Author's Note:
So this might be the first fanfic that's ever been started again after a 3 year break, but as many of you know, I left the fandom for a couple years. Now I'm back. I hope some of you out there will still read this story, I know it's been an incredibly long time but I felt like I might as well take a shot at writing this again. Obviously I am not too pleased with my writing from several years ago, but I'm going to make the best of the situation. The last chapter, in particular, was shoddy, rushed, and extremely poorly written. I will attempt to make up for these mistakes in the future chapters. The reason I'm reconvening this novel is because I was highly disappointed by the sixth book and the seventh one wasn't particularly amazing either. After all, I know many of you feel like the last two books have not been exactly like the rest of the series so here's my "attempt" at a sixth book. I'll do my best to live up to expectations. I'm also moving into my college this next week so the next update will be in a few weeks. Sorry about the delay but it's my freshman year! I hope you understand and can wait patiently. Enjoy!
Chapter Nine: Election
Harry felt his fingers getting caught in the thick tresses of Hermione's hair. Her lips were pressing against his; their gentle strawberry taste was causing his heart to do flip-flops as he pulled her even closer to him. He noticed somewhat absently that Hermione was not crying. On the whole, this was a much better experience than kissing Cho had been.
Hermione pulled back, an odd glint in her eyes. Her hair was disheveled, her lips swelling, and her clothes looked slightly more rumpled.
"HARRY!"
He looked at Hermione quizzically, "Why are you yelling?"
"HARRY!"
"Stop it!"
"Harry, wake up!" He felt himself being shook awake, the low dim of the common room fire reaching his eyes. The next second, this vision was blocked by a mess of red hair.
"Harry, come on! It's time for the D.A. meeting,"
Harry groaned as he realized that his kiss with Hermione had been just a dream. Bloody fantastic. He was dreaming about making out with his best friend. He had asked her to the Yule Ball, but that gave him no license to think about her like that. Besides, he had never made it sound to Hermione like they were going as anything more than very good friends. I can't have thoughts like that. She's a great friend…and very beautiful…and a great kisser…and everything you'd ever----STOP! You don't need to make things awkward with her!
"Sorry. I-I…must've dozed off,"
Ron snorted as Harry rolled off the couch, his brilliant green eyes readjusting to the light of the common room. He looked around for any signs of Hermione, but she was nowhere to be seen.
"Where's Hermione?" Harry hoped his voice wasn't as high-pitched as it sounded to him.
It didn't seem like Ron had noticed anything out of the ordinary in Harry's voice and replied casually, "Oh she's still coming down. She needs to hurry up though. How does it take a girl so bloody long to get ready?"
Harry started to laugh. However his laughter caught in his throat as he finally caught sight of Hermione coming down from the girls' dormitories. She was wearing a simple white jumper and blue skirt---something Harry had seen her several times before--- and her hair was as bushy as ever, but his mind flashed back to his dream. A few short moments ago, his fingers had been entangled in that hair, her lips pressed against his, her back arching as she kissed him with a fervor he had never felt before…
Hermione walked up to them and looked at Harry strangely, "Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Er…no, it's nothing," Harry said, shaking his head. "C'mon, let's go."
Hermione continued to glance at Harry as they made their way to the Room of Requirement, which made Harry even more determined to act as if nothing had happened. He talked with Ron eagerly about the election on Saturday, both very optimistic about Mr. Weasley's chances.
"The way I see it," Ron said, as the door to the Room of Requirement opened, "Fudge has no shot. That means his only real threat is that bloke from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement---Pius Thicknesse. But I mean Dad's got a good shot because Dumbledore's supporting him and everyone knows Dad was one of the first to believe you about the whole You-Know-Who thing and---"
"We know, Ron," Hermione laughed. "We've been over this a million times. Don't be nervous, I'm sure your dad will do great." She gave him a quick smile and gave Ron's hand a squeeze. Harry felt something leap in his chest for just a second, but he quashed it immediately. Hermione's just being a good friend, he reasoned.
The members of the D.A. looked up when the trio finally walked in. The D.A. had become more of a club, akin to the Gobstones or Charms club, following the ascendancy of Kingsley Shacklebolt to the teacher's post. Harry did not have to do as much teaching of the basics and instead was working with the students on improving their proficiency in more complex spells. Like his dream, Harry knew that today was a day to work on the Patronus Charm.
"Alright, guys, let's pair off and start working on the Patronus Charm again. Hermione, I want to see you produce another corporeal one today and then help Neville with his. Everyone else, get started. Remember, happy thoughts. This can't be something minor like you just won ten points for your House. When you're out facing a dementor, you need the happiest thoughts of your life. Alright, let's begin."
This was the first day they had worked on Patronuses since last year. They had spent the first couple months of the year brushing up on their Stunning and Summoning (Harry would always remember having to Summon the Triwizard Cup to escape Little Hangleton). Kingsley's classes had helped immensely; the younger students were doing a lot better with those spells and dueling in general had improved.
Harry knew that his private lessons with Kingsley had been extremely rewarding. Harry's hand-to-hand combat had improved dramatically and even though he still hadn't managed to land a hurtful punch on the large man, he was dying for Malfoy to have a go at him. He wouldn't need a wand to make Malfoy pay.
Ron and Hermione were enjoying the lessons as well, though they hadn't made as much progress as Harry. Hermione, in particular, was struggling with the class. It wasn't due to a lack of strength---Kingsley had pointed out several times she had more than enough power to defeat someone---but due to the fact that she was thinking too much in battle; waiting passively for her opponent to act. She had confided to Harry that several times she found herself over thinking during a battle and Kingsley would then take advantage of this momentary lapse in concentration. He had told her several times that battle was often about instinctive action, feeling where to go instead of attempting to map out an entire sequence in the mind. It had to be a reflex, not a well thought-out course.
Harry looked around the classroom and saw with satisfaction that many were beginning to produce more than wisps of silver smoke. Shapes were beginning to form, though nothing corporeal for most of the students. Hermione had already created her otter and was now attempting to help Neville who was struggling greatly.
Neville's face was screwed up in concentration as he repeatedly shouted, "Expecto Patronum!" to no avail. Occasionally, tiny bits of smoke would pop out of his wand but he was having even trouble getting that.
"Neville, what memory are you using?" Harry asked.
"Winning the House Cup for Gryffindor in first year," he replied, beads of sweat pouring down his face. He looked miserable.
Harry nodded, "That's okay. But think of a better one…maybe one involving Bellatrix Lestrange."
Neville's eyes lit up in a kind of vengeful happiness. Hermione shot Harry a disapproving look, but Harry shook his head at her. This time, a whole lot of silver smoke in a big circular shape shot out of his wand.
Harry clapped him on the back, "You're getting there, Neville. Keep trying."
He left Hermione and Neville and began to pace around the room. In his dream, Ernie had produced a Patronus as well, but today, he seemed to be struggling with it. Of course that may have been due to the fact that he kept eyeing Hannah Abbott out of the corner of his eye. Harry smirked. Hannah was still available for the Yule Ball.
Ron was working with Luna. He had told Harry that the two had kissed, but Harry wasn't sure how serious their relationship was. Ron had admitted that he still hadn't asked the girl to the Yule Ball and the kiss had been more of an accident than anything.
"Luna, where's Ginny tonight?" Harry asked, looking curiously at the blonde.
Luna shrugged, "I don't know."
"This is the third D.A. meeting she's missed," Harry said, frowning. "Do you know anything about this, Ron?"
Ron shook his head, "I don't know, mate. She rarely talks to me anymore, she seems to be gone all the time."
"She does seem to be spending an awful lot of time in the dungeons lately," Luna added dreamily.
"The dungeons!" Ron grabbed Luna by the shoulder. She looked at him, a mild look of surprise on her face.
"I thought you would've known that," she said. Harry noticed that she had not pulled away from Ron's touch. "I asked one of her roommates if Ginny was doing extra work on Potions, but she just laughed at me. She said I really must be Loony if I thought that."
Harry frowned. "I'll ask Hermione if she can find anything out."
"Wouldn't do that, mate. You know how Hermione and Ginny are to each other now."
"Yeah, I don't know. Maybe I'll just ask her myself. Anyway, I'd better let you two get back to work."
Harry continued to make the rounds. Neville was getting much, much closer, and to his surprise, Lavender Brown had produced something very near corporeal. He glanced at his watch; time was up. He whistled the stoppage and waited until the last bits of silver smoke had disappeared from the room.
"Great work today. We're going to keep working on this next time. We made a lot of progress. Lavender, practice in your spare time, I have no doubt you'll be able to produce a corporeal Patronus by next week. Ernie, keep your focus next week (the boy blushed scarlet and his eyes involuntarily shot towards Hannah). What I said to Lavender goes for everyone actually---you all need to keep practicing. Patronuses are some of the hardest magic we'll do and Kingsley said that we actually won't get to them until much later this year so we can all be a step ahead of the game if we can actually get this. Kalie, I forgot to mention this to you, but don't flourish your wand so much. Not only does it give an enemy extra time to attack, it also hampers the charm from working properly. That's it for today…I'll see you all next week."
As the students began filing out of the room, a few here and there clapping Harry on the back or giving him smiles, Harry became uncomfortably aware of his dream. I have to get out of the room!
Thankfully, he saw that Ernie and Hannah had been hanging back. He was probably about to ask her to the Yule Ball. Harry breathed a sigh of relief and clambered out of the Room of Requirement, beside Ron.
"How was 'working' with Luna?" he asked in a mock-serious voice
"Not too bad," Ron replied, trying and failing to appear dignified. "I don't know when I'm going to ask that girl to the Yule Ball."
"Ask who to the Yule Ball?" they heard a dreamy voice from behind them.
"Er---no one." Ron turned a brilliant shade of magenta.
"Oh okay," Luna said. She gave them a little wave and walked past them in the direction of the Ravenclaw common room. Ron shook his head.
"Er, exactly how did you kiss her?" Harry laughed.
"I told you, she was leaning in to kiss me on the cheek and someone called out my name and when I moved my head, our lips met. It was a complete accident."
"You can't deny that you certainly are spending a lot of time 'tutoring' her."
Ron grinned, "Hey, it's got its benefits."
Sniggering, the two boys shoved their way to Gryffindor Tower. Harry wondered vaguely where Hermione was, but remembered she had something earlier in the day about needing to go to the library to research some Ancient Runes.
Ron collapsed on a sofa when they reached the common room.
"Man, I'm beat. But we have no classes tomorrow morning," Ron said thoughtfully.
"You want to play some chess?"
***
The following night, all talk in the common room centered around the next day's elections for Minister of Magic. The election also happened to coincide with the students' next Hogsmeade trip which meant there was an added festivity to the atmosphere. Even Hermione had given up trying to quiet the boisterous young students, many of whom were playing around with various Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes products. She was attempting to read in an armchair, and every so often, her eyes would flash upwards in a forbidding manner that reminded Harry of Professor McGonagall. However, this had little effect on the other Gryffindors and Hermione even eventually gave up this practice.
Meanwhile, Ron was the epicenter of attention and it was safe to say he was loving every minute of it. He was talking boastfully about the likelihood that his father would be Minister of Magic and several hangers-on were assuring him that he had nothing to worry about. Harry knew that Ron was particularly enjoying the attention of a few simpering fifth year girls.
Harry thought he heard Hermione murmur something like, "Honestly…" He laughed quietly and pushed his way towards Ron, who was again recounting the latest poll results from The Daily Prophet.
"Is your dad confident he's going to win?" Harry asked curiously, when he finally reached Ron's side.
Ron shrugged nonchalantly, rumpling his hair in a fashion that caused at least one girl to sigh in admiration. Harry was forcefully reminded of his own father at Ron's age.
"He's not sure. The polls are in our favor, even with Thicknesse's latest climb. You know, my dad, he isn't conceited so he's not going to give himself the election until the actual poll results are in. That's why he'll make such a good Minister of Magic."
"Wish we could say the same about you," Dean Thomas muttered. In spite of himself, Harry laughed.
A pretty blonde fourth year---Harry thought her name might've been Sandra, but it was possibly Jessica---looked at Ron glowingly, "My father says your dad will make a wonderful Minister of Magic. He says what this country needs is some humility and strength. I think we're all tired of Fudge."
Ron nodded sagely. "I think that many will feel that way tomorrow." He then suddenly stood up and shot some sparks out of his wand to get everyone's attention. Everyone looked at him curiously; he was standing on top of a sofa, a goofy expression of happiness plastered to his face.
"Listen, everyone, as many of you know, my dad's running for Minister of Magic tomorrow. This could very well be the day that helps turn things in our favor in the fight against You-Know-Who. So if my dad wins tomorrow, we're gonna have a party. The bill's ON ME!"
The Gryffindor crowd roared raucously, already imagining the night of revelry ahead. Harry saw out of the corner of his eye that Hermione was rolling her eyes before immersing herself in the book once more. Ron came down off his perch and looked around at the girls once more.
"Are all your parents voting for my dad tomorrow?"
They all nodded. Ron grinned in satisfaction.
"Well, listen, ladies, I rather feel like taking a swim so I'm off to the prefect's bathroom. The password is 'Stinksap.'"
Harry's eyes widened in shock as the girls burst out giggling. Ron looked at them once more, trying and failing to look impressiver. He then nodded at Harry, "See you later," and walked out of the common room, his robes billowing behind him.
A scant few minutes later, the group of girls followed him through the portrait-hole. Harry shook his head as he watched them leave. When did Ron become so good at charming witches?
"He's acting like a bit of an arse, isn't he?"
Harry turned around and smiled at Hermione, who had come up behind him and was watching the portrait-hole with a mixture of disgust and surprise.
"Well, he hasn't had a lot of moments of glory," Harry reasoned. While this was true, he had to admit that Ron was letting this get to his head a bit too much. And his dad hadn't even won yet!
"He had the Quidditch Cup last year."
"Well, you saw how he was after that."
Hermione snorted, "Yeah, I reckon if we hadn't told him about Grawp, he would've retold us at least 150 times about his various saves."
Harry then looked at Hermione, "You don't think he'll do anything in the bathroom, do you?"
"This is Ronald Weasley," she rolled her eyes. "He's not Don Juan."
"Yeah, I still wouldn't mind being him right now…" he muttered, half-joking.
"Boys…"
"I knew you would say that."
"Honestly, Harry," said Hermione, "if you wanted to, I bet half the girl population of Hogwarts would go on a late-night swim with you." Harry noticed a slight blush creeping onto her face as she said the last part.
Including you? Harry wondered silently. Just as he was about to scold himself for thinking such thoughts, they were interrupted but the appearance of Ginny Weasley in the common room. She had been gone since before dinner and her usually beautiful and well-kept hair was disheveled and her clothes looked even worse.
"Where have you been?" Hermione asked coolly, as Ginny began fighting her way through the throngs of Gryffindors.
"None of your business," Ginny shot back. She shot one coquettish smile at Harry; Harry felt himself get a little hot under the collar and looked away. Unfortunately, this little twitch did not go unnoticed by either Hermione or Ginny. Ginny smiled broadly at Hermione and then made her way up to the girls' dormitory.
"Honestly," Hermione said, for possibly the millionth time in her life. However, this one was not infused with as much scorn as she could usually muster. She seemed a little disappointed.
Harry smiled uneasily at Hermione. "Listen, I'm going to go up to bed. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Right," said Hermione, that look of mild unhappiness still hitched to her face. "Goodnight, then."
Harry got the sense that something was wrong, but perhaps it was his just his tiredness talking. She'll be alright, he thought, and walked slowly up the stairs.
***
When Harry woke up the next morning, he became immediately aware of the fact that the bed beside him had not been slept in all night. Where was Ron? He laughed---there was no way Ron had spent the entire night in the prefects' bathroom.
After taking his shower, Harry wandered down to the Gryffindor common room and found it deserted, save for a lump sprawled on the couch. As he walked closer, he realized that lump was Ron.
He shook him awake and looked amusedly down at his best friend. Ron eyed him blearily.
"Oy, what time is it, mate?"
"Around 8:30."
"Why are you up so early?"
Harry looked at him curiously, "It's not that early. I just couldn't sleep…why didn't you sleep in your bed?"
Ron grinned. "I was too tired from last night."
"What'd you do?"
Other people began to straggle into the common room at this point and Ron lowered his voice to account for the intrusion.
"Well, I could hardly believe those girls actually joined me for that swim. But anyway, I got to see six of 'em in bikinis and I guess we just kinda swam around for a little bit. It was getting pretty late when we were heading back to the common room so we were trying to watch out for Filch; I mean I could get away with it, being a prefect and all, but those girls would've been in trouble. So anyway, at one point, we had to hide in a few empty classrooms because I think Filch was onto us. It didn't help that those girls couldn't stop giggling. Anyway, we finally got back here around 3 in the morning."
Harry felt a slight twinge of jealousy at Ron's escapades. He certainly wasn't having any real fun like that.
"So, are you still coming to Hogsmeade?"
Ron nodded, "Yeah, I told Luna I'd go to Zonko's with her."
"Since when did you become a ladies' man?" Harry sniggered.
"I'll show you later---it's fail-safe. Hermione will be like butter in your hands after you look at this," Ron said earnestly.
Harry rolled his eyes, "I told you, it's not like that."
"Yeah, I'm sure that's why you asked her to the Yule Ball."
"Hey, I went with Parvati Patil last time around!"
"Whatever. I'm gonna go take a shower."
As Ron was going up, Hermione came down from the girl's dorm. Her hair was tied back into an ergonomic ponytail and she looked anxious.
"Have you heard anything about the election yet?"
Harry shook his head, "It's only 9, Hermione. The polls just opened an hour ago."
"Even if it gives Ron a bigger head than Grawp, we need Mr. Weasley to win the election. Thicknesse isn't a bad guy, but all the same, I think it'd be better if a friend of Dumbledore's is the Minister. What time did Ron come in last night, anyway?"
"Three."
"THREEE?" Hermione screeched.
Harry had to laugh. "Apparently, they were trying to dodge Filch the whole time. "
"I'm sure," Hermione said severely. "Well, he better hurry up. There are several things I need to buy in Hogsmeade."
Harry nodded absently as Hermione began to talk about the different things she was looking forward to do in Hogsmeade that day. His mind had drifted back to Ron's "fail-safe" way to charm witches. I wonder who I'd use that on. His dream of Hermione sprung to mind, but Harry tried to push that away. He knew he certainly hadn't helped any attempt to keep Hermione at a friend's distance by asking Hermione to the Yule Ball. She's going to look beautiful that night. In spite of himself, Harry smiled.
"And then I expect that we'll meet up with Kalie to look up some of those ingredients for our potion---and, Harry…HARRY! Are you even listening to me?"
"Er…what? Yeah," Harry said. "Yeah, I am."
"Then why are we meeting up with Kalie?"
Harry thought hard. "Because she's nice? And pretty?"
Hermione groaned. "I honestly don't know what's worse---that you didn't listen or that you actually used that as your guess."
"Hey, it was possible."
"Yeah, if I'm a lesbian. Can you imagine that?" Hermione laughed scathingly.
Harry swallowed hard. "Er…no. Ha, that wouldn't make any sense."
He was spared further embarrassment by the reappearance of Ron, who only gave courteous nods to the well-wishers today. He looked nervous and even his smile towards Harry and Hermione seemed slightly forced.
"Seamus told me that The Daily Prophet is predicting an upset Thicknesse victory," Ron reported apprehensively.
"Oh, don't worry about that," said Hermione, although she didn't look convinced. "The Daily Prophet never knows what it's talking about."
"If you say so," Ron said dubiously.
They went down to breakfast in silence, all their thoughts fixating on the Ministry elections. Professor McGonagall had informed them last night at dinner that Dumbledore had gone to London to help supervise the compilation of the votes as part of his duties as the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot.
After gulping down some eggs, Harry followed Ron out the Great Hall as they trooped their way out to the carriages that would take them to Hogsmeade. They were joined in their compartment by Neville and Kalie. Hermione saw this as the opportunity to remind Harry as to their real reason to going around Hogsmeade with the pretty Ravenclaw.
"Harry, we're going to look for ingredients for that bravery potion. I don't even know if the stores are going to have all the ingredients we need. Some of the stuff is pretty rare---I think we ought to see if we can get powdered dragon claw. I don't know if we'll need it or not, but it'd be great to have it handy."
Harry nodded, "Sounds good, Hermione."
But Ron was groaning, "Do you have to talk about school when we're going to Hogsmeade?"
"Well, it's better than fretting about your dad's election."
Ron had no response to that, but Hermione acceded to his request and the rest of the ride passed by with a spirited conversation about their latest D.A. meeting. Kalie was sure she was going to produce a Patronus soon; she had spent several hours the night before practicing, even ignoring her boyfriend's requests for a walk.
"I'd be so scared if I had to face a Dementor," she confided. "I'm not the happiest person all the time anyway and I think I'm more vulnerable to an attack than most people. I have to be able to produce a Patronus."
Harry shook his head, "I don't think it really matters how happy you are---when you meet a Dementor, it all gets sucked out of you fast. You just have to have the presence of mind to get that happy thought going."
She nodded, but before she could say anything more, the carriage ground to a halt. They stepped off the train and Harry could see that Ron's eyes were searching for a certain fifth-year blonde. Luna spotted them first and began making her way through the crowd of students.
"Hey, Hermione, I promised Luna I'd go to Zonko's with her. You guys don't mind, do you?"
"Not at all. Harry, Kalie, and I will pick up those ingredients now. Neville, do you want to join us?"
Neville grinned, "I think I'd rather kill myself. I don't want to have to think about Potions ever again. I think I'm going to go to Honeydukes."
Harry sighed enviously.
"How about we meet at the Three Broomsticks in an hour?" Ron asked.
"We'll be there," Kalie replied.
Harry followed Hermione and Kalie as they began traipsing their way through the village of Hogsmeade. Potions-shopping was not high on his to-do list for the weekend but he knew that he owed it to them to at least make himself present.
He found his mind wandering as they searched shop by shop for each obscure ingredient. Both Hermione and Kalie were extremely interested in the various things they were buying, but Harry reasoned that he would have to look at them in Potions class anyway. And Hermione will explain everything then. When the long hour was finally over, Harry led the group eagerly to the Three Broomsticks.
Ron and Luna were already waiting for them in a booth, two frothing glasses of butterbeer placed in front of them. Luna had a dreamy look on her face, but Harry was not sure if that was because of Ron's company or if she was just in a different world at the moment. After ordering three more butterbeers for themselves, the new group slid into the booth.
"How was hunting for ingredients?" Ron asked in a mock-serious tone.
"It was actually fine, I'll have you know," Hermione replied indignantly.
"Harry?"
Harry looked very hard into his butterbeer with prompted a laugh from Ron. When he glanced up, Harry was surprised to see he could see the slightest trace of a smile on Hermione's lips. She looked like she was trying not to laugh as well. Her eyes were crinkled in a cute manner and Harry concentrated on trying not to stare.
They were joined a few moments later by Neville and Mike Levine, Kalie's boyfriend, who had met at Honeydukes. The two were carrying several bags of candies and Ron eyed it hungrily.
"Don't worry," Neville grinned. "We're saving some for the party tonight."
"Speaking of which," Hermione said. "Does Madam Rosmerta know anything new about the polls so far or is it still pretty quiet?"
"I didn't ask," Ron frowned. "How would she know?"
Hermione pointed to a few of the wizards who had been Apparating in and out of the Three Broomsticks.
"I'm sure some of the people who have been in and out of the pub know what the results have been so far."
Ron nodded and went up to the bar, his ears tingeing pink when Madam Rosmerta rotated to face him: he was very conscious of her very full curves bouncing into view.
"What can I do for you, dear?"
"Er…do you know how the election's going?"
She smiled engagingly at him, "A bloke who just left said that the scuttlebutt at the Ministry is that Thicknesse is leading the first results. However, it's still pretty early so I wouldn't worry about it."
"Thanks," Ron said stiffly and walked back to the booth.
"Don't worry," Hermione immediately said, patting his shoulder unconvincingly. "I'm sure it'll all work out for the best."
"Your dad's going to win. I know it, " Luna announced, finally breaking off her far-away look and staring directly at Ron.
Ron looked at Luna like he had never seen anything quite like her in his life. She looked serenely straight back at him, unblinking.
"Luna, will you go to the Yule Ball with me?"
Kalie's squeal of happiness was cut off by Mike clamping a hand over her mouth. Luna looked mildly surprised.
"Of course I'll go. Thank you, Ronald."
Harry glanced sideways and saw Ron's face break out into a broad grin.
"That leaves only you, Neville," Kalie said, smiling at him. "Want me to set you up with one of my Ravenclaw friends?"
"Er, no," Neville shook his head vigorously. "I want to go out with someone on my own merit. I already have someone in mind."
They were interrupted by the sudden appearance of Ron's fan club. They walked into the store, chattering up a storm. Harry noticed that one of them seemed to be humming, "Weasley is Our King."
It didn't take long for them to notice Ron and they immediately rushed over the table. If he didn't know any better, Harry would've sworn that Luna's eyes had narrowed for a split second. However, when he glanced back, they were as protuberant and glazy as ever.
"Hello, ladies," Ron said easily. Harry wasn't the only one who noticed Ron's switch in persona. He suddenly sounded much older and more mature. "Are you all feeling awake today?"
"Oh yes," replied the prettiest one. The others giggled. "Are you excited for the party tonight?"
"Of course." Ron rumpled his hair. "I'll see you all tonight."
They didn't miss the hint and began to walk away, still giggling. Several of them kept looking back at Ron, which would only induce more tittering. Finally, they reached their own booth and began to lock into conversation.
Ron looked back at his friends, who were all looking at him with a mixture of amusement and astonishment in their eyes.
"What?" he asked incredulously.
"Hello, ladies," Hermione imitated in a near-perfect voice.
The others began to guffaw and Ron blushed.
"I was just playing around. They're nice girls, you know."
"I'm sure," Harry snorted.
The others continued to laugh, but Harry noticed that Luna's laughter seemed a little harsher and inauthentic.
They spent the rest of the day wandering around Hogsmeade, hearing random predictions for the election every now and then. Eventually, they took to ignoring these as well, as they seemed to differ from minute to minute and even second by second. The only certainty appeared to be that Fudge was destined to lose.
They found their pockets considerably lighter due to the loss of Galleons; however, their arms seemed to be picking up that weight tenfold due to the increase of possessions. Harry had spent quite a bit more in Honeydukes than he had expected to, but N.E.W.T. classes had seemed to give him a desire for indulgence.
Around five-thirty, they found their way back to the castle and began to eat their dinner in a contented silence. The election results would be due any time now and there was nothing to do but wait. Ron would fidget occasionally, but Harry found himself looking at the clock. The polls close at five…the results might be out by now…
Just as they were beginning to tuck into treacle tart, Professor Flitwick burst through the doors.
"It's done! They've announced the winner!" he shouted. He nearly tottered over in excitement.
"Who?" several hundred voices chorused.
"Arthur Weasley!"