"Nothing works unless we decide to use brooms." Ron said, sighing.
"Nuh uh. No way. We are SO not flying. There has GOT to be another way."
"Well I see no better option," Ron said, flopping down onto the yellow sun dried grass. "I mean, we can't apparate, we have no flying car anymore-"
"And even if we did we wouldn't use it." Hermione butted in.
"We can't floo," Ron continued, ignoring her. "And we obviously can't go any other way."
Hermione arched an eyebrow. "Oh, I can think of one."
Ron looked up at her in surprise. "You never cease to amaze me Hermione," he confessed, and Hermione blushed. "So?" He asked, "What's your idea?"
Hermione grinned. "Well, we can go the muggle way, can't we?"
Ron's face changed. "You never DO cease to amaze me," he grumbled, and he glared at the ground.
"Now, seriously Ron." She said, sitting down on the grass beside him and surveying him severely. "There is nothing wrong with muggle-"
"The night bus!" Ron exclaimed suddenly, causing Hermione to jump in fright. "We can go on the night bus!"
Hermione cocked her head at him. "I thought the order's head quarters were strictly guarded and secret?"
Ron's face drooped. "Oh," he said dejectedly. "Right."
"Not that it's a bad idea," Hermione rectified quickly. "It's just not really an option."
She knew how touchy Ron could get, and she certainly didn't want him yelling at her again.
"I know." Ron looked pained. "All right, we can go the muggle way. But then we'd have to stop at Gringots. I haven't got any muggle money."
Hermione beamed, and Ron found himself wishing if he could just kiss her once without it making any big impact on their friendship.
"That's okay, I've got muggle money with me, but you can get the ice-creams once we've-" she did the quotation marks with her fingers "rescued Harry."
Ron frowned but didn't comment, choosing to keep his words to himself. Hastening to turn the frown into a look of confusion he bit his lower lip. "Yeah, only there's just one problem, I have no idea how muggle transportation works."
Hermione shrugged, leaning onto both elbows and closing her eyes, a small smile playing on her face where the sun shone and faint freckles were visible.
"I don't think that'll cause much of a problem, just as long as we find a bus stop we're pretty much headed in the right direction, seeing as how nearly all bus stations have trains."
Ron, who'd been looking in the other direction when she'd been speaking, smiled when he saw her eyes were closed. Copying her and leaning back onto his elbows he rested his head on her shoulder, closing his eyes.
"Hermione?"
"Mmm?"
"What are you thinking?"
About how cute you look with your eyes closed, Hermione thought, looking down at him. About how I wish I could just touch your face and not feel guilty about Harry, and about how I wish we'd never started out as friends so that I'd be allowed to fall in love with you and your dreamy smile. Instead, she sat back up, crossing her legs as she did so, putting on a shocked expression.
"Oh my God."
Only when Ron's eyes snapped open and regarded her with a concerned look did she go on.
"Oh my God, I can't believe I forgot all about Professor Flitwick's essay!" She exclaimed, running a hand distractedly through her hair. "I can't… I was going to start on it yesterday, but I must have…"
Smiling to herself at the apprehensive expression on Ron's face she forced herself to continue, only giving in when Ron just about had a heart attack when he learned about Snape's second essay.
"Kidding Ron," she teased, pulling him back down onto the grass from where he's jumped up in a panic, and laughing good naturedly.
Ron, who was still recovering from shock, glanced sharply at her. "Kidding? You're kidding? I just about had a coronary and all you have to say to me is that you're kidding?"
Smirking she shrugged her shoulders. "Well, it was rather amusing," she said in an angelic voice, biting her lower lip in an effort of trying not to laugh.
Glowering, a mischievous glint in his eyes Ron forced himself to smirk back. "Amusing? We'll see what's amusing," he growled, coming up on all fours and launching himself at her in an attempt of pinning her to the ground and tickling her until she begged for mercy.
"Ron!" Hermione squealed as he tickled her, laughing and gasping, trying to break free from his grip. "Ron, let me go! I can't breathe!" Still panting for breath, she tried to fight him off. "Can't breathe!" She gasped, turning red.
Only when apologised did he let her go, grinning down at her from where she lay, panting and squirming.
"Never – again." Hermione was repeating over and over. "Never again will I joke about homework."
Then, as if on cue, she launched herself at Ron, intent on revenge, and they both went rolling, tickling each other and hitting each other playfully, not stopping until they ran headlong into a blackberry bush, the spines digging into their arms, and causing Hermione to cry out in pain as the thorns ripped a small cut into her cheek.
"Ow!" Hermione whimpered, examining her bare arms and legs, and occasionally wincing as she pulled a thorn out of her skin.
"Look at what you've done!" She yelled at Ron, catching him completely off guard and shoving him backwards. "I'll never get these stains out! Your poor mom!" Showing him again out of irritation she continued throwing insults to a baffled Ron until without any notice whatsoever she shoved Ron into the stream they had been so far away from a couple minute ago.
With a loud "ah!" and a splash, Ron fell into the lake, and resurfaced 2 seconds later, sopping wet and furious. "Oh, now you're going to pay." He growled, chasing her and eventually managing to grab her around the waist, hoist her squealing self up into the air and jump back into the lake with her.
Furious, Hermione gasped for air, spluttering, and before Ron knew what was happening her hands were fastened around his throat, and she was forcing his head underwater, only letting go 20 seconds later as a red faced and out of breath Ron gulped down air.
"What was that for?" He asked, bewildered, pushing his sopping wet hair out of his face.
"That was for getting me wet!"
"Well, you wouldn't need to have gotten wet if you hadn't pushed me in first!"
"Well I wouldn't have pushed you in if you hadn't started tickling me!"
"I wouldn't have – this is pointless Hermione."
Grinning, Hermione hoisted herself up onto the river bank and surveyed an amused looking Ron. "I'm tired."
With a small smile on his face Ron regarded her strangely. "That was completely off topic."
"I know," Hermione replied smiling. "Which is why you love me so much."
Ron chocked.
