Like Parents, Like Teens

Part 5

A/N: New chapter, hope you like. Thanks so much to all my reviewers, especially PhoenixWings13. I'll try to keep my characters in character.

Current Poll Results:

Q: Who is your favorite pairing for Harry?

Ginny: 5

Luna: 1 ½ (the half for someone thinking they were cute)

Disclaimer: I think everyone who is reading a Harry Potter fic should know who owns the characters. And if you think it's me, you are unbelievably stupid.

Hermione quickly twisted in her seat to see the new professor. A man with graying sandy brown hair had entered the room.

"Professor Lupin!" Tonks finished. A huge round of applause came up from the students. Cries of 'Professor Lupin!', 'What took you so long!', and 'Really glad you're back Professor!' cascaded over the slightly shabby looking man. He just nodded and smiled as he walked to the front of the room. He grinned warmly at Hermione, Ron, and Harry as he approached Tonks.

"Nymphadora." He nodded in greeting. Glaring at him she chose to ignore her hated first name.

"Aren't we popular!" she smirked at him.

"I assure you, Nymphadora," he smiled as she cringed. "I can live up to the standards of these boisterous sixth years." Turning to the class he rose his wand. "Quiet please!"

Only Harry and Ron saw the way Tonks blushed when Lupin's rising hand brushed up against her side. The two best friends grinned at each other.

Hermione sat in an armchair, basking in the glow of the fire. A piece of blank parchment decorated her lap and a thoughtful expression masked her face. Charms, charms, charms, she thought, racking her brain for a good introductory sentence to her essay. From across the room she heard the war cry of a chess piece. Brow furrowed in irritation, the bushy-haired witch leaned forward and glared at her two best friends.

"Can you please keep it down!" she cried in frustration. "SOME of us are trying to do our homework." She cast a furtive glance around the common room. Many witches and wizards avoided her gaze.

"Sorry 'Mione," Ron smiled sheepishly. Hermione raised her eyebrows as Ron jovially told his chess pieces to 'put a sock in it'. A defeated-looking Harry saw her surprise at how well Ron had taken the order.

"One of us just won for the fifth time in a row," he sighed. "And it wasn't me." Shaking his head, he groaned as Ron began to set up the board once again.

Hermione began to furiously scribble on her parchment as the common room quieted. She was about three quarters of the way down the page when someone plopped down into the chair next to her and issued a dramatic sigh. She paused, then continued writing. Another sigh, louder this time. Grumbling, the sixth year set down her quill.

"Yes, Ginny?" she turned, exasperated, towards the younger witch beside her.

"Oh Hermione, I don't know what to do!" She cried. Several Gryffindors looked curiously over at the loud duo.

"Eh, 'Mione!" Hermione directed her attention to a smirking Ronald Weasley. "Thought you wanted us to 'keep it down'!"

"I've had enough of you, Ronald Weasley!" Angrily Hermione grabbed her parchment, inkpot, and quill and stood. "Just because you have no feeling for emotions (A/N: no pun intended ), does not mean you can torment others for your own enjoyment." A sharp intake of breath came from the Gryffindors as Hermione stomped up towards the girls dormitory.

"Hey!" Ron called angrily, rising from the chessboard. "Come back here!" He followed her and started to climb the stairway, but was quickly rolled back down as it transformed into a slide. Returning to his feet and brushing himself off, the angry Weasley glared at the others in the common room. "What're you looking at!" He demanded, then turned tail and retreated up to the boys dormitory, grumbling furiously under his breath.

Ginny stared wide eyed at the doorway where her confidante had disappeared. She knew she could go up to try to continue their conversation, but she may not come back down alive. Sighing, she shook her head. Honestly. They fight like an old married couple! The thought brought a quick smile to her lips, but it vanished as soon as she caught sight of Dean across the room, his back to her. Gazing around forlornly, she caught sight of Harry sitting by the scattered chessboard, bewildered. She rose and went to join him.

"Hey Harry," she greeted him sullenly.

"Ginny." He nodded. Seeing this as an invitation, she once again sighed dramatically.

"Oh Harry, I don't know what to do!"

"So I heard." Harry smirked. She pushed him playfully.

"Mr. Potter, I'll have you know that I am in the depths of despair." She bit her lower lip, half joking-half truthful.

"Do tell."

"Well…" Not sure how to start, or even if she should even be telling him this, Ginny hesitated. Then she crashed on. "Dean is being totally cold towards me and I have no idea why and he won't tell me why, and I just don't know what to do!" She took a deep breath.

"I've been getting the same treatment from Parvati," he replied. "Can't say I really mind though." He chuckled.

"Harry! I'm trying to be serious! My boyfriend is ignoring me!" All playfulness was gone from Ginny's voice now and her bottom lip quivered. Seeing this, Harry sighed and put his arm around her.

"It'll be ok Gin," he whispered soothingly.

"I hope so," the youngest Weasley rested her head on Harry's shoulder.

A little ways away, Dean Thomas gave the two students by the chessboard a look of pure jealousy.

A stream of moonlight fell through the curtains and onto Ronald Weasley's face. He groaned and turned over again. He couldn't get this evening's events out of his head. Why had she gotten so mad? It wasn't as if he had said anything really aimed to hurt. It had just been harmless teasing.

"Harmless teasing," he repeated aloud, scowling to himself.

"Apparently, 'Mione didn't think so." Ron rolled over to see Harry adjusting his glasses.

"Come off it, Harry. I've said worse before!" Harry nodded with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"But you should've known better. I mean, Hermione has been giving you the cold shoulder lately."

"I don't need a lecture Harry," Ron said huffily, then furrowed his eyebrows. "She has, hasn't she? I mean, I say one little thing and she goes ballistic! That one's nutters, she is."

"Parvati's been like that lately too, but not with such ferocity as Hermione. And according to Ginny," he dropped his voice to a whisper. "Dean's been like that too."

"Dean's been mean to Ginny? Why I oughta-Hey. Harry, when did you talk to Ginny lately?" He glared suspiciously at a reddening Harry.

"Well, after Hermione left, Ginny talked to me and…" he trailed off and cleared his throat. "The important thing is, you've got to find out why 'Mione's mad."

"Yeah," Ron settled back down grumpily. "What should I do?"

"Don't ask me," Harry held up his hands. "For this one, you're gonna have to do research."

"So big brother," Ginny played absently with the charm bracelet she had received from Tonks last summer. "You want my help?" She smiled sweetly. He groaned and leaned forward.

"Look Gin. Hermione's been really mad at me lately."

"And?" she raised her eyebrows.

"More than usual! Even when I hadn't done anything wrong!" he cried indignantly.

"Fine. You know Ron, you have a very dysfunctional marriage."

"Well, according to Harry, so do you."

"Touché. Point taken," she sighed. "So, what do ya want?"

"I need to know how to make her tell me what I did wrong." Might as well just get it out right away, he thought.

"Hmmmm. Something romantic definitely," Ginny thought aloud.

"ROMANTIC?" Ron yelled.

"Do you want me to help you, or not?" Ginny asked sourly.

"Fine," Ron surrendered and leaned forward to receive the advice of his younger sister.

It had been a long day. Hermione let her book bag plop on the common room floor beside her. Paying attention in class AND ignoring Ron took a lot out of a girl. Speaking of, she saw Ron stand and nervously straighten his robes. She sighed.

"Er, 'Mione?"

"Yes?" she returned nonchalantly.

"I need you to come with me." He fidgeted more. Although this appealed to her curiosity, she had to remember the assignment.

"Why?" she asked coldly. Ron could feel the blood rising in his face.

"Just come, will you?" He grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the portrait hole before he could be stopped by her complaints or the suggestive whispers of his fellow Gryffindors. As they trotted down the halls of Hogwarts Hermione was silent. But when they stopped by a small door, she cleared her throat.

"And where, Mr. Weasley, are we now?" she sniffed, although she knew very well that she stood outside the door to the Room of Requirement.

"Dinner," he answered shortly and opened the door to a small room lit by candles. In the center of the floor was a table with two chairs. Hermione could feel her heart beat faster at the prospect of being in this room with Ron. All alone…

"Will that be a table for two?" a squeaky voice piped up somewhere around her feet.

"Dobby!" she cried incredulously. So much for all alone. Shaking herself out of these thoughts she looked suspiciously at Ron. "Is this a house-elf employed restaurant?" Recognizing the S.P.E.W. look in Hermione's eyes, Ron was quick to explain himself.

"I went down to the kitchen to ask Dobby if he would do this for me as a favor," he said carefully. "And you know how these things are," he added as several house-elves presented the table with plates and a multitude of dishes. "They all wanted a piece in the action." Seeing that this was an acceptable answer Ron pulled out one of the chairs. "Shall we?"

The rest of the dinner had passed pleasantly. Ron and Hermione had chatted and eaten their way through a delicious dinner. Now outside, the two prefects walked along a pathway and gaze at the stars.

"Listen 'Mione," Ron sat down on a stone bench and gestured for his 'wife' to join him.

"Yes?" she asked pleasantly.

"Um…well…why are you mad at me?" he blurted out. Smiling out at the rose bushes, Hermione didn't hesitate at all.

"It was an assignment," she stated calmly.

"What!" Ron cried, jumping up.

"An assignment," Hermione explained patiently. "I had to be mad at you, and you had to convince me to tell you." Ron sat down grumbling.

"Stupidest assignment I ever heard of," he growled.

"I wouldn't say that," Hermione smiled and rested her shoulder on her best friends shoulder. A blush rose to his cheeks as he glanced down at the bushy head that lay so close to him. Awkwardly he put his arm around her.

"Oooooooooooooh! It's so cute!" Hermione and Ron jerked apart as Ginny and Harry popped out of the bushes.

"I take it the dinner went well," Harry smiled deviously.

"Have you two finally realized that you like each other yet?" Ginny cooed.

"WHAT!" Ron and Hermione screamed in unison. Then Ron grabbed Harry, and Hermione grabbed Ginny. The two sulked off in different directions. It was only when Ron and Harry were almost at the doors to the castle that Ron remembered something.

"Hey Harry…What were you doing walking around at night with my baby sister?" he glared as his friend shrunk away.

"Nothing." Seeing that this would not quell Ron's anger, Harry looked for an escape route. "Look I'm rather tired. Think I'm going to go to bed now." With that, Harry walked quickly away towards the Gryffindor common room, Ron in pursuit.

A/N: Yay! Cranked another chapter out. Gonna be some more Lupin/Tonks next chapter. Do you like that pairing? R&R!

KW