Chapter Six "My Mind is Ramblin'"
Disclaimer: The Character's and Story Plot of the Harry Potter franchise do NOT belong to me, I am just one of the many privileged enough to write J.K Rowling's marvelous novel series.
With a weeks passing since Harry Potter's abrupt arrival to Hogwarts, the daily life of the magical institutes student body seemed to return back to a more relatively uneventful pace. The-boy-who-lived had become a ghost of sorts within the castles vast corridors, a trait that proved to be far to irritating for the likes of Hermione who unlike her boyfriend and Ginny still held out hope to speak with Harry.
On this very day in particular, Hermione who had spent the better part of two hours caught in a game of cat and mouse with Harry around the castle grounds flopped down exasperated into an open seat of the Gryffindor common room.
From behind Ron' approached Hermione and tentatively laid his hands on her shoulders. "Finished your game of hide-and-seek for the day, love?"
Tossing her head back so she could look up into Ron's eyes, Hermione let a disappointed huff escape her. "You must think I'm a fool for trying to still try and talk with him, don't you?"
"I told you the first day you tried to talk with him you were just wasting your time, but you're always going to do what you want to do, you know that." Ron' said softly, his fingers began to rub her shoulders in a slow soothing motion.
"I think I may be finally coming around to your reasoning, I'm at my whits end." Hermione mumbled, her eyes fluttered closed as she eased into Ron's touch.
Letting out an amused snort, Ron' shook his head. "My reasoning? You mean your reasoning, you're the one who gave me the advise to give up on Harry to pass on to Gin' in the first place. You just didn't follow your own advise, probably would have saved you a world of time."
"Easy there Weasley, no need to rub it in." Hermione kidded.
The two lovers were broken from their intimate moment as Ron' felt a hand slapped on his back and Dean Thomas' face poking over his shoulder so that he to leaned over a sitting Hermione from behind.
"Afternoon you two, keeping busy, eh?" Dean asked, the slender Gryffindor clearly enthused to be in the company of those he knew.
"Dean," acknowledged Ron' as he pulled away from Dean and let loose of Hermione, his flat tone would have let a more acute person know he wasn't to pleased with having been interrupted with his girlfriend. "Something we can do for you?"
"No, I'm good, thanks... Just not sure what to do, it's been awhile since I've had a weekend here without Seamus to keep me entertained," commented Dean as he took a seat across from Hermione, his dark eyes scanning the faces of the common room around him. "Where's Ginny?"
"She was with me this morning but we finally ran into Luna who dragged her off to who know's where," Hermione answered, she straightened up in her seat and looked to an unimpressed looking Ron'.
"Luna Lovegood?" questioned Dean surprised. "I wasn't even aware she was attending this year, how is she?"
"I didn't really have the time to catch up with her, she seemed quite preoccupied with finding something she lost... Or was taken from her... I can't say for sure really," said Hermione, her fingers drummed on the armrests of her seat. "So... Dean, you must have something to do today, no?"
"Nope, nothing at all. How about you two?" Dean asked, the boy being dense enough to not get the hint the two lovers were looking to be alone.
Sticking his hands in his pockets Ron' started to look resigned to the fact Dean wasn't going to be going away anytime soon and took a seat around the common room table. "We were thinking about going down to the library at some point, 'Mione was looking forward to picking up some extra reading."
"Ah, now that's something to do. Or, maybe we could play a game of Wizards chess to pass the time?" suggested Dean as he eyed a chess board on a table nearby.
"That sounds like a delightful idea," announced Hermione, the girl beamed from cheek to cheek as she got to her feet.
"It does?" mumbled a lost Ron'.
"Yes it does," Hermione said, she turned to her boyfriend and gave him a wink. "Think of it as my gift to you for leaving me that day with your mother during her cleaning spree."
"Excellent, I'll go grab the board," Dean said enthused, the lanky boy got from his chair in one fluid motion and headed off to retrieve the nearby chessboard.
Once Dean was out of earshot, Ron' let loose a groan. "Perfect, thanks 'Mione. You do know I'll get you back for this don't you."
"Maybe you will, but if I were you Ronald, you would be smart to call it even," Hermione said, she delivered a swift peck to his lips and began to head for the portrait of the common room. "I'm off to the library, have fun!"
Rolling his eyes, Ron' fell into Hermione's vaccant seat just as Dean returned to the table.
"Where did Hermione run off to?"
"Decided to go to the library," answered Ron' lamely, his fingers beginning to sort out the pieces of the chessboard. "So, Dean, how are you finding yourself here?"
"What can I say, it's loads different without everyone in our year around," replied Dean as he began to set up his pieces. "I miss them you know, it's just not going to be the same graduating with everyone from Ginny's year."
"I hear you there, bloody Death Eater's ruined everything didn't they," commented Ron'.
Nodding his head, Dean placed his final piece in position. "They got what was coming to them in the end though."
With a simple nod, Ron' looked at the board and began to plot his strategy for the game. As he opened his mouth to give his first command the portrait to the common room opened to present Gryffindor's newest Head of House, Oliver Wood.
Striding into the centre of the room with a rolled piece of parchment in his hand, Oliver Wood drew the attention of every single Gryffindor in the area. "Hello everyone, if I may have your focus for a moment, I know it's saturday so I'll keep this sweet and short."
A few of the younger year students drew closer to the once professional Quidditch player in earnest interest with whatever he had to say, one boy even had the sense to grab some parchment and an ink dipped quill for a potential autograph.
"As you may or may not know, during my time here at Hogwarts I played keeper for the house quidditch team, an experience that helped me hone my skill for my time with Puddlemere," Oliver said proudly, as soon as the topic of Quidditch left his mouth you could see the man's face beam. "That being said as Gryffindor's newest head of house, I plan on taking our house's team quite seriously by getting a jump on putting our roster together early. In my hand here I have a sheet for those wishing to sign up, I'll leave it here on the common room bulletin board for those who are interested. This sheet will only be available until tomorrow and regrettably, first years are not allowed to sign up."
Immediately a hand shot up from one of the youthful looking first years, the girl with outstretched arm teetered back and forth on her heels as she hoped to draw Woods focus.
"Yes, you there, what is it?" asked Wood as he pointed the girl out.
"Excuse me Professor, but I heard several students in the past had joined the Quidditch team in their first year." stated the girl.
"While yes there has been exceptions over the years, these are very rare circumstances," Wood replied, the wizard looked about the room for anymore would-be questioners before walking over to the bulletin board stowed away in the corner of the common room and unravelled his sheet. Using a single pin, the head of Gryffindor House stuck the sheet to the board and turned around with his gaze set upon Ron'. "Mr. Weasley?"
Cocking his head to the side for a moment, Ron' looked to Dean then to Oliver. Raising a hand, Ron' brought one of his fingers to point at his chest. "Me, sir?"
"Yes you, Weasley. May I see you for a moment outside?" Wood requested, he held his hand out as if directing Ron' to the fat lady's portrait.
"Um, of course," said Ron' getting to his feet, he excused himself from Dean and followed Oliver Wood outside of the common room.
After the Fat Lady closed behind them, Oliver lead Ron' down a few sets of steps so they were away from the Fat Lady's prying ears. "Well, how are you, Weasley, it's good to see you again."
"I'm good, Professor, thank you... Really though, I'm surprised you even remember me," Ron' said, his pride lifted with the idea that Puddlemere United's former keeper knew his name.
Oliver cracked a smile. "To be honest, you earned quite a reputation last year doing what you did during the war. But I do recall you always being with Potter back during my school days."
"Yeah well, things have changed a bit," Ron' grumbled, his pride taking a hit with having been remembered because of Harry. "Is there a reason you wanted to speak with me, sir?"
"Not a man for the small talk, I like that, clean cut and right down to business," Wood commented. "Very well I'll keep to that then, being frank, you aren't my first choice for this, but I heard some good things about your time on the house team as Keeper. I'd like to make you Captain of the Gryffindor team, we'll need a Seventh Year like you to keep the younger players in order, give them direction out on the pitch."
Ron's jaw nearly dropped at the offer. "Did you just offer me, Captain?"
The smile on Oliver's face grew into a full blown grin. "That I did, Weasley. What do you think, are you up for the task?"
"Blimey, of course I am, it's been a dream of mine, sir." answered Ron' giddily.
"I'm glad to hear that, Weasley. I look forward to working with you on this to make Gryffindor the best house team possible this year." Wood said, he lifted a hand out for Ron' to shake.
Grabbing hold of Oliver's hand, Ron' gave it a firm shake, the smile on his face only wavered when he thought back to more of what Wood had said. "Um, Professor?"
"Yes?" responded Oliver, he broke from the handshake and stuck them into the pockets of his formal robes.
"You mentioned I wasn't your first choice, who was?" asked Ron'.
"Let that slip did I," Wood confirmed "Well, Weasley. Your mate, Potter was my first choice. In all my years of being on a broom I don't think I've ever seen a Seeker as good as him before or since, besides his skill, he did hold the title of Captain at one point before I've been told, so Harry was naturally my first pick for the position."
Ron' nodded in understanding, like always Harry seemed to get what Ron' wanted. "So I take it Harry wasn't to keen on filling the position."
"Not keen at all, in fact I barely got a word out of him other than him recommending you for Captain and your sister as seeker." said Wood, he shifted on his feet and pulled out a pocket watch from the confined of his robes. "Look, Weasley I have to run. Got a meeting with the Headmistress that I can't miss, I'll let you look over the sign up list and get back to me with a series of names you recommend for the team, we'll go from there, alright?"
"Alright, sir," agreed Ron'.
"Good, we'll talk soon," called back Wood as he descended down the staircase of Gryffindor tower.
Ron' watched Oliver disappear from view and unexpectedly his frazzled looking sister coming up the steps towards him, her hair tangled and one of her knee high socks drooped down into a clump around her ankle.
"You've got all the appearance's of someone having been in the company of one, Luna Lovegood." Ron' told his sister as she neared, he hid his smirk beneath a balled fist held up to his lips.
"That's a pretty accurate guess," Ginny grumbled out, she came a few steps short of Ron' and threw her hands out to her side. "How rough do I look?"
"Wasn't a guess, Hermione told me this morning," Ron' admitted while giving his sister a look over. "As for you, I'd say you look about how you'd look if a hippogriff ran you over."
"Brilliant, just brilliant," said Ginny, she patted down her skirt and took a seat on one of the steps. "So, what are you doing out here anyway?"
"Oliver Wood wanted to talk with me," Ron' answered, he took a few steps down and joined his sister.
"Oh, I saw him on my way up. What did he want?" asked Ginny.
Ron' grinned. "Offered me captain for the house team."
"You're joking," said Ginny, her head twisting to look at her brother. "That's amazing, Ron', congratulations!"
"Yeah, it's pretty unbelievable... I didn't think I'd ever make Captain," Ron' replied, he dropped his head for a second before adding more. "I didn't really earn it though, I was Wood's second choice."
"Harry." stated Ginny knowingly, her brother didn't need to say his name for her to know the answer already. "Forget him, Ron'. You deserve it."
"He recommend me for the captaincy, Gin', the git practically gave it to me," retorted Ron'. "But that's not all of it, Wood also said, Harry recommended you for Seeker."
"Harry recommended me for seeker?" repeated Ginny skeptically, a puzzled look gracing her pretty face. "What do you think that means, what's Harry up to with this?"
"I don't know, as far as I'm concerned if he doesn't want the position's why shouldn't we take them?" asked Ron' in return as if defending his decision to accept Wood's offer to be Gryffindor's Quidditch team Captain.
"I suppose," spoke Ginny hesitantly. "You don't think it's him trying to reach out to us, do you?"
"The way Wood made it sound it was as if he wasn't supposed to say anything at all, like he let it slip out by accident," Ron' rubbed at the back of his neck in an attempt to fight off an oncoming headache. "I doubt Harry wanted us to know he recommended us at all, probably his way of making sure to avoid us still."
"Probably." conceded Ginny, a frown nearly formed on her lips but she fought the expression off. "I really need to take a shower, Luna lead me into a closet near the dungeons where spiderwebs had spiderwebs and spiders as big as those in the forbidden forest were tromping about."
Ron' laughed a hearty chuckle. "Only Luna could get take someone presentable and turn them into a walking rubbish bin. Come on, let's get you inside the common room."
The two siblings helped one another up from their seats on the steps and made their way up to the Fat Lady's portrait, without a word shared between them from that point on it was quite clear both Weasley's were stuck on thoughts of Harry and his recommendations of them for the House Quidditch team.
A/N: Hello dear readers, while this chapter is void of Harry per-say it's a necessary step to where the story must go. As for the reviewer who asked how many chapter's this fic will have, I don't have a definitive answer for you at the moment but as we near the end at some point in the distant future I will certainly inform you how many chapter's are left. Thank you all for reviewing but I don't want to give away any answer's to question's regarding Harry's limp or why he's being distant. For those answers you will just have to keep reading, muahahahhah :}. Please drop a review if you can and take care of yourselves everyone. Until the next chapter, good-bye!