Author's Notes:
Well this is it, Chapter 50. The last chapter I actually have completely written. From this point on, you'll be caught up with everyone else, but you'll also have to wait the two weeks or so it takes me to get a new chapter written and betaed. But at least you have the satisfaction of knowing that you aren't behind everyone else. :-) No need to worry though. The updates might take me longer, but they will keep coming.
Now on to message number two. A response to the review Amscray left about chapter 49.
Amscray:
What Ron and all the boys did (looking at Lavender) was perfectly normal, girlfriend or not, and meant nothing whatsoever. Lavender, however, did know that Ron wasn't interested, and that he had a girlfriend, because Seamus accidentally told Parvati, who told her, and yet she still went down there and purposely tried to seduce him. You might not find that kind of behavior inappropriate, but I do and personally I think she got exactly what she deserved. As for Ginny, sorry if you don't like her. I happen to love her and I'm not changing her personality one bit. Yes, she's nosy, but anyone that has ever had a little sister will tell you that is exactly how they are. No matter what you do, they are always butting into your business, not to mention tattling on you.
Now on to my main point... If you find this story cliche or unenjoyable or predictable, or a disappointment, I suggest you stop reading it now because it is just going to be more of the same and I'm sure you won't enjoy this chapter either. And the next one will be even worse for you, because Ginny does in fact stick her nose in her brother's business again. So stop reading now and save yourself the aggravation.
Ok, on with the story.
Chapter 50
"It wasn't like that," Seamus said in his defense, as he stepped away from the glowering redhead advancing on him. "I was trying to talk her out of it, I swear."
"So much for being able to keep a secret," Harry mumbled to himself, as he shook his head sadly.
"I only mentioned it to your sister because I figured she already knew," Seamus said, hoping that would placate Ron. "I never meant for Lavender or anyone else to find out. "
"Gin?" Ron said, glancing at his sister, who bit her lip, but didn't respond. "Well?"
"Well what?" she asked evasively.
"Did he tell Lavender or not?"
"Um," Ginny mumbled, caught between two conflicting desires. On the one hand Seamus was responsible for Lavender finding out, albeit in a round about way. But it had still been an accident. Of course if she told her brother that, he'd probably let the meddlesome Irishman live, which would mean that she'd miss out on all of the fun yet again. He never asked you if it was intentional or not, Ginny reminded herself just before she replied. "Well, he didn't exactly tell Lavender himself," she admitted. "He told Parvati and she told Lavender."
"I did not," Seamus protested. "She overheard me."
"Which means you told her," Ginny stated wryly.
"Not on purpose."
"You still told her," Ginny insisted.
"But I didn't mean to."
"But you still did," Hermione cut in. "Intentional or not, this is all your fault."
"I wasn't the one that got caught looking down her shirt," the sandy haired Irishman shot back, hoping that if he reminded Hermione of that fact, she'd turn on Ron and they'd distract one another long enough for him to make his escape. Unfortunately it didn't exactly have the desired effect. Hermione's eyes remained locked on him, although they narrowed considerably, and Ron actually growled at him.
"I beg to differ," Hermione retorted. "Every single one of you is guilty of that offense," she added, dragging her eyes from Seamus to Harry and Neville, who both dropped their heads and stared at the floor as they blushed.
"The difference is we don't have girlfriends," Seamus insisted.
"And you never will," Ginny piped in. "If you go around oggling girls like they're a piece of meat."
"All right," Hermione sighed, "I've heard enough. It doesn't matter. It's over and done with, but I want to talk to you," she said, pointing at Ron. "Alone. You boys don't mind if I use your room for a couple minutes, do you?"
"Not at all," Harry replied almost instantly, shrugging his shoulders when Ron shot him a look that said, Oh gee, thanks for the support. She's about to kill me, you know?
"Ron?" Hermione said, after walking over to the staircase leading up to the boys' dorms and spinning around to wait for him.
"Don't go thinking you're off the hook, Finnigan," the redhead whispered, intentionally slamming his shoulder against his roommate as he began shuffling towards his girlfriend. "If you run, you'll only die tired, because I know where you sleep."
"Hermione, I know you're upset, but it didn't mean anything. I swear," Ron insisted, as soon as he entered his bedroom and shut the door behind himself. "I didn't do it on purpose. They were just... there... and I couldn't help it."
Oh yeah, that's just brilliant, Weasley, he thought, cringing inwardly at his own stupidity. The I'm a randy dog excuse? That's the best you've got? Next you'll be trying the everyone else was doing it excuse. And as you know, that one NEVER work, so shut the hell up, before you dig yourself in any deeper. Your only chance now is to take whatever she throws at you like you deserve it. Apologizing until she's sick of hearing the words 'I'm sorry,' probably isn't such a bad idea either.
"I'm sorry."
"Do you like hers better than mine?" Hermione asked, staring down at her own chest before looking at him uncertainly.
DON'T ANSWER THAT! A voice screamed inside Ron's head. It's a trap.
A voice screamed inside Ron's head."I know hers are bigger," she continued, cupping her own breasts with her hands as if she were trying to gage how adequate they were. "By why is that so important? Don't they all feel pretty much the same?"
"How the hell am I supposed to know?" Ron cried, feeling even more panicked now then when he first entered the room. "I've only ever touched yours," he added, shifting uncomfortably, praying that he'd be able to find a way to get out of this and away from her before she realized he was aroused. He knew what she'd think, if and when she did find out; she'd think it was because of Lavender and that being the case, she'd flay him alive. "Not that I want to touch anyone else's," Ron droned on like a raving idiot. "Yours are great and I love it when you let me touch them."
OH! MY! GOD! Just shut the hell up, you imbecile, the more sensible voice screamed in his head.
But it's the truth, he argued.
You're one sick puppy, you know that, Weasley? the voice stated. Here she is about to lay into you, and you're still turned on.
It's not like I can help it, he countered. I love it when she gets all riled up. And it's not everyday I get to watch two girls fight over me. That was hot. Watching her feel herself up isn't helping either, he groaned internally.
? the voice stated. he countered.. he groaned internally.Get a hold of yourself, man. You're facing pain and imminent death here. Keep apologizing.
"I...I don't know why I looked," Ron stated out loud. "I swear I didn't mean to. I was going to tell her to bugger off, but when I turned around to say it...she was... they were.... I'm sorry. Really I am. I'll never do it again. I promise"
"Of course you will," Hermione said, shaking her head back and forth in what he could only assume was a disapproving manner. "You could be a little more subtle about it though. All of you could," she continued. "I mean honestly, the four of you were practically drooling."
"It didn't mean anything," Ron said again miserably.
"I know," she sighed unhappily. "It's just...sometimes it's hard. Never being noticed I mean."
"What are you talking about?" he asked, his brow creasing with confusion. "I do notice you. I look at you like that all the bloody time. "
"No one else does," she countered.
"They better not," Ron said angrily. "I'll bloody well beat them senseless if they do. What do you want other blokes looking at you like that for?" he asked harshly.
"That's not what I meant."
"It's what you said."
"It's just... sometimes I hate being so... average."
"Average?" he parroted back in surprise. "Are you mental? You're the most brilliant witch in the whole bloody school, for Merlin sake."
"Yes, brilliant, bookish, know it all Hermione. That's all anyone sees, because nothing else about me stands out. I'm not curvaceous like Lavender or exotic like Parvati. My hair isn't smooth and shimmering like Ginny's. It's just like everything else about me; boring, brown, and average.
Oh, I get it, he thought, as her words and their meaning gelled together in his mind. If there was one thing Ron Weasley understood, it was feeling insecure.
"If you think that I was looking at her because I don't find you attractive, or because I think she is better than you in any way, then you're wrong. Dead wrong," he stated, seeing no reason to beat around the bush or try and find a tactful way to explain it. "I looked because she was there, and well, it was sorta hard not to. But I didn't feel anything close to what I feel when I look at you," he added, as he closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her forward against his better judgment, so she would be able to feel the way his body had responded. "This happened because of you, not her," he stated.
"Ronald Weasley!" Hermione gasped in shock, shoving him away when she felt his arousal press against her stomach. "I can't believe... you were... you're...what the hell is the matter with you?"
"What?" he asked sheepishly, as he shot her one of his lopsided grins. "The woman I love just laid claim to me in a very dramatic and very public way. I wouldn't be surprised if half the bloody school knows by now."
"Must you curse so much?"
"You probably shouldn't have used the Lànain in front of everyone like that though," he said, ignoring her comment completely. "It's a good thing everyone was so shocked or they would have realized that you didn't have your wand out."
"Is that what that was?" Hermione asked, as she replayed the moment Lavender went soaring across the Common Room over again in her head.
"You didn't know?" Ron asked disbelievingly. "Then how did you do it."
"I don't know," she replied honestly, trying to figure that out for herself. "I certainly didn't mean to. It just happened. Once second I was watching her leaning over you and the next she wasn't."
But what happened in between that time? she asked herself. Nothing. I walked in and she was flirting with him. She leaned over and touched his hair and I was jealous. Not just jealous, she reminded herself. Jealous and angry and possessive. That must be what triggered it, but how?
"But I didn't do anything," she said out loud. "All I did was...."
"Was what?" Ron asked, curious to know how to work the magic himself, in case he ever needed to.
"All I did was think, 'get your hands off of him'," she replied, covering her eyes with one hand and letting out a sigh as she realized it had been the thought that triggered the magic.
"All you did was think it?" he asked. "Wicked."
"It was not wicked," she scolded. "I could have hurt her."
"But you didn't," Ron said. "Plus it was ...hot.... er... kinda flattering, you know? I mean, I know how you feel about me and all, but I'm glad everyone else know about it too. I was getting sick and tired of watching every little thing I said or did," he explained. "Do you have any idea how hard it has been to hold myself back all the time?" he asked, as he wrapped his arms around her again. "But we don't have to worry about that anymore," he stated happily. "I can touch you or kiss you anytime and anywhere I want."
"Is that so?" Hermione asked.
"Yup," he replied, leaning forward and kissing her briefly, just to emphasize his point.
"Not in classes," she stated, clearly setting down a new set of guidelines for him to follow, "or when I'm trying to studying?"
"That's three-quarters of the blasted day and half the night," he moaned.
"And not if any of the younger students are around."
"Aw, come on," Ron complained. "The first years don't care if I hold your hand."
"I'm talking about snogging and you know it," she scolded. "There will be absolutely no kissing or any questionable behavior in front of the first and second years. We're Prefects after all."
"So was Percy," Ron countered, "but that didn't stop him from sneaking around the dungeons and snogging his girlfriend in empty classrooms all over school. And he still became Head Boy, you know? So did Bill, for that matter. McGonagall isn't going to take your badge away just because you have a boyfriend. Actually, now that I think about it," he added with a smile, "I bet she already knew about us that day she gave your badge back in Snape's office, so that means we have her blessing and you have nothing to worry about."
"No kissing in front of the younger students," Hermione insisted.
"I don't see any first or second years around right now," he replied with a smirk. "We're finished with our classes and you aren't studying," he added, his grin becoming even wider. "Nor will you be on this fine Friday evening. Not if I have anything to say about it."
"You're impossible," she said, shaking her head from side to side sadly and trying hard not to smile. But even biting her lip to hold it back didn't work for very long. "I don't know why I put up with you."
"I do," he leaned forward and whispered, just before his lips fluttered over her neck. "I seem to recall you telling me once that I take your breath away," he said, sucking on the sensitive spot right under her ear. "Let's see if I can still do it," he pulled away and muttered, just before Hermione's fingers weaved into his hair and her supple lips crashed against his.
"They've been up there for ages," Neville said to Harry, glancing down at his watch for the fifth time since they began playing exploding snaps. "What do you think they're doing?"
"She's probably trying to find a place to stuff the body," Seamus sniggers.
"Watch it," Harry snapped, his green eyes narrowing behind his glasses at his roommate's crude innuendo. "Ron isn't the only one that's capable of cursing you."
"Actually I was referring to Weasley's lifeless corpse," Seamus replied, going to great lengths to sound like he'd just been offended. "Someone's mind is certainly in the gutter though, and for once it wasn't me," he chuckled.
"Just watch what you say about Hermione," Harry warned.
"Aye right," Seamus shot back. "Like there's any chance of Weasley getting lucky. He's up there with Hermione Granger. A hacked off Hermione Granger at that. She's probably cursed him three ways from Sunday by now. Or not," he added, when the couple in question descended into the Common Room together hand in hand.
"I'm starved," Ron informed Harry, after releasing Hermione's hand and walking up behind his friend. "You ready to go down to dinner, mate?"
"Yeah, sure," Harry replied, rising up out of his chair.
"What about Seamus?" Neville asked.
"What about him?" Ron said, his threat to murder his big-mouthed roommate in his sleep forgotten in the afterglow of a good snog.
"Didn't you want to...OW!"
"Shut it, Longbottom," Seamus hissed, elbowing Neville in the side before he could remind Ron that he was still supposed to be angry.
"Neville, you'll tell Ginny that we already went down, won't you?" Hermione said, after scanning the Common Room and failing to spot her friend's bright red hair. "I'd go up and tell her myself," she added, "but that's probably not such a good idea right now."
"Yeah, sure, I'll tell her," Neville replied, leaning over the cards on the table in front of him and gathering them back together in an ordered pile.
"What the hell are you looking at?" Ron barked at a group of fourth-year Hufflepuff girls, who had the audacity to gawk at the trio as they made their way down the marble stairs leading to the Entrance Hall.
"Ron," Hermione said softly.
"They're not even subtle about it," he complained, unsettled by the open stares he'd received in the hallways as the three of them made their way down to dinner.
"And that surprises you?" Harry asked. "Merlin knows they've stared at me like that enough times."
"The Gryffindors weren't acting like that," Ron insisted.
"That's because they have to live with you," Harry chuckled, as they approached the doors of the Great Hall.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ron asked.
"It means they saw you threaten Seamus and they know that you know where they sleep too."
"Laugh it up, Potter," Ron said sarcastically, as he followed Harry through the huge oak doors.
"Alright, I think I will."
"Bloody hell," Ron groaned under his breath, his entire face flooding with color as he stepped into the room full of chatting students, many of whom abruptly cut off their conversation when they caught the flash of his red hair, and immediately started nudging their neighbors in the side, before turning their attention in his direction.
"Just ignore them," Hermione, who was more accustomed to this kind of unwanted attention, advised, pushing past Harry, who was chuckling quietly to himself. "All of them," she added, when she saw Ron's eyes dart over to the Slytherin table and lock on Malfoy, who pointed at them as he leaning forward and whispered something to his friends, all of whom immediately started laughing.
"Slimy sod," Ron mumbled under his breath. "I've changed my mind," he said a bit louder. "I think I've lost my appetite."
"Just ignore it," Hermione stated again. "Come on," she said, snatching his hand up and drag him towards the Gryffindor table, knowing that the sight and smell of all that food laid out before him would quickly remedy that particular problem. "When I find out who those second years were...," she said to herself. "Honestly... running all over school telling anyone that would listen that I snapped and attacked another student, when it was clearly an accident."
Didn't look like an accident to me, Harry thought, but he wisely kept the comment to himself.
"When I find out who they are," she continued, glancing down at the end of the table where most of the younger students were seated as she sat down herself. "It would serve them right if I gave them detention."
"For what?" Harry asked, as he sat down beside her. "They didn't break any rules."
"Maybe not," she acquiesced. "But sooner or later they will, and when they do I'll be on them so fast they won't know what hit them."
"Aw come on Hermione, leave 'em alone," Ron said, as he loaded his plate full of food. "They're already intimidated by you. If you start following them around waiting to catch them at something, you'll traumatize the little snot rags."
"Me? I'm not the one that shouts Goblin names at them."
"I only do that when they get on my nerves, plus it's funny," Ron countered.
"To you maybe."
"If you two don't stop bickering and start eating, your food is going to get cold," Harry said with a smile. Apparently some things really aren't going to change.
"I get to play the winner this time," Ginny said from her chair, as she studied the chessboard set up between Ron and Harry.
"Whatever," her brother mumbled, not even bothering to look at her as he forced his knight to move forward despite the chess piece's vehement protests. Had Ron been paying attention he might have noticed the way Ginny's eyes had drifted over and locked on Harry as she spoke, or the fact that she was trying to restrain a smile, but the truth was, he was far to distracted by Hermione to pay his sister any mind.
Harry however wasn't distracted and he had noticed. He'd noticed a lot of things actually. Like the fact that Hermione, who was reclining on the couch beside Ron using him as a pillow while she read, had her book propped up in her lap and was turning the pages with one hand, because the other hand had slid behind Ron's back not long after their first game started. He'd noticed that his opponent's shirt had ridden up a bit on his right side by the beginning of their second game and that every now and then it would move because Hermione was tracing light circles on the small of Ron's back with her fingers.
Harry noticed things about his other companion as well. Like the way Ginny's bright brown eyes lit up as she studied the chessboard and saw what her brother had missed. He noticed the way she had looked up at him, her eyes dancing with glee and smirked. And how she just as quickly beat that smirk down before it could become a full born smile, and then struggled to maintain an impassive expression, least she unintentionally give their shared secret away. He watched Ginny bite her lower lip to keep from laughing as he leaned forward to manually move his next piece forward so Ron would have no warning whatsoever.
Have her lips always been that pink? he wondered, looking at Ginny instead of the chess piece now clutched in his hand. And her cheeks, they're kind of pink too, but in a good way, he thought. And what happened to her freckles? They seem lighter than they used to be. Or maybe they were always that way and I'm just confusing her with one of her brothers. But her hair, it's definitely brighter. Ron's hair doesn't reflect the firelight like that, does it? What are you doing? he asked himself, as his eyes drifted back to the luscious bottom lip she was currently mistreating with her teeth and he suddenly realized where his mind was heading. She's your best friends little sister, for Merlin sake. Stop thinking about her like that right now, you randy git. It's just Ginny.
he wondered, looking at Ginny instead of the chess piece now clutched in his hand. he thought. he asked himself, as his eyes drifted back to the luscious bottom lip she was currently mistreating with her teeth and he suddenly realized where his mind was heading."Checkmate," Harry stated smugly, after setting the piece in his hand down in front of the Ron's King.
"WHAT!" Ron cried, sitting bolt upright and pitching Hermione forward in the process. Caught off guard, she had no choice but to let her book tumbled unceremoniously to the floor and use her free hand to catch herself as Ron leaned over the table and stared down at the chess pieces in disbelief. "No way!" he stated loudly, while Hermione huffed beside him and righted herself. "How'd you... it's not... you... this game doesn't count," he stated, causing his sister to finally loose control and burst out laughing.
"The hell it doesn't," Ginny chuckled. "Face it, Ron, he beat you fair and square."
"It wasn't fair," Ron insisted. "I couldn't concentrate because...," he started to say, but seemed to change his mind mid-sentence, "Well, just because," he finished, his cheeks becoming even brighter than Ginny's. "I demand a rematch."
"I already called the next game," Ginny insisted. "So you're just going to have to wait your turn."
"Bugger off Ginny!" Ron snapped.
"Ron," Hermione hissed, elbowing him in the side. "Don't talk to your sister like that."
"Harry, I'd like to introduce you to my brother Ron; the sore loser," Ginny guffawed.
"Shut up!"
"Has he always been like this?" Harry asked with a hearty laugh of his own.
"You have no idea," Ginny chuckled in response. "When we were little he used to flip board games over and throw his pieces at the twins. True, they were usually cheating, but what else would you expect from Fred and George?"
"At least I didn't go crying to Mum and have her force everyone else into letting me win."
"I did not."
"Did too."
"Poor sport."
"Whiny baby."
"Oh my god," Hermione laughed. "Suddenly I'm glad that I'm an only child. What about you Harry?" she asked.
"Well, I grew up with Dudley," he replied between his sniggers. "Not that we ever played together, mind you," he added. "But I reckon Dudley has to be just about the biggest sore looser on the planet. Once I even saw him pitch his computer out his bedroom window in a fit of rage after loosing a video game. Seemed like a bit of a moronic move to me, but then he never was very bright. Of course he only had to suffer through one night without video games because my Uncle went out and bought him an even better computer the next morning just to shut him up. "
"So it wasn't such a moronic move after all," Ginny said. "Not if he got something even better out of it."
"What kind of warped punishment is that?" Ron asked. "If we ever tried something like that Mum would have taken away everything we owned and she would have kept it all locked up somewhere until we worked off the cost of whatever it was we broke."
"And that's why you appreciate the things you have and understand the value of hard work," Hermione chimed in, "unlike people like Dudley or Malfoy, who get everything they've ever wanted handed to them on a silver platter. Your Mum obviously knows how to be a proper parent."
"So what was it you broke?" Harry asked Ron.
"Oh it wasn't Ron," Ginny said, with a smile and a twinkle in her eye. "It was Charlie."
"Charlie and Bill actually," Ron corrected. "They were fighting over who got to use the better broomstick. Bill always used it because he was the oldest, but Charlie didn't think that was fair, so he got outside first one day and snatched it up."
"Only Bill tried to take it away," Ginny continued, "and to make a long story short, Charlie decided that if he was never going to be able to use it, than Bill shouldn't be able to use it either."
"So he snuck out to the broomshed later that night and hacked it up with an axe," Ron finished. "Mum went through the roof and of course she knew all about the argument, so it wasn't very hard to figure out who had done it."
"I reckon Charlie didn't count on that," Ginny sniggered to herself.
"It would have taken him the entire summer to work off that broom if Bill hadn't pitched in and helped him," Ron continued.
"Bill helped him work it off even though it was his broom that had been destroyed?" Harry asked.
"That's what brother's do," Ron replied. "Besides, Mum gave him Charlie's broom so it wasn't like he was the one stuck playing Quidditch on that old Shooting Star that pulled to the left. Flying that broom was a punishment in and of itself."
"You should know," Ginny laughed. "You're the one that got stuck using it nine times out of ten."
"Charlie was a seeker," her brother shot back. "He couldn't very well catch the snitch on a rubbishy old broom like that."
"Of course, that was it," Ginny sniggered. "How noble of you. It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact they forced you to use it. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't using that broom one of the stipulations they laid down before they'd allow you to play with them?" she asked, despite the fact she knew the truth already.
"Yeah, ok," Ron reluctantly admitted. "There was that too, but given the choice between flying a piece of rubbish and watching on the ground with you..."
"Hardy har har," Ginny shot back. "The jokes on you isn't it?" she chuckled. "While you were stuck flying in circles on that dilapidated piece of crap, I was flying every other broom in the shed."
"Because you're a sneak," he brother shot back.
"You're just sore because I was smart enough to have George teach me how to pick a lock without using magic and you never thought to do it yourself."
"Whatever. I want a rematch," Ron said to Harry.
"Well that's just too damned bad," his sister answered instead. "You're going to have to wait your turn like any other loser."
"Oh let them play," Hermione leaned forward and said softly, as she took Ron's hand in hers.
"You're the reason I lost to begin with," Ron grumbled.
"I know," she admitted. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for that to happen. But look on the bright side."
"There's a bright side to being a big fat loser?"
"Look around the room and tell me what you see," Hermione said, as Harry started repositioning the pieces so they could start a new game.
"Nothing," Ron replied, after doing as he was told.
"Exactly," Hermione stated. "Almost everyone else has gone up to bed."
"Including the first and second years," Ron said with a smile, as he finally cottoned on to what she was hinting at. "So does that mean you plan on using this time to make it up to me?" he asked with a cocky grin.
"Well, I suppose that depends on how long their game lasts," Hermione came back, "but I'd be willing to give it a try."
"OY! What are you trying to do, make the two of us sick or something?" Ginny exclaimed loudly. "If you're going to snog, go somewhere else and do it. Harry and I certainly don't want to watch," she said with a shudder of revulsion. "I still have nightmares about that first time I walked in on you and caught you..."
"All right Ginny, we get it," Ron said loudly, hoping to drown her out. "I'm sure Harry doesn't want to hear about that either."
"Not particularly, no," Harry replied almost instantly. I'll probably start dreaming about it too, he thought silently. And the last thing I need is more mental images of Hermione without her clothes on. I need to find a girl of my own to fixate on, he continued, glancing at Ginny briefly, before forcing his eyes back down on the chessboard. But not your best friends little sister. What are you thinking? Ron really will murder you in your sleep if you even consider using his sister as a shag toy. Shag toy? Where the hell did that come from? Christ, I'm turning into Seamus now.
"HARRY!"
"Huh?"
"I asked if you were ever going to move," Ginny said, giving him an odd look.
"Oh, right, sorry," he said, moving a pawn forward to start the game. "My mind wandered there for a minute."
"Obviously," Ginny replied. "You certainly didn't need to concentrate to make a move like that," she continued, sending her own pawn forward.
"There's nothing wrong though right?" Hermione asked, lowering her voice despite the fact the room was practically empty. "I mean, it wasn't Voldemort or anything, was it?" she whispered.
"No, no nothing like that," Harry insisted. "He's still blocking me out. At least I think he is. I'm not getting the flashes anymore."
"Have you tried?" Ginny asked.
"What? Forcing my way into his head?" Harry asked incredulously. "Of course not."
"What kind of dumbarse move would that be?" Ron asked, gaping at his sister.
"What?" Ginny said, "Like you've never thought about it. If he can possess Harry then it stands to reason that Harry could possess him."
"But he can't possess Harry," Hermione whispered. "At least not for very long. Isn't that what Dumbledore told you?" she asked.
"More or less. It was too painful for him. All of the emotions I was feeling, or something like that, they were too painful. He couldn't take it."
"It would probably be the same for you," Hermione stated, "having all that twisted evil and hate become a part of you, even for a few minutes. It would be unbearable. There's no reason to even think about putting yourself through something like that."
"Well it was just a thought," Ginny said somewhat defensively.
"Stop thinking and start playing," Ron insisted, "so I can have my rematch."
I wonder though, Hermione silently thought, her eyes falling on Ginny. What would happen if Harry were connected to someone that loved him by a Coupling Potion. Even if it was just a temporary connection and not as strong as what Ron and I are going to do? If Harry is connected to him, and she were to connected to Harry with the potion, then wouldn't she be connected to Voldemort as well? And if she loved him, and Harry loved her, then Voldemort would feel it twofold. If he couldn't stand Harry's emotions by themselves, how would be deal with feeling the emotions of two people at the same time? Would he even be able to handle it? Would it be possible for the two of them to gang up on him and use their connection to strengthen each other at the same time?
There are so many questions, she silently moaned in frustration, and no way to know the answers. Unless we experimented with it a bit. Ron and I could always link ourselves to Harry temporarily, once he's gotten his Occlumency down, and see what happens. But even a temporary connection lasts for two weeks and that's a long time to force Harry into experiencing our feelings. Too long in fact. Unless there is no other choice.
But if I save some of the Coupling Potion in it's basic form, before Ron and I add the extra ingredients, then theoretically the three of us should be able to take it right before the final battle, and not only will Harry's soul be connected to us and protected from the Killing Curse, there will be two additional sets of emotions for Voldemort to deal with. Maybe the three of us together would be strong enough to overpower him. Or maybe we'll simply wind up driving each other insane for two week.
You're getting ahead of yourself again, that's the problem. You need to figure out how to work the connection between two people before you even think about trying it with three. So just take a step back and focus on getting the potion finished and yourself connected to Ron. That's what's important right now. It's going to take time to figure out how to manage the connection without driving one another completely mad in the process. Thank god it's just powerful feelings and not thoughts that are transmitted, otherwise it we'd be completely overwhelmed.
Even so, I should probably tell someone what we're planning, just incase something goes wrong. And I can't tell Harry, not yet, so it's going to have to be Ginny, whether Ron likes it or not. But it can wait until Halloween. She won't need to know about it until then, so that gives me a while to figure out how I'm going to explain it.
, Hermione silently thought, her eyes falling on Ginny. she silently moaned in frustration"Mione?"
"Hum?" she replied, when she felt Ron shift beside her.
"Are you all right, love? You've been awful quiet."
"Oh yeah, just a bit tired I guess."
"Why don't you go up to bed then," he suggested.
"Well, I wasn't exactly planning on going up there tonight," she replied somewhat reluctantly. "I thought it would be best if I gave Lavender some space," she explained. "I'll apologize to her tomorrow, but for now I think it's best if I just stay away."
"You can come up with me then," he whispered. "Like we originally planned."
"No," she said, sounding more than a little disappointed. "I don't think that's a very good idea either. Not tonight. Not with everyone knowing about us and Seamus being in there and all. It's one thing to sneak up there like I did before, but it would be different having everybody know that I was there. It's just... not a good idea."
"So where are you going to sleep?" Ron asked.
"Right here."
"On the couch? By yourself?"
"Unless you want to join me," she added quietly.
"Hey, now there's an idea," Ron said, his eyes lighting up. "A ruddy brilliant idea, actually. I'll just pop upstairs and get us a pillow and a blanket, shall I?"
"Can you get me something to sleep in too?" Hermione asked.
"I can do you one better than that," he said, standing up quickly and grasping her hand. "Come on," he added, pulling her to her feet as well.
"Where are we going?" Hermione asked, when Ron started tugging her away from the couch they'd been sitting on.
"Upstairs," he replied, matter-of-factly.
"But Ron," she protested, dragging her feet.
"Just trust me," he insisted. "We'll be back in a couple minutes," he added, for Harry's benefit. "So don't go starting another game or anything. Just prepare to have the floor wiped with your sorry arse."
"Get out!" Ron barked, the instant he stepped into his bedroom, taking his roommates completely be surprise.
"Sod off, Weasley," Seamus snapped back from behind the curtains of his bed. "It's our room too."
"Maybe so, but you're still going to leave."
"Bugger off."
"Just for a few minutes," Ron said to Neville, who had apparently just finished watering his mimbulus mimbletonia, because he was frozen beside the plant looking thoroughly confused.
"Why?" Neville asked, setting the small watering can he'd been holding down on top of his bureau, as Ron kicked off his shoes and quickly shucked his trousers, before yanking a drawer open and replacing them with a pair of pajama bottoms that were several inches to short.
"Hermione needs a place to change her clothes," he explained, purposely turning his back to Neville before tossing his white button up shirt in a chair and replacing it with a t-shirt from a different drawer. "Thanks to Finnigan here, she can't use her own room tonight," he added, "so I need you to wait out in the hall, just for a minute."
"Oh, ok," Neville said, his face flushing ever so slightly as he started moving towards the door.
"You too," Ron said to Seamus, who made no move to get out of his bed.
"Well, she's more that welcome to change in here," the young Irishman replied flippantly, "but I'm not leaving."
"The hell you aren't," Ron countered. "You've got two choices. Either you get out of that bed and walk out into the hall on your own, without making any rude comments," he added. "Or I'll curse you're randy arse and toss you out myself. Yeah, I thought that's the one you'd choose," he said, when Seamus yanked his curtains open and climbed out of bed, grumbling something under his breath about the cold floor and his bare feet.
"You got five minutes and then I'm coming back in," he said, as he followed Neville to the door.
"You'll come back in when I let you in," Ron said, shoving his grumpy roommate through the doorway and following after. "It's all yours," he said to Hermione, who was standing in the hallway waiting for them. "I left the drawers open for you. Put on anything you like."
"Thanks," she said, before slipping under Ron's arm and entering the room, closing the door behind her.
"I should have known," Seamus snorted.
"Known what?" Ron asked without thinking.
"That she'd make you wait out here with us while she changed. God forbid you catch a glimpse of her knickers. The world might stop turning."
"Shut the hell up," Ron snapped, lifting his hand and pointing his wand directly at Seamus, who was clearly surprised, despite the fact the redhead had warned him. "Silencio," he said, effectively silencing his roommate and ensuring that he was incapable of making any further comments like that as long as Hermione was within earshot. "Maybe next time you'll listen to me when I tell you not to do something," Ron said, crossing his arms in front of his chest and leaning back against the wall to the left of the doorway as Seamus grabbed his throat and shot him a murderous glare.
Of course the resourceful Irishman didn't need the use of his voice to get his message across, because his fingers still worked just fine. The other two watched as all but the middle finger on Seamus's right hand curled and he lifted it high in the air.
"My sentiments exactly," Ron sniggered, mere seconds before the door flew open and he heard Hermione gasped as she came face to face with Seamus, who was flipping her off for some unknown reason.
"How dare you," she snarled, puffing up like the Prefect that she was as she stepping out into the hallway in a pair of Ron's pajama bottoms, which were rolled up around her ankles and a maroon jumper that clearly wouldn't fit him anymore, but was still far too large for her. "Five points from Gryffindor for showing disrespect to a Prefect," she snapped, "and the next time I see that specific finger pointed at me," she added, "it'll be detention. You got that? Well?" she asked, when Seamus' mouth fell open and he failed to respond.
"Er... he can't answer you," Neville interjected.
"Why not," Hermione demanded.
"Er... well you see...."
"Because I cursed him, that's why," Ron piped in.
"You cursed him," she asked in disbelief.
"You're damn right I did. He was mouthing off, so I shut him up."
"Ron!" Hermione cried. "You can't just do something like that."
"Well I did, and I'm not lifting it either. He deserves far worse than that after all the shit he's stirred up today. I'd say he got off pretty easy."
"Give me that," Hermione said, dropping the quilt she'd been holding on the floor, before wrenching Ron's wand out of his hand and pointing it at Seamus. "Finite Incantatem."
"Something you want to say to me, Finnigan?" Ron asked, as Hermione handed his wand back.
"No," Seamus replied, after glancing over at Hermione. It'll keep, he thought, deciding that it would probably be better to wait and spare himself the detention he'd earn if he spoke his mind now.
"Thanks for letting me borrow your room again," Hermione said, as Ron leaned down and snatched the quilt off the floor, tucking it under his arm. "Good night," she added, grabbing Ron's hand and dragging him back towards the stairs.
Authors notes:
Sorry about the long delay between chapters. Not only have I been busy the past couple weeks, I've had some computer problems. But as it turns out, it's not so much my computer, as my phone lines that are messed up and preventing me from getting online. The good news is, I have two separate phone lines, so the computer had been moved into the kitchen and is now working perfectly. The bad news is, the kitchen is smack dab in the center of the house and all the activity, which makes it all but impossible for me to write when anyone else is home. So expect a two-week interval between chapters in the immediate future.
Now that I've gotten that out of the way, it's time to move on to the issue of the Coupling Potion. I realize that a lot of you were hoping/ expecting me to cover that in this chapter, and initially I was hoping to progress the story to the start of Halloween, but as you can see that didn't happen. I can't say I'm disappointed by that fact however, but I know some of you will be. Trust me, it'll be better this way. And the good news is, I've already started on the outtake portion.
And finally, Ron's line at the end of the first section of this chapter was inspired / taken from the sniper school motto, " Don't run; you'll only die tired" which was posted in the Price of Love topic by n4zhg. I told you I'd work it into the story eventually, didn't I? Thanks for the great quote Frank, and thanks to all the other wonderful people that post in that topic and keep me inspired. You guys are the best.