But it doesn't mean that I'm serious
'Cause to lose all my senses
That is just so typically me
Oh baby, baby" Samantha strutted back forth across the stage as she sang.
"Oops!...I did it again
I played with your heart, got lost in the game
Oh baby, baby
Oops!...You think I'm in love
That I'm sent from above
I'm not that innocent"
When she was finished the trio looked at each other. "I have to admit," Hermione sighed, "She wasn't too bad, not my favorite song, but it wasn't too bad."
"I hate her." Ron said, glaring at her as she got off the stage, grinning from ear to ear.
"Your turn Hermione!" Harry said with a grin and to his surprise she just nodded, got up and went to the DJ and then stood in the middle of the stage, holding the microphone with both hands.
She started out slowly.
"I've paid my dues
Time after time" Hermione looked over at her family.
"I've done my sentence
But committed no crime" Here she gave a slight glance in Samantha's direction.
"And bad mistakes
I've made a few" She looked over at Ron and Harry and couldn't help but smile.
"I've had my share of sand
Kicked in my face
But I've come through" Hermione began to sing louder and stronger.
"We are the champions - my friends
And we'll keep on fighting till the end
We are the champions
We are the champions
No time for losers
'Cause we are the champions of the world!" Hermione set the microphone down slowly as she finished and walked slowly down the stairs to the sounds of applause, especially coming from her mother and father's direction.
"Why didn't you tell us Hermione?" Ron asked, open mouthed as he clapped.
"Tell you what?" Hermione asked, surprised.
"Why that you can sing of course!" Harry exclaimed.
"Oh, well, it never really came up." Hermione admitted truthfully. It was true, her voice was quite amazing. Even if the song was short and simple, her voice rang out perfectly.
"You're way better than Samantha!" Ron shouted with glee.
"I guess that's what couple of years of voice lessons does for you, huh?" Hermione said nonchalantly.
"I suppose so..." Harry said, still staring at his friend in awe. "Why'd you choose such a short little song? You need to sing something bigger and better to totally show Samantha up."
"My parents and I use to come here before I went to Hogwarts and every time that we came my dad would ask me to sing a Queen song for him first, that's the name of his favorite band, so I always sing a Queen song for him first. It makes him happy, besides I think that song should be our anthem or something." Hermione explains.
"I guess it does pretty much sum us up." Ron admitted, "But you still have to sing another song... to show Samantha up of course." He didn't want to admit that he just liked hearing her voice.
"After we eat." Hermione conceded as the waiter brought them their food.
A/N: Thanks for reading! I'm really surprised so many of y'all are sticking with this and reviewing so often, but I love ya for it and thanks a lot for reading as well as reviewing! School starts back next week for me, maybe I can get another chapter in before it starts, hopefully school won't slow me up too bad though with my posting.
13th CHAPTER! I hereby dub this my longest running fanfic up to date! (Also my most reviewed fic too) I do thusly acredit this chapter to my faithful readers/reviewers! You have made this possible!