I'm so glad everyone is liking this story because I am too. Which is weird because I'm very skeptical of my own work. Thanks so much to all my reviewers!I love you dearly! Well, here's the update! Hope you like it. Please review and tell me what you think!
Chapter 3: The Firewhiskey
Hermione felt herself slipping back into consciousness slowly. She kept her eyes closed as she lay motionless in her bed. Ron popped into her mind and she smiled broadly. She rolled over and grinned into her pillow. She lay there for a while and was almost asleep again when there was a banging noise on her door. She jumped slightly and hurriedly ran toward the noise.
She quickly unlocked it and jerked it open. Standing before her was Ron. "Oh, my God!" she exclaimed as she suddenly remembered that she was supposed to meet him that morning because they were going to re-open the shop for the Hogwarts students that were visiting. "What time is it?"
"Almost nine," Ron replied as he followed her into her apartment.
"I'll get ready really fast," she said to him as she stood in the doorway of her room. He nodded as he sat down on her couch in the living room.
Hermione fumbled through her clothes in her closet. "Oh, my God!" she screeched. "I have nothing to wear!" She pulled her night shirt off and discarded it to the floor. She ran to her dresser wearing nothing but her underwear. She went through all of the drawers and finally settled on jeans and a t-shirt. She threw her clothes on and pulled her hair into a messy ponytail.
After putting on a little make-up so she felt at least presentable, she glimpsed in the mirror, grabbed her jacket, and walked out of her room.
"Okay," she told Ron. "I'm ready."
Ron got up from the couch and they went downstairs and outside. When they had reached the sidewalk in front of her apartment building they Disapparated and reappeared in front of Honeyduke's. Hermione took the key from her pocket and unlocked the door. They'd been working hard on the shop and had finally gotten everything up and ready for the opening.
Hermione smiled grabbed the purple aprons that were hanging behind the counter. She handed one to Ron and put on the other one.
They sat behind the counter and waited for their first customer. Quite some time passed and they became restless just sitting there. They weren't sure exactly what time the students were expected to arrive.
Hermione's stomach grumbled and she hopped up.
"What are you doing?" Ron asked as he saw her walk over to the boxes of powdered donuts. She took one out and took a bite. "Those are for the customers."
"I'm hungry," she said plainly.
"So?" Ron smiled playfully. He got up and walked over to her. "You cannot eat the merchandise. You gave me an hour long lecture about not eating everything in the store."
"I can too because this isn't everything in the store," she said. "And who are you to tell me I can't eat something? You eat anything that looks like food!"
"I do not," he laughed. "Now give me the donuts." He held out his hand.
"No," she replied, backing away from him. "They're mine. You're just going to eat them."
She laughed as he inched closer to her. "No, I won't," he said. "I'm just taking them from you."
She put the rest of the donut in her mouth and shook her head playfully. He ran toward her and grabbed for the package. She put her arms behind her back so they were out of his reach. He reached behind her and grabbed her hand.
She felt herself tense up at the closeness of Ron's body to hers. She could smell his cologne and she felt a surge of arousal as her breasts pushed against his chest. She pulled her left hand from behind her and poked Ron in the side where she knew he was ticklish. Ron laughed and his body jerked to the side.
"Hey!" he yelped. He grabbed Hermione's waist and she squealed. "No!" The donuts fell from her hand and she squirmed in Ron's arms. "Don't!" she gasped.
They fell to the floor and rolled around. "Ron!" she laughed. She reached up and grabbed one of the donuts from the floor and smashed it into Ron's face. He laughed and tickled her even more.
Hermione heard the little bell from the door that indicated someone had entered the shop. She and Ron looked up and saw four students wearing Hogwarts robes standing in the doorway. Hermione's face flushed a light pink color and Ron's face, which was covered with powdered sugar from the donut, burned bright red. The students looked like they were in about their fourth year. They all giggled and waited for Ron and Hermione get up. Hermione straightened her clothes and cleared her throat as Ron wiped his face off. She walked behind the counter and smoothed down her hair.
"May I help you?" she asked them after clearing her throat embarrassedly again. She tried to sound as professional as she could.
One of the girls grinned and said, "We want to look around."
Hermione nodded and motioned for then to come in. She and Ron waited behind the counter for them to purchase something. Hermione noticed that Ron's face was still glowing bright red. "I hope they don't think anything about that," he said.
"Uh…yeah…" she said. "Me too."
Hermione's mind began to race again. Why would he not want them to think anything about that? she wondered. I mean, I don't want them to think anything either. But I don't want them to think anything because I don't want them to see me as unprofessional. I want them to respect me. But why did he hope they didn't think anything?
Hermione was forced from her thoughts because one of the male students had come to the counter. He placed two boxes of Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans on it and reached in his pocket for his money.
Hermione made the exchange and placed the candy boxes in a bag with the Honeyduke's logo on it. She smiled and said, "Thanks for choosing Honeyduke's. Please come again."
When all the students had made their choices and left, Hermione sighed and turned to Ron. "It feels good to have made our first sell, doesn't it?"
"Yeah," Ron agreed. He picked up his wand from under the counter and said a simple spell to make the donut mess disappear from the floor.
"Do you want to do something tonight?" Hermione blurted out. She cursed herself silently for not thinking before she spoke.
"Uh…sorry, I can't," Ron replied.
Hermione's face fell. But she quickly changed her expression and said, "Oh, it's fine…"
"Well, I would," Ron said. "But I sort of have a date."
"Oh?" Hermione asked trying to keep her composure. "With who?" She was trying to remain calm and pretend that she was just curious.
"This girl I met the other day," he answered. "We talked for like an hour. I really like her. Her name's Tabitha."
Hermione's hands were gripped into fists and her nails were digging deep into her hands with hurt and envy. She took a deep breath and said, "Ah, well maybe we can hang out tomorrow."
"Sure," he said. "I'd like that."
She looked away from him and swallowed hard. A lump was forming in her throat and she was fighting to keep her tears from forcing their way down her face.
Hermione sat on her bed and looked at the bottle of firewhiskey in her hand. She put it to her lips and took a big swallow. She wiped her face with her hand. She'd been crying for hours. Apparently it's not safe to mix an emotional woman with a full bottle of liquor.
She let out a sigh and finished off the bottle in three big gulps. There was a knock on the door and she stood up…or at least she tried to stand up before falling to the floor.
"Hold on!" she yelled toward the door. She reached up and grabbed her bed to steady herself. She stumbled into her living room and reached the door. She looked through her peep hole to find her other best friend.
She pulled the door open and stared blankly at Harry.
"Hi," he said plainly. He didn't wait for her to invite him but she didn't stop him. She pushed her door closed and slumped down on her couch. "I thought you'd like some company," he said as he sat down beside her.
She pouted and leaned her head on Harry's shoulder. "Why doesn't he like me?"
"I'm assuming you're talking about Ron," Harry said. "And he does like you."
"No," she sighed simply. "If he did, then he'd be sitting in a restaurant with me right now. He'd be laughing and flirting and smiling with me right now. He'd be giving me some of his salad right now. It would be me he'd be kissing goodnight and not this Tabitha girl. It's not fair Harry!"
"Believe me," Harry said. "I slept in the same room with Ron for seven years. It wasn't Tabitha's name he'd say in his sleep. It wasn't Tabitha that he talked about constantly and to the point that I'd want to beat him about the head furiously."
Hermione laughed. "Then why won't he do something about it?" she questioned, really more to herself than to Harry.
"Why won't you do something about it?" he asked looking at her in her bloodshot eyes.
She thought for a moment and closed her eyes. "I don't really know. I'm just scared I guess."
"Well, you better face your fears before they become a nightmare," Harry said getting up. She shakily stood up with him. "If you wait too long, it'll be too late."
She nodded and tried to hold the lump back that was forcing its way into her throat yet again.
"I have to go meet Ginny," Harry said. "But promise me something, okay? No more alcohol?"
She nodded and said, "Okay, I'll see you later. Tell Ginny I said hi."
He gave her a warm friendly hug and left. Hermione plopped back down on the couch and sat looking at the wall. After a few minutes she got up, went to the kitchen, and got another bottle of firewhiskey out of the cupboard.
Please review!
