Chapter 37
"What about the Room of Requirement?" Ron asked softly as he walked down the second floor corridor with Hermione who was checking empty classrooms to make sure there were no unauthorized students out after curfew.
"Too many people know about it," she replied, entering the Charms classroom and holding her wand over her head as a torch, illuminating the darkened space. "Including Malfoy."
"A fair point," Ron conceded.
He was anxious to get started on the Coupling Potion, but he understood why Hermione was being so cautious. If someone stumbled upon it before it was finished; if they tossed it out or altered it in some way, it would be disastrous. They weren't going to get any second chances. The ingredients needed to brew that particular potion were just too difficult to get. They simply couldn't brew it until they found someplace private to do it; the problem was they were running out of options.
"Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom?" Ron suggested, despite the fact he already knew what she was going to say.
"Same problem," Hermione answered, as they approached yet another doorway and she peered inside the deserted classroom. "And we can't get in the Chamber of Secrets without Harry," she reminded him.
"This is ridiculous," Ron sighed, slumping back against the wall, not even bothering to try and hide his frustration anymore. "This castle is huge. There must be tons of secret places that no one else can find. Besides the Shrieking Shack," he added before Hermione could propose it again.
He'd already vetoed that suggestion once, claiming that it would be too difficult. He didn't bother telling her that it also made him uneasy. Not just because she'd have to pass under the Whomping Willow to get to the entrance every time she wanted to check on the potion or add a new ingredient, but because she'd have to cross the grounds late at night to do it. What if someone saw her from the window? What if they decided to follow her, or worse, wait for her? She could be attacked, or abducted, or dragged into the Forbidden Forest and no one would even realize she was missing until morning. There was no way in hell he was going to let that happen. The Shrieking Shack was out. Period. End of discussion. Of course Hermione didn't exactly realize that yet. She didn't take kindly to having her ideas shot down and Ron knew that she'd continue to argue her point if he couldn't come up with a better suggestion.
"I never thought I'd say this," he sighed while running the fingers of one hand through his own hair in aggravation, "but I wish Fred and George were here. Bet they know loads of places we could use. I could write them," he suggested, perking up a bit, "and ask. I'll just tell them that we need a private place to snog. Somewhere no one else can find us, because we're prefects and all. They'll take the mickey out on me something fierce, but I bet they'd help. Yeah," he said, brightening even further. "I bet they'd love it actually. It's perfect. They get to corrupt two ickle prefects and help them to break the rules and we get a private place to snog."
"Brew the potion," Hermione corrected him.
"That too," Ron agreed. "The point is it'll be a place that only we know about. I'll write them as soon as we get back to the Common Room."
"What about Harry?"
"What about him?" Ron asked, failing to see what the possible problem could be. "It's not like he reads my letters or anything, but I can wait until he goes to sleep if you're worried."
"No, that isn't what I meant," Hermione attempted to clarify. "It's just that...he has that map. If he looks at it and sees the two of us alone together, especially in a place he doesn't know about himself, he'll be more then suspicious. He'll furious, Ron. I think we should tell him."
"About the potion?" he asked, dropping his voice to a hushed whisper. "What about his Occlumency? I thought you wanted to wait until he was better with it because..."
"No, about us."
"You saw the way he reacted when you told me why we got detention," Ron stated, looking at her as if he thought she might be slightly unhinged. "He tried to pretend that it didn't bother him, but we both saw the look on his face when he made that comment about it being just the two of us. He didn't just feel left out," Ron reminded her, "he was angry about it, only he directed it at Snape instead of us."
"If we don't tell him, he'll figure it out on his own," Hermione argued, "and then he'll have even more reason to be angry."
"You think I don't know that?"
"He's already getting suspicious," Hermione insisted.
"Did he say something to you?"
"No," she replied. "To Ginny. He's been asking her about us. Why we stopped fighting over the summer and stuff like that. She's been covering for us, but it's not fair to put her in the middle. And it isn't going to work. He knows something is different, he just hasn't figured out what it is yet. It's only going to get worse. He's bound to figure it out eventually. We have to tell him."
"No we don't," Ron replied with a surprising amount of confidence. "I've been thinking about it. No wait," he said when Hermione looked like she was about to object. "Just hear me out. I really think this might work."
"All right," she sighed, crossing her arms in front of her chest and looking at him skeptically. "What's this brilliant plan of yours?"
"Well," Ron began, pulling away from the wall and standing upright again, "I'm sure Harry knows that I fancy you." Him and everyone else that sleeps in my dorm, he thought silently. "And if he doesn't, he suspects. So I was thinking, what if I stopped trying to hide it. You know, stare at you and stuff when we're in class? Like I did before, only make it obvious on purpose. Even if he doesn't notice it, Seamus will and he'll bring it up, believe me."
"And I'm supposed to just sit there while you moon over me and pretend I don't notice?" Hermione questioned.
"You can notice," Ron shot back. "And you're missing my point."
"Which is?"
"If Harry doesn't bring it up, Seamus or Neville will. Hell, you can bring it up if you want. Just ask Harry what's the matter with me when I'm not around."
"And you'll just admit it?"
"Not right away," Ron replied. "And not in front of anyone else. I'll admit it later when it's just me and Harry. I can ask him what he thinks I ought to do and he can't be angry if we get together after that, because it will be his idea or at least he'll think that it was."
"And what happens when he finds out that it wasn't? He'll know that we tricked him on purpose. He'll feel like we deceived him and he'll be right. He'll have a legitimate reason to be angry with us then."
"I didn't think about it like that," Ron admitted. "I was just trying to..."
"Make it easier for him," Hermione finished.
"Yeah."
"I think the truth would be easier," she replied, "For all of us. I'll tell him if you want me to. You don't even have to be there."
"I'm not going to let you face that alone," Ron retorted. "Besides, it's me he's going to be angry at, not you."
"Why you?"
"Because I'm the bloke."
"What's that got to do with anything? We're both keeping it from him."
"Have you ever seen me go off on Ginny for going on a date?" Ron asked. "No," he replied before Hermione had a chance to answer. "I might fuss a bit and question her. I might even flat out tell her I don't trust the guy, but I'm not going to shout at her about it. What's the point? She's going to do what she wants regardless of what I think. I might not be able to intimidate her, but I can intimidate the hell out of the guy she's dating."
"You shouted at me," Hermione pointed out.
"That was different," Ron informed her. "And I still say Krum was trying to take advantage of you."
"Oh for heaven sakes," she sighed, rolling her eyes at the ceiling. "He was a perfect gentleman."
"See, that just proves my point," he retorted. "You don't see it and neither does Ginny. Just because a bloke keeps his hands to himself when other people are around, doesn't mean he isn't thinking about taking advantage of you. Just because he acts like a gentleman doesn't mean he won't take liberties if he gets the slightest bit of encouragement."
"You haven't."
"Yes I have," Ron admitted. "I've pressured you. Merlin knows I try not to, but sometimes I just can't help it. I'm a randy dog just like every other bloke in this school. The only difference is I know my intentions are honorable so it's ok. But just because I haven't shoved you in one of these empty classrooms and attacked you yet, doesn't mean that I haven't been thinking about it ALL NIGHT or that I wasn't planning on doing it as soon as we finished our rounds, because I was. I still am as a matter of fact," he admitted without the slightest bit of shame, "because I'm a lecherous prat and Harry knows it."
"And it doesn't matter that I told you what I was planning," Ron continued quickly, for fear Hermione would try and butt in. "Because I wasn't trying to be noble or warn you as some roundabout way of asking your permission. I wouldn't have told you at all except I wanted you to see what I'm talking about. We've been alone together for over an hour and I haven't tried to touch you once. Not because we're prefects and we have a job to do or any of that other rubbish, but because I knew you wouldn't let me. I knew my chances were better if I waited, so that's what I've been doing; biding my time and waiting for the right moment. You might think I was acting like a 'perfect gentleman' but I wasn't and I'm not. None of us are. We're all randy dogs. Some are just worse then others."
Like me, Ron thought, trying to push down the guilt building deep within the pit of his stomach. I rank right up there at the top with those slimy Slytherin bastards. Not only haven't I told you we'll essentially be married if we drink that potion of yours, I went and nicked that talisman from Grimmauld Place because I didn't want to wait a month for you to brew it. I'm despicable.
"If some other bloke tried to do the things that I've done...," he continued, "I'd bloody kill him. Hell, I'd beat him senseless for even considering it. I don't want anyone thinking things like that about you or my sister and neither does Harry. It won't matter that it's me or that my intentions are good. I'm still a randy bugger and Harry knows it."
"Are you trying to tell me that I shouldn't trust you?" Hermione asked, "Because I do."
"Sometimes you're a little too trusting," Ron replied. "Just because you're a good person doesn't mean everyone else is."
"You are," she said, looking him dead in the eye as she stepped forward and reached for his hand.
No, I'm not, he thought, shifting his eyes to the ground as he attempted to stomp down the shame welling up within him.
"You are," Hermione insisted, placing her fingers under his chin and lifting his face up until he was looking at her again. "And you haven't tried to take advantage of me," she informed him. "Not once. You haven't done anything that I haven't wanted you to do. If anything, you're the one that stops us when we get carried away."
"I love you, Hermione," Ron said, with a somber expression that instantly put her on edge. "I need you to know that. The things I do... even the things you won't like. I'm doing them for you.... I just want to... take care of you."
"You do," she replied, more than a little confused by his sudden change of mood. "You always have."
"And I always will," Ron assured her. "I'll spend the rest of my life taking care of you if you'll let me. You might not always like the way I go about doing it, but you have to know that I'd never intentionally hurt you."
"Is that what this is about?" she asked, looking at him with mounting concerned. "It doesn't matter how angry Harry gets. He isn't going to think that about you. He knows as well as I do that you'd never do anything to hurt me. "
You're wrong, he thought miserably. Stand up blokes don't go around binding girls to them. They don't force them into marriage, although it's more like tricking you into it than forcing you, not that it really matters. It's still a low down, dirty thing to do. It's vile and underhanded and I know it, but I'm going to do it anyway. Harry'll bloody kill me when he finds out, if you or my mum doesn't beat him to the punch. It won't matter why I did it. All that will matter is that I did do it. I'll deserve every harsh word and every ounce of pain he inflicts.
"I just... I...," Ron stammered, "I don't want..." anyone else to hurt you "...to lose you."
"You won't," Hermione replied as she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug. He looked so despondent it actually tore at her heart. It didn't matter that they were on prefect rounds or that they were standing in the middle of a corridor where anyone could see them. It no longer mattered that she didn't understand why he was upset. All that mattered was that he was in pain and at that moment all she wanted to do was wrap her arms around him and make that pain go away.
"Promise?" he whispered, pulling her closer and burying his face in her bushy hair.
"I promise," Hermione answered, listening to the rapid tempo his heart set as it pounded against his chest. "I love you," she said, pulling away from him just long enough to come up on her toes and pressing her lips to his. It was the only thing she could think to do that would make him feel better and show him how much he meant to her at the same time.
She had intended the kiss to be gentle and loving, but it quickly became something else entirely. Hermione's lips had barely brushed against his when Ron took her face in both hands and kissed her back so forcefully, her knees nearly buckled. There was nothing sweet or tender about it. It was hot and deep and all consuming. Before she even had time to register what was happening, Hermione found herself pinned against the wall by Ron's body as he crushed himself against her.
It wasn't just passion or lust that was fueling him now, there was desperation as well. A kind of desperation she hadn't experienced since the night she apparated into Ron's bedroom and they shared their first kiss. She had spent the entire day before that convinced that she'd never see him again; that she'd never get the chance to tell him how much he meant to her. Once they were face to face; once she had her arms wrapped around him, she'd been afraid he'd vanish if she let go. That was the way he was kissing her now, as if he were afraid she'd disappear the instant he pulled away and opened his eyes.
Fortunately for Ron, Hermione had no intentions of abandoning him and she was only too happy to meet his hungry kisses with her own, even if they were standing in the middle of the corridor. It wasn't just about what he needed anymore, but about what she needed as well. She wanted to devour him whole right where he stood and nothing and no one was going to get in her way. Except herself that is. Because for some odd reason she kept imagining what they must look like grunting and groaning as they pushed and pawed at one another trying to work their hands underneath each others clothes. Anyone that was unfortunately enough to stumble upon them would likely be stunned speechless. And that was what finally did it; the mental picture of Filch standing there with his mouth open in shock, gaping a pair of prefects who were trying to undress each other in the hallway.
I'll have to modify his memory, Hermione thought an instant before she started to giggle.
She could have kicked herself for it afterwards, because it caught Ron off guard and he pulled away to look at her, which seemed to break the spell that had been cast over them.
"What?" he asked while looking down at his left hand, which had ended up crammed in the gap that had been created when one of the central buttons on her shirt had come undone. "Sorry," he muttered, his cheeks flushing a bit as he attempted to jerk it free.
"If we'd caught someone else doing what we were just doing," Hermione chuckled, "they'd be receiving detention right about now."
"Yeah well, it's not someone else is it?" Ron asked, relieved to see she was smiling. "And as luck would have it, you can't give yourself detention."
"I can give you one," she retorted with a smirk, playfully squeezed his bum when she realized her right hand was still resting there.
"You're the one still feeling me up," he shot back with one of his enticing lopsided smiles.
"Oh well," Hermione sighed, intentionally biting her lower lip because she knew it would tempt him. "I suppose that is a bit naughty, isn't it?" she asked, giving him another squeeze before removing her hand. "I guess we'll just have to punish each other."
"Bloody Hell, Hermione," Ron groaned, his eyes going wide with astonishment. "Are you purposely trying to kill me? Wait," he added as a new thought occurred to him. "That's not my punishment is it? Because it would be cruel to tease me like that. Can't I just do lines or something?" he leaned forward and whispered into her ear. "I'll have them to you first thing in the morning," he promised just before his lips brushed against the sensitive area on her neck. "I will not snog my girlfriend while on rounds," he whispered before pushing her hair aside and blazing a trail of light kisses down her neck. "I will not snog my girlfriend while on rounds."
"Is that what I am?" Hermione asked, quivering when she felt his tongue slide over her tingling flesh. "Your girlfriend?"
"No," Ron replied, pulling away from her and looking at her very seriously. "You're much more than that. You're my everything. The first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning. That last thing I think about at night when I fall asleep. The one I want to spend my time with in between. You're my heart. And soon you'll be my soul and I'll be yours. For as long as you will have me, anyway."
"Oh Ron," Hermione sighed before throwing herself against him and crushing her lips to his.
"Does this mean that you'll have me?" he asked, when they were forced to surface for air.
"You better believe it does," Hermione replied just before she launched herself at him again.
"What about our rounds?" he asked, albeit very reluctantly.
"We're finished with our rounds," she informed him, taking his hand and pulling him towards the nearest classroom.
"What about the ground floor?"
"To hell with it," she replied, shoving him into the room they took their Charms classes in and kicking the door shut behind them.
"Merlin, I love you," Ron groaned as he watched Hermione whip her wand out and use it to imperturb the doorway so they wouldn't be interrupted.
"That's good," she said playfully, shoving her wand back in her pocket and then removing her robes. "I'd guess we have about 40 minutes or so before Harry starts wondering what happened to us. Think you can show me how much you love me in that amount of time?"
"Most definitely," Ron replied with a smirk as he tore his own robes off and threw them at the nearest chair. "Maybe even twice," he added, removing his tie.
"A bit ambitious, aren't we?" Hermione teased as she leaned back against one of the desks. "I like that. That kind of thinking should be rewarded. So why don't you come over here," she said while beckoning him forward with the tip of her index finger, "and claim your prize?"
...................
"If you don't stop smiling like that," Hermione warned Ron as they walked hand in hand back up to Gryffindor tower, "Harry is going to know something is up. No one enjoys prefect rounds that much."
"I can't help it," Ron replied as they reached the top of the staircase and started down the corridor that would lead them to the Fat Lady's portrait. "That was bloody brilliant. I think we should do that every Thursday night. Er... not just that," he amended, his ears turning a bright shade of red when he realized that he'd just suggested she go down on him on a weekly basis. "I mean, it was...er... really great... brilliant even, but you ...ah... don't have to do it again or anything if you don't want to. I mean... I really, really, really enjoyed it," he continued to ramble. Understatement of the century there, Weasely."Obviously. But ...uh... well, you don't have to do it again... if you think it's disgusting or something. Aw hell," Ron muttered, when Hermione turned her head so he couldn't see her laugh. "I should probably just say thanks and shut up, right?"
"That might be a good idea," Hermione replied with a chuckle. "It's rather flattering though. Knowing that I can turn you into a blithering idiot."
"Shut up," Ron moaned, his blush becoming even more pronounced, if that were possible. "I am not blithering. So... uh... did you think it was disgusting?"
This time it was Hermione's turn to blush. "Um... not exactly," she replied, caught off guard and unsure how to respond. " No, disgusting isn't the term I'd use."
"And what term would you use?"
"I can think of several actually."
"What's the first one that springs to mind?"
"Interesting," Hermione lied. The first word that sprang to mind was hot, she just wasn't sure if she ought to admit that. It seemed like something a scarlet woman would say and frankly the whole experience had taken her a by surprise. She'd expected him to enjoy it, but she never thought that she would. Not in that way. True, it had been awkward at first and she'd been worried that she'd do it wrong, despite the fact she'd read all about the proper technique. But the books hadn't warned her that she'd become that aroused herself. They hadn't mentioned how reducing your boyfriend to a quivering mass could stimulate your own body as well. A few throaty groans and her anxiety had been all but forgotten; replaced by a desire to do whatever it took to elicit more of those sexy sounds. Yes, it had been hot. Hot and intoxicating and weird and a little scary, all at the same time but interesting seems as good a word as any to describe it.
"Interesting?" Ron said, regarding her attentively while attempting to interpret her response. "In a good way or a bad way?" he finally asked.
"In a good way," Hermione replied, her cheeks flushing again. Definitely a good way.
"Oh," he said, dropping his eyes down to the ground for some unknown reason. "Um... well that's good then. So about next Thursday?"
"RON!" Hermione cried, smacking him on the arm. "We are not going to skive off our rounds and mess around EVERY Thursday night."
"Every other Thursday?" he asked hopefully while shooting her his best version of puppy dog eyes. "One Thursday a month?" he continued when she didn't reply right away. "Oh come on," Ron cried when she released his hand and stalked off towards the portrait hole without him. "You've got to give me at least one Thursday a month," he said, catching up to her quickly. "They're the only nights we have to be completely alone together. I'll work like a dog the other three, I promise. I'll be a model prefect; give detentions and everything. Just one Thursday a month. You know that you want to."
"No, I don't," Hermione informed him as they came to a halt in front of the fat lady.
"Password."
"I want to give you every Thursday night," she explained quickly, ignoring the Fat Lady who looked slightly put out when she got no response to her request, "but I can't. I have a job to do. We both do. And like it or not, we have to do it."
"Hermione," Ron whined. "You're killing me here."
"We have a job to do," Hermione reiterated, "and we are going to do it. Of course that doesn't mean we can't find other ways to occupy ourselves if we finish early," she added with a coy smile. "If you can figure out a way to make that happen, that is. Ton-Tongue Toffee" she said, giving the Fat lady the password before he had a chance to reply. The instant the portrait swung open, she pushed through the opening, leaving Ron standing alone in the hallway, trying to sort out the best way to accomplish that task.
Hermione of course already knew the answer. They needed to borrow the Marauder's Map on Thursday nights. Not only would it show them who was out after curfew and where they were hiding, having it in their possession would prevent Harry from discovering what they were up to accidentally, should they decide to do a little hiding of their own. It would probably take Ron a while to figure that out on his own, but he'd get there eventually and until then, it would keep his mind occupied and ensure that Harry didn't catch him grinning about his prefect rounds like a daft fool.
..................
"OH! Those two..." Hermione shouted angrily as she stormed into the 5th year girls' dormitory, slammed the door shut, and locked it behind her.
"What has my idiot of a brother done now?" Ginny asked nonchalantly.
"Not them," Hermione hissed, scanning the room quickly to make sure they were completely alone. Fortunately it was a Saturday evening and all of Ginny's roommates were down in the Common Room. "Parvati and Lavender... do you know what they... they're... OH!!! They have some bloody nerve!"
"Calm down," Ginny replied, trying to make sense of her friend's rant. "You aren't making any sense. What exactly did they do? They're not still pestering you about your hair are they?"
"Ron and Harry insisted on playing exploding snaps, despite the fact I was trying to finish my DADA essay, so I came upstairs to work," Hermione explained as she paced back and forth in front of Ginny's bed. "Only when I got to my room I found Lavender and Parvati were in there with their heads together, talking in hushed voices and giggling."
"Nothing new there," Ginny cut in, causing Hermione to stop pacing and scowl.
"No, that isn't anything new," the bushy haired girl agreed irritably. "The new part was that they stopped doing it when I entered the room. At first I thought maybe they were talking about me, but it turns out it was..."
"Harry," Ginny finished the sentence for her.
"Yeah, how did you know?"
"You'd have to be blind to not to notice the looks Parvati has been giving him since we got back."
"What looks? I haven't noticed any looks."
"Well you're a bit preoccupied with my git of a brother at the moment," Ginny retorted, laughing when Hermione's cheeks flushed. "Ok, so they were.... talking about Harry," she continued, trying not to let on that she found that news unsettling. You're over him, remember? Now focus on Hermione's problem. "And that bothered you?"
"No," Hermione admitted. "And I told them as much as soon as I realized who they were giggling about. I mean honestly, I must have told them a hundred times that Harry and I are just friends. Only for some reason this time when I said it they perked up and acted as if they believed me."
"That's because they wanted it to be true this time," Ginny sighed. "Go on. What happened next?"
"Well you know how they are," Hermione answered. "They both started talking at the same time and it took me a minute to figure out what they were so excited about. It didn't really sink in until Lavender mentioned something about me being their best friend and how if anyone knew what they looked for in girls it would be me. And then she started rattling on about how much fun it would be... 'best friends dating best friends'," Hermione snarled, forcing herself to say the last few words.
"She didn't?" Ginny cried, trying hard not to laugh.
"Oh, but she did."
"Lavender is interested in Ron?"
"That complete and utter cow!" Hermione cried furiously.
"What did you say?" Ginny asked, unable to keep herself from laughing this time.
"Nothing," her angry friend admitted, her face becoming even redder. "I just stood there gapping at them in horror."
"Why didn't you just tell them that Ron already has a girlfriend?"
"ARE YOU INSANE?" Hermione shrieked. "I can't do that. They'd want to know who and even if I refused to tell them there would be rumors about who it might be flying all over school by morning and then Harry would find out and it would be a nightmare. DAMN IT! I told Ron that we couldn't go on like this. I told him we had to tell Harry. I HATE THIS!"
"Alright, I see your point," Ginny said, holding her hands out in front of herself in a vain attempt to calm Hermione down.
"Ginny!" Hermione yelped. "What am I supposed to do? I can't go back in there. If she asks me about him again I'm liable to whip my wand out and curse her right where she stands."
"You can always volunteer to partner up with her in your next DADA lesson. Then you can curse her to your heart's content."
"GINNY!" Hermione moaned miserably.
"Oh, alright. What about this then? If she asks you again, just tell her the truth," the young redhead suggested. "That she could dance naked through the Common Room and Ron wouldn't notice her. Alright, he'd notice," she conceded, when her friend's smoldering brown eyes narrowed and shot her a skeptical look, "but he still wouldn't ask her out. I'm sure a few of the other blokes would though. In which case she'd be out of your hair."
"Not unless they happen to have an available best friend for Parvati," Hermione jeered. "Best friends dating best friends, remember?" she added, looking as if she wanted to retch.
"That sounds like a plan to me," Ginny muttered. "They'll just have to find themselves another set of best friends. The set they're after is spoken for."
"Oh really?" Hermione asked, arching an eyebrow and studying her friend closely. "Something you'd like to tell me, Gin?"
"No," the young redhead replied rapidly, her cheeks flushing a bright pink. "I just meant your half, that's all."
"Um hum," Hermione agreed, using a tone that made it obvious that she didn't buy a word of what Ginny was saying. "And I suppose that is the reason your face currently matches your hair."
"Shut up," Ginny groaned in mortification.
"Harry is a daft git when it comes to girls Gin, so you'll have to be patient with him," Hermione said as she plopped down on the bed beside her friend. "He's almost as clueless as your brother. Truly. I'm not exaggerating. You've got your work cut out for you, but I'd much rather help you than Parvati. At least you won't parade him around and show him off like some prize you've just won. "She doesn't stand a chance against the two of us," Hermione insisted. "Only when the actual fighting does start, Lavender is mine."
"I can see it now," Ginny chuckled. "Lavender with the word 'slag' written across her forehead in spots."
"I wouldn't do anything that drastic," Hermione protested.
"Hermione? Are you in there?" a soft voice asked just before there was a knock on the door. "If you are you ought to know that Ron has been shouting up the stairs trying to get your attention for the past ten minutes. Something about you making him late for detention."
Hermione muttered something unintelligible under her breath before turning away from the door and looking at Ginny apologetically. "I completely forgot," she said with a sigh.
"You can plot your revenge later," Ginny said quietly. "You better go or he's liable to try and come up and get you."
"He's already tried that once," Hermione reminded her friend as she rose up off the bed and crossed the room to the door. "He's not thick enough to try it again."
"Oh please," Ginny laughed as Hermione threw the door open and came face to face with Parvati. "Of course he's thick enough."
"Thanks," Hermione said, barely even looking at Parvati as she moved into the hallway and made for the staircase leading down the to Common Room.
"No problem," Parvati answered.
"If you don't mind," Ginny said politely, grabbing the book she'd been reading before Hermione barged in up off her bed and looking at it instead of Parvati. "Could you shut that door. I need to have this entire book finished by Wednesday," she added.
"Right," Parvati said, giving Ginny a sympathetic smile as she shut the door. Having just completed fifth year herself, Parvati knew what a struggle it was, particularly at the end. But this was the first week of school, for Merlin sake. It seemed a bit extreme to expect anyone to read an entire textbook in five days. "Thank Merlin, I didn't take whatever course she's taking."
"I'm going to give her five more minutes," Hermione heard Ron's voice echo up the stone staircase as she approached it. "And then I'm going to get my broom and fly up there and find her myself."
Hermione froze the instant she heard Lavender Brown speak, "I'm sure she'll be down in a minute. Why don't we go sit on the couch and I'll keep you company while you wait?"
"HER-MI-OOOOO-NEEEEE!" Ron bellowed up the stairwell impatiently.
Oh no you won't, Hermione thought, inching her way to the staircase and leaning around the corner just enough so she could glare down and see what Lavender was doing.
"I still can't believe you got all those detentions," she heard Lavender say as she positioned herself on the second stair so Ron would be forced to look at her, as she was blocking his view of the stairwell. "And on Saturday nights too. It's just not fair. I heard Malfoy gloating about it this morning in the Great Hall. Is it true you almost lost your prefect badge?" Lavender asked, reaching over and touching the red and gold pin attached to his jumper.
"No," Ron replied brusquely, reaching up and brushing her hand away before looking down at his watch. "HER-MIIII-OOOO...," he started to shout, but stopped the instant she stepped around the corner and came into view. "It's about bloody time you show up. We're going to be late, you know?" he asked as she quickly descended the stairs.
"Not if we hurry," Hermione replied, latching onto his arm the instant she hit the Common Room and hauling him away from Lavender and over towards the portrait hole. "We'll have to run though."
"We've got three minutes to make it to the second level," Ron shot back as he followed her out of the Common Room. "Just remember whose fault it is when McGonagall starts lecturing us."