Like Parents, Like Teens
Part 14
Disclaimer: The characters, places, and things in this story are not mine, albeit the plot.
A/N: Hello again, it's been a long time since I've last posted. I'm really sorry about how long it's been…a little over 6 months!!! But I'm back with the FINAL INSTALLMENT of this story! And it's a long one, too. Thank you all who reviewed, or just kept reading, to reach this point today! Thank you and enjoy.
The sky was bleak as Harry trudged back to Gryffindor tower from the hospital wing. He glared at the grey skies marring the usual spring brilliance. But the look of anger soon slid off his face as the potion for his headache began to work its magic.
Although he had been experiencing far more headaches since the return of Voldemort, he sincerely doubted that this one was the Dark Lord's doing. More likely it was caused by the intense stress of having his two best friends alternately avoiding, ignoring, sniping at, or full out waging war against each other. No matter what he or Ginny tried, Ron and Hermione remained feuding.
"Romanorum," Harry said, staring expectantly up at the Fat Lady, as he arrived at the Gryffindor tower portrait hole.
"Ah yes," she sighed. "Romance…"
"Yes, well, I meant the password is romanorum," he stated irritably.
"Of course," the Fat Lady sniffed at him, and swung open.
Harry clambered through the portrait hole and looked around the common room.
Ron was seated in one of the armchairs, dozing. Ginny was getting up next to him. Seeing Harry, she smiled.
"I'm going up to bed Harry," she told him, giving him a light peck. "I wouldn't wake sleeping beauty, if I were you," she advised, gesturing back at Ron.
"Good night, Ginny," Harry said, and she made her way up the staircase. Then, once he heard the dormitory door shut, he sighed, and turned his attentions to Ron. As much as he would love to take Ginny's advice, he felt it was his duty to wake his best friend.
"Ron." Harry shook his arm, none too lightly. Ron gave a snort, and looked around with dazed eyes. He focused on Harry, scowling.
"Headache gone?" He asked savagely.
"Yeah, thanks," Harry replied testily. Ron turned away, and stared into the fire.
"Look," Harry began, "if you and Hermione insist on bickering every hour of the day, fine by me, but, if you're getting so moody after every row, don't you think you should do something?"
Ron looked as if he were about to respond in a rather unfriendly way, but after a moment he seemed to deflate.
"Like what?" he asked tiredly. "I've practically given her my heart on a platter, and the only thing she does with it is mock me in front of everyone. How am I supposed to be around her?"
Harry looked at his lap thoughtfully. He doubted that Hermione would ever purposely hurt someone like Ron had described, let alone Ron.
"Maybe…you two had a misunderstanding?" he suggested. Ron flashed him a look, then rocked himself out of the chair.
"Yeah, maybe," he acknowledged, unconvinced. "I'm going to bed, mate. See you in the morning."
"'Night," Harry called at his back, then settled into his armchair. This would not be an easy fix.
Hermione lay in bed, unable to sleep. Dawn was just beginning to break, and a soft ray of sunshine filtered through the curtains and onto her bed. There was no way she was going to get back to sleep with the light shining in her eyes. Rising from the warmth of her bed, Hermione padded quietly across the dormitory floor. Sliding through the door, she drifted down to the common room.
In the calm darkness of the room, Hermione's attention was drawn to the row of doors. Her eyes immediately sought out the plaque bearing the title "Mr. and Mrs. Weasley". Pushing down a flash of anger at Ron, she stepped forward and opened the door.
Once inside the small room, Hermione felt a feeling of loss overwhelm her. She couldn't believe her friendship with Ron was disintegrating. Even if she had silently yearned for more in their relationship for the past few years, at least it was better than having no friendly contact at all. Fighting back the wetness that threatened to fall from her eyes, Hermione looked around the room for something to focus on.
Her eyes fell on the small table, where a new note was sitting. Rushing forward, Hermione unrolled the paper and read quickly over the few lines written there.
Marital difficulties can be hard to overcome.
However, to find what you once had
a walk down memory lane shall suffice.
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley will participate in a
scavenger hunt today at 5 o'clock.
Be prepared.
Signed,
Albus Dumbledore
Marital difficulties? A blush rose furiously on Hermione's face. So even Professor Dumbledore had heard of their bickering? Her embarrassment quickly receded to panic. She and Ron on a scavenger hunt? Alone? It would be a disaster! They would never finish! And what in Merlin's name was 'be prepared' supposed to mean?
Hurrying out of the door, Hermione paused for a moment before dashing up the stairs to the dormitory. If she needed to be prepared, she would prepare as best as she could. She could alert Ron eventually.
Beneath the panic and frenzied "preparing", a small bubble of hope dwelt unacknowledged in Hermione. To find what you once had…It sounded very promising. Very promising, indeed.
"Slow down, Nymphadora!" Remus Lupin called at the witch as she tripped down the stairs, nearly falling flat on her face. He chuckled to himself from the top of the staircase, a large box following behind him. Tonks turned around from the bottom.
"The name is Tonks!" she yelled back at him, but the correction lacked its usual irritation and force. Tonks was finding it hard to feel anything but excitement this morning. She was about to fix Ron and Hermione's relationship…and spend the entire day having fun with Remus. She grinned mischievously. The prospect of the day had given her courage. By this evening, Remus Lupin would be hers, she had sworn to herself.
"And maybe I'm not moving too fast, and you're just moving too slow!" She added good-naturedly.
"Doubtful," he replied, stepping onto the pathway where she waited. Giving him a light push on the arm, Tonks laughed and spun around in a circle. The clouds of the night before had given way to a beautiful day. Remus grinned as he watched her. She was so young, so energetic, so full of life…
"You're unusually happy this morning," he said instead. She smiled impishly at him, then stepped out onto the grass.
"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked, and batted her eyelashes.
Remus felt color rising in his cheeks and grabbed the floating box to use as cover, cursing Tonks and her charms mentally.
He was too late, though. Tonks glanced back and grinned at the pink in his cheeks. Turning to the expanse of the Hogwarts Grounds, she felt the spring breeze lift her. Maybe today truly held some prospect for their relationship.
"Come on Remus, we've got a lot of work to do!" she said. "Planting all these little treasures could take a while, and we only have until 5 o'clock!"
"Why did we take on this job, again?" he groaned, letting the box carry itself once more.
"Well we created it…who else would Dumbledore have do it?"
"You know, I was in quite an unfortunate situation at the time…What with all that Magick Delite's Pizza, and you being such a forceful witch…"
"Oh, shut it!" Tonks laughed. "I'll have you remember that we came up with this plan together." She sighed. "What could be more perfect? Rediscovering lost love on a moonlit night?" She looked back at him. Remus shook his head.
"Only you could find a scavenger hunt to be the most romantic thing in the world," he laughed. Tonks joined in, but to herself she thought that perhaps participating in a scavenger hunt would not be quite as romantic as creating one.
Falling back to walk next to the wizard, she hooked her arm in his.
"Well, Mr. Lupin, I suggest we get started."
As they stepped onto the Hogwarts Grounds, Hermione looked at Ron.
"Well, I suppose we should be getting a list sometime soon," she stated. Ron grunted, and looked determinedly away from the witch standing next to him. Hermione scowled at his behavior, and scanned the area. Coming towards the two was Remus Lupin, looking rather flustered.
"Hello Ron, Hermione," he greeted them.
"Hey," said Ron.
"Good evening, Professor," Hermione replied. "We're supposed to be doing a scavenger hunt. Would you know anything about that?"
"What?" Remus looked back at the two students from where his mind had wandered. "Oh, yes. I would know. Now where has it gone?" He searched through his pockets absent mindedly, eventually pulling out a scrap of paper. He smiled. "Here it is." Hermione reached over and took the paper curiously.
"Thanks, Professor," she said.
"Hmm? Oh, good luck!" he replied, and began to return to the castle, shaking his head.
Hermione frowned after him, then glanced at Ron.
"Professor Lupin was acting rather oddly, wasn't he?" she asked worriedly.
"I 'spose," Ron answered.
"Anyway, let's see what this paper says," Hermione said, and began to read aloud,
"On this journey you shall find
One brave warrior who fought in a tight bind
An unwavering reflection of frozen fears
And a reminder of a night that ended in tears
The indicator of a helping glove
And finally, the bandages for the wounds of love."
She paused.
"Well, it appears that they're clues, instead of just a list," she stated. Although it was still bright outside, the edges of dusk were beginning to stretch up on the edges of the sky. "We should probably get moving."
The two started off into the grass, keeping a safe distance from each other. Hermione scanned the ground, and checked behind rocks and small hills. She was annoyed to see that Ron was just walking, glancing around himself occasionally.
"You know, the faster we finish this, the sooner you can leave!" she shouted at him from across a field. Ron looked up and opened his mouth to form a retort, when suddenly he was pitched forward.
"Bloody—"he yelled as he landed with a thud on the ground. Ron felt a dull pain in his arm, but nothing too serious. Looking up, he saw Hermione rushing towards him. He felt his spirits rise. Ron pushed himself up.
To his surprise and irritation, Hermione ignored him and fell to the ground at the spot where he had tripped.
"Aha!" she cried, and pried a dirty chess piece out of the dirt—the knight.
"Don't worry, I'm fine," he grumbled.
"That's good," she replied absently, pulling the list out of her satchel. "Let's see…"
Ron crawled forward to sit next to her, and looked at the list over her shoulder.
"Which is it?" Hermione wondered aloud.
"The warrior," he said decidedly after a moment. At her inquiring look, he added, "'One brave warrior who fought in a tight bind.' Right there." He pointed to the second line of the paper.
"Are you sure?"
"Well, these are supposed to be things that happened to us, right?" Hermione nodded. "Remember first year? When we went down there with Harry, and in the giant chess game I was the knight? And I got taken by the black queen? That was a tight bind if I ever saw one."
"And it was very brave," Hermione added softly, remembering the terror of seeing Ron knocked to the ground by the huge queen. Ron picked at the grass.
"Yeah, well…" he said, but a small smile crept on his face. Hermione caught it, and smiled herself. She took the chess piece and placed it in her bag. Encouraged, she continued.
"I mean, not everyone would have sacrificed themselves for a friend."
"I still would," Ron said. "For you or Harry!" Hermione smiled again, and bit her lip. They were silent for a moment.
"Let's move on then, shall we?" she said, getting back to business.
"Sure." They rose from the ground and began searching again.
After a while, Ron moved closer to Hermione. They were nearing the edge of the forest.
"Hey, Hermione, want to go see Hagrid?" he asked. She shot him a disapproving look. "I mean, we're right here and all." She still looked unconvinced. "And maybe he could tell us if he'd, you know, seen something odd," Ron wheedled.
Hermione smiled, giving in.
"It would be awfully nice to see Hagrid again." They changed their path to face Hagrid's cabin, and walked briskly up to the door. It was strangely quiet around the house. Ron knocked on the door, then again, harder, after there wasn't an answer except for Fang's barking.
"Hagrid?" called Hermione. "Are you home, Hagrid?" There was no answer again. She frowned.
"He must be having a meeting with Dumbledore, or something," Ron sighed. Hermione looked skeptical, and hopped off the porch, circling the side of the house. Ron stared after her for a moment, then grudgingly followed. "He's not here Hermione," he said.
"I'm just making sure," she retorted. Jumping up to look in a window, Hermione saw a flash of light in the glass. Turning behind her, she saw a twinkle of light by the edge of the trees. "Come on, Ron!" she called over her shoulder, then hurried toward the source of the flashes.
Sifting through the underbrush, Hermione grabbed the object and held it up.
"It's a mirror," pointed out Ron, as he approached her from behind.
"I know that, Ron," she replied. Bringing out the paper once more, Hermione looked at the lines. "Well, I'd guess this would be the 'unwavering reflection of frozen fears'. " She frowned. "I don't quite know why, though."
"Frozen fears," muttered Ron, as he stared at the tops of the trees, thinking. "Frozen fears…" Realization struck. "Hermione!"
"Yes?" she asked impatiently, waiting for the explanation.
"The basilisk! You were frozen, paralyzed because you saw it in the mirror!"
"Oh!" Hermione cried. "Yes, I do remember that." She looked down at the ground, and Ron shifted a little closer.
"And the fears make sense. I mean, Harry and I were terrified," he told her. Hermione smiled. "And even when you were paralyzed, you still managed to be smarter than us!"
Hermione laughed at that, and Ron did too.
"Seriously though," he said. "We never could have done it without you. Well, I really shouldn't say we. I was just trapped in there with Lockhart, Harry did all the heroic stuff."
"You were very heroic!" Hermione reprimanded him. "Didn't we just talk about how brave you are?" Ron grinned, and took the mirror from her grasp. He stared down at his freckled reflection.
"Two down, three to go," he stated, and dumped the mirror in Hermione's bag. He hopped to his feet. Hermione reached out a hand, and Ron grabbed it, pulling her up after him. When both were standing, he still held her hand. She looked down at their entwined fingers, and then up at him. Ron blushed, and quickly dropped her hand, walking ahead.
Hermione stared after him for a minute, then followed the tall redhead. The sky was now several shades darker and they had no time to lose.
"I didn't think you would come back," Tonks said quietly. She sat on her messy desk, unusually downcast. Remus looked at her silently from the doorway. He sighed.
"I had to give them the list."
"It took you that long?" Tonks asked incredulously. Remus fidgeted with his shabby robes.
"No, well, I mean, I had to make sure they were finding the items…" he trailed off. There was an uncomfortable silence, then Remus strode forward and gripped Tonks by the arms.
"Remus?" She looked up at him, bewildered.
"Tonks, you just don't understand!" he said fiercely. "It just wouldn't work between us. You're a young witch, full of life, and I'm an old werewolf who—"
"That's not true!" she cried, interrupting him. Only an hour before she had summoned up all her courage and laid bare her feelings to Remus. He had been shocked, then suddenly left. Now he was back, and she wasn't letting him go without a fight. "You're kind, and intelligent, and fun, and strong, and age is only a number!"
"What about my being a werewolf? You think you could live with knowing you were with a monster?" he retorted.
"But you're not a monster! Being a werewolf once a month doesn't define who you are! No one cares!" she fought back.
"I do," Remus said stonily, and stared at her gravely. Tonks wanted to continue fighting, to try and show him how much she cared for him. He was still holding onto her arms, and she found she had grabbed his robes in the argument.
She leaned forward, and Remus prepared himself for the next barrage. Instead, Tonks pulled him towards her and kissed him. Remus was stunned, and couldn't move. Tonks felt all her dreams coming true. The kiss was better than she ever could have imagined.
After a few seconds, Remus pulled away softly. He remained a few inches from her face, and stared at her, uncertainty and a touch of fear in his eyes. Tonks smiled.
"Let me take care of you," she whispered. He answered her with a kiss.
"Right, well, I don't really see anything," Ron stated. Hermione looked over at him and sighed.
"Ron, we've only been in here for a half an hour! There's almost definitely something in here, it's really one of the only good places to hide something," Hermione said. The two were standing a few feet into the Forbidden Forest, where they had been searching for more items for a while. "There won't be anything further in, they don't want us to get killed!"
Ron grunted noncommittally. "Maybe I should go up one of these trees, and have a look around. I might see something shiny, like you did with that mirror." Hermione nodded her approval, and continued scouring the ground.
Ron sized up a nearby tree with many branches. He grabbed one and heaved himself up, stepping carefully to avoid dead or thin limbs. Continuing up the tree, Ron placed his hand on a branch, and was met with a sharp poke on the finger.
"Ow!" he yelled, and drew back his hand to nurse the tiny dot of blood emerging. "What the hell?" He looked back at the branch, then shifted his weight to the side and stepped onto a different limb. Lifting himself up on a higher bough a few feet away from the other branch, Ron looked over curiously.
Resting on the branch he had previously tried to grip, a badge sat, its pin unhinged and pointing out.
"There's the little bugger," he said, satisfied. "Hermione! I think I found something!" he called down to the witch on the ground. Hermione looked up to see Ron balancing precariously on a limb, reaching toward another branch.
"Ron!" she cried. He wobbled a little on the branch, then snatched the badge and retreated to the safety of the bough.
"Got it!" he shouted down triumphantly. Ron quickly made his way down the tree, then hopped down next to Hermione. She took the badge from his hand and turned it over.
"S.P.E.W.!" she cried. The badge was emblazoned with the acronym for the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare.
"Oh, no!" Ron scowled. "I had to find one of those 'spew' badges."
"It's probably one of the items, Ron," Hermione replied. She once again removed the list from her satchel.
"I don't see how it's 'a reminder of a night that ended in tears', unless it's talking about all those poor house elves you tried to 'help'," Ron said. Ignoring Ron, Hermione looked down at the paper again, puzzled. Suddenly, a light lit across her face.
"That's because it's not!" she cried happily. "It's actually 'the indicator of a helping glove'! I was helping the house-elves by secretly giving them clothes, remember?"
"Oh yeah," Ron acknowledged. "I'd almost forgotten about spew. And these badges were supposed to show that you were a member, right?" Hermione nodded. Then she took it and pinned it onto Ron's shirt.
"What are you doing?" he cried, horrified.
"Well, I thought you could wear it until we're done," she said playfully. "After all, you were the treasurer." Her tone turned serious. "Not that the discrimination against and oppression of house elves is a laughing matter." Ron shook his head.
"You really are nutters, Hermione," Ron chuckled.
"I'm nutters? You're the one who complained every living moment about having to help your fellow creatures!"
Ron shook his head and laughed some more. Hermione, unwilling to destroy the current peace, let the topic drop.
They walked close now, occasionally bumping into each other, offering small apologies and smiles. Each was unwilling to broach a new topic that could set the other off. They were comfortable in the quiet of the forest. Hermione and Ron kept their eyes open, looking for any more items for their scavenger hunt. Eventually they emerged from the Forbidden Forest, and meandered toward the Quidditch Pitch.
Hermione glanced up at the sky, which had grown considerably darker. The sun was lowering, and would soon have passed the horizon. She walked a little quicker, and Ron matched her pace. They came to a halt in the middle of the pitch, and scanned around them.
"Maybe we should look in the stands?" Hermione suggested. "Those seem to be likely places to hide something." Ron agreed, and they separated.
Ron climbed up into the stands, and looked at the benches, searching for something out of the ordinary. He found himself distracted, though, glancing over at Hermione more often than not. She had been rather nice to him today; they had been having a good time. An odd feeling came over him. Perhaps Harry was right. Maybe he and Hermione had a misunderstanding. She certainly didn't seem eager to hurt him. Ron hoped so desperately. He couldn't help it. She meant so much to him.
Meanwhile, Hermione was searching a different set of stands. Glancing to check on Ron's progress, she saw him looking at her. Turning back quickly, Hermione smiled hopefully. Ron was being very agreeable. Maybe these clues really would bring them back together, like the original note had promised. Even better, perhaps she could get him to own up to his feelings at last.
Stepping over a bench, Hermione looked towards the commentator's booth, and saw something odd. She hurried forward, and picked up a large snowflake, about the size of her palm. It couldn't be real, as it was a warm spring day, yet it was not crystal or manufactured. Reminding herself that she was indeed at Hogwarts, and this was obviously the result of some magic, Hermione beckoned Ron over.
Ron quickly made his way over to Hermione and looked at what she held.
"I think it's one of the items, but I have no idea which one," she told him. "It's probably 'a reminder of a night that ended in tears', as 'the bandages for the wounds of love' doesn't quite seem to fit." She blushed after reading the second choice. Ron didn't notice; he was too busy contemplating the new clue. The two stared at the magical snowflake, digging through their memories.
Finally, Ron gave a soft 'oh'. Hermione looked at him inquiringly.
"I think it might be the Yule Ball," he said quietly. "You were pretty upset that night."
Hermione nodded slowly, seeing the logic in his idea. The snowflake certainly fit with the memories she held of the Yule Ball: the ice sculptures, snow theme, and beautifully freezing decorations. And, of course, she and Ron had quite a row that night.
"I'm sorry," he said abruptly, looking away from Hermione, "for being such a prat that night. And the other times, too," he added.
"It's alright," she replied carefully. "You just made me angry. I had hoped you would ask me. Instead you just lectured me about going with Viktor." Ron looked up.
"I was jealous. What else would you expect?" He smiled slightly. Hermione took his hand and smiled back. Ron blushed, but didn't pull away.
"We only have one left," Hermione said lightly after a while.
"Let's go." They stood up, still holding hands. "Any ideas on where to go?" Ron asked.
Hermione considered for a moment, then answered, "We could go back to the main entrance and see where we haven't searched yet." Ron agreed, and they took the short trip back to the doors.
Lying softly on the pathway outside the doors were two bandages from the hospital wing. Hermione laughed.
"I'd assume those are our last item!"
"Those weren't there when we started," Ron stated, and frowned. He turned to Hermione. "Good idea to come back, though."
"'The bandages for the wounds of love'." Hermione paused, then turned so that she was standing directly in front of Ron, and took his other hand, so that she was now holding both. "I think it's pretty easy to see what that means."
"Yeah," Ron said, and his voice cracked. "You know, when I kissed you that day…It wasn't a get-well-kiss." Hermione smiled.
"Oh?" she prompted.
"It was a kiss because I…"
"Yes?"
"I love you," Ron whispered. He froze, unbelieving that he had actually told her that. But it was true. He did love her. This realization brought a huge grin to his face. "I love you," Ron repeated.
"I love you too," Hermione said, grinning broadly. They stood, face to face, grinning and laughing. A few minutes passed, and Hermione felt the familiar twitch of annoyance at Ron.
"Ron," she said, stepping closer, "for Merlin's sake, just kiss me already."
And he did.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed! The final chapter…T.T I hope it was a good one. It certainly was long compared to my others! Please review and tell me your thoughts!