Disclaimer: Harry Potter is owned by JKR and Warner Bros. A/N: Winner of the Harmony Co Birthday Drabble Challenge. Thank you to Untold Harmony for inspiring the idea with her own great entry and the awesome admins for choosing it.
Title: You Idiots ~ Word Count: 879
"Ron."
The redhead looked up at the crowd assembled in the Three Broomsticks for the first Hogsmeade weekend of the resumed eighth year and immediately his expression became suspicious.
"What do you two want?" He asked, as his older brothers sat either side of him.
"We need you help." Ron looked at George in stunned disbelief.
"My help? With what?"
"Look," Fred started, "the pot is huge and, well, we might have over spent some of it by accident perfecting some of our latest gags."
"So we need you to help us win the pot so that no one notices." George finished.
Ron was staring back and forth between the twins looking confused.
"What pot?"
"Don't be so dense little brother. They need to get together this weekend."
"If they make it to graduation, we're sunk."
"WHO?" Ron growled, getting angry now at his brothers dodging his question.
Fred shook his head and George gave him a look as though Ron was the dumbest man alive. "Your best friends, you idiot!"
Ron stared between the two for a moment before surprising everyone in the pub by throwing his head back and roaring with laughter. Fred and George Looked at their brother with a mixture of confusion and concern.
"I think he's finally snapped, George."
"Indeed, Fred."
"I haven't snapped," Ron replied as his hearty laughter settled, "let me get this straight. You two have had a bet going on when Harry and Hermione would get together? Since when exactly?"
The twins glanced at each other for a moment, noticing several of the other patrons were beginning to listen in. "Keep it down, Ron. The pot started back in fourth year after Hermione stuck with him when his name came out of the Goblet."
Ron's laughter resumed and both the twins were now starting to take on the typical Weasley red on their faces. More and more of the patrons were watching and listening now.
"You idiots." Ron mused as his laughter settled once more.
"Look, we get you might be upset, but if they don't hook up this weekend, we're in a lot of trouble. If you help we'll give you a discount off everything in the shop." Fred begged.
"Out of curiosity, how much is this pot?"
"374,581 Galleons." George whispered.
"You idiots!" Ron repeated in a much more sombre tone. "And by chance did anyone happen to place a bet on the two already being together at the time you started this whole thing?"
Fred looked at him with an odd expression. "Well… um, yeah. The Lovegood girl did. We tried to explain the futility of her logic, but she was adamant. Put the whole Quibbler down as her bet too. It's how the pot is so big."
"You idiots. Luna won."
The Three Broomsticks did something that no one had ever seen before on a Hogsmeade weekend. It became utterly silent. "What?" Seamus' voice came from the far corner.
"Luna won." Ron shrugged, taking a swig of his butterbeer.
"That's not possible." Lavender shrilled. "We'd have noticed!"
"Really?" Ron replied, "you all know Harry. How much does he like being in the limelight?"
"He hates it," Dean offered from right behind Ron.
"Exactly. So why in hell would he parade himself around in front of you all with his girlfriend?"
"But…" Fred mumbled.
"Krum!" Parvati yelled. "If they were already dating, why'd she go to the Yule Ball with Krum."
Ron looked at the Indian girl and saw the real question on her face. She was wondering why Harry had asked her to the Ball when he already had a girlfriend. "Because he asked. She was the only girl in the whole school not fawning over him. Hermione talked it over with Harry. He didn't mind. It was just dancing. And the Boy-Who-Lived wasn't exactly going to have much trouble finding a dance partner."
Parvati looked dejected and Ron felt a little bad for ruining her misguided idea of the ball.
"I don't believe it. How could we not notice?" George asked.
"Coz you're bloody thick." Ginny stated from her seat beside Dean.
"How long?" A random voice in the crowd shouted.
"I can't recall the exact day, but Hermione asked Harry to be her boyfriend near the end of third year. Just after the Dementors left."
Fred banged his head against the table and George groaned aloud, his head in his hands. "Ruined."
"She even called that. Everyone else was sure Harry would ask her." Fred moaned.
"Looks like you boys have a new boss." Ron chuckled, quaffing the last of his drink. "A boss I'm going to be late for my date with. Thanks boys."
Ron patted the backs of the dejected twins and walked to the exit of the pub.
"WAIT!" Lavender yelled. "If they're dating, where the hell are they today?"
Ron turned, noting every face in the building was looking at him. He shook his head at their denseness. "On a date of course. As head boy and girl they can actually go anywhere they wanted. I think it was somewhere in Italy for Hermione's birthday lunch. Bye."
A with a will, Ron stepped from the Three Broomsticks to find a lithe blonde girl standing there waiting for him. "Hello, Ronald."
"Good afternoon, Luna. Shall we?"
