Chapter 2

A visit, a decision, and a secret

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry of the Potter

" 'Ron, just invite him over, you're being ignorant at stubborn, blah, blah, blah.' " Ron commented reading the letter he had gotten from Hermione. Throwing it on the floor, he stood up from the desk that sat in the corner of his small room. Sighing, he pushed the chair in violently, having it bounce back from hitting the wooden desk so hard.

"I'm not inviting that little cheapskate, liar over to my house. There's no chance in hell." Ron remarked as if he was talking to Hermione.

Ron's parents had left on 'Special Duties' from the Order. So they were out of the house and didn't know when they woudl be back, leaving Ron and Ginny there.

"Invite who over?" Ginny cut in almost scaring him half to death.

"What? How did you hear what I was saying?" Ron asked her glaring at his little sister. Well, hse wasn't little anymore, due to the fact she was 18.

"You're door was open." Ginny replied shrugging and entering the room.

"No it wasn't." Ron shook his head slowly.

"Oh," Ginny giggled, "well it is now."

"Get out."

"No, tell me who you won't invite over."

"No, get out."

"Tell me." Ginny demand, her voice still soft but stern at the same time.

Ron sighed and turned around turning his back on his sister. Running his long fingers through short unruly red hair. He sighed again and answered, giving in, "Harry." He crossed his arms, and his brow furrowing.

"Oh..." Ginny said. She sighed and made her way towards the door, before leaving she remarked, "try not talking so loud to yourself next time, what can you not hear yourself or something?"

Ron bolted towards the door after his sister. Ginny ran out down the hall, Ron following close behind. He had the advantage of long legs so he could catch up to his sister faster. Ginny, practicularly hoping down the stairs as fast as she could, ran into the sitting room and stood behind a chari. Ron entered close after and hoped over the back of the couch to get to his sister. Chasing Ginny was kind of pointless anyway, if he caught her, he couldn't do anything to her, so it was just kind of fun chasing her around 'till they were both tired.

A half an hour later, the two were laying in the sitting room exhausted. Ron laid stretched out on the floor staring at the ceiling, and Ginny laid sprawled out on the couch breathing heavily.

"Ginny... remind me again why I was chasing you." Ron said still regaining his breath.

"I insulted you, remember?" Ginny told him turning her head and looking at her older brother on the floor.

"What else is new?" Ron commented sighing.

Silent minutes passed as the two laid there quiet and not moving.

The two jumped nearly two feet when their silence was interruppted by a loud knock on the wooden kitchen door. Sitting up from the floor, Ron stood up and made his way to the door. Grabbing the handle, he was about to turn it when Ginny stopped him, suddenly right next to him.

"Wait, you don't know who's out there... it could be them." Ginny said her voice serious and worried.

Ron rolled his eyes, "And it could not."

The door was knocked on again.

Turning the handle he pulled the door open, and to his relief saw Hermione standing there in the doorway.

"Hey Hermione." Ron said smiling lightly,

Ginny went red, hoping Hermione hadn't heard what Ginny had said.

"Hello Ron." Hermione greeted him. "Oh... Ginny, I understand, it could've not been me, it could've been anybody." she assured Ginny, seeing her go red. "And you should really be careful and listen to our sister, Ronald." Hermione scolded him.

"What?" Ron said dumbstruck his chin dropping and an eyebrow raising looking at Hermione.

Hermione chuckled and entered the house, lifting up her hand and closing Ron's bottom chin up with her fingers.

Ron closed his mouth and rubbed his chin once Hermione took her fingers off and left with Ginny towards the sitting room. He cracked a smile amd chuckled lightly. Shaking his head, he dropped his hand down from his chin and followed the two girls.

"So... what brings you here Hermione?" Ginny asked sitting down in a large chair next to the empty fireplace.

"Just a visit, Ron wasn't telling me much in his letters, so I wanted to come over to make sure everything was okay." Hermioen answered shrugging taking a seat on the couch.

Ron entered the sitting room, "hey, I can't tell you everything, what if our owls got intercepted?" he asked Hermione plopping down at the other end of the couch.

"That's true Ron, but has that ever happened before?" Ginny asked her brother looking at him. The tone of her voice was pracitcularly saying 'can you get any stupider'?

Hermione shrugged, "I suppose you're right Ron, and even though they've never been intercepted before, doesn't mean that they can't." she agreed with him.

Ron looked at Hermione and smiled nodding. Turning to Ginny he laughed immaturely, "ha ha, you were wrong."

Ginny scoffed and crossed her arms. She shook her head and crosed her legs along with her arms. "You're so immature Ron, you know that right? How old are you suppose to be?" she asked him raising a slim red eyebrow.

"Nineteen." Ron remarked.

Hermione giggled at the two siblings, she had missed seeing the two fight. It seemed that now they were older, there arguements were more funnier to her then they were when Ron and Ginny were younger.

"You sure don't act it." Ginny snapped back. "I'll be right back." And witht hat said, Ginny stood up from the chair and made her way out into the kitchen.

"So Ron did you get my last letter?" Hermione asked Ron turning to him.

"Yeah." Ron replied shrugging.

"Are you going to invite him over?"

"I don't know." Ron shrugged shaking his head looking into the frieplace.

"C'mon Ron, it's not gonna kill you." Hermione sighed her shoulders dropping looking at him.

"I know... it's just, what am I suppose to do if I invite him over, you know what happened that night." Ron replied.

"Yes I do... but that doesn't mean you two have never hung around eachother before." Hermione told him.

Ron gave in and sighed, "fine, but if I invite him over, you have to be here."

Hermione smiled she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Ron hugging him tightly. Puliing back she replied, "I will." Standing up form the couch, she left the room saying, "I'm going to see what Ginny's doing."

A dumbstruck Ron sat there on the couch, a smile on his face. 'Wow, it's been a long time since Hermione's hugged me,' Ron thought still smiling. He chuckled and said to himself quietly, "Eh, I guess I should do what Hermione suggests more often... but I gotta make sure she's there with me."

"So... what'd he say?" Ginny asked as Hermione walked into the kitchen.

"He said yes... but of course," she paused and looked at Ginny

" 'You have to be there too' " The two girls said together in unison.

Through a fit of giggles Ginny rolled her eyes, "Figures... he can never do anything on his own, he always has to have either you or Harry with him."

Hermione nodded, "But for a while it's just been me he wants to have with him... I mean, even at the end of seventh year, he was getting really clingy to me, and every time I asked him why, he just shrugged and said, 'I'm not clinging'." Hermione looked at Ginny wondering if Ginny could answer her problem with Ron.

Ginny just rolled her eyes and sighed.

"What?" Hermione asked looking at Ginny.

"Nothing." Ginny replied trying to hide a smile.

"Why are you smiling?

"I'm not."

"Yes you are, what, what is it?"

"It's nothing.. I was just thinking of something." Ginny lied convincingly nodding to Hermione. Ginny remembered hearing Ron talking to himself in his room about Hermione, and all the stuff he had said about her. Ginny almost died of shock.

"Whatever." Hermione answered.

Hearing a voice coming from the livig room, Hermione listened closely.

"Ha, she hugged me when I told her I'd invite Harry, I wonder what she'll do whne Harry actually show up?"

It was Ron, Hermione listened more closely.

"Well... she'd probably be all over Harry. Well, she hasn;t seen Harry in forever, so.. I guess that doens't really count." Ron said again shrugging.

Hermione turned to Ginny who was sitting at the table munching noisely on an apple. Hermione looked back out into the sitting room at Ron, who was now laying down, stretched out on the couch, staring up at the ceiling.

"Something wrong Hermione?" Ginny asked Hermione curiously. Ginny swallowed the piece of the apple she had just bitten off and turned to Hermione.

Shaking her head, Hermione replied, lying, "no.. nothing."