Disclaimer: If you're stupid enough to think I own Harry Potter, e-mail me and I'll give you some help with the big words in the story.
A.N. Yes, sorry about the delay. But like I said in my profile, Pirates of the Caribbean was on. Drooling priveliges come first. How often do you really get to see Orlando Bloom AND Johnny Depp, thirty feet high in a film together? Not that often!
A.N.2 Ohh, i'm still not used to typing that. I'm an author! Yay! Anyway, I know I was slow with this chapter, and I apologise. Like I said before, plenty of ideas, just no way to link them together. Please send me yours if there's anything you think would be good in this story. It'd help a lot. :)
Ron wandered up to the large room full of four-poster beds, settling down awkwardly on the one he knew to be Hermione's. He pushed out her trunk of clothes from beneath the bed, and began rooting through it. He blushed furiously when he came to her underwear, hurriedly grabbed a sensible-looking nightdress and ran to the bathroom.
He managed to get most of her clothes off with no trouble; they weren't much different to guy's clothes. When almost naked he hit a problem. He had no idea how to undo her bra. It wasn't the kind of problem he could just ask Lavender or Parvati about, as Hermione must put it on herself every day.
Remembering a racy tale of 'conquest' Bill had told him years ago, he reached behind his back for some kind of fastener, and found one after a thorough search. Now all he had to do was figure out how to open the damn thing. He struggled, pulling it as hard as he could, but eventually had to admit defeat and cut the thing off himself. THAT would be a difficult one to explain tomorrow.
Resisting the dire temptation to look, he dragged the sensible nightdress over his head with his eyes firmly shut. He glanced at the door, and listened hard, and heard the distinct sounds of giggling coming from behind the door. Lavender and Parvati must be back.
Knowing that there was no way he would be able to explain himself if they walked in and found him staring at his own body, he sighed and slipped out of the door. The atmosphere in the room immediately darkened. Lavender was obviously furious with the 'girl' who humiliated her, beat her in a fight, proved her to be a liar, and who she was convinced her ex was in love with. Parvati was angry on behalf of her best friend, as any good best friend would be.
Ron felt extremely nervous. Merlin only knew what they might do to him. Desperately he tried to break the ice. 'Hi, girls' he said weakly, as their glares intensified. 'The bathroom's free' he finished weakly, and Lavender shoved past him rudely, slamming the door behind her with a 'Humph!'
Ron flopped back onto Hermione's bed. Parvati nervously glanced at the bathroom door, before, to Ron's surprise, landing lightly on the bed beside him and leaning in towards him. 'What happened today with you and Malfoy?' she whispered excitedly. 'I heard from Lavender, who heard from Romilda, who heard it from Susan, who got told by Emily (Ron frantically tried to think who the Hell these people were) who got it off Pansy, who saw it with her own eyes that you slept with Malfoy!'
Ron tried to stifle a groan. Why did all girls think that the more girls had passed around the gossip, the more true it became? Why did they even try to get the antidote to their 'problem' off Malfoy? And most of all, how was he going to get out of this without making Hermione sound like a complete Lavender?
Parvati was eagerly leaning forwards, and he knew he had to make something up soon. He couldn't get away with just ignoring her, she'd be on him all night about it. He couldn't get away. He sighed, and asked Parvati 'What exactly have you heard?' She began jabbering at an incredible pace 'Nothing, only that you went into the Slytherin rooms looking all messed up and, truth be told, a little tarty ('That's rich!' thought Ron), threw yourself on Malfoy's mercy, confessed your love for him, went into his private room, and were there for a good long while, until Ron Weasley marched in and furiously threw Malfoy out of his own room, carried you out in his arms and you and he did it in an abandoned classroom. Is it true?'
Ron was horrified. How did these things spread, and why were they like oxygen to girls? He gritted his teeth in anger. 'Parvati' he began, trying to keep civil 'I did go to Malfoy's room. Maybe I was a bit messed up. I said some stupid things, but I needed someone to listen, and I needed something from him' Parvati nodded wisely 'Best to go for number one, although I must say, Harry's number two, and your best friend. I'm sure he would have' she smirked slightly 'eased the pain'.
Ron's face creased up in horror. 'No, not that! Ew! I would never do that, Harry's just a friend' at least I hope Hermione thinks of him as a friend, he thought. 'Malfoy got a bit too friendly, and Ron came looking for me, saved me and hit Malfoy. That's all that happed. As for Ron and I in the classroom, I don't even know where that rumour came from. Ron and I are just friends, that's all' he sighed.
Parvati glanced up, disappointed, and met Lavender's eyes. 'She denies it' she told Lavender, and Ron almost burst with fury. 'You were listening!' he raged, and Lavender simply nodded. 'You wouldn't have told me, and I wanted to know what happened' she shrugged.
He couldn't help noticing what she was wearing, though. Practically nothing. He was still a guy at heart. Mentally scolding himself, he thought 'If you wanted a stupid meaningless whore, you would have stayed with her. But you don't, so you didn't. She showed you more than that on the first date; get over yourself'.
Ron glared at her, and slid under Hermione's cover, deciding to ignore the pair of them and just go to sleep. The gossip queens weren't having any of it though. Lavender joined Parvati at the end of Hermione's bed, and both wrenched the covers off a very disgruntled Ron.
He glowered at the smirking pair, and asked 'What is it going to take for you two to leave me alone?' They glanced at each other, silently conferring, and appeared to reach a decision. Parvati began 'Number 1; You tell us EXACTLY what Malfoy's technique, score, method and room are like' Lavender took over 'Number 2; You tell us, in detail, whether he deserves his place on the list' Parvati began again 'Number 3; You explain how Ron Weasley 'saved' you, and why' Lavender stared coolly at him, and finished 'And number 4; You will give up all claim you might have on MY Ron'
Ron looked stunned. The pair seemed to be mentally connected somehow. It scared him rather a lot. Sighing heavily, he began: '1, I told you we didn't do it. He kissed me a lot. I'd give him' he gulped 'A nine. He deserves his place, but Ron deserves to be top' he grinned, pleased with himself 'He's very forceful, it scared me. His room is silver and green, absolutely huge, and covered with silk. Ron saved me by marching into his room, pulling him off me, throwing him out of the room and getting me safely out of the Slytherin common room. I don't know why he did it.'
'And I will not 'give up my claim on Ron'. You just can't accept the fact that he's moved on. He doesn't like you, Lavender, and you have no chance with him. He's my best friend, and I won't abandon him for the world. He feels terrible about even going out with you in the first place, he only did it to make someone else jealous'. The girls looked scandalised. 'How do you know that?' Lavender screeched 'Did he tell you?'
They refused to give up pandering Ron, calling him allsorts of untrue, unintelligent things, even when he ignored them and tried to sleep. By 10PM he was so fed up he stood up sharply, dragging Hermione's duvet wrapped around him, yelling 'Shut up! I can't take any more of you two! I'm leaving' They stared, dumbfounded at his retreating back. A few minutes later there was a knock on the boys' dorm.
Harry opened the door to find his best friend, wrapped in a huge blanket, forlornly asking 'May I stay here tonight?' he nodded, and gestured him inside, where he immediately made for his own bed. Harry looked confused, and 'Ron' looked incredibly surprised. 'Hermione' Harry asked 'Why are you here? Not that we don't want you here' he said hurriedly, as every boy in the room nodded sincerely 'But why have you marched in, only wearing your nightdress, and why are you on Ron's bed?'
Ron was too cross and too tired to explain properly, but he knew it must seem odd to the watching boys (apart from Hermione, of course, she knew it was his bed, not hers). 'Lavender and Parvati are driving me crazy with that whole Malfoy incident, wanting every little detail, so I'm here. I'm on Ron's bed, uh, I don't know why, but I need somewhere to sleep tonight, don't I?'
At this, the boys realised how rude they were being, and everyone except Hermione offered their bed for the night, including Harry, who was very insistent that she did not choose Seamus or Dean's. Those lads would want her to be in their beds with them. Hermione, being a girl really and therefore the one who would normally have beds offered to her did not realise for quite a while that the 'other' four boys were glaring at her.
'What did I do?' she asked defensively, as she plopped down on Ron's bed next to him. 'Honestly, Ron, I'd think you'd be the first to offer up your bed. Be a gentleman, let the lady choose' Hermione appeared startled, but Ron leapt to her rescue, saying 'No, it's ok, really, I'll choose another' the boys looked at him, surprised. But Ron knew he couldn't take his bed from Hermione; after all, she was the real girl.
Harry tried to give 'Hermione' his bed, but received nothing but glowers from him. Ron knew Harry thought he was giving up his bed to Hermione, and felt rather jealous. Thinking Harry all too eager to play knight in shining armour, he refused, announcing that he would feel altogether more comfortable on the floor, thank you.
Hermione was becoming bored with all this, and had no wish to go back to a body all achy from sleeping on the floor, so she grumbled 'Come on, Hermione. Just kick someone out of bed and sleep on it, you silly prat' the boys gasped, and Ron glared at her, saying 'Actually, I think I will sleep on Ron's bed' he received a wolf whistle from Seamus, and stared daggers at him.
Hermione tried to protest, but gave in to the pressure from the 'other' boys ('Give the girl your bed, Ron, or we'll kick your arse out the window') and angrily settled down on the floor. 'So what did happen with Malfoy, Hermione?' asked Dean, at which Ron groaned. 'If you lot are going to pester me too, I might as well go back to the girls' dorms' he huffed.
Seamus flicked his wand with a lazy grin towards the door. 'Locking charm; it won't open now until morning. So you might as well entertain us' Ron glared at him fiercely; Hermione wasn't that sort of girl. This was apparent, as she had not even noticed the innuendo.
'Get on with it, woman, or we'll start talking about Quidditch.' Ron wished they would, desperately. He wanted to join in, but just to hear about something normal after the horror of Lavender and Parvati's gossip would be a blessing. 'OR' Seamus winked 'You could find some other way to keep us amused'. All heads snapped at 'Ron' who was still tossing about on the floor, muttering. To the surprise of everyone but the real Ron, he didn't leap up, furious, to defend Hermione's honour at all costs.
Seamus had been expecting a black eye at least. It seemed Ron wasn't going to get angry about Hermione soon either. Time to push his luck, he thought.
Ron knew that look of Seamus' though. He got it when he bragged about his 'conquests' and called himself 'Seamus No-Shame-Finnegan'. He hurriedly began his improvised story. 'It was after the fight with Lavender' Dean and Seamus nudged each other, grinning broadly 'And I was fairly messed up. I looked a bit, well, Lavender, I must say. I fought with Ron over the fight. I ran off, and ended up in the Slytherin dungeons.
Draco Malfoy comforted me; I said things I didn't mean. He took me into his bedroom, and started to get a bit too familiar. I was actually quite scared. Ron had heard where I was, and broke in to rescue me. He hit Malfoy, and threw him out of his own room, carrying me to safety. I don't know why he did it, but I'm glad he did. If it weren't for him, I could be carrying a mini-Malfoy now' he shuddered, and the look on the boys' faces turned into one of genuine concern.
'Good grief, Hermione. I had no idea you'd been through so much' said Dean, wrapping an arm around Ron. Ron shoved it off. 'I'm fine, thanks Dean. I have Ron' he smiled proudly. It felt good to actually turn down some of these bloody lads that were always (it seemed to him) after Hermione. They wouldn't persist if SHE was the one to tell them to back off.
Seamus, apparently, would not be so easily swayed. He wasn't Malfoy, and would never press himself on a girl; he was a good guy really. He did, however, not like to be beaten. He also knew that this was probably the only chance he would ever get to charm Hermione. Who knew when Ron would get back to his normal, protective self?
I'm sorry if some of you think that these lads are being a bit too gentlemanly, or that Hermione shouldn't expect better treatment because she's a girl. That's really the way it works here. At least, it does at the public school I go to. It's really old fashioned. Besides, they are Gryffindors after all, and all British. Rule Britannia.
Also sorry if you got confused by that chapter. It's easily done; I got confused myself sometimes.