DISCLAIMER: All Harry Potter characters, figures, and places belong to JK Rowling and Warner Brothers. No money is being made (oh well…sigh) from the use of these characters…
Chapter Two---O.W.L. Results
"Oy! You two, get your own room!" Harry heard a loud voice call.
Grumbling, Harry awoke and found that Hermione was still in his arms sleeping peacefully and Ron was at the foot of his bed, laughing and grinning like a maniac.
"So, what happened after I went to sleep?" asked Ron, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
Harry made no move to let Hermione out of his arms. She just felt too good in them for him to give it up so easily.
"Nothing, Ron," said Harry, rolling his eyes, "I just asked her to stay with me for a little bit and we fell asleep."
Ron looked slightly disappointed, "That's it? How boring."
Harry grinned, "My sole purpose in life isn't to please you, Ron!"
They began laughing and fake-punching each other.
"'S'matter?" asked Hermione sleepily.
They began laughing even harder and Ron smirked at her, "It's just that it's kind of funny to see you in the morning, tired just like the rest of us mere mortals. Especially since you're in Harry's bed!"
"What?" yelped Hermione, quickly sitting up.
"Forget to go back after last night's escapades?" Ron asked, grinning devilishly.
She rolled her eyes, "I'm just surprised I fell asleep so quickly. I thought I'd probably go once Harry was asleep, even if he didn't ask me to."
Ron rounded on Harry, "You didn't ask her to leave after you slept? You wanted her to sleep in the same bed as you for the whole night?!"
Harry rolled his eyes, "I just needed some comfort and Hermione's good at giving me comfort---- (Ron smirked at this) ----Not like that, Ron! When will you ever learn?"
"Sorry, mate, just having a bit of fun."
"Well," said Hermione, "I think I'll leave you two to argue like seven year olds. I, on the other hand, will go to my room and get dressed."
"Dress in something blue. Harry likes blue," Ron called after her as she shut the door.
Harry groaned and began fishing in his trunk for some clothes.
"Well, do you like her?" Ron asked him interestedly, as they began changing.
"I dunno, I don't think so, but I'm not sure. She's really helpful in comforting me and is a great person, but I don't know if I have a crush on her."
Ron winked at Harry, "Trust me, my friend. You do. Ask her out, now."
Harry shoved Ron good-naturedly, "Ron! I don't even know if I like her and I don't want to jeopardize our friendship!"
Ron sighed, "Okay. Let's play a little game. I ask you an honest question and you answer it honestly. All right?"
Harry shrugged, "Okay."
"Who knows you better than any other girl in the world?"
"Hermione."
"Who is the nicest girl you know?"
"Hermione."
"Who do you most enjoy spending time with besides me?"
"Hermione."
"Do you enjoy having Hermione hold your hand?"
"Yes."
"Do you think you'd like holding Hermione?"
"Yes."
"Did Hermione sleep in your arms last night?"
"Yes."
"Do you think Hermione is ugly?"
"No."
"Do you think she is pretty?"
"Yes."
Ron grinned, "I win. You like her. Game over."
Harry threw a sock at him, "Whatever, Ron. Come on, what about you? Who do you like?"
Ron shrugged, "I had a crush on Hermione last year, but I'm pretty much over that now. I dunno who I like now. I'll decide when I get back to school. Let's go downstairs before we get ourselves too excited."
Harry snorted and strolled out of the room, Ron following him, still smirking.
"Harry, there you are. We've made bacon and eggs. Do you want them scrambled or boiled?" Mrs. Weasley asked when they entered the kitchen.
"Scrambled, please."
They walked over to the tables where they would eat and quickly greeted Fred and George who were smirking and looking quite content with themselves.
"Is the shop open today?" Harry asked interestedly.
"Yup, but we're staying here," said George, "and we just received word that Dumbledore himself is coming today to the shop to make a large order of our stuff. We're staying here for the day, though. Lee's going to sell it to him. We're thinking about doing ads in the Daily Prophet and on the Wizard Wireless Network soon." He stopped and looked shrewdly at Harry, "Could you possibly allow us to use your image endorsing our products?"
Harry winked at them, "Anything for you guys. After all, I was one of your initial investors."
Fred nodded wisely, "Agreed. So…what's this about you and Hermione sleeping in the same bed last night?"
Harry rounded furiously on Ron, but stopped when he noticed that Ron looked as surprised as him.
George grinned, "We've developed our own little cousin of the Marauder's Map and we've got one for this house, one for Hogwarts that's a less advanced version of the Marauder's Map, and one for Diagon Alley. Beautiful little thing, eh? So, what did you two do last night?"
"Nothing," Harry said quickly, "we just sort of fell asleep talking. So, you actually made a new Map?"
"Yup," said Fred, "we're thinking of making copies of our Hogwarts Maps and selling them to a select few Gryffindors at Hogwarts."
"Cool; like who?"
"Well, we'd give one each to Ronnie and Ginny for free. Then we'd offer a sale to Thomas for rejecting Ginny, sell one to Katie, Angelina, and Alicia for being hot babes, maybe Neville and Hermione too."
Harry nodded, "That's cool."
Fred grinned, "Of course, the ones they get won't be as good as yours. It'll only show where the staff and ghosts are, instead of the students as well. We did this because we wanted to protect the Marauders' investment."
Harry nodded and felt glad that he'd still have the top and most revealing map in the school. Hermione then walked in, wearing a blue jumper and plaid skirt (Ron started sniggering when he saw the jumper). She threw him a look of deep disgust and pulled a plate of bacon towards her.
"Have fun last night?" asked Fred, wiggling his eyebrows.
"No; actually I had a very peaceful night of sleeping," she replied coolly.
"Where's Ginny?" asked Mrs. Weasley, sitting down beside them.
Hermione shook her head sadly, "She's moping over some letter Dean sent her."
"Thomas is definitely getting a map," George said.
He was rewarded with a slap on the arm from his mother.
"GEORGE SAMUEL WEASLEY! How dare you take pleasure in your sister's pain! You can't be so mean-spirited----"
"Look, mother, we understand that Ginny thinks this is the worst thing in the world. But with everyone else around her risking their necks and worrying about death and stuff, we just can't let her skate on this stuff."
She looked slightly mollified by their concern for Harry and the members of the Order of the Phoenix, but was still about to continue shouting when four barn owls swooped into the kitchen. They circled the table, dropped their respective letters, and flew out.
"Oh, it's your Hogwarts letters," said Mrs. Weasley.
"They'll have their O.W.L. results," Fred said.
Ron's eyes widened, "Can we look at this upstairs? Privately?"
Mrs. Weasley nodded lovingly to her son, "Yes, Ron. But you'll still have to tell me how you did. Besides, you are a prefect. I'm sure you did well."
Ron mouthed soundlessly, but quickly followed Harry and Hermione up to Ron and Harry's room. George meanwhile dropped Ginny's supplies letter off in her room and then Apparated with Fred to their room.
"Well, Hermione, you open yours first," said Harry weakly.
She ripped open her letter eagerly and quickly read it and was grinning from ear to ear when it was done.
"Here," she said, thrusting it towards them.
O.W.L. Results for Miss Hermione Emma Granger
Age: 15
House: Gryffindor
Potions Theoretical: Outstanding (Total: 1)
Potions Practical: Outstanding (Total: 2)
Transfiguration Theoretical: Outstanding (Total: 3)
Transfiguration Practical: Outstanding (Total: 4)
Charms Theoretical: Outstanding (Total: 5)
Charms Practical: Outstanding (Total: 6)
Defense Against the Dark Arts Theoretical: Outstanding (Total: 7)
Defense Against the Dark Arts: Outstanding (Total: 8)
History of Magic: Outstanding (Total: 9)
Arithmancy: Outstanding (Total: 10)
Ancient Runes: Oustanding (Total: 11)
Care of Magical Creatures Theoretical: Outstanding (Total: 12)
Care of Magical Creatures Practical: Outstanding (Total: 13)
Astronomy Theoretical: Outstanding (Total: 14)
Astronomy Practical: Exceeds Expectations (Total: 15)
Herbology Theoretical: Outstanding (Total: 16)
Herbology Practical: Outstanding (Total: 17)
Dear Miss Granger,
You have received an amazing seventeen out of seventeen O.W.L.s. Not only were you the highest scoring student this year, your score of 16 Outstandings and 1 Exceeds Expectations was the highest for any student in Hogwarts history, except for Professor Albus Dumbledore and Tom Riddle (who each scored 24 Outstandings---of course they took all twelve subjects.) Well done and keep up the good work! I'm sure we'll hear your name some day as the Mistress of Magic!
With all due respect (quite considerable in this case),
Griselda Marchbanks
"Goodness, Hermione," said Harry, "only Dumbledore and Voldemort beat your scores. You're amazing."
Hermione was practically bouncing up and down, "Thanks, Harry!" She seized him in a bear hug and whispered, "Thanks for teaching me all that stuff in Defense Against the Dark Arts. I would never have gotten Outstanding in both if it weren't for you!"
"Don't mention it," Harry said, his voice muffled by her hair, "Mistress of Magic, eh?"
Hermione suddenly looked deep in thought, "You know, I hadn't thought about that. If I was Mistress of Magic, I could definitely try and improve elf, giant, and werewolf relations. Not to mention end corruption…"
Harry grinned, "Yeah, I can just see it. Headline of the Daily Prophet: `Mistress of Magic Hermione Granger passes new law that forces House-Elves to be paid in some shape or form.'"
"Well, Ron, go on," said Hermione, breaking away rather slowly from Harry.
Ron opened it and read his quickly. Without a word he thrust it towards Harry and Hermione. They leaned together and began to read:
O.W.L. Results for Mister Ronald Arthur Weasley
Age: 15
House: Gryffindor
Potions Theoretical: Poor (Total: 0)
Potions Practical: Poor (Total: 0)
Transfiguration Theoretical: Exceeds Expectations (Total: 1)
Transfiguration Practical: Acceptable (Total: 2)
Charms Theoretical: Acceptable (Total: 3)
Charms Practical: Acceptable (Total: 4)
Defense Against the Dark Arts Theoretical: Outstanding (Total: 5)
Defense Against the Dark Arts: Outstanding (Total: 6)
History of Magic: Dreadful (Total: 6)
Divination: Dreadful (Total: 6)
Care of Magical Creatures Theoretical: Exceeds Expectations (Total: 7)
Care of Magical Creatures Practical: Outstanding (Total: 8)
Astronomy Theoretical: Poor (Total: 8)
Astronomy Practical: Poor (Total: 8)
Herbology Theoretical: Acceptable (Total: 9)
Herbology Practical: Acceptable (Total: 10)
Dear Mister Weasley,
You have received ten out of sixteen O.W.L.s. Although your potions-making skill and divination abilities, not to mention your History of Magic and Astronomy talents are slightly neglected, your skill in Defense Against the Dark Arts and your skill in handling animals should prove to be important in the future. You have a bright future ahead of you.
With all due respect,
Griselda Marchbanks
"Wow! You got more than three times as many as Fred and George," said Harry, impressed, "and probably a lot more than me."
Ron grinned, "Yeah, Mum said she was expecting about seven for me. I can't wait to show her. Mind you, if it weren't for D.A., I'd have failed Defense Against the Dark Arts."
Harry smiled as he remembered the D.A. It had been a secret Defense class taught by Harry since Umbridge had been so lacking. Harry hoped that all the fifth-year students in the D.A. had scored Outstanding on their O.W.L.s. It would prove, at least in his mind that he was a good teacher.
"Let's look at yours," said Hermione impatiently.
Harry opened his and began to read it, with Hermione and Ron situated over each of his shoulders, reading it along with him:
O.W.L. Results for Mister Harry James Potter
Age: 16
House: Gryffindor
Potions Theoretical: Exceeds Expectations (Total: 1)
Potions Practical: Acceptable (Total: 2)
Transfiguration Theoretical: Exceeds Expectations (Total: 3)
Transfiguration Practical: Outstanding (Total: 4)
Charms Theoretical: Exceeds Expectations (Total: 5)
Charms Practical: Oustanding (Total: 6)
Defense Against the Dark Arts Theoretical: Outstanding (Total: 7)
Defense Against the Dark Arts: Outstanding (Total: 8)
History of Magic: Dreadful (Total: 8)
Divination: Dreadful (Total: 8)
Care of Magical Creatures Theoretical: Acceptable (Total: 9)
Care of Magical Creatures Practical: Exceeds Expectations (Total: 10)
Astronomy Theoretical: Acceptable (Total: 11)
Astronomy Practical: Poor (Total: 11)
Herbology Theoretical: Exceeds Expectations (Total: 12)
Herbology Practical: Acceptable (Total: 13)
Dear Mister Potter,
You have received an exemplary thirteen out of sixteen O.W.L.s. Your skill in Defense Against the Dark Arts was especially noticeable and Mr. Tofty was quite impressed by your ability to produce a corporeal Patronus. Your good friend Hermione Granger confided to me that you had taught her to do one and I was quite impressed by your teaching ability. You have a bright future ahead of you (as if you didn't know that already!) and I can't wait to see what you do next.
With all due respect,
Griselda Marchbanks
P.S. You shall be pleased to know that your father received the same amount of O.W.L.s as you, although he was stronger in Transfiguration. Your mother received one more O.W.L. and always said that she hoped she'd have a smart kid. I think she was right.
Harry's face, which had fell when he had read his Potions scores, slightly lifted when he read that his father had had the same score as him.
"What's up Harry? You look upset," said Ron concernedly, "you scored great, you know! Thirteen O.W.L.s! She sounds really impressed with you…"
Hermione was also looking at him concerned so he just sighed and shrugged, "It's just that I want to be an Auror when I grow up and I need to take N.E.W.T. Potions along with some other classes and Snape only takes students who scored Oustanding on their O.W.L.s for his N.E.W.T. classes."
Ron grimaced, "Oh well. Come on, you don't think they'd actually stop you from being an Auror!"
Hermione nodded, "Besides, Harry, you did wonderful in Potions and everything else. I'm sure even if they don't let you be an Auror, you'll still be a force to be reckoned with."
Harry cracked a grin, "Yeah. Who cares? Two less years of Snape."
Ron obviously agreed and they began high-fiving each other, while Hermione just let loose a long, commiserating sigh.
"What?" asked Harry, turning to look at her pretty face.
"You forgot about Occlumency lessons."
Harry's good mood vanished in the same short span it had arrived, "Damn, you're right. Great, just what I need. More private lessons with that loser and he'll be looking to make up for the fact that I'm not in his normal class."
Ron nodded miserably, "Poor you. At least I won't have him at all. My poor scores will definitely keep me out of N.E.W.T. Potions. Hmmm…I wonder what N.E.W.T. classes I would take…"
Hermione frowned and bit her lip, beginning to concentrate, "I think you have to score Acceptable or above in most cases, except for Snape's class and McGonagall's too, I guess. And then you get to choose which one of the ones you're eligible for that you want to take. Unless you have less than six possible subjects. Then you have to take all the ones you're eligible for, I think."
Ron scanned his list, "Check it out! I only have to take five classes----Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms, Herbology, and Care of Magical Creatures. I'm gonna have loads of free time to play Quidditch!"
Hermione rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue impatiently, "Well, I'm eligible for all the ten classes I took last year. I think I'm only going to take eight this year. I want to concentrate fully on the ones that I'm taking and I don't want to waste time on stuff like History of Magic…Let's see: how about Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Care of Magical Creatures, Arithmancy, and Ancient Runes? I don't particularly want to keep doing Astronomy, so that sounds good. What do you think?"
"Sounds great, Hermione," said Harry, "mind you, I'm only eligible for five classes like Ron. Same ones as him too."
"Cool!" Ron grinned. "At least we'll be together."
Harry nodded fervently, "Yeah. Hey Hermione, how do we let them know which ones we want?"
Hermione began rummaging through her envelope. She threw aside her supplies list and pointed to a sheet of rolled-up parchment which had a list of the N.E.W.T. classes you were eligible for.
"You just have to check off the ones you want," said Hermione, quickly beginning to check off her classes.
Harry opened his envelope and found his and quickly checked all the classes since he was eligible for less than six. Ron did the same and they sealed them after about two minutes.
"Hey, Hedwig," said Harry, scratching his owl affectionately, "d'you mind giving my letter and Hermione's to Professor Dumbledore?"
She clucked her beak as if to say, "What do you think?" Harry grinned and tied his letter to her leg and grabbed Hermione's and put it on Hedwig's other leg. Ron was doing the same thing to his own owl, Pigwidgeon.
"I was just thinking----what about people like Goyle? He can't have gotten any O.W.L.s. Does he even have to take any classes?" Ron asked, looking slightly bemused.
Hermione bit her lower lip again, "You know what? I don't know. It seems like Fred and George still took a certain amount of classes even though they only got three O.W.L.s apiece. Hmmm…we could ask them…"
As if in reply, a loud crack was heard and Fred and George Apparated into the room.
"You called, Your Highness?" asked George, grinning cheekily at Hermione.
She rolled her eyes, "We just had a question. What happens if you don't have any subjects you qualified for? For example, you guys only got three O.W.L.s, so at most you had three classes you were eligible for, most likely one or two. What happened to you guys?"
Fred gave George a dark look, "Well if you have less than six subjects, which happens to about 95% of the Hogwarts population, the school picks the rest you need for six for you. A teacher can request for you, but if that doesn't happen----which it doesn't in most cases, then Dumbledore will decide your classes. For example, we were only eligible for N.E.W.T. Charms, but Dumbledore added Transfiguration----which we had one O.W.L. in, mind you----Defense Against the Dark Arts, Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology, and Divination. So, how many O.W.L.s did you guys get?"
Hermione beamed, "Seventeen O.W.L.s. Sixteen Outstandings and one Exceeds Expectations."
"Mind you, that Exceeds Expectations was caused by you being distracted by Hagrid's sacking, remember?" Harry said, smiling at Hermione.
She smiled back eagerly at him, "Yeah, I might have gotten Seventeen Outstandings if it weren't for that foul Umbridge!"
Fred rolled his eyes, "That's still like a school record for anyone besides Dumbledore and You-Know-Who. Unbelievable. What about you, Ronnie? Please don't tell me anything that's going to make Mum revolting!"
"Got ten O.W.L.s but I'm only eligible for five classes," said Ron worriedly, "I wonder what Dumbledore picks for me. Hopefully the same thing as Harry."
"Yeah," agreed Harry, "I got thirteen O.W.L.s, but my two for Snape don't matter because he wants only Outstandings to be in his class. So I'm only eligible for five as well. I hope Dumbledore can force Snape to take me in Potions."
"POTIONS?!" gasped Ron, Fred, and George at the same time.
Hermione rolled her eyes, "Ron, didn't you hear him earlier? He's got to take N.E.W.T. Potions to become an Auror. So, obviously it's best if he takes Potions. I hope you do, Harry! Otherwise, I'll probably be the only Gryffindor."
Harry smiled benignly at her, while Ron sniggered pointedly in the background and cleared his throat loudly.
"Anyway," he said, fighting off laughter, "if you go into Potions, I sure hope I don't follow you! No Snape would be great!"
George shrugged morosely, "Alas, dear Harry, I don't think Snape will take you even if Dumbledore tries to force him."
Harry shrugged, "I hope we don't get Divination, though."
Ron looked extremely worried but George cut in, "Hey, Ronnie, you better go show your scores to Mum before she has a heart attack."
The trio nodded and they hurried down the stairs, Harry unconsciously squeezing Hermione's hand.
"Well?!" asked Mrs. Weasley, looking positively terrified.
"Relax, Mum, I got ten O.W.L.s," said Ron, shoving the letter towards her.
"Oh Ronnie!" she cried and hugged him fiercely. She then began examining the scores; her mouth slowly began to move downward into a frown.
"These aren't amazing scores, Ron, but I suppose they'll work. Five A's, three O's, two E's, four P's, and two D's are okay, I guess," she didn't look as happy as she did before. Harry supposed this was because of the two D's and four P's.
"What about you, Harry dear?"
"Thirteen; four A's, four O's, five E's, two D's in Divination and History of Magic, and one P."
Mrs. Weasley gave him a hug too and then raised her eyebrow, "It seems like you and Ron aren't very good at either Divination or History of Magic."
Ron rolled his eyes, "That's because the teachers suck, the subject sucks, and even having some girls in the class can't keep you awake----it's that boring."
Harry snorted at Ron's statement, while Hermione and Mrs. Weasley glared at him disapprovingly. Mrs. Weasley then turned to Hermione.
"How many for you, dear?"
Hermione smiled happily, "Seventeen. Sixteen O's and one E."
Mrs. Weasley gave a low whistle, "Those are really, really good scores. I'm very proud of you."
"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley!" Hermione smiled brightly.
"Don't mention it," said Mrs. Weasley, "now, Arthur's coming back for lunch along with a few other members of the Order, so why don't you clear up the tables?"
No sooner had they finished clearing up the tables had the first person arrived. It was none other than Mundungus Fletcher, the crook who gave Dumbledore the lowdown on the underground of the wizard world.
"Hey Dung!" Fred and George greeted cheerily. Mundungus was definitely their favorite member of the Order.
Mundungus simply nodded, looking half-drunk and the smell of stale tobacco still ever-present in the air around him.
"Tonks!" yelled Hermione and she ran forward to give Nymphadora Tonks, another member of the Order a hug.
"What's up Hermione? How'd you do on your O.W.L.s?"
"Sixteen O's and one E."
Tonks' eyes grew huge and her voice was hoarse, "Are you serious?"
Hermione nodded cheerfully, but Tonks was cut off by the arrival of Mr. Weasley who was hugged by all his children and kissed by his wife. Not only that, a thousand questions seemed to pepper his very existence.
"Where were you, Dad?"
"What's so important only seven guys know about it?"
"Please tell us, Dad!"
"Am I not your favorite son?"
"Hey, I am!"
"No, I am!"
"QUIET!" yelled Mr. Weasley, still smiling however, "Children, calm down. I'm not answering any of your questions except the one about Ron being my favorite son. Ron, all my sons are my favorites except for Percy."
Mr. Weasley's face took an ugly, contorted look when he mentioned Percy, and Harry quickly changed the subject.
"How are things at the Ministry?"
Mr. Weasley sighed and slowly wiped his glasses clean, "Horrible. Fudge is running around blaming everyone else for his oversight. The Board of Directors is threatening to throw Fudge out. Every division's normal work has temporarily been canceled and everything is focused to rooting You-Know-Who and his Death-Eaters out. It's highly disorganized though and I doubt anything useful will come from the Ministry.
"I have to agree," a deep voice intoned.
They turned around and were faced with the bald, black head of Kingsley Shacklebolt. Harry had tremendous respect for Kingsley as he was one of the most important Aurors.
"Arthur is completely correct; the Ministry is in complete uproar. I believe that in a few weeks, we might have a new Minister of Magic. As for me, I'm voting for Arthur."
Mr. Weasley look shocked, "What are you talking about Kingsley?"
Kingsley Shacklebolt smiled, "Come off it, Arthur. When I told the Aurors how you had stuck by Dumbledore's side the whole time and were Harry's really good friend, all of them wanted to vote for you. Trust me, when word gets around, you're gonna have a lot of votes."
"Maybe you'll become Minister of Magic," said Ron dreamily, "then we'll have everything we could ever want."
Harry simply sighed and remarked, "There are some important things that even money can't buy."
But Ron didn't seem to have heard him. The rest of the day he had been making plans for what he was going to buy first. Harry and Hermione let him ramble as they were working on their own summer homework.
Finally after they finished dinner, the two boys washed up and headed to their room.
"Hermione not coming here tonight?" asked Ron, winking innocently (if winking could ever be considered innocent.)
Harry threw a sock at him.
"Come off it, Ron, we just fell asleep. Who cares anyway?" said Harry, lying down.
Ron lay down on his bed and they sat in silence for some time and then Harry remarked, "So when did you stop liking Hermione? It was pretty obvious you did last year."
Harry saw Ron shrug under his covers, "I dunno…perhaps when I was trying to hit her when you were with the Dursleys this summer. I'd say something like, `So, Hermione, now that we're alone…' and she'd say, `Yeah, I wish Harry was here.' And she'd go on for about twenty minutes about you. Then I realized that, no offense, man, but I don't want to have a romantic relationship with someone who talks about my best friend twenty-four hours a day."
"No offense taken," said Harry grinning, "You deserve someone really good."
Ron shrugged again, "Like I'm ever going to get someone good."
Harry scrunched up his eyeballs as he started trying to think of girls that would fit Ron, "Hmm…you said Parvati was taken by Dean, right? Yeah, that's right, how about Lavender?"
"Seamus."
"Bloody bad for you, she's really pretty. Oh well…how about Luna?" Harry said jokingly.
Ron started cracking up, "Good one Harry! Loony Lovegood…honestly. What boy in his right mind would go with her?"
"Dunno…" said Harry, chuckling in remembrance of the crazy girl. Harry then stopped laughing when he remembered that Luna had been quite brave in the Department of Mysteries and also seemed to have some information about the veil separating the living and dead. Harry really hoped that one day she would explain it to him.
"So when are you going to ask her out?"
"Who?"
"Don't be an idiot, Harry!" Ron yelled. "Hermione, of course!"
Harry shrugged, "Come on, Ron, I don't even know whether I have feelings for her or not."
Ron rolled his eyes, "Of course you do. You love her and you know it."
Ron fell silent and slowly began lightly snoring, but Harry remained awake for quite some time. The primary thought in his head was love. Harry knew that he hadn't experienced real love much in his life. Sure his parents had probably loved him, but he couldn't remember it. Mrs. Weasley loved him, but it was as a sort of orphan son and Harry wasn't sure whether he could call that real love. He supposed he had loved Sirius, but it was still an odd thing to say that about another man. But what were his feelings for Hermione? Did he love her? He knew that, other than Ron, there was no other person that he liked more than Hermione. She was the nicest person he knew (along with Ron, of course) and the most important thing as far as Harry was concerned was that she liked him as a friend for just being himself, not some legendary savior of the world. To Hermione and Ron, he was just Harry. Not to mention she was extremely pretty.
Harry soon fell asleep, his thoughts still in turmoil.
Harry felt himself being shaken awake, but he ignored it and turned over on his side.
"Come on, Harry, Hermione wants to meet you in the showers," Ron's voice said.
Harry shot up.
"What did you say?"
Ron started laughing, "I had to say something to get you out of bed. Come on lover boy, it's time for breakfast."
Grumbling about being surprised at Ron's joke and that he really didn't want to meet Hermione in the showers, Harry pulled on his clothes.
They finally went downstairs, with repeated playful shoving coming from each of the two boys.
"Hold on a second," said Ron and he turned and knocked on Ginny's door.
"What?" called a voice.
"Yo Ginny, it's breakfast time. Stop moping over Dean, you'll find some other boy to suit your cravings when school starts."
Ginny joined them outside and Harry was very taken aback when she winked coyly at him and smiled. Ron hadn't noticed and was whistling cheerily as they walked along. Harry made a note to tell Ron and Hermione about this later.
After a decent breakfast of oatmeal, Harry quickly pulled Ron and Hermione aside and they went up to their rooms.
"What's up?" asked Ron, flopping onto one of the beds as if he hadn't already had ten hours of sleep.
"I dunno…" said Harry, "okay, you know when we got Ginny from her room for breakfast?"
"Yeah," said Ron lazily.
Harry didn't notice Hermione's face had become slightly frosty and her eyes were ice cold.
"What did she do?" asked Hermione, in a would-be casual voice.
"She winked at me and smiled," said Harry, "and it wasn't a friendly wink. To me, it looked like a `Come here and I'll show you some fun,' look."
Hermione's eyes became even colder, if that was possible. Ron looked mildly interested.
"I dunno…I've been trying to push you and Ginny together for two years, but since I know who you like and I thoroughly support you in this decision, I'm not going to do that anymore," said Ron, winking at Harry when he said the bit about knowing who Harry liked.
"Really? Who does Harry like?" said Hermione in a rather high-pitched voice.
"Are you all right, Hermione?" asked Harry concernedly, "Your voice seems rather high. Do you need some water?"
"I'm fine," she snapped, "so who do you like, Harry?"
Ron smirked, "Can't tell you. Guy-to-guy information. Although I daresay it's rather obvious."
Hermione looked vaguely disgruntled, "Well I'm going to go and help your Mum prepare for Dumbledore coming tonight."
"He's coming?" asked Ron confusedly.
Hermione rolled her eyes, "Yes, your mum said so this morning. Bye!"
She walked out of the room and Harry absent-mindedly began to stare almost longingly after her.
"Earth to Harry," said Ron, grinning.
"What?"
"Did you see Hermione's face when you mentioned what Ginny did?"
Harry gave Ron a questioning look, "What did she look like?"
Ron started laughing, "She looked like the first thing she wanted to do was march over to Ginny's room and hex my sister into next week. After that she would come and snog you senseless."
Harry laughed, "Get real, Ron."
"What is real?" Ron asked rhetorically, "What your body interprets as right and orderly or what is actually happening?"
Harry was surprised to say the least at Ron becoming philosophical, but Ron just smirked and started laughing.
"Got that from Charlie. Felt like pretending to be smart," he said, "anyway, my best bet is Hermione's yelling Ginny's brains out right now in her room. Why don't we go and eavesdrop?"
Harry was about to point out that this was extremely rude, but a strange, powerful curiosity rose up in what they might be saying rose up in him and he pulled his Invisibility Cloak out of his trunk as an answer to Ron's question.
Ron and Harry slipped under it and headed outside of Ginny's room where they were loud noises emanating from the room. They crept closer and pressed their ears against the door, listening hard.
"SO WHAT IF I WANT HIM?! I LOVE HIM!" Ginny's voice yelled.
"I'M NOT GOING TO LET YOU DO THAT TO MY BEST FRIEND---YOU DON'T LOVE HIM---YOU LOVE `THE BOY WHO LIVED,' NOT THE REAL HIM! RON AND I KNOW HIM BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE SO DON'T GIVE ME THIS `I KNOW HIM BETTER THAN YOU AND I LOVE HIM' JUNK----YOU BARELY KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HIM----YOU JUST WANT HIM BECAUSE YOU WANT TO BRAG TO EVERYONE THAT YOU SHAGGED THE BOY WHO LIVED----"
There was a loud, cracking sound as if it sounded like someone had just been slapped. They heard a muffled cry from Ginny. Ron and Harry looked at each other, slightly scared.
"THAT WAS FOR TRYING TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HARRY----YOU DESPICABLE ANIMAL----STAY AWAY FROM HIM AND RON AND ME----"
"SHUT UP HERMIONE! YOU LITTLE---- (Ginny informed Hermione that it was her opinion that Hermione's parents had not been married when they had had her) ----YOU'RE JUST JEALOUS THAT I CAN GET BOYS AND YOU CAN'T! YOU'RE A GODDAMN PRUDE! OF COURSE WHO WOULD WANT YOU? YOU HAVE THE UGLIEST, BUSHIEST HAIR ON THE PLANET AND THOSE BORING BROWN EYES----NO FIGURE AT ALL AND I DARESAY A LACK OF CURVES THAT MOST MEN FIND THE MOST DESIRABLE THING ABOUT WOMEN!"
Harry had seized the door in anger at what Ginny had just said, but Ron quickly held him back, whispering that Hermione would not like it if she knew they were eavesdropping. Listening with rage, while wishing he could tell Hermione that she had lovely hair and beautiful eyes, Harry tried to keep himself from kicking Ron out of the way and bursting into the room.
"Harry doesn't think I'm ugly," Hermione said in a wobbly voice and it broke Harry's heart to hear her like that.
They could hear the sneer in Ginny's voice as she said, "Yeah, sure. He was just trying to make you feel better, you troll. Harry would never want an ugly thing like you. Now, go away. Your stink is leaving a foul stench in the air."
Ron and Harry quickly ran back up the stairs to their room and threw the Invisibility Cloak in Harry's trunk. They began to pretend that they were having a normal conversation and that they hadn't left the room at all.
"Yeah, Bulgaria's gonna be good next year," Ron said, attempting to wink at Harry but failing miserably as they were both terribly depressed over what they had heard.
Hermione came into the room, wiping tears from her eyes.
Ron muttered something about finding his mother and quickly disappeared. Harry watched him rush out of the room and slowly turned back to Hermione's tear-stained face.
"He's leaving because I'm so ugly, right?" asked Hermione weakly.
Harry walked over to her and hugged her closely, his heart breaking in two as he contemplated how sad she was.
"No, Hermione, he wasn't. He told me that he wanted to get something from his mum about fifteen seconds before he left," Harry lied. He was quite sure that Ron had left to go and yell at his sister. Harry also had a sneaking suspicion that Ron was trying to give Hermione and him some alone time.
Hermione pulled away from Harry's hug and looked at him sadly.
"Why am I so ugly?" she asked.
Harry pulled her against him again, but instead of hugging her, he just held her close to him, looking into her eyes.
"Hermione, Ron and I heard what Ginny said to you," Harry said and quickly silenced Hermione as she began crying again. "And I just want you to know that it's completely not true. I do not think you're ugly and I didn't just say that to make you feel any better. I said it because it's true. And I think your bushy hair is cute and you have the most wonderful eyes on the planet. You are very attractive and amazing young woman," Harry said, blushing slightly at what he had said.
Hermione gave him a smile, a true smile.
"Thanks, Harry," she whispered, "I needed that."
"No problem," said Harry, hugging her again and then he impulsively kissed her cheek.
"I don't do that to unattractive girls," he then winked at her, to let her know that he was joking (sort of.)
Smirking, he walked out of the room to find Ron, leaving Hermione to half-laugh, half-sob with happiness at what Harry had said to her.
Harry quickly headed to Ginny's room, mulling over what he had said. He had just called Hermione a very attractive and amazing young woman. Not to mention, he had said her bushy hair was cute and that she had the most wonderful eyes on the planet. If that wasn't flirting, Harry didn't know what was. Why on earth was he flirting with Hermione? And why was he so comfortable around her when he was? It had never been like that with Cho.
He reached the door and heard Ron yelling.
"HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT TO HERMIONE! If you haven't noticed, she's my best friend besides Harry----and I swear, you'll never get Harry if it's the last thing I do!"
He heard Ginny's voice sneer, "Whatever, Ron. Why don't you just go and screw Hermione like you obviously want to?"
Harry entered the room just as Ron slapped her. Ginny fell to the ground, reeling with shock.
"SHUT UP GINNY! YOU'RE SO IMMATURE----ALL YOU CAN THINK ABOUT IS SHAGGING! HAS IT EVER OCCURRED TO YOU THAT MAYBE I CAN BE FRIENDS WITH A GIRL WITHOUT NEEDING TO BE INTIMATE WITH HER! YOU DISGUST ME!"
Ron kicked her prone form and slowly stepped back as if to give Harry his turn. Harry glared down at Ginny with cold fury edging his voice.
"Ginny," he said so quietly that it seemed to scare Ginny even more than Ron's yelling had, "don't ever, ever insult Hermione or make her feel that bad again. If you do, I will personally hurt you. Hermione and Ron are the most important people on the planet to me right now and if you want to remain on speaking terms with me or living terms for that matter, I suggest you never insult Hermione again."
Ginny was too stunned to say anything. She simply watched as her brother and her idealistic boyfriend walked out the door.
Harry clapped Ron on the back, "Took care of her didn't we?"
Ron still looked angry, "I can't believe how mean she can be. Well anyway, did you comfort Hermione?"
Harry's face became worried, "Yeah, I think so. D'you think I should go back up there?"
Ron winked at him, "Go ahead. I'm gonna go head over to Fred and George's shop quickly. I want to think of a good revenge for Ginny."
Harry grinned, "OK."
Harry watched as Ron headed into the sitting room and then he quickly made his way up to the bedroom.
"All right, Hermione?"
He glanced over to his bed where she was lying peacefully, staring up at the wall, smiling broadly.
"Yes, Harry."
"Good," said Harry, sitting on the edge of the bed, "so d'you want to do something?"
"Er…d'you want to knit some elf hats and socks with me?" asked Hermione, looking very apprehensive.
"Of course," said Harry, "we have to do it without magic though, right?"
"Yes," said Hermione, "but I can still teach you."
Hermione began to teach him, but Harry was very, very bad.
"Man, this is hard!" Harry said as his needle flew out of his hands from his clumsiness.
Hermione laughed.
"I really don't give Mrs. Weasley enough credit for knitting those sweaters," Harry said, grinning.
Laughing, the pair kept working hard, even though Harry's hats looked more like woolly bladders and his socks kind of like a rather thin wand. Hermione kept looking over and snorting at him, but Harry did not find this annoying. It was rather cute in its own way.
Around five o'clock, Harry finally called it quits and lay down on his bed.
"I'm really tired," he murmured to Hermione.
"Mmmm…" she said, sitting at the edge of Harry's bed, "Me too."
Hermione gave a long yawn and stretched luxuriously. Harry blushed slightly as he caught sight of a little bit of her stomach.
"Can I lie down?" asked Hermione, looking positively terrified at what he might say.
"Sure," he said, and motioned for her to join him.
She sighed happily and lay down next to him, her hand on his arm. They fell asleep quickly.
Harry struggled awake nearly two hours later. Something was cuddled up against him. What was it? He turned and looked. Hermione was lying next to him, her arm slung about his stomach. He smiled. She was really pretty.
Harry reached out his hand and tucked a tendril of her hair behind her ear, sighing at how cute she looked and for just a couple of moments, Harry forgot all his troubles with Voldemort.
"Mmmm…?" Hermione said, her eyes slowly opening.
"Wake up, Hermione," said Harry, "it's dinnertime, I believe."
"All right," she said and rose up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"Feeling better?" he asked.
"Much. I'm sorry if I intruded upon you----"
"You did nothing of the sort," said Harry firmly, "come on, let's go down."
The two walked downstairs to the kitchens, where Fred, George, and Ron were strangely absent. Mr. Weasley was already sitting at the table, along with Tonks, Lupin, Ginny (Hermione glared at her) and Kingsley. Mrs. Weasley was still cooking their dinner in a giant pot.
"Ah, there you are, Harry," said Kingsley, motioning for Harry to sit down.
"Hi, Mr. Shacklebolt," said Harry, nervously sitting down. Hermione sat down next to him, her eyes still glaring at Ginny who was sitting opposite Tonks.
"Mr. Shacklebolt? Call me Kingsley," he said, grinning, "anyway, just so you and your friends know, I would like to announce to everyone here that I've taken the job of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts."
Tonks and Lupin immediately began slapping him on the back, congratulating him, Mr. Weasley offered him a toast, and Mrs. Weasley yelled out from the kitchens that Kingsley to keep an eye on her son and daughter. Harry simply grinned. Now he could learn from one of his idols. And he wouldn't have to worry about his Defense teacher hating him, like last year. Hermione was also smiling and Harry suddenly realized she was holding his hand. He didn't mention it to her, as he was thoroughly enjoying her warmth.
The door suddenly burst open and Ron, Fred, and George hurried into the kitchens looking extremely harried. They quickly sat down, as inconspicuously as they could. Harry looked at Ron, his eyebrows raised. Ron simply grinned.
"Guess what?" said Hermione, "Kingsley's going to be our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher!"
Ron smiled happily and Fred and George groaned.
"Why couldn't you have been there last year instead of that hag?"
Kingsley laughed a deep, throaty laugh, "I'm sorry, but it was important for me to be at the Ministry last year. With Tonks becoming one of the more important Aurors and the lack of a need for spies since the Ministry already knows that You-Know-Who's back, Dumbledore asked me to take the job and I decided that I would. Another thing, you, Hermione, and Ron are to have private lessons with me this year. What I will be teaching you will remain secret for now, but I stress upon you the importance of keeping it secret during the school year. All right?"
Hermione looked very interested and excited at the thought of private lessons, and Harry's own face echoed the same feelings. Whatever Kingsley taught him, he was sure that it would be helpful for him to become an Auror. Ron was smirking at Ginny, who had not been invited for those private lessons.
"What time and what days will we have them?" asked Hermione.
"Just twice a week. Every Monday and Friday in thirty-minute intervals. You will not be learning together, but what you learn will pretty much be the same. Ron you will come to my office at six-thirty, Hermione at seven, and Harry at seven-thirty. Harry, the Headmaster wishes that you have hour-long lessons. If it is okay with you," said Kingsley, looking at Harry.
"Of course," said Harry, suddenly realizing all the evening lessons he was going to be having. There was Occlumency with Snape and these two lessons with Kingsley. That would take up three nights a week. Then there was Quidditch practice another night. Of course, if he continued the D.A. which he planned on doing, he would have five nights a week taken up.
Mrs. Weasley entered the kitchen and put the steaming cauldron of stew on the table and everyone immediately began to help themselves.
"Isn't Dumbledore coming tonight?" asked Harry, drinking his butterbeer luxuriously.
"That's right, so be on your best behavior."
As if hearing them, Albus Dumbledore entered the kitchen, his robes trailing behind him. Everyone looked up at him, respect etched in their faces.
"Professor," said Mrs. Weasley; he would always be her Headmaster, no matter how long it had been since she attended Hogwarts, "have a seat."
He sat down across from Harry and next to Ron, who looked slightly amazed to be sitting so close to the greatest sorcerer on the Earth.
"I trust Kingsley has told you about his new job----"
"Yes," said Ron, bobbing his head up and down.
"And you three's private lessons?"
Hermione nodded and Harry absently began rubbing her hand.
Dumbledore leaned across the table, "I must impress upon you the secrecy of these lessons. No one is to know of what he teaches you. I picked you three because you are definitely three of the most amazing students I've had in this school (Ron's chest puffed up with pride at this and Hermione was smiling broadly) and this class is going to be very important. I will occasionally be helping Kingsley out, but this is mainly going to be his class."
The three nodded, Hermione shooting triumphant glances at Ginny who was staring fixedly at her food.
"Now, let me have some of this excellent stew," said Dumbledore, helping himself to a large portion of the stew.
Dinner was a rather quiet affair, but in a comfortable sort of way. Everyone (except for Ginny, who was occasionally glaring at Hermione) was enjoying each other's company and Harry was still rubbing Hermione's hand, although he had long forgotten why.
Harry was helping himself to a large piece of lemon meringue pie when an owl flew through the window and landed on Dumbledore's arm.
"Ah, the Evening Prophet."
"What's it say?" Harry said, leaning over interestedly. In the process, he got a bit of custard on his shirt, which Hermione quickly wiped off.
Dumbledore's expression suddenly grew dark.
"I'm sorry, Molly, but I must leave. Kingsley, come with me."
Kingsley and Dumbledore quickly headed out of the kitchens, presumably to Apparate.
Harry grabbed the copy of the newspaper.
He began to read aloud, "`First attack of the Second War! You-Know Who attacks family near Wimbledon. Widespread panic as this is rumored to be the first in a long string of attacks.'"
Everyone stared at each, fear evident on their faces.