A/n: Yay thanks for all the reviews! I don't think I'll get to upload fast nowadays…coz of school and all that…ahh…I wish it was summer again…

Chapter eight

            There was so much tension going on in the Burrow between Rona dn Hermione. Ginny did nothing but mope around the house and the homecoming of Fred and George was the only time when the tension was (slightly) relieved.

            "Just talk to him!" Ginny told Hermione a few nights later. "You know you can't go on like this."

            "I know. But it's not my fault that he's acting like a moron." Hermione nodded.

            They remained silent for a few seconds, then Ginny said in a casual voice, "So, Hermione…uh…the party's back on right?"

            "Yes it is." Hermione nodded. The day after Ron told Fred and George that Harry didn't want to attend his party, the twins decided to pay Harry a little "visit". Before they knew it, Harry owled them back, saying that he miraculously changed his mind.

            "W-well…d'you want to go shopping with me for Ha – his – present?" Ginny asked.

            "Sure. We can go tomorrow." Hermione smiled.

            "Great." Ginny beamed. And with that matter settled, the two girls went drifted off to sleep.

*           ~          *           ~          *

            The next day, Ginny and Hermione woke up early and ate breakfast. Then they showered, got dressed and headed to the fireplace.

            "We'll be back later Mum." Ginny assured her mother.

            "Take care now." Molly nodded.

            "Diagon alley!" Hermione said as she stepped in the fireplace. She would've preferred to apparate but Ginny wasn't allowed to yet. She stumbled out of a dusty fireplace and found herself in a pub. Minutes later, Ginny popped out and fell to the floor. Then, they decided to go to the Quality Quidditch Supply store.

            "Do you think he'd like this?" Ginny asked as she held up a broom cover that had an animated picture of a snitch on it.

            "Yeah. That's pretty neat." Hermione agreed. She was looking at mugs that had Quidditch team names engraved on them.

            "Oh Hermione! Look at this one!" Ginny grabbed Hermione's arm and dragged her to the center of the store. There was a spotlight on a nicely made brrom lying on the table. "It's the Meteor 2000. It's marvelous isn't it?"

            Hermione nodded. She had to admit, the broom looked very impressive. It had a long, sleek, shiny handle that had Meteor 2000 engraved on it.

            "It has a better grip and three times faster than Harry's old firebolt! And it's easy to carry and I heard it was excellent in performance!" Ginny gushed.

            "Oh dear, it costs 500 Galleons!" Hermione pointed out.

            "Damn." Ginny sighed. "This would've been perfect for him…" She looked extremely disappointed.

            "Don't worry Gin. I'm sure he'd appreciate anything you give to him, no matter what the cost. Seeing you is probably the best birthday gift he could ever ask for." Hermione told her.

            Ginny didn't say anything.

            "Well, I'm gonna go to the bookshop instead. Can you meet me there at around 20 minutes?" Hermione said.

            "Sure." Ginny nodded. However, her thoughts were elsewhere. She wandered back to the broom covers.

            Hermione got out of the store and headed to Flourish and Blotts. How she missed that store!

            "Hello Hermione." The storekeeper greeted. He was used to seeing his favorite customer.

            "Good day sir." Hermione smiled. She headed to the section filled with Quidditch books. "A-ha!" She took out the 'Guide to Getting the Snitch: More faster, efficient and smarter ways to make you a better seeker' and brought it to the counter.

            After making her purchase, Hermione went outside and waited for Ginny. After about 10 minutes, she grew impatient. She decided to go back inside the store when a cold hand grabbed her arm.

            "What do you think you're doing?" Hermione yelled. She yanked her arm away and saw that it was Ron. Ginny was standing behind him carrying a plastic bag, looking furious. She figured that the siblings had another argument.

            "Why are you here? Alone?" Ron demanded.

            "I'm with her, I told you that already!" Ginny replied.

            "We decided to get a present for Harry. Is that so wrong?" Hermione answered. "Ginny and I were going to meet up here."

            "But then Ron came when I was on my way." Ginny said. "Sorry we took long."

            "You should've told me you were going here." Ron said angrily. "Next time, tell me when and where you're going."

            "I can look out for myself thank you very much." Hermione said, feeling slightly annoyed. She looked at Ron and saw so much worry in his eyes. She suddenly felt guilty.

            "Not when he comes and gets you. Who'll look out for you then? Ginny can't do anything." Ron shot back.

            "Shut up Ron! We all care for Hermione just as much as you do!" Ginny yelled. "Thanks for having so much confidence in me." She added sarcastically.

            Hermione remained silent and glared at the tall redhead boy. "We…we told Molly we were going here…"
            "You still should've told me too." Ron answered.

            Silence.

            "How about we go get some ice cream or something?" Ginny suggested a few minutes later. "Maybe that'll cool us off."

            "Fine." Ron and Hermione said in unison. They caught each other's eye but Hermione quickly walked beside Ginny and Ron was left behind them.

At the ice cream shop, Ginny ordered cookies and cream while Ron and Hermione ordered coffee crisp dip. The three of them sat in a table, not saying a word.

Then, Ginny got up and said, "Oh I forgot to get another thing at the store. I'll see you guys at home alright? No need to wait for me…" She gave Hermione a quick wink and took off.

Ron and Hermione stayed glued to their seats, feeling the tension growing again.

Ron cleared his throat. "She planned this didn't she?"

"That sneaky little…" Hermione muttered. She noticed that Ron had ice cream on his cheek. "You have something there." She pointed at her right cheek.

"Here?" Ron rubbed his left cheek.

            "No, other one." Hermione replied.

            Ron wiped his other cheek.

            "You missed it." Hermione rolled her eyes. She took a tissue and wiped the ice cream off. "There we go."

            The two of them concentrated on their ice cream, trying to avoid each other's gaze. Finally Ron spoke up, "Look, Herm, we cant just stop talking whenever we have a row. We're past that. I mean, I know you can't stand not talking to me…"        

Hermione tried not to laugh. "What are you talking about? Maybe it's you who can't survive without me."

"Shut up." Ron grinned. It felt so good to be talking to Hermione again. It felt like he was being torn apart inside when they weren't speaking. Whenever he saw her, he felt like wanting to run up to her and hug her. But his pride took over him and he didn't. "Look, I'm sorry for acting like an asshole and for saying all those stupid things to Ginny."

"I'm sorry too." Hermione smiled. She felt a lot better now that she and Ron patched things up. She couldn't remember how angry she had been.

"The thing I really missed when we weren't speaking to each other was this." Ron leaned closer to Hermione and kissed her softly. Hermione kissed him back and nearly knocked over her ice cream. She moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

After a few minutes, the broke off, almost out of breathe. Hermione smiled. "Have you gotten Harry anything?" She leaned back to her chair.

Ron nodded. "I got him a Wizard's chess board. Quite nice actually…wish I could have it for myself…"

When they finished eating, they explored Diagon Alley for a bit. They saw Neville and Luna Lovegood holding hands in one of the stores. They chatted for a bit, and then went their separate ways. After that, they decided to apparate back home. When they got to the Burrow, they heard a man's voice talking to Molly in another room. They looked at each other curiously and carefully walked to the source.

"And so they're taking care of the house for me." The voice was saying.

"Harry!" Ron and Hermione exclaimed.

A/n: Well I hope that was long enough for you. Thanks for reviewing!