Disclaimer: No again. For the nth time: I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER! Okay, yeah, I do wish I did, so that I could've made Voldie a better character or something. On second thought, maybe not.
Author's Note: I am so sorry for not updating quickly! It's like been a month since I last updated!... Anyways, I hope you guys didn't wait for oh-so long…
Well… I didn't get so many reviews for Chapter Two, but maybe things will be better in Chapter Three! Yay! Thank you so much for my reviewers! By the way, I will not post shout-outs here anymore, and instead, I will just reply to my reviewers through the Review Reply service of FanFiction! YAY! )
IMPORTANT! READ THIS! To avoid any confusion, this takes place during their sixth year, but, regardless of some events, including Sirius' death, Dumbledore's death, the R/Hr lollapalooza, the Ron/Lav fling, and Harry and Ginny getting together. That's why it's cool between them. But aside from that, everything else applies. And Remus came back to teach DADA! YAY! (That's the world of FanFiction!)
If you have questions, please ask!
Without Further Ado… Chapter Three!
Chapter Three: Meeting Miss Intrusion
Parvati took a deep breath. "Well… with the help of just a little magic, we can beautify the little orchard. You know, make it a little cute setting."
Ron just blinked. "A cute setting?"
"Boy, that sounds a little too girly." Seamus pondered out loud. "Perhaps we can make it a little dim, add a bit of scary effects and let Hermione be freaked out or something, then-"
"THE POINT here, Mister Seamus, is that we can make a romantic setting, not a horror house." Parvati interrupted the now annoyed Seamus.
Ginny was scribbling things on a piece of parchment. "So what do you want to put there?"
Parvati was now standing and doing airy hand gestures for full effect. "We can make the clovers of shimmering colors, put floating candles (Seamus sniggered at this), beautiful roses, a garden scent, a swing, a little pond and-"
"Doesn't that seem too much for us to do by ourselves?" Lavender asked Parvati, whose hands were in mid-air.
Parvati just put down her hands. "Well, yeah, but… we can still add color to the flowers, and the trees, and the birds, and the seas, and the wind that will paint the sky… Yeah! Colors of the wind! Have you ever hear the wolf cry to the blue corn moon? Or asked the grinning bobcat why he grinned? Can you sing with all the voices of the mountain? Can you paint with all the colors of the wind? Can you paint with all the colors of the wind…" She was doing gestures along with singing.
"Hey!" Harry and Hermione finally arrived in the Great Hall to have breakfast. They sat down beside Ron, who was helping himself to some toast. Parvati seemed a bit sing-songy today, so she won't stop singing, Lavender was shaking Parvati out of her reverie, Seamus just followed Ron's activity, and Ginny was stuffing something in her pocket. The sudden outburst of activity surprised Harry and Hermione who looked at each other.
Finally, things were back to normal again, unless you count Parvati who was still singing.
"… How high does the sycamore grow? If you cut it down, then you'll never know…"
"What's wrong with Parvati?" Hermione asked Lavender, while watching Parvati sing. A lot of other students were still watching her, standing in the middle of the Great Hall.
Lavender sighed. "Well… I think she got high on Pocahontas last summer… She said her sister kept watching it over and over again."
"… You can own the Earth and still, all you'll own is Earth until…"
Parvati had a dramatic pause. Ron, who was confused, asked Harry, "What the bloody hell is Poh-Cha-Konchas?"
"… You can paint with all the colors of the –"
Parvati was cut short from the last word of the song when a black-haired, tall, Ravenclaw girl bumped her. "Watch it!" Said Parvati, annoyed with the girl who'd hit her.
"Well, sorry." The girl rolled her eyes. Parvati was about to do a talk-back when the girl interrupted. "And anyways, someone needed to stop you from singing. You sounded bad, didn't you know?"
Parvati looked angry and embarrassed at the same time.
The girl started to walk away as Harry, Ron, Hermione, Lavender, Seamus, Ginny and an enraged Parvati watched her back when she spun around. "Oh, hello there, Harry!" The girl waved at him, batting her eyelashes. Lavender raised her eyebrow at this, and Ginny looked alarmed.
"Er…hi…" Harry said hesitantly. He recognized the girl as Cho Chang, a year ahead of him and from Ravenclaw. She played at her house's Quidditch team.
"So, Harry, what are your plans for today? You know, maybe, we can hang out a bit at Hogsmeade?" Cho asked flirtatiously. Hermione's eyes dimmed at this remark.
Harry looked at Hermione, who was spreading butter on her toast. "Um… You see, Cho, I had plans with Hermione today, so…"
Cho's smile turned to a grimace. "Oh. I was hoping we could go out a bit today… Maybe next time, then." She flashed a fake smile at him. "See ya, Harry!" She waved at him and went off with her friends, who giggled and were talking.
Ginny looked at Lavender, who got the message. Lavender turned to ask Harry, "Uhm, Harry? Can I ask?"
Harry nodded.
"How'd you know Cho Chang?" Lavender said this slowly.
He pondered for a moment. "Well… we were up against each other during last year's game, and we were able to do a bit of talking."
Ginny butted in. "She seemed interested in you, hm, Harry?" Oh, no, please, this will ruin the matchmaking!
"I think so."
Everyone turned to look at Hermione, who was eating toast while reading from Advanced Transfiguration. Without looking up, she continued, "You should just see the way she batted her eyelashes at Harry and her tone! It's obvious she fancies him."
No one stirred. No one talked. The silence was deafening so Hermione looked up. "What?" All she could see was six heads looking at her.
Parvati, who sat down after Cho insulted her singing, raised an eyebrow and moved toward Hermione who was sitting at the other side of the table. "Anything you wanted to share with the class, Hermy?"
Hermione didn't seem to understand so she just stared blankly at Parvati.
"Ehem." Ron interrupted. "I think I need to go out and get a bit of fresh air for awhile. Lavender, Ginny?" He gestured at them and looked out the Great Hall. "What about you? Maybe you want some air too? How about you, Seamus?"
Ginny and Lavender stood up immediately, but Seamus didn't move. "I think I'll be staying here, Ron. For obvious reasons."
Lavender nodded in understanding, while Ginny and Ron didn't really get what he meant by that. The three walked out of the Great Hall in a hurry.
Harry turned to talk to Hermione. "I wonder what that meant…" He asked her in a hushed tone.
"Told you so. They're acting a bit queer these days."
"So, do we still go later?" Harry asked.
Hermione looked up from her book. "Huh? Well… Maybe…" She said hesitantly.
Harry frowned slightly at her remark. "You don't want to go anymore?"
"No! I didn't mean that!" She noticed the frown that had just graced his face. "Maybe, if we don't have homework and such…"
Harry grinned at her his trademark smile, and she can't help but grin, even though she had a kind of a touch woozy today.
He really does know how to make her smile.
"What the bloody hell was that all about?" Ron asked Lavender and Ginny as soon as they were outside the Great Hall.
Lavender shook her head. "The girl likes Harry, obviously!"
"And she probably wants to snag Harry for herself. The only thing is Harry fancies someone else." Ginny said thoughtfully.
"Who does Harry fancy?" A voice behind them said. It was high-pitched, a girl's, and oddly familiar.
They all spun around to see Cho and her friend, Marielle.
Lavender raised her eyebrow. "It's really none of your business, now is it, Chang?"
Cho forced a laugh and it sounded horrible. Ginny had a disgusted look on her face while Ron's was just plain confused. "Maybe it is none of my business, but soon it will be."
"And what did you mean by that?" Ginny asked cautiously.
"Well, isn't it that girlfriends should know everything going on with their boyfriends?" She laughed again at her own remark. "Harry's going to be my boyfriend, just watch and see."
Lavender snorted. "Oh? Are you so sure of yourself, Chang? After all, there are women that are – well, more of Harry's standards than you. Like what we mentioned awhile ago, Harry does fancy someone else."
One of Cho's eyebrows arched. "Really? Well, I never realized that someone was more of his standards. But sooner or later, he'll realize that I'm that girl."
Ron just shook his head. "Best mate of Harry's, I am. Know a thing or two that you don't"
"Interesting." Cho has a sly grin playing on her lips.
Ron tittered. "Anyways, I can assure you that you're not that girl. Someone nicer and intelligent. Not like you to walk with too much charisma and way over your head."
"Yeah, so give up now, Chang, before you suffer defeat." Ginny mocked.
This seemed to get Cho annoyed, so she raised her tone and she barked at them like mad. "Then I'll prove you wrong! You will see, Cho Chang never loses! And she gets everything she wants! I will soon find out who that pathetic woman Harry 'likes' is and she'll regret having been born!" She walked past the three who were startled, Marielle tailing her.
"Argh!" Lavender shrieked from frustration. "She thinks she's someone great!"
"I know!" Ginny agreed.
Ron suddenly piped up. "I think we have more than one job right now, aside from the (he lowered his voice to a whisper) matchmaking thing."
Lavender and Ginny snapped out of their shriek-fest and looked at Ron.
"We will have to take care of Miss Intrusion."
Later that afternoon, Hermione was up in the Gryffindor Common Room finishing her essay for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry was practicing Quidditch, so she knew no one to help her. DADA wasn't really her thing. She can't possibly ask help from the past DADA teachers that she knew personally. She won't dare to ask Alastor Moody, however, since he's busy with his job as an Auror, and all the more she can't ask Remus Lupin for help, because he was their teacher (again) for Defense. And she so wished for a bit of help right now, because she has a bad headache.
She sighed and put down her quill. She lay down on the couch and placed a palm over her forehead. She was kinda warm, but she didn't want to make such a big fuss over herself, so she ignored this.
Outside the window, a thousand shades of red, orange, yellow and purple had illuminated the sky as the sun was beginning to set. Where was Harry? They had an arrangement today, didn't they? Or maybe he decided to go with Cho to Hogsmeade. She didn't like the idea though: This morning, Cho was so stubborn. She wasn't right for him… Not Cho, definitely not Harry's type, so it's okay…
Wait, that sounded just like an assurance!
Hermione just shook her head to wave her thoughts off but it worsened her head ache. She sat up again and stood up to go to the Portrait Hole. That's it; she's going to look for Harry.
But as she stood, she felt her body quiver. There was no one else in the Common Room. Everyone was in the dormitories or outside. She knew she wasn't walking straight, so she placed a hand on the wall to support herself. She felt cold, she had a bad headache, and she started to cough loudly. She felt weak and weary.
Before she knew it, she felt herself slipping from the support a.k.a. the wall and she fell to the floor with a thud.
She wasn't supposed to be in the floor… but no one found her because no one was there. Suddenly, Sir Nicholas drifted in the room and went to rest on the windowsill when he saw Hermione's unconscious body on the floor.
"Miss Granger! Wake up!" Sir Nicholas tried to shake her but his transparent form only went through her arm. He drifted out of the room quickly and went to the Quidditch field where Harry had just finished practicing and was on his way back to the Common Room.
Sir Nicholas went to Harry quickly. Harry looked curious.
"Harry… you have to come to the Common Room… Now…"
Harry just stared at him blankly. "Oh, yes, Sir Nicholas, I was on my way there. But what is it that's so urgent?"
Sir Nicholas was slightly panting… if that was possible. "Harry… Hermione, she-"
"HARRY!" Cho shrieked. She came from the hallways and ran to greet Harry, who was still curious with what Sir Nicholas had to say. "Hello, Harry! You're out of practice! Maybe we can go now to Hogs-"
"Hermione? What happened to her?" Harry asked, his voice betraying his nervousness.
Cho frowned at his remark. Sir Nicholas continued. "Harry, Hermione passed out. She looked stressed and pale and al-"
Before he could even finish his sentence, Harry made a mad dash for the Common Room, followed by Sir Nicholas, leaving Cho alone in the darkness of the night that enveloped upon the Quidditch Pitch.
Author's Note: Yeah! I had to cut it short! I know it was fluffy (especially the last bit). So far, this was the most fun to write chapter! I feel that I needed to add just a dash of drama (like the way you should only add a dash of salt to Hot Chocolate so that it won't be so sweet but not so salty). I hope there will be more review… ahh… I only got about 4 reviews for the second one… Hope there will be more this time 'round!
Now, you know what to do. Any Comments, Suggestions, Violent Reactions (this is how our teacher states it)? Go ahead now and review!