Sixth Year, Month by Month by Kolrega
Chapter 3: August – Part III
As August came to an end, Harry and Ginny were getting much more sleep as a result of their nightly meetings in the old parlor of Number 12, Grimmauld Place. Both wanted to keep their new sleeping arrangement secret, and as a result Mrs. Weasleywould wake them up early each morning to give them time to return to their respective bedrooms.
While Harry and Ginny were successfully keeping their secret just that – a secret, Ron was not doing a very good job of keeping his in the dark. He was often seen writing letters, and unintentionally drew everyone's curious gazes to them. He would sit in the kitchen, writing furiously, yet when anyone walked too close to the table, he would hastily cover the parchment. A tiny brown owl became a regular visitor, but no-one knew who she was delivering letters from. Whenever Hermione or Harry broached the subject, Ron would mumble that he had something to do, but the reddening of his ears gave away his embarrassment. His best friends, although hurt that he wouldn't clue them in, decided to let it go. His twin brothers, though, were not as understanding.
Towards the end of August, Ron actually left his lunch before he took a third helping because of George and Fred's joke about how he was having an affair with Neville Longbottom's Gran. They had gotten the inspiration from Harry and Ron's conversation just minutes earlier, in which they discussed Neville's grandmother giving him a new owl because of his heroic involvement in the battle at the Ministry. Of course, they had to connect this little piece of information with the mysterious correspondent of Ron's.
For Ron, this jab was the straw that broke the camel's back, and he left the table furious. Hermione and Harry shared a significant look, and after nodding to Hermione, Harry stood and followed Ron out of the room. The twins had seen the whole episode, and shared their significant looks, this time of fear. Although their mother had left for Diagon Alley with Ginny, and was not present to scold them, Fred and George knew that Hermione was just as bad to cross.
And "cross" did not even cover half of the young woman's wrath.
"George! Fred! How could you do that to your brother!? Everyone has the right to privacy, and the two of you crossed the line." She didn't raise her voice, as to not alert Ron of her interference, but the twins heard the razor-sharp tone of her words. Feeling that an onslaught of scolding was guaranteed, Fred and George held their breaths in dread.
But, once again, Hermione surprised them. Instead of yelling as expected, the young woman just sat, moving her eyes from one twin to the other. Used to their mother's favoured form of reprimanding them for their actions, Fred and George began to feel uncomfortable under Hermione's unwavering gaze. The two nineteen-year-olds squirmed in their seats like two toddlers caught doing something ill-disciplined. In a way, this reproach held much more weight than the usual ones they received.
Feeling that she had made her point, Hermione stood, breaking eye contact with George and turned to look at Fred. "You should try apologizing, for once." She turned to find her two best friends, but stopped at the doorway when she saw their mute, and miniscule, nods, signaling that they would consider her suggestion. Hermione walked back to the table and placed one small hand on the shoulder of each twin and gave them a light squeeze. By the time they could express their astonishment, Hermione had already silently left the room, leaving Fred and George to ponder her reaction, as well as action.
Later that day, Hermione heard Ron's agitated voice from inside the room she shared with Ginny. She peered out the door to see what was happening in the hallway. To her surprise, she saw two identical boys walk into Harry and Ron's bedroom, shutting the door behind them quietly. After waiting an unproductive few moments for any signs of yelling, Hermione let a small smile grow on her face, and closed the door.
TBC
A/N: Hey!!! Here's the third chapter of SYMbM, and I know it is very, very short, but please keep in mind that it was originally part of Ch.2. I spent a fantastic two weeks of vacation in Ireland and London, and cleared my mind from the stress of school. Well, school started again last Sunday, and I will still need to show up before 8:00, but this time I won't be a student, just a volunteer, so it isn't the same. Because of my volunteer work, though, I will not have internet access from Sunday till Thursday, for the rest of the year. All my writing is now done in notebooks, and I only type the chapters out when I crash at my extended family's homes. Anyone who's following the story can expect an update or two per month. I'm really excited for the January-February chappies, those will be exciting (expect a huge twist in the story); November also has a lot of plot development. September and October will be a bit short and not too interesting, but they are essential for November.
I do have one question, though:
How graphic do you readers want this fanfic to be? I know I said it wouldn't be too bad, but I personally like to see at least some action between the characters. I think that I might make two versions of certain scenes for those who don't want anything too detailed. Please tell me what you think.
As always, I'm sending all my readers an enormous THANK YOU from across the Atlantic (assuming you are all in North America), and to my wonderful reviewers a FF double-fudge sundae with whipped cream and, of course, a cherry on top.
Love, Kolrega.