Chapter Two
A celebration was going on strongly in the Gryffindor common-room that night, after the new Quidditch team had been revealed. Students were honouring the new players, and hoped they would make them proud in that years Quidditch championship. But one single person was missing: Ron Weasly. Harry thought to himself that Ron never missed a party, but he had not been showing himself since breakfast. Was he still so mad at Hermione that he did not want to be in the same room as her? But a few minutes later an obviously tired Ron joined the party in the common-room. The few students who had noticed his appearance started to cheer his name loudly. Ron stood as frozen to the dormitory stairs. He thought to himself that they were partying as had they already won the championship. Did they really trust him that much as a Keeper? Ron formed a smile on his lips. It absolutely seemed like they did.
"Ron! Where have you been, mate?" Harry, whom had just appeared at the end of the staircase, asked Ron.
"I have been sleeping all day, really. But do not tell Hermione so. I want her to think I have been studying." Ron looked around the room as was he looking for something. "Where is she anyway?" he added.
"Well, er, you see.." Harry begun, but got cut off by a smiling Hermione. She was all red in the face, but this time of blushing.
"Hi Ron. We have missed you at the party!" she said. Harry did not know what to feel about the situation.
"Blimey, why are you so happy?" he asked her, as was she never happy. But Ron was right. Hermione was always so serious, and it took a lot to make her this happy.
"I am simply celebrating, Ron. And so should you!" Hermione took Ron's hand, and tried to pull him down the staircase.
"Wait a minute," Ron began. Harry wanted to disappear, but he knew there was no way to escape this situation. "What are you celebrating? You never cared that much of who made it to the team.." Ron looked suspicious.
"Oh, you have not heard. I just thought Harry would have.." The joyful smile faded away from Hermione's face. She looked rather disappointed.
"Heard what? What have you not told me, Harry?" Harry sighed. Why was it that Ron had to fuss up over such a small situation.
"Hermione made it to the team. She is our new Chaser along with Ginny and Katie," Harry hesitated. He closed his eyes because he knew what was going to come.
"Bloody hell! You let her on the team! Harry, you do know that she only did this to piss me off! She can not play! If she really was any good at the try-outs she must have used some kind of potion!" Ron was yelling. Harry opened his eyes, and saw Hermione with tears rolling down her now pale cheeks.
"Why is it you never believe in me, Ronald? Just because I am smart does not mean I can not be good at anything else! Why can you not just be happy for me? You, you bastard!" Hermione yelled. She then stormed into the girls dormitory with a very furious expression on her face.
"Well done, Ron. My team is already mess. Thank you." Harry said, walking a few steps away from Ron.
"Your team? You might be captain, but without your players you will be nothing. Nothing, I tell you!" Harry looked at Ron in surprise. His best mate had just called him a 'nothing.' Harry walked towards the door out of the common-room and into the castle.
"Wait, Harry, you know I did not mean it like that!" Ron started yelling, but Harry was soon so deep into the crowd of people that he could not hear him.
"Ron, hi! Where were you at the try-outs? You should have seen Hermione Granger! She did really, really well! No wonder she made it to the team!" Lavender Brown spoke to Ron, but he did not listen very well.
"She was really that good, eh?" Ron did not believe it. All these years Hermione had said how much she hated Quidditch and did not understand it, but now she was actually on the team, and apparently doing very well? Ron rolled his eyes, and then went back to the boys dormitory, leaving a talking Lavender behind him.
October turned into November, and snow started to fall around the Hogwarts castle which made Quidditch rehearsal even more complicated than before. Hermione and Ron still refused to talk to each other, and Ron did not speak to Harry either. They did not play well at all. The team was full of great players, but together it all fell a bit apart. Ron was so angry that he got unfocused and therefore let a lot of goals in. That distracted Harry from catching the Golden Snitch several of times. He was so furious after every single practice that he went straight to bed without speaking to anybody.
"Harry, we can not keep on like this," Ginny Weasly said to Harry after a late night Quidditch practice In the first week of November.
"I know, Ginny. But I just have no idea what to do."
That nights practice had been pure terrible. Katie Bell had still not returned from St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries after the entire cursed necklace episode, so Dean Thomas had taken her spot as a Chaser. He was currently dating Ginny Weasly, and they spent way more time chatting than actually playing. When Harry had told them to participate in the game, Ginny had said that it was "not worth it anyway." Hermione and Ron had not neared each other more than 78 inches, which also complicated it a lot.
"Why is it that every time they are fighting it have to ruin everything?" Ginny spoke. Harry shook his head. He had noticed so too. "We must put them back together. Even though it seems impossible. They just can not live without each other, and we can not live without them being together," said Ginny.
"You mean, we have to pair them up?" Harry asked in disgust. He did not know how he would be feeling about that.
"No, that was not what I meant!" Ginny chuckled. She, too, had a hard time imagining Hermione and Ron going out.
"Good, because I am sure that will never happen." They shared a laugh. Harry was sure he felt something in his gut that was not supposed to be there, at least not when he was with Ron's younger sister. Harry instantly stopped laughing. The silence became awkward. Had Ginny felt the same as Harry?
"I will try to talk some sense into them," Harry said, breaking the silence.
"Good. Goodnight, Harry," Ginny spoke, and walked back to the castle. That left Harry all alone in the darkness.
"Goodnight," he whispered to himself.
"You came late in last night," Hermione stated at breakfast. Harry said nothing. His conversation with Ginny was none of Hermione's business, thought Harry had her suspected for knowing that they had been talking.
Ron was seated a little away, next to Neville Longbottom.
"You should really talk to him, Hermione. He might not show it, but I think he is missing you," said Harry, having his gaze down on his plate. He could not eat much, though. He was thinking strategy through to their first Quidditch match that week end against Slytherin. Harry knew that their, Slytherin's, team had gotten stronger. With Urquhart, Vaisey and Blaise Zabini as Chasers, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle as Beaters, and Draco Malfoy as Seeker they could become tough competition. Not that Slytherin was not normally competition.
"Me? If anyone should talk it would be him. He is the one who is wrong," Hermione cried. She, too, was looking at her plate. It was empty though.
"Just do something, please! The match is on Saturday, and we can not afford to lose!"
"The Cup just started, Harry! We can afford to lose at least just one game, if we win the rest!" Harry could easily sense that it was Hermione's first match. She had no idea how important winning was -and especially against Slytherin.
"This is Slytherin. Don't you want to see Malfoy's face when we win over them?" asked he. He imagined Draco's angry and disappointed face on the inside of his head. Harry would like to see that face.
"Of course I do, but.."
"No buts, Hermione! Blimey!" Harry walked out of the Great Hall, and found his way to his first lessons.
Harry hated when Ron and Hermione were fighting, when he and Ron were fighting.. He never felt more alone than when that happened. And sadly, it happened far too often.
Due to the match Harry had arranged Quidditch practice every night through the entire week. Of course the Slytherin Captain had pulled some strings, and done the same thing, which meant that Gryffindor had to practice very late night.
"I don't get it! Have they ever been fighting for this long before?" Ginny asked Harry as they walked together to practice that night.
"Yeah. You know when they fight, they do it well, and for months," told Harry. He was glad that he at least had someone to talk to, but why Ginny? And why Ginny Weasly? Why did she have to be the younger sister of his best mate? Ron had been so angry when Harry put Hermione on the team. He could not even imagine him if he found out Harry had a crush on his sister. He would turn into a monster. Probably. And that would not make anything better. Especially because Ginny probably did not feel the same way about him, so she would stop talking to him too. He would have to leave Hogwarts with all that hate.
"The stars are very beautiful," Ginny whispered. Harry had been too deep into his thoughts to realise that they now were at the Quidditch field. Ginny stood still, looking up at the dark sky that was full of shiny stars. Harry knew that Ginny loved astronomy.
"Yes, indeed," Harry said, looking up at the sky too. He had placed himself very close to Ginny, so that he was sure they were looking at the exact same stars.
"I want to become one in my next life," Ginny all of a sudden said, breaking the comfortable silence. Harry glared at her. Her eyes where in tears. "It must be lovely to be admired so much, and called beautiful of everyone. You know what I mean?" she added.
"You are beautiful," Harry said. He froze. He had not seen that one come, and neither had Ginny. She slowly turned her face, which was all red and bushy, and looked directly at Harry.
"Really? You think so?" Harry had blushed too. He had no idea why he had said so. It was true, of course. Ginny was very beautiful with her long, red hair, and beautiful, shiny eyes.
"Sorry to ruin your moment, but I have some homework to do, so can we just get this over-with?" It was Hermione whom had arrived, ruining what seemed like the perfect moment to Harry. He felt very angry with her, but knew he should not start to yell at her now, when he was trying to make the team play a bit better than well.
"Indeed. But we need some more players," answered Harry in a calm voice, ignoring that Hermione had nearly yelled at him.
"Oh that is just typical." She clearly looked like she rather wanted to be in the library than playing Quidditch.
Only a few minutes later Ron and the rest of the team arrived. They apologized with having such a nice time at dinner. Harry forgave them, though he knew Ron had had dinner on his own, looking quite angry with the world.
"We have our first match this Saturday against Slytherin, and we can not lose it! I hate losing to Slytherin." Harry heard Ginny and Dean laugh. They were still dating, and Harry hated that very much. He hated that Katie Bell was stuck on St. Mungo's, and that Dean was her replacement. "Let us just play. Do your best."
They all flew into air, and started practising.