A/N: Double update Part 2! I'm planning on making a 3rd one, YIPEE! Love you guys. :D

Disclaimer: You know the drill. ;)

"Rambling"
by SJRegina

Hermione always found herself rambling whenever in the presence of the one and only Fred Weasley, but that's just how Fred liked it.

Chapter 10: Hermione's 'Little' Crush

It was the first day of classes and Hermione, as usual woke up early. She had only taken 5 hours of sleep because she was too fascinated by the new books. It was her 'advanced studying' even though she practically only studied on a single subject.

Defense Against the Dark Arts.

The book, no matter how numerous and expensive, were so fascinating. It was a story but very educational as well. She couldn't help but admire how brave he was to have fought all of those beasts. And he was quite the charmer too.

She giggled to herself.

Hermione was in a hazy daydream during breakfast and Fred & George couldn't help but notice. George thought it was funny while Fred thought it was pointless.

"Why are women so oblivious to the fact that Lockhart is scam?" Fred said to George in gritted teeth literally stabbing his bacon and eggs.

"Easy there Freddie, don't put your anger on your plate." George sniggered.

"I'm not angry!" George rolled his eyes. "Of course you're not, you're just jealous." George grinned mischievously. Fred just ignored his comment and continued to look at Hermione whose chin was on both of her hands and was smiling to herself obviously in a daydream.

"Oi Hermione! You're drooling!" George teased Hermione and what George expected was a playful slap or a scowl. But what Hermione said startled him, Fred, Harry, Ron and even Lee.

"Oh am I? I'm sorry." Hermione just giggled and took Voyages with Vampires out of her bag.

All jaws were dropped from what she had said. Their shock and Hermione's daydream was disrupted when there was a rushing sound overhead and a hundred or so owls streamed in, circling the hall and dropping letters and packages into the chattering crowd.

A big, lumpy package bounced off Neville's head and, a second later, something large and gray fell into Hermione's jug, spraying them all with milk and feathers.

"Errol!" said Ron, pulling the bedraggled owl out by the feet. Errolslumped, unconscious, onto the table, his legs in the air and a damp red envelope in his beak.

"Oh, no -" Ron gasped.

"It's all right, he's still alive," said Hermione, prodding Errol gently with the tip of her finger.

"It's not that - it's that."

Ron was pointing at the red envelope. It looked quite ordinary to Hermione, but Ron and Neville were both looking at it as though they expected it to explode.

"What's the matter?" said Harry.

"She's - she's sent me a Howler," said Ron faintly.

"You'd better open it, Ron," said Neville in a timid whisper. "It'll be worse if you don't My gran sent me one once, and I ignored it and" he gulped - "it was horrible."

Harry and Hermione looked from their petrified faces to the red envelope.

"What's a Howler?" he said.

But Ron's whole attention was fixed on the letter, which had begun to smoke at the corners.

"Open it," Neville urged. "It'll all be over in a few minutes -"

Ron stretched out a shaking hand, eased the envelope from Errol's beak, and slit it open. Neville stuffed his fingers in his ears. A split second later, Harry knew why. He thought for a moment it had exploded; a roar of sound fiIled the huge hall, shaking dust from the ceiling.

"STEALING THE CAR, I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY'D EXPELLED YOU, YOU WAIT TILL I GET HOLD OF YOU, I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE SAW IT WAS GONE -"

Mrs. Weasleys yells, a hundred times louder than usual, made the plates and spoons rattle on the table, and echoed deafeningly off the stone walls. People throughout the hall were swiveling around to see who had received the Howler, and Ron sank so low in his chair that

only his crimson forehead could be seen.

"- LETTER FROM DUMBLEDORE LAST NIGHT, I THOUGHT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE OF SHAME, WE DIDN'T BRING YOU UP TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS, YOU AND HARRY COULD BOTH HAVE DIED -"

Harry had been wondering when his name was going to crop up. He tried very hard to look as though he couldn't hear the voice that was making his eardrums throb.

"-ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED - YOUR FATHER'S FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT AND IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT BACK HOME."

A ringing silence fell. The red envelope, which had dropped from Ron's hand, burst into flames and curled into ashes. Harry and Ron sat stunned, as though a tidal wave had just passed over them.

A few people laughed and, gradually, a babble of talk broke out again.

Hermione closed Voyages with Vampires and looked down at the top of Ron's head.

"Well, I don't know what you expected, Ron, but you -"

"Don't tell me I deserved it," snapped Ron.

Fred and George thought that this was the perfect time to lighten up the mood.

"Hey Hermione, what's this?" George got the paper that fell from Hermione's book.

"Give me that back!" George held it up from Hermione using his advantage of being tall.

"Not until you tell me what it is first." George stuck his tongue out to Hermione who kept jumping trying to reach for the paper.

"It's my schedule okay? Happy?" Hermione finally stopped jumping and crossed her arms and huffed. When George was about to give it back to her, Fred piped in and grabbed the paper.

Once he saw the paper, his eyes narrowed. "I don't remember the tittle (the dot in the 'i') having hearts, especially not in Gilderoy Lockhart's." Fred said the last two words with utter bitterness.

Hermione blushed furiously and snatched the paper from him. "I happen to think it's easier to memorize the shcedule when it's illustrated with hearts." Hermione stuck her tongue out to him, huffed, turned her back from him, and walked out of the Great Hall carrying her bag in a very annoyed matter.

"What's wrong with her?" Fred raised his hands in annoyance. Ginny piped in and stood beside Fred.

"You mean what's wrong with you?" George nudged Fred using his elbow and sniggered again.

"Don't worry Fred, Hermione's just having a little crush." Ginny tried to lighten up Fred.

"Yeah, and that's what Fred's problem exactly is." George put leaned his arm on Ginny's shoulders.

"Hermione's 'Little' Crush." Ginny giggled to George. But Fred didn't hear this. His mind was too focused on the fact that her 'little' crush, was messing with HIS 'little' crush.

A/N: Double-updates part 2! If I get enough inspiring reviews it might be a triple-update! Or more.